#and don’t get me wrong I do enjoy seeing new characters introduced in new games

[sweetandglovelyart]

#Kirby #Kirby memes #Bandana Waddle Dee #Bandana Dee #Parasol Waddle Dee #Sailor Waddle Dee #Sailor Dee #rip Sailor Dee not appearing in a game since 2011 #I think my one complaint about Kirby as a series is that characters outside of the main four are often forgotten about or never used again #like I feel like every game will introduce a new character and then we maybe see them just one or two more times before they disappear #and don’t get me wrong I do enjoy seeing new characters introduced in new games #but I do wish that the characters that already exist would be acknowledged more or given more depth and development #because I feel like there’s a lot of potential there like we could see so many more stories or games involving them #I feel like there’s a lot of potential for more Magolor Epilogue type of stuff with other characters #I think it’d be nice to see what all the former antagonists have been up to after the end of their games #I think that Star Allies kind of does this a little bit but just on a surface level not more in depth #this is why I like exploring this stuff in my fanart lmao like if HAL/Nintendo won’t do it I’ll do it myself

[centaurianthropology]

Why Spenser Starke is a Fantastic Horror GM (and the Core Fantasy in Candela Obscura)

So, I have seen some rancid takes about Spenser Starke online. Less so on this webbed site, largely because people around here are not in a pissing contest to prove who’s the most cynical, superior, and dickish. But there have still been some mind-blowing ones, from “he says UM too much” (guess who else does that? Brennan, but I don’t see these people criticizing him), or “he describes scenes like shots in a movie and that’s BAD WRONG” (while you might not stylistically enjoy it, I for one adore seeing a new interpretation of how to narrate while GMing, and think he’s doing great).

But the two that rub me the wrong way most are that he “controls the narrative too tightly” and doesn’t allow the characters to meander too long before throwing them back into the narrative, and that he’s “too harsh” in that even mixed successes tend to net characters damage of some sort. I saw accusations of “GM vs Player” mentality, but everyone was clearly enjoying themselves and the experience.

And that, I think, highlights the fundamental disconnect between these complainers and what’s actually happening on the screen: they don’t understand the core experience.

They have likely never played horror TTRPGs. They may have never played TTRPGs period, and instead are armchair DMs based purely on how Matt and Brennan DM, not really understanding that there are a thousand other ways to DM. But if they have played TTRPGs, I would guess that they’ve exclusively played D&D or its ilk. And I say that because there’s a very clear belief here that empowerment and ‘winning the game’, as well as wandering about freely to create your own narrative at your own pace are all fundamental parts of the TTRPG experience as a whole. But they aren’t. They’re fundamental to D&D, yes, but this is not what players come to a game like Candela Obscura for.

Each TTRPG has a central fantasy playing out. In D&D it’s heroic empowerment. D&D is mechanically built around getting more and more power and eventually defeating the big bad. A good GM in D&D, like Matt Mercer, focuses on giving out challenges, but always helping their players strive to overcome and grow and become better. This self-actualization is at the heart of the experience.

Horror games are not about that at all. The closest to that fantasy is something like ‘Vampire the Masqerade’ or other World of Darkness games, which do feature power growth, but the core fantasy is actually about learning that you are a monster. And embracing power will lead to even greater monstrousness. The horror in games like this is both political and personal, and the system is mechanically built to accommodate that horror.

And if you watch LA by Night or NY by Night, you’ll actually see that Jason Carl employs a fairly similar narrative tightness to his storytelling as that of Spenser Starke. Because a huge part of horror is about establishing and maintaining a mood. To do that, a DM has to keep a tighter rein on pacing, cutting from scene to scene and moment to moment in a way that is more directed than in D&D, because that helps establish and maintain the vibe being created.

Candela Obscura plays, thematically, a lot like one of my favorite games to run: ‘Call of Cthulhu’. CoC is a game all about disempowerment. The power differential between the players and the monsters is vast. Combat is vicious, short, and deadly, and direct combat almost always ends badly for an investigator. There is an entire chapter devoted to running away for a reason.

Both CoC and Candela are built on danger, vulnerability, and a constant sense of tension. And Spenser is fantastic at all of these. He keeps his narrative laser focused, moving between moments rapid-fire to keep up that tension, and to introduce new dangers. He is a ‘vicious’ DM only in so much as even mixed successes hurt. But this also keeps the tension up by keeping the characters and players on the edges of their seats. They are almost never safe. They are almost never well. They are constantly juggling dwindling resources. They are underpowered, vulnerable, and afraid.

And that’s the core fantasy here: exploring fear in a safe way. Being stressed out in a way you can leave behind as soon as the scene is done. Constantly living on the edge, fighting the odds, and knowing that you likely won’t succeed or will only do so at great cost. And he is masterfully keeping that intensity running through each session.

He gives characters time to talk about themselves, time for scenes to play out, until he feels the tension begin to flag, and then he pushes on. He never lets the air go entirely out of the narrative sails. He has a great sense of when a character needs a moment (his use of the red PTSD lighting exemplifies how closely he’s paying attention to his players and adjusting the setting to fit their moods). He sometimes pushes on, gets pushback from a player who wants another beat, and is always happy to give that to them. He keeps the pace up, but is always very careful to make sure his players have what they need to still enjoy this particular experience.

All this is to say that Spenser is absolutely killing it at being an exemplary horror GM. His sense of pacing and tension, his ability to direct action while still always embracing player autonomy, and using the mechanics of the system to never allow them to feel entirely safe are all great tools in a horror GM’s toolkit.

Horror games are not for everyone. Certainly there are plenty of people who only ever want the hero fantasy of D&D, but I think it’s important to recognize what the goal of a game is, and what constitutes success within those parameters, rather than parameters that only exist in an audience member’s mind, because they don’t really get how horror games work.

#candela obscura #spenser starke #I was frankly shocked at how many people were bitching about him #and all their whining mostly boiled down to him not GMing a horror game like one would DM D&D #it was just a fundamental misunderstanding of how horror stories sort of have to get told #in order to actually scare your players #and give them the core experience of HORROR that they came to the table to feel #I love running horror games #I think Spenser is not only doing great #but he’s got quite a few tricks I want to try out myself #This is not DM vs Player mentality #this is literally just how you play these sorts of games #constantly being close to death or running out of resources

[yukidragon]

I heard Jack has a family, I only know his parents' name (Rise & Shine) But i dont know his sister's name since I'm only new of this fandom, I dont know much their personality, how they looked like or his parents' backstories too or even what jack and his sister looked like or personality since they were kids. (since i heard Jambeebot taken down SDJ drawings in their twitter acc :'( )

But What if Jack's family met reader/alice or Jack introduced his parents to reader/alice?

What do you think Jack's family interactions towards alice/reader or what do they think towards to alice/reader

I would love to hear your thoughts or headcanons, also i love your SDJ Fanfics too <3

Thank you so much for saying so. It makes me happy to know that you love my stories. 💖

Welcome to the fandom! Happy to have you join us. 🎉

Jack’s extended family are part of the SunnyTime Town AU, also known as the STT AU. This isn’t to be confused with the universe for Something’s Wrong with Sunny Day Jack, where Jack is just a character Joseph/[Redacted] played. In STT AU, Jack is a real person who happens to be a clown, living in SunnyTown, as opposed to CoudyTown. It's primarily a comedy AU based off a world filled with clowny characters. Here’s a couple of images Sauce/Jambeebot did for it, including ones that explain more details about it.

Oh, before I go into the images, I will emphasize that Jambeebot/Sauce’s art is not mine, and I really hope you support them on their official Sunny Day Jack twitter, Patreon, and/or kickstarter! They work super hard to create this content for all of us to enjoy, so I wanted to emphasize the credit to them since I’m showing their publicly released artwork.

Also, while I’m on the topic, please don’t repost the private patreon-exclusive art. I’ve seen some people reposting art from the patreon in the tags, and even if it’s cropped, that’s not okay. Doing that is not supporting Sauce/Jambeebot; that’s costing them money that could be spent helping them be financially secure and allow them to make the game without worrying about their livelihood.

Oh, and I almost forgot the obligatory tags for @channydraws and @earthgirlaesthetic. If you want to get tagged when I make the next headcanon post, just let me know!

Thanks for listening, now onto Sauce’s beautiful art and lovely STT AU.

And since you were interested in seeing Jack and his big sis Daisy Chain Jane as kids, as well as getting a look at what little we’ve seen of Rise and Shine’s backstories, I shall deliver.

I’m still working on Alice’s clownsona as it were for the STT AU. I do have her name sorted out though - Aurorabori Alice.

Yes, I feel quite proud of that pun.

Alice (and MC in general) would be the newcomer to SunnyTown who Jack feels an immediate attraction to. Jack is well liked by everybody, and is always friendly, but he’s especially drawn to Alice, wanting to befriend her and spend as much time with her as possible.

Also, despite this AU being very lighthearted and comedy based... yanderes still exist here too, and Jack inherited quite a lot of traits from his dad...

The intensity of these feelings for Alice(/MC) are new and... more than a little unnerving, even to Jack. He’s never felt this way before about anyone. He aches for her in a way that is so strong, he is rather frightened of himself, and too ashamed to tell anybody that he feels this way. He didn’t realize that something was missing from his life until he met Alice, and now that he knows just how warm sunshine can be, the thought of living without her feels dark and cold, even though he’s surrounded by friends and family who love him.

Despite these new frightening desires, Jack won’t force anything on Alice. How could he do that to someone he loves so deeply? It would snuff out her light and ruin her. No, all he can do is keep these feelings hidden and love her with all his heart. Hopefully, if he does everything right, she’ll eventually love him too. There’s no one else in the world who could love her more than he does. It’s impossible, not with feelings as strong as this...

As for Alice... she just thinks Jack is very friendly. Anytime she suspects that he might be flirting with her or that his feelings might be anything but platonic, her best friend Honey Bunny is quick to remind her that Jack is just a very friendly person, which is why everyone loves him, and he probably isn’t interested in getting a partner since he’s never had one before at his age.

Though Honey doesn’t realize Jack simply never felt anything for anyone the way Alice did.

Yes, this is the same Honey Bunny puppet that’s from Alice’s concept sheet. Like Buddy can change from a belt to a person, Honey can change from a puppet into a person.

There’s a theory that when Buddy changes into a human, Jack turns into a belt, though there are also pictures of the two of them human together (including a very spicy one). Still, if Honey and Buddy’s situations with their respective pals are similar, then it means Alice would have a puppet form she can transform into. I’d probably have to design it when I finally draw her STT AU self.

Honey has good intentions about steering Alice away from Jack’s affections. Alice moved to SunnyTown to get a fresh start after she had a rough time with a former suitor who may or may not be Ian’s clownsona. (Naturally, things won’t wind up as toxic for the breakup as they did in the SDJ universe.) Honey wants to protect her best friend from heartache, but might be a bit overprotective at times.

On the other side of the coin, you have Buddy serving to encourage Jack and give him, at times kind of off the wall advice, but he means well too. Naturally, this causes Buddy and Honey to come into conflict a lot, as Buddy is trying to be Jack’s wingman, and Honey is trying to be Jack’s cockblocker.

One solid image I have is of when Alice and Jack start getting closer despite Honey’s interference, Buddy (in human form) drags off Honey by her ears or tail (also in human form) to give them alone time.

Yes, Honey still has rabbit ears and a tail in her human form. How can I resist? Plus it’s not like Buddy doesn’t have unusual anatomy too...

Oh, speaking of that part of him, in this version of the STT AU with Alice, Honey and Buddy wind up going from antagonists to, ahem, quite a bit more. They fight, and it turns into spice. Jack and Alice are going to walk in on them and get quite a shock to see them making out.

Naturally, in a general MC version of the STT AU, there wouldn’t be a Honey Bunny, so it’d be up to the respective person writing their take on the AU to decide how the relationship with Jack goes and what obstacles there are.

Jack is very likely to introduce his family to Alice right away. Jane seems like the type of nosy big sister who would insist on meeting the girl who Jack can’t stop talking about. Mama Shine and Papa Rise would obviously be curious as well.

Rise would also suspect that Jack might be taking after him in a certain way and discreetly give his son tips on how to keep from scaring away his sunshine. After all, Rise would never allow anyone to take Shine away from him, and why would he force his son to suffer without that addicting sunlight in his life?

Shine is a sweet mama type, very energetic, loud, and talkative. She would be the first to greet Alice after Jack introduces the family, likely with a big friendly hug, and would gush about how her son always speaks so highly of Alice, much to Jack’s embarrassment when she starts giving examples.

Alice, in return, would be happy to meet her new friend’s family and very happy that they like her. She wouldn’t be nervous about meeting them since she wouldn’t realize that she’s meeting her future in-laws. She would see where Jack gets his friendly and kind personality from when meeting them.

Honey might insist on coming along to the instruction if possible. She’ll be seeing right through Jack’s intentions and want to make sure things stay strictly platonic, though she will be friendly and wind up liking the family more than she thought she would.

How the family would feel about a general MC really depends on the different MCs and their personalities. From the aspect of how they feel about someone Jack is obviously in love with, they’re happy for him that he found someone who makes him feel that way. As long as they’re a good person for someone as sweet as Jack, they’ll welcome them with open arms.

Opinions on Alice specifically are as follows...

Shine thinks Alice is a very sweet girl, and is very considerate of Jack, which is ideal in a partner for her son. Alice is not terribly talkative, but that’s not a problem at all. After all, her loving husband is nonverbal. What’s important is that Alice is kind to Jack and even at this early friendship stage, she can see the hints of budding romantic feelings towards Jack forming from Alice’s end too.

Rise has a general friendly reaction to Alice initially, then is quietly surprised and pleased to learn that she knows sign language and can hold an actual nonverbal conversation with him. That certainly wins her a few points in his book. The more he learns about her, the more he can see what Jack sees in her and he approves.

Yes, Alice knows ASL in the SDJ universe too. (As well as the other AUs with her.)

Jane is a bit more of a wild card when it comes to Alice. She both likes Alice right away, but also sees an opportunity to playfully tease such an easily flustered person, as well as her little brother. She’s friendly and ultimately ships Alice and Jack, but is going to give them both a hard time with it and mercilessly tease Jack at every opportunity.

Opinions from the family about Honey Bunny are generally positive as well, as it’s easy to recognize she’s just looking out for a friend. Shine would probably try to give her advice to take it easy sometimes though. Jane would find it hilarious that Jack is getting cockblocked and use it as teasing fuel. Rise would see Honey as a potential problem, but is keeping hands off from interfering, as it’s a minor issue and Jack needs to learn how to deal with people who would keep his sunshine away.

Buddy is nebulous in that he’s a close enough friend to Jack that he’s practically family, so I’ll give his opinions as well. He likes Alice right away. She’s friendly, nice, and she greets him along with Jack even when he’s a belt at the time, which a lot of people forget to do. He is totally on board with helping Jack win her over.

As for Honey Bunny... as far as Buddy is concerned, she’s obnoxious, annoying, but cute, and fun to tease. The latter feelings develop into a more, ahem, friendly type of teasing down the road.

In the STT AU, Alice would probably be the new arts and crafts teacher at Jack’s schoolhouse, which gives them plenty of time to interact, and plenty of time for Jack to give her lovestruck looks from afar as he watches her teach the kids and play with them.

Also, in a nod to the lore I went with for Sunshine in Hell, Alice would sometimes give puppet show presentations at the library with the help of her friend Honey Bunny. Cloudy-Belle Sue just might wind up being her cousin in fact, given Alice’s hair is kind of cloud-like and fluffy, which is similar to Sue’s hairstyle. In this situation, it would be Sue introducing Alice and Jack to help her cousin get used to the town and make friends.

Naturally, Sue and the rest of the SunnyTime Crew are going to help Jack get together with Alice. They’re his friends after all, and Alice is a sweet girl, though Sue will caution Jack to take it slow since she’s had her heart broken before.

For a general MC, the crew would no doubt ship Jack with his sunshine regardless since he’s so happy with them. Whether they’re related to any of the other crew members is up to the individual MC’s backstory, of course.

Oh, wow, this really ran away from me, didn’t it? That’s about all I have for now of the STT AU. If you want to hear about the AphroDesia crossover AU’s versions of the family and their opinions of/interactions with Alice, let me know, since things are a liiittle bit different in the mafia AU.

Thanks again for sending the ask. I hope you found my thoughts entertaining and that these images from Jambeebot helped you learn a bit more about the SunnyTime Town AU!

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #swwsdj #sdj #SunnyTime Town #STT AU #Ask #Headcanon Ramblings #Sauce-y Art #My Art #SunnyTime Town AU

[danganronpa96]

Why didn't Ayano kill Chapter 4, since well….Senpai is her motive and well, I think she'd figure out pretty quickly that it's Senpai without having to see it?

What if there was a triple kill Chapter 5? Like dynamics wise and the trial itself? (DR69)

How would Yoshi likely react to the death of Mario, assuming Mario had Yoshi had a pet and all that?

Would the idea that after the explosion, the little killing game in the church would actually somehow continue but turn into a full blown killing game in the city?

How would the participants had reacted if Yuri had committed a murder?

Also, the Smiling Friends artstyle you managed to a T. It's really good and Pim looks so cute in it.

What if the entire cast was just Yuri cloned 16 times. What if Kaidou and Yuri have survived? How do pets work in a world of anthropomorphic animals? How did the participants not freak out that there were two anthropomorphic animals? Why do I have so many questions?

Anyways um, York again, loved Chapter 4. Sorry for the horde of questions again.

Hello 101 questions /lh

1. This one is pretty obvious. Ayano made a promise to Luigi in chapter 3 she would try her hardest to get the trust of others and help them out. She even showcased this during the chapter 3 trial when she was being falsely accused with her secret exposed. Ayano went onto be distrusted regardless, but remained determined to keep herself in line. She knew her Senpai would be the focus of any motive featuring loved ones, but that wouldn’t stop her from her promise. After all, trying to kill a situation like this always pertained the possibility of herself dying, and in that scenario she would not be able to protect her Senpai at all.

2. I don’t know, it depends who would die. I could see Parappa getting involved somehow, but not anyone else (unless Ayano decided to go to the 5th floor too). So it’d either be Fluttershy/Parappa/Ayano or Fluttershy/Parappa/Brian. I think the trial would become more complex, but also since three bodies would leave three times as many clues behind… it could go either way.

3. The Yoshi would be very sad, but I’m sure Luigi would go onto adopt it for Mario.

4. Not really. That wasn’t what I was going for in the story. The whole ‘new killing game’ was just meant to be a cop out to a) introduce Matt into the gang and b) introduce Gumi and how I wanted to portray her character. But it does sound interesting regardless.

5. The majority of them wouldn’t be surprised. Natsuki would feel upset and betrayed Yuri went the full way with it. Although, I’m not sure she would consider it as most people would suspect her in a trial (unless this was before she revealed her philosophy).

6. Thank you!! I think I can draw Charlie a bit better than Pim but I’m happy to hear you liked how I drew him too ^^

7. a) The Yuri’s would be very freaked out. One would snap first but you can’t ask me to identify who because, you know, they all look the same.

b) Kaidou may do a similar thing I described in this post (and by that I just mean from the 3rd paragraph about the bandages and down, as a sign of maturing). Yuri on the other hand would become like a typical DR antagonist, who’d have some moments in the trials but ultimately tries to skew things in the wrong direction in order to help let the killer win.

c) You ask the Bojack Horseman universe the same thing because I have no idea. Or maybe ask the MLP universe because it works with Fluttershy. I guess it depends on the theme of animals (if they’re all different animals then no pets).

d) Well Hayasaka and Kurumada did get a bit concerned at Retsuko at first, but just went along to accept it come meeting Bojack (slightly) because they all woke up on an island with no recollection why at this point they could start levitating and assume it’s all one big group hallucination or social experiment.

e) man I don’t know holmes you tell me

Hello again! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed ch4!! And thanks for the assortment of questions lol

#definitely what you may call a mixed bag #more on 7d #some characters like Saiki would just accept it knowing what he’s seen #and Jesse just assumed he’s high at first #Natsuki probably mistook Bojack for an actual furry in a costume at first #but once they met Monotora it really was all jover for those ideas

[shadouge01]

I’m back.

My discombobulated thoughts now that I have finished Sonic Prime SPOLIERS!!!!!!!

********

Okay so I watched season 1 in parts and season 2 when it came out and just watched season 3 today. I binged everything, so if I don’t remember something 100% correctly, that’s why.

Sonic prime is good.

I know, shocker.

Okay, I haven’t watched any of the other shows so I can’t compare it to X or Boom or whatever. But this seemed to have a darker tone than most other sonic media and I enjoyed that a lot. (I know I need to watch SATAM, don’t yell at me.)I’ve dipped in and out of this fandom a lot. And my participation is all over the place (I won’t be posting about Ken spenders anymore, I took my Kenspiracies too far when I had that stupid twitter account yeah, that was me) but ANYWAY

This show was great. Not perfect, the main flaw I found was the pacing is very fact paced and action heavy which is good for a Sonic show and good for a person with ADHD like me. However I found the first season took awhile to get going and was more episodic. I know it was to introduce the characters but I got bored a bit. I’ll say again I liked the episode in Season 1 with Thorn Rose but the Boscage Maze and especially No Place never felt that fleshed out to me. I still wanted them to be saved because I cared about Sonic and his friends, but the worlds weren’t very interesting.

I. Love. New. Yoke. The aesthetic of this place is perfect and VERY Sonic CD bad future-seque which is PERFECT. I only wish we spent more time there. Especially in season 3 which takes place entirely in the Grim after the first two episodes, which I get, I do, but the pacing again, I felt was too fast and too much action and not enough character moments. The he ending felt rushed, because I really wanted to see the rebels rebuild New Yoke after the Egg Council was gone (assuming the other shatterspaces didn’t freeze in time like Green Hill did, but I got the implication that was a unique case.) and I wanted to see the others return home as well. I guess this leaves it open to a sequel or expansion of some kind, comics, some kind of spin off media, I’d even love an animated movie if they fixed the pacing issues, but yeah, that was my only gripe. I guess I wanted more time with Sonic and Nine reconciled too before everything happened but that’s the painful thing in life, sometimes you don’t get that. We know the prism still exists so then interacting again some way in the future might be possible, if they know how to control portals and such, hell with the chaos emerald they might be able to go to other worlds anyway. I wonder where Shadow is keeping the prism. I wonder if Nine stays on the Grim by himself or if he goes back to New Yoke. He deserves friends, and I’m sure some of the others would come around to him given time. renegade Knucks was up there fighting with Sonic after all. It could work. I just want him to be happy :((

I guess those are small nitpicks in the grand scheme of things because I want to say that the tone and storytelling was GREAT, the music was epic and cinematic and fit the tone of the show very well, the contrasting color palettes of different worlds really helped make it pop. The 3D animation was fantastic and felt perfect for a show like this. Characters were VERY expressive. (Hey Sega, can you update your in game models please thanks, you know it’s bad when the SA2 models have more dynamic facial expressions). Anyway, I thought the voice acting was great. Shadow’s voice felt a little wrong but I’m probably just used to Humphrey and Griffith, I don’t like his voice in forces either but I digress. It worked for this. Sonic’s VA was amazing and really able to convey a wide range of emotions and I thought the other characters had good VAs. Nine was great. I do wish maybe he’d had a redemption earlier against a greater threat a la Zuko style but one can dream. Nine is still easily the best version of Tails, ever. I was lukewarm on Tails as a character before and Nine made me appreciate everything about all versions of Tails. Incredible. What I love about Nine is he takes things too far because he has serious trust issues and him and Sonic fail to communicate which as a neurodivergent person is very relatable. I think Tails in general and especially Nine, is very autistic coded, and I love that. I just wish season 3 Nine had more development before the end because his arc was perfect until the end of season 2 but I’m at least glad he did realize and did the right thing. He’s really just a scared kid who wants a safe place, don’t we all? Again I REALLY want to see more material with him in the future and what becomes of him with Sonic gone.

My other favorite side characters were Thorn Rose, Rusty Rose, and Dread, but I thought they were all great. I loved that the roses had a great character moment, as did Dread when he finally realized that saving his friends was more important than treasure. The Egg council was awesome, taking different traits of Eggman and turning them into a squabbling family was PERFECT. The fact that they met their demise because they were arguing over the prism was so real. Great stuff.

I want to talk about Sonic himself because this is one of the best Sonics I’ve seen. I haven’t decided if this is better than Movie Sonic, but I love both a ton along with Adventure. This Sonic is one of the most expressive Sonics with the most emotional range. Yeah, he’s still overly cocky and hilarious, and mostly always optimistic, but I love that he actually learns from his mistakes and comes up with new ideas. The fact he even took inspiration from the Egg Council to never give up was great. I loved the robots of all the main characters as well. Sonic was well written, VERY in character but still serious when he needs to be (unlike Archie Sonic (sometimes) and 06, which is bad).

Speaking of 06, this is the best written Shadow we have gotten since 06. I mentioned very early on in this blog how I love his arc through Shadow 05 and Sonic 06. Sonic is way out of character and the Elise thing is stupid, BUT, Team Dark was perfect in 06. It’s sad we don’t have Team Dark anymore, but Rouge on team sonic was cool, I just like Rouge in general and if they’re gonna make her part of the main cast, good. Okay, back to Shadow. His development in game is that he goes from being angry at the world and wanting revenge, to being emotionally numb and trying to figure out the truth, to finally realizing his purpose and knowing not to give up and kicking the bad guys when it hurts. He’s hard to crack, but he DOES care about his friends, as you can see through subtle actions, rather it be Team Dark, Sonic, whatever. He’d never ADMIT to Sonic that they’re friends, but I do genuinely think he cares for Sonic.

Anyway, Shadow has been stagnant as a character since then, the best writing was in Forces with him vs. Infinite but it didn’t do much to further his character. He hasn’t been in a lot of media lately like Frontiers (although maybe they knew they couldn’t write him well for games and wanted to see how he went over in prime and the upcoming movie). Prime Shadow made me more excited for Movie Shadow, because if we got one of, if not THE best Sonics ever in Prime as well as the movie, I’m expecting good things from Shadow in the movie, considering they really nailed Tails and Knuckles in Sonic 2, imo, and now knowing that Shadow is allowed to have feelings again is so good. He’s very in character, overly serious, and cold, but he is incredibly dedicated to the cause and unquestionably a hero, like 06 Shadow. Prime Shadow reminds me a LOT of 06 Shadow and that’s GOOD. He’s also just great with his subtle nod to Sonic when Sonic talks about his friends, their excellent back and forthing with Sonic cracking jokes “I didn’t know you were a hugger” and Shadow responding with his straight man persona “do you want me to save you or not?” It was great stuff all the way through. I thought he was decent in Season 2, but Season 3 was AWESOME. I guess I had to trade Nine for Shadow, sigh. Nine did come back around in the end which GOOD, if they kept him as a villain the whole time I would’ve been pissed, but I digress. This might be the best Shadow since SA2, he’s SO GOOD YALL and I could keep raving about Prime Shadow all day. I loved when Dr. Deep called him an edge lord, it’s great meta humor, and in character for Deep who actually is an edge lord. Really hope SEGA takes the positive feedback from this and makes Shadow better in upcoming games/comics. LET FLYNN WRITE A GOOD SHADOW FOR GOD’S SAKE!

Ahem.

Anyway, I’m glad I watched Prime, it gave us the best Sonic Shadow and Tails maybe ever and it took the darker tone that Forces tried and really fleshed it out. Good job guys.

#sonic prime #spoilers #sonic prime spoilers #sonic prime season 3 #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #ramblings #nitpicks #me raving over Shadow OMG

[absolutebl]

10 BLs Worth Sticking With Despite the Start

Sometimes I had to really stick with a show despite myself to make it trough. In a few instances, I actually dropped a show and then someone convinced me to try again. 

1. 2gether

It’s not secret that I think GMMTV’s big guns 2gether is overrated. But it tops this list because I think I had to try this BL 6X before finally getting though the first 3 episodes. Honestly, had there been any other new BLs (there wasn’t much back then) I probubly never would have watched 2g. I absolutely loathe the character of Green, such a caricature of predatory gay, not to mention punching down humor on femme. I have real issues with the start of this show. But I actually kinda enjoyed the rest of it. 

2. DNA Says Love You

I really did not like the first episode of this recent Taiwanese drama. I think it has to so with the fact that Amber isn’t introduced until the very end, and he holds this BL down. But even saying that, the first half of this series drags for me. I’m just not into the paranormal investigator aspect, I find it boring. 

3. He’s Coming To Me 

I just remember finding it pretty dull until the two leads get together as adults, and I only ever rewatch the second half. 

4. Oh Boarding House! 

In general Japan and Korea are pretty good on their hooks (they don’t have as much time for fart around with as Thailand). But I wasn’t into this one as it didn’t know if it wanted to be a sitcom or a BL. Once it decided to be a KBL I really enjoyed it, but I doubt I will ever rewatch the first few eps. 

5. Gameboys 

I could not get into the premies of this one. Too close to home in terms of quarantine at the time and also I’ve never been one for online gaming or dating. And I could not see how they would manage all chemistry dynamics with separated characters. They defied the odds, and I was impressed, but it took me a while and it’s not a rewatcher for me. 

6. HIStory 2 Right or Wrong 

An odd one to pick, but I think many are with me that it’s the neglectful parent aspect I found really off putting. I got over it because I like the pair dynamic so much, but it’s still hard to watch a single dad be that much of a deadbeat and still sympathize with him finding love. This is the reason I don’t rec it as much as I normal would for a BL that hits all my buttons (age gap, teacher student, out gay, accepting bi, tiny family). 

7. So Much In Love

One of those Thai pulps I don’t talk about much because its hard to find and not good. Except... I really liked the premise, I enjoyed the leads and the horror elements. It’s on this list because I am glad I gave it a chance and stuck with it. And if it ever got picked up by GaGa I would probubly watch it again. 

8. Ingredients the series

Ooof it’s so SLOOOOOWWWWWWW. But then, I switched off that part of my brain and was like, ahhh.... this is the bubble bath BLs, just relax and enjoy. 

9. Love Sick 

Becha didn’t guess this one? Look, go back and rewatch that first ep. OMG is it lousy. Nothing happens, it’s chaos, there’s too much time spent on other couples. It’s a terrible opener. Fair though, because it didn’t know what it was, or what it was doing yet because it was the one to break that ground in Thailand. 

10. Why R U?

Topping the list. What can I say? I HATED SaifahZon. Like deeply disliked Tommy’s character in the first ep, their dynamic, just everything about them, and originally were to lead-out this show out. I didn’t like it at all until the focus turned to FighterTutor. And honestly it was mostly Zee who won me over. (Those soft soft eyes of his.) Have I come around to SaifahZon? Mostly... I still prefer FIghterTutor tho. 

 Honorable Mention

Secret Crush On You - I basically had to stop/start, fast forwards, finagle my way through the first 6 eps of this show. And some of the rest of it too. It’s too cringey for me, yet the queer rep is so wonderful. The struggle is real.

Triage - it’s airing right now and I never rec a BL I haven’t finished. But I hated the time loop premise going in (I am NOT a fan of Groundhog Day). ALSO I had seen and actively disliked the short it’s based off. ALSO I was never a huge fan of this lead pair. And yet it was just high enough concept and well enough done in a medical setting (my weakness) for me to REALLY TRY... It took me three eps to get into, but now it’s one of my current favorites. I hope they land it well, it’s really pretty special. 

Vietnamese BL in general. Look they don’t really have a system down yet, so they often open a little weak, slow, or awkward. Because this is their style, I kinda always give the a pass on the first few episodes. But we all have to be okay with this if we are going to watch VBL because it doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.  

(source) 

I am genuinely curious, what are some of yours? What did you start and then stop? What made you drop it? Why did you pick it back up again? 

#BL rec list #bls worth sticking with #Vietnamese BL #Triage the series #recommended bl #Secret Crush On You #Why R U? #Love Sick the series #Ingredients the series #Thai BL #So Much In Love #Thai BL pulp #HIStory 2 Right or Wrong #Taiwanese BL #gameboys the series #pinoy bl #Oh Boarding House! #Korean BL #He’s Coming To Me #DNA Says Love You #2gether

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Mod Talks #1: The Progression of Toko Fukawa.

//So, as you all no doubt have noticed, for these last few days, we’ve been having very in depth discussions about Danganronpa 3, and certain writing choices in the series that we agree with or disagree with, and it got me thinking about a new idea for a short side-series I could do on this blog.

//Introducing Mod Talks. Which basically involves me doing two things.

Me giving a comprehensive analysis and opinionated discussion on certain characters, story points or writing decisions from the main series.

Explaining my thought process on how I carried that over to Danganronpa Survivor.

//What I aim to achieve with this is that I want to hear more people’s thoughts and opinions on the topics that I carry over. I’m not necessarily looking for feedback on how I write Kodaka’s characters, or necessarily looking for comparisons. I really just want to have more in-depth discussions with the followers like we’ve been having recently.

//You might have thought that I would start this series off with an analysis on Kuripa, since I did already mention I would be making a long post exploring his backstory (or what is known of it) and my thought process behind his character and his goals. But I decided I actually wanted to start on a different note and get to Kuripa eventually later down the line.

//The main reason being that he plays a significant role in this arc, and lots of things related to his character happen in this part of the story, so I want to wait until we get to that point to discuss it further. For now though, as you can see by the title, I’ll be putting my attention on the protagonist who seems to have the last amount of time in the limelight for now: Toko Fukawa.

//And Genocide Jack as well of course.

//Because if I’m being perfectly honest, Toko losing the first weekly poll kind of made me sad. It’s not that I don’t get it, but I’m actually proud of how I’ve done Toko of all characters in this series, and I want to talk about my thoughts and feelings.

//This discussion will be going over her history, and how she has changed as a person from when she was a lonely young kid, and now in Survivor as an adult mother.

//I also want to hear yours, so don’t hesitate to give feedback. Like I said, the main purpose is to discuss thoughts, feelings and opinions with you guys, because I’ve come to find that I really enjoy it.

//Let’s get started.

Toko in THH.

//The first question I think people would like to know with my discussion is what my opinion of Toko is in the canon games. So I’ll start with Danganronpa 1, when she’s first introduced, and I’ll just be straight up with everyone...

//I didn’t like her AT ALL.

//Frankly, Toko was my second least favourite character in that game, and one of the worst in the series for me for a long while. 

//To me, the only thing in Danganronpa 1 that Toko was involved with in any significant way was the Genocide Jack twist in Case 2. Everything else she did in this first game was pointless and annoying. And not even having Genocide Jack as an additional character in the roster saved her.

//Talking about them both individually, Toko on her own had a lot of things wrong with her. She had multiple negative personality traits that to me made her extremely unlikeable, the main one’s being that she lashes out at anyone regardless of what they say to her, she’s generally rude and nasty to people for little to no reason, and she’s also insanely dirty minded and her words make me really fucking uncomfortable.

//On top of this, her whole thing about falling in love with Byakuya and dedicating herself to him got really old, really fast, and I was not about it. Following Chapter 2, to make things worse, it basically became her whole character: Byakuya’s sole follower, who he treated like shit. And aside from that, there really wasn’t much else.

//Genocide Jack on the other hand is a bit more fleshed out, since she’s got much more personality than Toko. However, she suffers from the complete reverse problem, since she has TOO MUCH of it.

//Those who read the blog’s story might notice that the amount of times that Genocide Jack appears in the main story over Toko is severely minimal, and I’ll say right now the reason for that is because I don’t really know what to DO with her. There’s so much to unpack, and since GJ is just pure craziness, it’s really hard to fit her into any sort of social situation. 

//On top of that, Toko is also incredibly hypocritical, and not in the good kind of way. She explains at intervals in DR1 that she does honestly want to make friends. However, every time anyone (Hina being our prime example) tries to compliment her or be genuinely nice, she pushes them away and shoves words in their mouth. All the while feeling sorry for herself.

//I know that this is probably the point and she’s written this way for a reason, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. And I most certainly DON’T. It’s not like I don’t think self-deprecating characters in media and games shouldn’t exist, but this is an inhuman level of self-loathing. 

//Given her backstory, it’s clear Toko had a major fear or rejection, which explains why she acts the way it does. What it DOESN’T explain, is why she continues to pursue Byakuya for a LONG TIME even after DR1 ends; who as a reminder, rejects her CONSTANTLY.

//I don’t attribute my dislike for Toko to being poor character writing however. There are few holes in her overall backstory and it’s not like her attitude goes unexplained. However, even explaining it, while it does make it more well-rounded, doesn’t make her a character that I can sympathize with.

//With that in mind though, I’d like to start talking about my thinking process when it comes to Toko’s backstory, and a lot of elements that happen within it.

Toko’s Backstory and the Existence of Genocide Jack. 

//One of the interesting things about Toko’s backstory compared to every other DR backstory we know of is that her’s actually can be traced back to the moment she was born.

//I’ll try and lay it all out as best as I can, but right from the get go, I’ll say that Toko’s past and the life she’s lived before she first met Makoto and the others in DR1 was just as unstable and messy as she is herself.

//When Toko was born, she was born at the same time as another child in the hospital. This other child was born with a severe medical incapacity, that ended up taking it’s life the very same day. 

//This kind of situation isn’t necessarily uncommon in the real world, however, another aspect was discovered about the situation, being that the two women who gave birth to the two girls had both slept with Toko’s father. And due to a mix up with the hospital involving this, the professional’s were not able to figure out which mother was the one that gave birth to Toko, and which one gave birth to her late half-sister. 

//When Toko explains this to Komaru in UDG, Komaru points out that a blood test may have been able to resolve the issue. While this is correct, Toko affirms that both mother’s declined the exam. As a result of this decision, Toko ended up living with a father and two mothers.

//The normal expected decision to not taking the blood test would usually be to not live with the guilt that your child could have died. This however, is not the case, and Toko very quickly came to realize this; in reality, both mother’s WANTED their child to be the one that died, not the reverse.

//It’s never explicitly stated why, but the obvious conclusion to reach, and the one that I go for with Survivor, is to do with Toko’s father. Neither of Toko’s mother’s were aware at the time that their two girls had the same father, until the day of the birth. Thereby, the child that they were carrying had the DNA of a man who had cheated on them. 

//However, based on the way that Toko talks about her parents, and her specific phrasing when she explains her childhood to Komaru, I don’t think that’s really the case. I came to think about this from Weeby Newz’s character analysis of Toko, hence why I used the screenshot above, so let me reiterate her point.

//For one thing, Toko explicitly states that her father wasn’t married, or even in a real relationship, with either of the two women. At least not to her knowledge. It’s also important to note that Toko’s specific words about the supposed “affair” are “They also discovered that both women had slept with the same man”

//“Slept” i.e. not SLEEPING with. In my eyes, the more likely scenario was that Toko’s father had a one-time fling with both women, and accidently got them both pregnant.

//And as much as that sounds like a reach, it’s also important to note that the conversation in that exact same scene starts like this:

Toko: It’s my mothers fault that she was born inside me. I never thought of them as my real mother’s, not even once. Komaru: Wait, “them” as your “mothers?” Don’t you mean your mother and father? Toko: I’m a novelist, I wouldn’t misspeak like that. I said “them” and I meant it.

//And it’s important to keep this in mind, because it explains my writing process for Toko’s father.

//For those who might have missed it, one of the chapters of “The Life and Lies of Akeru Yozora” Toko opens up to Komaru, Leon, Sayaka and Makoto about how her life with her parents really was, and why it’s making her determined to rescue Akeru from the same childhood.

//In said chapter, it shows the birth of Genocide Jack, at the hands of Toko’s mothers constant abuse. In said chapter, when Genocide Jack is finally born, both of Toko’s mothers succumb to the serial killer, being her first victims and only FEMALE victims.

//Toko’s father on the other hand, is not only spared, but after Toko runs away from home, he decides to take the fall for her. This is my way of saying that Toko’s dad is not the piece of shit that Toko’s mother’s were. He’s still a bad parent for not sticking up for his daughter, but it’s also important to note that he didn’t want the situation he was in just as much as Toko or the mother’s did.

//In context, the only reason why Toko was even living with two mother’s in the first place is for legal reasons. And if the scenario of them both accidently getting pregnant is true, it also explains why they were such awful mothers, since it implies they were both, for lack of better words, hussies, who’s lifestyle’s would be severely interrupted by the burden of a child.

//Putting more focus on Toko’s mother’s however, this same line, Toko practically confirms that it’s because of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother’s is what gave her second personality life. Hence the existence of the chapter where Toko opens up to her friends and classmates.

//If someone is not born with Dissociative Identity Disorder like Toko has, usually an alter would be created as a coping mechanism to abuse and trauma. And from my perspective, this is the exact cast for Genocide Jack. It’s already pretty clear from Toko’s personality alone that she’s had to put up with a lot of emotional abuse and bullying, but to have a split personality, the trauma has to be EXTREMELY severe. Undergoing something like this causes your brain to form barriers that allow a distinct identity to develop and the individual to cope with the trauma by repressing the more distressing details of it.

//And as stated multiple times already, it’s very clear that neither of Toko’s mothers were kind to her even slightly. One of the things she mentions in UDG is that she was once locked in a closet for three days, without any food or water, which developed in her a severe fear of the dark. Going by that same logic, I also attributed Toko’s fear and dislike of taking baths back to the abuse of her mothers, and came up with the idea (which again is mentioned directly in the chapter where she exposes her past to her friends) that her mother’s would scald her arms with hot showers. 

//However, Toko’s life with her parents wasn’t the only issue. Her life outside of home was equally as bad since, as I mentioned, she had to deal with a lot of bullying and abuse from other people too. For example, the time she was framed for a theft she didn’t commit, and as punishment, was tied to a jungle gym with a garden hose. 

//Hence why throughout all of it, Toko’s most valued companion and the one that was taken hostage in UDG was her pet stinkbug Kameko. Since Toko figured the bug didn’t judge her for being herself, like everyone else did. 

//The next important part of Toko’s backstory is the story with her first love. It’s important because it explains, at the same time, how both Toko and Genocide Jack got their Ultimate Talents. 

//The full story is that Toko met and fell in love with a boy in elementary school, who was the only person she ever felt comfortable talking to. When she finds out that he and his family are moving away to a different part of Japan out of her reach, she gives him a sendoff by sending him a love letter confessing her feelings. 

//The result of this was said boy revealing that he actually hated how much Toko used to talk to him, and that he was ridiculed for it often, deciding to get back at Toko by pinning her love letter to the bulletin board to shame her, giving her even MORE emotional trauma to deal with.

//When this happened, one of Toko’s teacher who had read Toko’s love letter reassured her by telling her that she had a real talent for writing. This teacher’s words are what prompted Toko to pursue a career as a writer. 

//At the same time, once learning of Toko’s rejection, Genocide Jack chased the boy all the way to his knew home, and murdered him, thus marking the beginning of Genocide Jack’s killing spree, murdering any boy she came across that she thought was attractive. She confirms this in her own FTE’s.

//There’s a lot to unpack with each aspect of her full backstory, and this isn’t even all of it. Even after Genocide Jack’s birth leading up to becoming an Ultimate, there’s so much more emotional abuse and trauma that this girl went through and was forced to overcome.

//In a later section of this analysis, I will explain a little bit more about how all of this ties into Toko’s character for Survivor, namely her role as a parent herself, but now I want to move onto the most integral part of the discussion, where Toko was arguably at her pinnacle.

The Unspoken Theme of Ultra Despair Girls.

//One of the things about Danganronpa that is consistent throughout the series is that each game has a different main theme. Usually along the lines of “Ideal A VS Ideal B” And I’ll quickly walk through them.

//Danganronpa 1 obviously has the sole theme of Hope VS Despair. And that theme has become a staple of the entire Danganronpa series, arguably being the series most important.

//Hope and Despair are two sides of the same coin, in many senses. Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire about a result and despair is defined as the lack of hope, or lack of such a feeling of expectation and desire about a result.

//If hope is associated with an expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, when we hope we are essentially concentrating on a result. If that result doesn’t occur, then we may fall into despair, which is the lack of the expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. We cannot have hope without despair. They go together. If you can feel hope, then it is equally possible to feel despair.

//This is best represented in the dynamic between Trigger Happy Havoc’s main protagonist and main antagonist -  Makoto Naegi and Junko Enoshima. A boy who believes his one redeeming quality is his overwhelming optimism, and a girl who’s a natural genius talent with many redeeming qualities, but applies it to literally watching the world burn.

//Danganronpa 2 also plays with the idea of Hope and Despair, but it also has another theme that plays very well on the game, especially at the finale. A Terrible Past VS a Better Future.

//It ties into DR1′s theme of the battle between Hope and Despair by elaborating on what comes after it. The moment that defines this is Hajime’s final decision to abandon his past actions and face it’s consequences, while fighting to redeem himself and live a better future for him and his friends.

//Given their past actions as Junko’s terrorist cohorts that were wiped from their memories, this is how they choose to deal with it.

//V3 is a lot more complicated, because there are actually two running themes across the whole game, all of which are different from the typical Hope Vs Despair dynamic: Truth against Lies, and Logic VS Belief.

//The first idea is best represented through the main protagonist, Shuichi Saihara, and his arch-rival, Kokichi Ouma. Kokichi being a consistent liar and Shuichi being a detective who fights for the truth. The penultimate conclusion to this theme is that Truth VS Lies does NOT constitute to Good VS Evil. Sometimes a lie can be a white lie designed to protect people, while finding the truth can lead to a terrible outcome (i.e. Shuichi’s backstory exposing a man for a crime done to avenge his family.) Shuichi even states in the game “Some lies can lead the world to hope...Some truths can lead the world to despair...So I don't think anyone can really say which is more right in the end.”

//Logic VS Belief meanwhile. is best represented in characters like V3′s deuteragonist, Kaito Momota, who doesn’t base his assumptions off anything other than his own assurance and faith in the people around him. While this is narrow-minded at a glance, Kaito repeatedly proves that his assumptions and belief are well-placed. Not always of course, but often enough that Shuichi considers his belief’s when it comes to his accusations. On the other hand, there are characters like Angie Yonaga and again, Kokichi Ouma, who’s assumptions are grounded more in logic and facts, sometimes making them overlook the bigger picture at hand, but also the only sure basis for a grounded conclusion.

//It’s never explicitly stated, but the way I see things with the spinoff game, and what ties it back to Toko, is that Ultra Despair Girls has it’s own secondary theme to the typical Hope VS Despair 

//And that is...Companionship VS Solitude.

//And going further with that, Trust VS Betrayal.

//Elaborating on both for a moment, here’s how I see it. Both Toko and Komaru at the start of Ultra Despair Girls are both in a poor position, and neither really know how to cope. Toko has barely changed from the horrible person she was in DR1, while Komaru starts off as a weak-willed, vulnerable girl.

//By the end of the game, Toko’s attitude has drastically changed, and she opens up to Komaru in a way she never did to Makoto or anyone else before her, and Komaru becomes a much stronger person, both physically and mentally, going from being the one receiving the rousing speeches to the one giving them (like she does for the adults in the secret encampment.)

//And the obvious conclusion to reach is that the development of both these characters can be attributed to one another. Komaru is made a more responsible and down to earth person, taking matters into her own hands and resolving the problem in her own way thanks to Toko’s influence on her. At the same time, Toko, an extremely pessimistic person with little faith in her fellow human, is made to become the voice of reason for Komaru, simply because she NEEDS it.

//And despite their bumps along the way, and how they don’t start off as friends and work together more as allies than anything, the companionship between these two girls is the one and only reason they were even able to Survive the demon hunting game.

//The PARALLEL to this, is Monaca and the Warriors of Hope. Who if you think about it, have the EXACT REVERSE DYNAMIC.

//When UDG starts off, you see as the game progresses just how close these kids are to one another right from the get go, having been through a similar experience to the girls in working together to overcome a shitty situation that they all have been through.

//And for most of the game, their friendship seems strong and genuine, but then you get to the conclusion of the first boss fight against Masaru. Where his defeat against the girls results in him being pulled under and out of sight by the masked Monokuma kids; a scene that obviously reminds Toko of an execution.

//And as the game progresses, this continues happening, and when it does, the other kids really hardly bat an eye, and try to move on. But the more it happens, the more concerned they begin to grow, Nagisa especially who even tries to resolve the situation, strongly desiring to protect the dream he and the other kids share.

//At least that’s what he believes, only to find out that Monaca has been playing him and the other Warriors from the start, never truly intending to be their friend, or helping them create the paradise she promised she would.

//In comparison to Komaru and Toko’s strengthening bond, the Warrior’s who seem to have a strong bond at the start, weaken as a result of Monaca’s secret betrayal. Something I believe goes overlooked often by most people.

//Another thing that people can see from this, is that by the end of the game, Toko has gained every trait she needs to pass as a true Danganronpa deuteragonist, fitting the same traits and actions as the others before her (and no, slapping Komaru to knock some sense back into her doesn’t count as part of it). Doing what all of them did at some point, and rescuing the main character from a truly awful situation.

//Who was it that not only rescued Makoto from the garbage heap, but also kept his spirits raised when things started to look bleak? Kyoko.

//Who was it that restored formality to the group and saved Hajime from falling in Despair forever in DR2? Chiaki.

//Who were the one’s who rescued Shuichi when he gave in and tried to hide from facing the truth? Kaede and Kaito.

//And who was it that saved Komaru from the burden placed on her that she didn’t deserve? Toko.

//Before this point, Toko would not have ever been able to fit that role, but by the end of Ultra Despair Girls, she’s become attuned to being by this girls side, and being the moral compass she needs. And she is GOOD at it. And it’s only BECAUSE she’s grown to care for Komaru, putting herself on the line for her sake, that she is able to do this.

//Toko has lived a life of abuse, bullying, betrayal, doubt, sadness, and unjustness. But none of that matters when someone who truly cares about her is falling into Despair. Meeting Komaru, while she wouldn’t openly admit it even after the fact, was the best thing that could have ever happened to Toko.

//And meeting Toko was the best thing that ever happened to Komaru as well.

Toko in Survivor. How has she changed?

//Now we’ll actually get into my own personal thought process for Toko in this blog. How much she has developed PAST the last time we saw her in Ultra Despair Girls and DR3. And there are three main things to focus in on here:

Her progressing relationship with Komaru.

Her role as a mother.

Her change in lifestyle.

//Keeping in mind what I said about Komaru and Toko having changed and developed one another plays a big role in their characters from the start of Survivor, and how much they’ve changed in the 8 year timegap.

//On Komaru’s side, she’s obviously become a much more confident and eager person. Someone who screamed and cried while fighting for her life back in Towa City, now greets fights with open arms and ready trigger finger. She’s no longer afraid of the threats she faces, and now with Toko by her side, is actively ready to stand against them.

//Toko’s changes are obviously a lot more integral. She doesn’t stutter her words or needlessly blame others anymore, always thinking about the situation at hand before she starts putting words in each other’s mouths. And while she still cares for Byakuya, she no longer idolizes him in the way she did, nor does she have any dreams of pursuing a life with him, instead sticking with Komaru and trying to sort herself out. Even Byakuya admits by this point in time, Toko has become a woman worthy of his attention. Which is why it was so nice to write that one segment of Into the Ocean where they teamed up together, just the two of them.

//I also believe that Toko and Komaru would have started to develop feelings for each other during the timegap. Most people would think it a little odd that they decide to get married almost immediately after confessing to one another, but to me, it’s not that strange.

//They would have had a lot of time to spend together, and they would clearly recognize their love for each other. After all, if you think about it, Toko and Komaru’s dynamic is basically the EXACT SAME as Makoto and Kyoko’s. The Naegi siblings have a lot in common, as you might expect, with both of them being strong-willed people at the core, as well as one’s who have the power to inspire hope in others, but also each having a fair share of inferiority complexes. Toko and Kyoko on the other hand, are more down to earth and logical, and balance their respective partners out.

//And if one of them can grow to care for each other beyond a point that canonically is implied to be more than a friendship, why can’t the other?

//Toko hasn’t completely changed of course. There’s still a lot about her that remains relatively the same from the canon games, mainly that she’s still quick to frustrate, and still isn’t immediately trusting of anyone she meets, however being more willing to give them a chance to prove her wrong.

//But the primary way in which Komaru has influenced Toko is simply by being a genuine friend, partner and companion, teaching Toko how to be more confident in herself, as well as overcoming all of her past trauma’s, slowly but surely. This in turn, would have led to Toko living a much healthier lifestyle than the one she had before, and as of Into the Ocean, it certainly shows.

//Toko’s redesign as of Into the Ocean sports her signature purple, but also a much brighter and happier blue in contrast to her previous designs where her clothes and outfit are much darker all around. She’s also discarded her glasses for contact lenses, and started wearing shorter skirts and leggings, showing her change in attitude and character, and how she’s a lot more self-assured, and confident in herself.

//This is the face of a woman who’s been through a lot of trauma, and through the power of love and companionship, has overcome it. That’s all it ever took.

//And then of course, there’s not only Komaru as her wife, but the newest addition to their family - Akeru. Who the girls decide to adopt as their own daughter.

//Upon finding out her true backstory, Toko gravitates almost immediately towards Akeru when she finds out just how similar the two of them are. Having both been raised by abusive mothers, and having murdered them as a result of the trauma.

//Even after her mothers died, Toko’s life did not get better. If anything, it only became worse. So when Akeru was finally saved from the clutches of Narumi Osone, Toko endeavored to make it so that Akeru didn’t go down the same path...By giving her a family and a new life that she could learn to love.

//Toko has been through some shit, but thanks to this natural progression and strength she has found, she’s able to become the exact authority figure that a young girl needs. Though she lacks in real experience, Toko goes out of her way to do whatever it takes to make sure that her girl grows up happy and healthy in the way she never could, without deflecting her own childhood trauma on this equally damaged girl.

//In a way, she’s doing for Akeru exactly what she did to Komaru. Hence why the chapter of her exposing her past to her friends is so important. Simply to emphasize just how much the girl’s suffering means to her.

Where are we now?

//To end this, I need to make a quick observation of the blog’s current events, and analyse where every main protagonist, the one’s that carry this story, are standing right now.

//First of all, most obviously, Makoto and Kuripa are both HOT MESSES right now. Not just in the wake of the death of Mukuro, but with every bad thing after bad thing that’s been thrown their way, they’ve been severely wittled down to the point where both of them are barely hanging onto sanity. 

//Kuripa obviously isn’t new to this attitude or feeling, but when Makoto is at a point where he’s not only lashing out at the people who love him, but is physically assaulting the wrongdoers; something usually out of character for him, you know he’s going through some shit.

//Hajime is not much better. Obviously he’s currently in an indefinite coma while Izuru takes control of his body, but even before that he was clearly suffering at the hands of a situation out of his control, that he still wholeheartedly blames himself for. 

//The actions of both Ayumu Fujimori and Nagito Komaeda he attributes back to his own incompetence, and believes that most, if not all of what the Future Foundation is currently going through, is his own fault.

//Shuichi and Kaede seem relatively fine, but it’s clear they’re both struggling with their own issues. Shuichi’s will be elaborated on, but Kaede is so severely traumatized by her past, it makes her act out stupidly, and she’s beginning to have severe doubts about herself.

//And Shuichi feels like a fish out of water, having a branch to lead but not quite sure how to take charge when it counts.

//Even Komaru isn’t quite sure what to do, and has made her own handful of stupid decisions. On top of not being there for her brother and being blissfully unaware of the Future Foundation’s fall in wake of her own family’s interests, she also gets so desperate, that she takes matters into her own hands and makes a fucking mess of things.

//I.e. blaming the entire mess on Kuripa with little to know grounds on such an action, and kidnapping and trapping Makoto for “his own safety.”

//And the amazing thing throughout all of this, is that looking at all of these protagonists and comparing to Toko...She is the ONLY ONE who has remained relatively sane throughout the entire pandemic of Despair.

//In Into the Ocean, she comes through as a mediator and protector for Komaru, Akeru and Byakuya on multiple occasions, comforting them when they’re in a difficult situation (very physically in Komaru’s case ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)) and having their back, even when they try to go solo on dangerous missions.

//And in The Monster in Me, she’s the first member of the Future Foundation who defects from Komaru, her own wife’s, authoritarian methods to stop Kuripa and Katagiri, simply because she remains in her right mind and realizes that something is not right, and Kuripa isn’t the sole person to blame.

//This is the same woman who always jumped to conclusions and put words in others mouths out of her own self-loathing whenever anyone tried to have a basic conversation with her. But now she’s thinking more rationally than any of the “heroes” and seeing things for what they are, taking it on herself to sort things out and help them just as she did to Komaru back during Ultra Despair Girls.

//Toko Fukawa over the course of her life has gone from being one of the weakest-willed and traumatized heroes in Danganronpa...to easily one of it’s most confident, rational, and strongest.

#mod talks #mod #danganronpa 1 #dr1 #danganronpa ultra despair girls #drae #toko fukawa

[james-p-sullivan]

I was hesitant when I first saw Yona, I'll be honest. She felt weird, and kinda shoehorned in when compared to the story in the game (and the fact that she's literally not mentioned in the botw), but the rest of totk kinda feels like that to me as well, so in a strange way, she fits! She's grown on me as a character, and I love the idea that there are other domains / Zora residences outside of Hyrule for us to explore or visit later

I know you didn't ask but have my opinion anyway lol

yes!! honestly i felt the same way when she was first introduced, i was like ‘WHO DIS’ but if we constantly reject new characters simply because they weren’t in botw, then we’re gonna have a pretty small cast. i will admit, i was a bit miffed that she was introduced as his fiancé and that we didn’t get to see the progression of their relationship, but at the same time, link was missing for quite a while; it makes total sense.

and don’t get me wrong, you are totally allowed not to like her character, im not saying that you *have* to like her. im just saying that hating her for the sole reason of getting in the way of sidon/link is a terrible take and you should do a lot of self reflection if that’s why you dislike her (not meaning YOU specifically, i mean the general ‘you’, i actually really enjoyed your take lol).

something that some of these asks are mentioning is, of course, representation, but honestly? i think people are getting hooked on this buzz word that makes their argument sound better than the virtue signalling that it actually is. you don’t actually care about representation you just want your ship to become canon. that’s not a bad thing in itself, but the degree that this fandom has taken it to is extremely disturbing.

#i grew up in the naruto and homestuck fandoms and it’s all the same crap over and over again #it borders on fetishizing and im tired of it #you don’t have to like her!!! #but you sure as fuck don’t get to bash her simply because she’s sidons fiancé #and THATS what im seeing the most of #you can hide behind your buzz words #but ive seen it all before #sulley answers #totk spoilers #i just got off work and my brain is fried #im probably not explaining myself correctly

[f0ntainefuturistics]

I beta tested the outlast trials, here’s what it was like:

So I was lucky enough to to be apart of the closed beta test for the outlast trials the day testing dropped after waiting since the gamescom beta announcement, as someone who has been a fan of outlast since the launch of the first game all the way back in 2013 this was a huge honour and I’m glad to say that I participated.

Obviously with any beta test there was bugs, what I didn’t expect was there to be issues with accessing the game itself, however this was easily fixed by changing a setting in the game launch options. I expect that this will be fixed on launch.

The opening cutscene for the game is absolutely brilliant, typical gore and uneasy feelings I’ve come to expect from the series. Cant wait to see it again upon launch! I’ll link it here for those that want to see it before the game comes out.

After the opening cutscene you get to customise your character, don’t worry about the choices you make being permanent as you can always change it in your character’s room just by going to the mirror. Room customisation is also a unique aspect of the game, I enjoyed having my own personalised ‘hub’ to wake up in every time I booted up the game. You can choose the wallpaper, floor and bedsheets as well as a wide variety of items and posters for your room

The tutorial is far more akin to classic outlast than the rest of the game, it’s single player and obviously walks you through the basic mechanics of the game all while introducing the story.

The opening of the tutorial (past the generic press shift to run, space to jump, etc parts) sees your reagent/patient/character whatever you’d like to call them undergo reconditioning, going through different aspects of the stereotypical early 20th century American lifestyle (more so referring to discipline, church, etc.) these are false memories that murkoff is feeding to the player’s character as apart of the ‘therapy’. The introduction of Mother Gooseberry and Dr Futterman is also shown off here as you go to the upper floor of the house and learn that you must destroy any evidence of your previous life so that you, the player, may create your new one with murkoff, all while avoiding mother and many other NPCs.

After the tutorial, seeing other players walk around the facility took a while to get used to but it’s quite fun to watch other players jump about and arm wrestle. Arm wrestling is a really fun mechanic and I had the joy of arm wrestling with a couple red barrels staff members- really wish there was some form of leaderboard for it

The only trial available was Snitches Get Stitches, which is a Coyle/Police Station centric level. I won’t go too much into the plot of the trial since my memory’s failing me with certain aspects but it was extremely fun. Trials can be played alone or in teams of 2, 3, or 4 I’d recommend playing as a team as certain parts of the level get significantly harder when playing alone but it would be enjoyable those who want a challenge.

For those worried that trials will be a dead by daylight knockoff: don’t worry, there’s a lot more to the trials than there is in DBD. There’s several enemies and the objectives are not as simple as doing five gens and escaping (for example in SGS, your main objective is to find the snitch and kill him all while avoiding Coyle and whoever else is lurking around the station)

The ‘combat’ in trials is more of a stun system rather than actually fighting the enemies which is something I was extremely worried about going into this game.

Trials is definitely the most unique outlast title to date, it was an unexpected change but my initial harsh criticisms of the game have been proven wrong and I’m glad!

If you’ve read this far, thank you! There’s definitely things I’m missing from this post and I’m sorry for that- it’s been a while since the beta so my memory’s lacking a bit.

#outlast #outlast trials #red barrels #outlast 2 #the outlast trials #miles upshur #waylon park #murkoff corporation #mother gooseberry #officer coyle #Youtube

[thatangrybitch]

MW2 Rant (Contains Campaign SPOILERS)

I have been dead for a while lol but I just wanted to post bc I feel like I had some stuff to say about MW2. Like this game is pretty good and shit. They introduced some cool new characters I really liked Alejandro, Graves, Rodolfo, and Valeria (i feel like she had more potential) and I enjoy the online multiplayer. Unrelated but the banter between Soap and Ghost is adorable. However there are still some things that bother me

1. I’m so beyond pissed that you need to purchase the vault edition of mw2 to get characters that should’ve been in the game in the first place. They seriously want you to pay $99.00 ($70.00 in some places) for the vault edition of the game to get Price, Soap, Ghost and Farah. These characters are the heart and soul of this game so why the hell don’t you get them for free like I’m so confused.

2. Offline multiplayer sucks ass. Your map options are beyond limited you actually only have 3 maps like are they on crack or something do people not play offline, you can’t customize your guns and you can’t pick an operator. I literally don’t even need to say more. Offline multiplayer is such a dry barren wasteland portion of the game. They just threw it in there for shits and giggles it feels like a demo or some shit.

3. Graves death. Like bro this man died in the most anticlimactic, unspectacular way in the world. He had no last words, no cutscenes or nothing man just got blown off the face of the earth and the game devs were all like “welp that’s good enough for me.” I actually like Graves and thought he was a pretty good character/ villain/ bad guy or whatever he was lol and he seemed pretty central to the story and they just killed him like he was a random enemy. I was actually in denial that he was dead. I was sitting there holding out hope that he would pop up later or we would see him in a secret end credit scene but nope I was severely disappointed.

4. This one is pretty straight forward but I feel like Hassan was the most forgettable villain ever. He didn’t really have a big impact on me but that’s just me.

5. Shepherd’s redesign. I hate when things change about characters (appearance, personality, etc) so I really disliked that they did a complete overhaul with Shepherds design. He’s significantly older and he doesn’t have his iconic mustache he bears no resemblance to his original design at all. The only way I knew it was him was bc of his name other than that I wouldn’t have been able to tell. Why take an iconic character and make them unrecognizable it’s seems stupid to me. Like when I’m excited for a reboot or a remake of something part of that excitement is because I can’t wait to see the new design of the old characters. I don’t want a complete different character. This is a trivial nitpick in this case but this is a rant after all lol.

Well that concludes my rant. I really can’t think of anything else at the moment. Ofc this is all just my opinion, you don’t have to agree with me after all we each have our own views on things and we are entitled to that. I just like to share my rants with the world. Also if I’m ever wrong about anything (campaign, gameplay, or mechanic wise feel free to correct me). I’m always looking for people to share their opinions with me so if you have some thoughts, or rants about Mw2 or anything I write about lol leave a comment. It’s always fun to hear from people whether they be like minded or not. I hope you have a great day ☺️

#gaming #mw2022 #mw2 #call of duty mw2 #rant #general shepherd #philip graves #modern warefare ii #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #modern warfare #gaming rant #call of duty mwii #cod mwii #2023 #multiplayer #cod modern warfare #cod mw2 #campaign

[curestardust]

Dust Watched: Macross Δ Movie 2: Zettai Live!!!

Genres: Action, Mecha, Music, Space // 2h movie // M01 (x)

My experience with this movie could be summed up in a single sentence which is “Slow the fuck down!!”

✧  story  ✧

Obligatory note that I’m not really into Macross or Mecha stuff. I do enjoy it but its plot leaves my brain the second the anime ends, which is kind of a problem when you’re trying to write about a franchise branching across 50 years.

Anyway, this movie is the sequel and ending to the previous one which shows us an Alternate Universe story of the events of the original Macross Delta series.

The biggest problem this movie suffers from is that it tries to tackle about 100 things at once. Character drama, character relationships, character progression, a movie only plot, expanding on the original plot, wrapping up elements of the original plot, wrapping up this movie only plot, referencing the previous franchises, bringing back old characters, introducing new characters, giving character focus to THESE characters, a huge dose of exposition dumping then add a sprinkle space battles in the mix and the flow and tonal shifts of the show felt like *I* was the one sitting in one of the mechas and going at lightspeed.

I feel like I’d need a thesis to talk about the story and not get something wrong so I won’t. All in all, it was your usual affair of Big Bad Mecha needs to be taken down, and then it is. Yay!

✧  characters  ✧

Offta, they really tried to force a lot of things on the characters. The tonal shifts are the worst here; we can go from one scene where Makina is pushing her boobs up against Mirage and they’re goofing around only to then transition into a scene of someone dying a tragic death. A good example of just how much is going on is Bogue; he goes from hating humans still, to losing one of his comrades in battle, to joining up with the humans and taking orders from their commander. All the while, we basically see no reaction from him to all this besides one or two side comments. They try to give Mirage a plotline as well, and it... I mean it’s alright? RIP to all Hayate/Mirage shippers out there tho. And speaking of...

Freyja, oh my dear girl. Freyja (and Hayate’s) plotline gets the most focus even though with everything going on their scenes have a lot less impact than they should have had.

<spoiler> I almost was about to say that the last scene was truly heartbreaking but they pussied out. BRO!!! Show me her passing on properly! Her vanishing into the wind in her lover’s arms would’ve been so impactful but before that can happen they just show the credits? Why?? This an AU, you don’t have to do the “did-she-or-didn’t-she” game here, she is alive in the original series, so just commit to it! <spoiler>

Oh right, almost forgot about them. Yami_Q_Ray, who are even on the cover, went really underutilized which is a big shame. Would’ve loved to see more of them.

✧  art  ✧

The art was also veeery wonky most of the time. The background art were gorgeous, the mechs looked good enough I guess (I don’t know anything about mechs) but the characters... in some scenes they looked like paper cutouts pasted on a background. They lacked detail and depth. The animation was the same. Weird and janky. The CGI looked the best (the inro sequence of Walküre was a treat). The battles were really hard to follow too.

✧  sound ✧

Fantastic as usual. Macross has always been about the music and I’m glad that at least that didn’t disappoint.

✧  overview ✧

In conclusion, I feel like they spent 90% of the budget on the 10 minute long Macross F short in the beginning of the movie. Which I didn’t talk about cause I genuinly have no clue what was going on but damn did it look great.

My Rating: 5/10

#macross #macross delta #dusty reviews

[milfglupshitto]

Shadow of the Sith review

spoilers for the book below:

I’m not sure how best to format this, but I’ll try and list positives first, then negatives, and lastly summarize my final thoughts.

things I enjoyed:

- Luke and Lando as a team! the pair have a vastly underrated dynamic we don’t get to see often.

- ironically enough, Ochi of Bestoon. maybe it’s because I haven’t been keeping up with the comics which I’ve heard have been inundated with his presence, but I thought he was a perfectly miserable character and I had fun seeing him fall apart.

- the TIE Defender my best friend the TIE Defender. the implications of the ship being designed from the beginning to mimic Sith architecture are deeply fascinating to me.

- also on the subject of Sith designs: I really enjoyed the presence those artifacts had in both the narrative and the actual prose. the seeing stone sequence was particularly well done.

- Rey’s family. While some parts frustrated me (more on that below) I enjoyed Dathan and Miramir as characters, and even knowing where their path ended I was still kept in suspense wondering how they would get there.

things I wish were better executed:

- This book was very cameo-heavy. Not necessarily a problem, but if a reader can’t identify if information about an object is being given because it will be helpful later in the book or if it’s meant to remind them that they know this thing already from another source… let’s just say I got a few things spoiled because I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to know them already or not.

- Some of the dialogue and characterization choices felt very… off to me. The guard droid on Polaar spoke in a very human way that had me checking dialogue tags frequently, and many of the elements of Zargo Anaximander’s description and speech patterns had me skeptical at best of authorial bias. The whole scene from Mico Haswell’s perspective where he details prejudices against most of his colleagues and then in the next scene Luke senses all the love and concern those colleagues have for him came off as just too over the top (and at least to me, slightly reminiscent of the “Walk Up Not Out” campaigns they introduced at my school and others to prevent gun violence by encouraging students to approach peers who seemed isolated, blaming horrific violence on mental health issues and placing the onus on the students to solve it rather than the adults who ought to be responsible for the minors in their care), especially given that it’s never made clear if the student he attacked under the influence of the Sith artifact actually survived?

- Lando’s treatment by the story. One of my favorite aspects of the post-ROTJ stories in the EU was the way that the team from the films was able to come together for new missions, unlike in Disney’s sequel trilogy. When I first began reading these stories I was pleasantly surprised by the way that Lando was included just as fully as Han, Leia, and Luke, with his strengths and insights allowed to flourish, which I had unfortunately rarely seen in most of the fanon for that era. While I thought it made since for Lando to be jaded and off his game in this story, after the tragic loss of his child, it seemed that too often he was simply along for the ride, with his contributions dismissed or rendered unimportant by the characters with higher training or more powerful abilities. The idiot’s array scene near the end of the book was refreshing, but I wish he had been able to have more of those moments throughout, moments that make it clear his instincts are correct but in his grief he’s terrified of being wrong and allows doubt to hold him back.

I’m sure there are other positives and negatives I’m forgetting, and I’ll add those later if they come to me. Overall, I enjoyed this novel, and can appreciate what it was trying to do in terms of leading into the sequel trilogy. However, there are certain elements of the story which simply sat the wrong way with me. If I had to rate this book I would say maybe 7/10? As always I’m happy to provide more detailed information and answer any questions for anyone considering whether or not they should read this book.

#book club #shadow of the sith #rating: 7/10 #happy to answer any questions or provide more specific info if asked! #cw for brief reference to school shootings

[mypoisonedvine]

𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 (𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘝𝘐𝘐 - 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙚) || sub!bucky barnes x dominatrix!reader

(𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘐) (𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘐𝘐) (𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘐𝘐𝘐) (𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘐𝘝) (𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘝) (𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘝𝘐)

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 || the finale.

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 || 3.5k

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 || fluff, angst, implied smut, domestic goodness, more EMOTIONS!!!

six months ago...

Bucky wrung his hands a few times before knocking on your door, feeling his heart beat a little faster when he could hear the sounds of your footsteps on the other side. He'd been dreaming of a day like this for so long— the day he finally acted on this secret obsession he had, the day he stopped fantasizing and started realizing— but all this time, part of him had never really thought he'd go through with it. I mean, there's a pretty big difference between jerking off to videos of dominant women and actually getting spanked, slapped, and choked by a dominatrix after paying her an insane amount of money per hour.

But frankly, Bucky needed a big difference from what he'd been doing. He'd been alone for a little too long, he needed someone else's touch before he lost his mind. And he knew that he needed something more substantial than a hook-up, someone who wouldn't expect him to be dominant at all. Even in a kink-less, vanilla hook-up, there’s still an onus of dominance, that’s what Bucky had realised. He’s still supposed to initiate, to guide, to be fully in control… and he hates how it feels to be in control. He’s not used to it, and it doesn’t feel right, and it just makes him sure he’ll do something wrong. So here he was, standing at your door, hoping you’d take away his freedom to do something wrong.

The latch turned and you opened it.

Fuck.

You looked great. Too great, almost overwhelming. Even better than the pictures on your website.

You looked so much softer than the women he saw whenever he searched up femdom porn (yes, that was pretty much the first thing he did once he figured out google— thankfully he had also figured out incognito mode), but your presence was twice as commanding. Your eyes scanned over him quickly and your face stayed annoyingly stoic.

You invited him in; And since then, you’d had him wrapped around your finger.

Even knowing to a certain extent what he was getting into, he could’ve never prepared for how quickly he’d fall for you. Not that he was exactly new to the feeling, but he thought guilt might eat him alive: because of course he felt awful for developing real feelings for you. You were just doing your job and he was falling into the same trap that probably every dumbass client fell into.

Or maybe they actually knew what they were doing and understood how to separate fantasy from reality. He couldn’t decide which one was worse.

He spent a few hours trying to decide while staring up at his ceiling— certainly a better way to spend the time than being social or taking care of unfinished business, right?

But leave it to you to change everything with just three words. Make me yours.

He hadn’t stopped thinking about those words— or about the way you said them— since the moment you spoke them. He hadn’t stopped changing his mind on if he could really believe you were his or not. He wanted to, more than anything; and in those brief moments he did, he felt a joy that he had no idea what to do with.

He frowned as he turned his back towards the mirror, looking over his shoulder to watch his finger run over the fading scars on his back. They’d be gone for good in less than a week, but he knew you had left plenty of permanent marks on him— just unfortunately not those that anyone else could see. He liked the way these scars looked under your fingertips much more than his; he liked everything about being in your arms.

Since you’d texted him to ask if you could have a serious talk with him soon, he worried he wouldn’t get to feel that again. In fact, nothing worried him more.

He was typically antsy as he waited for you to answer the door— he had been since that very first time so long ago— but this felt entirely different: not as jittery, but a thousand times more anxious.

At first he’d been wishing you’d answer it right away, but then he heard your bolt turn and panic landed on him like a dangling anvil dropping on a cartoon character. Suddenly the last thing he wanted was for you to open that door, to be standing there looking all perfect and shit, to smile at him and greet him and invite him in. He didn’t want it; he couldn’t take it.

But you did it all anyway, though it was obviously and immediately a new situation entirely, compared to every other time you’d done it.

You were dressed differently, still formal but definitely toned down. Nothing sexual, at least not objectively. And your smile, though it still made his heart skip a beat just like always, was noticeably softer and maybe a bit sadder.

He stepped in past you, and you surprised him by sitting next to him on the couch rather than across from him on your chair. “Do you want, like, water or anything?” you asked, breaking the silence for a moment.

“No, I’m fine,” he nodded.

Bucky had gotten pretty good at silence these past few years; it didn’t bother him, in fact he barely even noticed it. But this silence made him remember why everyone else hated silence so much: it was heavy and thick and made him overcome with the need to blurt something out. “Everyone calls me Bucky,” he finally admitted. You smiled.

“Do you want me to call you that?” you asked.

He considered your question, trying to imagine you saying it. “I… I used to think it would be better, but now I like the way you say ‘James’ too much.”

“If you thought it would be better, why did you ask me to call you James?” you pressed.

“Because I didn’t want you to know who I was.”

“I know who you are,” you informed him. “I always knew.”

He swallowed as the pit formed in his gut, glancing away to hide from your gaze. “You did a good job of… of pretending you didn’t. You never seemed scared of me.”

“Because I wasn’t. And I’m not.”

He couldn’t imagine how; but then again, if there was any truly fearless woman, he figured it would be you. “I thought you’d beat me up better if you knew what I’d done,” he admitted, almost smiling but not exactly feeling very happy. “Thought you might want… revenge.”

“Surprised that didn’t make you want to tell me.”

He laughed a bit at that. “Yeah, fair enough.”

You asked him a very different question next, one that made his throat suddenly dry: "Have you ever had something that was all your own?" you spoke gently.

"Not for a long time…" he trailed off, letting his eyes unfocus as he stared down at your floor before finding the courage to look up at you again. “Is that what you wanna be?” he asked, already wishing he hadn’t said anything in case it was too presumptuous, but you just smiled back at him in a shy sort of way.

“Something like that,” you mitigated.

His eyes darted around your face— from your eyes glancing away, to your lips that you gnawed on for a moment, to the little crease between your brows— and he found himself leaning forward before he even realized it. “Can I kiss you?” he asked quietly.

You didn’t answer, you just kissed him first; he was so relieved that you did it, too, that you took control so easily and just let him melt into your kiss. As good as it felt to submit to you, he enjoyed the new freedom he had in this moment as well— the freedom to reach up and grab your waist, to brush his hand over your hair, to tilt his head and deepen the kiss further.

It was hard to define exactly where it went from innocent to sensual to sexual, but by the time you were straddling his lap and running your fingers through his hair, it was definitely sexual.

“I want you,” you breathed against his lips.

“Have me,” he offered immediately, “I’m yours. Always was.”

He breathed in sharply when you moved your hips just right to rub up against his swelling cock through his jeans, making him grip your waist a bit harder. “Good boy,” you whispered. “You’re so good, James.”

He believed you this time, finally.

For your first real date, he took you to Coney Island. Not the classiest affair, and he promised to take you somewhere really nice next, but you didn’t mind. It was jarring to see you in casual clothes for the first time, something summer-y and light which was everything opposite to how he was used to seeing you; but he liked it, and he liked knowing a secret about you as you walked through a crowd of carnival-goers that were none the wiser.

He walked you through the fair and explained how he remembered it, showed you the few things that hadn’t changed much. He bought you a hot dog and even won you a prize at one of the games; that one where you throw a baseball and it measures your pitch speed? Yeah, it’s rigged, but he pitched lefty and it seemed to even everything out. (It’s not cheating, okay? It’s beating them at their own game, literally.)

So with a massive teddy under one arm and his waist wrapped in your other, you two walked through the winding pier, under twinkling lights and over walkways towering over the ocean below. And then you fooled around a bit on the ferris wheel. It was the ideal Coney Island experience, for sure.

Bucky didn’t have a ton of friends, per se, but he was excited for you to meet them. Meeting friends was certainly a step, though; hopefully a step you were willing to take, but he didn’t want to ask you to do it without at least having a title to introduce you with.

“I want you to be my girlfriend,” he finally told you.

“I kinda thought I already was,” you laughed.

And so, with more pride than he might have ever had for anything before, Bucky finally got to take you to meet everyone (‘everyone’ being a mix of his friends and his coworkers, who may or may not be his friends because he couldn’t always tell) and say “I want you guys to meet my girlfriend.”

Of course you were amazing with all of them; you continued that tactful “I know who you are but I’m pretending I don’t to be nice” thing that you’d started with him, and everyone seemed to appreciate it. You cracked a couple jokes, everyone laughed.

You lied about how you and Bucky met, or at least answered very strategically. Everyone at least pretended to believe you.

Afterwards, they all said something about how great you were or about how lucky he was. The only thing he ever said back was “I know.”

Now that he could kiss you without breaking any rules, he never wanted to stop. He hardly ever did, actually. He kissed you basically whenever he could get the chance; you two didn’t even go out much anymore because he wasn’t very good at keeping his hands to himself, but you weren’t exactly complaining about staying in. You were too busy kissing him back, and teasing him mercilessly while you were at it, to do that.

You had already found the fastest way to get him needy and begging, not that any way took very long. If you kissed him while you straddled his lap, wrapping your arms around him and slowly grinding against him, he lost it in minutes. And you really seemed to get a kick out of watching him lose it, just as much as always.

It made him realize that the way you looked at him before, in sessions and scenes together, was a lot less of an act than he’d assumed at the time. He just thought you were a really good actress, or that he was really whipped; and maybe the first was true, and the second was absolutely true, but regardless it had become clear that you had it almost as bad as he did from the beginning. It gave him even more respect for how well you controlled yourself, he certainly hadn’t had much self-control at the time— after all the whole ordeal was about losing control, and occasionally about trying to gain it back.

He didn’t ask you to quit your job. He didn’t want or expect you to; but you did cut down your hours, which gave the two of you more time together.

To be totally honest, part of him got a bit titillated to imagine you with your other clients. He didn’t like the idea of other men touching you, but he smirked at the thought of them begging to touch you and being denied; he liked knowing that you didn’t do with them even half of the stuff you’d done with him when he was your client.

But he wasn’t your client anymore. He was your boyfriend, and he wanted the world to know it.

six months later...

He let you struggle to reach the top shelf for a moment, just because you looked cute on your tip-toes with the tip of your tongue sticking out of the corner of your mouth, before he finally relented and helped you grab the bottle of rice wine vinegar.

“Thanks,” you smiled as he set it in the cart.

After that you let him grab everything, content to stand on the end of the cart and push you around as you reminded him what else you needed.

“We’re out of Captain Crunch!” you remembered as he passed the cereal aisle, pointing to try to get him to turn.

“Yes, and we need to stay that way,” Bucky explained sternly, “that shit is addictive. Only way to avoid it is to not have it in the house.”

You frowned but accepted that he was absolutely right, though you groaned when he took you to the refrigerated section to stock up on chicken breasts. “I swear, you would eat these for breakfast if you didn’t think I’d judge you for it,” you joked.

“What’s wrong with chicken breasts?”

“They’re just so… bland!”

“Not if you season them right,” he corrected.

“Which you don’t,” you rolled your eyes. “Come on, at least splurge on some chicken thighs. They’re basically the same but so much more flavorful.”

“Fine, but no more making fun of my cooking,” Bucky decided, placing the breasts back on the shelf and grabbing two packs of thighs instead. “I’m still adapting to 21st century sensibilities.”

“Right,” you nodded, though he caught your smile in the corner of his eye— you knew he couldn’t exactly claim to still be as conservative as he was raised to be in every way.

Like any well-planned grocery run, it ended at the frozen section where you got some fruit bars and frozen vegetables (you had this theory that frozen vegetables tasted better in fried rice than fresh ones, and so far you’d proven him right) and he got a pizza to have for dinner in a pinch. When shopping alone before, he always did self-checkout to avoid being seen anymore than he had to… he still did it with you, but he didn’t even think about who might be looking at him, because all he saw was you.

You drove for this trip, and he always felt oddly soothed by riding passenger with you at the wheel. He liked to close his eyes and lean back a bit, or occasionally look over at you (but if he did it too much you complained that he was being creepy and distracting you). It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that he enjoyed the feeling of you taking control, considering everything, but it was one of those little ways that he hadn’t expected. He just felt so comfortable, so safe with you, and never he felt like he was a burden for asking you to take the lead when he didn’t trust himself with it. And that applied to everything— driving, cooking, speaking up in crowds, all those little things that sometimes made him anxious.

There were some things he didn’t have any trouble being dominant about, though. He was very protective of you, for example, and tended to be uptight about how late you went out for walks or where you should be going alone. And he didn’t struggle to ask you for what he wanted— he was getting a lot better at asking for help, specifically.

He used to ask you to say that you loved him, instead of just saying ‘I love you’ himself, because for some reason it was easier to make you do it first. It started as something he’d beg for in the throes of passion, fingers digging into your skin as his eyes watered (as they often did in intimate moments): please, say you love me— jus’ need to hear you say it, please? And you were always sweet about it in return, of course I love you, James, my good boy, I love you so so much. But then he’d ask you to say it whenever he felt like it— he’d come up behind you while you were reading or cooking or something and kiss the top of your head or the shell of your ear and try to act nonchalant as he asked you love me, right?

You’d laugh and roll your eyes before you answered, but it was, thankfully, always a ‘yes.’ Eventually you figured out how often you needed to say it to make him stop asking all the time, which was probably a little too often.

“I love you,” you blurted out randomly as you turned on your signal and leaned a bit to make sure it was safe to make a left— case in point.

“I love you too,” he answered back with a smile.

“I don’t mind saying it so often,” you added, “but you know that I love you even when I’m not saying it, right? I love you all the time.”

It was a simple question, probably mostly rhetorical, but it hit him harder than he expected. “Yeah, I know,” he managed to get out evenly enough that you didn’t notice he was tearing up a bit.

He put the groceries away while you took the trash out; you liked to keep the fridge pretty organized, and it was an adjustment at first, but by now Bucky had it down pat. Before you, he hadn’t even considered that the contents of a refrigerator could be aesthetically pleasing.

Dinner was leftovers in front of the TV— you two were almost done with Frasier, but after that you had ten seasons of Friends to get through. You had tried to encourage him to watch more challenging stuff— you know, True Detective, Hannibal, dark cerebral stuff with arguably more artistic merit than classic sitcoms— but Bucky had had enough darkness in his life that he didn’t need it in his fiction. Maybe he’d find the time to catch up on the last 80 years of dramas and murder mysteries after he caught up on the last 80 years of comedy.

After dinner you were going to do yoga and Bucky, not in the mood to embarrass himself with that, retired to the bedroom a bit early to read his book— he’d heard a lot about this Harry Potter guy and now that he was on the fourth book and could hardly put it down, he understood the hype. He related a bit to the unwilling war hero in its protagonist; most of the time the series enthralled him, but occasionally something would hit too deep and he’d have to put it away for a couple days. At the moment, though, he was in one of the easy parts where it was just about schoolwork and childhood antics.

He instinctively glanced at the door when he heard you open it— he wasn’t sure how long it had been time-wise, but he’d gotten through quite a few pages— but he only quickly looked up at you as you shut the door behind you, before returning his attention to the book he was reading. “So, Bucky…” you began.

“Yeah?” he mumbled.

“James.”

It wasn’t any one thing that got his attention— not just the tone of your voice or the way it got a bit deeper, not just the look you gave him, not just the way the air of the room seemed to shift all at once. It was everything about you that made his body react instantly. He shut the book and set it aside, sitting up straight to look at you expectantly.

And you seemed to notice his instinctual obedience, considering you just barely smirked at him, raising an eyebrow as he spoke his reply: “Yes, Mistress?”

#sub!bucky barnes x dominatrix!reader #sub!bucky barnes x domme!reader

[awellboiledicicle]

i keep imagining that, post game, the MC playing with their little collection of dieties and introducing them to Ingo because you gotta warn a guy before making him fight god... and Dialga/Palkia just.  “He’s not when OR where he’s supposed to be.” “What the fuck. Hey dad” Arceus turns. “Did you pull this one too?” “..I summoned but one. This is... rather strange.”

And then the three of them just slowly pivot to look at Giratina, who is deeply invested in it’s berries all the sudden. Just deeply interested in the lil details so it doesn’t look guilty. 

“Giratina.” “What?” “Was this part of your doing?” “No.” “Giratina.” A sigh from an eldritch being tends to read more as the brief twisting of all things around it, but it soon passes. “Maybe? I just opened the doors, i didn’t check if anything came through. I just new it would make Dialga and Palkia mad enough to come see what was happening.” Arceus has to will his other children not to give a divine noogie to their sibling. “Put the human back.” Eldritch pouting results in the temporary inversion of existence for the grass under it. The look of celestial parental disapproval didn’t help matters. “You didn’t put yours back!” “MC is still serving their purpose.” “DON’T GIVE ME THAT! YOU’RE BORED.” “And i can return mine chosen at a whim. You continue to not clean up your messes.” “FIRST OF ALL--” Dialga clears its throat in much the same manner a waterfall lightly cleans mud off a rock. “You can’t remember when you pulled him from.” Palkia rolls its shoulders and the vibration feels tangible. So does the impression that it was enjoying teasing its sibling. “Or where.” “So you can’t put him back.” “Because you don’t know how.” Giratina ponders, briefly, if MC’s unconditional love is worth sharing space with these three. The math solves out to ‘yeah’ and once again things twist for a moment. “Fine! I don’t know which layer of reality, what time, what place! Are you happy now? I was wrong, and unlike the great and infallible Arceus, i errored. And i can’t fix it.” A light stomping sends the grass into another questionable turn of reality. “Won’t send him back, will it?” Arceus slowly inclines its head, gaze unyielding and even as ever. “It is well that you acknowledge this. Some maturity has been gained, after all.” Another incline in the opposite direction as Giratina pondered if it’s parent suddenly granted it a mortal set of lungs to be able to feel the weight in the air as it continued. “Work with mine chosen to remedy your mistake and perhaps we will discuss the future-- before your sibling pulls it to us.”

Meanwhile the MC and Ingo are just watching these literal titans make noises at one another and pondering how many pokemon a literal god can fight before passing out. Probably evolves into MC getting a series of Ye Olde Texts because while they could all talk in Mc’s head, it’d overwhelm them if arguing started and also its easier for them to just show ingo the arcphone.

Also so i can imagine Ingo going home to Emmet, supervised by MC who is now just being popped around the multiverse as much as Arceus feels like exploring in effegy. mostly so i can also imagine the giant fuck off battle the subway twins would have against the player character. imagine them having to borrow a stadium just because it WILL get wild, it WILL be big, and it WILL contain god

#mok thoughts #pokemon #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon ingo

[darling-i-read-it]

May Queen

Pelle x reader

Word Count: 3.7k

Warnings: being indoctored into a cult, murder, suicide, basically the plot of midsommar

Author’s Note: This can be seen as a sequel to ‘Hug’ or it can be read on it’s own!

yeah i was a little excited that you guys wanted this one lol I don’t know if you can tell. I’ve seen this movie enough, it was about time I did something within the events of the film. I also referred to the script so some of the lines will be familiar! I hope you all enjoy!

Requested: by anon, omg your pelle fic wow; would you consider doing a sequel to it that either takes place during the events of the film or just before they arrive at Pelle's commune?

Requested: by anon, I would LOVEEE to see a sequel with pelle cause that was a pretty good fix and I think he deserves a bit more attention, I personally would like to see something happen during the events of the movie just because I think it would be interesting to see but that's just me

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director/creator

(not my gif)

“You think that Pelle asked you to go just because I’m going?” Dani asked, messing with her fingers. You were standing beside your bed, packing your suitcase slowly. Dani had already packed; she didn’t like to be unprepared.

“I don’t know...maybe he thought you would enjoy yourself more.”

“You’re acting like I’m the one who’s been dating him for these couple of months,” she told you. She was sitting on the bed, looking up at you. You nodded a bit, putting another pile of clothes inside.

“I know. I guess I’m just nervous. Meeting his whole group, going to where he grew up. I mean. I really like him. What if I fuck it up?” She shook her head and reached over to grab your arm. You looked her in the eyes.

“He really likes you. I can’t remember the last time Christian looked at me the way that Pelle looks at you.” Her eyes were honest. It made you feel bad. You should have gotten her to break up with Christian when you got the chance. But it was too late now; you were all going to Sweden.

“I suppose you’re right. Per usual.” She smiled weakly.

“Finish packing.”

=======

Pelle almost wanted to tell you about the whole thing. When he was on the plane, it crossed his mind to let you in on the whole scheme of things. The May Queen, the festival, all of it.

But he bit his tongue. That was tradition.

You arrived in Sweden well and took the trek up to where the first stop was. It was beautiful. Truly, it was stunning.

Pelle held your hand the whole way until you arrived at the first spot. There were people around the grassy hills, scattered around. Pelle got out of the car.

“These are other people from America that my friends have brought!” he exclaimed. He gestured to the many people around. You looked around, gazing at the nice afternoon. He grabbed your arm and started to drag you along.

“Hey, don’t rip it off!” you joked and he eased up.

“Sorry, I’m quite excited!” You smiled sweetly at his happiness.

“Me too!” He approached some people and started to introduce them when a man behind you started to yell. You turned around quickly, surprised at the loud noise. Pelle turned around too and his smile only grew.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said and then ran over to the approaching man. They embraced each other, hugging tightly.

“Everyone, this is my brother Ingemar. Ingemar this is Christian, Dani, Mark, Josh and my girlfriend, Y/N,” Pelle said. Ingemar followed where Pelle pointed, shaking hands with everyone. He paid special attention to you, his smile getting wider. You could tell that he and Pelle were related.

“Nice to meet you all. This is Simon and Connie from London,” he said, gesturing to the others behind him. “Simon and Connie this is Pelle and...all the names I just remembered two seconds ago,” Ingemar said laughing. Simon and Connie said hello. “Perfect timing by the way.”

Ingemar pulled out a bag of mushrooms from his pocket. Your eyes went wide.

“We just took these five minutes ago. Haven’t even started feeling the effects yet,” he explained.

“Oh shit!” Mark said, happily.

“Do you all want to take it now or should we get settled in?” Pelle asked.

“Fuck it, let’s take it now!” Mark said. You weren’t too sure about that. You trusted Pelle and everyone of course but in the new environment...it rubbed you the wrong way. Thankfully, Dani turned to speak to Christian about it.

“I think I want to get settled in first.” Christian was about to speak but you cut him off.

“Me too. You guys go and have fun, we’ll keep each other company,” you said. Pelle turned to you.

“Are you sure? I assure you it’s safe,” he said in a soft voice. You smiled kindly and put a gentle hand on his arm.

“I know! I just wanna get settled. Dani and I can handle ourselves, I promise.” He gave you a longer look, just to check that you were alright and then nodded. You turned back to Dani who grabbed your arm desperately.

“Thank you,” she whispered. You nodded.

“No thank you.”

=====

It wasn’t until the next day, Dani’s birthday, that you were able to get on further. You and Dani played some card games that you had brought with you while you waited for the effects to wear off for everyone else.

Christian came over to sleep beside Dani, still high. Pelle came over to you and braided your hair and then unbraided your hair, making very long sentences that didn’t make sense to whisper in your ear.

But when you arrived at the commune it was bright and sunny. Pelle rushed around, hugging people and introducing you and the group to everyone. You were able to get some blankets to sit on the grass, while everyone got their things together.

There was a group of girls dancing around in circles, wearing all white.

“You should go join,” Pelle suggested, gesturing to you and Dani. She shook her head a bit.

“Oh no, I’m too scared,” Dani said sheepishly. You nodded in agreement.

“Maybe another time.” Christian stood up.

“Hey can I join…” he started turning to Pelle.

“You’re American. Just jam yourself in,” he said. Christian nodded and walked away. “I think I’ll join him,” Simon said and was quickly followed by the rest of the group except you, Pelle and Dani. There was a moment of silence as you watched them go.

“Hey, just real quick,” Pelle said, digging for something in his pocket. He took out two pieces of paper and handed them to you and Dani. You both opened them to reveal gorgeously drawn pictures of yourselves wearing flower crowns. “For you Dani, think of it as a birthday present. For you Y/N, I imagine it’s a thank you present.”

“Oh Pelle,” Dani said. “It’s beautiful, thank you.”

“Thank you for what?” you asked, brushing your finger over it. He smiled and shrugged.

“Just a thank you.”

“Well thank you for it,” you said. “I got Dani a new sweater. Christian forgot.” Pelle raised his eyebrow and you shared a look.

“I forgot to tell him...it’s my fault,” Dani explained. You shook your head.

“I tend to disagree,” you muttered. You folded the picture back up and put it in your pocket. You put your head on Pelle’s shoulders “But I think Christian is rude.”

“Perhaps you are too judgemental,” Pelle mused. “But I tend to agree with you regardless.” You and Dani laughed a bit. “We should probably go and catch up with them in case they get lost.”

=====

You got settled in in one of the large buildings, plenty of beds against the walls. Pelle was on the bed to your right while Dani slept on the one to your left.

“All right, beauty rest! Tomorrow’s a big day!” Pelle announced. You had one of the books you had brought open on your lap but you looked up at him.

“What’s tomorrow?” you asked.

“First of the big cerinomines,” he said mysteriously.

“So you’re just going to be weird and cryptic?” Josh asked, laughing a bit. Pelle pauses and then took Josh's notebook, writing something inside. You made an attempt to look but it was not a word that you recognized.

“What’s that?” Christian questioned. Pelle shrugged and laid down in his bed. You faced him, on the bed beside him.

“What is it?” you whispered to him. He gave you a teasing smile.

“It’s hard to explain.”

“I will come over there and tickle it out of you,” you threatened. He chuckled and turned around so he wasn’t facing you. But he put his arm back behind him, reaching across the space between your two beds.

You grabbed it and rubbed his knuckles anxiously.

=====

There was a very odd breakfast the next day but you tried not to judge. You wanted to really appreciate Pelle’s culture and understand it. He had admired you for your understanding and he knew you would make an effort.

That’s why he chose to love you.

You were the obvious choice.

After that you walked out to a cliffside where most of the people were already out and lined up. You were curious to find complete silence. Everyone was silent as it happened and you were able to do nothing but watch as these two elderly people stood up on top of the cliff.

When the first person, a woman, jumped, you grabbed Pelle, putting your hand in front of your mouth. He grabbed you and wrapped his arms around you but it didn’t change the look of serenity on his face.

Simon was standing next to Ingemar yelling as the man approached the cliffside.

You had your face in Pelle’s arms. You were shaking.

“It is the way of life,” he whispered to you. Simon was still screaming. Another elder was talking to him and you could feel Pelle want to move toward them but he stayed beside you. “It is our way of recycling them and their gifts.”

You pulled away from him and shook your head a bit. You met Dani’s eyes. She wasn’t showing much emotion other than shock. You didn’t blame her.

“They’re dead,” you whispered. He nodded and put his hands on your upper arms.

“And it is an honor to have died that way.” You weren’t sure how to feel. You wanted to be understanding, to try and understand him and his ways. You would want that from him. But he should have prepared you more for that.

You walked over to Dani and walked beside her on the way back to the houses.

=====

“I’m leaving,” Dani said.

“I don’t blame you.” She was already packing a bag. You sat down on your bed, head in your hands. You took a deep breath and leaned back on the bed.

“Are you coming with me?” she asked. Her voice was shaking. She was clearly shaken up by all of this.

“No,” you muttered. “I’m not leaving Pelle yet.”

“Not even after that?” Her voice was quiet but it was urgent. You shook your head a bit.

“I just have to talk to him. He should have warned us more, of course but....it’s what he’s been raised to believe is normal. I don’t think I should think of it as a bad thing.”

“We just watched people die!” You stood up off the bed and put your hands on your upper arms, steading her.

“You can go home and I will not blame you. In the slightest. I just think I should stay longer,” you told her. She nodded solemnly. She took a deep breath in through her nostrils and nodded again.

=====

Before bed that night Pelle approached you. You were standing outside of the bed house, leaning against it to try and clear your thoughts. You almost completely ignored him but in the end you locked eyes with him as he approached.

“I’m sorry I didn’t give you adequate warning,” he said sympathetically. He grabbed your hand and held it. “I thought you would understand but I know now that it was wrong of me to assume.” You shook your head quickly.

“I understand it was just...a shock,” you muttered. He nodded and kissed your forehead softly.

“You are completely safe here. I want you to know that.” He looked you in the eyes when he said it. You believed him. You nodded back and gestured to the house.

“Let’s get some shut eye huh? And maybe warn me if we see another person...you know.” You made a slicing gesture across your neck. He laughed gently and nodded, placing a hand on the small of your back and leading you inside.

=====

Dani walked up to you, still distraught but less so. You were standing beside Pelle the next day as he kneeled in front of the ground picking some vegetables. You turned to her as she walked up, ready to handle whatever she was about to throw at you.

“Hey,” you said, taking the step away from Pelle and toward her.

“Hi. Did you see Simon left without Connie?” she asked. You raised an eyebrow and shook your head.

“Seriously? What a dick.” She clearly felt a little bit off put by it so you lowered your voice. “You think it’s weird?” Dani nodded a bit.

“I don’t know...it’s a little weird. They seemed so close.” You nodded. They did seem close.

“I don’t know...something to keep in mind I suppose.” She nodded quickly in agreement.

======

Dinner that night was simple pastries. You were pleased. The last food they had given you wasn’t your kind of taste. You sat between Pelle and Dani again.

“Have you seen Connie?” Dani asked you quietly. You shook your head.

“Excuse me but I know what happened,” a man sitting beside Mark said. “Her boyfriend called the landline from the train station. She begged us to drive her so we took her down to the station.” You nodded slowly, glancing at Pelle. He shrugged, seemingly in agreement.

“Why would Simon leave without her?” you asked quietly.

“I can see you doing that,” Dani muttered at Christian. You wanted to laugh so you turned to Pelle, sneaking a smile. He shrugged with a smile on his face also.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Christian asked.

“Nevermind.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Pelle said quietly, so only you could hear. You ate a bite of the pastry proudly.

“You’re damn right.”

======

One of the important books was stolen that night. They announced it at breakfast.

“Where is your friend Josh?” one of the elders asked, after breakfast. You, Christian, Dani and Pelle all stood in front of the two elders, caught like a deer in headlights.

“I know. We have no idea,” Christian said.

“He and your other friend disappear in the same day. You understand how that looks.”

“Yes obviously, but we swear to you we are not a part of this,” Christian said. Dani shuffled a bit.

“We did see Mark go off with one of the girls last night,” she said.

“Which girl?”

“Inga,” Pelle said.

“But Mark wouldn’t have done this. Josh, though, he came to bed with us, and when we woke up, he was gone. And if he did take that book, I just pray you understand we do not identify as friends of his, or collaborators, or anything. I certainly don't vouch for him and we'd be so embarrassed to be connected to this in any way,” Christian explained.

“I feel responsible,” Pelle said. The elders nodded a bit.

“Well you and Odd can go looking. Perhaps you can redeem them,” one of the elders said. You didn’t want Pelle to leave. You didn’t like it when you were separated here. You believed him when he said you were safe but...it was still a little odd. “You two will be going with the women for the day’s activity,” he said to you and Dani. “And Siv asks to see you in her house,” she said to Christian.

You glanced at Pelle as he left. He grabbed your hand and squeezed it, almost saying ‘do well!’.

=====

You and Dani got dressed in white shirts with flower crowns. It made you a tad bit nervous but at least you had her.

She gestured to the drink they were handing out. Cups had been given to both of you to drink it.

“Can I ask what’s in this?” Dani asked one of the girls.

“It’s...tea for the dancing competition.” You raised an eyebrow but took a glass anyway. Dani looked back at you and you shrugged.

“I’ll beat you,” you muttered.

“Try me.”

You both took drinks of the tea.

Your head became fuzzy the second it hit your throat. You hadn’t taken those drugs before hand and you almost didn’t want to do it now but it was already done. Your feet were moving along with the girls, tossing bodies left and right it felt like.

You lost sight of Dani very quickly.

You were running and jumping and laughing until the elder lady yelled to stop then you kept dancing.

Dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing.

Dancing.

It seemed to go on forever. Your mind was hazed, your head hurt, your glances were so quick they gave you whiplash. You were smiling brightly when they announced they were down to the final eight. You finally saw Dani again, in the eight with you.

All of the fallen dancers had sat off on the side. You saw Christian, looking hilariously out of place. And Pelle.

Your heart swelled with love for Pelle. You could barely know anything else for a moment as you stared at him.

You couldn’t see it but in that moment, Dani believed she learned how much she hated Christian.

Then more dancing.

People were speaking and then it was just you and Dani, holding hands, dancing around in a circle, tired and out of breath. She stared at you and a smile went over her face as she held your hand.

And then she tripped. You stopped dancing and someone ran up to you, putting their hands on your shoulder.

“It’s over?” you asked.

“You are our May Queen!” they yelled. You were still hazzed. Each face looked the same. The people running up to you were strangers but you felt nothing but warmth for them. They placed a different flower crown atop your head.

Pelle ran up to you smiling brightly.

“Wow! May Queen, my love!” he said, giving you a strong kiss, both his hands resting on your cheeks. You were smiling brightly and then he was gone. You didn’t want him to go.

They carried you on a platform to a dinner table where you sat at the head, Dani beside you and Pelle on the other side as usual.

One of the elders stood at the end of the dinner.

“Now it is traditional for the May Queen to bless our crops and livestock. And after the luck you just inherited from that salt herring, we should all be doubly encouraged.” You looked around nervously.

“Can Pelle come with me?”

“No. The Queen must ride alone.”

You were starting to come to your own and realize how crazy this all was. How did you get here? How would you get out of here? You found yourself hoping you didn’t get out of here though. This felt like home. Some form of home. As you walked to the carriage you saw a glimpse of the pride on Pelle’s face.

It made you immensely happy.

======

They made you do a ritual in Swedish and you did your best with the limited knowledge of the language you knew. You went to Siv’s house, where she blessed you. You wondered where Dani was. You hoped she was alright. You should have let her become the May Queen. You should have let her win, just so you knew she was alright.

The women left you alone for only a moment where they ushered Pelle into the house with all of the beds where you were. He was still smiling that bright smile as he rushed up to you, hugging you tightly to him.

“You have no idea the amount of honor and pride you have brought to me. I am so very proud of you,” he said, cupping your cheeks. You tried not to get too flustered with your smile in return.

“So I get my picture up on that wall?” you questioned. He nodded pleasantly.

“Yes you will!” He kissed you passionately and you let him, allowing him to dip you a bit. “And you will be allowed to stay here, with the family.”

You didn’t even react. You didn’t feel the need to.

“With you?”

“Yes of course. You will be mine and I will be yours.”

You nodded happily.

“Where is Dani?” you asked.

“She is alright, she’s with the other women preparing. She is also going to stay.” You wanted to laugh of joy with that. “It is time for the final of the ceremonies,” he told you. “You will finally be able to give Christian what you think he deserves, if you wish it.”

He placed an even larger flower crown atop your head.

“And a dress as well, to fit a Queen.”

He gestured to the large flower dress in the room you hadn’t even noticed. He kissed you once more.

“It is time for the final ceremony. I’ll help you put on the dress. Are you ready?” he asked. He looked at you patiently. You nodded.

“Yes, I am.”

#pelle x reader #midsommar imagines #pelle imagines

[fridge-reviews]

The Best Games of 2021

Welcome to the my personal list of games I enjoyed this year. That’s right it’s my list, feel free to disagree with me but it won’t change anything. Anyway here are the rules;

1. These are games that I’ve played and reviewed this year. 2. The only order to this list is the order in which I reviewed them, its not a top 10, these all feature because of how good I consider them to be. 3. The games don’t have to have been released this year.

With that all said, lets get into it.

Ori and the Blind Forest

Ori and the Blind Forest is a stunning looking game but beyond that also provides a challenging experience. There wasn't a moment in this game that I wasn't thoroughly enjoying myself and so it deserves to be in my list.

Darkest Dungeon

I was so sure I'd hate this game, all the media I'd seen about it had told me it would annoy and frustrate me. So imagine my surprise that not only did I not hate it but instead loved it! It's got tactical combat, a bit of light city building and resource management... All things I love. Throw on top a dark and dreary story filled with eldritch horror and it had me hooked.

Doom Eternal

The sequel to 2016's Doom this game had big shoes to fill. One could argue that it failed to do that, but that was always a going to be an incredibly hard goal to attain. What Doom Eternal did do was come at the right time for me, after being stuck indoors for most of a year it was exactly what I needed to vent out a bit of pent up anger and it did so with great efficacy.

Spiritfarer

Oh, this game... I loved this game. It made me cry several times not always from the feeling of loss but also the joy it inspired. I'm also impressed with how the developers have continued to support the game by introducing new characters (though they have now stopped doing so and, fittingly, they have said goodbye).

Chicory: A Colourful Tale

This is a game I backed on Kickstarter on a whim, and I'm so glad I did so! While the game does touch on several delicate subjects I found that it was incredibly positive in the message it was trying to deliver.

Titanfall 2

One of my friends badgered me into playing this game, right up to the point of buying it me because he knew I'd eventually get around to it. Well, I'm glad he did. This game was far better than it had any right to be and while the campaign may be short it definitely makes an great impression.

Metro Exodus

I've been a fan of the Metro series for as long as it has existed (as a game) but I worried how they were going to continue the series or even if the series would continue at all. Now having played this game I actually don't want another. This game ends it all perfectly... Also it finally made me pick up the books the games are based off of.

Loop Hero

Loop Hero was unexpected, I'd heard about it a little from various podcasts but none had really gone into detail as to what Loop Hero 'was'. Having played and completed it, I totally understand why, there's really nothing like it, or at least there wasn't. A unique concept well executed.

Dying Light: Enhanced Edition

When I picked up Dying Light I thought I was going to see nothing more than a rehash of Dead Island. In a way I was right, but I was also very wrong, when comparing the two Dead Island feels unfinished and lacking polish. The combat is frantic and gory and the scenery... Well its just stunning.

Griftlands

I've played a lot of deckbuilding games in my life, both virtually and physically. I'd like to think that it's made me something of an expert on them, though perhaps that's a bit arrogant. Griftlands is unlike any deckbuilding game I've seen before actually I can think of one game that has mechanics as in depth as this (even though its not strictly speaking a deck builder) and that's Magic the Gathering. Then this game has not just one great story to tell but four!

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Normally I have little trouble working out which games will make my list, the games just... stand out to me. This year, however, I've had a much harder time of it. I've played some truly high quality games this year and I can't wait to see what next year brings! That being said... Last year I pointed out that there had been a lot of disturbing news coming from the likes of Activision, Ubisoft, CD Project Red and Rockstar. I had hoped they'd buck their ideas up but it seems that they just want to double down on the awfulness that they perpetrated and continue to do so. Thankfully there is a little bit of light in this dark time in the industry, it seems that there is some groundswell and that something like the start of a union is starting to form. I truly hope that this comes to pass, at this point collective bargaining is the only way things are going to change. I wish I had more presence online just so I could perhaps raise awareness about issues like that. Perhaps that's what I'll work on as a project next.

Anyway, that's enough for this year, I hope you all have a great time and stay safe!

#video gaming #game review #games review #game reviews #video games #games reviews #video game #indie games #indie #end of year list #end of 2021 #best of 2021 #not a review #end of year roundup #ori and the blind forest #darkest dungeon #doom eternal #spiritfarer #chicory a colorful tale #chicory #titanfall 2 #metro exodus #loop hero #dying light #dying light enhanced edition #griftlands