#can't wait to keep adding things and improving it too

[loosesodamarble]

Hello, I was the one who requested a few Nacht head canons that you wrote recently. I loved them so I'm here with one more request. It's a very long one so you can ignore it or take as much time as you want. So here it goes: How would the magic knight squads react if they find out one of their members has a crush on Nacht? How would things play out after that.

Oh my! Welcome back then, Anon! Glad you enjoyed them, despite their timing.

….......

Black Bulls

Everyone would have to pause and go "our Nacht Faust?"

And you'd have to confirm "yes, our Nacht Faust. As if there are any others."

Half the squad would bust out in hysterics.

The other half would be dead silent from shock.

Remember, Nacht's first impression with several members was... poor. To say the least. So hearing that you liked Nacht was an experience for everyone.

Asta and Yami are the first ones to cheer you and Nacht on though.

Followed by the likes of Noelle, Henry ("Henry, don't change the floor plans so their room are together. HENRY WAIT!"), Grey, and Gordon.

Vanessa and Finral would be down to set you and Nacht up on a date. And they'd throw in a makeover free of charge!

Gimodelo and the other devils are very excited to see Nacht get all romantic. They just want their master to be happy!

Don't be surprised if the Bulls start calling you to dinner later than the rest of them and doing the same to Nacht so you both are force to sit with each other at the only empty seats.

And there would be other schemes to keep you two in close proximity.

Really, the whole squad just wants to support their squadmates and friends in the very normal endeavor of starting a relationship.

Golden Dawn

William does his best to show a polite amount of interest in your crush. After Nacht's key role in the Spade Invasion, William feels he owes a debt to that man.

And William thinks that he can repay the debt by setting Nacht up with you since you've taken an interest in him.

At best, William offers you opportunities to visit in the Black Bulls' base (delivering paperwork or parcels) if you want to see Nacht in person.

David is the nosiest of the squad and will ask all the details. How you first met Nacht, when you started liking him, do you plan on confessing, etc.

You might start hanging around Yuno if you weren't already close with him. You know, to ask about Nacht's appearances at any vice captain meetings.

Blue Rose Knights

SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP SHIP!

The ladies of the Blue Rose Knights are going to have your back if they find out about your crush on Nacht.

First Charlotte is blushing over Yami and now you for Nacht? It's like the squads are destined for something greater together!

The other squad members will insist that you and Charlotte have a double date with Nacht and Yami. Let your loves bloom together~!

It actually works out relatively well.

You keep Charlotte from panicking around Yami and in turn, Charlotte gives you plenty of openings to initiate conversation with Nacht.

And don't worry. Charlotte will shut down any egregious meddling from the squad.

Like say, locking you and Nacht in a closet without your grimoires so Nacht can't just shadow out of there.

Puli, the brains behind Operation Get the Devil (Host)'s Heart, is going to contrive of a lot of ridiculous scenarios though... Good luck.

Crimson Lion Kings

Nacht puts Fuegoleon on edge. His practices and demeanor aren't ideal in Fuegoleon's eyes but as a loyal Knight of Clover, Nacht is at least decent.

Fuegoleon warmly encourages you in pursuing Nacht. But he also warns you not to get too distracted.

"I don't have any romantic experiences to speak of but adding to your personal life is sure to give you more to fight for as a Knight."

It's just a nice way of saying that getting a boyfriend might improve your morale for work.../lh

Leopold doesn't know Nacht at all but he'd very willing to be your wingman by dragging you along to the Bulls' base when he goes to visit Asta.

I'm sure if you asked, Randall might bring your name up at a vice captain meeting and gauge Nacht's response.

Don't let Mereoleona catch you waffling on your feeling for too long. If she thinks you're being coward about your crush, then her hand might be forced and you'll find yourself doing volcano training alongside Nacht.

I say not in the sense that Mereo has an interest in romance, let alone others' romances, but I honestly think she'd get pissed off to know that a member of the Crimson Lions is being a coward about anything.

Other members of the squad would generally support you and urge you to do your best with getting Nacht's attention.

Silver Eagles

To me, the Silver Eagles are a squad wherein the members largely keep to themselves. It's mostly polite conversation with a bit of gossip from the noble circles.

Most of the Silver Eagles wouldn't pay much attention to your love life, if I'm to be honest.

However, they are an elitist squad (or at least that's their vibe) and with devil possession being Forbidden Magic, some might raise a brow at your crush.

"Even if he's a vice captain, that Faust man can't be anything but trouble. Especially if he's a Bull."

If Nozel hears of your crush, he'll have mixed opinions.

His opinion of devils and devil hosts is abysmally low due to his own history but Nacht proved himself a worthy ally and so not a horrible pick.

Nozel's bad at showing it but he does wish the best for you in your romance with Nacht. You are a member of his squad after all.

Like Fuegoleon, Nozel warns you not to let your infatuation get in the way of work.

Aqua Deers

The Aqua Deer has the vibe of being some free-spirited folks. Not so much as the Green Mantises or Black Bulls, but with a captain as young as Rill, the squad has learned to be able to accept anything.

"Following the captain's example and falling hard for someone, are we?" some will joke with you.

If you can catch Rill during his free time, he two of you could have a heart-to-heart and help each other sort through your crushes.

"Love can happen so suddenly, can't it?" Rill remarks. "Like bolt of lightning or like throwing a palette at an easel! It's bold and messy and scary too! But that's what makes it so amazing, huh?"

I imagine Fragil being a bit of a romantic so she might have some advice based on a romance novel or dating advice column if you went to her. But that's just what I think of her.

Coral Peacocks

Dorothy will be poking her nose into the business of your crush. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!

She's a bit of a gossip. So uh... prepare for Yami finding out via her loose lips.

In her sparse free time, Dorothy will encourage you to practice confessing to Nacht in her Glamour World.

Only to turn on you and tease you with her imaginary versions of Nacht.

This gif of Shouto form BNHA:

Dorothy creates a Nacht version of that to tease you. Good luck.

Kirsch will give you advice on how to be "beautiful" for Nacht to fall in love with you.

Green Praying Mantis

The folks in the Green Mantis squad are largely commoners. They're casual and a little wild.

So I'd imagine some of the more interested parties placing bets on how long it'll take for you to confess or maybe even betting on how you confess.

Some of the members might mention that Jack might've known Nacht in the past but going to him earns you the threat of being sliced apart (Jack being twin blind will be a sore spot for him from now on. No, this isn't relevant but I'm saying my piece.)

I dunno why but the Green Mantis squad gives off the vibes of inviting you and Nacht to a bar to let the alcohol break down your walls.

(Although if you're not a drinker of alcohol, that plan is a bust.)

The squad members would probably go out of their way to mess with the Black Bulls to get Nacht's attention for you.

Which... you might be thankful for the support or you might be horrified by their "plan."

They mean well, really.

Purple Orcas

All I can really say for the Purple Orcas is that Kaiser and her wife would be more than happy to give their insight on starting and maintaining a loving partnership.

#questions from the ask box #awesome anons #black clover #black clover headcanons #nacht faust #nacht faust x reader #nacht faust headcanons #x reader

[annaphoenix1994]

Ch.94 - Ghost the Brat Tamer

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

Photo Credit: @yumethefrostypanda - check out this blog for so many amazing in-game photos! I personally love it myself!

Tags: Heavy BDSM-style smut (heavily inspired by Fifty Shades as I've watched all three movies this weekend - sorry not sorry!)

The dining room in the lodge was full - having to bring in extra chairs in order to seat everyone in both Kiera's family and Simon's. 

Although the family was together, Simon couldn't help but briefly feel overwhelmed with the swarm of familiar faces as they all sat at the table to mingle before the women would bring in the dinner. Simon couldn't quite agree with waiting at the table along with the other men for the food, but Kiera assured him that it was something both she and her mother enjoyed as well as teasing him that "nothing went wrong when the women of the house served the food". 

Kiera took notice of this and gently cupped his knee with her palm under the table, feeling the halt of his tapping leg after feeling her touch. With his hand resting on top of hers, he found himself merely calming down at her touch. "I'm going to go help mom." She whispered, her hand now resting on his shoulder before she excused herself from the table and towards the kitchen with her mother and Price's wife, Alice. 

"Kiera, darling!" Alice smiled, opening her arms to embrace her. "I'm so happy to see you! This place is beautiful!" 

"I'm so glad you made it!" She smiled into the woman's shoulder. "I was worried your flight was delayed because of the holidays." 

She laughed, "Well, knowing my husband, he was sure to get me to schedule my flight early as well as the earliest time in the morning so that if it did delay, I'd still be here a day early." 

"I'm surprised he didn't go and get you himself." She poked. 

"Believe me, I'm sure he's thought about it!" She giggled. "So, what presentation can I grab to take to the table?" 

"I'm finishing up the turkey now," Eva replied, taking a quick glance towards Jacob and Evie that were in their chairs, smiling at their perfection. I can't wait to spoil you two like eggs! She hummed to herself. "The potatoes and green beans are done."

"Great! I'll go ahead and take them to the table." 

"Thank you so much," Eva smiled, wiping her hands on her apron. "Just keep the sides away from that husband of mine. He's notorious for trying to sneak an early bite." 

"Heavens, I'll have to put them towards the middle because my husband tries to do the same thing too!" Alice laughed. 

"We might as well take it all out at one time, because I wouldn't put it past Johnny to try and sneak a bite, too. He's towards the middle of the table and my dad and Price are on the end." Kiera added. 

"I'm sure Simon wouldn't let Johnny considering he has that established death glare with him, sweetheart." Eva giggled. 

"I don't know about that. He's too busy keeping an eye on that boy." 

"How's the young man doing?" 

"He's improved a lot," Kiera relieved. "He and Simon had a rough start, but he's growing on him." 

"You mean Simon is growing on him?" Eva questioned, confused. 

"No, Baler is growing on Simon," She corrected. "They're just alike." 

"You know, I was just thinking that little Baler and Simon have similarities." 

Kiera hummed in agreement, glancing towards the dining room to make direct with Simon who had been staring - admiring - at her. She wasn't sure what he was thinking about when she caught him staring, but she couldn't overlook the gleam of lust behind those brown eyes of his. She smirked at him, getting out of her mother's line of sight before removing her phone from her jacket pocket, purposely sending Simon a rather suggestive image of herself she had taken and meant to send to him, but she was glad she waited until now to send it, knowing she was continuing the dangerous dance of lust.

She watched him look at his phone, concealing it under the table as a part of him knew she had sent him something only his eyes needed to see. 

Breathing heavily through his nose, he knew he was going to rail her twice as long for teasing him - especially having the nerve to test his intimate patience while in an area where he couldn't express it. Bloody lass is going to be begging me to let her come, he huffed to himself, knowing he and Kiera shared the same heavy desire towards each other courtesy of their playful teasing hours prior. 

*

Although it was completely unexpected that the Thanksgiving dinner took longer than expected as judged from the year prior, Simon and Kiera ended up heading back home a quarter until one a.m. "Sir, can I sleep in the bunkhouse tonight?" Baler asked suddenly, catching the couple off guard. 

"Why?" 

He gulped in nervousness, "I know it's late, but with the holiday I figured I'd sleep in the bunkhouse and get started early with chores..." 

"Why don't you want to sleep here?" Kiera questioned, her brows furrowed in concern as she suddenly felt like Baler didn't want to be in their household. 

"Honestly," He sighed. "That couch is very comfortable and I'm afraid I'll oversleep where I don't have an alarm clock. I figured if I slept in the bunkhouse, I'll be up when the wranglers do and won't get behind." 

Kiera shrugged, "I respect your responsibility, honey. If that's what you want to do." 

"I'll take you down there." Simon responded, holding Evie close to his chest as Kiera did the same with Jacob, keeping their small bodies secured within the warmth of their blankets. 

"O-Okay. Thank you." 

You just did yourself a favor, lad, Simon mused, strongly resisting a smirk as Baler had unconsciously saved himself from possibly having to hear the couple's unedifying and extended withholding from each other. "Just give us a minute to put them to bed and I'll take you down there." 

"Okay. I'll wait on the couch." 

Simon followed behind Kiera on the way to the nursery, watching her lay Jacob's drowsy body into his crib, smiling at how he nursed on his pacifier with heavy eyelids. However, Evie wasn't as easy to put down for bed as she grew to grow restless after being carried. "She's probably hungry, babe. I'll get her settled while you take Baler to the bunkhouse." 

He nodded, handing Evie to her mother before his hands found their way to her hips, squeezing slightly as he pressed his lips to the crown of her head, "I didn't forget about that stunt you pulled at dinner." 

She blushed, "Oh... My phone must've been acting up and sent that picture by accident." 

"No, I think you were acting up, love," He breathed against her hair. "Don't be a brat about it." 

"I might just be a brat," She giggled. "You won't do anything about it." 

He sighed heavily through his nostrils, "You'll see." 

"Should I break out the burn creme from my hospital days for when you tie me up?" She teased. 

"Negative, love," He smirked against her head. "I won't tie 'em too tight." 

"Oh, so you're planning on tying me up now?" She arched her brow. 

"If you want me to. I know plenty of knots and have a couple in mind to brat tame your arse." 

"I look forward to it. I'll make up a safe word while you're gone." She teased while moving to the rocking chair, sitting down slowly while holding Evie close to her chest. 

"You'll need one." He huffed playfully before exiting the room to take Baler to the bunkhouse, knowing that if he stayed in her presence any longer, he knew he wouldn't be able to hide his arousal unless he was able to do something about it. 

*

After taking Baler to the bunkhouse, Simon found himself rushing to get back to the house knowing that he and Kiera could finally be alone. 

His first stop was to the nursery, glancing in the dimly lit room to see if she was still in the rocking chair. Seeing that both babies were in their cribs, Evie making small little noises as she nursed on her pacifier, he was satisfied that they were tucked in and comfortable before continuing his pursuit of his partner. 

Their bedroom was dimly lit by the single lamp on the nightstand as Kiera sat on the edge of the bed with a silk robe clinging to her shoulders. He breathed heavily through his nose at the sight of her. "I had some trouble making up a safe word," She breathed a giggle. "I wasn't sure if you were serious or not..." 

"I was dead serious, love," He replied, standing in front of her and reaching out to cup her jaw. "Only if you want to."

"I want to, but I'm nervous..." 

"That's when you leave it to me." He breathed, rubbing the pad of his thumb against her cheek. 

"How rough are going to get rough with me?" She asked nervously. 

"Depends on how rough you want me to, love," He assured her. "This ball is in your court when it comes to this." 

She nodded, peering her tongue from between her lips, "I'm ready." 

"I have another question for you." 

"Hm?" 

He leant over her to gently push her body down onto the bed with his torso, caging her between his arms while her legs instinctively went to wrap around his waist. "I can get rougher than what I've done with you before..." 

"That wasn't a question?" She giggled, pressing a kiss to his hot lips. 

"I was getting to it, but you're distracting me." 

"I'm sorry," She smiled. "What were you going to ask? If I wanted Simon or Ghost to put me in my place?" 

"Such a good mind reader, love." He smirked. 

"I knew it," She hummed. "I think Simon gets minorly rough, but Ghost? Fuck, I'm in for it." 

"Well?" He arched his brow. 

"I think Ghost can handle putting me in my place," She giggled, thoroughly excited for it. "Simon wants to, but I know he'll feel bad." She continued, talking to him in third person. 

"What makes you think that?" 

"Just an assumption, babe." 

He breathed a chuckle, "Well, if that's what you want, I'll gladly comply." 

"I want you to do what you want to me." She said sternly, a gleam of confidence in her eyes at the desire he made her fantasize about. With him, she had managed to void the haunting and traumatizing thoughts of what had happened to her in her past as well as after the hijacking and hostage situation in Urzikstan. She trusted Simon with her entire life - multiple times over if she could. 

Simon knew he couldn't do everything he wanted when it came to playing rough, sincerely wanting to avoid making her uncomfortable or hurting her in any way, especially where he knew she was still mentally recovering from the trauma she and many other women endured during their time held hostage. A part of him felt that she was asking him to be rough with her as a way of healing - a way of trusting him with her body as she knew he would never take advantage of her in any way. 

Especially intimately. 

"In that case, have you thought about a safe word yet?" He spoke lowly into her ear, satisfied at feeling her shiver under him by his words alone. 

She shook her head and licked her lips out of nervousness. 

"How about red? You can remember red, right?" He snickered, watching her nod in agreement. "Good girl. Give me your hands." He continued, watching her do as she was told while he moved his body to stand at the edge of the bed, bringing her up by her hands and moving them to where her palms pressed against his stomach. "Keep them there." 

She nodded, breathing in excitement as she watched him remove his belt and gently twisting it to where it secured her wrists together while her palms still pressed against the hard muscle of his abdomen, her eyes widening with lust when his right hand clasped gently against her neck, forcing her gaze to peer up at him, seeing Simon's eyes darkening at the sight of her doe eyes staring up at him. He studied her face for any discomfort before continuing, keeping an prominent note of her body language before he did anything else. Seeing that she was rather excited instead of uncomfortable, he reached down to tuck at the silk belt that kept her robe clasped shut, untying it with one hand and releasing it from the loops on the robe that kept the belt in place, breathing heavily as its front clung to her breasts, revealing only to him those two perfect mounds that drove him wild at the sight alone. 

Running the pad of his thumb against her bottom lip, he then used both of his hands to slowly and gently place the silk belt around her eyes, tying it together at the crown of her head before his hands cupped her face, "This is only the beginning, love." He breathed. 

"Is it crazy how I was expecting you to push me down on this bed and gut me from the inside?" She giggled. "I was kind of excited for that." 

"You need to walk before you run, sweetheart. You have a long night ahead of you." 

Her breath hitched at his proposal as her tongue slipped from her mouth to nervously lick her bottom lip. "I look forward to it." 

"Such a cocky little minx, yeah?" He chuckled, watching her nod in agreement as well as growing immensely excited at his mild degrading. "On your knees." 

"Okay-" She said nervously.

"It's not okay," Simon warned, arching his brow. 

She giggled, "Yes, sir." 

"Good girl," He praised, gently grasping her upper arm as he helped her move into position, looking down at her while she willingly sat on her heels and kept her bound wrists in her lap. She heard the zipper on his jeans move as well as felt his presence step closer to her, feeling the tip of his cock press against her lips. She couldn't help but pucker her lips against his aching head, tasting the semi-sweet taste of his precum flood her desire even more. "Open your mouth," He breathed, grasping her hair and moving her head back. "Flatten your tongue." 

He shivered while he watched the head of his cock disappear between her teeth, feeling the roof of her mouth with his sensitive tip, gently pushing forward only to feel her throat constrict briefly as well as her body's natural instinct to pull away, except the grip from Simon's hand on her head prevented her from doing so. "What's wrong, love? Too big for you?" He mocked, watching the corners of her mouth curl into an exciting smirk. "Don't worry, sweetheart. You can take it. Open wider." He directed, using his other hand to clasp the bottom of her jaw, the pad of his thumb against her chin as she relaxed against his touch, flattening her tongue under his cock and his tip protruding past the tight muscle of her throat. "Your tongue is bloody perfect," He growled. "All fucking mine." 

Slowly, he began moving her head against his cock, keeping a sharp eye on her for any trace of discomfort as he truly didn't want to ruin this type of play for her, letting her take it at her own pace, except Simon saw himself as coaching her through it instead of forcing her. She moaned against his length, the vibrations from her mouth making his cock twitch. Simon couldn't help but lean his head back at the sensation from her perfect mouth, letting her take her time with pleasing him with her tongue. He soon felt her hands pressing against his thighs. Looking down, he had realized that she had released her hands from the restraint of the belt he had loosely tied around her wrists - only loosely tying them for her own good as triggering a stress habit was the most of his worries when it came to this type of intimate encounter with her. Once Kiera had realized he saw she pulled her hands free, her lips curled into a smirk before she heard him speak, "Looks like I'll have to tighten that up, yeah?" 

He let her pull her head away from his cock, tilting her head up as if she were looking at him, although Simon perfectly pictured those perfect hazel eyes through the silk of the makeshift blindfold, "More like you have to work on your binding skills. You made it too easy, babe." 

"You have a knack for talking your shite, love." He scoffed. 

"What're you going to do about it?" Her brow arched. 

"I got something to shut that mouth up," He growled lowly, cupping the crown of her skull and returning his cock into her mouth, feeling her giggle against him before her throat seemed to relax against his length, welcoming him in further down against her tongue. "Much better." 

The next several minutes was pure bliss for him as she managed to twist her tongue perfectly against the bottom of his shaft as well as applying the right amount of suction by hollowing her cheeks. Using the grip he had on her hair to move her head against him, he stilled after a few minutes, filling her mouth with his hot spend before pulling her head back by her hair, "Open your mouth," He directed, groaning as he watched her do as she was told. "Swallow it." 

She swallowed without a second thought, licking her lips clean before he helped her to her feet by gently grasping her neck while letting her hands clasp against his forearms for support before he slowly pushed her down onto the bed with his body, smirking at how the robe completely revealed her body for him. "Look at you," He breathed. "You were fucking ready for me when I got back." 

"How could I not?" She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck only for him to pin her hands by her head. 

"I haven't given you permission to touch me yet," He warned. "And by the way, although you are completely stunning in this, it's going to be a shame that it'll be unable to wear again after I'm done." 

"Lace doesn't rip so easily, Simon..." She giggled, moaning once his lips came in contact with her neck just below her ear. 

"Probably not, but I know it cuts rather easily." 

She shivered at his words, relaxing against his touch as his right hand delicately traced along the smooth skin of her leg and up her thigh, tracing up against her side and gently cupping her left breast. She couldn't help but wrap her legs around his waist and pull him closer to her, feeling his semi-hard cock against her hot core, begging him to stretch her around him. "Not so fast, love," He groaned. "You haven't earned it yet." 

"I think I've earned it since you put a ring on my finger." She giggled. 

"Oh, I've been all yours since before I did that," He smirked. "As for right now, you haven't earned it yet for teasing me all day." 

"Silly me." She poked, smiling when she felt his left hand clasp her wrists together. 

"Don't move," He said, leaving the bed to retrieve his belt that she left on the floor before walking around to the side of the bed to grasp her wrists and bind them back together and buckling the belt around the headboard. "Be careful when you try to pull yourself out of these this time. They'll bite." 

"So do I." She giggled. 

He huffed, "Well, sink those pretty teeth into me all you like, sweetheart."

She shivered when she felt his presence grow distant from her. Not being able to see him due to the makeshift blindfold, she grew slightly nervous when she realized he had briefly exited the room, returning after a couple of minutes and feeling his presence next to the bed. "Nervous?" He chuckled, grasping a chunk of ice from the glass he brought with him. 

"No." She shook her head.

"Good. Last thing I want is for you to feel like you should be nervous around me." 

She licked her lips, feeling his lips coming close to hers and willingly welcoming his kiss, shuttering at the taste of wine filling her mouth. She gasped after she swallowed, feeling his lips making a trail of their own against her neck, between her breasts, and down to her abdomen, the ice between his teeth leaving a cold trail against her skin. She couldn't help but pull at her restraints when she felt his hot breath fanning over her core, feeling the tip of his nose against her lace underwear, anticipating the sensation of his lips surrounding her clit. Unaware that his eyes were locked on her from between her legs, she gasped when she felt the tip of his tongue dance against her aching clit against the lace fabric of her underwear. She moaned at the sensation, desperately pulling at her restraints to lock her fingers through his hair, but she had no luck. 

With a smirk, he curled his index finger around her underwear, feeling her anticipation against his finger, chuckling at how she arched her hips against his touch, desperate for friction to satisfy herself. "The more you keep begging for it, the longer I'm going to tease you." He warned. 

She groaned, "Please, I need you!" 

"Such an impatient minx you are. You'll be lucky to just get the tip." 

Huffing, she relaxed against him, knowing he was going to continue teasing her with just the tip of his tongue, assuming that he enjoyed giving her this sexual torture by how he fanned his breath over her clit and only kissing around her vulva and against her labia, purposely not giving any attention to the areas she desperately wanted touched the most. He moved her leg to where it rested against his shoulder, using the leverage to her advantage to move her hips upward against his mouth, giggling when he snaked his arm above her waist to pin her back down on the bed. "Pushing your luck, sweetheart." 

"Worth it." 

He shook his head against her thigh, barely coaxing his index finger past her folds and curling upwards, finding the spongy material of her g-spot. "I knew you'd let me have it." She teased, her smirk fading once he pulled his finger away and out of her. 

"What was that?" He arched his brow, moving the fabric of her underwear back over her core and leaning up to bring his soaked index finger towards her mouth, satisfied that she willingly accepted by letting his finger enter between her lips. "Lick it clean." He ordered. Do I always taste this sweet? She wondered. 

He pressed the weight of his hips between her legs, feeling her moan at the sensation as his aching head was only centimeters away from her core, knowing that he'd be able to effortlessly slip in if he kept gently rolling his hips against her. 

He let her roll her hips into him while he kissed her neck with pure excitement, unable to refrain a groan of his own when he felt the head of his cock slipping towards her core with every roll of his hips, the fabric of her lace underwear moving to the side with every roll. 

Eventually, the head of his cock slid in slowly, feeling her wince in his ear at the welcoming stretch his length always gave her. She couldn't help but wrap her legs around his waist and squeeze, desperate to pull him fully into her. "Not so fast," He groaned. "Just the tip, love." 

She huffed in frustration, continuing to squeeze her legs around him anyway just for him to clamp his hand around her neck - a warning. "You know you want to." She begged, licking her lips. 

He smirked against her neck before his lips found their way to hers and forcing his hips to stop, "I want to fuck you absolutely blind, love." 

"Then do it." 

"Careful what you wish for." He grumbled against her lips, pulling away to sit back on his knees, grasping her hips and forcefully turning her over to where she was bent over in doggystyle. He removed his pocketknife and cut the lace underwear from her hips and tossed them to the side. When he felt her lean back towards him, he couldn't help but swat her ass harshly before he lined himself up with her entrance, waiting a few moments to give him another reason to spank her again. 

She licked her lips with excitement, leaning her rear towards him again just to feel him slap her ass again, "Am I making you angry, sir?" She giggled. 

"Not in the slightest," He grumbled, grasping both of her cheeks with his massive hands, holding her still before he slowly entered her, forcing himself to hold back just how rough he could get until she took him with ease, knowing the stretch he always gave her could be uncomfortable, no matter how many times he had gotten rough before. She gasped at the sensation, naturally arching her back while her walls couldn't help but constrict around him. He nearly lost himself right then and there, but he refrained. "Fucking hell, love." He grumbled. 

"What?" 

"Always so fucking tight for me." He winced, squeezing her ass in his hands while he began to thrust slowly for a few strokes, knowing she was purposely squeezing her walls against him to test his patience for a desired release. 

Once he felt her relax against him, his thrusts began to grow into rough strokes, bottoming out every time as he swore he could feel her cervix. Her moans were loud and quick, making Simon wonder if he was hurting her with the force of his powerful hips, but when he saw that she was equally as excited, he continued. 

Soon, his hands trailed along her scarred back before stopping at her shoulders - his left hand grasping her hair at their roots while the other clamped down on her shoulder, holding her still while he continued rutting ruthlessly into her, that same hand that clamped on her shoulder reaching up to cover her mouth, "Can't be making too much noise, love," He breathed into her ear. She moaned into his palm, pressing her lips against him before his fingers curled into her mouth, groaning when he felt her suck his fingers while he continued to thrust. "Get those fingers nice and wet for me, sweetheart." 

She moaned in reply when she felt him still briefly, letting go of her hair and removing his fingers from her mouth, her body tensing when she felt his index and middle finger trailing the column of her back and stopping at her ass. She then knew what he meant by getting his fingers wet. In truth, she was scared of letting him enter her there as she had never done it willingly before as well as it being something that was ruined for her by her assailants, but she forced herself to trust him and take it as something that she could grow to enjoy as she knew that Simon wouldn't take advantage of her like that. 

With that thought, she began to grow excited for the new sensation. 

A small gasp left her lips when she felt his index finger slowly enter her anus, adjusting to the sensation. "You alright, love?" 

She nodded, relaxing her body against him as he pressed his finger further into her while his cock was still and buried between her slick walls. "Fuck," He winced, excited to enter her there as it was tight against his finger as well as feeling her walls tighten against his cock. "Do you want me to fuck you here?" 

"Yes, sir." She nodded, licking her lips, hoping Simon wouldn't recognize the nervous strain of her voice. 

But he noticed.

That's why he used his fingers. 

If he were honest, he didn't want to because he knew that it could trigger a stress response from what happened in Urzikstan, but he had remembered that it was the subject of conversation between them at some point when she wanted to talk about having sex again as well as having anal sex with him to help her mentally heal from the experience and wanting to enjoy it. Only with him:

*

"Simon, can I ask you something?" She asked with her head against his chest, the couple having one of many nights where they both couldn't sleep. 

"Anything, love." 

"When we... have sex again, I-I think I want to try something." 

"What did you have in mind?" 

"Um, I've never willingly had, you know, ana-"

"Don't force yourself to do it, love. I don't want to put that pressure on you." 

"No, I want to... eventually, but after what happened... I'm afraid I'll ruin it for you."

"You won't ruin anything for me, love," He assured her, rubbing his thumb against her shoulder while pulling her closer against him. "I won't do anything without asking you first. You know that." 

"I-I know, but I want to enjoy that at some point, but it hurts." 

He knew what she was talking about when she implied it. 

"Don't force yourself to talk about it," He breathed. "When you're ready." 

"I think I'm ready for it, but I don't know how to enjoy it without being reminded of what happened." 

"How about this: I'll start with a finger and if you don't want to, I'll stop," He suggested. "I don't want to do anything you're not ready for, love." 

She nodded, "I trust you, Simon. With my life and my body. I know you wouldn't just outright do it without bringing it up to me." 

"I never would."

*

"Remember to use your words with me, love." He reminded her, hoping that she was truly ready for it as it was a big step for her as well as overcoming her trauma. 

"Just go slow, babe." 

He nodded, removing himself from her and moving his body to where he could reach her nightstand, removing the silicone rabbit vibrator and a bottle of lube from the drawer, deciding to use the vibrator and dildo combo for her own pleasure and the lube for easier penetration when he entered her there. He turned the dildo on its lowest vibration setting, replacing his cock with the toy as the vibrator nestled against her clit, causing her to moan at the sensation, Kiera mentally thanking him for the distraction while she felt the cold sensation of the lubricant against her rectum. 

She couldn't help but wince when she felt his shaft slide between her ass, spreading the lubricant all over his cock before he rested the tip against her anus, pressing slightly while keeping a sharp eye on her face, willing to stop if he felt she was uncomfortable. "Ready?" 

She nodded, waiting for the sharp pain of him entering when it was rather enjoyable. Slowly, he managed to squeeze the head of his cock into her with slow, even pressure, stopping once he entered just the tip, "Are you okay, love?" 

She nodded again. 

"Use your words, sweetheart." 

"Yes, Simon." 

"Good girl. Just relax, the hardest part is almost over." He assured her, pressing in just a bit more before feeling her body tense against him again, her jaw agape as she moaned. Once fully inside, he held himself still as he let her body adjust to the new sensation. "How does it feel?" 

"Good," She breathed. "It kind of hurts..." 

"Do you want me to stop?" 

"N-No." 

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. 

"Words, love." He reminded her, his voice soft and patient as his thumbs rubbed circles against her ass. He couldn't be rough with his words like earlier - he knew this would be a hard obstacle for her to hurdle over.

And he wasn't going to continue being rough when he knew this, even when she said she wanted him to be rough in the very beginning. For her sake, he wasn't going to do it even when she said so.

"Yes." 

"Remember to tell me if I need to stop." 

"I will, Simon." 

He nodded to himself when he felt her body relax around him, reaching down to increase the vibration on the dildo before beginning to thrust himself slowly into her. He couldn't lie, it felt great for him and he hoped she felt the same amount of pleasure as he did, especially with the combination of a penetrative toy and vibrator against her so she could chase her own high while he did. 

He watched her grip on the pillows tighten with every thrust, careful to not snap his hips into her like he did before, ensuring to himself that she was enjoying it more than him, watching her mouth open to release a moan every time he fully sheathed himself inside of her. Her walls tightened around the toy, feeling her stomach tighten as the tidal wave of her orgasm was on the horizon, concentrating on the new sensation to help her achieve her release, forcing herself to focus on Simon and not what happened to her as a part of her didn't want to ruin the new position for him. Judging by his groans, he was growing close to his release as well, his goal of achieving his release with her always in his mind. "How are you feeling?" He asked lowly. 

"Good," She breathed. "Harder." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes!" 

His thrusting began to pick up pace, increasing the sensation for the pair of them as the toy moved further up into her vagina every time his thighs met the back of hers, her body began to rock against him as the vibrations against her clit began to draw her orgasm closer and closer. Soon, she could barely even remember how painful it was when he first entered her, knowing that her body fully relaxed as she took his length with more excitement than fear. Her body began to tremble as her orgasm took over her, feeling him still as he found his own release, keeping himself sheathed inside of her as his hands moved against her back when she propped herself up. She turned her head, her lips meeting his while his other hand slid the makeshift blindfold from her eyes. "There you are." He smirked, searching her eyes for any trace of discomfort. 

She hummed, kissing him again before pressing her chest against the pillows, her arms weak from holding herself up and enjoying the sensation of Simon's warm palms tracing down her back and reaching down to slowly remove the toy from her folds, tossing it to the side before he slowly started to remove his cock from her rectum. "Relax," He spoke. "It may feel uncomfortable." 

His eyes never left her face as he pulled himself out slowly, watching her body relax once he was fully out as well as a sigh leaving her lips. He leant down to press a kiss to her temple before releasing her wrists from the belt keeping them against the headboard, "Let's go shower before going to bed, yeah?" 

"Okay," She giggled. "What time is it?" 

"Almost five." 

"Jesus! I'm glad we don't have much to do later." 

"I told you that you were going to have a long night ahead of you." He chuckled. 

"Yeah, you weren't lying." 

"I mean, I can go a few more rounds..." 

"Maybe another day!" She giggled. 

"You're right, we'll save that for the honeymoon." 

#ghost simon riley #simonghostriley #simonriley #simon riley #simon ghost riley #call of duty #simon riley x oc #callofduty #call of duty modern warfare 2 #ghost riley #simon riley x og female #simon ghost riley x og female #simon riley smut #simon riley ghost #simon riley call of duty #cod ghost #ghost mw2 #ghost cod #ghost call of duty #ghost cod smut #ghost cod fanfic #ghost cod mw2 #simon ghost riley fanfic #cod mw ghost #codmw

[bratshaws]

through the hourglass 346. brb x oc

a/n: hah man they are going to fuck so hard. uwu (comments and reblogs are super welcome and encouraged!)

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: none uwu

goodness gracious (pls read this one to know more what this fic is about!!)

chapter

1/

/316/317/318/319/320/321/322/323/324/325/326/327/328/329/330/331/332/333/334/335/336/337/338/339/340/341/342/343/344

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist! )

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @novastories @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix @lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 @lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2

@emilybradshaw @louisahale @leobabbyyy @booklover2sblog @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads @bigpoppajes @taytaylala12

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-

He has his eyes on the court with Nicole sitting on Mav’s lap while he keeps the twins close to him. Thankfully this area was directed to families specifically, so he could keep the carriers there, right in front of him. He half expected the three months old babies to…be scared or nervous because of the noise but, much like Nicole when she was a baby, they didn’t.

In fact they were fast asleep and the sound seemed to echo away from them. Besides, there were other families with babies there, he shouldn’t worry too much. He sighs, rubbing his face with a hand as he looks down at his watch, “Easy,Brad.” Maverick says while placing Nicole on his shoulders, letting the toddler sit there and have a better view, “They’ll come out soon.”

Rooster leaned back, adjusting the twins' carriers to ensure they were comfortable. The gentle rise and fall of their chests indicated deep, peaceful slumber, undisturbed by the cheers and laughter around them."Yeah, I know. Just anxious to see Bea out there. It's been a while since she played in such a big game."

Maverick chuckled, glancing at Nicole perched on his shoulders. "She's got this, kid. Bea's a force on the court, always has been. Besides, she's got a killer team with her."

Rooster nodded, a proud gleam in his eyes. "True, can't argue with that. She just seemed anxious.”

Maverick patted him on the back. "It's normal. She'll do great, and you'll be the loudest one cheering for her, I'm sure."

“Is there any doubt?” Rooster grinned, looking down at Nicole who was now pointing excitedly at the court. "You hear that, sweetheart? Mama's gonna be amazing out there."

Nicole giggled, clapping her hands, her eyes shining with anticipation of whatever was about to come, honestly she was happy to be there. Maverick chuckled, "She's got quite the cheering squad."

“That she does.”  Rooster's gaze remained fixed on the entrance, eager to catch a glimpse of Beatrice. Nothing yet. Nicole, sensing the heightened energy, clapped her hands enthusiastically. Rooster chuckled, grateful for the distraction. "You're excited, huh?"

Maverick nodded, adjusting Nicole on his shoulders. "She's got that competitive spirit. Takes after her dad."

“I’m not that competitive.”

His uncle just gives him a look.

“Give me one example.” Rooster says, “Genuinely.”

Maverick arched an eyebrow, "Remember the time we played that card game, and you insisted on a rematch until you won?"

"That doesn't count. I was just improving my strategy."

Maverick chuckled. "Uh-huh, sure. And how about that basketball game back in school?"

“Hey,come on,I was fourteen.”

“I just came by to check on you and your mom,I wanted to take you out to lunch but noooo,” his uncle says, “You had to finish, you had to make it equal and I waited for you for almost two hours…you sure you aren’t competitive?”

Rooster scratched his head, a sheepish grin forming. "Okay, maybe I have a tiny bit of a competitive streak. But, you know, it's all in good fun." he sighs “I guess we all have our quirks. Speaking of which, why isn’t Penny with you?"

“She’s resolving stuff at the bar.”

“Nothing bad right?”

Maverick frowns a bit, “She just told me those corpo guys are still causing issues, but, nothing else…you know how she is.” and they were already married but refused to admit it, adorable, truly.

"Yeah, she's a force to be reckoned with," Rooster remarked, glancing at Nicole who was now pointing at a group of cheerleaders on the court. "Still,I’m surprised Shells didn’t drag her. She’d never leave her aunt out of a game.”

Maverick chuckled. "Yeah,she takes these games seriously. You should see her collection of Northride merchandise; it's like a shrine."

“...Penny?”

“Yep.”

“Penny?”

“She always supported Shells and I know that she wanted to be here but, I think Shells understands. She gets that there are things she can’t control.’ and he fixes Nicole on his neck as she leans forward, “It’ll be okay.”

He was about to keep talking buit Rooster's attention returned to the court. The teams were now warming up, and the excitement in the gymnasium reached a fever pitch. The cheers, the rhythmic claps, and the chants reverberated.

And

He could see Bea.

He smiles immediately, she has her back to him and is stretching herself, but he can’t help but let out a “Gorgeous!! Here!”

Beatrice turned at the sound of Rooster's voice, her face breaking into a radiant smile upon spotting him and the kids in the designated family area. She waved enthusiastically, her eyes meeting Rooster's. The gymnasium buzzed with energy, but in that moment, it felt like they were in their own world.

Rooster stood up, holding the twins’ carriers securely as he continued to cheer for Beatrice. Maverick joined in, clapping and shouting words of encouragement with Nicole still on his shoulders,she clapped her tiny hands and giggled, clearly thrilled to see her mama in action.

Beatrice blew them a kiss before turning her attention back to the warm-up. The Northride emblem on her jersey felt like a badge of honor, it felt…really good even if she was still anxious.

Evelyn approached her with her brow up, “Thomas is one of our opponents, you were right thinking he was back because of this.”

“Oh?” she looks over her friend’s shoulder and sees that,indeed,he’s there with the male team, “It’s so weird, he never played volleyball…”

"I guess he decided to try something new.”

Beatrice raised an eyebrow, a playful smile forming. "Or maybe he just wants to challenge us."

“Or maybe he wants to know which one of us is single,” Shells quipped, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder, “He already asked Carmen out twice.”

“Well,we are all out of the loop then, especially me since he saw me and Rooster at the supermarket.” Beatrice says, “And if he tries something,Rooster is right over there and he’ll not be held back by a crowd, that’s for sure.” and she stretches her arms above her head, “Did he try-”

And Evelyn arched her brow. “Flirt with me again? Yeah, never mind Jake and our son are sitting over there too.”

As Beatrice continued her warm-up routine, the banter among the friends added a layer of lightness to the air. Evelyn and Shells shared a few more anecdotes about Thomas's attempts at flirtation, and Beatrice couldn't help but laugh.

"Maybe he thinks volleyball is the key to winning hearts," Beatrice teased, glancing over her shoulder at Rooster, who was now bouncing Nicole on his knee. "Little does he know, I already have the best partner."

Shells nudged her playfully. "Awww, how sweet. You two always making me feel like throwing up.”

“Shut up.” Bea laughs, shouldering her back and just stopping when Evelyn calls them to get ready, “You are terrible,Shells.”

“You love me.”

-

She looked back at Evelyn who was in front of the net, staring at the other captain down. Beatrice winces a bit as she puts some weight on her ankle, but it’s more out of fear than actual pain.

Beatrice took a moment to steady herself, feeling a slight twinge in her ankle. The game had reached a critical point, they were almost done.The air was charged with tension and tension as the two captains locked eyes–this point would decide the game.

Evelyn's gaze was unwavering, she never moved her gaze away much to the guy’s obvious worry…he avoided hers. Beatrice could sense her friend's readiness to defend the net. The opposing captain, albeit nervous, prepared to serve. 

The serve came fast and powerful. The ball sailed over the net, and the rally began. Back and forth it went, each team showcasing their skills in a series of powerful spikes, precise sets, and strategic blocks.

Beatrice, despite the lingering fear of aggravating her ankle, pushed through the discomfort. The adrenaline of the game took over, and she found herself in the flow of the match.Evelyn leaped for a block, successfully deflecting the ball back to the opposing side. 

The crowd erupted in cheers, but the game was far from over. The opposing team retaliated with a skillful save and a quick set. Shells, positioned at the back, dived to keep the ball in play. “Fuck!” the blonde yelped,almost losing the ball as she tossed it to Eliza.

“You okay??” Bea asked, looking over at her friend who wobbly stood up.

‘I’m fine!” she shouts back, “Focus on the ball!”

The rally continued,the girls moved with precision, anticipating each move from the opponents. Beatrice, despite the twinge in her ankle, leaped for a powerful spike. The opposing team scrambled to defend, but the ball hit the ground on their side. The gymnasium erupted in cheers as Beatrice's team secured the point.

But obviously, a deep, adored voice was much louder.

The score was now in their favor, bringing them one step closer to victory. Beatrice exchanged glances with Evelyn. The opposing captain, though momentarily disappointed, didn’t appear to give in that easy.

Thomas and Beatrice were now face to face, and the brunette just stared him down. The score was close, and the final points would determine the outcome of the game.Thomas, attempting to maintain his composure, smirked confidently at Beatrice. She met his gaze with determination, her focus solely on the game. The referee signaled for the serve, and the gym fell silent.

Thomas served the ball, sending it over the net in a powerful arc. Beatrice's team prepared for the return, with Evelyn poised at the net. Beatrice moved gracefully across the court. She executed precise sets, ensuring her teammates had the opportunity for powerful attacks. 

The score was tight, and both captains knew that the next few points would decide the game. The pressure intensified as each serve, each block, and each spike could be a game-changer.

As the game neared its conclusion, Beatrice found herself face to face with Thomas at the net. Their eyes locked, and Thomas, with a competitive glint in his eyes, served the ball once again.

And Beatrice blocked it immediately.

The ball twirled in the air to the opposite team and then,they heard the victorious ding…they won the game.

The victorious ding echoed through the gymnasium as the ball hit the ground on the opposing side. Beatrice's team erupted in cheers, and Beatrice couldn't help but grin as she exchanged triumphant glances with Evelyn. Despite the initial fear of her ankle slowing her down, Beatrice had pushed through!

The opposing team, though visibly disappointed, displayed good sportsmanship by offering congratulatory nods and handshakes. Thomas however kept his eyes on Beatrice for a little longer.

The gymnasium continued to buzz with post-game chatter and celebrations. Rooster made his way through the crowd, the twins and Nicole in tow. "That was incredible, gorgeous! You killed it out there."

"Thanks, Roos," she said, accepting a quick kiss on the cheek. "Couldn't have done it without the team."

“Not as stylishly.”

She ignored Shells’ words and looked over at Rooster, “My ankle is doing great by the way.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,look,” and she rolls it a few seconds, “Guess I was worried for nothing.”

Rooster grinned, a sense of relief evident in his eyes. "I'm glad to hear that, gorgeous. You played like a champ, ankle and all."

Evelyn approached Beatrice, her eyes filled with pride with her hands on her hips. "You were amazing out there, Bea. That block at the end was legendary!"

Beatrice laughed, a mixture of joy and relief. "Thanks, Ev. I couldn't have done it without your solid defense at the net. We make a great team."

Shells bumped her shoulder playfully. "Damn right, we do. And you know what this calls for? A victory dinner!"

“Yeah,”Rooster agrees,his eyes darkening as he meets Beatrice’s. “I’m pretty hungry.” and he smirks when she blushes.

#bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw x female reader #bradley bradshaw x named reader #tgm oc #tgm fic #tgm fanfiction

[mairablue]

Scm - Department of Wishes

Tauxolouve ♐- Heavenly Light

For fluffbruary event ( @fluffbruary )

A/N: My first ever fluffbruary post! 😭🤧 I hope you enjoy reading this! 💜💙

Prompts: camera | lush | beau

4th February, 2024

~~~

Small droplets of water dripped down the glass window. Cold morning breeze brushed against the leaves of the trees. The fire continued to burn brightly in the fireplace, keeping the surroundings warm.

Tauxolouve walked in the living room, carrying a tray. Two ceramic cups and some cookies were placed on a plate.

"(Name)?"

You look up from the book. Quickly putting a bookmark, you placed it on your lap.

"Thank you", you said as a peaceful sigh escaped from your lips, "delicious as always."

He smiled at your words and took a sip from his cup. You looked at the window and then at the wall clock, which showed 3.35 AM.

" Sweetheart." His honeyed voice brought you back from your thoughts. You couldn't help but voice your concerns, "I can barely see anything outside. Are you sure the weather is appropriate...", you paused before adding "for taking pictures?"

For a slight fraction of second there was some uneasiness in his eyes but he quickly brushed away those thoughts and replied, " If we reach there by 4 AM; i will surely be able to capture some beautiful photos."

You nodded your head in agreement.

Thick fog covered the narrow road, which made driving nearly impossible.

Tauxolouve opened the car's door. We were a bit surprised to see that nobody had yet arrived at the top of the hill. We walked forward; our fingers intertwined with each other's. Some cars were slowly climbing up.

With each passing minute, the fog was becoming denser, swallowing the mountain. The trees started disappearing to the point, where the lower part of the enormous mountain seems to be covered by a thick greenish blanket.

Looking down at the road, you saw the cars standing still, lining up one after another. Few people got out of the cars and started walking towards the top of the hill.

Tauxolouve looked at his wrist watch.

You placed your hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at you, and for a brief moment the determination in his eyes seemed to falter. His eyes losing some of the warmth in them.

Most people who arrived at the spot seemed disappointed. Some of them decided to wait.

Minutes turned into an hour.

"Such a waste of time", a girl said to her mother, " i can't believe you woke me up for this so early in the morning."

Another 15 minutes had passed. The weather showed no signs of improvement.

Now there was only one family standing there with you and Tauxolouve. Most cars were gone, aside from a few who were determined to get a glimpse of the heavenly light.

Beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead as he once again looked at the watch. Time was running out from his fingers like sand.

Was he going to lose another golden opportunity? Perhaps he should have gone elsewhere; he pondered. It was too late to think about these things.

" Mom, dad how long do we have to wait?" the boy asked his parents.

" (Name), we should leave." Tauxolouve wishpered. " I am sorry for bringing you here in this weather. "

His voice, so lifeless that it made your heart shatter. Still his bright smile did not leave his face. He was trying his best to not look disappointed.

As you two were about to walk back to the car, the boy shouted, "Mom look", pointing at the sky , "the Sun".

True to his words, the clouds were slowly making the way for the Sun. Soon rays from heaven fell on Earth. The golden light being reflected from the snowy mountain peak, making it shine like a diamond.

Tauxolouve wasted no time and quickly captured the breathtaking sight in his camera. The sight so divine that it filled your heart with bliss.

Tauxolouve hugged you tightly before picking you up in his arms and kissing you deeply. " I love you. " he wishpered. " I love you too. " you said as you placed a tender kiss on his forehead.

The heartfelt moment passed away and Tauxolouve was back to his usual self.

" Let's celebrate, my sweet lady. " the teasing tone in his honeyed voice was too hard to ignore. Taking his hand in yours, you two walk back to the car.

#star crossed myth #scm #scm tauxolouve #scm tauxolouve x reader #scm karno #scm scorpio #scm huedhaut #scm aigonorus #scm leon #scm zyglavis #scm ichthys #scm partheno #scm krioff #scm teorus #scm dui #fluffbruary 2024

[kneecap-homicide]

The absolute state of YouTube ads

As someone who has been using an adblocker for at least a decade, and is currently having to pause it on YouTube, here are some things I've noticed which I haven't seen anyone else bring up (yet).

You can no longer tell when ads play in a video

I'm pretty damn sure there used to be a small yellow segment in the video progress bar, so you could at least know in which parts of the video there would be ads. Now, they just start out of nowhere, and if it's a longer video and the creator has shoved all their ads in the last 10 minutes, you're hit with a barrage of ad after ad.

Ads will just play whenever

In a similar vein to the previous point, unless the creator has carefully integrated the ads with their video (e.g. "before we get into that, I'm just going to play some midrolls" or "I'll be back after this short commercial break"), the ads will play in the middle of whatever the video is about, completely ruining the immersion. I don't believe many YouTubers integrate their ads in this way.

I've heard some people say that sitting through 1-2 short ads isn't as intrusive as sitting through 5-10 minutes of them on TV (such as in this video by SomeOrdinaryGamers). And I honestly cannot agree. As some have said, YouTube ads don't have the same moral standards as TV ads, and this is true, although I myself haven't yet seen any ads of dubious morality since pausing adblock.

But my main gripe with this take is that again, TV ads have set commercial breaks which the vast majority of YouTube videos do not, and the time between these breaks is ~20 minutes depending on the country (see Wikipedia). This means the ads won't start in the middle of a sentence or dramatic scene in a nature documentary.

You can:

Predict when the ads will start based on how long it's been since the last commercial break

Predict when the ads will start based on predicting when the scene in your program is going to end

And, of course, you can change channels during a commercial break, and watch something else in the meantime, or just get up and do something else since the commercial break lasts long enough to do that.

The ads in YouTube are too short to warrant changing tabs, so instead you just mute the ad, and sit there staring mindlessly at the screen until the ad finishes, or until you can click the skip button.

YouTube ads are high maintenance

As I've just mentioned in the previous point, you can't get up while the ads play, or switch tabs. You have to mute the ad, and just wait. Wait until the skip ad button appears, or until the two unskippable ads play out. In total, it probably only takes about 30 seconds, so why would you try to do anything else?

And if it happens to be a morally questionable ad, you might also want to report it.

All YouTube ads are videos

What happened to the little popup ads that you would just click the 'x' on and you're done? Have I just been unlucky and not seen any, or are they actually gone? This is a genuine question btw.

Can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss popups. Relatively speaking, they're way less intrusive than video ads, because you can keep watching the video already in progress. And if they do still exist, then at a much reduced rate than the videos, at least in my experience, given that I haven't yet seen one.

Adblockers should not be against YouTube's terms of service

This is definitely my weakest point, and I'm positive others have already brought this up. But what I do on my Personal Computer (emphasis on Personal) should not have any bearing on my relationship with the websites I visit, and if it does, it will make me question my usage of that website.

If the conditions surrounding your adverts are causing a large portion of your userbase to turn to adblockers, maybe instead of biting the hand that feeds you, you could improve the conditions and make adverts less intrusive, and keep better tabs on what kinds of ads you're approving. The change in revenue wouldn't be instant, but more people would eventually stop using adblockers on YouTube. If you recall what happened on Tumblr, userbases are actually happy to support sites they feel deserve being supported.

Overall, YouTube is pretty great, and while there are certain competitors out there, none of them do exactly what YouTube does. But forcing ads might make people turn to alternatives anyway.

Getting back to television, there isn't a law against changing channels or just turning your TV off for 5 minutes and making some toast. If you never watch a single ad on TV, your TV licence won't be revoked. TV commercials have a good system that hasn't really changed much over the years. Maybe commercial breaks have gotten longer, but that's it.

YouTube really needs to improve the QoL surrounding ads, because people will just continue using adblockers which update to circumvent YouTube's anti-adblock system.

TL;DR

YouTube ads are somehow more annoying than TV ads because they don't have set commercial breaks unless the YouTuber integrates them accordingly, and it sucks.

#tl;dr #youtube #youtube ads #youtube advertising #youtube adblock #ads #advertising #commercials #we live in hell

[destiny-smasher]

Stuff From 2023!

List of things of note I experienced in 2023! A few things didn't technically release in 2023, I'm sure, but yea. Will contain my 'Top 10 Games I Played in 2023' as well.

Firstly, something I played a lot of this year in bursts but doesn't quite crack my Top 10 is Vampire Survivors. Very addicting, did some very fun goofy shit that had me laughing and engaged in a lizard brain way. Appreciated the many Castlevania references and jokes, too.

A couple of games I played every weekend for a few hours across many weeks this year were Project Zomboid and Roots of Pacha, both in a group 4. We had lots of fun with those two, and I think they're both great co-op time-sink games. Zomboid is a zombie survival sim that has way more attention to detail than its graphics may imply. It's still in early access but the depth to its is honestly pretty dang impressive. Pacha iterates on the Stardew Valley formula in a ton of small but deliberate, thoughtful ways that make for a nice twist on that Harvest Moon style game.

REMAKES

There were so many great remakes this year, on top of just amazing games in general, I can't fit them all into my Top 10. So here's a segment dedicated to most of the remakes I loved this year.

The remake of Super Mario RPG was such a surprise, and turned out very damn well. That game, turns out, is very near and dear to my heart and I did not fully appreciate that until this remake was revealed. It comes just shy of cracking my Top 10 list and that's honestly only because I finished Mother 3 finally right at the tail end of the year. This game manages to still feel weirdly fresh even today just due to how fucking strange it is, and the remake speeds up the pacing a bit while also adding in some new mechanics and a chunk of new post-game content. Everything was handled so well. This is like the new gold standard of complete one-to-one remakes of sprite-based games imo. I will admit the artstyle is a bit 'off' in some ways but I think it's very clean looking and captures that 90's CGI spirit really well, all things considered. And the music, OOF, so damn good.

The remake of Dead Space I don't have much to talk about, but it's very well produced. It's remade so well, in fact, that it felt like my memories of the original, even though I know it's not an exact recreation. Very well done and still holds up as a great horror action game with these improvements.

The remaster of Metroid Prime is so impressive it feels like a remake, even if the game is identical to the original aside from presentation and some control changes. It's an iconic classic, and yet I have no patience to do the Chozo Artifact stuff, so I actually did not roll credits on this version BUT still thoroughly enjoyed reliving the game with a very nice new coat of paint. It makes me excited to see what Prime 4 will look like on, I expect, more powerful hardware.

SHOWS/MOVIES

The year started strong with a TV adaptation of The Last of Us. While I've come to have conflicted feelings with the franchise at large, mainly due to its leading boss man, I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of this series. Very well done adaptation that picked and chose what to keep and what to change and honestly makes for a better story as a whole if you ask me, while not really replacing the game's tactile interactive tensions. Cannot wait to see what they do with Part 2 tbqh. I loved that game more than the original but also felt it was worse as an overall game/experience/narrative. But a fresh take on that same plot could potentially address a lot of the issues I had with Part 2, while simultaneously not really 'replacing' it, either.

The Bear. If you haven't seen it, it's just. Very good television. Two seasons in and it's sitting up there chasing Mr. Robot and Better Call Saul as one of the best live action series I've ever seen. Season 2 did such a great job of giving us deeper dives on the various characters and building toward an organic and rewarding conclusion that still leaves room for another season to theoretically wrap things up. Nothing too crazy with this show, it's super down to earth, and it owns that very well with editing and pacing that varies per episode, kind of in line with the different character perspectives.

Super Mario Bros.: The Movie had me worried for a while, mainly due to the animation studio and casting. And while I'm still not 100% sold on this celebrity casting, I will admit it didn't weight the experience down -- even if it's still the second weakest element by far. The weakest element is the writing. It's not, like, offense -- it's loyal to the source material and works, it functions. But it's not doing anything beyond pushing us from set piece to set piece. If anything, the movie is a bit too short for all of the stuff it's cramming in. But on the upside, there is a lot of amazingly rendered visuals and music to take in. A real treat for fans of the franchise, and the most loyal gaming adaptation in movie form, I would say.

Across the Spiderverse is in essence the first half of a two part film. That makes it kind of difficult to talk about, especially when it's also a sequel, and the production sounds like it was marred with bad management and crunch. But the results they came up with actually met my hopes and expectations for a sequel, and that is saying something, as I had very high expectations. I completely adore this film's stupendous sense of style, editing, framing, writing, and the way it's making meta-commentary on multiple levels on top of just being an effective narrative on its own. This is animated storytelling running at full capacity in my opinion, and in general just film doing all of the kinds of things film can do. So it's no wonder that there's still a rub -- this is the first half of the story they planned. The editing, animation, framing, effects, acting, action sequences, music, writing, theming, just Farore's sake, this is SUCH a damn banger of a film and one of the best movies I've ever seen, which, again, is kind of insane given the circumstances. I can only hope they don't fuck up the conclusion.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was quite the surprise announcement, and as it turns out, quite the surprise adaptation. I won't spoil much but I will say that by the end of the first episode, it becomes very apparent that this series is no mere by-the-books adaptation, and does something unique and edifying, even if it still maintains a certain surface-level depth I wish the franchise would push beyond. Either way, I enjoyed it way more than I expected to going in, and I think it makes for a great companion to the rest of the series. The animation style was super fun, as well, with some great action sequences.

But Blue Eye Samurai sucker-punched me, having released before I'd even known about it. This show is something else, something unlike any other animated show I've seen besides Arcane. And it's not like it's mimicking Arcane, it's just the closest I can think to compare it to: a quality, thoughtfully framed, thoughtfully written, made-for-adults animated series. It tows the line between fantasy and realism in a refreshing way, its protagonist is great, its cast is compelling, its plot goes to some neat places, and things just feel very well thought-out and well-executed. Slap this in second place behind Arcane as the TV series I am the most excited to see more of in the future, just ahead of The Bear.

Something I did near the end of the year was watch The Hunger Games movies, back to back over the course of like, a week. Have not read the books but man, watching these sure made me interested in doing so at some point. I totally get why people were so enamored with this franchise, and honestly, I think its themes and messages are more relevant now than they were when this franchise was at the peak of its popularity. The films certainly have glaring issues for my tastes but yea, I managed to really enjoy them as a whole despite my lack of mainstream sensibilities. Looking forward to reading the books eventually.

Another thing my wife shared with me was 花ざかりの君たちへ (often called 'Hana-Kimi' for short). Specifically, the 2007 version, as, uh, apparently there are multiple adaptations of this. It was a live action Japanese drama about a high schooler who was born female but transfers into an all-boys school, identifying as a boy while she is there. There's more to it than that, and I won't say it handles everything the best (it's from the mid 2000's) or concludes things in quite the way I'd have preferred. Not to mention it's kind of weird seeing many tropes I'm used to seeing in anime rendered by physical, real actors. BUT it was overall a really sweet, adorable, funny, heartfelt, and reached for pro-queer expression in a time and place when that wasn't mainstream yet (and honestly kinda still isn't depending on who you ask).

Good Omens Season 3 also dropped this year. I actually don't have much to say partly because I think a big element of it is just not knowing what to expect going into it! But it was also very good, very fun, pretty damn gay, I really enjoyed it and am crossing my fingers hard they get to wrap it up the way they want.

All right! Onto my personal top 10 GOTYs.

TOP 11 GAMES

(I played and finished in 2023)

11) Mother 3

The one entry on this list that did not actually come out this year -- in fact, it's never technically released outside of Japan. Originally release in 2007 on the Game Boy Advance, this quirky RPG has developed quite the reputation. I started playing the fan translation back in like 2020, and only got around to finally finishing it this year. While that likely did tarnish the experience a bit for me, so does the final third or so -- it kind of drags on a bit, and any old school format RPG that requires grinding to progress can become a bit of a chore.

Thankfully, Mother 3 did earn its hallowed reputation in my eyes now that I have experienced it. I totally get the passion for this game now, and I am a convert. It makes me want to finally finish Mother 2, aka Earthbound. But here's the biggest thing about Mother 3 I weirdly did not expect going in, yet smashed my face in like a hammer by the time I finished it:

without Mother 3, there is no way Undertale/deltarune would exist.

The DNA for Toby Fox's works is achingly obvious in its relation to this game, specifically. I won't spoil anything and I won't go into my long list of evidence like an Ace Attorney case, but trust me, there is ample evidence to make this claim.

And that also means that Mother 3 stands on its own merits as doing things that RPGs just plain were not doing in 2007, and in some ways still aren't today. Aside from some pacing issues further in, the characters in your party aren't as developed as much as I'd like. BUT the overall narrative it tells, especially in those opening chapters, have a rare kind of earnest, human magic to them that most games just don't let themselves fall into. And it concludes in ways I did not expect and yet offered clarity as to why it is so beloved, and how Toby Fox was so inspired to put his own mark on the gaming landscape.

I owe a great deal to Undertale, personally, and as such, I also owe a great deal to Mother 3. You don't need to have played others in the series to enjoy it, you'll just be missing some referential stuff here and there. It's quite playable and unique by today's standards and I strongly recommend it if you want an RPG that is heartfelt, funny, fun mechanically, and has some simple but hard-hitting things to say about the world we live in, and what we are doing to ourselves and that world.

10) Super Mario Bros. Wonder

What can be said that hasn't been said already? Nintendo knocked it out the park with this one. This was everything I've wanted in a 2D Mario for like 15 years. The only thing 'missing' from it is playable Rosalina, but hey, we finally got Daisy in a mainline Mario game, so I'll take it. After a decade or so of dragging their feet with low-effort but enjoyable 2D games, Super Mario Wonder finally, at long last, captures what makes Nintendo games great and with their best foot forward. They haven't done 2D Mario this well since World on the SNES in 1991. And they have never put this level of production into a 2D game since... ever?

This is one of the all-time best 2D platformers out there, and for once it finally feels like 2D Mario is running on all cylinders as a big budget passion project kind of game. You love to see it.

9) Scarlet Hollow

This game isn't technically finished yet, as it is episodic, and its developers wanted to release Slay the Princess in the interim, but that doesn't stop its quality from being good enough to make my list. This game is doing the kinds of things visual novels should be doing, the kinds of things I wish to do in a sense with my own visual novel development.

It's a horror themed experience but balances the high tension with actual real stakes very well against mostly down-to-earth conversations, with lots of great tricks and touches of presentation you don't typically see in indie visual novels, along with a fantastic art style, charming characters (my favorite character has turned out to be the one I immediately disliked at first, and that's rare for me), and meaningful choices.

I can't wait to see how this one wraps up but even as it stands it's one of the best things I experienced in 2023.

8) Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Redeemed

I will admit I skipped Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after giving it an honest go in like, 2019 or so. A few hours in and i couldn't stomach it, the tonal whiplash from Xenoblade 1 (one of the best RPGs I've ever played) was too much for me. But then Xenoblade 3 came out last year, and is also one of the best RPGs I've ever played, even better than the original for my tastes.

But I wasn't prepared for the DLC to drop a whole ass side-game on us, a self-contained prequel to 3 that serves as narrative cohesion to tie the whole trilogy together with a bow on top, complete with perfectly tuned fanservice (and not the sexy kind, although grown-up Rex and Shulk, well, yes) that really respects its fanbase for investing hundreds of hours in this franchise.

Matthew is easily one of my all-time fav RPG main characters, probably the favorite RPG main character when I think of it (as main characters specifically go, anyway), and his game is a fraction of the length of many RPGs out there. But as usual, the entire cast had their charms, the story was nicely paced, the gameplay and overall length was just about damn perfect for what I could want from the genre.

As an expansion to a pre-existing game, this is one of the top 3 best expansions/DLCs I've ever played. When taken as a side story to an overarching trilogy, I'm not even 100% in on the lore and I still enjoyed the hell out of it, it's just the kind of thing that hits a tone of 'damn, video games are a fucking unique medium that we can do specific narrative things with across years of telling a story.'

I don't know where Monolith Soft is going next, though the ending certainly offers some intriguing teasing, but I suspect I will be there day one to see it, and am looking forward to it.

7) Pikmin 4

Given the long wait (10 years!) one might understand fan concern over the state of Pikmin 4. Turns out, that extra time was spent making this game fucking good. It's not the largest, most impressive, most complex, most inspiring, most 'anything' game I played this year, and yet I can't help saying that this is a damned good video game. It really nailed what it set out to do as a sequel, incorporating just the right ideas to spice up the formula while bringing things back to how Pikmin 2 was, and improving on the series in basically every way -- including stuff to do!

This is easily the most Pikmin game... in a Pikmin game. I still haven't 100%'d it. Without giving away any details, I'll just say that when a game rolls credits and you're only like, halfway through its content, and it just keeps going, that's just kind of wild. It would've felt like a great game even then, but the breadth and depth it ends up going to in order to keep giving you ways to engage with its wonderfully detailed world and addictive mechanics, I love it.

I just want more of it. Give me DLC with more Dandori content, the formula and feel just works so well at this point.

6) Sea of Stars

How the hell I forgot to include this one on my list initially is boggling. Easily one of the best indie games I've ever experienced. The writing is nothing to, well, write home about, but it's not bad. And in fact the story has a lot of great things going on, from an interesting world to a very potent arc with the leading support character (who, let's face it, is kind of more the main character than your two main characters).

The game's art and music are phenomenal, capturing the essence of 90's era RPGs but clearly doing things not capable back then. Made even sweeter, the game is a prequel to the studio's prior work, The Messenger, which I also played and adored in tandem, kind of going back and forth between the two once I was partway into Sea of Stars. The way this RPG repurposes songs from Messenger as well as all kinds of seemingly superfluous elements but makes it feel cohesive is pretty great.

The game also trims a lot of the fat you'd find in older RPGs, as well as lets you customize your experience in a modern way using collectibles you can toggle on and off to grant all kinds of effects, like increasing or decreasing the difficulty in various ways.

The homage paid to classics like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG is clear but it's not at all copy-cat-ing, instead wearing those inspirations proudly on its sleeves and forging its own path with its own ideas. A fantastic collection of party members, a wonderful world, amazing presentation, and environments and pacing that help it stand apart from the genre that inspired it. I wish we got to know the leads better, there is a lack of character growth in many ways, but that's me grasping at straws to critique, it's just a fantastic experience and the studio should be very proud of what they've accomplished.

5) Hi-Fi Rush

This is gonna be a running trend from here on out, but on any other year, Hi-Fi Rush would've been my GOTY, easy. From this point on, we're talking measures of inches rather than miles in terms of my love for these games.

Hi-Fi Rush finally delivered on something I have waited like 20 years for: a rhythm action adventure where playing the game in sync with the music felt fucking cool and gave me emotional resonance in a way only this medium can. The humor was charmng. The visual aesthetic is almost peak 'my taste.' The music was groovy with a few tracks I did not see coming but loved seeing how they were incorporated. The story was surprisingly fun! The characters were fantastic, I loved the entire main crew in a way I rarely ever do and would jump at the chance to spend more time with (and hey, there's a whole bunch of post-game I have yet to do, so I intend to in 2024).

The only real thing I could reasonably ask for from this game is a way to play as those other party members in post-game content or new-game plus or something. And who knows, maybe we get that some day. Even if we don't, what they came up with here is the next best thing besides. And what we got is one the most video-gamey video games I have ever played, a real classic and one I think will go down as one of my all-time favs. A passion project given meaningful time, budget, and creatives to bring it to life.

Had this game offered multiple playable characters, a bit more development in its story, and maybe a stronger climax, it'd be higher. I still love it to death and want more games like it regardless.

Hi-Fi Rush is exactly what kind of game we could have gotten more of if the Internet hadn't pushed gaming into a 'live service' direction. It is literally the spirit of a PS2/GameCube game given modern form. And either way, we did get it, at least, in that form, and it fucking rocks.

4) Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

This year was big for remakes and remasters, but one stands tall above the rest, if you ask me. The original RE4 has stood as my fav in the franchise, the one that got me into the franchise, the one that got me into M-rated games in the first place. Lots of nostalgia, but it's held up surprisingly well over the years despite some limitations of the time (mainly the controls) and some older-fashioned sensibilities ("with ballistics, too~").

But Capcom fucking nailed it with this reimagining. Like Final Fantasy VII: Remake, this game is not a remaster, or a one-to-one recreation. It is a brand new game, built from the ground up, reimagining the original entirely, complete with new mechanics and story. But unlike with FF7, this is also shockingly authentic and loyal to the original at the same time. It remixes elements from the original game, maintains most of the original's map design, adds in new stuff, removes some of the more goofy shit -- and even 90% of what feels 'removed' is revealed to be repurposed for the Ada side story DLC.

It looks great, it sounds great, the adjustments to characters and story are improvements across the board, (except for Hunnigan, RIP) the gameplay is improved in intensity and feel and action and replayability. And yet despite all of this, it balances that campy tone of the original just enough to still evoke what I loved about the original's tone. And it doesn't outright replace the original game, either. The two are now like different recipes of the same sandwich or something. There's reasons to revisit the original, though for me this has now replaced the remake of RE2 as my fav in the franchise.

I really don't know where they go from here but I will look forward to it, and regardless, they fucking nailed this one.

3) Street Fighter 6

Two Capcom games, back-to-back? They had a fucking good year in my eyes. The interesting thing about this particular entry is that unlike the others on this list, I will be continuing to play this one for hours and hours into 2024, especially with more fighters still planned. And in another year, this would've easily been my GOTY.

After all, Street Fighter 6 is the single-best traditional fighting game I think I've ever played. And while fighting games are my overall personal favorite genre, I'm more of a Smash player who also loves the hell out of Street Fighter and then dabbles in Tekken and whatever else releases. Street Fighter has always been one of my go-to top multiplayer games since I got into the franchise with SF4 in 2010. While I did enjoy SF5 well enough, it just didn't keep me hungry to come back for more like 4 did. SF6 has fixed that problem by way of a multitude of changes.

It has easily the most fun single player mode I've seen any fighting game have. Like, yea, The Subspace Emmisary (and even then, I don't love that mode like other folks do, I kinda think it's... fine?) but tbqh World Tour is just better in most every way. You get to build your own fighter, earn and mix and match different costumes and individual character special moves with each fighter's fight style. You get to just hang out with the SF characters, get to know them as people, their hobbies, their fears, their insecurities, their passions besides just beating the shit out of each other. On top of this, the realistic art style shift (a by-product of the RE Engine) seals the deal on what Street Fighter 6 is aiming to do: humanize its cast.

Is it still wacky as fuck? Is it still comical and weird and goofy? Hell yes, it is. Is the story mode deep in its narrative? Not in the slightest. But it's still stepping confidently in a direction fighting games should be trying to, not being too self-serious, but also being earnest.

And I haven't even touched on the mechanics! The Drive System alone is a brilliant addition that adds a sort of 'stamina' system that works so well to add an extra layer of decision making and tension. The game's not perfectly balance imo but for how much is here it is surprisingly damn well balanced, especially given they have insisted on not pushing out a single balance patch since it launched in June. For most any other competitive game, that would be like suicide for the scene, but the game seems to be thriving and selling extremely well for the franchise. And it's earned it.

I will absolutely be continuing my warrior's journey into 2024 and I can't wait to see what else Capcom has in store for this game.

2) Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Out of every game I played in 2023, Tears of the Kingdom is easily the most technically impressive. From a design standpoint, from a 'how in the hell is the Switch doing all of this without exploding' standpoint. From a 'holy hell how is there this much stuff in a single player game' standpoint. From a 'oh my goddesses that stupid batshit idea I had 100% worked because it actually did make sense' standpoint.

Where Breath of the Wild opened our minds as to what an open world game could be -- fully designed like one giant interconnected 'level' -- Tears of the Kingdom replied in much the way I expected: it pulled a Super Mario Galaxy 2. What I mean by that is that this is a direct sequel, building directly off the foundation of the original. You know. Like video game sequels almost always used to. And which many very successful ones still absolutely do.

But Tears of the Kingdom somehow managed to wow me all over again by adding to that open world's verticality in insane ways -- the Depths alone are probably my favorite 'mechanic' from any Zelda game ever besides the time loop of Majora's Mask (and what that did for the story and gameplay). But beyond the scale of the world basically doubling and then some (floating islands and caves on top of Depths), I was curious how this game could stand tall after Elden Ring, which is easily in my top 10 favorite games of all time at this point. Elden Ring was Fromsoft's reply to BOTW. And yet Tears of the Kingdom still managed to have something new to say in spite of that very strong reply.

Tears of the Kingdom opened the door to let players essentially create their own mechanics. By removing the abilities Link had to engage with the world before, and replacing them with a brand new toolset that includes abilities you just... don't see games give you, because they'd be 'overpowered,' TOTK designs its massive world in ways that invite you to use those 'overpowered' abilities however you see fit.

Being able to interact with the world and objects in this way, being able to fuse them together to create all kinds of effects, or new methods of transportation, even interacting with things not just spacially but in respect to time, it's nuts and fun and I've already poured like 130 hours with still so much I haven't done. And that's the thing: this game wasn't designed to be 100%'d. It was designed to just... be experienced, as much or as little as you want. And games on this level of scale/budget just do not have the guts to let so, so much 'content' be missed out on. And this game does.

It's a technical achievement and while I had my doubts with how strangely little Nintendo had to show, I am very glad that the experience itself manages to breathe new life into one of my all-time favorite games while improving on it in so many ways. It won't convert you if you didn't love the original -- this is a Super Mario Galaxy 2 style sequel, after all. But it's essentially replaced the original in ways I didn't think would be possible.

The story? Oof. Uh, not so much the story, let's ignore that part. That's what Nintendo wants you to usually do, anyway. But everything else, just. Din-damn.

It expands upon the first game's already fairly open-ended nature in an exponential way that I suspect developers will spend years to come trying to pin down, much like how they've spend the past 6 or 7 years trying to replicate BOTW's open world design.

For much of this year, I thought this was personal GOTY. And for many it will be, because it's just an extremely impressive video game.

Number 1...?

Going into this list, I kept telling myself, 'man, on any other year, this would be my GOTY. And if you know me personally you likely have already figured out what my GOTY is by omission. But the more I've thought about it, the more I've realized just how close these top 5 games are, it really is like centimeters instead of inches, and they each -- well, every game I've mentioned here, beyond the Top 10, as well -- offered something edifying that I was very satisfied with.

And no, it's not Baldur's Gate 3. While I have spent hours playing it in co-op and a little bit solo, that game's just not really for me, exactly. Like, I can enjoy it, and I have massive respect for the dev team and what they accomplished with it. But I don't much care for D&D, and the game just didn't do very much for me personally, I lack the motivation to finish it. Remove Karlach from the game and I have next to nothing to really attach myself to, personally. I definitely get why it's many people's favorite game of 2023, though, and I do think it's a bit of a wakeup call for what can be accomplished by just making a GAME instead of struggling to contort it into a service etc.

Street Fighter 6 is fucking fantastic but it could still use some more actual fighters and incentives to keep playing besides monetizing its players in weird ways. I love it, and it will be the game from 2023 I end up playing the most (it already is, I think). But if it ended as it is, I would be very satisfied.

Hi-Fi Rush is oozing with originality and style and I adore it to death, and when I finished it, I was very satisfied.

Resident Evil 4 kept me addicted for over 100 hours, had an amazing DLC expansion, oozes replaybility in the specific ways I like for a single player action game (rogue-likes besides). I am extremely satisfied by it.

Tears of the Kingdom is so massive and fun to just explore that I know I will continue to play more in the months to come. Will I ever revisit it entirely? I'm actually not sure! That massive length does lend some repetition, even if it's the kind I find therapeutic and satisfying.

And that's what made me realize something. My personal GOTY did not just satisfy me. It made me hungry. It filled me up in a way I didn't think was possible and yet I still hunger for more, because I enjoyed it that fucking much. I played through it twice and still hunger for more. I know I will play it a third time eventually, but mainly I just have not been to remove from my brain the particular ways it made me feel, ways that only a video game can. Nothing about it felt like it needed to be overlooked.

SF6 and RE4 had dubious monetization, TOTK had a story I found to be like 90% boring and it still maintains many of the flaws of the original. And Hi-Fi Rush, while amazing, just didn't scratch the particular itch this game did for me.

1) Lies of P

If you told me that Lies of P was a game developed by some sub-division of FromSoft, I'd believe you. Which is to say I would also believe that it was made by people who wanted to break free from some of the shackles of the now infamous 'soulslike' genre.

A narrative that actually makes sense by the end? Opening up options for the player without requiring specific stat levels? Encounters and boss fights that feel ravenously challenging without just feeling like cheap bullshit? Music that crosses borders beyond 'angry chorus, angrier orchestra'?

Lies of P doesn't quite eclipse Elden Ring, but that's an absolutely unfair comparison given the utter scope and scale and variety that game packs. But Lies of P improves at the FromSoft formula in specific ways, while making concessions in others, and as a result it's just an experience that seeped into my brain like no other game this year, not even Tears of the Kingdom, despite that I put half the hours into this one.

I love all of the games I have mentioned here, you could honestly swap around the order of this top 5 and I could mentally meander a way to justify why, no, actually, this one was my favorite game of 2023. In a year so awful for the people who make games, yet so amazing for games themselves, Lies of P is exactly the kind of game I needed. I needed someone to show me that you can make something directly inspired by someone else's work, yet fine tune it in all the right ways to make it stand just as tall in terms of quality and design. Lies of P made me feel things in ways only a handful of games ever do -- and I would actually count Hi-Fi Rush among those in a regard.

But Lies of P also told a story I found compelling. It had mystery, tension, buildup, it started off seeming like it would do the vague FromSoft schtick only to 100% come together, make sense, be rewarding, and offer a 'true ending' that I got on the first playthrough, organically, without looking things up, because it just... felt right. Not only is the game adapting FromSoft's formula into something its own, it's also doing that with the story of Pinocchio. The gameplay and the story congeal together not in the 'perfect' way that it does with games like Celeste or Undertale, but rather in a more... messy way, like a puppet aching to become a real boy.

The game is full of loss, in its world and for you as the player, who will die many times. But unlike much of FromSoft's catalogue, I never once felt like I died because of bullshit. Was I trolled? Sure, the game definitely 'trolls' you in classic FromSoft fashion, lulling you into a sense of security only to sweep you off your feet. But unlike how FromSoft does it, these circumstances can always be avoided if you're cautious. And if you're not? Hey, 'We got you! We gooottt youuu, haha' and you lose a couple minutes of progress, rather than like fifteen minutes and also an entire level's worth of souls because oh right, this section you just got through is kind of bullshit cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I love Dark Souls. But the thing is, Lies of P takes the parts I love about Dark Souls, admits it can't pull off quite the intricate web of level design, but then throws away everything I do not like about Dark Souls, improves on the things I already liked, and then pushes me to meet it on its level.

The satisfaction of being a boss you spend an hour, two hours on, cannot be understated. It's a feeling unlike any other, and one only this medium can provide. And Lies of P kept me motivated, like Sekiro before it, to keep improving, keep growing, keep trying. And unlike Sekiro, it gave me so many more tools to play with, to learn, to balance in an arsenal with intent. Enemies have elemental weaknesses if I so choose to exploit them, the moveset of one weapon's handle can be applied to a completely different blade, my robotic arm can leverage things in a pinch, or be the backbone to dealing with a boss. Mastery is rewarded with practice. A vicious boss that annihilates you in five seconds can be defeated without a single scratch if you practice enough. Mastery, creativity, quick thinking, and reacting are all rewarded here.

I am more than the hands pulling the strings, I am more than a puppet, I am human. And games like this can only be made by humans, who get that specific itch that only video games that challenge us can scratch. It's not an itch everyone has, but that's why it's my GOTY and not yours, innit?

With its unique setting, its wonderful music, its cozy hub area, its narrative that offers just enough to make me care, but not so much that I am bored or feel misled, its amazing boss designs, and its wonderfully tactile and engaging combat, Lies of P is a game I just can't stop feeling something about whenever I am reminded of it.

It epitomizes so much -- not all, but much -- of what I love about what video games can do, what adaptations can do, and much like how Toby Fox was inspired by Mother 3, what people can do when they are inspired by someone else's work.

As far as I can tell, this is developer Round8's debut game, and just. Holy hell, what a way to come out swinging. I haven't seen a debut game hit this hard since, I don't know, Bastion.

Close your eyes. Come to me. Feel all right.

I did, and I do, and given what you teased at the end of this game, I have extremely high hopes of what you come up with next. And in a landscape where things feel more difficult to get excited for with each passing year, much less new IP, it's so damn refreshing to have both Hi-Fi Rush and this game standing out as signals that, hey, some folks are still willing to invest bigger budgets into new games, new ideas.

Again, a battle of centimeters here and at this point I should wrap this up and go to bed.

But yea, Lies of P reminded me of what makes me, specifically, human, in a very particular way that only it has. And I honestly think out of all of single player games of 2023, I think it will actively stand out in my heart the most in the years to come.

#GOTY 2023 #goty #video games #gaming #Mother 3 #scarlet hollow #super mario wonder #future redeemed #Pikmin 4 #Hi-Fi Rush #re4 remake #TOTK #LOZ TOTK #Tears of the Kingdom #Lies of P #long post #Sea of Stars

[desultory-suggestions]

just asking for advice, you're not forced to answer ofc

i struggle a lot with motivation, when i force myself to do things, it just doesn't feel right, and i feel so guilty about it, things like going to school or even brushing my teeth, it's all pointless and physically exhausting

idk if i'm just lazy or smt

anyway, any tips for folks with low motivation?

Hello, love! Thank you for your patience. Motivation is such a common struggle. I use some unconventional study and motivation tactics personally, as someone with ADHD and Dyslexia I have to get through a lot of nonsense to do basic things. First, you are not lazy! The idea today of laziness is very frustrating to me, and I feel is built on capitalist (and white supremacist) ideals. See the NAP Ministry.

According to The (USA) National Library of Medicine, "Executive dysfunction is commonly seen in major depression. The types of executive deficits seen in depression include problems with planning, initiating, and completing goal-directed activities." Anyone struggling with depression, whether an episode or long-term can struggle with these basic tasks. So how can we deal with this?

Some different techniques that may help:

Talk through the tasks you need to do out loud. You can discuss them in linear order or not. Don't focus on making them perfect and detailed, just explain it like you would to a friend.

Explain what you are doing as if someone is watching you/you're teaching someone. This is how I motivate myself when studying/working out/etc. and shows you that you do know what you are doing.

Break tasks down into smaller pieces to help them be more manageable, or simplify the ones that seem too complicated. (For this I need to do x, then y, then z. I don't need to overthink brushing my teeth, it's okay to just go do it.

Ask someone to be your accountability buddy. Body doubling/parallel play can be very useful. I ask my partner to brush his teeth with me so I have someone else there.

Accept that you don't need to do 100% of everything. You can't brush, floss, and use mouthwash? Okay brush for even just thirty seconds, it's better than nothing!

Utilize tools, but don't try to make it fancy. Aesthetics can be helpful and motivating, they can also apply pressure to make everything look good. Google Calendar or a messy notebook is good enough.

Surrounds tasks with cushioning time to relax. Even for little tasks, you can promise yourself rest before and after. Likewise, do enjoyable things during arduous tasks. Watch a silly video, playa. song!

Consider what the biggest obstacle is. Does it feel pointless? Do you want to do it? If not, why not? How can you change what is making you avoidant? If you do want to, what feels like it's stopping you? A specific fear? Or an impenetrable wall? These questions help define the next steps.

Accept you cannot do everything, especially not when you are suffering. You deserve help and it's okay to ask for it. Professional help is important when conquering issues with motivation whether from depression, ADHD, etc. Medications, therapy, and more can improve your mood.

Some tools I use:

Brushout - An app to help you brush your teeth for the right amount of time. Simple, and makes a nice dinging sound. Can be added as a widget to your home screen on iPhones.

Google Calendar - Also simple. Easy to click and add events and get reminders for things creeping up on you.

Mnemosyne Notebook - Ok the brand doesn't matter but the paper in this is so smooth and it makes me want to use it. But yes a notebook to organize thoughts.

Little Treats - I like to keep little snacks and treats around for working on things I have been struggling with. You don't have to wait until after, let yourself fuse joy with your efforts.

You do not need to be ashamed for struggling. No matter the reason or the manner, we all go through difficult things. Reach out, and don't give up. Feel free to ask for more information or advice again.

Best,

Evan

#asks #anon #motivation #executive dysfunction #procrastination #depressiom #adhd #education #school #studyblr #depressive episode

[sunriseverse]

@glasscoffingirlfriend replied to your post “duolingo emailing me like pwease come back and use...”:

wait what happened ive been thinking of using duo even tho i know its not ideal for actual language becuz its free and i figure its an ok place to start

​okay this is going to be long but there's a number of reasons i have umbrage with duolingo. i should start off by saying that duolingo is where i started learning languages in 2016, and it got me past the initial awkward phase with german. in the past, i viewed duolingo as a useful app, if not something that can actually teach you a language to a proficient level by itself.

however, over the years, my opinion has changed on this. it started with two things in specific: duolingo removed its forums, a place for users to interact with each other, ask questions about language learning, grammar, and so forth, and talk to native speakers of their target language (this went into effect in 2022, as this duolingo forum announcement explains), and the grammar/guidebook section that used to be available was phased out (first with the app, then on the website; i can't find a post by duolingo officially explaining when/why they removed it, but reddit posts i've dug up say this happened in 2022/2023), initially only accessible through specific links before being entirely removed and rendered inaccesible. these two things are, in my opinion, incredibly key functions, and draws to duolingo over other programmes/apps, which allowed people to study on a more extensive level, which have now been entirely removed without explanation or alternative.

secondly, duolingo sunsetted its volunteer contributor programme in 2021, and in 2023, announced it would put its welsh course on pause to "plan[s] to focus on languages in higher demand including spanish, french, and german". while the welsh course will remain available, no further work will be done on it—and, while only welsh is specified, i personally think this doesn't bode well for its other, "lower demand" language courses. as for the volunteer contributor programme being sunsetted, this means that duolingo no longer works with others to create new courses—a number of "lower demand" courses were created with the volunteer contributor programme, and wouldn't exist without it. the volunteer contributor programme allowed native speakers to contribute to and improve existing courses, and develop new courses (there used to be petitions for languages to be added, and if these calls were loud enough, there was a good chance that that language would be worked on, first as a beta course, then as an official course).

finally, more and more, duolingo is pushing monetisation. while i understand that duolingo is a business, that doesn't change my disappointment at it going from an entirely free, fairly useful resource (if not one that should be relied on alone), to an increasingly simplified, superficial platform riddled with ads, constantly trying to convince you to buy a subscription in order to access functions that used to be entirely free (anyone else remember when you weren't limited in hearts?).

i've tried not to let my subjective opinions colour this response too much, and keep it objective, linking sources into it, but yeah, overall, my opinion is that duolingo has started to suck a lot, and i wouldn't recommend it, especially when there's usually more extensive, more useful resources to be found. if you have a specific language you want to learn, and don't know where to start, and don't want to pay for a programme, you can send me an ask and i'll do my best to put together resources for you, or at least point you towards blogs that might have a better answer for you.

(also, the chinese course sucks. i cannot imagine trying to learn it from scratch—the lack of explanations of tone and grammar would probably make it a nightmare.)

#c.txt

[wa-kaizen]

Messages from your passed one | INTUITIVE

You can think of your spirit guides, mom, dad, friend, lover, crush, stranger, baby/child, anyone. It's about who is important to you. Just keep in mind that this is intuitive and a general reading. 🖤

services

1# 2# 3#

4# 5# 6#

꒰ welcome  ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

— have fun!

pile one ༊*·˚

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ before read ❜ ꒱

I don't think most of you have had a bad goodbye with this person, but you could be feeling guilty or sad, thinking that they hate you. You need to know that they will never hate you.

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ the message ❜ ꒱

" Hi, It's me again, I have been talking to you quite a lot actually. I just don't know if you have heard. Can you please stop crying? I am not mad, and I am always next to you. I know you think I am, but I am not. I sit at the side of your bed stroking your back and comforting you. So, I am here, please stop crying. Break out of your shell please. It's hard, but start little by little. Depression isn't easy to deal with right? So just try washing a cup today, and dusting off your shelves tomorrow. Even if you don't want to do it, you have to. There is way too much good things waiting for you for you to be depressed like this. Don't waste them. Don't chase them. Just allow yourself to feel but try to heal even if you can't see them yet. I believe in you, so please believe in yourself too. There is nothing in your way that could stop you. You are protected. I am sorry, you must have expected me to say more, but there is not much to say. I just want you to get better. Please get better. "

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ notes ❜ ꒱

I do feel like their spirit - or what you believe in - is with you everyday, if not 24/7. I don't think they are mad at you, but they do worry about your well being. They really having a hard time from moving on because they do not like to see you be in despair.

pile two ༊*·˚

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ before read ❜ ꒱

For some of you, this is definitely a motherly figure. Someone that you might not like, yet still miss. Most of you might have a child, or pet. They want you to know that they are looking after them and they love this baby of yours very much. Not adding this to the message bc this is really a small part of the group.

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ the message ❜ ꒱

" Hah! Guess where I am! I did make it to Heaven/Jannah! You owe me one, so just wait until we meet again. Jokes aside, I do miss you, we might not have a lot of common, or you might remember bitterly now, but I do love you. I see where you are and what have you become. I am very proud of you. You are doing great, keep going forward. You have a beautiful family you found for yourself. You fit in just right, your love language have also improved. You have came far. Don't worry so much, they love you as well. You have became much more stronger, and healthier at expressing your feelings. Yes, they are still hard but you have improved. Despite all we went through, I still love you a lot. You don't have to feel the same way. I understand if you don't. Forgiveness is a privilege not many experience, and you aren't obligated to give it to anyone. Please remember that yeah? These days you seem to forget. Don't give more than what you are able to give. Don't drain yourself out. Just be yourselves, unapologetically. It will be fine. I promise. "

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ notes ❜ ꒱

I do believe this person died loving you and thinking about you.

pile three ༊*·˚

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ before read ❜ ꒱

There is something about Koi fishes. I don't know what about them, but I have felt a strong pull to mention this to you. I am sorry to tell you this also, but this person died being scared.

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ the message ❜ ꒱

" I am scared. Not for me, but for you. Why don't you ever show anyone your feelings, why are you trying to suppress them? Don't do that. That's dangerous. I don't like it. It's scaring me. Please stop trying to look strong, it's okay to feel things. You are a human. Please allow yourself to feel things. It will hurt more if you don't turn to someone. Anyone. There is someone out there who will understand you. There is nothing shameful about the way you feel.. just please don't do this. Don't damage yourself. You mean so much to me. I can see you having a nice and bright future as well. You will be very happy and find someone you can share life with beautifully as well. All those ideas? All those plans? They are great. But please actually try to do them. "

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ notes ❜ ꒱

This person is quite sad seeing you damage yourself, almost as if they are crying? Treat this however you would like.

pile four ༊*·˚

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ before read ❜ ꒱

This person is very peaceful and playful! For a lot of you, the [blank] is 'papa'

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ the message ❜ ꒱

" Hey! Ya still onto politics? You used to be hardcore about it. Probably not anymore though. You seem happier, that is. It's so nice to see you like this, with that big smile on your face, enjoying life. This is what [blank] would have wanted too. For you to smile, dance, live, drink, find love, just live life. Just be you! Just be you. No one else anymore alright? Please buy that pretty red dress/shirt you wanted. It looks beautiful on you, if you take a picture, I will be there with you. You probably won't see me though, but I will be there. I am there. I am always there. Taking pictures with you is fun, I just wish you would know that I am there too. I miss you, I miss you a lot. To tell you the truth, I don't know how things will be after this. I am scared, even though I am here, as a spirit, I don't know a lot. I can only hope we will meet again, laugh a lot and become friends. Gosh, I miss when we used to just sit around for hours and talk and talk to no end until we couldn't breath from laughter. I love you so much, you can't imagine. I sometimes look down on you and see you enjoy life. It puts a smile on my face. Watching you sleep too. Haha, don't worry, not in a creepy way. I'll just hold your hand and protect your dreams. No more nightmares. I will have to say goodbye now, but I love you a lot. I do my angel. Rest well, take care of yourself. I miss you, see you in our dreams. "

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ notes ❜ ꒱

If you ever manage to communicate with them, please hug them, or reassure them. They miss you so much they could cry.

pile five ༊*·˚

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ before read ❜ ꒱

This person is maybe someone who suddenly passed away? Possibly to an illness.

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ the message ❜ ꒱

" Hey, my messages will personally be strong. I hope that's not a problem, please don't be mad at me. I know it hurts that I disappeared suddenly, but please move on. You are allowed to, you are allowed to have negative feelings, but don't let those weight you down and pull you back. Please allow yourself to live again. Blossom like the flowers in spring, get to your full potential. Please. I love you, start taking care of your health again. I love you a lot, let's meet again. This time, I will be better. "

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ notes ❜ ꒱

This person does have a heavy guilt and fear to them. They feel like as if you are mad because they did something wrong, they are really scared to talk to you incase you incase they cause problems to you again? Please pick another pile as well if you want to, because this is very short.

pile six ༊*·˚

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ before read ❜ ꒱

I feel like since the last meeting of you two, this person has changed as much as they possibly could.

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ the message ❜ ꒱

" Hi. Long time no see right? I would like to to start out with apologising. You didn't deserve all those things that I have done to you. Though, I hope you can listen to me with an open heart, because I would like to tell you something. Please think of yourself from time to time alright? I feel like you surrounded yourself with a lot of toxicity and you cannot see it yet. I want you to please do some inner work and see things for what they are. Take care of yourself, [name]. Those people are not who you think they are, I am not someone you want to trust, I understand that, but I am telling the truth, I just want to protect you. Don't doubt me. I just want good for you alright? I saw your highs and lows both. I like you better when you are true to yourself. I want to see you happy. You are my everything. You got this. You can control your life, don't think you can't. You are able to. You are the best. You have to know that, I know you ro know that. Don't deny yourself from happiness. You are not overreacting. Take that step no matter how big or small. It's for the better. Start living for yourself, not for the person others want you to be, okay? "

₍₍...₎₎ ꒰ ❛ notes ❜ ꒱

I heard the name 'Tanya'. Also, this person's voice was rather weak, kept fading in and out. So they must be a weaker spirit.

꒰ thank you for reading ꒱

#intuitive #tarot #spiritual #passed one #messages #connection #i never know what to tag #i hope it finds the right people

[tenebraevesper]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Obsolete, Night 15: Rewind The Memories

''For once I tried to simplify, the facts don't let me sleep. I can't say, how broken we are, but I still holding up through the dark, but the suits still pushing on! Forget all the bad strings that the years just cut! On our hands, our scars, our memories unplugged! Through the guilty gift I got, thanks to you, how could you?''

– Guilty by GatoPaint (Five Nights at Freddy's 3)

xXxXxXx

It was late in the evening when Sam and Springtrap arrived at Freddy's, having borrowed Emma's car for their little trip. Speaking of Sam's mother, Emma was absolutely not happy when she realized that Springtrap wasn't leaving, and while she was glad that Sam's mood had improved, she was still worried in regards to what trouble her daughter was about to get herself into.

''Sam, are you completely sure about this?'' Emma asked when Sam grabbed the car keys and her jacket, due to the weather being rather chilly. ''You haven't really told me what's going on, but whatever it is, I don't have a good feeling about it.''

''Yeah, I'm 100% sure I'm doing the right thing. Also, I'm really sorry for keeping you worried, Mum, but this is something that needs to be done. I cannot back away from Freddy's, especially not when I'm too deeply involved in all of this,'' Sam responded. Emma sighed, rubbing her temple. Of course, she could just forbid Sam to be involved with anything in regards to Freddy's, but she knew as much as Sam did that it was too late.

''Fine, may I at least know what exactly is going on?'' she asked.

''It's… a bit complicated,'' Sam trailed off, with Springtrap picking up.

''We'll explain it later, but let's just say that I have some unfinished business, specifically with Fazbear Entertainment and the new Pizzaplex,'' he explained.

Emma stared at him suspiciously, clearly in doubt about whether to trust him or not. She then sighed, adding in a crisp tone, ''Okay, but I want to know exactly just how dangerous this is going to be and what I can do.''

Sam and Springtrap exchanged glances, a bit stunned that Emma let them off the hook so easily, with Sam then running out to get the car. Springtrap lingered at the doorway, staring at Emma, who frowned in response.

''I suppose you and I have a lot to talk about, especially since I'm staying here,'' he said.

''Yeah, we do,'' Emma replied. It seemed that she wanted to say more, with Springtrap even tilting his ears, waiting for a response, only to leave when she remained silent. He thought about the upcoming conversations with both the Showtimes and Emma, trying to form a coherent explanation for what is going on in his mind. However, he felt that this conversation would be all over the place.

Once they had arrived at Freddy's, they quickly went inside through the back door and into the dark main area. Sam, who was ahead, saw that the stage was empty, only to feel her skin crawl when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and quickly turned around, seeing glowing eyes staring back at her.

''Sam? What are you doing here?'' Freddy asked her, clearly stunned to see her. The lights suddenly turned on, with Bonnie, Chica, Foxy and Puppet approaching them and Springtrap also joining them.

''You aren't working today,'' Bonnie pointed out.

''Yeah, I don't, but that doesn't mean that I can't come here whenever I want,'' Sam responded, then gave them a confused look. ''Why were the lights off?''

''We thought it was an intruder about to pillage our restaurant,'' Foxy responded. ''We were about to show'em how we deal with such people.''

''Fortunately for your future victims, we are no intruders,'' Springtrap said. Foxy gave him a side eye.

''Nay, I still see at least one scurvy rat 'ere,'' he responded, with Springtrap shooting him a glare.

''Why are you here?'' Puppet asked, turning towards Sam.

''We need to talk about what is currently going on at Fazbear Entertainment and what might be going on at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex,'' she explained.

''Oh, boy, it's one of those conversations, huh?'' Bonnie said, him and the other Showtimes exchanging looks of concern. Chica glanced at Sam.

''Should I get you a drink or a pizza from the fridge?'' she asked. Sam nodded, well aware that this was going to be a long night.

''Both, and thank you,'' she replied. The Showtimes, Sam and Springtrap then sat at a booth, with Chica arriving with the food for Sam and sat down with them.

''So, what happened?'' Freddy asked.

''I have played through the Halloween DLC, and Springtrap and I believe that the woman who had sent me the initial version of Help Wanted, Vanessa, is working together with Glitchtrap,'' Sam told them. ''I had checked the official Halloween DLC published by Fazbear Entertainment, and the message I had found in the one Vanessa had sent me is not in the official version.''

''I don't understand. Why would she want to work with Glitchtrap?'' Chica asked.

''It is possible that Glitchtrap had somehow influenced her,'' Springtrap said, only to see the Showtimes staring at him. ''What?''

''Oh, nothing… It's just that you simply cannot return without making our lives more difficult,'' Freddy told him in a snarky tone, with Bonnie giving him the thumbs up for the sheer disdain in his voice. Springtrap sighed in exasperation.

''I don't care if you judge me for my crimes. I've already heard enough of that,'' he said, glaring back at the Showtimes. ''However, if you're already going to blame me, then it should be because of something I had actually done. Glitchtrap's existence is not something I wanted to happen. He's only here because of Fazbear Entertainment deciding to create shortcuts by using the shortcuts and my own soul being broken because that Ghost Kid wouldn't let me move on. I had no reason to create Glitchtrap, especially since I genuinely believed that nothing could destroy me.''

''I do believe you,'' Puppet said, much to the surprise of the other Showtimes. She then turned to her friends. ''Consider this – no one knew about Glitchtrap, not even Afton himself, at least until now. From what I understand, it appears that, while Glitchtrap is partially a construct of his own soul, it might as well be an entity of its own, existing as an individual separate from Afton.''

''You're correct,'' Springtrap replied, nodding in agreement. ''I had been trying to understand what exactly Glitchtrap is and figure out what he might be planning next, but all I can do is speculate based on what I would do.''

''All of that speculatin' boils down to murder, eh?'' Foxy said. Springtrap nodded sharply.

''That might be the most obvious answer, but I still have a bunch of questions left,'' Sam said, playing with the can of soda. ''For starters, how is Glitchtrap influencing Vanessa? I assume it has something to do with Help Wanted, which opens another can of worms for myself, considering how I too played that game and encountered Glitchtrap, but we can worry about that later. Also, more importantly, what does Glitchtrap's existence mean for the Pizzaplex?''

''Do you want to say that he might to try to take over the Pizzaplex?'' Chica asked. Sam shrugged, not completely sure about it either. However, it seemed to be the most obvious answer.

''But, he's just a virus?'' Bonnie said in bewilderment. ''How could a virus take over an entire establishment?''

''He could if he has someone who'd aid him,'' Freddy said in a grim tone. ''As Puppet mentioned earlier, we had no clue that we had been infected by Glitchtrap, so if someone put a virus in the system at the Pizzaplex, or even the animatronics themselves, the virus could easily take over everything, correct?''

He glanced at Springtrap for confirmation, who nodded in agreement. ''I assume that you can only imagine what consequences that would have. I don't know the infrastructure of the Pizzaplex or how it will be run, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fazbear Entertainment starts relying more and more on robots, especially if they're mass produced in a cheap manner, and computers. They are doomed even before they have opened the building.''

''I'm glad that Anthelm said that I'll be sent to the Pizzaplex. Since I'll be trained as a technician, it should allow me access to the new animatronics, and I and Springtrap could make sure they're not affected by Glitchtrap, as well as explore the whole place top to bottom to see if there is anything that is just shows how neglectful Fazbear Entertainment is, or whether there is something more sinister going on,'' Sam added.

''Hmmm, seems like you aren't as hostile towards Afton as you used to be,'' Puppet observed.

''Sam and I had a heart-to-heart conversation, and we managed to finally settle down that argument,'' Springtrap explained.

''Too bad,'' Bonnie replied, grinning in amusement when he saw Springtrap glaring at him. ''I'm just saying that it was fun seeing Sam being pissed off at you while it lasted.''

''At this point, I have a hard time holding grudges,'' Sam told him.

''Lassie, having a kind heart is great, but you need to stand yer ground,'' Foxy responded.

''Yeah, I know,'' Sam replied, exchanging glances with Springtrap. He looked slightly concerned, but she just smiled back happily.

''Speaking of standing one's ground, I assume that you still have no spirits haunting you,'' Freddy said, looking at Springtrap.

''No, and it still feels weird, maybe a little unsettling, but I'm not complaining about it. The last thing I need is to suffer from hallucinations or have any of the Ghost Children try to convince Sam that I'm dangerous by placing her in danger,'' Springtrap responded.

''So, it's just us then?'' Freddy said, and when he got a few puzzling looks, he added, ''I mean that it's just us who actually know what's going on and want to prevent another tragedy from happening.''

''Yeah, but what can we even do about it?'' Bonnie asked, his ears twitching. ''We're stuck here, and the main action is going to happen at the Pizzaplex.''

''Do you guys really want to help us out?'' Sam asked.

''Of course. I think we owe it to you since you had told us why we were glitching out and being aggressive towards the previous technicians, as well being transparent with us about what is going on,'' Puppet responded. ''Not to mention, the obvious motive of us not wanting blood on our hands like the previous generations.''

''Thank you, but unfortunately, I won't be able to bring you to the Pizzaplex. I will keep you informed about what is going on, though,'' Sam promised.

''What about your friend?'' Bonnie asked. Springtrap rose an eyebrow, glancing at Sam.

''What friend?'' he asked suspiciously.

''The friend that had been coming over for the past few weeks whenever Sam was working,'' Chica explained. Springtrap gave Sam a questioning look, with her sighing.

''They mean Matthew Dearth, a new student at my school, who also has an interest in the Five Nights at Freddy's games and franchise,'' she explained, taking a sip of coke. ''He can be a bit weird, but he manage to put up with me during the past months, and I told him a bit about what happened at Ricky's, although nothing in detail. I also told him about Glitchtrap. However, I didn't tell him everything about what happened last summer in detail.''

''Wait, you told him about Glitchtrap?'' Springtrap asked her, a mix of surprise and suspicion on his expression. He didn't appear to be angry, but he certainly didn't look happy with the news.

''I didn't really have anyone else to tell besides the Showtimes, and I wasn't going to involve Mum into this mess,'' Sam responded, giving Springtrap a questioning look, her brows furrowed. ''Matt is someone I can rely on. He never pressured me to share more than I was comfortable with and he is really supportive.''

''Perhaps you should let him on this,'' Puppet suggested. ''After all, if he knows about Glitchtrap, but isn't affected like the rest of us is, he might be able to help you more than we do.''

''So, you're saying that it would be fine to involve this person in this mess as well,'' Springtrap said, leaning against the table and clasping his hands as he stared at the Puppet. Puppet, in response, was silent as she realized what she just said. ''Considering how you want to prevent another tragedy from happening, this suggestion is quite hypocritical.''

''I… I didn't mean it…'' Puppet stuttered, only for Sam to interrupt.

''I believe that Puppet is right,'' she said, much to everyone's surprise. ''I think I should give Matt the full rundown in regards to what is going on and let him decide whether he'd be fine with being part of this or not. After all, I too had all of the information necessary to decide what I want to do. Of course, everyone was telling me to just drop the matter, considering Springtrap's reputation.''

''So, are you going to call him now?'' Bonnie asked. Sam took out her smartphone, with the clock on the screen indicating that it was 11:54 PM, and she lingered a bit on it.

''It's really late, maybe he's already asleep…'' she muttered, but then decided to call him anyways. ''If he doesn't answer, I'll just send him a message.''

She put the phone on speaker so the Showtimes and Springtrap could listen to the conversation. The phone was ringing several times, and on the last one, Matt picked up.

''Hello? Sam, do you need anything?''

''Hi, Matt! I'm sorry for calling you so late, but I need to talk to you about something important,'' Sam said. Everyone heard shuffling on the other side, as if Matt just sat up.

''What do you want to talk about?''

''Remember how I told you about Glitchtrap and Help Wanted, and all that stuff in regards to Five Nights at Freddy's…''

''Yeah.''

''Well, something happened and… Let's just say that I'm willing to share way more information about FNaF than any normal person should even know about. I also know who exactly Glitchtrap is and what he might want, and that he is connected to the Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex… So, if you are interested, I can tell you everything,'' Sam explained. There was silence on the other side for a moment.

''I see… Do you want me to come over now so we can talk?''

''Wait, you really want to come over now?'' Sam was surprised.

''Yeah, sure. My parents won't mind me being out at this hour. Besides, it's a weekend.''

''I thought about waiting until morning, but if you're fine with it- I'm currently at Freddy's,'' Sam replied, feeling a little self-doubt. She now wondered whether it was a good idea to tell Matt everything. ''I will warn you, if you decide to get yourself involved, you might end up getting seriously injured or even murdered at some point.''

There was another pause on the other end, with Sam trying to ignore the looks the animatronics were giving her. She knew well that she sounded like the Ghost Children or Henry, but she knew that she needed to be as transparent as possible in a place where covering the truth up was prevalent.

''Okay; I'll see you soon!''

Sam cancelled the call, looking at the animatronics. ''Now, we're now waiting.''

xXx

It had been about 20 minutes since the call, and while Sam didn't really know where exactly Matt lived, she figured it would take him a bit to arrive. So, she spent most of her time pacing around the restaurant, trying to figure out how to explain the whole situation to Matt, as well as questioning her decision. Sure, it would be nice to have more support, but at the same time, she was worried about his own safety. However, instead of pretending to know better, like others did for her, she decided to give him information and let him do whatever he wanted with it.

Sam then looked up, noticing that one of the animatronics went missing from the main area, and upon realizing who it was, she went straight for the kitchen. There, she found Springtrap, who was staring at the kitchenware, being a bit startled by her appearance.

''Has your friend arrived?'' he asked. Sam folded her arms across her chest.

''Not yet,'' she said, giving the animatronic bunny a knowing look. She waited for a few seconds, then sighed and extended her hand. ''Okay, William, give it to me.''

''Give you what?'' Springtrap asked, acting confused. Sam shot him a glare that sent a shiver down Springtrap's spine. It reminded him of that those Emma gave him.

''William, I'm not an idiot. Give me the kitchen knife you're hiding,'' Sam demanded. Springtrap stared at her apprehensively, only to sigh in defeat and take out the huge kitchen knife he was hiding and giving it to Sam, who just glared at him as she took it. ''I wasn't going to use it, you know. It was supposed to be an intimidation tactic.''

''Yeah, I don't care. I may have forgiven you for abandoning me, but I'm not dealing with your antics,'' Sam replied, placing the knife back into the drawer.

''Sam, I just want to make sure he doesn't take advantage of you like your former best friend,'' Springtrap explained. Sam rose an eyebrow.

''Matt is absolutely nothing like Tessa, so there is no reason for you to do anything,'' she told him in a firm tone, then walked out. Springtrap remained, pouting.

He had to admit that he was a bit stunned to hear that she made another friend, and while he knew that her having a friend she can hang out with was a good thing, he couldn't help but feel a bit… well, he certainly wasn't jealous. He knew just how important he was to Sam. Perhaps, ''overprotective'' was the right word. Yeah, it certainly was. He simply felt overprotective given her history with other people. He also didn't like the fact that it was a guy, as he didn't feel that he was quite trustworthy. Sure, it was ridiculous to think something like that about a kid he hadn't even met yet, but he was dealing with teenagers, and he knew that those were just pure trouble.

He walked back into the main area, noting how Sam got alerted by Foxy, who was keeping an eye out at the street by looking through the shutters at the window. She immediately ran out through the back door, finding Matt at the parking lot as he tried to place a padlock on his bicycle. ''I'm sorry about all of this.''

''Hey, it's fine,'' Matt replied. ''After all, I asked you whether I could come over.''

''Yeah…'' Sam trailed off, with Matt joining her after he made sure his bicycle won't be stolen. ''It'll be better if we talk inside the restaurant. It's cold here.''

''Right… You wanted to talk about Five Nights at Freddy's, didn't you?'' Matt asked, with Sam nodding in response. The two then walked in into the main area, where the Showtime Animatronics were waiting for them. Matt looked curiously at the Showtime Animatronics, well aware that they were robots with a high level of sentience built for entertainment, but the way they looked at him, a look of anticipation, made it clear that there was much more to them.

''I suppose that a proper introduction is in order. Guys, this is Matthew Dearth, a classmate of mine. Matt, these are the Showtime Animatronics, the current generation of animatronics created by Fazbear Entertainment,'' Sam explained. ''They are way more self-aware than any other animatronic that isn't possessed by a ghost, and they had been helping me keeping my own sanity in check for the past few weeks.''

''It is nice to meet you formally, guys,'' Matt said, extending his hand for Freddy to shake it. ''I don't believe we really interacted with each other.''

''No, we didn't,'' Freddy replied. Matt then placed his hands on his hips, looking at the Showtimes.

''I also remember seeing one more animatronic last week…'' Matt suddenly froze when he heard a deep, growling tone from behind.

''That would be me.''

Matt turned around, stunned to see Springtrap suddenly standing behind him, his eyes glowing menacingly in a dark purple. He didn't even see him a moment ago as he walked through the entrance, and he noticed the smug smirk on the animatronic's expression, clearly pleased by Matt's startled reaction.

''The name is Springtrap,'' Springtrap said, keeping his hands folded on his back. Matt blinked slowly, processing what he just heard.

''You mean, William Afton…?'' he asked carefully.

''The one and only,'' Springtrap responded, clearly enjoying the fear creeping across Matt's expression. Then, Matt's demeanor suddenly changed, and he extended his hand, with a look of interest on his face.

''Nice to meet you, Mr. Afton,'' he said. Springtrap was baffled by the sudden change, as any sign of fear had been wiped and Matt was genuinely curious about him. He glanced at Sam, who just gave him a smug look. Matt waited for a moment, then lowered his hand when Springtrap didn't react. He turned to Sam. ''So, is this why you told me I might get murdered? Because you have an undead serial killer walking around freely?''

''Well, yes,… and no,'' Sam replied, rubbing her temple. ''It's a long story, but I can assure you that William won't hurt you… right?!'' She gritted her teeth, hissing the last part as she glared at Springtrap, who gulped nervously and nodded in response. Sam then turned back to Matt. ''You might want to go sit down. This is going to be a long conversation.''

''No problem, I have time,'' Matt replied, sitting down together with Sam and the animatronics at the booth. He also smiled at Chica as she brought over a free drink and a hastily microwaved pizza from the fridge. ''Okay, so, what's going on here? How did you even meet Mr. Afton?''

''I came across William last summer, when Ricky's Wonder Shack was still open and before Freddy's opened,'' Sam explained. ''Basically, I was just taking a peek at the restaurant because I was curious and I saw a figure inside, and the next thing I knew, William had grabbed me and threatened to murder me.''

As if right on cue, everyone, both Matt and the Showtimes, automatically looked up at Springtrap, who had an annoyed look on his expression. ''In my defense, I had just escaped Hell and had no clue what else I should do aside from the obvious.''

''That is no defense,'' Chica pointed out, frowning. Springtrap just stared at her, not responding, but clearly displeased.

''Wait a second, does this mean that what was shown in those FNaF games had really happened?'' Matt asked.

''For the most part, yeah,'' Sam replied, glancing at Springtrap. ''William had confirmed that they are indeed based on real events, and not just rumors Fazbear Entertainment spread to save their reputation.''

''Huh, that must've been a shocker when you found out about it,'' Matt said.

''I don't really remember her having much of a reaction, but she did grill me about what I had done and what had happened,'' Springtrap explained.

''I'm sorry, but I still don't understand something,'' Freddy suddenly rose his voice, addressing both Sam and Springtrap. ''How come you even decided to work to together? You, Springtrap, said that you wanted to kill her, but that obviously didn't happen.''

Sam and Springtrap exchanged glances, seemingly anticipating a question like that, with Springtrap answer, ''Sam had managed to get away from me and lock herself inside the security guard office, and we had a bit of a back and forth, with me threatening her and her responding to my threats.''

''Eventually, things went quiet, and I managed to escape the office and found Springtrap sitting on the ground,'' Sam added, addressing Springtrap. ''If I remember correctly, you were suffering from hallucinations, courtesy of the Ghost Children who had returned along with you to make sure the torture continues.''

''Right.'' Springtrap nodded.

''We talked a bit, and I eventually took pity on him and suggested that he could do better and offered him to stay at my place until he figures things out, and he accepted,'' Sam continued.

''Does your mother know?'' Matt asked.

''Yeah, she does,'' Springtrap said in a slightly bitter tone. ''She almost immediately figured everything out and threatened me. I will admit, Emma can be scary when angered.''

''I believe you. There is nothing scarier than a mother's righteous anger,'' Puppet said, clearly amused by Springtrap's strife with Emma.

''As I was figuring things out, I had been contacted by both the Ghost Children and Henry Emily, my old partner, who had been doing his best to convince me to literally go back to Hell,'' Springtrap continued. ''Of course, I never listened to him, especially since my attention was on the ongoing events at Ricky's Wonder Shack.''

''Sam had told me about it,'' Matt interrupted. ''She explained how one of the employees, Connor Davis, went on a murder spree, even using the animatronics for his misdeeds, and he eventually died.''

''Yeah, but I didn't tell you all the details. When I and William learned about Connor and what he had done, we decided to investigate him, and one of those investigations led us to the factory where William ended up stabbing Connor to save my life. Unfortunately, being inside a Ricky suit, Connor's soul had managed to possess it, and he sent his own creations – the Drawkill Animatronics – after us, while using the Misfits at Ricky's to murder more people. Unlike the Misfits, the Drawkills also have a higher level of sentience, similarly to the Showtimes, but neither animatronic group had been possessed by anyone, save for Raven,'' Sam continued.

''I remember you telling me about Raven…'' Matt muttered.

''From what we learned, Raven had been possessed by whatever remained of the soul of Connor's former co-worker, Bran Crawford, but eventually, his soul left, and all that remained was Raven with Bran's memories. Connor kept him around because he was obsessed over learning how to achieve immortality in a similar manner to William,'' Sam added.

''That's also why he had targeted me and Sam. He was an arrogant idiot who thought he knew better,'' Springtrap added. ''Not only that, but he also kept torturing both Raven and the Drawkills, who decided to turn against him and aid me and Sam in stopping him. Eventually, Raven and I had managed to corner Connor and Drawkill Freddy set the whole building on fire, with all three of us burning to ashes.''

''I see… but, you being here doesn't make sense then,'' Matt pointed out, only to raise an eyebrow. ''Right, you always come back, don't you?''

''Correct,'' Springtrap replied. ''Although, that's a whole another matter.''

''So, are the Ghost Children still here?'' Matt asked. Springtrap shook his head.

''No, which is something we had already discussed. Last time I had been here, I've been constantly hounded by either the Ghost Children, Henry, and even my own children. However, everyone's gone now, and while I suppose that is good news for my own sanity, it does feel a bit unsettling at times,'' he explained.

''As a side note, I can also see the spirits of the deceased after an unfortunate accident with Remnant,'' Sam quickly added.

''I see…'' Matt was a bit surprised, but quickly moved on to his next question, ''I suppose that didn't really help your own mental health.''

''Let's just say that the Ghost Children went so far to threaten my life in order to 'save me' from Springtrap, and with me being able to see and talk to them, I now had to listen to that as well,'' Sam explained.

''That's understandable. However, it appears that you're doing much better than before,'' Matt pointed out. ''Still, you have that dark and heavy aura surrounding you, but it is a bit lighter than before.''

''Aura?'' Springtrap rose an eyebrow, glancing at Sam. He saw nothing.

''It is just a way for me to describe what I sense,'' Matt explained. ''I know that there was something heavy and cold placed on Sam's shoulders, and I believe that her strong involvement in the supernatural was what caused it. Not to mention, the loss of someone close to her, a tragedy in her life, made things even worse, to the point she had issues with sleepwalking and constant nightmares.''

''I remember you literally asking me if I had something tragic happen to me the first time we met,'' Sam said. Matt smirked.

''So, I was correct in the end,'' he said in a triumphant tone. ''Dead or not, you still lost someone close to you.''

''Wait a second, I have a question here,'' Bonnie suddenly said, cutting off Sam's attempt at a response. ''How come you can sense stuff like that? Are you a medium or something?''

''No, because if I was a medium, I would've been able to communicate with spirits and see them the same way Sam does. I can only sense the supernatural and see whatever aura they have, and then I draw my conclusions from there. That's why I like to visit places that have this lingering sense of something tragic happening at them in the past, which is then preserved, either through the spirits that refuse to move on or the living who refuse to do the same,'' Matt explained. ''There is something nostalgic about places like Ricky's, even if it was a place of tragedy and only abandoned a couple of months ago.'' He then looked at Sam and Springtrap, with a soft smile spreading on his lips. ''I'm also glad to know the truth behind my brother's killer.''

''WHAT?!''

Not only Sam and Springtrap, but even the Showtimes were shocked by this bombshell, staring at Matt in stunned silence, who didn't seem to be perturbed at all by the sudden attention he got. Instead, he just took a bite of his pizza, calmly eating it.

''Matt, are… are you talking about Ricky's?'' Sam asked in a baffled tone. Matt nodded.

''Me, my younger brother and his friend went to Ricky's, and one moment he was there, and the next one, he was just mangled mess of flesh and blood,'' he said in a quiet voice.

''Matt, I'm so sorry, I had no idea… I knew about every disappearance and murder at Ricky's, but the news didn't release any names…'' Sam apologized, feeling awful for Matt having such a horrible experience. However, instead of showing any emotion, be it guilty or sorrow, Matt just shrugged.

''I never told you, so there is nothing to feel sorry for. Me and my brother were never close, and frankly, this wasn't the first death in my family. I also had a younger sister, but she died when I was 7. She had been playing at the pool we had outside our house, running around until she fell and hit her head on the pavement, then fell into the pool and drowned,'' he continued, ignoring the looks of horror on everyone's expression, sounding almost indifferent. ''My parents were devastated, and we moved from Hurricane to New Harmony because they couldn't get over her death, before eventually moving back. Mum always wanted a daughter, so this hit her really hard and she started paying more attention to my brother. I suppose it was a way for her to fill the void my sister had left after her death. However, now, they act like they have no children and a teenager roommate. I didn't hear them blame me for what happened though, but I do believe that something is going through their minds,'' Matt's tone was surprisingly bitter, but his expression showed nothing but serene indifference. ''I still have my sister's doll she played with when she died, as well as the Ricky plushie my brother held when he died. I had to clean off the blood, though, but I suppose this is one way to keep them around even if we were never close to each other.''

''Matt… I…'' Sam had no clue what to say, feeling completely numb, only for Matt to interrupt her.

''So, what's the deal with Glitchtrap then?'' he asked.

Recognizing that Matt wanted to move on from the topic about his own past, she quickly answered, ''Right, well… William had told me that Glitchtrap is most likely a broken piece of his soul, having found his way into the Help Wanted video game due to Fazbear Entertainment using the circuit boards as a shortcut for the programming, and is now influencing Vanessa, the one who sent me the Glitchtrap-infected games. I'm now certain that their next objective is to cause chaos at the Mega Pizzaplex.''

''A broken piece of soul…? How did that happen?'' Matt asked, turning to Springtrap.

''It was because of the constant torment I suffered in the Hell created by one of my victims,'' he explained.

''I see… So, what can I do to help you?'' Matt asked, observing Sam and the animatronics.

''You don't have to do anything,'' Sam replied. ''I told you this so you could make your own decision to either back away or be involved into a mess that might end up in your own death. This is a warning.''

''Fine, I'll get involved then,'' Matt responded in a blunt tone. Sam snorted, having already expected such an answer.

''Are you completely sure about this? Sam had been part of this for a while and she almost died on multiple occasions,'' Chica asked.

''Yeah, I'm certain. It sounds like it's going to be interesting, and I would love to participate in this horror show,'' Matt replied, shrugging. ''It's not like I have anything better to do.''

The Showtimes were about to argue back, but when they saw Sam shake her head, they realized they were fighting a losing battle. After all, Sam absolutely refused to back down, and if Matt was anything like her, he would power through this as well. Springtrap, on the other hand, didn't appear to care that much about Matt's safety.

''If you think that's the best decision, then you do you. However, don't think I'll be looking out for you if you do something stupid while exploring the Pizzaplex,'' he told him. Matt leaned against the table, placing his chin on his hand as he stared at Springtrap with a sudden interest. His eyes then flicked towards Sam.

''Sam, I don't think your father likes me very much,'' he said.

The reaction was instant. Both Sam and Springtrap were stunned by the bold statement, with Sam sputtering, ''W-Wait, that's not- He's not- I didn't-'', while Springtrap's eyes suddenly started to glow a dark purple, clearly plotting how to murder Matt for stating something so bold; something that was also quite true. As for the Showtimes, both Freddy and Chica were bewildered by the statement, while Foxy and Bonnie were amused by Springtrap's reaction, while Puppet just shook her head, clearly aware that there was something more going on than either of them wanted to admit. Matt just grinned cheekily, clearly enjoying himself.

Springtrap, on the other hand, was glaring daggers at Matt. Just when he hoped that Emma would be the only person he'd have to deal with, now he had a sassy teenager who was a bit too close with Sam for his liking to contend with.

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#Five Nights at Freddy's: The Untold Story (Masterlist)

#Five Nights at Freddy's: The Untold Story #Five Nights at Freddy's: Obsolete #springtrap #william afton #fnaf #five nights at freddy's #showtime animatronics #showtime freddy fazbear #freddy fazbear #showtime bonnie #bonnie the bunny #showtime chica #chica the chicken #showtime foxy #foxy the pirate #showtime puppet #fnaf puppet #fnaf help wanted #five nights at freddy's help wanted #fnaf halloween dlc #curse of dreadbear

[winterswhite]

One thing I've been talking about for a while that's entirely a personal gripe I have with the game is A3's event system and how draining it's gotten to play events. I had a little conversation earlier about the game's income declining over the years and I do honestly believe that and the decrease in player counts in recent events are largely because of the event system. I don't think the game's income has decreased enough for us to be worried about it shutting down though so I'm not talking about that and I don't wanna hear anything about it either. I've dealt with games shutting down before and I know the signs.

Anyway. Event system. It feels like they keep adding event types that cater to whales (PR events are super expensive, and the new Spotlight events are similar with the 2.7mil SSR+ reward and the redistributed SSR rewards from points vs ranking). The main issue I have, which as far as I'm aware I'm not alone on, is how damn hard it is to get finales in events, which is only worsened by the increased SP cap now that we have more to spend in one go after being away from the game for a bit or ranking up. In my own experience, it's easy to go 30+ minutes without getting a single finale and not everyone has the time or patience for that? I know I don't. People have other things to do and can't always be using their phones or playing games on them, and even if you just leave the game on auto while you do those other things, you'll still have to check on it for shows, and it'll still drain your phone's battery.

Other tap tap games I've played have some sort of safety net to avoid problems like that, like enstars basic guaranteeing you at least one rare live per event lesson, and while it's no longer active, On Air used to let you stack up to four event recordings at a time so if you let the game play itself for a while, you could come back and ideally at least one of those would be a 3☆ recording. Other games have similar guarantees or rate-ups or just...anything to make the event experience less of a pain. All we have in A3 is...one guaranteed show per practice, and that's, more often than not, a matinee or soiree.

On top of that, this is probably just me, but I feel like practices in A3 go really slow, both with auto and without, and the auto-cancellation of specific show types is just as slow. That makes it feel like each practice takes forever, which really doesn't help (again, I've gone 45 minutes without a finale on more than one occasion).

I'm really just complaining but...I wish they'd make some kind of tweak or improvement to the event system. They only need to change one of these things to make the event experience exponentially better, whether it's by increasing finale rates, adding a guarantee of some sort, or speeding practices up. It's...not a big request to make, I think? But it'd make things so much easier for me and a lot of others who I know struggle to play the game anymore because of how draining it is.

I know gacha companies aren't our friends, but we have jobs or school or other things in our lives to deal with and waiting half an hour for a single finale just isn't worth it in the middle of all that. It's actively harming their revenue too, so it'd really be in their best interest to change things a little. I still love A3 and I want to keep reading and translating the stories and other content because nothing can replace this story and these characters in my heart, but it'd be nice if I could be as enthusiastic about the actual gameplay aspect.

#not putting this in the main tag #bc it really is just a rant from me #but i have a lot of thoughts about this game and the event system and how it could be improved #bc i love a3 and it makes me sad that events are such a drag #i played the anniv event but that's...the only event i've played in close to a year #it's just too hard to play #but oh well #an rambles: a3!

[egg-emperor]

How did casino eggman celebrate Dr.Eggman's birthday today?

Casino Egg loves getting to spend a day with modern Egg on his birthday! He likes how, of all the places in the universe the infamous modern Dr. Eggman could be, he's with him. He'd say that to flatter modern Eggman in itself, saying "aren't I lucky?" for it and it gets him giggling and saying "yes you are!"

He wants modern to stay with him in his mansion instead of him at modern's base, so he invites him over and he comes because he always likes to spend time at his impressive huge and beautiful place. He does so the night before because he has big plans and wants their celebration to last all day long.

Modern Egg wakes up to Casino Egg cuddling him from behind and kissing his cheek as he says good morning to the handsome birthday boy. It immediately puts a big smile on his face to be met with the sight and embrace of a very handsome man as a spitting image of him and be complimented sweetly.

There's a surprise for him that Casino Egg called for but has to wait a bit more for it to be ready, so they snuggle for a little longer during the wait. But his first surprise of the day actually comes when Casino Egg suddenly disappears under the covers and gives him something that I can't detail on main XD

That puts him a very good mood already but it's even further improved when he's surprised with a big breakfast in bed. Lots of strawberries added to the waffles and pancakes dessert for a Casino Egg touch. The food is delicious and high quality, expertly prepared by his very expensive and skilled chefs.

When they get to his lounge room he's presented with a bunch of gifts! Mostly consisting of clothing, jewelry, and money. The clothes were designed by Casino Egg as he's a skilled clothes designer with his own fashion lines. They're exclusive designed just for him and are high quality and very expensive to make.

Modern feels very special to be gifted with these unique designs and tries on one of the outfits, a black button up shirt and red jacket and pants that looks very smart on him and some golden jewelry with red gems to compliment it. It actually has him looking quite a lot like Casino Egg with his usual style!

When he comes out of the closest to show him how he looks, Casino Egg is in love with it and says they suit him really well and looks extra handsome in them but he's excited to get him out of them later on too hehe. But before then they're set to have a fun day out so everyone can see how great he looks!

They go out for a dinner, nothing that sets a super romantic mood because Casino Egg knows it isn't modern Egg's thing but it is a very expensive luxurious dining experience and modern always loves being spoiled with delicious food. He encourages him to order everything he wants as a special birthday feast.

Modern Egg is very satisfied with a pleasantly full tummy and Casino Egg enjoys seeing how happy he looks. When they get back they go into Casino Egg's cozy gaming area where he gets to cuddle with him on his giant bean bag with lots of pillows and blankets to get comfy and rest after his big meal.

They play the games he was gifted and Casino Egg doesn't know a lot about 3D ones so modern enjoys showing him how to play and he admires his passion for it. Modern finds it amusing when Casino Egg tries and struggles and he says he's very cheeky but he'll let him get away with it on his birthday XD

Casino Egg makes sure modern Egg is comfortable, pampered, and pleasured throughout the day in total luxury and he constantly feels totally blissed out. He makes it calm and relaxing for him when they're chilling but also exciting and makes sure he has fun when they're active, and of course they get intimate plenty too

He loves spoiling him with sweet treats like baked goods, expensive boxes of chocolate and candies and gifts and keeps asking if there's anything he'd like to buy and lets him order anything and everything he wants. It's just as thrilling for him to spoil him and spend tons on the special beautiful birthday boy.

A few hours later Casino Egg takes him modern out to one of his bars in the city in his pink limo because he says he wants to show off how beautiful his boyfriend is and for everyone to see how great he looks in his new outfit. They make quite the entrance and modern loves the attention when he's in the spotlight!

They sit in the special reserved cozy and quieter corner and Casino Egg encourages him to try a bunch of the best delicious drinks. It quickly has them feeling jolly and silly and they laugh and have a ton of fun. Casino Egg is very flirty and keeps making modern blush and giggle with his sweet compliments and charm.

Casino Egg wants to cuddle close and kiss lots but modern gets a bit flustered as he's actually the more submissive one in the relationship and it's a big secret so he prefers to let everyone think they're just friends that kiss a little sometimes. He's hesitant to let the public see how he makes him swoon.

When Casino Egg notices how modern hesitates he teases "no way, you're not getting shy, are you?" and modern also doesn't want people to think his ever confident ass can get like that too! So he quickly denies it and Casino Egg makes him prove it by letting them get a bit closer and more cuddly and affectionate.

But modern Egg is much less worried about it the drunker he gets and forgets where they are when lost in the moment. Little kisses on the cheek turns into making out with tongue in the corner but in view for anyone to look over but it feels too good for him to care anymore. They look like very close friends now hehe

Modern often feels very snuggly and more affectionate than usual after a few drinks and forgets to hide it in public because Casino Egg is so alluring he gets carried away. He hugs him tight and loves it when Casino Egg pushes his face down into his beautiful titties, he's so soft and warm and strawberry scented.

When it suddenly hits modern Egg and he realizes he's giving himself away to everyone there, he blushes hard and panics but Casino Egg puts his hand on his head to keep him there. He says there's no need to be embarrassed, anyone here would just be super jealous and wish they were in his position right now! XD

That does help a lot but he's a lot more confident in showing his affection when they get back to the mansion and hang out at Casino Egg's beautiful garden full of beautiful flowers and hedges and they're all alone together again. They hold hands as they walk together and talk and admire the scenery.

They're both a bit drunk wobbling as they walk and almost fall into the hedges or flower beds. Casino Egg says "hey it might be your bday but you're not flattening my flowers with your heavy ass" and modern says he can talk as he's almost doing the same and is heavier so he'd do more damage and they playfully bicker lol

They reach the center of the big glorious garden with the bench and water fountain and the sky is beautiful and starry and they admire it together but not as much as they admire each other. It sets the mood for them as their sweet kisses turn into deeper passionate ones and they start feeling each other up

When they get excited Casino Egg says they should take this inside to be more comfortable. When they get to his bedroom he reveals that he has a few more gifts for him and he opens them to find that they're very naughty and Casino Egg plans on them trying them out tonight. They're in for a very fun time! ;)

But unfortunately I can't get into the details of that on main hehe

Casino Egg makes sure he puts his best effort into making it a fun and exciting day for his beloved bf modern Eggman for the first birthday they spend alone together and it's certainly ends up being a very special memorable one 💜

#asks #casino au #dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #dr. eggman #my post #suggestive

[sukacheri]

2wink Week 2023 Day 1 - Nostalgic

A Quarter Past 2am [AO3 or keep reading below]

2wink | one-shot | 1.4k words

Though the size of his palm had changed, the portion of chocolate chips stayed the same. As if what Hinata had used as a child, with palms barely big enough to grab any sort of meaningful handful, was Yuuta’s preferred amount of chocolate. Or maybe it was what nostalgia tasted like. Or: Hinata makes Yuuta hot chocolate when he can't sleep.

a/n: yayy first 2wink week post!! this is an old fic i posted a few months ago but since the day 1 theme was nostalgia i feel morally obligated to post this here. i hope you enjoy!

@2winkweek

It was 2am.

Hinata didn’t fall neatly into being a night owl or early bird by any means, but this was definitely too late for him to be up. It would be one thing if he had just woken up from sleep and decided to get a glass of water before going back to bed, then it wasn’t “staying up”, it was an interruption to his sleep. If anyone walked into the kitchen at this hour and saw him, that was what he'd tell them. If there were even other people awake right now.

No, there definitely were. There were plenty of weirdos living at Ensemble Square.

Also, he like, totally did not snoop on his phone to see that Yuuta was active on social media right now. That would totally be violating Yuuta’s privacy. But it wasn’t like he was hiding it. Okay, well, he wasn’t posting anything, but it said his status was active! So, if he really didn’t want people to know then he’d turn that setting off.

It didn’t really matter.

Hinata already had a saucepan warming up on the stove. Milk and cocoa powder set to the side, waiting on standby to be added in. 

Yuuta’s lack of sweet tooth normally deterred Hinata from making something like this, and he knows countless spicy alternative recipes for other meals. He had even gone out searching for spicy hot chocolate recipes and begging Niki to teach him how to make them properly because while he had mastered the art of adjusting sweetness, mixing and matching spice wasn’t as intuitive to him.

And even with the special training, his spice palette was unsatisfactory, but it was probably better that way. Yuuta would hate it if Hinata was invading on one of his key personality traits. Even if, no, especially, if it were for Yuuta’s sake Hinata did so.

Hinata hovered his hand over the pan, heat seeping through his fingers, and decided it was warm enough now. He poured the milk in first, the white 2% of it all covering the bottom of the steel pan, with the cocoa mix following right after. He whisked them together with a practiced hand, muscle memory that knew a repetitive whisking motion used in most cooking, yes, but also this particular movement for this particular hot chocolate.

Everything about this recipe, routine, ritual, was ingrained in him, from his fingertips that spread the mix, to his arms that whisked the pan, and to his feet that had taken him out here to the kitchen in the first place. It might as well be a piece of his soul. 

It was pointless to wonder how much of his soul is dedicated to Yuuta. Sure, he tried nowadays to be himself, Hinata Aoi, through and through. Whoever that was.

The more thought-provoking and less existentially-dreading exercise was to scour through the pieces like a web and decide which ones didn't end up linking back to Yuuta in some way. 

Most of his hobbies started from a need to improve himself, not for his own personal self-satisfaction, but for Yuuta’s sake. Gardening was his one non-performance based hobby, but even that started as a way to save on groceries at home and grow the peppers his brother liked that hurt his wallet just a bit too much. 

A drop of milk splashed out onto Hinata’s arm as he whisked, drawing his eyes back into focus on the warm brown color [verb]ing in the saucepan now. He set the whisk down, feeling the beginning of a cramp in his hand but ignored it to reach across the counter and grab the sugar. He didn’t need to use a lot; Yuuta usually liked something a little sweet when he couldn’t sleep.

It took only a few seconds for the sugar to dissolve and for Hinata to grab a small handful of chocolate chips to scatter in the pan like saccharine hail. He started whisking again and tried not to dwell too much on the memory of a much younger him, one before all the growth spurts and near-constant sibling bickering, one that had his little brother fully rely on him. Though the size of his palm had changed, the portion of chocolate chips stayed the same. As if what Hinata had used as a child, with palms barely big enough to grab any sort of meaningful handful, was Yuuta’s preferred amount of chocolate. Or maybe it was what nostalgia tasted like for him.

Some things change and grow, like how Hinata wasn’t a child anymore, but other things remained the same, routines built into the soul like a code for design.

It was a quarter past 2am, and while the oncoming footsteps were soft, trained to be light on the floor at night, they were wearing slippers, not socks. This was a public building after all, and the twins weren’t living at home anymore.

Yuuta rounded the corner into the kitchen, and Hinata spied the stray hairs sticking up at the back of his head from tossing and turning in bed. The hunch of his shoulders could be mistaken as stress to anyone else that saw them, but Hinata knew his brother’s heart and behaviors, and not that he carried stress but a chill. It took a lot for him to finally drag himself up and out of bed, away from the warmth and comfort of his blankets.

It meant he gave up on sleep and decided to make the chilly trek without a blanket to the kitchen. And like any regular person, he would get a nice glass of water and then try once again to get some shut eye.

Being “overbearing” was a trait Hinata has yet to fully kick, and who says he should be rid of it completely anyways? He should always be able to spoil his brother.

Knowing Yuuta’s ‘I can’t fall asleep even after looking at my phone for several hours and switching which side I lay on so that my phone can keep charging because it almost died’ ritual is hardly a facet of being overbearing. They did share a room for years.

Hinata’s mouth twitched like he wanted to greet Yuuta, but maybe his brother’s eyes do look a bit more tired than usual (or maybe it was just eye strain. These kids on their dang phones..!). He kept quiet instead, and let Yuuta be the one to initiate any talking.

Yuuta paused when his eyes met Hinata’s, and he can see how Yuuta’s mouth is already forming words of interrogation for him. It took a moment for him to settle on his words, and they were less questioning than Hinata would’ve thought.

“... You don’t drink hot chocolate this late,” Yuuta said, walking to join Hinata at the counter.

Hinata didn’t respond, instead looking at the warm, light brown color of the hot chocolate in the pan. The perfect color. He turned the heat off for the stove with a click of the knob, and when he turned to grab a mug, Yuuta’s already beaten him to it.

Hinata accepts the two white mugs, the Cosmic Productions logo printed on the sides of each, that Yuuta hands him. He didn’t bother saying anything right now; if Yuuta wanted to press Hinata on why he was up so late then he could do that, but Hinata wasn’t going to open that can of worms if he didn't have to.

He poured the hot chocolate into both their mugs, steam rising as the liquid filled them. They would probably get stained brown, but that was on CosPro for deciding to get plain old white instead of a nice sleek black or something. Maybe they should’ve done a chrome color.

In the little momentary crease of Yuuta’s eyebrows as he picked up the mug, there was the lingering need to question how Hinata knew he was awake. Hinata can imagine the thoughts flitting through his brain as Yuuta tried to make sense of it. Was it a camera in his room? A parenting app installed in secret? Twin intuition? At least there was no need to question what comes after Hinata knew that his brother was awake, since this was a routine as old as they’ve been able to reach the stove by standing on a wobbly stool.

He had always been making hot chocolate for Yuuta to help him fall asleep. Hinata didn’t plan on ever giving up that level of care for him, because as long as it was impossible to beat up nightmares and bad dreams, then this would be all he could do to settle his brother at night.

Yuuta took the first sip, his face relaxing as he held the cup with both his hands, seeping in its warmth. It was a short sip, since it was too hot to properly drink right now, but his lips turned up into a small smile regardless. 

“Thank you, Hinata-kun.”

There was no need to question Hinata tonight, not over this familiar hot chocolate that had comforted Yuuta countless nights before.

“No problem, Yuuta-kun~”

#2winkWeek2023 #enstars fic #ensemble stars fic #2wink #hinata aoi #yuuta Aoi #my writing

[digital-corruption]

My comments on The Ssum (by the studio that made Mystic Messenger):

I want to say I like The Ssum, but it's pretty weird. I don't understand the purpose of all the side stuff. I guess it's original in that there's no mini games per se, but you have a pseudo social media platform within the game. Does it have any actually purpose other than being a distraction while you wait for Teo?

Oh man, if you decide to give the game a try, you have to be super careful how you set up your daily schedule. There's 5 chats a day: wake up, breakfast, lunch, dinner and going to bed. The thing is the chat opens about 30 minutes or so before the time you set and so it closes about 30 minutes before the next time. In a way this is a massive improvement over Mystic Messenger. No chats while you're sleeping so no waking up at weird hours. However, you have to be mindful of how you set up your time. If you set the wake up and breakfast times too close together, you risk missing the wake up chat. Also if you have a tendency to sleep in on weekends, you're at risk of missing out. Strangely I found the going to sleep chat closes at midnight. I don't know if this is the case if you set the time after midnight. I just know that setting it for 11 pm screwed me over, especially because I fell asleep early that night. Maybe this will be fixed?

I've seen a lot of people complaining that Teo is too bland. It is sort of a mistake of only offering one character and hence one love interest. They are trying to appeal to everyone and thus Cheritz have made him too generic. There is the point that Cheritz are boasting 200 days of content so it is meant to be a slow burn relationship. I do find the conversations rather bland. The situation could had done with other characters to bounce off of. Rather than 200 days of Teo, why not 50 days of 4 characters instead? 50 days of content would’ve still been super impressive.

My next concern, 200 days is quite a commitment for a game. The plot better start becoming engrossing, otherwise the game is just a chore. There is no way to save and take a break either. You can pay via IAP to go back or forwards in time.

I missed the wake up chat this morning because I didn't open the app until just before my breakfast time. However for a game that boasts its realistic dialogue, Teo quickly forgot that we didn't actually have that conversation. Not to mention the English translation is rather poor for a game that had several delays. It's playable and passable, but needed someone who spent time living in an English speaking country to edit the script.

I won't be paying for the subscription. For where I live it's over $1 per day and that's far too steep, especially when there's 200 days of content. No matter how you look at it, that's $200 to play the game. PS5 games here are $110-$130 at the moment for a standard edition. There is no way this game is worth more than a PS5 game. So I will suffer the ads and the slow text speed. Also it doesn't unlock Teo's private account? The money grabbing Cheritz is doing with this game makes me sick. I get that there is a lot of continued maintenance required to keep the side stuff going, but we're not talking a few coffees here.

Tl, dr: The Sum has a lot of confusing filler to the game thaf you can ignore. If you intend to play, take care setting your schedule because you can't fix it without paying money, which is just one of a dozen ways the game tries to take your money. Four days in and the chats have been shorter than Mystic Messenger with considerably less plot development. It is meant to have 200 days worth of chats so the relationship is expected to develop slowly. Teo though feels very generic. Trying too hard to appease every preference?

Also why no option for player to be male/nonbinary? They provided a female love interest in Mystic Messenger. This feels backwards...

I'll give it a few more days and to see how it goes.

#the ssum

[dynalope]

Palia: First Impressions

Been playing a few hours of Palia this morning, an MMO that let me into their beta and, I must confess, I'm not quite sure what its going for.

I think its trying to be an MMO Harvest Moon/Stardew Valley but, so far, its been characterised by a great deal of waiting.

Everything is done in real time. If you want to make a plank out of a log, you have to wait 30 seconds to do that. If you want to sell some stuff from your dropbox, you have to wait for that to happen every hour or so.

But the real blow has come just now. I had finally finished making the bricks I need to build a house which took a long, long time because I needed 35 and they took 2 minutes each to make, not counting the time needed to go get the resources.

Regardless, I finally have all the bricks and planks I need, I put them into my house and I'm greeted with:

EIGHT FUCKING HOURS.

This game made me wait over an hour just to make 35 bricks and now it wants me to wait EIGHT HOURS for the house to build???

Nothing productive is even being done. It not like I can make use of the resources already created like I can with the plank or brick making process. Its just a really long timer they've added for, as far as I can tell, no fucking reason.

Not only that but the storage space you get in this game is WOEFUL.

Only a few hours in and I've found myself having to sell most of the resources I'm collecting and thats even after a backpack upgrade.

For some reason this game does not want you to be able to keep ahold of your resources.

Its so bad that characters will send you furniture (for the house I'll have in EIGHT REALTIME HOURS) saying things like "Hey, good job growing an onion! I've sent you a box to hold all your veg!" and the fucking box will be NON-FUNCTIONAL.

Every time you find a chest in the wild, you also take the chest with you to use at your house. A pretty cool feature, right?

WRONG. THE CHESTS ARE ALSO NON-FUNCTIONAL. THEY JUST SIT THERE AND LOOK "NICE".

So I have eleven chests sitting at my base, empty chests as far as I know, and I can't do ANYTHING with them even though I'm running out of storeage constantly.

Its a joke. Its a game thats trying to draw itself out (I assume because they aren't confident in the amount of content they have yet) and also starve you of resources.

I can only assume its a ploy for some later microtransactions because the ones already in this BETA (ITS A BETA WITH MICROTRANSACTIONS) are a JOKE.

At this time they only seem to sell outfits but, as far as I can tell, microtransations are the only current way to get new outfits. The cheapest outfit at this time requires you to buy £17 ($22) worth of their premium currency and obviously the outfits are priced to just be slightly too low to reach with a cheaper pack so you have to buy a more expensive pack and have some left over, as is standard with this predatory garbage.

So yeah, not impressed so far. I hope the game improves because it has a lot of charm and a chance to be a good bit of fun but right now the charm is just a front for a shallow game that has little content but timers worthy of a mobile game and microtransations.

Hope they improve.

#palia #vtuber #first impressions #gaming #video games #furry streamer #streamer #envtuber #vtuberen #dynalope

[rove-bogge]

Happy Birthday to the Ignihyde Gremlin!

Happy Birthday Rove!

"Huh people actually have time to remember this year?"

Do you normally not get your birthday celebrated? 

"Not really…my family runs a tailors and Halloween is like the busiest time of year for orders especially after Reda has expanded the business…If I'm lucky the simp might make my favourite dinner but normally it's kinder overshadowed…"

How about this year? 

"Well my main want is to have a great halloween with the rest of Ignihyde I guess if we get that I'm happy….not that I am a sappy person uuurgghh..." 

Any birthday memories? 

"Ehhh its always been full of busy work making last minute adjustments or dealing with fussy karens….though one year we had this magician come in when i was still a little tot…apparently he needed some adjustments to his big show costume so I was helping with the hem and he asked me what day it was and when I told him it was my birthday he gave me my first set of dice and taught me some dice tricks he was a fun guy though I forgot to get his name and sadly never had time to check out his shows… shame but I still have those dice there my super super lucky ones!" Any plans for the future? “Not really…I have to go help out in the family store after all. Got to love being shut in the basement and forced to work my life away in boredom…” You're joking right? Well what would you like to do?” “Umm…well if I could pick…I like to be a bug tester both in spells and technology. People hire hackers and virus makers to see if they can break their security on their systems and test the weaknesses. It’s doing what I do best but legally. Then I could use the money to expand and improve my bug habitats and maybe even do breeding for endangered species to help them recover.”

Ok some favourite food? 

"Sour gummy worms totally are the best. It always makes people do a double take if they look more realistic too hahaha. I guess there's also the simps stew too that always hits right especially during the rainy season. I have a slow cooker in my room to make it every now and then. I sometimes will make a huge batch for the dorm when people need a bit of a pick me up!"

Least favourite food? 

"Urgh coffee it's so bitter….how can people drink it? I added like fifthteen sugars and milk and it still tasted nasty…I'll pass thanks there's other ways to get caffeine!"

Who would you bring to a deserted island? And the person can not be someone from your dorm! 

"You knew Ortho would have been the easiest pick…well I guess it's still not a hard question to answer. Kalen. With his unique magic I'm sure he will do all the heavy lifting while I sit back and wait for rescue..maybe even see what insects live on this island. And Kalen is at least tolerable to be stuck with and worse case there's plenty of muscle if food sources become short kek /jk!"

Who would you pick for a sibling-

"Orth-"

But it can't be someone from your own dorm!?!

" ….."

"……"

*turning bashful* 

"…..Lilia or Vil..."

And why??

"Well…Lilia seems to see my bugs as cute too and wouldn't it be funny to be taller than the older brother so there's that too and I could only imagine the cool prank team ups we could have!"

"As for Vil Jinx is always saying good things about Vil and it…sounds nice to have a sibling who would look out for you and care about your well being…Reda never really cared about looking out for me growing up…there was many times I needed him and he wasn't interested in being there….oi forget I said that!!"

Jeez alright…

A dorm other than Ignihyde? 

"Hmm can I pick Ramshackle? Hehe the ran down house is perfect for wild certain wild bugs I would love to have a even bigger room to house my collection in and it's quiet not filled with many people so peaceful…though…would the internet be decent…might need to speak to Idia about installing fibre optic if I was to move though I guess if Ramshakle doesn't count Diasomnia seems alright. It is not lively like the other dorms or stuffy so I could keep to myself easily there…and Ember is there too so we can play games in the evenings. I guess green is also more my colour then blue...." Ready for your gift of good fortune? "I wouldn't call it good fortune.....How about we just give it to the bugs....a little treat." Hold still! [Whoosh!]

#Did I just hit the jackpot? #Hey do you wanna talk bug facts? #Happy birthday my little gremlin son <3 #it's the 31st here so im posting it now >:T