#i did test this out in game quite a bit though and they seem totally fine

[the-random-phan]

Wow, tough crowd.

Summary:

Daniel James Fenton had lasted a total of one month in space until his fellow crew members finally caught on to him. Which was both disappointing and a feat to behold, in all honesty.

Word Count: 4,506

Ao3 | FFnet

Story below the cut!

The Janus was a brand new space station, freshly launched into orbit and in its first year of operation. The current squad were the first to inhabit the station, and thus their interpersonal roots went deep. They had trained together, worked together, bled together, and even lived together back on Earth. As a team, they muddled through the glitches and hang-ups that came with pretty much being the guinea pigs of the Janus program. There were 5 of them on the team, though only 4 and a half were human.

Daniel James Fenton was a critical team member on the Janus, the first consult for everything engineering and mechanical on board. He was also Danny Phantom, a super-powered ghost, which was a closely held secret amongst the crew.

Danny had truly tried his best to keep his dual identities from the crew, and had maintained his secret up until right after they were sent into space. Which was amazing in itself, looking at the menagerie of tests they had gone through to procure their spots and ensure their individual safeties in space. It was a miracle he’d gotten as far as he did.

It was the youngest of their group -Isabella (their resident master of technology, who could fix just about anything that had a computer in it)- who started the unraveling of Danny’s web of lies. It all started with the first time Danny went on a spacewalk. He moved fluidly, gliding with more grace than the clutz had any right to. He had even tripped up the steps when they boarded the shuttle that carried them up to the station.

Danny pushed off from a handle and then spun in midair to get to where he wanted. It seemed almost like Danny didn’t care for momentum and just… moved. Slid across space. Isabella didn’t see it at first, but once she did it was hard to ignore. He got sloppier and sloppier as the walk went on, almost like he forgot she was there. He kicked off from one place then made a 90 degree turn to get to where he needed. It was almost… unsettling. Uncanny valley?

Of course, Isabella didn’t tell him that. She took a mental note and proceeded with her day, deciding to watch Danny a bit more carefully.

“Come on in, I think that’s everything.” She said into her mic.

“Heading that way,” Replied Danny as he launched off, did a spin, and then came to the airlock. Isabella caught a grin on his face.

~~~~

Jamie caught on to it next. Jamie was a physics wiz, and spent a lot of time making observations on the celestial bodies that surrounded them. And thus he was quite good at observing his teammates as well.

He and Danny were using some of their down time to hang out in the common area. They chatted idly about what they were working on, but when Jamie mentioned his parents and what they did for a living, Danny’s expression soured. The awkward silence lasted for only a moment, until Danny proposed a game of Uno. He procured the cards from a pocket in his pants and dealt them out, letting the cards hang midair.

Such an action wouldn’t have normally been odd.

Jamie was the team lead, and thus knew for a fact that a pack of Uno cards were not among the list of items Danny brought to the station. But Jamie was not entirely certain in his memory, and he didn’t mention it. They played a couple of rounds and even got the rest of the team in on it, which Joel ended up winning.

~~~~

Joel was yet another member of the group. He had been reluctant to join the project at first but was practically shoved into it for his excellent performance in genetics research. Though at first unwilling, he got along with the rest of the team like wildfire and soon fell into their rhythm with ease. He was the resident biologist, and his green thumbs managed the small garden they had on board. It was where he could most often be found. He also had a running experiment with some creepy-crawlies, all of which he had named. No one was looking forward to the day when they had to hold a funeral for one of the bugs, as Joel had gotten quite attached. Joel had a floppy head of green-black hair (the dye had slowly faded as his roots grew) and a huge pair of glasses that dwarfed his face.

Joel’s realization that something wasn’t quite right came about on the day that Danny was in the garden wing. Danny was helping Joel record data on the state of the various plants they grew. Joel left the more complicated stuff for later and simply handed Danny a micrometer to use in measuring the plants’ stems and leaves.

It was Danny’s first time assisting, so Joel followed him closely. And in doing so he noticed how his teammate was distinctly avoiding a certain flower that grew in the back corner. Each time Danny floated near he would grab for a handhold and steer himself away. Joel thought that maybe he saw Danny’s eyes water.

But that couldn’t be right, could it? Due to his field, Joel had been privy to the allergy section of everyone’s medical records. He had carefully selected all of the specimens and seeds to be brought on board so that they wouldn’t aggravate any allergies the crew might’ve had. Maybe it was an undiscovered allergy?

Joel had just opened his mouth to speak when suddenly Danny sneezed. The sneeze was sudden and unavoidable. Danny brought up a hand to cover the blast as best he could, but droplets of gook still shot off into the air. Joel brought up an arm to protect his face from any stray droplets.

“Oh, Ancients.” Danny cursed, (though it wasn’t a curse Joel had ever heard before) as he looked down at the snot covering his hand.

“Don’t move-!” Joel said quickly as he shot off to grab a wipe from underneath the plant beds. He took his eyes off of Danny for a moment and when he looked back up he could swear Danny was now on the other side of him. Away from the flower.

Joel helped Danny clean the mess as best he could and sent him away. Danny didn’t offer anything about the allergy and Joel was so distressed with snot particles still buzzing around that he forgot to ask. And of course he still had to record the measurements of the strange plant. Perhaps he would research a bit more about it before confronting his teammate.

~~~~

Max was the oldest of the crew, and he certainly let everybody know it. He acted almost like everybody’s grandpa, making sure they were doing ok and that they didn’t need anything. He wasn’t really old enough to be a grandpa, but it was what everybody ended up calling him. Max still had a head of brown, though a few stray whites had appeared in his facial hair. He was the team’s jack-of-all-trades. He wasn’t particularly the best at any of the jobs required on board, but he had a wide array of knowledge stuck up in his head. He could help with anything from hydraulics to C++. He’d had his fingers in everything throughout the time of his life, and his well-roundedness helped to smooth out gaps with the rest of the team.

And as the grandpa of the station, he was reasonably concerned when he couldn’t find Danny anywhere.

Max had a bit of downtime as he waited for a diagnostics program to run, and he had realized suddenly that it was just a bit too quiet. Danny liked to mutter under his breath, and as they both preferred the more hands-on side of things, he and Danny often worked in the same area. Or at the very least in the same wing. But the boy was nowhere to be found.

It wasn’t like he could really go anywhere, really, but it was still cause for concern. What if he did something stupid like going for a spacewalk without an observer? No such thing was on the schedule for the day, but Danny tended to get wrapped up in his own head from time to time and skip safety procedures.

Curious and slightly worried, Max went around to their teammates checking if Danny was with them. He stopped at the garden first. It had a sealed door, for the purpose of measuring oxygen levels and keeping a controlled environment when needed. Max knocked and the door slid open. Joel was inside, at the door controls. He held a tablet loosely in the crook of his left arm, as though he had just been marking something down.

“What’s up?” Joel asked. He pushed off and glided back to a strange-looking flower, one with a red bloom and purple stems. Max had never seen anything of the sort. Max moved slightly into the space. He looked around, but didn’t see Danny.

“Have you seen Danny since breakfast?” Replied Max.

~~~~

As soon as Danny saw the rest of the crew gathered in the common area he knew he’d messed up. It didn’t help that he had a McDonalds Sprite in hand. (It was the closest thing he had found to downing straight ectoplasm). He debated for a moment on turning it invisible in his hand but from the speed at which everyone’s heads had swiveled to see him, he knew he’d been caught. (At least he’d had the tact to revert to human form before phasing into the station).

“What have you got there, Danny?” Questioned Jamie with a raised brow.

“Uh-” Danny stared blankly down at the drink in his hand. His brain froze.

“A smoothie?” Danny referenced. Sadly his joke didn’t seem to land. It was a very icy reception. Awkward, Danny glanced off to the side and took an idle sip from his drink. The tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Isabella was the next to speak.

“We know there’s something up with you, Fenton. Is it something that’s gonna endanger the team?” She asked coldly. She hovered up near the roof, grasping one of the bright blue handles. A tablet floated idly next to her.

Danny sputtered.

“No- of course not!” He said without thinking.

“So there is something going on!” She shouted victoriously. Heat rushed to Danny’s cheeks. Jazz pulls those mind-tricks on him all the time, how’d he miss it?

“Danny,” Said Joel seriously. All eyes turned to him.

“Are you an alien?” He whispered conspiratorially. There was a bright glimmer in his eyes.

Okay, that was a new one.

“No way he’s an alien!” Jamie interjected. “My bet’s still on vampire.” He said matter-of-factly. Danny just looked on in disbelief. They started shouting observations and evidence back and forth at each other and suddenly Danny realized he hadn’t been nearly as inconspicuous as he thought. He almost considered trying to sneak off and lock himself in the bathroom when suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder.

Danny jumped, making his head slam into the ceiling. Max idled beneath him, looking slightly guilty.

“You keep getting stuff from somewhere, and you’re acting weird. You might as well tell us what’s up with you. How are you going back to Earth and then appearing back up here?” Max asked, plain and simple. But Danny didn’t know how to respond.

His first instinct was to lie through his teeth, build up a toppling tower of falsities that would surely crush him when it finally collapsed (he still waited for his parents to see that his teenage life was full of plot-holes) but there was no way he could hide this. They caught him red-handed, and there was no way out. Danny couldn’t find the words to explain.

Luckily, Isabella found them for him. (Or not-so luckily, depending on perspective).

“Amity Park, huh?” She said sharply. The tablet was now held in her hands. She turned it around to show a paused video.

It was Wes Weston’s youtube channel. Specifically a video that Danny made him take down. Wes had promised he had, but by the ‘unlisted’ tag, it was clear he hadn’t followed through. Isabella tapped the screen and audio filled the common area.

~~~~

“-Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but I know I’m right!” Wes shouted in the squeaky tone of a teenager whose voice hadn’t quite settled.

“Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom! Here,” Wes gestured to a table behind him, pulled up on a projector that was aimed at his bedroom wall.

“-I kept track of all of Fenton’s bathroom breaks for the last month. Ninety-three percent of them line up with Phantom sightings!” Something clicked and the view changed.

Instead of the graph, it showed an image of 15-year-old Danny Fenton’s yearbook picture. Another click, and it was replaced by Phantom’s, in a remarkably similar angle. Though the expression was different and leaves partially covered the camera. A new slide and suddenly the two were overlaid, one right next to the other. They formed an almost-perfect face. One face.

~~~~

Isabella tapped it again and the video paused at that exact moment. She grinned, not out of maliciousness, but with the glint of a predator who knew they had already won. Damn. How far did she dig to get that?

“According to some old forums, up to like ten years old, Amity Park is infested with supernatural beings called ghosts. A lot of people chalked it up as a tourist hoax, but there are some pretty serious discussions out there. And official records of many deaths being declared as caused by ghosts. A lot of it was deleted or redacted or covered up in some way, but I managed.” She shrugged. Isabella spun the screen back around to herself and swiped down idly.

“The name Fenton also showed up so often, I could filter my search by it. Also repeated mentions of Fentonworks, and various patents filed under the company. Which were all redacted to hell, and had mentions of something called the ‘Ghostly Investigation Ward’ stamped all over them.”

“Looks like they were government funded somehow. Mixed with the forums’ details of them and even some published papers I found, it seems like they were pretty into the paranormal. And Danny ‘Phantom’ sounds pretty ghostly to me.” Isabella looked at him with an expression of inquiry. She feigned innocence.

“You’re too smart.” Danny scathed. Isabella just made a ‘hm’ sound and shrugged.

“It was on the internet. All I had to do was find it.”

“Spill it, ghost boy.” With that final statement, everyone turned to look at Danny. A wave of anxiety rolled over him. The temperature suddenly dipped, before he reigned it back in a split second later. It didn’t stop Max from shivering.

“My parents have been really into ghosts, since college.” Danny started. His hand found its way to the nape of his neck, a nervous tic he’d never really had reason to kick.

“Their life's work was to prove ghosts were real, but their theory was all wrong.” Danny tapped into his core lightly, letting it steer him towards what was technically the floor, and he sat down.

“They thought that ghosts must be evil, so they made all kinds of weapons to fight them. But their crowning achievement was this- portal. A gateway.” Danny looked up and didn’t see any looks of confusion or disgust, so he continued.

“They worked on it for a decade, and they finally finished it when I was 14. They booted it up and it didn’t turn on.” An ache started in Danny’s chest. It felt like swallowing sandpaper.

“My parents went out to get their minds off it and my friends convinced me to go take a look while they were out. Maybe they missed something.”

“One thing led to another, and I went inside. It powered up right on top of me.” Danny didn’t mention the button inside, how his parents’ stupidity had endangered him.

“Turns out ghosts are real, and dying isn’t an absolute.”

“Only a sith deals in absolutes,” Jamie quoted automatically. Then he realized what he’d interrupted and his jaw snapped shut with a click. But the statement was so out of left field that it made Danny bark with laughter. He lost control of the tears that had been threatening to spill down his face the entire time he spoke, and soon he was doubled over from the hilarity of it. It was infectious, and they all started cackling. All but one, that is.

“Is he laughing or crying?!” Joel worried. But he didn’t get a response. Danny was so startled that his core leaked, freezing the tears to his face in sheets of ice. The temperature plummeted, and suddenly no one was laughing anymore.

Danny could feel the tangible shift in the room and it only took him a moment to realize his slip.

“Ah- heck,” He said, still fighting off the last vestiges of laughter. He reigned in his energy, letting it sink back into his skin. It felt nasty, like sucking honey through a straw, but he didn’t want to freeze his crewmates.

“Holy- what was that?” Max asked. He clung to a handrail, where before he’d been hanging in the middle of the room.

“Sorry,” Danny apologized immediately. He formed a quick ball of hot ectoplasm and passed it to Max, who simply stared at the ball of green flames in his hand. He blinked owlishly at it, before Danny realized that most people probably didn’t expect to be handed a fireball.

“Ah- it’s warm, no burns.” He explained quickly. Max lagged for a moment before gingerly poking it. The flames licked playfully at his fingers. After realizing it wasn’t painful, he let Danny deposit it into his cupped hands.

“Wow,” Max stared at it, mesmerized. That is, until Joel interjected.

“So that’s it!” He floated near one of the wall-mounted computers. A page of search results cast light on his glasses, hiding his eyes from view.

“Rosa sanguinolentus are a rare blooming plant in the rose family which is known in folklore as being a ward against ghosts.” Quoted Joel. Upon receiving confused looks, he explained further.

“I have one in the garden, I noticed Danny avoiding it. He also sneezed when he got too close.” Joel offered. In response was a chorus of ‘ew’s. Danny’s nose crinkled at the reminder.

“Blood blossoms,” He said darkly. Danny floated back to his previous sitting spot. Max passed the ecto-ball to Isabella.

“I thought they were extinct. I tried to make sure of it, myself, but I guess I missed some.”

“In this form they’re just an allergen, but they can be deadly. Those buggers hurt.” He got a far-off look in his eye.

“Form?” Max inquired.

“Ah-” Danny started. He floated ever so slightly upwards, then triggered his transformation. He’d learned to minimize the energy wasted when he switched, and thus instead of rings it was a simple flash and Phantom settled over his bones.

Immediately, Danny’s freckles began to glow, as they’d done each time he transformed since being accepted into the program. In the place of a simple t-shirt and loose-fitting pants was instead a slim suit, covered with a dark green leather jacket and a menagerie of belts. Without thinking, a crown formed over Danny’s head. He realized his mistake quickly and spun around, shooing the thing away, making it fade back into energy.

“Was that a crown?” Asked Jamie. Danny was suddenly reminded they only had half the story. The before.

“...maybe.” Danny responded hesitantly.

“I, uh, may or may not have pummeled the former High King of all Ghosts and gained his title through combat?” He said quickly.

“But I can’t really accept it until I’m fully dead, so there’s a council of regents in place until the day comes, or if I’m immortal, then when I turn 180.” Danny ranted.

“I really hope I’m not immortal, but like I’ve only grown 2 inches since I was 14 and I still get handed kids menus, so like- maybe I might be?”

“I only really have two others to compare myself to, and one of them is evil so like he’s not a very good baseline.”

“Wait wait- back up. King? Ghosts have a social structure?” Jamie asked with curiosity in his eyes.

“Kinda..? I’m only half ghost so I don’t fully understand. I tried to avoid the whole thing but then there were a bunch of assassination attempts, so I had to accept it.” Now that Danny had started talking, the admittances just tumbled from his brain.

“Half-ghost?” Joel asked.

“Ectoplasm and electricity equals half death and a bunch of DNA stuff, that’s about all my understanding of it.”

Joel hummed.

“So do you know what that Ghostly Ward is?” Ask Isabella.

“It’s a secret branch of the government, they cover up all the stuff in Amity. Horrible ghost hunters, I don’t think any of them ever landed a shot. But rumor is their scientists are ruthless. They contracted my parents for a lot of weapons, and funded their research."

"I guess Ghostly Investigation Ward is their real name, but I only ever heard them called the Guys in White. They are like, super strict about dress code. I dunno," Danny shrugged.

"So Ah, yeah. Lab accident, half ghost, boom- ghost powers. I got a whole catalogue of 'em. I can go down the list if you want but it might take me a while." Danny reclined in the air. He let his core take hold so he didn't drift from his spot.

"Wait- so how have you been getting to Earth and back?"

"In this form I can withstand space, and I don't need to breathe." Danny suddenly remembered he still had a drink and took another sip.

"Using your powers would be such an asset!" Exclaimed Joel.

"No way can we keep this to ourselves. There's so much you could do!"

Danny's core stuttered in his chest. The temperature dipped.

"There's a reason I've kept it a secret." Danny said coolly, to keep his emotions under wraps. He felt a mixture of anger and he was scared. Scared of what could happen, the liability that had just been created.

"Every time my secret has been revealed I have been hunted and my family's been put in danger. That GIW is no joke- if they got any clue of what I am I'd be dead- fully dead- in a week. I haven't even told my own parents because I'm scared they'd attack me."

"I have more than earned my right to keep it to myself. I have saved the world at least three times, and that's only the times that a Time God didn't warn me beforehand! And you heard of none of them."

The crew just blinked owlishly at him. Danny realized he was floating in empty space.

“Ok…” Isabella said quietly.

“I think I got about half of that.” Jamie replied.

“Ghosts are real?!” Max looked like he was about to go through a midlife crisis. Or a breakdown. One of the two.

Danny steered himself back towards the apparent ‘floor.’ He dropped his ghost form, appearing as Danny Fenton once again. He lowered his voice and spoke more softly, genuinely.

“I’ve had superpowers since I was 14, and up until now only five people in my life knew about it.” ‘One of whom tries to kill me on a regular basis, but they don’t need to know that.’

“I spent my teenage years protecting my town from ghosts and it was a miracle that I finished high school. Let alone got up here where I am now, in space.”

“I’m not completely human, I don’t know what I am, really. But aside from the whole ghost powers thing I’m still the same as I was before my accident.”

Danny took a deep breath, and let it all out.

“Would an ice cream cone for each of you make it better? Or I can get cheeseburgers?” He was obviously trying to placate them. The best way to get somebody on your side was through their stomach.

“I…” Jamie started.

“It’d be a good start.”

~~~~

TWO MONTHS LATER…

“Danny!” Shouted Jamie.

“Where are youuuuuuu!” He called.

Joel appeared from around the hall.

“He’s off-ship, had some date with his partner. An anniversary?”

Jamie huffed.

“He was supposed to take me with him to pick up a cake for Isabella’s birthday.”

“There goes that set of plans.”Jamie threw his hands in the air and set off in the other direction.

“I didn’t forget!” Danny suddenly popped into existence behind Joel, who would have jumped had he not already been floating. Jamie whipped around and came back from the other end of the station. His white hair, black suit, and exorbitant number of belts had become a typical sight.

“Where were you!?” He yelled.

“Well for starters, that date is tomorrow. Also I found this rock outside, it looks unique!” Danny offered the chosen rock to Joel. It was shiny, and glittered in the light.

“Another one? I don’t have space for them all! I am completely overrun as it stands.” Joel sounded tired. Danny’s star-studded freckles dimmed. His pointed ears lowered.

Dang it. Joel couldn’t bear to see that face. Especially after Danny took him back to earth yesterday so he could re-dye his hair. It didn’t help that Danny always looked younger in his ghost form, closer to sixteen than twenty-two.

“Ugghh,” Joel put a hand out and Danny lit up as he handed off the rock.

“You’ll have to tell us more about it at show and tell,” Jamie joked sarcastically.

“For now, we have a walmart cake section to raid!” He announced. Danny laughed, and they left shortly to go procure their prize.

“They do know they aren’t being very slick, right?” Isabella’s head popped out of a nearby compartment. The birthday girl was smiling. Joel just shrugged and left. He needed to get back to his insects. Buggatrina wasn’t eating nearly as much as she should.

~~~~

“WESLEY WESTON!” A mad spirit rampaged the Amity Park News office, darting around and obviously searching for something. Or, more likely judging by his outburst, someone. This ghost’s presence was such a typical one that barely anyone even batted an eye as he flew over their heads.

The certain red-head in question ducked below his desk. His heart pounded so loudly it threatened to break right out of his ribcage. Oh heck, he’d messed. Up. What exactly did he do, again? Too many things came to mind.

Suddenly a face popped down from above his desk.

“Remember that youtube video you were supposed to delete?” That sweet tone was simply a veil for the threat underneath.

Wes gulped.

#fic #danny phantom #dp #astronaut!danny #ghost king!danny #ghostking!danny #wes weston #hehehhehehe #i had fun w this one #i wrote most of it months ago and completely forgot it existsed #my fic

[republiccommando1138]

Here's my @portal-secret-santa prompt for @deathishauntedbyhumans, they requested a scene with cores, mainly Factventure, so I did a lil something of them being stuck in the place where you find all the corrupted cores right before the Wheatley boss fight. I tried to avoid references to fanon cores like Virgil as much as I could, by their request, though occasionally they slipped in.

Fic Text Below

It was no secret that adventures came in many forms, and in many phases. Sometimes you were running as fast as you could from a volcano or tornado, and everything was about getting away as fast as possible. Sometimes you were fighting hordes of enemies at once, having to figure out their weakness and be ready to exploit it, all in a matter of seconds. Sometimes you were sneaking into a carefully guarded enemy fortress, depending entirely on your stealth, knowing full well that any slip up would mean you were a goner. 

Other times, however paradoxical it seemed, adventure meant being stuck in one place for a long time, with no way in sight to pass it. A dragon’s dungeon, a prison camp behind enemy lines, even something mundane like camping in a strange forest, waiting for the sun to return, or in the front room of a castle, waiting to meet a powerful king you would want to ally with. Or in this case, being stuck in a container full of other cores with no way of getting out. 

The self proclaimed adventure sphere had seen worse. But worse wasn’t quite as boring. A good song would sometimes pass the time, but it wasn’t easy to pull inspiration from anywhere for lyrics.

“Nananana nAAAAAA, and then another explosion, NANANA, riding the shockwave to VICTORYYYYYY!”

Rick sighed, and looked over at his companion. “Ayo, pinkie, how long’s it been?”

The aptly named pink-eyed testing sphere sputtered a bit. “Twelve. Twelve. Twelve. Twelve. Twelve. Twelve. Twelve. Twelve. Twelve.”

“Ehhh, that’s whatcha said last time. When’s the last time you went and got yerself looked at?”

“The fact sphere is not defective. Its facts are wholly accurate and very interesting.”

Rick rolled his optic. The fact sphere, or Craig, as he sometimes liked to be called, had been a good companion for a while now. Rick could never quite remember how they had started hanging around each other, but as long as he could remember, wherever he was, “Pinkie” would follow.

That, however,  did not mean their adventures were without conflict. “Pinkie, do you even remember how we got here?”

“The Intelligence Dampening Sphere, several hours after assuming control of the facility, restarted the explosives manufacturing wing, at first accidentally while trying to silence the alert announcer protocol. Upon realizing what he had done, he then began using parts of cores, both deactivated and live, to make more bombs, so as to increase total production.”

“Exactly. Now, I happen to be lucky, cause as much as I love explodin’, I’m more valuable to ol’ blue-eye as a consultant than as a single lil’ wad o’ napalm.”

“He will most likely kill you, violently.”

Rick looked over, or at least as best he could given his position. “Ain’t that the point of an adventure? Overcomin’ the odds, fightin’ towards victory. ‘Sides, I can keep ya from bein’ turned into a bomb – why else do you think he brought you here?”

“The fact sphere is the most handsome sphere.”

Rick sighed. “Run a temperature check for me, will ya, pinkie?”

“WARNING: Sphere temperature reaching ninety- Apples. Oranges. Pears. Plums. Kumquats. Tangerines. Lemons. Limes. Avocado. Tomato. Banana. Papaya. Guava.”

“Exactly. When Doc Virgil was sayin’ you was hot as Rigel, he wasn’t exactly complimentin’ ya. Only I can use that there line –  got me a trademark on it.”

The moment he had said the word “Rigel”, a yellow-eyed core immediately sprung to action - that action being to spin its optic rapidly.

“Rigel! Rigel Rigel… blue star! Big blue star! …Goooooonna go supernova! Big bright star go boom! Wanna go to Rigel. Wanna see big boom star.”

“Sigh… yeah, that. You bein’ all overheated n whatnot makes you a perfect catalyst for a big bomb. And as much as I might enjoy that, I need ya alive so you can help me do the math for the next adventure course I build. Lucky for you, I know how to get us both outta this. ‘Member when we got Avery out of the whole mess with them turrets?”

“The adventure sphere had placed the gardening sphere, his then-romantic partner, into a custom built ‘adventure course’, which left her on the ground and under fire from turrets after a panel malfunction. Her injuries would require a full hull replacement afterwards.” 

Rick nodded, “And how’d I get ‘er out of it?”

“The adventure sphere initially attempted to negotiate with the turrets as they were firing on the gardening sphere. This attempt was unsuccessful, as the turrets could not hear over the sound of their own gunfire. After several minutes, the fact sphere found and hit the deactivation switch.”

“Exac- wait, what?” Rick tried his best to remember. Now that he thought about it, Craig was right. He had tried to negotiate, but it was the fact sphere that had actually shut the turrets down. In his defense, he had better memories of what came next, when his romantic partner had decided to end things then and there.

“Alright, fine, bad example, but point is, I’m what keeps you and Spaceball here both nine times outta ten.” Remember that time I saved you from bein’ launched into acid?

“ERROR, ERROR, ERROR: File not found.”

The space sphere, seemingly unconcerned with the argument in question, had shifted his focus to planets. “Go to Jupiter, go to Jupiter, see all the moons! Bababa bap babap baba. Become the smallest moon of Jupiter.”

The adventure sphere rolled his eye. “Ayo Spaceball. Say one useful thing. One. I dare you. I will give you a hundred dollars if you say one thing remotely applicable to anything at all.” 

Before he could respond with facts about neutron stars, however, Rick heard footsteps and what sounded like the one voice every core could hear from everywhere in the facility. Only this time, it was muffled, coming from what sounded like a small speaker.

“Corrupted cores, we’re in luck!” The footsteps grew louder, showing something Rick could never have imagined was still around. A human. The voice continued. “You find a way to stun him, I’ll send you a core, and then you attach it to him. If we do it a few times, he might become corrupt enough for another core transfer.”

The human nodded, made a right turn, and disappeared. Rick turned his focus back to his other companion. “Check it out pinkie, we got us another adventure! Good thing I’m here to save the day.”

The fact sphere was unfazed. “The adventure sphere is a blowhard and a coward.”

Rick was taken aback. “I… c’mon pinkie, you n’ me both know that ain’t true.”

“The adventure sphere, despite his insistence that he has no fears, cannot admit to his friends or partners that he depends on them or cares for them in any way. This traps him into a perpetual cycle of the cores he cares about abandoning him, which he justifies by insisting that they lack his adventuresome spirit.”

“C’mon pinkie, what are you even talki-”

“Examples include the gardening sphere, the culinary sphere, the public relations sphere, and the fact sphere.”

“I… I mean I don’t…” Rick was shocked more than anything to hear his companion say that. Not only because it was the same thing several of his exes always said to him, but also because it was perhaps the first time he had ever thought, or been made to think, about Craig as someone he cared about. 

But now that he was forced to face it… he did care about Craig. Every now and then, when Craig was occupied, either from being repaired or working on the little documentary series he had been making, Rick was stuck on his own. If that had come across to Craig, it had been despite his personality, not because of it.

And as fun as it was to be on his own against every threat the world could throw at him, it wasn’t quite as fun if he couldn’t talk about what he enjoyed with someone who had been there as well. Craig was not really a singer, so they had never done a duet of any adventure songs, but he had been there to listen to them longer than anyone else. He’d even critiqued them from time to time.

It had taken him forever, but now he had to admit it.

“I… I care a lot about ya, pinkie. You’re like, my best friend and stuff. And… I dunno, I like havin’ ya by my side when I’m on an adventure.”

The fact sphere sputtered a bit. “To make a photocopier, simply photocopy a mirror.”

In the past, Rick had ignored his companion’s little tidbits whenever they were unsolicited. But for the first time, it felt good to hear them. 

“We uh… we make a good duo, the two of us. I got me the adventuresome spirit, and you got yourself the brains.”

“It is incorrectly noted that deer are usually hunted for their antlers or their meat. They are instead hunted for their gearboxes, which can also be used to power motorcycles.”

Rick chuckled. Nervously, he looked away from Craig, hoping to find the right way to phrase his next question. “Shoot, whaddaya say… when we get us outta here, maybe we should like… hit the encore club again. Just the two of us this time. Whatcha… whatcha say?”

“Whoever wins this battle is clearly superior, and will earn the allegiance of the Fact Sphere.”

Rick’s handles moved, and his CPU experienced an extra burst of energy. “Ha, I’ll take that as a yes!”

The Space core, meanwhile, had continued his ramblings. “Ba ba ba babababa ba, wanna go to Saturn, go see Saturn. Saturn’s got rings. Big rings. Put a ring on it.” 

Rick chuckled. “Heh, maybe we oughta put a ring on it, huh pinkie?”

“Cores do not have fingers.”

#38's fics #fic #portal #portal 2 #portal secret santa #factventure #ao3

[no1frogfan]

Endings and beginnings, part 3

Tsukishima Kei x gn reader

Chapter word count: ~2k

Chapter tags & warnings: alcohol (mixing drinks), angst, talking about having children, heavy emotional content, divorce, emotional abuse (not by Tsukishima or reader), gaslighting (not by Tsukishima or reader)

Note: Tumblr very much did NOT want me to upload this I guess because it’s taken me now SIX tries. Gods of tagging please stop eating my post

Series masterlist < part 2 | part 4 (wip) >

3. June

Business is slower than usual considering it’s a Friday night. The night is young though, not quite 5pm, plenty of time to organize the glasses and syrups and check the stock of mixers and garnishes ahead of the crowd.

Just in case, you decide to cut an extra container of lime wedges. Last weekend, everyone and their mothers wanted the cucumber melon gin spritz, and by the end of the night you’d run out of limes to garnish the glasses and the lemons you’d used as backup. It’s funny how popular the drink was considering you had to sell your boss on the idea. He was convinced that yubari melon would make the drink too sweet and mask the flavor of the cucumber. Trust me, you’d assured him. After testing a dozen different mixes, you finally hit upon the perfect one. If only you could’ve bottled the look on his face when he first tried it.

You cut into another lime, slicing off the top and bottom before neatly dividing it into wedges and tossing it into the container.

You cut into another.

And another, almost nicking yourself.

And another, because you’re thinking about him again.

Things have felt off between you since Sakusa’s party. You’ve met up with him and Yamaguchi a few times, but he’s been…distant. And even more so over text. Maybe Yamaguchi’s presence at the party lulled you into thinking Tsukishima still felt as comfortable around you as you did around him, comfortable enough to open up to both of you about his feelings, even if it meant yelling at you at first. And without Yamaguchi around — undoubtedly the one who’d kept in better touch over the years — you were merely an acquaintance.

Yamaguchi insisted you shouldn’t read into it, though it was difficult not to. “Tsukki probably just doesn’t want to burden you,” he said. But that’s just it. It meant you were no longer a person he could rely on.

When the three of you first met in middle school, you couldn’t understand why a sweet, bubbly person like Yamaguchi could be friends with an arrogant, sarcastic jerk like Tsukishima. You’d defended him against Tsukishima at first, not believing him when he laughingly informed you that he didn’t need defending. But at some point, over months and months, your opinion of Tsukishima shifted. Maybe you started to notice the near-imperceptible fondness and appreciation he had for Yamaguchi, and the way he supported Yamaguchi in quiet ways, even if he could never bring himself to say his feelings out loud.

Or maybe it was when he started to let you in too, letting you borrow his books, and sending you songs he thought you might like or new artists he came across.

That’s probably what fueled your crush on him, the feeling that you were special to him, in the way that close friends are and maybe hopefully a little bit more.

His words lost their bite over time, and by your second year of high school, Tsukishima seemed a totally different person — still snarky, sure, but more cheek than venom. Quick to tease, but also quick to console you whenever you were actually upset, making you laugh with some choice words about your ex or a bag of your favorite candy which was “coincidentally” in his backpack. The three of you were basically together 24/7, even during practice when you could always be found studying on the sidelines, often with their favorite snacks at hand.

That’s the year when Yamaguchi finally told you about what happened between Kei and his brother — the game that changed him so abruptly into the sullen boy you’d first met. Yamaguchi had constantly insisted that Tsukishima used to be gentler, but you never believed him until then. It was only afterward that you truly understood how hard Tsukishima worked on himself, to put himself out there, to take risks, and be a better person to those around him.

“He doesn’t think he’s good enough at volleyball to make an effort, and he doesn’t think he’s likeable enough to have friends,” Yamaguchi had observed once, surprising you with his teenage perceptiveness. Considering Tsukishima’s breakthroughs in volleyball in those short years, and how often you and Yamaguchi were accosted by classmates eager to date him, you were both convinced it’d only be a matter of time before he’d get overconfident and you’d have to knock him down a few pegs.

But, that’s not actually how self-esteem works.

You know that now.

Over the past few months, Yamaguchi filled you in just a little — maybe because he himself felt guilty for not realizing and intervening sooner — slowly revealing interactions he’d witnessed between Natsumi and Tsukishima that were painfully illuminating. The way Natsumi would condescend to Tsukishima behind closed doors, shout at him, goad him, and ultimately flip it on him, accusing him of being stupid, manipulative, and vindictive. Doing favors for him and then holding them over his head. Blatantly flirting with other people, then ridiculing him for feeling jealous. A million and one behaviors that were sickeningly familiar to you.

You know now that self-esteem can erode quickly, especially a newborn confidence as fragile and wobbly as Tsukishima’s. And to be treated like less than nothing for so long by someone so close to him… well, you suppose it’s not surprising that he’s hesitant to let you in again.

You don’t realize you’re just staring at an empty cutting board until something moves in the corner of your eye.

Looking up, you see Yamaguchi waving at you from the end of the bar. You hurriedly wipe your hands on the towel hanging from your waist. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

“About time you noticed,” he grins, “Since you always come to one of our neighborhoods to hang out, Tsukki and I decided to make the trek out to you for once!”

You hold out a drink menu which he immediately waves off. “I feel like whiskey tonight.”

“Whiskey, hmm?” You turn to take stock of your bar, pulling out a clean single malt along with some smoky lapsang souchong syrup you’ve been dying to experiment with.

“How’s Yachi doing? And your kitten?”

“Yachi’s doing great! The kitten is too, but I think he likes her more than me,” he laughs, “though I can’t blame him.”

You pour some of the syrup and two shots of whiskey into the shaker over ice, eyeballing the amount. “Does he have a name yet?”

“Not yet! We’re going to wait and see what his personality is like first.” You taste it and crinkle your nose.

“And how’s Makoto-kun?” Yamaguchi follows.

You hesitate, brain simultaneously attempting to decipher what’s missing from the drink and answer the question delicately. “He’s fine.” Your eyes land on the house-made umeshu and you pour some in. “We had an argument.” You taste it again — a little sweet, a little tart.

“Oh. Do you want to talk about it?”

You squeeze in some lemon and give the drink a brief shake before straining it over ice with a grimace. “He wants kids as soon as possible.”

“Ah. And you don’t.”

“…I honestly don’t know if I want them at all. But if I did, it wouldn’t be any time soon.” You shrug. “We talked about this early on, but I don’t think he realized how much he wanted kids until all our friends started having them.”

You garnish the glass with a twist of lemon peel and slide it over. Yamaguchi takes a sip, eyes widening and snapping up to meet yours.

“Glad you like it.” You smile, happy to change the topic.

“Who wants kids?” Tsukishima appears next to Yamaguchi. Of course he overhears that part.

“Makoto.”

“Ah.” Thankfully, he doesn’t press you any further. Instead, he scans the drink menu. “Which of these red wines should I get?”

“Are you sure you want one of those?” You laugh.

His face immediately drops into a sneer. “Sorry I don't know what all of these are. Some of us have other jobs.”

“I'm sorry, I shouldn’t have teased you,” you hurry to apologize, “I wasn't implying that you should be familiar with those wines. It's just…I noticed that you always order red wine when we go out but you never seem to enjoy it. The reds we have here are great, and I’m happy to recommend one for you, but I was hoping I could convince you to try something else?”

“Do it, Tsukki! This drink is amazing and all I said was that I wanted whiskey!”

Tsukishima nods reluctantly.

“Coming right up!” You try to remember what Tsukishima drank the last few times you went out together. The first meet-up was at a wine and tapas place near the museum and he’d ordered a cabernet. You thought it tasted fine, but he really had to push himself through it, so when he went to order another glass, you’d suggested a pinot noir, a lighter, fruitier red that might be more to his liking. He did seem to like it better, but still didn’t appear to love it, all the while insisting he did.

At the time, you’d chalked it up to him having an off day.

Something similar happened the second time though. He’d ordered a black coffee, but could barely bring himself to drink it.

Then again, you don’t want to push him too far out of his comfort zone, so maybe…

You scan through the bottles in the refrigerator — “Here we go, try this” — and pull out a bottle of dry rosé. Not too sweet, not too floral, crisp and easy to drink. You pour him a mouthful to try.

He takes the glass skeptically, the corners of his lips pulling down just a fraction. “No offense, but—”

“Just try it,” you urge, “and if you don’t like it, I’ll find you something else.”

“…Fine.” He tosses it back in one smooth motion, head tilting back, emphasizing the single bob of his adam’s apple. He sets the glass back down on the bar. “That’s surprisingly good.”

You give him a smug grin as you fill the glass.

“Don’t get cocky, it’s probably a fluke,” he scolds, reaching over the bar to pinch your cheek harshly.

You reach up to swat his hand away only to accidentally knock over the wine bottle. “SHIT!” You scramble to right the bottle. Luckily, it was only half full so not much spills out.

You quickly wipe the bar down with your towel as Tsukishima laughs, a real one, deep and resonant, that rings out from his chest.

“Remind me why I’m friends with you again?” You glare at him as heat rushes up your neck. He’s laughing at you, they both are, but the fact that you’re also in on the joke makes you feel a sense of relief, like the tension has finally dissipated and you’re floating.

“Ok, ok it's not that funny,” Yamaguchi giggles to Tsukishima as much as himself.

A few customers make their way in and you walk over to serve them before returning to refill Tsukishima’s wine and making Yamaguchi a second drink. Before you finish, another three customers enter one behind the other. 6pm now, prime time for the after-work crowd. Within 45 minutes, you’re absolutely swamped with drink orders. It doesn’t help that the other bartender on shift is late today.

“We’re gonna go get dinner!” Yamaguchi informs you when you finally get a second to check up on them.

“Oh, ok! Thanks so much for coming!” You wave, and seeing them reach for their wallets you quickly add, “Don’t worry, it’s on me tonight. You can owe me a drink next time!”

“Oh, here. I almost forgot.” Tsukishima pulls a big square envelope out of his bag and hands it over.

You accept it with confusion, eyes widening as you pull out a record. “Where did you get this?!”

He shrugs. “Co-worker.”

“But I’ve been looking for this vinyl everywhere!”

“I know. You told me the other day.”

“Well…uh, thank you,” you mumble in disbelief. That floating feeling returns, and you recognize it now.

It’s not just relief.

Fuck, you wish it was just relief.

#tsukishima x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #tsukishima kei #tsukishima #tsukishima angst #froggy scribbles

[disturbeddynamo]

Hey Dynamo, what's your opinion on the other KGN numbers (+ Astro and Tengu) ?

Ugh geez, where do I even start...

Well, let's start with Cold Man. Cold Man is probably one of the more tolerable out of them. He's actually a pretty, no pun intended, cool guy. He's not hostile, not a dumbass (he's a bit slow, but it's nothing too serious), and he's pretty thoughtful. I guess it's the fact that he used to belong to that Light beard guy before being taken by King. But I like him enough to talk with him and hang out. We're close enough for him to let me rummage around inside him too, something he allows Astro, Magic, and of course King, to do....it's like a dog letting you rub its belly as a sign of trust. It won't let anyone get close to it's internal organs since the belly is one of the vulnerable aspects of the animal..

Pirate Man...This guy is, brutal. Like, bloody "Spartan 300" kind of brutal. This guy honestly sort of scares me for the fact that he would not hesitate on getting what he wants. A pirate is a pirate after all, so I guess it's inherent, but...seriously. I would not be there on the day of "Bolts n' Chase". Brief explanation of what that is. As a way of "entertainment", King makes up some of the most bullshit ass games. This is one of them where it's like spin the bottle, only it's King spinning his axe and wherever the blade points to the near Robot Master, they are it. And the "it" is the prey and has to survive for exactly 2 hours from being dismantled from the other members. The game is also a way to test endurance, stamina, ability, and cunning. Now with that, Pirate does not hold back. He will do anything, even if it means killing his own member just to get to the top. At the end of the day, it's just a game. Pirate is just some crabby Pirate guy who speaks in old sea shanties.

Burner Man....I hate him. With a passion. For so many reasons I will not list here, that is for another day. But to put it simply, he just does not. Listen. He's a total, uncompassionate jackass. A personality like his does not mesh well with mine. A robot like him can't even comprehend a piece of paper towel stuck to his face even if you pointed it out to him, he's so fucking blind. But...even though I hate him, I also sympathize with him. My heart aches for him for sooo many different reasons, I don't know how to explain. And it's one of those reasons is why I'm probably socially inept, why I don't chose to feel happy, because this problem still lies within...him.

Moving on. There's Astro Man. Another one of which I consider to be a little more tolerable. I won't lie when I say that I sort of feel bad for the guy. He did not want to be here, but King forced him to join. I am glad he was here though, not by any cruel means, but I'm glad to have met a guy like him. I relate to his struggle for being at the hands of King. I think we are closer because of this shared pain. Despite his more skittish nature, Astro is also very thoughtful. It may also sound a bit...funny to say this, but I may have a(n) Astro crush on him too, but I don't really know. I could just be clingy to anyone who gives me the slightest bit of soft affection...but, even then, I don't think it would even be possible since I suspect him and Tengu already have something between them. I don't think anyone would date someone like me though, but I shouldn't get too sentimental.

Tengu Man. Iiiiii- honestly have not much to say apart from what I mentioned about him and Astro. But maybe aside from that, I don't see him as the "romantic" type or anyone interested in relationships. He seems to pay attention more to himself than to others. I guess his confidence is what makes him charming, but I wouldn't know. I don't pay much attention to the guy. He does have a pointy nose though :3

Ground Man is, who I'd describe, a quite solidarity philosopher. He seems to disappear wherever, whenever. Then he pops out of nowhere with something new to say, or as I'd like to call, his "sermons". He spends all his alone time just thinking up these kind of thought-provoking philosophies. They're all either about the social unjust between humans and robots, among other things that may change your perception in life. I may not take half of what he says in consideration since they all also sound like something I've heard of before in Greek mythology or old poets, which is amusing in within itself. He's a contradiction. He's hostile while also allowing me to ride on his shoulders, but I guess I should be grateful that I'm not ran over by his treads.

Last, but oh no certainly not least, Magic Maaan. This guy can be annoying. Just annoying. With the how he interrupts times when it gets really serious, he pulls out a magic trick out his ass and it completely throws off the entire mood. I don't hate him, don't get me wrong. Some of his tricks are impressive, but I feel like he was just recruited as a King's number just to preform and entertain. I wanted to mention other things, but I also don't want to think about it... I hated that he treated me like a little kid though, I tell him that I don't like being called pet names or I don't want my hand being held for reassurance, but he does it anyways. I just let it happen and honestly I stopped caring since um..King does the same thing to me (T/.//T

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. Have a nice day.

#megamanandbass #burner man #dynamo man #magic man #pirateman #groundman #astroman #tengu man #coldman

[misscorn]

Day 1 - Friends/Family

My first post for @sihjrweek

Disclaimer: I’m sick LOL so if something is weird or bad ~blame it on that~

-

Saga never really understood why people couldn’t ever shut the hell up about their partners.

It seemed as though if his classmates weren’t panicking about their grades then they were going on and on about my boyfriend took me to karaoke this past weekend or my girlfriend sent the cutest text or my boyfriend does this adorable snort when he laughs, my girlfriend this, my boyfriend that, blah, blah, blah, blah.

It gave him yet another excuse to add to his long list of reasons to avoid his peers and not put in the effort to make any friends. He didn’t want to be obligated to listen to someone go on and on about their significant other - who they’d probably break up with come graduation (not to mention the unavoidable post-breakup drama). Saga had a feeling that any friends he made would get sick of his cynicism pretty quick anyway. So, it was just better if Saga continued to keep his distance and judge quietly instead of wasting everyone’s time. 

And then Saga Masamune just had to meet Oda Ritsu. 

Saga supposed he had no one but himself to blame (though, he did try to blame Ritsu more often than not in an attempt to make himself feel better). If Saga had just rejected the underclassman from the start instead of making the decision to play this little game then Saga wouldn’t have had the chance to develop…feelings. 

Gross, Saga instinctively thought, his face feeling a little warm as he scribbled down notes in math class. Even silently acknowledging the fact that he was not a completely apathetic, disinterested, detached human being made him start to spiral down the path of embarrassment. 

So annoying and stupid, he scolded himself with a silent huff in a vain attempt to discourage anymore thoughts about his issue. He copied down an example problem the teacher gave before he started to wonder, does Ritsu still need help with math? He never told me how his last test went.

Not that he cared.

He definitely didn’t care about how Ritsu did in math class.

At all. 

And he definitely didn’t want to talk to someone about Ritsu.

He definitely didn’t have the cringey desire to brag about his partner, or to make any kind of future plans, or to partake in any kind of excitement about their relationship because how embarrassing would that be?

Saga could feel his face getting warm again, this time much worse. His mortification only became more intense as he heard his classmates talk between lessons. 

“-and her eyes are so pretty-”

Ritsu’s eyes are definitely prettier.

“He’s so shy sometimes, it’s honestly adorable!”

You don’t know shy until you’ve met Ritsu. Plus, he’s definitely cuter than your boyfriend. 

“-we’re going on a movie date-”

One of the best parts of hanging out with Ritsu is watching his reactions, I couldn’t do that in a dark theater. But if talking to him about movies is half as fun as talking to him about books then it might be worth it. 

“I’m totally panicking, I don’t know what to do for our one year anniversary!”

What am I gonna do for Ritsu and I’s one year?

Saga put his head on his desk at that final thought, the thunk produced maybe just a bit louder than he would’ve liked. Their one year?! That was thinking quite ahead and the idea of participating in that kind of celebration made Saga want to curl in on himself until he disappeared.

Since when is that something I want to do? He asked himself. The obvious answer: since he fell in love with Ritsu. Saga had already known love was annoying, hearing his peers go on about their significant others was proof enough of that, but being in love was apparently so much worse. 

Is this really the kind of person Saga became when he was in love? Soft and sentimental and excited and hopeful? The kind of person who tends to annoy him?

I want to talk about him too, Saga finally admitted to himself, feeling incredibly envious of the way his classmates could happily and openly talk about their partners. 

But Saga didn’t have any friends to annoy with a daily recap of Ritsu’s latest cute moment.

Saga didn’t have any family that he trusted enough to come out to, nor would any of his family even gift him the time to make the announcement he had a boyfriend. 

“Have you told your friends about me?” Saga asked one afternoon in the library. The question had been bothering him since his realization that he wanted to be one of those annoying people who always talk about their significant other. 

Ritsu laughed nervously - it was nervous laugh number two, the one that Saga hated because it was weighed down the tiniest bit with sorrow, sorrow that was easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention - and scratched the back of his head. 

“I don’t really have a lot of friends?” Ritsu said, praying that he didn’t sound like a complete loser.

Saga hoped for the sake of Ritsu’s classmates that his lack of friends was because of Ritsu’s shyness and not because of any cruelty Ritsu may be enduring from his peers. Ritsu would tell him if people were messing with him, right? Saga wasn’t sure what he would do if he found out Ritsu was being bullied, but his first few ideas would definitely result in expulsion. Before Saga could attempt to press for any further information on Ritsu’s classmates, Ritsu continued.

“I do have one really close friend and I told her that I-I l-like someone,” Saga noted with secret delight how Ritsu’s face started to flush at this roundabout confession, “b-but, I didn’t say your name specifically!” 

“You can if you want.” Saga said, trying to sound casual about it. If he uses my name, it means I can use his too. Saga might not currently have anybody to boast about Ritsu to, but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying, so long as Ritsu was okay with-

“I-It’s probably better if I don’t?” Ritsu said, looking as though he was trying to hold back a wince. “I just-I don’t know how she would feel about me liking…a guy…” He mumbled, looking down at his lap by the end of his sentence. 

Saga was practiced at hiding his disappointment, so he wasn’t worried about the defeat he felt showing on his face.

“But-um-thank you for your permission.” Ritsu added, straightening his back a little in an attempt to give himself courage to look at Saga as spoke. 

Saga had to refrain from rolling his eyes. Why is he thanking me for something like that? He’s such a weirdo, but I guess it’s part of his charm. Ugh, even stupid things like that make me want to smile…

“I also didn’t use your name because I was worried that you would be embarrassed.” Ritsu admitted. Their relationship status wasn’t totally clear to Ritsu nor did Ritsu know how open Saga was willing to be about their status, so it seemed like keeping his name out of his conversations with An was the best idea. 

“I’m not embarrassed.”

I am embarrassed, Saga thought, but not in the way that you think. I can’t let you know that because it’ll reveal just how much I like you. 

“Do you wanna come back to my place?” Saga asked, I want to kiss you, I want to hold your hand, I want to be close to you, I want to make your ears turn red, I want to wake up to you drooling on my pillow like a moron before we make breakfast and try to keep Sorata from stealing our food, and I want to make you feel as stupidly in love as you’ve made me feel. 

That seemed only fair, after all.

If Saga Masamune was going to become a cringey hopeless romantic then he wasn’t going to go down alone.

Ritsu’s eyes went wide, as if he couldn’t believe that Saga was inviting him over to his place, as if Ritsu hadn’t already been invited over multiple times, but the expression was so cute that Saga hoped the novelty of ‘Senpai’s Place’ would never wear off. 

“S-Sure! I mean-if I wouldn’t be imposing!” Ritsu said.

Yet another thing Saga could brag about if he ever had the chance to:

His boyfriend was so polite.

#Sekaiichi Hatsukoi #sihjrweek #writing #my writing #misscorn #onodera ritsu #takano masamune #oda ritsu #saga masamune #day 1 #day 1 2022 #and then they broke up #LOL

[syrupwit]

Happy Friday! Under the cut, please find ~1100 words of Anders/Fenris/Merrill, submitted for the free-for-all for @dadrunkwriting. CW: sexual content, sex pollen.

This was written for a prompt sent via discord by @pierogipie, which I have, in classic fashion, diverged from quite a bit:

We thought we got hit by sex pollen and decided to fuck to get it out of system. Turns out we were totally fine the whole time

-

The forest clearing echoed with three sets of ragged breathing, each slightly off rhythm from the others and diverging more as the minutes elapsed. Above those who breathed—an elf, another elf, and a human sandwiched between them—branches rustled in the breeze. Birds made noise; other birds made other noise. In the distance, a creek was murmuring over stones.

Merrill spoke first. “Um, well. I think the danger is past.”

“You should get off his cock then,” said Fenris, from Anders’ other side. 

He eased out of Anders' ass with a grimace, rolled onto his side, and began tucking himself back into the leggings he hadn’t removed. They were torn and filthy, covered in dirt and grass and fluids, but wearing them seemed to help him maintain some equilibrium.

“I suppose,” Merrill sighed. She unhooked her leg from around Anders’ waist and slowly popped off him, then rolled to her side as well. “Oh, he’s still hard, even though he definitely came inside me. Anders, do you need me to...?” 

She reached and brushed her hand over his wet cock, which twitched. Anders whimpered and tried to move away.

“There, there,” said Merrill compassionately, patting his hip instead. On closer inspection, he did seem to be softening now. “You got the worst of it.”

It took a few tries for Anders to speak; when he managed it, his voice was hoarse and low, the consequence of some enthusiastic throatfucking from Fenris. “I wouldn’t say that, necessarily.”

The three of them lay in the clearing for a few minutes, recovering from their exertions and contemplating the past hours’ events.

“The flowers must still be affecting us on some level,” Merrill decided, “or else you’d be back to yelling at me by now. Fenris?”

But Fenris had fallen asleep.

Merrill beamed at him. “Isn't that sweet.”

“Nothing that humorless, bigoted killing machine does is sweet,” croaked Anders, staring at his closed eyelids like he was thinking about kissing them or some other such nonsense.

“Now you sound like your normal self,” said Merrill. “Oh, I hate to wake him, but I don’t think either of us can carry his sword back to camp by ourselves.”

“Let’s not worry about that for now,” said Anders. “He’ll wake up in a great mood soon enough.” His voice turned sheepish. “I, um, Merrill. If you remember, after last time, we…”

“We should really figure out how to stop running into the flowers that make us have sex,” said Merrill, but shuffled towards him in the dirt and cuddled him without further prompting.

-

Back at camp, Hawke and Isabela were playing clapping/dagger-throwing games while Varric built the fire. Isabela messed up the tempo and nearly stabbed herself in the foot when their three missing party members appeared: Merrill looking more disheveled than usual and covered in grass, Anders more disheveled than usual and covered in grass, and Fenris far less disheveled than the others but still more disheveled than usual (and covered in grass).

“Seriously, guys?” said Hawke. “Again?”

“I got a sample this time!” said Merrill. She took her hand from behind her back to reveal a translucent orb with a sprig of tiny pink flowers rotating inside it. “I’m going to run all kinds of tests with it.”

“An entire mountain to find herbs on, and yet you keep running into the crazy sex flower.” Hawke shook her head. “I’m beginning to think... never mind.”

“Whatever you’re thinking, Hawke,” said Anders, re-tying his ponytail and surreptitiously flicking a bit of some dried fluid from his cheek, “keep it to yourself.”

An awkward silence swelled. It was punctured when Fenris snapped, “I need a bath,” turned on his heel, and stalked in the direction of the creek, sword still weighing down his shoulders. 

Merrill’s well-bruised lip wobbled.

“I’ll get him,” said Isabela.

-

Isabela caught up with Fenris when he was already in the water. Although his clothes, underclothes included, lay in a heap on the bank, she made no effort to jokingly investigate them, sensing that it was not the time.

“If you’ve come to laugh,” Fenris began, and then dunked his head underwater.

He resurfaced, pushed his wet hair from his face, and started again, glaring at her. “I do not feel like being mocked.”

“Not here to mock you,” said Isabela. “How deep does that go? I might like a swim later.”

Fenris didn’t answer. After a moment, he said, “The flowers did not affect me. This time. But I behaved as if they did.”

“Oh, I know. The type of flower Merrill thinks it is—that doesn’t grow here.”

He inhaled sharply.

Isabela continued, “I wasn’t sure until I saw her new ‘specimen’, but I am now. I’ve seen the only flower that does what you all claim keeps happening to you, and it’s this big long yellow thing that looks like a—”

He cut her off. “I can guess.”

“Fine, fine. Would it be that bad if you just fucked because you wanted to fuck?”

Fenris glowered. “Yes.”

-

“I think I’m developing an immunity to the flowers,” Merrill confided to Hawke, who was halfway through her second bottle of wine and did not seem to find it sufficient for the conversation. “But I couldn’t leave Anders and Fenris to fend for themselves. They’d tear each other to pieces!”

-

“If I hadn’t been there,” Anders told Varric, “Fenris would have torn her to pieces. The guilt is killing me, but it would have been worse of me to leave.”

“That’s you,” said Varric. “Always the martyr.”

-

Isabela sat on a rock, sharpening her dagger with a whetstone, while Fenris dressed. 

“She’s going to ask you for help with the tests, you know,” she said. “Anders is going to say yes.”

“And I will help them,” said Fenris, through gritted teeth.

Isabela sighed. “Why couldn’t I have been part of this fun little threesome? I guess it makes the dynamic less sexy if someone who knows what she’s doing is involved.”

“No doubt.” In deference to their friendship, Fenris did not mention the many points and areas where Isabela displayed consistent incompetence—for example, her relationship with Hawke, which functioned marvelously when it came to dagger-throwing and drunken carousing, and far less marvelously when it came to things like “honesty” and “feelings.” 

“All right, well.” She stood. “You’ve got your pants on, so I’ve lost interest in this conversation. Let me know when you’re ready to take my advice.”

“I won’t,” said Fenris witheringly, but his heart wasn’t in it.

#pierogipie #dadwc #dadwc fill

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1110 review

This is a chapter that doesn't disappoint. Things are really heating up as we hit the tenth chapter of volume 109 with Egghead's likely final end-of-volume cliffhanger to come in the next chapter or two.

But we start out with a new cover story, and yeah, it's Yamato following Oden's tour of Wano, which is probably the least exciting thing going on this week. However with the last cover story having such a large and immediate connection to the current story, I'm going in with an open mind and considering my hopes. Seeing some of the stuff that got shortchanged in Wano's clipped epilogue would be cool, like Ryuma's grave for example, or passing by Izo's tomb and seeing Kiku visiting. Perhaps a more direct confonrtation of the public's feelings about Tama's Kurozumi heritage. That one might be hard in the pantomime format of a cover story, but you never know. It's going to be a few installments before there's enough info to make any real prediction about the story's trajectory though, we know they never quite stay the course they seem to start on.

Getting back into it, Oda spends a couple of pages building into the big reveals. We also get a timeline update, with 3 minutes down already, which is a brisk pace as Shonen countdowns go. The summoning circles definitely seem closer together and like they're placed in a more rubble-strewn environment than in the final spread of the last chapter, enough to ease my concerns about the space shifting slightly.

And the monster designs that come out when the shadows are pulled back are truly awe inspiring. I don't know a lot of yokai or much about any of them (could tell you a little bit about classic sandworms though), but these are easy 10/10 beasts with all of Oda's best character design ideas on full display. When One Piece ends and he inevitably gets restless after his well-earned break Oda should absolutely do the Toriyama (RIP) thing and design monsters for games. What do you even say to a pair of pages like this? I can't stop looking back to them.

And these guys are made to feel like a threat too. None of them speak in the whole chapter; similar to Saturn's original rampage it makes them feel all the more inhuman. (Saturn did speak when he confirmed the summons in the last chapter, so we know they can but you still get the same effect from how sparse their dialogue is.) They spring immediately into action with no apparent coordination or communication between each other, and they go straight for their goals. There's no posturing or speeches or taking test shots at Luffy to measure his power. Nasjuro is off and running already, cutting down Pacifistas to unblock the Buster Call fleet, solving problems for the bad guys. Mars takes a shot at the barrier, and even though it doesn't work you know he's going to be there the moment it goes down for real. And Ju Peter and Saturn go straight for Luffy. They really don't feel like playtime villains, which is exactly what you need at this late stage of the story.

The absence of Warcury is curious though. Is he also fighting Luffy, or is he going for something else? Charging towards Bonney perhaps?

But what are they? The fact that the odaboxes simply give creature names without specifying a Devil Fruit type is super suspicious. Nasjuro's ice powers mirror Brook's abilities (which allegedly come from having returned from death, rather than being directly a feature of his fruit), which could maybe suggest that he as well has returned from some kind of underworld.

I'm not ready to totally rule out it being a misdirect and them having Devil Fruits of a matched kind, but the weird details are adding up.

Speaking of weird details, I can't quite tell if it's weird scaling/camera angles or not, but it almost seems like Lucci knocks Enma away from Zoro only for it to boomerang back to his hand. I'm not crazy, right, other people are seeing this? At a glance you think maybe it goes up and he catches it as it comes down, but that flight path is curved in every panel. So what, did Zoro just get lucky with the amount of spin, or is there some strange new property of Enma's power/contained Haki being shown here. Or something to do with Zoro's close grim reaper encounter? Stick a pin in this one I think we'll be coming back to it later.

I'm ambivalent about the Zoro and Lucci fight as a whole. The outcome was never in doubt, and it was too offscreen to provide any real character interaction or clash of ideology to add substance. Zoro snapping and finding the motivation to take the win right away when Sanji talks him down is a decent bit for the two of them, but it's not quite enough to make the whole fight feel like more than padding.

Truly, if Lucci had been handcuffed properly after the death game portion and never made his breakout attempt, I don't think the arc would have played out any differently. Even the silly anticlimax of the sliding ship serves the purpose of justifying the Sunny getting from A to B over dry land, but Lucci? Was taking Stussy off the table that important? Was it the only way to make it believable that Zoro wouldn't follow Sanji and Vegapunk down to the Labophase and get involved with the Elders too soon? I'm having a hard time seeing it, but the arc isn't over yet.

The final spread is a fantastic callback and great hype-builder for the next chapter. And I think it's going to prove just how far the Elders' regeneration is able to go. The Elders aren't going down here, definitely not, but with Dorry and Brogy there might just be enough muscle on Luffy's side to hold them back until the broadcast goes ahead.

We're getting colour pages next week, and I have to wonder if an Akira Toriyama tribute is coming. Jump has to do it, there's no way they won't, but the gap between when the pages are finalised and when we see them, and the break between when Toriyama died and when it was announced to the public makes it all kinds of tough to figure out the earliest that could happen. I could definitely see Oda pivoting last minute and trading out a finished colour spread to something in honour of Toriyama, but the timing is tight. We'll see soon, I suppose. May the hits keep on coming for the Egghead finale!

You can also read on my Wordpress!

#one piece #manga review #one piece manga #monkey d luffy

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary140

2/1-2/2024

thursday - friday

work was okay i guess.

okay could be an overstatement cuz i'm not happy and stuff but does that even matter, and whatever, i'm scheduled tomorrow and saturday. and then sunday's off. and thennnn, who knows, what if i am on the schedule a bunch. i could be. then my life gets to be a lot of standing around watching children play arcade games and scream and having to stock machines and help people with their prizes. it seems okay but the orientation test things made it seem so freakish and stuff.

but it's at 4 pm that i have to go in, so i'll leave at 3pm, like i did today, and that should be good, and that'll leave me some time to mix, and do other stuff, maybe do vocals and things. i might really try vocals tomorrow, if my gf is out. if she is home i can just start mixing the next thing, or figure that out tonight/start on it. maybe write too, i can write before going to work too, since i seem to be starting in the middle of the day, i hope that keeps up. this place seems to close at 3 am though. i don't want to be put there. i would cry. i could quit. my gf says i can quit if i want but i'd like to save some money. and then buy a bunch of stuff, like clothes, rare japanese sauces, elden ring dlc (lol) and idk. maybe music stuff. thinking about getting an audio interface too.

some kind of new silent hill game came out? this looks...bad. the sh2 remake also looks awful.

this is awful . wow . there's a part of me enjoying, in a twisted way, the ways konami is making silent hill an even more dead thing. all there is, is the game ryukishi is working on, that could be good. everything else is like this total joke though, this total failure to do anything interesting or new, it's like adapting silent hill to a24 horror fan tastes, and silent hill was already smarter than all of that, so it's just this facile corpse puppeting thing.

apparently yamaoka and ito worked on this. i wish they would just do something else. it's like, not even their choice, they keep getting dragged back into it i feel like.

they have like a secretly dead person twist too. it keeps getting worse. wow. it's 1 am now though, maybe i should sleep.

there's a bit in this game about your friend killing themselves and the way they don't say anything before they do it, which is true, which brings up sad memories of my friend dom who killed himself. i almost said i hope he's okay, but there's nothing to hope for, anymore, since he's been dead, for a while too.

funny and unrelated, or maybe only funny because, i dunno, i want it to be, or i just want to say it's funny when it depresses me, but there was like a gun that went off earlier i think. it seemed like that. it echoed.

i guess i just hope no one died.

it's also just bad for my paranoia. i get visions in my head of the absolute worst things happening, i don't like it, i don't really like being afraid and i don't even think it's useful. it makes me want to give up. today i saw water flowing because it was raining, in a huge drainage channel, it was a big and disgusting river, i imagined myself carried down in the current, face down. all the homeless people living in the tunnel came out, and were up on the embankment, in their tents, against the chainlink fence.

one thing that happened at work today was a guy walked in while i was doing the orientation test, and he asked me if i could help him get work, but as he asked he was like:

excuse me sir... or... ma'am?

and i just said it didn't matter. i could not really help him anyways.

i guess tomorrow i start mixing again. the director also listened to the song i sent, he said he was blown away, and that shocked me a little, but i'm really glad.

anyway i need to sleep now, so

byebye!!!!!!!

[bbs-backlog-challenge]

Games of 2023

(2022)

I barely played anything last year. Tears Of The Kingdom so wholly swallowed my attention that, once I finally brought it to a close, I just fell of playing video games for a long time, and still haven't quite picked my way back into the hobby. I'll get into it during the write-up below, but it's OBVIOUSLY going to be my Game Of The Year (and in a rare change of pace, it actually came out this year!) so I will be nominating another game as GOTY instead.

This is also the year I became a car mechanic in my spare time after crashing and totalling my beloved Beetle and instead of getting a new car like a sensible person, I decided "well, I can probably fix it". 12 months later, still driving it! And also, still fixing it.

August brought with it an incredible depression out of nowhere during which I lost the plot a bit, but I did write an awful lot of words towards my novel, so I guess that evens things out. Regardless, a combination of all of the above resulted in very few games being played this year! My count is 23, compared to recent years being in the 70-80 range. Makes this an easier read, anyway. To the games!

-

Jumpgrid

Hold over from last year, I played a little further but the final few levels are less reactive and more memory tests, which is a real shame. Just remembering which direction to move and trying to time it right isn't anywhere near as fun as frenetically dashing all around the grid. Soundtrack is still legit though.

-

Absolute Drift

We gave this one quite the pasting in our livestream chat- safe to say it's not for me. In the hour I gave it, I didn't get even the slightest grip on how the controls work, which seems to be the intent. I'm sure there's a moment where, if you are persistent, everything -clicks- and suddenly it all makes perfect sense, but it didn't come close to happening and the game itself wasn't compelling me enough to keep blindly headbutting it until we got there.

-

Thirty Flights

Wendy's no longer offers the 4 for $4 deal. I would still argue their $5 Biggie Bag is a better deal than this, despite technically being more expensive.

-

Metroid Prime Remaster

And what a remaster it is! I'd argue the original Prime still looks and plays fantastic and didn't need remastering, but this is sublime and if you missed out the first time around (holy crap it was 20 years ago augugahguaghuhgh) this is a fine way to get caught up. Surely Primes 2 and 3 are on their way as well?

-

Black Mesa

Interesting juxtaposition with MP:R here, another remaster of a classic game. This is similarly excellent despite my own cognitive dissonance as described in my BBLC entry. Unfortunately let down by the end sequence- the original's Xen chapter is pretty universally regarded as an awful blight on an otherwise great game and Black Mesa's approach was to... make it five times longer? They actually reworked the whole set up but it still just wasn't quite enough to polish that turd. It does look absolutely beautiful and the soundtrack is breath-taking, but I do wish they had let the environment breathe a little instead of filling it with enemy encounters. Still well worth a look, and a monumental achievement to finally have this game in a fully complete playable state after so long in development.

-

Tears Of The Kingdom

I'm sure I don't need to say much here. Game so good I stopped playing games. Masterpiece. Every aspect of it- gameplay, visuals, music, story- masterpiece. Minor spoilers, the music during the final approach towards the final boss' arena had me so worked up I needed 5 minutes to get my head back into focus. It's a fairly common thing for the actual boss fight to feel badass, but I cannot recall any other time previous that just the *approach* made me feel like a hero, bringing to an end a story that had gone on for far, far too long. I don't need to tell you any of this. It's a masterpiece beyond masterpiece.

-

Time Gentlemen Please

Adventure game sequel to Ben There Dan That, which I enjoyed oh-so-many moons past, but I couldn't get far here. There's an intolerable lag between every action and movement that drove me spare, which I'm not sure if it's an engine issue or a game issue. I don't enjoy adventure games enough to put up with things like that unfortunately, though I do remember enjoying the first game a lot.

-

Final Fantasy 2 (Pixel Remaster) (PC)

Oh man. Without speaking hyperbolically, I think this might be the worst game I've ever played that is technically competent. The game runs nicely, the graphics are lovely, the music is just as fantastic this early in the series as it came to be known for, but by the nine divines, what an absolute pile of stink the actual gameplay experience is. I finished the game with 100% of achievements solely so I never, ever had to pick it up again. An abysmal and frustrating mess of a game that had some interesting ideas and had no clue what to do with any of them.

[20:26] Beebs: You should all buy Final Fantasy 2 on the sale [20:26] spookiott: didn't you hate it [20:26] Beebs: I did and still do and always will [20:26] Beebs: I just don't think I should suffer alone [20:27] Beebs: I'm going for 100% achievements just so I never ever have to play it ever again [20:27] spookiott: yeah, that'll show 'em! [20:33] Beebs: I do not know how they ever got to make a Final Fantasy 3, by rights they shouldn't have [20:34] Beebs: The series should have ended here and everyone involved with it should have been arrested [20:34] Beebs: please buy it.

-

Endless Space

As a space-based 4x that isn't Master Of Orion 2, Endless Space caught my attention better than most, but I only played to the end of my first galaxy before moving onto

Endless Space Two: Endlesser Space

which I think hooked me a lot stronger. I found the conquer mechanics too opaque for my liking, with my invading army of millions somehow being annihilated by a defending force that had literally been reduced to zero remaining soldiers, and no explanation of how that could happen or how I could have done it better. I think modern 4x games have leaned away from conquest being the predominant means of victory and as such it's a way to make that victory type less appealing? I don't know. It's a good game, it's just not Orion.

-

Fortnite

I played Fartbutt pretty much every day all year, it is honestly a fun game, and if you are resistant to the predatory business practices of the parent company you’ll have a good time. Don’t have much else to say here- getting down to the last 5 players alive and scanning the horizon for any sign of activity is thrilling and it’s a huge adrenaline rush to trade shots with the last one standing and secure the win.

-

Diddy Kong Racing

Had a few attempts at this in recent years, this is the one that finally stuck thanks to the Deck. It’s a good racer with some total BS (I literally cheated the final boss with save states to race perfectly and still couldn’t beat him with one character lol) and adds a lot of fun single player content missing from the Mario flavoured rivals. Flying around exploring the hub island is just fun and I’d love to see the concept return in a future MK game. Wizpig theme is legit.

-

Master Of Orion 2

You know it and you love it. This year I tried a no-expansion game where I could only settle planets in my home system. I actually won but there was a fun challenge towards the end where two enemy systems were behind black holes that I couldn’t reach- had to manipulate them into a war with each other so they would destroy those systems for me, but also keep one from defeating the other before they had finished the job. It worked out!

-

Fire Emblem N-gage

A lot of people really loved this entry. I thought it was fine. Hard mode is way overtuned IMO, mostly because of the bosses, but Normal mode is conversely far too easy. Wish there was some middle ground between the two. The Somniel stuff felt REALLY tacked on, too, like they just put it there so people who had only played Three Houses had something familiar to the monastery, but the dialogue is all repeated and it feels a bit soulless. I thought for sure I was going to marry Celine because, I mean, look at her- but she drinks floral tea which is unforgivable so I married big tiddy goth GF Ivy instead, who already told me she loved me and worshipped me like a god in just our B rank support. Healthy!

-

Team Fortress 2

I only played the fun halloween maps this year (surprisingly few of them are fun) and skipped the terrible ones, resulting in significantly less playtime this year than previous. Still didn’t get my thrice-damned hat. I also spent some time earlier in the year trying the Dragon’s Fury, a weapon I never previously bothered with, and it was quite refreshing.

-

Star Fox 64

Really weird that they never made another Star Fox game after this one.

-

Neopets

It is absolutely WILD that this site is still running, and many parts of it unchanged since 1999. I come back every so often- it's sort of my internet birthplace. "can't take the country out of the girl", so they say. They were giving away childhood dream-item Illusen's Staff essentially for free so I had to get it, and then I just kept sticking around for a bit. It's fun but I think only nostalgia keeps these servers running any more.

-

Touhou 19

It's a Vs shooter, so even though you can play as Ran I pretty much bounced off once I had seen the new girls and heard the new music. It's a shame, but vs mode simply isn't what I play touhou for. Looking forward to 20, hopefully next year but probably 2025. New Ran lore though!

-

Age Of Empires 2 Ultra Mega Edition

There really is simply no reason at all AoE2 needed to be made into a live service game, but ignoring that festering boil this is otherwise the ultimate way to play a very old and still very good game, with a whole slew of QoL features that I'll never be able to live without now I have them (visible tower range!). It's also compatible with all custom scenarios made in the original so we can still re-live the majesty of JUSTIN TIMBERLAR.sco and all the other very-good-actually scenarios I made as a clueless 14 year old.

-

Ys 8: Lacrimosa Of Dana

An unexpected late entry takes this year's GOTY (That Isn't Zelda). The incredible lull I felt after TotK didn't clear for a long time, but at the end of November I fired this up and remembered why I love games generally and Ys specifically. Falcom is an established company that still somehow feels like a doujin circle, and I’m not sure how to explain what I mean by that but I mean it positively. This one’s actually telling a pretty neat story so far too, though I haven’t finished it yet. Can a game I haven’t finished truly be named GOTY? Yes. It’s my blog and I can do what I want. One year there were three winners!

-

That’s all for 2023. 2024 doesn’t look to have any big hitters, but the JPRGs are accumulating on my backlog and I’m at roughly the halfway point in writing my book, so time will tell if I manage to beat this year’s meager score.

#games #gaming #retrospective #2023 retrospective #video games

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Athena

So. I have to deal with the virgin goddesses… By mythos, there really shouldn't ever be children of Artemis, Hestia, or Athena (yes, Athena was a virgin goddess). PJ got past that by making it canon that Annabeth and her siblings were born from cracking open Athena's skull (yes, that's also more or less the canon explanation). They gloss over it real quick but I remember, Rick. I've always remembered and that mental image has haunted me for years...

I can't, in good conscience, ignore the history around Athena's worship (call it an academic restraint) but I REFUSE to do the skull thing. So, since I make the rules here, I'm going with magic adoption. They still get magic powers, they're just more human than demigod. Cool? Cool.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena

Lucifer

The human that popped out of the portal seemed to have enough sense not to attack everyone in the room for a change, but even Lucifer could tell that was more of a strategic choice than for lack of ability...

Their very existence was highly unusual… and quite worrisome. He wasn't even aware Athena could have "children" of her own, but apparently she had been taking in some particularly bright humans to raise and train like her own...

Unbeknownst to him, a surprising amount of human scholars, diplomats, and generals have her to thank for their trade… and that alone should speak to the level of intrigue at play here. 

Was this an accident or Athena's attempt to plant an Olympian spy in the Devildom too…? Either way, he didn't trust them from the get go…

Look, Lucifer isn’t stupid. Athena is a goddess of Wisdom and War and war happens on more than just the battlefield… 

Since they've shown up records have been going missing, official documents keep getting misplaced, and he swears that there's some kind of bug in the student council room...!

It's infuriating watching the MC suck up to Diavolo when he's almost certain that they're running their own agenda behind the scenes! And he can't prove any of it!! They cover their tracks too well!

Lucifer has one of those corkboards covered in newspapers and string in a secret wing of the Castle - 100% dedicated to just tracking the MC's activities…. The longer they're there, the more obsessed he becomes...

He swears between Simeon, Solomon, and MC he feels like a shepherd wondering why the sheep are growling… The Devildom has never been in more danger than it is right now... Send help.

Mammon

To be honest, he kind of thought that they were just going to be Satan 2.0 but that's not really true.

They're more than just a book sponge! Though they do read, like a lot. Let’s just say from one schemer to another… Game recognizes Game.

They come up with plans and ideas soooo fast, it’s insane! Honestly, there are times where he has a new money-making plot and he just brings it to the MC first to run it over. 

Nine times out of ten, not only do they sniff out any problems but they have a solution for him in a matter of minutes! His scheme game has been on point since they’ve shown up!!

They’re also even better tutoring than Satan is, so he’s even managed to get a couple A’s for the first time in his life! Lucifer actually told him he was proud (which he secretly recorded and now uses as a ringtone much to his brother’s regret...)

So yeah, he likes them... buuut that doesn’t keep him from thinking they act a little weird sometimes... 

Mammon: *points to a unused tower close to the RAD building* Over there is the Tower of Sorrow. We use it for storage.

MC: Ah. Interesting… *starts writing in a notebook, muttering* It may need a few minor tweaks but the location is defensible...

Mammon: *stops* Ya say somethin’?

MC: *looks back up* Nope! Say, you’ve been to the Castle a lot haven’t you? Do you know any good ways in?

Mammon: Uhm… Why do ya want to know that…? *starts looking around for Lucifer*

MC: In case of emergencies. I like being prepared. 🙂

Mammon: Look, I don’t know what Lucifer might’a told ya…

MC: I’ll pay you a thousand Grimm for it.

Mammon: Well shit, ya want those maps with or without color?

... Yeeeah, that’s pretty weird… But it’s probably fine. I mean, as long as they keep giving him money, who’s he to complain? 🤷‍♀️

Leviathan

Also thought that they’d be a lot more like Satan but was pleasantly surprised that they were into more than books.

What else did they like exactly? Military strategy!!

It’s been a looong time since he’s been able to talk to someone who’s actually interested in all the battles he’s fought, both in the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, and their curiosity is kind of flattering...! Not a lot of people take his strategic prowess all that seriously anymore...

Plus, they are the BEST partner to have any turn-based strategy game. Hands down. He once got stuck on a level of D-COM for weeks until the MC walked in and mopped the floor with the AI!! They have a serious head for probability and tactics.

The House once made the mistake of letting these two be on the same team during a Hell Game and they absolutely demolished the competition. Mammon didn’t even get a single shot off before half his team was lost to a rigged paint grenade… It took a whole day to clean up… 

However, Levi’s also noticed some odd things about the human… He likes that they’re interested in his past but maybe they’re a little… too interested?

Levi: -and that’s how we defeated the Four Horsemen before they escaped from Purgatory. 

MC: Wow, Levi that’s seriously impressive!! *furiously scribbling on a notebook*

Levi: Well t-thanks… 😅 But, uhm... are you writing that down…?

MC: Hm? Oh no, just doodling. *they lift up the notebook to show a bunch of cute little sketches on the page… and not the magic-based invisible ink all over them…*

Levi: Oh you draw too? Can you do fanart???

MC: Eh, sometimes. But say Levi, can you tell me about your naval ranks again? I’m still really curious… *gets the pen ready again with a smile*

Satan

Oh, it's been a long game of cat-and-mouse between these two… and unfortunately, it’s been pretty addicting too.

He honestly had every intention of tricking the human into making a huge mess do he could bother Lucifer, but at every turn they proved just a hair too clever for him...

He once gave them a cursed book to “lend” to Lucifer, but they saw through it the moment they touched it and lifted the spell before handing it over.

He rigged a podium to spray glitter during one of Lucifer's speeches but the MC disconnected the trigger mic before he even got on stage. It was pretty dang frustrating...

At one point he got so desperate that, just as a test, he tried to trap them in the House's Music Room. Fortunately for them, it only took a few minutes to work out an escape. They even passed by him in the hallway with a wink!

It's confounding! It's infuriating!! 

...and it's so damn sexy... He should be furious but he’s just in awe!!

Add on that they know their art, literature, and multiple different crafts thanks to the tutelage of their adopted mother and that’s it. He’s finished. This boy is in love.

Truthfully though, a part of him is 90% sure that they’re also gathering state secrets… Like, they’re watching Barbs and Diavolo far too close for comfort - but he just can't bring himself to care. 🤷‍♀️

The MC could walk into his room one day and say, "Hey, do you want to help overthrow the monarchy with me?" and he dreads it because deep down he knows that he wouldn’t say no…

Take some notes, kids. Some bad influences get you to drink or do drugs. Others pull you into a centuries long conspiracy to destabilize and topple rival realms from within… But he has fallen for their brain hard. Devil help them all…

Asmodeus 

They’re pretty clever, he’ll give them that, but uh… Are they a little off to anybody else?

Asmo is a charmer by birthright so he has a bit of nose for when someone’s just a liiittttle too nice… Not much of a nose mind you, because he can be thrown off by compliments himself, but enough to think that the MC might be a little too… “kind” for their own good...

First off, who wants to spend that much time with Levi?? They don’t even seem that interested in anime! They just keeping asking him for old war stories…

Then all the sucking up they do to Diavolo and Barbatos? Look, he gets it. Diavolo is a delicious piece of man-hunk and his butler could give him a lesson or two in sweet-talk (and he has), but they seem to be just a little too… nosy.

Of course, Asmo’s suspicions disappear pretty quickly after they start to spoil him with spa nights and beauty secrets they picked up from “casual research” into the subject.

And you know, get a little Demonus in Asmo and start massaging his back? Oh, sweetie he’ll sing like a bird!! … with gossip. Singing with gossip.

Asmo: So I’ve heard that Lucifer has been spending more time at RAD than usual… His whole club is talking about it, they think he’s meeting with some witch!

MC: Hm, is that so? *works on a knot near his shoulder blades* What do you think?

Asmo: Ooh~! Right there, MC! *purrs and lays his head on his arms* Well come on, this is Lucifer we’re talking about! I’m sure he’s just working.

Asmo: Hmm... though come to think of it, I think I heard him asking Barbatos for the spare keys to the Tower of Sorrow…

MC: Oh really? Huh. *works out the knot and gets up* I just remembered that I left some papers with Satan... I’ll be right back.

Asmo: You’re going already??

MC: *waves him off quickly* I’ll be right back, Asmo. *hurries out the door to do totally on-the-up-and-up things… surely*

Beelzebub 

Honestly he doesn't like this one… But not for the reasons you'd expect.

He agrees with everyone else that they seem a little shady, but Solomon and Simeon are too so it's not like that's anything new... 🤷‍♀️

No, no. He dislikes them because they're the person who FINALLY figured out how to keep him from eating all the food in the kitchen!!

Turns out that the trick was to put a teleportation charm on the fridge door that would send all the food away if it’s opened after a certain time of night… 

And where does it go? The Purgatory Hall fridge. And where does the Purgatory Hall food go…? The HoL fridge…

It doesn’t sound so bad until you remember that it means half of their fridge is now Solomon’s leftovers…. 🤢

After they put the same kind of spell on the pantry, it was all over… He couldn't get midnight snacks from the House anymore… Everything was contaminated by Solomon…

The MC is a nice enough person, he doesn’t have a lot of complaints about them, but he wants them to leave. Now. This is inexcusable… He’s so hungry… and he doesn’t want to die by “goulash” or whatever Solomon calls his latest culinary catastrophe… He’s still too young for death… 😓

Belphegor 

In a way, he absolutely could not have asked for a better person to help him get out of that attic.

… In another way, he got one of the worst possible people to try and kill... Like. They saw through his scheme sooo fast…

How was he supposed to know that the human had training in body language and sniffing out lies???

Getting the door open was a piece of cake for them. They knew enough magic to undo the seals and just rummaged around Lucifer's stuff long enough to find the key to the door. He could not have found a more competent individual for a break out, really.

It’s just… well he didn’t expect to go from locked in a room like a prisoner to tied up in enchanted rope, still like a prisoner but now mobile. 😑 

They even used his own hug ruse against him! They caught his wrists when they got close and tied him up before he could shake them off...

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the best look for them either - what with walking Belphegor downstairs to the others like a one-man-prison-caravan but they're as silver-tongued as they are sly so they talked their way out of it beautifully… 

And like hell was he going to trust them after that!! And not even Beel liked them so something had to be up...

Well, you want a detective? Look no farther than Belphie (no seriously, it’s in the canon). He can put things together pretty fast when he puts his mind to it and watching the MC for a while gave him enough proof to work off of...

He always knew that, humans were bad news and the MC just proved it to him all over again. They are bad news, bad bad news and they’re going to-!

Overthrow… Diavolo…? Is that what he is getting from them…? Huh…

Wait a second, MC. You might just have him interested… 😏

#you say athena mc is smart #i say athena mc is spy #because where better to use your smarts #in war #obey me #obey me shall we date #shall-we-date-obey-me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me demigods

[lucy90712]

Gender reveal (pregnancy series)

Again just like my last part of this series gender is on a spectrum and changeable but this is the common term so that is what I'm going to use but I still believe that everyone is valid no matter their gender.

Series masterlist

George:

Me and George didn't have any big plans for telling family because it really wasn't that big of a thing over in England to do gender reveals (I think this is true like I never really hear about them over here but some people do do them) so we decided just to tell them in person. Today George's parents are coming over so we are going this chance to tell them because they know that we were able to find out at our last appointment.

They arrived and brought dinner with them which was very unnecessary but also very nice of them to help us out like that. We ate dinner together just kind of casually nothing too serious because all of us are so close that we don't often do proper family dinners or whatever unless it is Christmas. After dinner George's mum helped me with washing the dishes before we sat down on the sofa together to play some games but not before me and George told them the news.

"Ok so you know that we found out the gender so we wanted to tell you" I started

"We're having a girl" George exclaimed

"Thats so exciting I can't wait to buy cute little things for her" his mum said

They were so excited to go out and buy little things for their granddaughter that she could keep as memories which put things into a whole new perspective for both me and George to the point that we both felt so unprepared because we have nothing for the baby and were already halfway through the pregnancy.

Dream:

Clay wanted to do something for his family and mine to reveal the gender so we set up a little party with just close family where we were going to tell them using a onesie clay had made with his trademark smiley face on it in pink with a white background which was actually really cute and I can't wait till she can wear it.

I have been setting up decorations out in the garden all morning it's not a whole lot but it has taken me a while because I keep getting distracted. When it was done there was balloons in blue and pink as well as bunting and table cloths and we had cupcakes with different colour icing on them just for fun. Everything actually looked pretty good with a bit of straightening up from where my brain had just thought of something else that needed doing it would be perfect.

Our families soon arrived and enjoyed the cupcakes and chatted about what they thought we were having. Once it felt like a good time Clay got the box that we wrapped the onesie in and brought it outside so we could let them open it, both of our moms opened it together while the rest of our families watched from behind them. They opened the box and pulled out the onesie looking at it for a second before it sunk in what they were holding.

"Congratulations you two" my mom said

"This onesie is so cute did you get it made?" His mom asked

"Yes I did and I got a few others but they haven't arrive yet" Clay said

"Wait I didn't know there was going to be more" I said

He is full of surprises this man but I'm not going to lie I was quite looking forwards to this one.

Sapnap:

Seeing as Sapnap's family have been so supportive of us we wanted to do something for them to announce the gender so Sapnap and I have been planning a little party for everyone where we are going to cut a cake to tell them the gender. I also thought it would be fun to have a little box for people to put guesses of what they thought we were having in and we would total it up before the reveal to see if they were right.

Everyone came over and we talked for a while with them trying to get information out if me to try and make their guesses on the gender. We took the box with all the slip of paper in and me and Sapnap counted them together.

"Thats 3 for boy and 9 for girl" I said

It was kind of funny to see the results especially knowing what the baby actually is. Sapnap gave me a look and we grabbed the knife we had prepared and I put my hand on his so we could cut the cake we had together. We cut a slice to reveal the blue sponge inside which we showed everyone and their reactions were priceless because they definitely didn't expect us to be having a boy.

"It's a boy" Sapnap exclaimed

"There is no way I was sure it was a girl" his mom said

No one believed us to start with but we managed to convince them as time went on.

Quackity:

Me and Alex had told all of our family separately in person but he still wanted to film a video that won't go out for a while but he wanted to do it for fun. He wanted us to do old wives tales to see if they were accurate. He had some ready that he wanted to do some of which seemed more scientific than others but we did them all anyway.

We started with the ring test where we took one of my rings I wear all the time and used a strand of my hair to hover it over my bump. It swung in a straight line which indicated girl which we marked down on a white board. Next we did the mirror test and I looked into the mirror for a minute to see if my pupils dilated which they didn't which also indicated girl.

The next one we did was kind of gross and involved baking soda which we had to put into a cup of my pee and see if it fizzed which it did which indicated boy. The last one we did was the heartbeat test which said that if the heartbeat was over 140 it is a girl which our baby's was.

I was quite surprised that they were mostly right but of course the fans didn't know that so we had to do a final reveal where we told them that it was a girl. I'm quite excited for the video to go out after we tell fans about the pregnancy because it was actually quite fun to film.

Karl:

We didn't really have anything planned but the mr beast crew set up a little party for us where we could tell them the gender because they are so desperate to know. To actually reveal it we decided to get a balloon with blue confetti inside it despite knowing when it popped it would scare me it was going to be fun for everyone else.

They had set everything up pretty extravagantly because that’s how they do things, there was so many decorations and way too much food for anyone to eat. We had a nice time though eating way too much food and Chris gave us a bunch of advice for when baby arrives.

Eventually we got up and brought in the balloon and got ready to pop it with a knife, Karl held the knife while I held the string of the balloon. He gave me a warning before he popped it still made me flinch and I felt the baby jump inside me but when I opened my eyes after just a split second and there was confetti everywhere.

"We're having a boy" Karl practically squealed

"Yay Tucker can have a little friend" Chris said

Wilbur:

Me and Wilbur have told all of our family the gender of the baby but no friends know so he invited some to our place to hang out and so we can tell them the gender. We have spent most of the morning cleaning the place and sort of setting up like cooking and baking but now everything is pretty much ready as people are arriving.

Phil arrived first and brought us some baby clothes which was very sweet of him, all of the others arrived not long after and we all sat down to talk and tell when what we are having. Wilbur had ordered some onesies for the baby which were pink which we were going to show the group. Wilbur left the room for a minute at some point and came back with the onesie in his hands but behind his back.

"I got this the other day and its just to cute" he said holding it up

"Wait does that mean your having a girl?" Tubbo asked

"Yeah we are" I said

They were all very excited and can't wait to meet her but for now they can look at the bump which I did let them feel which I don't let most people do but Tommy especially was so excited I thought why not.

#georgenotfound x reader #georgenotfound #george #george x reader #gnf #sapnap #sapnap x reader #dream x reader #dream #dreamwastaken #dreamwastaken x reader #dream team #dreamteam #quackity x reader #quackity #quackityhq #quackityhq x reader #karl jacobs x reader #karl jacobs #karl #karl x reader #wilbur x reader #wilbur #wilbur soot #wilbur soot x reader #mcyt #mcyt x reader #dsmp x reader #dsmp

[struggling-with-time]

Stressful streaming [Corpse  x reader]

Paring: Corpse husband x Female!reader

Summary: “What if y/n isnt a good gamer (they do something else on yt and never really got into it) so they just really suck at being the imposter? And everyone is trying to make them feel better but they feel super crappy about ruining the game for everyone- especially when they get paired up with corpse?” Requested by anon

“can I request something where y/n and corpse are dating, she is the group's baby and everytime she kills everyone's like 'yeah, that's cute bUT YOUR BOYFRIEND THO'.” Requested by anon

Warnings: Idk, this took a complete 180 midway through, and even idk what’s going on anymore. Fluff?  Comfort? Cuddles???

Words: 2k

A/N: Open for requests. And a two for one, you know me at this point.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The two of you had been living together for quite a while now. And you had been public about your relationship for a long time, had it been up to either of you, nobody still wouldn’t know. But it’s definitely better on both of your nerves not having to tiptoe around each other when you recorded, or he streamed.

You really enjoy books, so that’s what you naturally made the topic of your YouTube channel, book reviews. You had always recorded yourself reading and made it into a time-lapse after, it was when easier now that you didn’t have to worry if Corpse said anything and you looked up to answer him. You weren’t really into gaming so it surprised you a lot when Corpse had sat you down yesterday and asked if you wanted join them in the game today. The other had been bugging him to get you on call for longer than just saying a quick hi and then leaving him again. You weren’t much of a people person, honestly neither of you were. But Corpse was still better at interacting with others. Both of your setups was already in the studio, due to you liking edit your videos when he streamed, so you could still be together. Despite you mostly reading whenever he streamed, because then there wasn’t a chance he accidentally got caught on your camera.

Your routines worked for each other, but this was new territory for you. Both being live and gaming. You were nervous. To put it out there you were straight up shaking of nerves. Sure you wouldn’t be live yourself, and it was just among us, you had seem him play it a million times, but it still scared you what if you said something stupid, or did something stupid. Then you wouldn’t be able to cut it out, everyone would know in an instant.

Corpse greet his stream, as you load up your game, you’re fiddling with the hem of his sweater, makes him feel like he’s closer than the short distance that’s between you, because right now he seemed like an ocean away.

He shows you how to join the call and you accidentally squeak in chock as someone yells into their microphone. You can feel Corpse moving beside you, as he tries his best not to laugh at you.

“Shut up.” You mumble, and lightly shoves his shoulder.

“Me?” A guy with an irish accent asks.

“No! Not you, I’m so sorry that wasn’t to you- Corpse stop laughing at me!” You cut your own sentence off. As he now is completely failing at keeping himself from laughing, inviting everyone and their mom to listen to his beautiful laugh. You sulk for a bit, before he composes himself.

“But you’re just so damn cute.” He pets the top of your head, and walks back to his own setup, where chat is going rocket speed. He tries to read a couple in passing, but he turns his attention back to you when you whine.

“I’m not a child!” you pout at him and sticks out your tongue. A smile right on your lips as he copies you. You just love this man with all of your heart.

“Never said you were.” He teases back, before he starts to greet the people in the call. You realise most of your nerves have disappeared, no longer shaking, you’re getting a bit excited to do this. You listen closely when corpse says the name of each of the people in the call. You only knew the names before joining, but not what voice that belonged to whom.

When you’re finally in the game, Corpse suggests you put on the white skin and a flower. Your reply?

You lean close to the microphone and goes. “No.” And picks the yellow skin with the plant hat, declaring you’re now a citrus fruit.

“Corpse, how in the world did you catch someone like her?” you think her name was Rae asked.

“I didn’t she caught me.” He admits, happily. “Still having trouble believing she chose me.”

Earning an awe from the rest of the call. Two lovebirds.

“Simp!” someone yells in the call, you’re not really sure who, in the sea of mixed noises. Earning a laugh from you.

Crewmate flash across your screen, and you didn’t totally mean to peak, but you saw the red flash from his pc. As the game starts up and your character isn’t moving you realise you don’t know what you’re doing. Corpse realises too when his character starts to circle yours and nothing happens.

“Babe you good there?” He looks over at you, as you’re pressing each key on your keyboard testing out what happens. He chuckles at the sight. “let me help you.” He gets up, and leans over you, as he shows you how to move. His own character standing still, as he helps you around the map and shows you how to do the tasks. You happily let him guide your hands, enjoying the warmth he radiates as he stands near you.

That’s when a warning flash over the screen. Emergency meeting. You think it said. A screen with a portrait of all of your characters comes up.

“Corpse you good there, you haven’t moved all game?” Felix asks.

“Oh, sorry, I was helping Y/N with how to play.” Corpse answers over your mic.

“Hey guys, how do I make my name red like Corpses?” you innocently ask, with a gleam in your eyes as you look up at Corpse knowing damn well why his name is red. He’s the bad guy.

Corpse furrows his eyebrows at you. Glaring at you, as the rest of the call is laughing, it doesn’t take long before his astronaut is floating across the screen ejected into outer space. He leans close to you, making sure to mute your microphone first.

“You sure you want to play like this kitten?” He whispers to you, you respond by smacking his shoulder, and once again telling him to shut up.

Corpse helps you through the rest of the game. He makes sure you’re good before walking back to his own chair and greets his chat, finally paying attention back to them. Another game starts and the two of you  are imposters together. Corpse quickly goes over the rules of impostors, and it doesn’t take long before you have made your first kill, not noticing Sean was in Nav together with Rae.  But before he’s able to report it,Corpse comes to your rescue by venting into the room and killing Sean. The relief is short lived as  Felix comes running into Nav and see the two of you standing over Seans body, quickly reporting.

“Y/N you’re doing good, but you need to press the report button when it comes visible.” Felix starts out. “Also, it’s Corpse, there was a body in Nav, Sean. Wait Rae and Mark is dead too.” You smile to yourself as you realise he didn’t discover Raes body in there too, you feel a bit of pride.

Corpse looks over to you grinning at him. “We walked in together I was showing her where the report button is and how to use it.” Corpse defends himself. “She never found a body in the last game.”

“That’s true.” You choose to ignore he fact you’re lying to these strangers, and tell yourself that you’re technically speaking the truth. You never found a body in the last game.

“I’m sus of you Corpse, but we have no other evidence.” Felix says,

“And we shouldn’t vote on 7.” Toast comments. Everyone votes skip, and the two of you live to see another round.

The next kill is by Corpse, and you immediately report it, stating you found it in… what was that room now called?

“We found it in… that room?” You try and look over at Corpse for help.

“Electrical, headed there for wires.” Corpse quickly takes over to cover for you. Knowing full well the rest very much knows it’s the two of you.

“I think it’s a self-report, Y/N you’re trying out some big brain strats, but I saw you vent from med bay.” Toast tells the rest. You curse underneath your breath; you are starting to catch on the rest are trying to be nice. But you get it, you’re ruining the game for them, especially Corpse. A few seconds passes as everyone votes and your astronaut is sent into the vacuum of space. You sigh.  You watch as Corpse, gets one kill before it gets reported.

“What was everyone’s last task?” Grease asks the group. He gets an array of answers, but all to him seems nowhere near the body.

“I’m still sus of you Corpse.” Felix says, “You either failed card swipe twice, or forgot you already faked it.”

“How could it have been me? I was with you the entire time.” Corpse responds.

“That’s not true, when lights went out I couldn’t find you, and we just split up before I found the body now.” Felix tells the other incriminating Corpse. It doesn’t take long before he gets voted off. He looks a bit annoyed at the outcome. Knowing it was a risky kill. But instead in your mind you take it as he’s annoyed you were his partner. You reach out for his hand, and he takes it, you stroke it a few times and he seems to calm down again.

“It’s been fun you guys, but I’m not really good at this, I think I’m going to get back to do some reading. It was fun though.” You announce to the rest, Corpse watching in confusion over the sudden need to leave. The others bid their goodbyes. You get off the discord call. And closes up the game and shuts off your pc.

“Hey chat, I’ll be right back, I’m taking a quick break before we continue.” Corpse mutes his setup and walks over to you. While doing that you’ve frustratedly put your head in your hands, and is onboard the blame train for ruining the game for the others. Corpse wraps his arms around you and brings you right back to reality and where you belong, in his embrace.

“Babe, are you okay? Do you need me to stop the stream?” He carefully asks.

“I’m sorry I ruined your game. I really tried my best, I promise.” You sigh, looking at him, and leaning into his hug and the warmth.

“You didn’t ruin anything, Y/N. You made it better, I had a fun time with you, even if we weren’t the best pair.” Corpse starts peppering you in kisses alround your face until you start giggling.

“There is my beautiful Y/N.” He smiles at you, he knows he’s so whipped, and he wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world when he sees that smile of yours.

“Thank you.” You mumble as you put your neck into his neck, cuddling up against him. “Can I stay for the rest of your stream?” He doesn’t need to answer, he just sits back down in his own chair, and you automatically and easily, swing a leg over him. You cuddle into his chest and listens as he starts talking to his chat again.

“Y/N says thanks for everything, but this is really out of her comfort zone, and I’m proud of her for having done it.” He praises you to the rest of the world. He looks down at you smiling. He mute his mic as he whisper to you. “You’re still my favourite impostor, kitten.” You giggle, and he turns his attention back to the game. Getting ready to be a crewmate.

#corpse husband #corpse #corpse husband x reader #corpse x reader #corpse husband fic #corpse husband fanfic #corpse fanfic #corpse husband x y/n #corpse husband fanfiction #delias own writing

[frombeyondtheblackhole]

Hermit DSMP Swap AU: Part 8.1

Over the course of the next couple of days Scar helped George and Skeppy get settled in. He introduced them to the other Boatem People. There was Pearl, who lived in the upside down boat house, Impulse, who Skeppy thought looked a lot like a buffer version of George, and Mumbo, who had an impressive mustache and lived in an RV pulling a tiny house. 

Scar helped George build a mushroom house in the space between Pearl and Impulse's houses, while Skeppy very quickly got involved in helping Pearl prank everyone on the server by tipping their cows (and every other animal for that matter) upside down. She had to convince Skeppy not to tip anyone's named pets though. 

The Boatem hole was opened up to the void. Now that Skeppy could get a good look at it, it kind of terrified him. The never ending darkness. George tried to push Skeppy in, which led to Skeppy chasing George around with a diamond sword for a good ten minutes. Scar fell in several times. He seemed fine, though that could be debatable. Falling in the void had to have some kind of consequences, didn’t it?

Scar got a new, bigger, better hat. Skeppy tried stealing it, trading it back and forth with George as Scar chased them around Boatem begging for them to slow down. Pearl even showed up and joined in the hat trading, but then she made them give it back. There was something under her chipper mannerisms that neither of them wanted to cross. She was nice, but Tubbo was nice, he had nukes, Foolish was nice, he controlled lightning, Puffy was nice, she killed Ant. In their experience, nice meant dangerous. 

Grian got bored just sitting around all day and was soon back to his usual pranks. He summoned a giant tree golem with Pearl’s help that tried to eat Mumbo’s van till Mumbo talked to her and calmed her down. His peace, love and plants thing really did come in handy sometimes. Mambo found out that her name was Treesa. Now she just sat watching over Mumbo’s house and humming to herself with the sound of rustling leaves and groaning wood. Sometimes Mumbo could be seen sitting on her shoulder talking to her as she listened, her eye’s closed and her branches swaying in the breeze as she soaked in the sun.     

Impulse opened up a shop called I-Soar selling elytra and rockets. Skeppy and George were fascinated by them and when no one was looking they stole some elytra to give them a test run. Skeppy immediately flew into a wall and died, while George fared a little better but died when he tried to land. Everyone's inboxes were buzzing with notifications as a string of death messages appeared in the chat. It didn’t take long for Scar and Impulse to find the two culprits. Skeppy tried to jump off the roof he was standing on and fly away, but he timed it wrong and landed with a splat, his items going everywhere. George started running, he was on the ground and unable to get any air.

Impulse was easily able to catch up to him with his own elytra. When Skeppy returned for his stuff Scar and Impulse admonished them for stealing. Then they gave them some flying lessons, showing them how to use the rockets to give them a boost and how to land without taking damage. They were only fifty percent successful. Though, when they were done they made them return the Elytra. To be honest, Skeppy and George were both quite done with the whole affair and glad to be back on the ground. The novelty had worn off a while ago and Skeppy and George were tired of constantly dying to fall damage. 

Grian designed a game of hide and seek that involved the Dragon egg, while George and Skeppy secretly plotted to steal it when no one was looking. 

Skeppy also finally decided to build a base for himself. He collected a ton of diamonds. Some of them came from his enderchest (Which he seemed to still be able to access). A bunch of them he got from taking a page from Scar’s book and going door to door, selling the Hermits random junk. He may have also taken all the diamonds from the center of the diamond ore tower outside Cub’s base. They were just sitting there in the open, practically asking to be taken. Using these diamonds Skeppy made a diamond block box house (When he ran out of diamonds he used dirt) in the middle of the town center next to the Boatem pole. 

The look on Grian’s face when he saw it was totally worth all that work to get the diamonds. Grian practically begged him to take it down or move it. He even tried bribing him with more diamonds but Skeppy insisted that it was the most beautiful house in existence and he was going to live there forever. He even threatened to move it onto Grian’s front lawn. 

This place wasn’t that bad, Skeppy was actually enjoying himself here.   

---

Skeppy was nowhere to be found. Bad had searched through their mansion, and at the locations of their various projects, he even looked around the Greater Dream SMP, calling Skeppy’s name the entire time. The Diamond was gone. 

This wasn’t the first time Skeppy had gone off on his own for weeks to sulk, only to come back a month later as if nothing happened. But usually he would at least make a big huff about how he was leaving and never coming back and how Bad was a bad friend. This time there was none of that. He had just left. 

Bad felt a tightness in his chest as tears pricked at his eyes. Was he really that bad of a friend? What had he even done to make Skeppy run off without even saying anything? They had already made up after the whole egg debacle. 

Bad shook his head “No, I’m a good friend. I’m the best friend. He’ll be back any day now, he’s probably just running errands or something,” Bad tried to convince himself... now that he thought about it he didn’t know where Skeppy went off to whenever he ran off. 

Without even realizing it Bad found himself standing near the entrance to the spider spawner... the entrance to the Egg’s domain. He stopped. He had been free of the Egg’s influence for several months now. But the egg might know how to find Skeppy. The Egg could find Skeppy. No. Bad tore his eyes away, shaking his head and walking briskly down the path in the other direction. He had tried that before, it hadn’t ended well for him.  

Bad felt a pit in his stomach. He genuinely regretted the things he had done while under the Egg’s influence. But the Egg could give him what he wanted. No. it never actually gave him what he really wanted, he knew that now. He knew that then too, he just hadn’t wanted to believe it... He didn’t need the Egg... but... it would be there. As a last resort. If all else failed.

[Notes: This one was inspired by another comment by @the-local-scp, Thanks again. I wasn’t originally planning on writing Bad’s perspective for a while. Skeppy runs off all the time. But then I thought about it and it makes sense that he would notice. He always notices, and this time he has no idea why Skeppy left. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. This is the end of my pre-written stuff. The next one is probably going to be a bit of a long one so it may take a while before it gets posted, or I may break it up into smaller chunks... we’ll see]

#dsmp #dream smp #hermitcraft #dsmp au #dream smp au #hermitcraft au #hc x dsmp #hc x dsmp au #hermitcraft dsmp swap au #skeppy #georgenotfound #grian #good times with scar #impulsesv #pearlecentmoon #mumbo jumbo #badboyhalo

[knchins]

Not Your Friend - Tsukishima Kei

Summary: Tsukki invites you over for Thanksgiving dinner after a day at the Labor Thanksgiving festival. But things start to fall apart when he introduces you to his family as his friend instead of his girlfriend.

Pairing: Tsukishima Kei x Fem!Reader

Rating: T

Word Count: 2.6k (not 206 omfg ally get it TOGETHER)

Server Collab: @haikyuucreations - Home Sweet Home

Warnings: Angst (w/ a happy ending), Very brief mention of sex, stuffed animal abuse (jkjk)

Notes: Anon I hope you don’t mind a happy ending because I totally intended to leaving it open ended but then my heart hurt too much and I had to make them happy in the end. Anyway first collab piece for hqc! Please enjoy <3

 Even though you had been dating Tsukishima Kei for a little over six months now, you were still surprised when he invited you to a Thanksgiving Day dinner celebration with his family and closest friend Yamaguchi Tadashi. He had mentioned the festival that would take place earlier in the day and that after the two of you explored a bit, you’d go back to his home and have dinner with his mother, older brother, and best friend.

 It was a little odd because Tsukishima had disagreed on group dates or meeting your own family multiple times. He always found excuses to not do it. He would only say that he liked to keep his love life private, and asked that you would respect that. And so far you had. You didn’t talk about what went on between the two of you with anyone outside of your relationship, even your friends. You would be vague about your dates and if you had a fight then you’d pretend like nothing was going on. He wanted privacy and you wanted to give that to him.

 Despite that, you were really excited to finally meet his family. He had told you a lot about them and you had always wanted to meet them. You didn’t think he would have agreed if you had simply asked, so you never voiced your wishes to him. Luckily it seemed that time made him comfortable enough in your relationship to want to introduce you to the other people in his life finally.

 That morning you put on one of your best outfits, something that was cute but suitable for meeting your boyfriend’s family. Once you were finished getting ready, you went outside to meet Tsukki at his car. He would never go up to the door, no matter how many times you told him it was okay. He smiled softly at you, approving of your attire. “You look cute.” He said before driving you to the festival.

 The day was spent playing games and enjoying each other’s company. A few people recognized him from seeing his games with the Sendai Frogs and told them how they were big fans of him and the team. You knew he didn’t really care for the attention, always making an excuse to pull him away from the intruding person so he could relax by your side again. Tsukishima was always appreciative of how well you seemed to be able to read him. Despite his usual cold demeanor, people just seemed so eager to aggravate him. It was incredibly annoying.

 Luckily, the fans bold enough to interrupt your time together were few and far between today. Tsukki won you a stuffed brontosaurus, making sure you tell you how inaccurate the plush was as you hugged it close to snuggle with it happily, listening to him list why it was improbable for a dinosaur to be neon pink with orange spots. Of course he added how the head wasn’t shaped quite right and the proportions were a tad off. It was enough to make you giggle as he took you back to his car to take you to his family home.

 Anxiety fluttered in your chest as you watched the scenery pass you by in the window. What if they didn’t like you? You wondered to yourself. What if they thought you weren't good enough for him? A million negative scenarios and interactions raced through your mind as you thought of every conceivable way that you could screw this up. If this didn’t go well, then he’d probably never let you see them again. The thought of that hurt more than anything.

 After failed scenario number five hundred and thirty seven, Tsukki pulled up to his family home and parked out front. He opened the door for you and you stepped out, choosing to leave your new beloved (though inaccurate) dino behind. You didn’t want them to think you were childish because you loved stuffed animals.

 As he shut the car door behind you, Yamaguchi arrived with a wide smile. He greeted you enthusiastically, hugging you before giving Tsukishima a look that you couldn’t quite decipher.The three of you headed inside and deposited your shoes at the door as Kei’s mother came to greet you.

 “This is my friend,” Tsukki began before telling her your name. You couldn’t stop your eyes from widening in shock, looking at him with hurt as you tried to reel in the fresh set of tears that threatened to spill from your eyes. Friend? That’s all you were to him? Since when?

 You managed to compose yourself enough to bow to her as she told you it was nice to finally meet you. She then told Yamaguchi that she missed seeing him every weekend like she did when they were in high school together. The two began a friendly conversation as they retreated into the next room.

 Still frozen in place, you tried to grasp hold on your shattering heart. After everything, the ups and downs, the hiding you away, the confessions of love, the sex, he still somehow thinks of you as only…a friend? There was a lump in your throat, making it painful to swallow. Tsukishima didn’t seem to be pressed by the state you were in, he simply walked further into the house to catch up with his mother and friend.

 You took a deep breath to try and regain control of yourself. You attempted to numb the pain in your heart, simply thinking that if he just wanted to be friends then you’d simply treat him as a friend and nothing more. Two could play this game, not matter how much it hurt.

 Tsukki introduced you to his older brother and his significant other. You and Yamaguchi chatted with him while Tsukishima went to help his mother with something in the kitchen. You tried to keep yourself in the moment and to not think too much about the greeting. Though, he repeated himself again when introducing you to Akiteru. Being friendzoned on what you thought was a date was possibly one of the hardest things you’d ever had to do. You wish you could go back in time and decline his invitation to come over in the first place.

 Yamaguchi could read you like an open book. Not that you were incredibly hard to read in the first place, but it was easy to see that something was bothering you. Of course he knew exactly what was on your mind. He took you to the side after you finished chatting with Akiteru. “I’m sorry, I probably should have warned you I had a feeling this would happen.” He said to you in a quiet voice so that no one else could hear him.

 “I just want to go home.” You confessed. Despite how delicious the food smelled, you had no desire to even be near Tsukishima after what he had just done to you. The pain was simply too fresh, the wound too new. “I think I’m going to be sick…”

 He rubbed your back in an attempt to comfort you. “I think this is just his way of testing you.” Yamaguchi said, hoping that it would make you feel better. Alas it only made you feel worse. Why the hell did you need to be tested? Had you not gone through enough together in the past six months? Anger was starting to overwhelm your hurt and Tadashi attempted to backpedal. “I could be wrong though. Sometimes I don’t know what goes on in his head.”

 You dabbed at your eyes with the end of her shirt sleeve to try and keep the tears from falling. “Can you sit between us?” You asked, “I don’t want to be next to him right now.” He nodded, understanding how you were feeling. He wished he could pull Kei aside and ask him himself what was going through that head of his. Why was he doing this to the girl that he said he loved? Sometimes he could be such an enigma.

 Akiteru informed them that dinner was ready and the table was set. Tsukishima as already seated, Yamaguchi stayed true to his word and sat down next to him while you sat next to Yamaguchi. You could feel Kei’s eyes on you, wondering just what you were doing, but you ignored him totally. You told his mother that everything looked and smelled wonderful and she thanked you happily.

 The six of you began to eat, and everything tasted as good as it looked. It was almost worth the heartache that Tsukishima was putting you through, though you had already decided if he was so ashamed of you then you didn’t need to be in a relationship any more. You were hurt, angry, and at this point didn’t know what else to do. If he wanted to break up with you, then he could have found an easier way.

 The dinner was tense to say the least. You did your best to ignore Tsukishima, even though his family kept asking you questions about one another. How you met, did you hang out often, and many other questions that made it obvious that they were trying to see if the two of you were just friends or not. You kept your answers polite, but made it clear that you weren’t in an intimate relationship with Kei, at least not anymore.

 The slipup caused everyone to stare at you with wide eyes, even Kei himself. You not being together anymore was certainly news to him, though he played it off like it was no big deal. He wondered if this was because he didn’t claim you as his significant other right away or if maybe you’d been wanting to break up for some time now. His own mind was clouded with doubts and anxieties as he became even quieter at the table. It was obvious that there was something going on between you two, it was just unclear what exactly that was.

 Once everyone had finished eating, you helped Tsukki’s mother clear up the dishes and put extra food away. “You know, my son has a very interesting way of handling information he doesn’t want his family to know.” She said as she passed you a dish to dry off. “He has always been a very private person, even as a small child. I never quite understood where he got it from.”

 You weren’t sure what her point was, drying off another dish with the towel in your hand. “He never tells us when he has a girlfriend because he’s afraid we’ll bother them.” She said admittedly, “He thinks we’ll pry too much. I think he keeps it a secret more due to his own insecurities than anything else.”

 “Sometimes being kept a secret doesn’t feel very good.” You replied, not knowing what else to say to her. “Being kept in the dark isn’t that great either.”

 “Well, no.” She said back as she finished the last plate and handed it to you. “But he doesn’t have a whole lot of practice with that sort of thing either. I don’t think he reads women very well.”

 You nodded, wanting to believe that his denial of their relationship was simply due to him being an insecure idiot, but it was a little hard to believe. It still felt more like he was ashamed of you. “He’s never actually brought anyone over besides Tadashi before.” His mother said, “I think this was a big step for him.” She left to go tackle another chore as you stayed in the kitchen, nibbling on your lower lip. Did you possibly jump the gun?

 Tsukishima walked into the kitchen and you realized the two of you were alone. He had an apathetic look on his face. “So we’re not together anymore?” He asked, as if the conversation at dinner was unclear.

 Your eyes narrowed and you threw the dishrag at him. “I don’t know, Kei, you tell me.” You hissed before crossing your arms over your chest. “Can you please just take me home?”

 He was frowning, which although wasn’t totally unusual, it was more pronounced than normal. He nodded his head, letting out a soft disappointed sigh before letting everyone know he was going to take you back to your apartment.

 You walked with him to his car, allowing him to open the door for you. You got in, putting the stuffed dinosaur in the backseat. Honestly you didn’t even want to look at it anymore, you had already decided that you’d pretend to forget it there.

 Tsukki got into the driver’s side, buckling his seat belt and starting the car. Already he knew things were worse than he thought. For as long as he’d known you, he’d never seen you abandoned a stuffed toy. You’d always keep it in your lap or in your arms, somewhere close because you wanted it to feel loved (he really didn’t understand this but chose to let it go). He swallowed hard, trying to figure out a way to fix things before they were beyond repair.

 The drive was extremely tense. He caught you sniffling back tears a few times, the need to console you growing more and more despite the fact that now his heart was breaking too. “Listen,” He said, addressing you by your name, “I was going to tell them, but I wanted them to get to know you first without any pressure.” He was inwardly hoping that the truth was enough to heal your hurt, though he wasn’t entirely sure if it was or not. “I knew they’d pry and I thought it would be easier on you if I just said you were a friend.”

 “Kei we’ve been dating six months now and they didn’t even know you were seeing someone?” You asked, though his explanation did help somewhat, it was still unacceptable that you had been kept such a secret. “Why are you so ashamed of me?”

 “I’m not ashamed of you.” He said back, his voice raising a hair at the accusation. “I never said that I was. I just don’t like them butting into my private life, that’s it. It had nothing to do with how I feel about you.”

 You shied away at his loud volume, sinking into the seat like a child that had just been chastised. “That’s what it feels like…” You mumbled back meekly. “That you don’t care enough to tell them about me.”

 He glanced at you before looking back at the road. “How many times have I told you that you mean more to me than anything in the entire world?” He asked, sounding tired. “I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love you.” He always hated saying those words, but sometimes the moment did call for it. Moments such as this. “I just didn’t want my family to pester me about you nonstop. They get carried away and it's overwhelming.”

 You were quiet, unsure what to say. “Why didn’t you just tell me that beforehand so I wouldn’t have gotten hurt?”

 His cheeks turned a light shade of pink, “I was going to tell them right away but I panicked at the last moment. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, really.”

 You blinked slowly, reaching into the backseat for the dino and hold. The action made Tsukishima let out a sigh of relief. It was at least a sign that he hadn’t ruined everything completely. “So are we still broken up?”

 “No,” You muttered back to him awkwardly. “I’m sorry I made you leave early.”

 He shrugged, “I’d rather just be with you anyway. Akiteru can be such a pain.”

 A small smile broke on your face as you rode the rest of the way in a happy silence.

Mobile Masterlist || Request Rules || Collab Masterlist

Tag List: @dabi-hates-fish​, @hawkward​, @writeiolite​ (I think you wanted to be tagged Io, I don’t exactly remember ad;lfkja;dlfja;sdlfj)

#haikyuucreations #tsukishima kei #tsukishima kei x reader #tsukishima x reader #haikyuu!! #haikyū!! #haikyuu imagines #tsukishima imagine #tsukishima kei x you #tsukki x reader #haikyuu x reader #tsukishima akiteru #tsukishima angst #yamaguchi tadashi #hq requests

[chidoroki]

Isabella - 73584

I had a serious debate with myself over whether or not I wanted to sit down and spend my weekend writing another one of these praise posts. I was content with just doing one for each of the Fullscore Trio kids and ending it there.. but apparently I love this woman too much to just ignore her on her birthday. So here were are on September 9th with a list of all her best and my personal favorite moments as to why I believe she’s such a great character, antagonist and mother (yeah you heard me right). Considering she only shows up in the beginning and very end of the story, this post ended up longer than I originally anticipated, which just goes to show how many thoughts I really have about this woman. (for real, this rivals Ray’s post in terms of points but there’s far more words)

Since she also has some backstory and certain events differ between manga and anime (thanks to the second season), I’ll try to go in chronological order between both timelines instead of chapter by chapter, which might be a bit confusing as we’ll jump around the story a lot but just to bear with me as I try to makes sense of it all.

(spoilers for the entirety of The Promised Neverland & ch181.7, so if you haven’t read/completed the manga yet, consider this your first warning, because I’m literally going from start to finish with this one last time. I promise.)

- I’m not sure how well she compares to Emma when it comes to athleticism, but Isabella seemed to have no trouble climbing up and down trees when she was younger.

- Not only that, but she managed to scale the wall by herself using a method that requires a fairly impressive jump. It’s also implied that this is how she climbs the wall again so many years later when chasing the soon-to-be escapees, which helps prove that even at an older age, she hasn’t lost her touch.

- Was chosen to undergo training to become a Mom, which required high test scores and the current mother’s recommendation. She accepted the offer in order to keep living and survive as human the demons couldn’t eat.

- Based on Sienna’s comment, is it fair to say Isabella is on par with the full score trio? I mean, the woman is basically flawless.

- She was practically untouchable during her time at headquarters while training too apparently. Mom positions are scarce so the environment where these ladies fight (physically/mentally/emotionally) to even snag that job is highly competitive, and yet Isabella never let anyone deter her from her goal of becoming a Mom, which probably led to the “Iron Lady” nickname she received now that I think about it.

- She was the youngest ever to be granted the Mom position at..what, 19? 20? Somewhere around there, but impressive nonetheless considering they’re forced to have a child, build up a strong, emotionless exterior and endure so much fear. (but my goodness, the woman doesn’t age at all. she looks just as good when the story actually starts as she did her when she was a bit younger)

- It became common knowledge among the Sisters that she was also very successful in the way she raised her children.

- Her success greatly benefited the farm, as she offered up countless high quality goods, which sounds terrible, I know, but believe me when I say she gave her best effort for her children. Even though she held the Mom position, the amount of power she actually had in this system was pretty minimal, especially with how much she valued her own life. She couldn’t afford to make any mistakes or risky changes, so she settled with doing the most with what she was capable of. She provided her children with a normal lifestyle, not only to keep up the orphanage facade, but knowing that their lives would all be cut shorter than they anticipate. She gave them love in hopes that no one would ever have to feel the dread she felt after Leslie’s death and/or finding out the truth. She tried to delay that horrific fate by encouraging them to learn all they can (like teaching the trio about strategy and chess) so they could achieve higher tests scores and (unknowingly to them) add a couple more months or years onto their lives. Yes it was her job to raise these children to such high standards but she excelled at it for their sake too.

- And I know y’all will just throw Ray in my face like, “oh but he was her actual child and she treated him horribly/different.” Okay but deep down I don’t think she actually wanted to? When they both realized they were truly mother and son, Isabella couldn’t just dote on him and start treating him as such. I’m sure Ray wasn’t too fond of Isabella at this point in his life either, knowing that she sent several of his siblings away to get killed. They probably would’ve gotten along just fine in a perfect world, but since they were both aware of the hell they’re trapped living in, they emotionally distanced themselves and formed a business-like relationship as a result of Ray’s deal, which benefited them both in different ways. For Ray, it was more practical, with the obvious notion of living as long as possible along with obtaining various rewards and knowledge of the outside world. For Isabella, it helped emotionally by simply just ignoring their true relation. I believe if she clung to that realization, it would break the orphanage illusion and eventually wear down her “Iron Lady” exterior that she relies so heavily on.

- Like can you imagine how much you would have to harden your heart in order to quite literally walk children to their death every couple months for years on end and just move on like it’s completely normal? Now imagine how earth shattering it must be to think about doing the same to your actual child. All those years spent perfecting a fake smile and emotionless exterior like she was trained to have and her son shatters it in an instant. She becomes completely terrified about how he’s actually alive and in front of her right now and there’s nothing she can do to truly save him.. and yet she still recovers so damn quickly I can’t even comprehend it! But there’s still some sadness in those eyes. You can’t tell me otherwise. That one moment of weakness speaks volumes to me.

- So now with her general backstory FINALLY out of the way, we can finally start with ch01/ep01 and how her laugh is sweet and innocent. I say that because (all hidden emotions and motives aside) that’s exactly how she’s supposed to sound in this moment, not only to us but to the children as well.

- She of course checks Emma’s tracker a moment later but other than that I still think it’s a pretty genuine moment between the two.

- As previously stated, her ability to raise high quality children is unmatched, which is clear as day thanks to the fullscore trio.

- Despite their crazy level of intelligence, the trio has yet to win a simple game of chess against Isabella, even when teamed up.

- She treasures everything about the kids.

- She really cares about them, even when it’s time to send them off with a smile, which we know is thanks to her strong facade.

- But mother dearest isn’t really fine. She doesn’t like walking kids to their death, especially so young. But she can’t let them (or even herself) know that. She can’t show weakness, so she hums Leslie’s song, which is a tool she’s used for years in order to give herself strength.

- Don’t worry, I disliked her this moment happened too, just as the story intended. And here’s where her fantastic antagonist role begins for all the world to see.

- A true champ at jump scares.

- Acts completely calm the night after a couple of kids found out the secret of the farm.

- She uses the tracker in plain sight, sending whomever went to the gate last night a threatening but silent message.

- Correct Norman, that’s the “Iron Lady” for ya. Also the name of ch03 for us. Well, “The Iron Woman” but same difference.

- She switches from calculating and manipulative breeder to sweet and pleasant mother so quickly and effortlessly it’s incredible. Isabella even checked Emma’s pulse in this scene to see if she was acting normal.

- At this point she still had no idea who went to the gate (Ray didn’t tip her off yet, at least I don’t think so) but her guess couldn’t have been more precise. The level of fear she drives into both Emma and Norman was great too, but then again her presence is enough in any scene to give us chills.

- Notices her watchdog isn’t at his usual post and starts to get suspicious.

- Not only of him, Emma and Norman, but Don and Gilda as well, thus giving the five extra chores to finish in an attempt to slow down any escape planning, such as cleaning vacant rooms, organizing the pantry and inspecting spare linen.

- While the trio believes Isabella was being too soft and patient in finding her targets, she effectively catches them off guard by bringing in Krone for assistance. The trio soon realize they were actually preparing the sister’s new room and those mundane chores were just an excuse to buy time.

- Look at her, all smug. Checkmate indeed. (and totally not important, but her eyes are such pretty shades of purple)

- The sass and her no nonsense attitude.

- Immediately puts Krone in her place the moment she even thinks about shipping out the targets. Of course holding off on shipping the targets would benefit the farm, as it would produce higher quality merchandise as time passes, but plant 3 is run by Isabella and she’ll be damned if an assistant thinks they could waltz right in and decide her children’s fate.

- She check’s Emma tracker again despite her claim of knowing exactly who the targets might be. You can never be too careful.

- Her precious children managed to win a game of tag against Krone, which is still impressive considering the kind of training the sister has gone through, so kudos to her teachings.

- Knows right away that Krone was trying to take advantage, which allows Krone to realize that the opening she had to learn more about the children was all planned by Isabella herself. Her intimidating nature is enough to scare adults too.

- Reveals that Krone was mostly summoned in order to keep Ray in check after his failure.

- Despite the trust issue, Isabella still keeps up her end of the deal by requesting the items Ray asked for, thanks to the odd perks she had under Grandma Sarah which allowed her to order goods that weren’t on the supply list.

- This hug between her and Phil is just too cute not to mention.

- I imagine she makes this comment because she knows exactly how long a rope must be based off her own almost-escape.

- It’s just something about how this scene is framed alongside this dialogue that makes me think “oh, like mother, like son.”

- I blame her very thoughtful planning for my first big freak out when I watched season 1 blind, like ma’am that’s my favorite boy, please don’t.

- She conspires with Grandma Sarah in order to get rid of Krone for good, which renders the evidence sister just found out about the children’s escape completely useless. Sarah believes there might be some truth to it, but ultimately ignores it and puts her faith in Isabella’s ability of controlling the children & the situation.

- She then cuts Ray off and ends their six-year long deal, opting to control the situation herself from now on. Also, how she wanted to keep him around until the very end is kinda bittersweet. Does she mean as merchandise? Or because she wanted him to live as long as possible? Ah such a tricky little comment.

- She also tosses him across the room like a rag doll.

- Thank god for this panel existing and actually being adapted into the anime so I could hear it because I had absolutely no memory of her laughing in this moment.

- “She says it so nonchalantly,” Norman said once upon a time, and it’s still so frightening.

- As insane as her ideals seem given the circumstances, nothing she says here is really a lie.

- She has the strength to quite literally break a leg and that cracking noise still haunts me to this day.

- It wasn’t even a spur of the moment thing either. Isabella came fully prepared with bandages to fix up any injury she was willing to inflict and that thought alone is terrifying.

- Not only that, but she broke it so cleanly that Emma’s leg does indeed heal perfectly in the exact time frame she estimates. This entire moment is so unfairly impressive, like ma’am how dare you do this to Emma of all people.. like why couldn’t you at least use that kind of force to snap Peter’s neck instead or something?

- To make matters worse, she then reveals Norman’s shipment date. And it’s the following day, which sends the kids into a very understandable panic.

- Needless to say, November 2nd, 2045 was a very successful day in the life of Isabella. Woman was putting everyone in checkmate in ep08 and my anger on full blast.

- This sly smile she sends Ray’s way after announcing Norman’s shipment to the younger kids is so cruel.. it’s perfect.

- I can only imagine she asked about Ray’s whereabouts because she knew the boys were close friends and she hoped they would at least say goodbye to one another, but that’s just me.

- Puts an end to Norman’s parting words in such a simple and chilling matter.

- The way she just openly threatens Emma with others just out of earshot.

- Norman out here asking the real questions. If anything, I say she’s more “content” rather than happy. I don’t think she’s ever really thought about her own happiness, at least not often enough, hence the slight pause. This entire time she’s been focusing on how to make her children’s lives perfect, but for herself she just wants to survive in this hellish world they’re all living in.

- I’m honestly still not sure who’s final decision it is to send people to Lambda, either Isabella, Peter or someone else (honestly never bothered to check), but whether or not Isabella had any say in the matter, I’m sure she’s at least a little glad that Norman gets to live a bit longer? Perhaps that’s a stretch, but I’m putting the idea here anyway.

- I say this because I believe that’s part of the reason why she offered Emma a Mom recommendation, not only because our girl’s high test scores, but in hopes that she could live a longer life.

- Although she really stresses in an intimidation fashion how pointless Emma’s efforts are now that Norman’s “dead,” the cliff remains a major hazard and her leg is still bandaged up, Isabella still tries so hard to convince her to give up, like Ray has, in order for Emma to end her own suffering. It was the first instance during my blind watch-through were I started to get the hint that Isabella might actually care about her kids, and of course I know now it’s because she didn’t want Emma to experience the same pain she did after Leslie’s death.

- With Emma and Ray both broken, things went by rather smoothly for Isabella those last two months, though she continued to keep a close eye on them.

- Her humming is so soothing. And why it took me this long to bring up “Isabella’s Lullaby” is beyond me, but oh my god, that song and any other soundtrack that uses its melody is absolute perfection.

- Had enough sense to not let her guard down the final night, even though her efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, but the idea counts.

- Though her caretaker side is focused on more during the fire, some motherly instincts do kick in as she instructs Gilda to get the babies from her room and lead everyone outside to safety. She was also concerned for Emma’s well being, hoping all the smoke didn’t get to her when the girl vanished. (i know you can argue “she’s only worried because they’re merchandise” which is fair but c’mon, i swear she’s not completely heartless)

- Took a hot minute (ahha) but Isabella eventually realized that the kids were actually escaping solely based on what they were wearing on their feet. I’m sure Emma’s discarded left ear was a big tip off too but to come to that conclusion by noticing the shoes they had on during all that chaos is surprising.

- She looks completely insane here but I always thought this shot of her was nicely animated with all the fire (or embers? sparks? whatever they are) flying around. The laugh she does before this is also a nice bonus. Oh, and she somehow managed to secure a radio from the room Don had locked.

- Figured the fifteen kids would head towards the bridge and called in headquarters to block it off.

- But when the children didn’t appear at the bridge, she just happened to know exactly where else they might try to cross the cliff.

- In the anime’s case, Isabella climbed the wall and ran there quick enough to engage in a stare down with Emma before she finally slid down.

- The moment I knew I was doomed.

- After the 15 kids successfully escaped, Isabella admits defeat, for she couldn’t really see how much her children have grown to outsmart her.

- This iconic quote, which conveys so much truth and sincerity. There were multiple occasions where she had to distance and restrain herself due to the system that controlled her, but the love she was able to show the children was genuine. If she wasn’t held back by the strict rules enforced by Mom position, I don’t doubt she would’ve treated Ray better or became far more emotional whenever a child had to leave for good or seriously injured, instead of donning a fake smile and being closed off.

- She realizes with this unspeakable loss in merchandise, the reputation she worked so hard to build up is meaningless now and that the farm no longer has any use for such an incompetent caretaker. She figures she’s as good as dead anyway now, so she wastes no time in actually helping the escapees by reclaiming the ropes to hide their exact method and route of escape, if only to grant the kids some extra time before the pursuers really locate them.

- She doesn’t act bitter as a result of her loss, instead choosing to wish the escapees luck with the future they grasped for themselves and care for the children that were left behind.

- She’s just so pretty y’all. Thank you anime.

- She was named “Best Antagonist” (and rightfully so!) back during the 2020 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, winning over Askeladd (Vinland Saga), Overhaul, (My Hero Academia), Garoua (One Punch Man,) & others.

(Post-season 1 spoilers ahead, even though the anime is completely finished at this point, but will be touching upon her special chapter more as well.)

- Completely owns up to her mistakes that caused the farm a massive loss in profitable goods and is ready to received whatever punishment necessary, which she expects to be death.

- Only.. she’s not being killed, she’s actually being promoted to Grandma. Though Isabella was directly responsible for the children’s escape, the blame ultimately falls on Sarah who couldn’t correctly control Isabella, thus leading the old lady to be shipped out in place of the goods Isabella lost.

- Peter also notes that the farm found more worth in Isabella than Sarah, so her past merits also played a part in sparing her life, as having a woman like Isabella in charge would surely produce the level of quality the farm needs.

- Isabella eventually accepts the promotion, though she can’t help but feel hesitant and shocked about the whole deal. This woman was ready to embrace death and finally be free from this cruel world, but now she has to witness not only more kids being shipped off, but moms and sisters in training as well (yay old chapter reviews coming in clutch).

- She could have very well just refused Peter’s offer, but we all know how much Isabella originally wanted to survive, so she doesn’t just accept because this man dangled a sense of freedom in her face, she also agreed so she could have the opportunity to help her children in any way her newfound power would allow her.

- Of course, her transition to Grandma happens a bit differently in the second season, but I will give some bittersweet thanks to the anime once more for the obvious but curse them for also having this entire scene dark as hell. Let me see her beauty darn it! I can only fix the lighting so much until it looks overexposed and bad again.

Anyways, Sarah is still alive at this point and taunts Isabella with the escapee’s lives just to see how she would react, which gave her a small sense of hope. Then some demons pay a visit later on and also ask if she would want to see the children one last time, but Isabella tells them that not only would she be too ashamed to face them but that they would manage to survive Grandma’s capture plan, which involved several men blowing up their shelter. It’s now clear to the demons that these children are special, and while Isabella agrees, it’s not for the same reason the demons think so. The demons believe the kids are special because of how they were raised to such a high quality. Isabella calls them special simply because they’re her children, just as any mother would.

- In the anime, it’s the demons who offer Isabella the Grandma deal if Sarah’s current plan were to fail (which it does) and she takes it and the freedom from Grace Field House without question. Do I still believe she had similar intentions to help out the children like she did in manga at this point? Of course.

- Not even a full month into her new job did she start preparing to help Emma & the others by considering who from the current Sisters she wanted to recruit to personally assist her destroy the farm entirely.

- A month later and Isabella had already decreased the number of shipments that took place at Grace Field, which obviously helps raise the quality of the children by default, but it also means less death and gives those kids a chance to live longer.

- She completely anticipated that Matilda, Jessica, Sienna & Scarlet were conspiring against her and caught them quite easily, as they were among the top scorers.

- Each had a fair chance at becoming Moms but with those positions limited, it was obvious to figure out they were trying to force Isabella’s seat open by creating some suspicious activity to place on her almost perfect record. Unfortunately for the girls, our new Grandma is too smart for her own good and I love it.

- The four women are apprehensive to join her insane plan to go against the farm, but Isabella assures them there’s no freedom if they follow the system’s rules and betray her. The harsh reality they’re all living in will continue unless they stop competing with one another and combine forces to defeat the true enemy.

- To persuade them further, Isabella mentions the children they all gave birth to are still alive, bringing out an array of emotions from the women that they each thought they had buried deep down.

- THIS! Just all of this is wonderful and shows just how much Isabella learned from her children who once defeated her.

- To fully gain the women’s trust, she gives them Ray’s farewell note that he originally left in order to bait Krone, as proof she won’t double-cross them at any point.

- I love the fact that she kept the note close to her because it acts just like all the other various toys and items she saved in her secret room back at plant 3. The original owners were all precious to her so she kept a piece of them behind to remember them in a place only she knew about. As I said before when mentioning her “I wish I could have just loved them normally” quote, all the love she had for her children had to be suppressed when she was under the system’s control, but that doesn’t mean she never cared. Because she did, and if I haven’t made at least that clear by now then I’m failing.

- Can her intentions and love for her children be any more clear? (possibly, i’m not done with this darn post yet. how you guys holding up? i’m going a little insane at this point.)

- Anyways! Second season didn’t make the rest of the story easy so apologies for any timeline mishaps as I switch between both anime and manga events from here on out.. like how in manga Isabella is informed of the escapee’s return to Grace Field via Peter, while the in the anime it’s her who helps lures them back with a fake transmission via the radio they stole.

- Just before Emma & the others do return to Grace Field on November 13, Isabella finally reaches out to the farm’s many other Sisters to recruit them. She waited until the right moment to inform them of her crazy takeover plan so Peter wouldn’t become suspicious from all of headquarters acting/thinking differently (you know, like how Emma kept the jailbreak plan under wraps until the night of). These ladies also feel a bit wary and even think of Isabella’s offer as a joke, but with some real, heartfelt encouragement, she manages to win over every single woman to her side.

- The moment when it was first revealed to us that she was not only still alive but was also promoted to Grandma is still so powerful.

- She snaps Nat’s finger back into place after Peter broke it. (and considering emma’s group infiltrates the farm right after this, i’m pretty sure that ch170 with rallying the sisters took place before this..i think?)

- Gave me a minor heart attack.

- *CLAPS FRANTICALLY!!!* The moment she truly won me over.


- While her betrayal against Peter in the manga is fantastic and quite possibly one of my favorite moments, the anime did give us a little something too. It shows Peter spewing utter nonsense to Emma about how she’s destined to fail, only for best girl to bite back with such a fantastic quote, and then Isabella drops the act and switches sides. While I agree Emma’s comeback is “wonderful,” it’s the English dub that completely wins me over in this scene by having Isabella comment “Now that’s my girl” instead, like bro.. hearing that makes me so happy.

- For real dude, you have several highly skilled women pointing guns at you, I think her betrayal is crystal clear.

- This is like the perfect example of how she had to conceal her feelings while bound by the system. She just misses these kids so much y’all but she can’t let her true emotions show yet.

- Having her call Peter a boy is beyond hilarious to me. Also, how she disagrees with him on so many levels is excellent, like how he believes in experimenting on kids and having the right to call yourself their parent just because you created them, while Isabella believes in raising and loving children normally and that you earn that parent title by actually being part of their lives. To be fair they both inflicted pain on kids (Nat’s finger/Emma’s leg) but Peter’s action was a mistake in itself. Isabella got frustrated back when Krone even threatened to ship out the kids who discovered the secret, so you can bet she’s probably pissed off at this boy for harming one of her kids on purpose.

- The best mother-daughter moment ever! It’s such a shame it never got truly animated since the second season decided not to give the children guns, but we get to see a small smile from Isabella after Emma decided to still call her “mom.”

- The anime never gave Peter the chance to run away, like he (somehow) managed to do in manga, so we had the chance to see someone actually shoot at him. Well, in his general direction at least. Isabella lands a perfect shot not even a full second after he pulls out that disc. Accuracy on point.

- Said this once or twice in the past in manga so I’m glad the anime brought it back.

- Remains cautious and keeps her gun raised at Peter when Emma approaches him and rightfully so considering he still had his knife hidden at this point.

- Refuses Emma’s offer to join the kids in the human world at first because she knows that her (& the sister’s) actions shouldn’t be forgiven so easily, but with some rather blunt sympathy from Ray and encouragement from her other children, she finally gives in.

- This entire post summed up in one image.

- She apologizes even though distancing herself from her kids and preparing them for death were just required of her role as a caretaker. She wouldn’t have done any of that in a normal world. (do i sound like a broken record yet? probably)

- The emotion you hear in her voice during this entire dub scene hits my heart in all the right places.

- She still thinks of Leslie after all this time and I think that’s real cute.

- Her protective nature is on full display when she protects Emma from this bastard of a demon. A truly surprising and heartbreaking moment, considering this is the woman who’s survival used to be her top and only priority in the past, but now doesn’t hesitate to give her life in order to save her kid (and by extension that small girl emma saved. also, major heart attack for me).

- Despite being critically injured, this woman still possess enough strength to hold back a demon twice her size. She doesn’t even pay any mind to its nonsense. Like the demon, people often think this is when redemption arc starts but I believe it started way back in ch37 when Isabella retrieved and hid the ropes the kids used to escape. Ever since she admitted defeat on the wall that night, she threw caution to the wind and began cheating the system in hopes to one day assist the kids achieve a brighter future. Despite all the work she’s done behind the scenes, Isabella believes there’s still so much more she can do to atone, so even though she’s already received the children’s forgiveness, she continues to assist them by jumping in and saving them directly from demons for once in her life.

- Ma’am it’s sweet you’re so concerned with their safety, but we should be asking you that question ya know? (but then again emma was the same way after she woke up from her coma).

- Knows that just apologizing and saving Emma isn’t enough to suddenly forgive all her actions and wants to do so much more for the children as a result. Even though I already acknowledged all her subtle and hidden moments, I wish we got to see her care for them more openly.

- I simply can not read through ch177 and not get emotional. No matter how hard I try, I always feel tears start to form in my eyes. Oh my god, how cruel that death can be this beautiful. It’s so unfair.

- *uses old chapter review because I’m too upset right now* “She apologizes for everything. For not treating him right and loving him as a mother normally would her own son. For making him despise his life so much and enduring so much pain that he thought the only escape was suicide.”

- “She leaves him with one last wish to protect everyone, and that completely breaks me because you know exactly how much they both care for their family. Not only would they literally die for their family, but they would live for them too if someone asked. Truly like mother, like son.” (aaaaaahhhhh)

- Her, umm.. ghost (along with Conny’s & Yuugo’s) help Ray reunite with Emma in 2049.

- All my tears aside, the anime did something right by actually keeping her ALIVE!

- Have you ever seen something so GODDAMN BEAUTIFUL in all your life?? This image is so powerful it literally tossed aside any salty feelings I had that night with how the second season ended. Seeing her like this grants me so much happiness y’all, it’s truly unbelievable. I still can’t get over it and hopefully I never will.

Okay, now I’m done, thank god. Sorry this is like ridiculously long, especially since she’s absent for sooo many chapters. Also find it so hilarious how drastic my opinion of her changed from the beginning to now, from “bitch” to “oh my god I love her so much.” I know people will always have opposing opinions whether she’s actually a good mother or not and that’s totally fine. Wasn’t trying to convince y’all of that either because yes, some of her actions are real unforgivable, but she was suffering under the farm system too and just followed through with what she was trained to do in order to survive, but while other Sisters fought to climb ranks and help themselves survive, Isabella ultimately wanted the best for her children. The more power she gained, the more risks she took and once the system crashed so did her facade.

An absolute queen.

#the promised neverland #mother isabella #tpn isabella #tpn manga #tpn anime #chidoroki used chatter

[onebizarrekai]

undeniable proof that shuichi and kokichi were gay in v3

prepare yourself for the most big brain thing that has ever bigged your brain

chapter 1

shuichi saihara spends this chapter following kaede around because they were just trapped in a godforsaken killing game and everything seems to suck. when faced with a situation such as this, the natural inclination is to either find someone to latch onto or to distrust and stick to oneself. shuichi does the former because he is a twiggy little man who would probably die in a fight before anyone even attacked him.

what is kokichi doing in this chapter? sticking to himself? stalking someone? that is the real question. nobody knows what he is doing because he is not the protagonist and not the obligatory party companion. however, since v3 follows a theme of fiction, it is totally logical to believe that some system must be in place, but kokichi is not bound by such a system because kokichi represents anarchy.

he does not stick with another for all to see, nor does he remain alone. alas, he searches for a secret companion and has not found one yet. who shall he find? shall he find any? the truth is, he gravitates towards shuichi. it’s supposed to be in secret, but there is a way in the game to see what really happened.

if you speak to tsumugi right before everyone is asked to gather at the cafeteria a second time, she mentions sonic the hedgehog. kokichi runs by, saying “got to go fast”. this means that kokichi has either played sonic the hedgehog or is at least well-versed in sonic memes. if you get this dialogue, and only if you get it, later, kokichi makes another sonic reference, saying “faker? I think you’re the fake hedgehog around here!” while he confuses everyone, the dialogue makes the odd choice of stopping on shuichi, even though the dialogue box only includes “…” and nothing else.

chapter 2

if you have unlocked tsumugi’s sonic dialogue and go to the monomono machine, you now have a 5% chance of getting sonic merchandise. if you give this merchandise to kokichi, you get some interesting dialogue. he says “wow, shuichi! how did you know that I grew up playing sonic and that it’s my absolute favorite video game series of all time?” this immediately maxes out all 5 of his friendship fragments, and you can get all 5 of his hangouts without giving him any more presents. you’re probably wondering why this is important, but you will see.

as kaede is now dead, shuichi finds himself horribly alone. while kaito is there and starts calling him his sidekick, the force of protagonist syndrome has caused shuichi to gain the courage to hang out with anyone, including kokichi of course. I don’t need to talk about kokichi’s hangouts. they literally end with “I stole your heart, so now I’m satisfied!” and it doesn’t get gayer than that.

or does it?

if you investigate the bathroom part of ryoma’s lab during this chapter and click on a very specific spot in order to enter one of the stalls, you can click on the toilet 5 times and shuichi will lie down on the floor. while it’s to investigate the underside of the toilet, and there is nothing to be found, the words “kokichi was here” are written on the ceiling above the stall. if you’ve already hung out with kokichi at least once in this chapter, shuichi will sigh and wonder what kokichi is doing right now.

if you’ve given kokichi the sonic merchandise, and you reach kokichi’s final free time event in this chapter, he will actually question shuichi after he finishes bandaging kokichi’s finger up, briefly commenting on how shuichi managed to get close to him so quickly and asking him “what his trick is”. he says “you must like me a whole lot, shuichi. I hope you don’t bail on me after this.” word for word, literally just hear me out.

“kokichi places his warm hand on mine, and I feel like he’s prying much deeper than he usually does.”

“I didn’t think that was possible…”

chapter 3

little did you know, giving kokichi the sonic merchandise unlocked a bonus hangout. yes, you heard me right. a WHOLE bonus hangout. you can hang out with him again whenever you want in this chapter. kokichi only says “good to see you.” you can select yes or no.

the screen will fade to black.

you have used up a free time.

if you have reached this hidden part of kokichi’s relationship sequence, random dialogue that isn’t in the normal game starts getting sprinkled in, as well as certain easter eggs. when angie starts her whole shtick, since you’ve already hung out with kokichi 5 times, there are a few things he has to say straight up, like how he’s going to teach shuichi about cults so shuichi doesn’t accidentally join the student council.

chapter 4

now that you’ve finally reached chapter 4 and activated the secret kokichi pathway, you get a hidden scene, much like the others that are triggered by having specific items in your inventory. in the middle of the night, kokichi breaks into shuichi’s room and shakes him awake, telling him that someone stole his almond milk.

shuichi tells kokichi to shut up and rolls over.

fun fact, if you get the hangout with miu where she checks whether shuichi is a virgin, she does, in fact, say “ha, I can’t believe this!” and if you zoom in the window behind her, you can barely make out kokichi’s face. peering in. watching you. if you click on him at any point during this hangout, you will hear a voice clip of kokichi’s laugh and shuichi will internally respond to miu’s dialogue differently. he will think “miu is the last person I need to know about this…”

in this sonic dialogue route, shuichi responds slightly differently to kokichi revealing that he is the mastermind. although his dialogue is mostly the same, he counts approximately 22 extra crying sprites, implied to be caused by additional heartbreak.

chapter 5-6

these chapters play out mostly the same way until the very end, the only exception being when you’re investigating kokichi’s lab. if you click on kokichi’s throne 13 times, one of the bookshelves will slide out of the way to reveal a hidden bathroom. there is an envelope taped to the wall that says “for my beloved detective, who habitually smacks things over and over.” it says “if you’re reading this, I’m probably dead. or am I? wouldn’t you like to know? nishishi.” shuichi comments about the fact that kokichi literally wrote that stupid laugh out, only to start crying again.

make sure that you have kind lie equipped as one of your skills before you start the final trial.

if you’ve done everything exactly according to plan up to this point, the ending is different.

tsumugi decides to show kokichi’s audition tape instead of kaede’s. he says “I’d love to be a part of danganronpa! I can finally be a bad guy without being scared!” but then kokichi looks directly at the camera. he says “naw, just messing with you. guess who?”

the screen cracks.

kokichi has suddenly entered the scene of the trial. tsumugi looks horrified. her wig falls off. everyone is at a loss for words. suddenly the screens and lights around them start to black out until everyone is left in almost complete darkness.

shuichi finally asks kokichi how he’s alive. he’s like, “you DIED” and kokichi is like “or did I? it’s the grand finale, shuichi! I owe you the truth this one time, because you’re my favorite.” everyone listens intently. “you see, by observing your irrational actions, almost like that of a main character… I was able to conclude that we exist in a fictional world that plays by certain rules. but we all been knew, didn’t we? not quite! someone forgot to test for exploits.” himiko just goes like “what the fuck you smokin?” and kokichi just laughs. “my self awareness has given me more power than you can possibly imagine! let’s just say I learned where the hit boxes are broken and installed a few cheat codes in the meantime!”

“no… that’s impossible! this isn’t supposed to be part of the ending at all!” tsumugi doesn’t like that one bit. she just kinda breaks down crying. shuichi isn’t paying attention to her though. he had accepted oblivion only to be greeted with kokichi being alive. as annoying as kokichi is, they are hopelessly in love. maki is a little disturbed.

after passionately reuniting with shuichi, kokichi says the thing. “this world is mine now, tsumugi! you got nothin on this! it’s time to say goodbye to this trash dump and create a new reality!” tsumugi just kinda goes like “noooo!!!”

everything goes black. shuichi has a vision about entering creative mode. kokichi has opped him. they take hands. “let’s create someplace way more fun.” maki and himiko and keebo look at each other because they’re floating in the background and watching this happen even though it’s supposed to be an internal vision. the screen goes white.

shuichi graces us with some internal protagonist dialogue about how he doesn’t really understand what’s happening anymore or what’s waiting for them outside of this world, but he thinks that things might turn out ok.

after unlocking this ending, you unlock a super secret video that you can view from the main menu. it’s a fully animated video of kokichi and dice dancing to world is mine. this is what they spent all their budget on

#april fools #saiouma #oumasai #ndrv3 #shitpost #I spent like 3 hours writing this #drv3 spoilers #random stuff #shuichi saihara #kokichi ouma