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platoniclokiimagines · 2 years

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The reader gets hurt by a villain while out with loki, thor and asgardians. and Loki kills the villain instantly and then takes care of your wounds while also ranting about how angry he is that he couldn’t protect you

A/N: Slowly cleaning out my drafts so I can focus on my inbox. This was a fun one to write. I hope it was worth the wait!

WC: 1877

TW: Mention of blood, injury.

Rating: PG

“Don’t you worry, Y/N. You’ve got Loki and I and the wholerest of the Asgardians to help with the mission. What could possibly go wrong?”

Everything, itseemed, as an hour later you were cornered into a dimly-lit room with the badguy closing in on you. You’d known little about the guy the team had sent youon the mission to find. Just that he was located in Norway, only a few hundredkilometers from Tønsberg, that he was bad news, and that he had already hurtand killed at least a dozen people, and was rearing to do worse than that. Youdidn’t even know his name.

With the close proximity to New Asgard, Thor and Loki hadassured the team they and the Asgardians would be able to handle it, no issue,and you weren’t about to miss out on a trip to another country with your bestfriend, so you’d tagged along as backup to help with the mission, as well.

It had seemed like a foolproof plan, at the time.

You weren’t so sure now.

A bang behind you brought you back to reality, and youturned in time to see that the guy you were after had made his way into theroom with you, the door slamming shut behind him.

“I don’t think your little friends are going to be of anyhelp to you now,” he taunted, in a thick Norwegian accent. In differentcircumstances, you might have allowed yourself to be distracted with wonderingwhy Thor and Loki and the others didn’t have accents like that, but with thecurrent situation of a bit more pressing importance, you pushed the thoughtaside, tightening your grip on your gun, which felt absolutely helpless againstthe powers this guy seemed to be packing.

“I’m not scared of you. And I don’t need my friends toprotect me.” Quicker than a flash, you aimed the gun and shot, but the bulletstopped in midair as the man extended his hand, and with a wave, the bullet wassent into the wall with a muted sound of impact.

“Charming, for a human. What say we use your death to get a real reaction out of these Asgardians?Give them a real reason to fight, so they stop pulling their punches. How doesthat sound?” He raised both arms, and the debris on the ground lifted into theair, and with a twist of his hand, all the sharp edges pointed in yourdirection.

Over the pounding of your own heart in your ears, you couldhear Loki and Thor yelling over the comms, trying to figure out where you’dbeen trapped and how to get to you. Despite the ridiculously low likelihoodthat it would do anything, you raised your gun again, and shot round afterround at the man in rapid succession, but each one was directed away from himwith but a tilt of his head.

“Alright, that’s enough. Know that your sacrifice was forthe greater good.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but suddenly everything washappening at once. The door the man had come through was knocked off itshinges, Thor and Loki speeding through and yelling all at once as they bothwent to tackle the man to the ground, but even as they hit their mark, the manclenched his fist, and the debris went flying in your direction, faster thanyou had the time to react to.

Mere moments later, you were leaned against a wall, dustsettling around you and, for a moment, you thought you might have managed tomiraculously stay out of harm’s way.

And then you looked down, at the length of broken woodprotruding from your side.

Well, that wasn’t exactly good.

You were almost certain if you hadn’t been sitting alreadythat the sight alone would have made you stumble to the ground. As it was, youcouldn’t stop staring at the wound in an almost morbid curiosity, watching theblood seep through your shirt and trickle down to the ground.

That was when you heard the panicked yelling and screaming,and you looked up, vision doubling as your head swam at the sudden, nauseatingmovement. Thor and Loki were both looking at you in absolute horror, the manheld between them, grinning all the while. You blinked, and the next thing youknew, Loki had moved, snapping the man’s neck where he stood, and then stabbinghim in the chest, for good measure while Thor had hardly even realized what washappening.

The next second, Loki was at your side, yelling somethingabout Med-Evac to Thor over his shoulder.

“Y/N. Y/N.” Lokimoved so they were knelt right in front of you, ducking into your line ofvision, and you tried to manage a weak smile.

“Hey…” You felt so light. As though you could just floataway and join the stars. “…did we do it?” Your brain was more than a littlefuzzy. You’d just taken quite theblow, after all.

“…we did it. We did it, Y/N. But I need you to stay awakefor me now, can you do that? Please? For me?” Loki pressed their hands down onthe wound in an effort to staunch the bleeding, and you were almost certainthat you should have been able to feel something,but you just didn’t.

“…where’s everyone else?” you murmured, looking around theroom, as though that would provide you with the answer you were looking for.

“They’re fine. Everyone’s fine, Y/N, let’s just focus on younow. What are you gonna do, when we get back to New Asgard?” Despite their besteffort, they were failing at hiding the pure desperation in their voice as theyglanced over their shoulder at Thor, who was yelling something about someoneneeding to hurry up.

You hummed softly. “Nice hot shower… Maybe some food… Youguys always make the best food…” You wanted to say more, but you couldn’t quiteget your brain to form the sentences you wanted to say.

Loki nodded, mustering the best smile they could. “We’llmake you whatever you want. Everything you want. The finest Asgardian feastthis planet has ever seen, just… hold on,okay? We’re going to get you out of here.”

You smiled, blinking heavily. “Okay…” You let your eyesshut, unable to keep them open for any longer, and the very second you did, youcould feel every muscle in your body begin to relax.

“No, no, no. Keep your eyesopen. Y/N. Thor, tell them to hurry!Y/N?! Y/N!”

You woke slowly, and feeling no less light-headed than youhad the last time you remembered being awake.

When was the lasttime you remembered being awake?

You wracked your brain, trying to retrace your steps.

The battle, being cornered by the bad guy, the rubble beingthrown in your direction, Loki kneeling in front of you, trying to keep youawake.

For a fleeting moment you panicked, wondering if you weredead, and the thought sent you shooting upright in bed.

And then you realized just how much that hurt, and you yelped, collapsing backagainst the pillows as someone next to you put a hand on your shoulder.

“Easy…. You’ve been unconscious for three days and you’re very injured.”

You turned your head at the sound of Loki’s voice, remainingsilent as you tried to catch your breath after unintentionally exertingyourself. Loki met your gaze, concern evident in their eyes as they raised aneyebrow in a silent question of whether or not you were okay and, after amoment, you nodded a bit, settling yourself back against the pillows a tad morecomfortably.

“You lost a lot ofblood,” Loki answered you before you could even ask the question. “Passed outright in that building. Thought we’d lost you.” Loki was trying to keep theirvoice nonchalant, almost playful, but you could hear the razor-sharp edge ofstress lining it.

You wanted to address it, but Loki, again, beat you to thepunch, clasping their hands into fists in their lap as they looked at you.

“What the hel wereyou thinking, running off like that? You had no business going after someonewith magic when all you had was your gun. You could have died. Norns, you almost did, and you would have, if I hadn’t… IfThor and I hadn’t… Dammit, I shouldhave been in there with you. We were supposed to be partners on this mission,and I never should let you out of my sight. I let you down. And you almost lostyour life because of it.” With that, Loki stood so abruptly that you startled,wincing when it sent a jolt of pain through the bandaged wound on your side. Youwatched in silence for a few long moments as they paced in front of the bed you’dbeen laid in, uncertain if they were finished or if they had more to say.

When it became clear that Loki was more intent dwelling ontheir imagined failure, you heaved a sigh, shifting a little to try and makeyourself more comfortable. “Loki, what happened wasn’t your fault. He was ashitty guy with a shitty attitude who was going to kill whoever he could manageto. I was just the one he was able to corner.”

“Which wouldn’t have happenedif I had been with you. I could have stopped him with my powers. I know I couldhave.”

“And you did. He can’t hurt me, or anyone else, ever again.I’m alive because of you. Do youunderstand that? You stopped himbefore he could do anything else, and yeah, maybe I caught a bit of bad luckand will have some major recovery todeal with because of that, but… I’m alive.If anything is your fault, it’s that.And I don’t think me being alive is anything to beat yourself up over, so… Canwe calm down on the pity party just a tad, huh?” You didn’t say it to be mean.You were just saying it in terms that you knew Loki would react to the best,and when they finally heaved a sigh and stopped pacing, you relaxed a little,knowing you’d achieved your goal.

“I just… You scared meto death. And all I could think about was being the reason someone else wasdead.” Loki’s voice was soft, with a heaviness to it that you didn’t know youcould quite comprehend.

“But you weren’t. I’m alive. You’re alive. And he’s not. And that’s all that matters. Yes?”

After a long moment, Loki nodded, finally looking back up atyou with much less guilt in their expression.

“Yes.”

“Alright, then. No harm done. We’re okay, right?”

Loki blinked a bit at that. “Of course we’re okay.”

You nodded. “Alright.”

You let a comfortable silence settle over the both of you asLoki moved to sit back down in the chair at your bedside, and you would havebeen content to let the silence linger for a little while longer.

But you were nothing, if not a little shit.

“Now. Bring me that feast you promised me. I’m famished.”

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starlight-bread-blog · 2 months

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Why Lokius Should Have Been Canon

This is a sort of combo of two metas that didn't quite get point my across. Some parts will be copied directly, but there's a lot of original content. I will discuss the ship between Loki and Mobius, their place in the show, and the MCU at large. My focus for this meta won't be parallels or motifs, because these things border on well-written friendships. But there will be some of that.

Romance in the MCU

There are a lot of straight couples in the MCU. (Almost) Every main hero is in some heterosexual relationship, Loki included.

(That's not all, not remotely).

But in the LGBTQ+ department... uh.. I think it was mentioned that Valkyrie had a girlfriend... uh... America Chavez had a pride pin... and Loki:

One line. Queer experiences are never a focal point of a show/movie the same way heterosexual experiences are. And that needs to change.

Romance In the Show

Wrong, toxic, or unsuccessfu romantic love is a recurring theme in the show.

Sylki

Sylki was an icky relationship right off the bat. They are the same person. I can't find the post at the moment, but someone has pointed out in their post that them being the same person is referenced in every episode in season 1 (edit: here it is), which is when the romance took place. This made their romance uncomfortable for many viewers.

(Some consider Sylki a toxic relationship, but for this post, the topic is too large to handle with the nuance I'd like to handle it with).

When he's drunk, Loki compares love to a dagger, stating that it hurts you, but when you try to find strength in it, it's not real.

youtube

Which is exactly what happens. Sylvie pushes Loki into a portal and they never get back together.

The Love Triangle

In 02×03, Ravonna Renslayer is infatuated with Victor Timely, but he leaves her behind and betrays her when Miss Minutes told him to. One episode later, we discover that they were indeed an item, and established the TVA together. He Who Remains deleted her memories and they never rekindle their love.

Later in the episode, is the best example of "wrong" romance in the show. Miss Minutes, the AI clock, confesses her love to Viktor Timely. He, obviously, freaks out and shuts her off. Nothing ever comes of this.

Brad and Dox

This one is small, but a big indication to romance being a theme. In 02×01, we're shown this:

The gap in the age of the actors is uncomfortable, and a character in universe has this reaction to it. It is never mentioned again.

So what does all of this leave us with? Not much. None of this properly ties to the finale, or anything really. If I were to write the show I would cut a lot of this out, since it serves no purpose. But it does make you keep romance and its shortcomings in mind. The writers want it to be there, in the back of your head.

Loki and Mobius

Finally! I got to talk about them. The two people in question. First things first, who are they, together? They became really supportive, close friends.

Fans even drew parallels to Chaos & Order, which is a very important theme in Loki. But I'm not here to unpack them. These things don't necessarily make them in love. So what does make them in love? I'll present you my evidence, and you ask yourself,

Would it be valid to suggest romantic implications if a man and a women are:

1) Extremely thouchy with each other.

2) Riding on a tandem bike together.

3) Willing to suffer a fate worst than death for another.

4) Falling on each other after that^

5) Literally the Interrupted Declaration of Love trope. (Ex)

6) Being framed in a circle.

7) Waiting & giving permission to attack.

8) Fixing themselvs before seeing the other.

Of course yes. Maybe you think some of these are a strech, but ultimately, people would point out romantic connotations across the board. And I'm here, pointing them out right now. Some scenes between Loki and Mobius have romantic implications.

Conclusion

Loki is a queer protagonist in the MCU, a universe that lacks representation of queer experiences. His show constantlty reminded us of romance, sometimes for seemigly no reason. In the second season, they wrote him and his best friend with romantic implications. And then, nothing. It should not have been nothing. Lokius should have been canon.

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thepetesimp · 6 months

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Pete and the act of crying: Part 1

So, a wonderful discussion yesterday with @wretchedamaranth made me have Pete thoughts (as if I needed an excuse to have Pete thoughts in the first place) and I would like to express them. This time, it's about Pete and how he cries in the show. One incredibly dumb argument against Build's acting by haters was that he wasn't good at crying, that his crying wasn't *believable*. I truly pity these people, because it shows they never understood the intricacies of Pete's character and it's a shame, because Build did such a phenomenal job portraying them. I would like to talk about them. My main point is that Pete cries like a person who hasn't cried in literal years.

Pete's first instance of crying is seen in episode 13, during his breakdown with Vegas, who lashes out at him and holds a knife to his throat, as seen above. Do you see that face? Do you see the pure pain and agony Pete is feeling? And because a picture isn't doing it justice at ALL, he it is in gif form:

DO YOU SEE THIS? DO YOU SEE THE QUIVERING OF HIS LIPS, HIS EYES SQUINTING, HIS BREATH BARELY BEING THERE? DO YOU SEE HIM FIXING HIS JAW, TRYING TO GULP, TRYING TO KEEP IT TOGETHER?

He's looking at Vegas dead in the eye while he's doing it, too. Like he should have known, he should have known this would happen, but why Vegas, why did you give me hope, why did you do this to me? It's so raw and the scene has barely started, I'll be here all day, okay. And then the scene keeps going, and Pete's face is pain personified and then we get his monologue about not being a person, about being nothing, and his face smooths out. That doesn't mean he's back in control, because it's the calm before the storm, before he grabs the knife out of Vegas hand and places it in his throat again.

I'm here staring in awe, because he's still not shed a tear, but he sniffs at some point before grabbing the knife as he's talking, as if there's snot to pull back up, as if he's actually managed to express his grief fully. But he can't do that, his body won't allow that, it doesn't know how, it's been too long. It's fucking perfect. Also, I love how the camera shakes as Pete is giving his monologue, thus subconsciously giving the message that Pete's pretty shaken up right now, if everything else wasn't making it obvious. And then he grabs the knife and the pain multiplies and his face breaks again, way more than before, but the CAMERA IS BLURRED, IT'S NOT SHOWN CLEARLY, not until they show Vegas crying actual tears and apologizing, not until showing Pete's bloody palm.

This is the face we see, after Vegas apologizes:

Now Pete is getting there, the tears are almost spilled, but he's still repressed in his expression of grief and it's glorious because Pete has never experienced these emotions before. Pete has always been passive in his suicidal ideation, he has always let things happen to him that may result in death (a.k.a. his mission for the sake of Porsche) but now he's in such agony that he takes action. And then the scene continues and oh? Are those tears my eyes are seeing?

We got them everybody. After Vegas says, "Don't leave me, I'm begging you," Pete sheds his first tear, and they continue to be shown when Vegas tells him to start over again and Pete is downright offended by the suggestion, as if Vegas means it in a way Pete would want, as if that's even fucking possible for them at all. It's such a spectacular choice editing wise, because I'm pretty confident in my belief that this is from a different take than the other ones before it, due to how suddenly they appear on Pete's face. It fits the scene and the character so well.

Pete is downright sobbing at this point and I'm obsessed with the fact that no more tears are spilled. You can see that throughout the rest of the scene, as well as this moment in which he's breaking down in Vegas' arms after he says he'll remove the handcuff indirectly, while directly asking Pete to promise him he won't leave him.

HOW DO PEOPLE SEE THIS AND THINK BUILD DOESN'T CRY WELL? LOOK AT HIM!!! LOOK AT HOW DEVASTATED HE IS, LOOK AT HOW CONFLICTED HE FEELS ABOUT WHAT HE'S ABOUT TO DO, LOOK AT THE PAIN!!! He doesn't NEED to sob and cry ugly, snotty tears for it to work because that's not who Pete IS. He's not Vegas, he doesn't even allow himself to grieve what he's losing here properly. Have you ever had an instance in which you feel like crying, and you want to cry, but you're so numb that the tears just aren't coming? You're trying to push it out, you're trying super hard to get to the point when you'll be able to break down and seek relief from this crashing feeling in your chest, but your eyes are as dry as the Sahara desert? Well, I feel that this is happening to Pete here, except he doesn't even know it's happening to him. I'm fucking obsessed with this scene, it's my second favorite VP moment after the pill kiss, and one of the main reasons is the one that made me make this post. It's so tragic and beautifully relatable and I love it so, so much. I wanted to analyze all of Pete's crying scenes, but it'll make the post larger than a fucking book at this point, so I'll touch upon the other ones in a different one.

#oh look at that #another Pete meta post by yours truly #How has it almost been a year since I've started this show and I still have so many thoughts about my boy?#Someone explain it to me I don't understand #Whoever criticized Build's acting deserves a boo from me personally #he was *the* best actor in the show and I'm tired of pretending that he wasn't #anyway expect another post about his crying scenes whenever I get the proper brainworms for it #kinnporche the series #vegaspete #pete phongsakorn saengtham

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wishesofeternity · 1 year

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okay I've seen posts like these going around for Yang and Blake but not for Weiss and it's bugging me a bit so I figured I'd make my own

Guys. Weiss is frustrated and impatient and she has every right to be. it's completely understandable. Remember when homegirl was the last member of her team standing and watched all three of her friends plummet to their presumed deaths? Remember when she's the only one of them who saw what happened to Penny? Remember when she lost not just her home, but a whole damn kingdom that LITERALLY WENT UP IN FLAMES? Atlas is literally another Beacon for her, the loss is incredibly personal and visceral. She's grieving. She lost her home that she desperately wanted to save. She's dealing with her own immense kingdom spanning guilt. "I am so tired of leaving places in ashes."

Not to mention the fact that Weiss was forcibly separated from her mother and brother who she only recently reconnected with (and who she clearly feels responsible for) and was forcibly wrenched away from her sister. Her losses are heart-wrenching, and it's important that the weight of it is acknowledged and brought up when discussing her. She's dealing with her own trauma as well, and she's clearly impatient with this new world and desperate to go back to Remnant.

She gets frustrated with Ruby one time about the grow-hurt (obviously, neither she nor any of the others knew why Ruby wasn't able to get it) and that's fine lol. It's normal. It happens to everyone, it's literally not a big deal whatsoever. It's bizarre that people are taking it to mean that she was inconsiderate of Ruby's feelings or too self-centered to even notice them, because the comment itself is literally nothing - what we're meant to see is Ruby's reaction, and how bad Ruby's own headspace is that such a small, irrelevant thing cements her own heartbreaking sense of inferiority and uselessness. It's just like Yang saying "you don't mean that" is taken as an invalidation of her trauma and Blake's attempts at reassurance are taken as dismissals of her trauma. Ruby's hurting so immensely that she doesn't understand how others can't see it - but how can they? It's impossible and unreasonable to expect them to magically understand and fix everything that she's going through, especially considering that so much of her trauma has been repressed even from herself since she was a child.

Her team loves her. They'll reach out to her, she'll reach out to them. There's no need to entirely blame one side, because there are no sides. It's a messy, heartbreaking, exhausting situation where nobody is wrong and everyone is sympathetic. It's good storytelling.

EDIT: sorry, I wasn't trying to compare their experiences and weigh them against each other, even tho I think that's how it might have come across. I just haven't seen lots of discussions on Weiss's state of mind (maybe it's just me and my dash lol) so I just wanted to emphasize that, though some stuff was wrongly worded. Sorry once again! I changed things slightly so if possible, reblog this version instead.

#she didn't do anything wrong lol #rwby #weiss schnee #rwby9 rwby spoilers #queue #rwby spoilers

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thebadboysuprememcshizzle · 4 months

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Not that anybody really cares, but these are my personal takes on the first 2 PJOTV episodes.

1. Grovers character so far is getting too much hate! I, personally, think that the additions of Grover aren't that bad of a change for him. The scene in the office genuinely show how he is willing to risk his friendship just to save Percy. Also, be mad at Chiron for that, not Grover. Chiron made him do it.

2. Mr. D is adapted so well in this, and you cannot convince me otherwise.

3. Gabe is actually NOT written too nice. As someone who has dealt with manipulation/emotional abuse he is almost exact to the people who are like this (atleast in my personal experience.) Like, I'm no pro, but it's pretty spot on.

4. I don't really like Lukes character development... you're supposed to like him before the big betrayal and his character just feels super stiff.

5. THE BLACK SCREENS FOR TRANSITIONS ARE SO ANNOYING AND A TERRIBLE CHOICE. It doesn't really take away from the episodes, and I still enjoyed them either way, but it was still a really lazy and weird way to show a time skip.

6. Episode 1 had really weird pacing and went super fast. I can't really explain it, but it just felt rushed.

7. The fight with Ms. Dodds was super disappointing :( although Percy being unconscious on the floor while everybody is standing there was really funny.

8. The mythomagic for training is actually a really cool detail and I'm super excited to see how that helps him and Nico bond in the future! However, it's gonna make Nico running away hurt even more😭

9. Clarisse is amazing. The restroom scene felt a little disney channel, but she is so cool and well executed I love her anyway. Also, THE CAMO PANTS!! I am so happy that made an appearance.

10. Walkers sass for Percy is literally the best, he is literally him. Same thing for Leah for Annabeth. The small detail with her fixing Percy's strap was hilarious. Her blunt "tell it how it is" attitude is honestly such a good personality trait for her, and I think will mean a lot in the further episodes.

Overall rating?

Episode 1: 7/10

It was a great start to the series! The editing is certainly... a choice. Felt kinda rushed, but I really loved some of the changed made. Kind of mad that the outro song isn't Riptide (PJO version.) Still got me hooked!!

Episode 2: 8.5/10

They shouldve knelt when he was claimed. Pacing was better, but the weird transition point was still there. Lukes development is super boring, and I genuinely considered skipping his scenes. They should've shown the Council of the Cloven more, but I don't really care about that, it was just a missed opportunity. Loving Annabeths character, even if she wasn't there a whole lot! Chiron is making me mad, though. I LOVE DIONYSUS.

I'm super excited to see what they do with the characters. I'm trying to be super patient with the characters development, since its only the first 2 episodes, but I'm super worried that 6 more episodes won't be enough to properly execute everything necessary for the book. This is especially because most of the book is spent explaining things and is mainly world building. Everybody is almost exactly how I imagined, with maybe a few minor details, but nothing I even mind.

#percy jackson #pjo #percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #percyjackson #rick riordan #rrverse #pjo hoo toa #pjo fandom #pjoverse

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hobiebrownismygod · 5 months

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Hi!

I'm literally over the moon to discover a desi ATSV writer, I saw your OC description and I was taken immediately🖤

I saw that you have nothing for Miguel so I am here for a Miguel x desi f!reader - fake dating/wedding edition.

- Miguel is invited to Pav's dimension for a wedding, he has zero clue on the wedding scene so he employed LYLA to help but she told him to ask his neighbor

- Reader isn't all that enthusiastic bc Miguel has been a jerk before, she agrees and starts with each day like Sangeet, Haldi etc. Takes Miguel Kurta shopping (yes he's in an all black one like Hrithik Roshan)

- Makes him watch K3G as part of the lessons. While throwing in how desi aunties are basically going to match make, Miguel suggests reader goes with him to this wedding as a date to "ward off aunties"

- As a brown girl it's not hard to slip into helping out at a function but since Miguel is glued to reader he's helping too now the Aunties are whipped. Ladies are swooning and reader is looking at Papi Miggy differently

- Especially after a shoe change when she took off her jhanjaras and asked him to keep it and she finds it later on his wrists.

- reader gets too close to take a look and now - those bangles are caught on his kurta. Miguel had no idea what the big deal was but he remembered the movie.

cue the drums because now

Please feel to change this request however you'd like and there's zero rush too. Your comfortability and convenience come first.

Thank you x

Hi, I'm so sorry this is taking so long to write 😭

I swear I'm in the process and it'll be done soon, I'll tag you in it I SWEARR

I did have to change a couple of the criteria cuz it was getting really long and a little confusing to write also I've never watched K3G I'm sorry but I tried to watch clips of it on YouTube

in the meanwhile have a preview <3

____________________________________________________________

"No."

"Aww, come on, don't be such a party-pooper. You'll have fun!"

Miguel squinted at his AI, an annoyed look plastered across his face. "I said no. I'm not going to a wedding, Lyla."

"You can't turn down an invitation from Pavitr! Come on, do you need me to ask him to give you the 'look' again?" Lyla asked teasingly, teleporting in front of Miguel and shoving her phone into his face, Pav's puppy-dog expression visible on the FaceTime call she had him on. "How can you say no to that face?"

"Ugh."

Miguel waved her out of his way with a grunt. "Come on uncle, I promise you'll never go to a grander wedding! These people are close friends of my auntie's and I'm telling you, they put so much effort into their parties" Pav explained, his voice emanating from the phone Lyla had refused to put down. "Its not a normal wedding. Its an Indian wedding. What would I even do there? No."

Miguel was trying to focus on the screen in front of him, tracing out the dimensional map for some new anomaly chase he'd been planning on assigning out. "Come on, I'll explain it all to you! Or even better...you could have Y/N do it" Pavitr said with a grin, tilting his head to the side as he looked at Miguel through the screen.

Miguel froze at the mention of your name, his expression softening slightly. "You invited my neighbor?" he asked Pav, an dumbstruck look on his face. "Yes. She's very nice and she told me she hasn't been to a function in a long time. Besides, Maya Auntie told me to invite all my friends." Pav responded with a sly shrug.

"Since when are the two of you friends?"

"Since I helped fix her rooftop that your battle with that anomaly ruined."

"So its settled then. Miguel, you're going, final say." Pav gave Lyla a high five through the screen.

"No-" Miguel began to argue back, but the two of them were completely convinced. He knew there would be no point in trying to turn it down at this point, as Pavitr and Lyla would most definitely succeed in forcing him to this wedding, no matter how much he objected.

You were a very out-spoken civilian who lived fairly close to the bounds of the Spider Society. Because of this, you were often affected by the fights that would happen in and out of the society, some of these leading to actual property damage. Even then, your spirts were high and you ended up getting to know a lot of the Spider-people that passed by, even becoming friends with some of them, including Pav.

As for Miguel, the two of you had a complicated relationship. Miguel tried to be nice to you but you barely tolerated him. After all, he'd built his society next to the home your family had lived in for decades. He'd actually asked you to move and even offered to relocate you but you and your family had refused. And thats when you decided that he was a jerk and that you'd try to steer away from him and his problems.

But apparently, he needed your help now.

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problematicfactive · 7 months

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New intro Post

New intro post! How exciting! This is my celebration for reaching 25 followers so fast! Thank you all for your overwhelming support in this journey, it really has been a lot.

If you're new here, my boyfriend and I are both introjected from extremely problematic medias revolving around a very bad person that lived in real life. We are both from fictional medias, bit the person of which we introjected is very much real, and We've gotten a LOT of shit for it.

Spaces that claim to be safe spaces for systems-- or God forbid, safe spaces for *problematic* introjects and alters, tend to be rude or spiteful towards individuals who are factives from problematic sources.

I firmly believe this hateful stance comes from a place of not understanding, so I've created this blog to give people who don't understand a chance to talk and speak to us without losing their cool as we also stay anonymous on this blog. They're always nice until they find out who you are /hj . Since it's creation, the blog has since turned into a big place for problematic factives to just feel safe and seen. I'm beyond happy about this, and glad my blog can serve both purposes. More under the cut!

We post a lot of everything!

We answer asks from people who have questions about us or about being problematic factives, we make positivity posts for problematic factives, problematic factive culture is... posts, and lots of other things you could think of. Feel free to vent in our askbox or message us for a chat! We'd love to have a friend.

Some things off the top of my head that I can't do on this blog (but if you end up making a blog for these things and need a mod, totally hmu!)

Stimboards/Moodboards etc. - I would literally love to do these but the problem is I know like nothing about anyone. Of you were to ask me for a Donald Trump moodboard I honestly do not know what I would do my mind would just blank. That being said, in decently good at making them so if there were a person I knew well enough to do a stimboard on, I definitely could

Icon edits - This is somthing I'm capable of doing, but it isn't something where I would want this entire blog to just turn into requests. If you're making a blog specifically for these creative requests things totally hmu

Art - I cannot draw but my hope is that that changes in the future.

Meet us!

My last intro post didn't really have any information on us as people let's try and fix that.

I can't tell you my name, but you can call me Anxiety. I'm the main mod and significantly less source connected/more source ashamed. I go by he/Anxiety with Anxiety being able to work in place of either a name or a pronoun. Unless the host is helping out with something, anything that isn't labeled comes from me. I'm the only one out of the two of us with the physical ability to type so when he posts something, it's a little special occasion and deserves a label.

My boyfriend doesn't have a name option other than a source one. On the blog he has only been referred to as my boyfriend, but if you need a name for him, call him NPC. He uses he/him pronouns and will sign off any post that he thinks up all on his own with -NPC and tagged with # npc posts

Tagging

Here is some of the tagging we use on this blog

# problematic factive culture = Problematic factive culture is.. posts

# kindness and positivity = Kind and Positive asks we've received

# good thoughtful questions = Good questions we received as asks

# positivity post = Positivity posts

# problematicfactive blog things = things that ate moreso related to one of the mods or running the blog than they are about problematic factives

# rainy day drafts = drafts that could be super old because I made them and them left them in the drafts so I could post when I don't have anything else to post

# queued because I am asleep 😊 / queued because hopefully I'm sleeping = posts that I queue to be 5-ish hours away from the last post. I often post somthing at 12 am Eastern Time regardless of the last something was posted, so those early morning positivity posts tend to also be queued with the tag

If you come across us and like what we do, consider boosting or realigning this post! I'd love for as many people to find out we exist as possible

# askers experience = Asks sent in where an asker tells me about their life

# npc posts = posts my npc wrote as a mod on this blog (does not apply to posts where "my boyfriend's answer" is me paraphrasing or trying to speak for him)

#intro post #problematic factive #problematic source #problematic introject #factive #introject #plural community #plural #system #sysblr #problematicfactive blog things

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wrestlersownmyheart · 1 year

Text

An Unconventional Wedding Night (Finn Bálor X Female Reader) *One-Shot*

Summary: You are rescued from one danger only to be hurled into a completely different kind of danger. You are to be the bride of King Bálor—a supposedly mythical being in Celtic folklore. But, he is very real. And he wants you as his prized possession.

Bálor is relentlessly determined to win your affections.

After all, it's nothing a little gentle persuasion can't fix.

Disclaimers: I own nothing or anyone associated or affiliated with NXT or WWE. I own only the original characters. This is just a fictional story that came from my imagination. Content Warning: No sex scenes just some graphic violence and fluff.

Note: This has been pretty drastically edited from the first time I posted it. I cleaned out the sex scene and it's no longer a threesome-esque fic. Hope this doesn't disappoint and that it is still enjoyed!

An Unconventional Wedding Night

Your nerves were shot as you walked toward the remote cabin's porch.

Tonight was the night you were finally giving yourself to a man. And it scared you to death. And for that very reason, you wanted nothing more than to get back in your car and drive home.

Am I doing the right thing, you wondered. I mean... Do I really want to do this? I mean, yes, he's my boyfriend, but I'm not in love with him, for crying out loud! I want my first time to be special—how is it special when I am feeling so unsure and conflicted about it?

And then you felt badly because Derek—your boyfriend for the past three months—had planned this romantic weekend get-away for the both of you.

Suddenly your thoughts halted altogether as Derek opened the cabin's door and bolted down the steps toward you. He looked as though he was trying a little too hard to appear excited. His smile was etched into his face. His dark eyes held an emotion you couldn't quite read.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted, bending down and kissing your mouth. He latched onto your hand and hurried up the steps with you in tow, simultaneously taking your purse from you.

"Derek?" You struggled to not stumble and fall as he literally pulled you into the cabin and tossed your purse toward the large, rustic sofa. Wordlessly, he pushed you—none too gently—into the nearest bedroom and kicked the door shut with his foot.

He seems... off. Tense. "If you're nervous, we don't have to do this tonight," you spoke up, your free hand fidgeting with the hem of your t-shirt. "I am feeling a bit anxious about it myself-"

The remainder of your words were trapped within your throat as his mouth crashed against yours. He nudged you back toward the foot of the large bed and held you there as he kissed you.

"Derek-" You tried again, but he didn't seem to be paying attention to you. Your nerves finally got the best of you and made your mind up for you. You pulled your head back to look up at him. "I-I can't do this. I'm sorry. I just can't. Not yet-"

Click.

The noise was accompanied by a sharp little pressure to your left wrist. Glancing down, you saw that Derek had handcuffed you to the foot-board of the bed. All sorts of thoughts raced through your mind. And none of them were pleasant.

Uselessly, you tugged on your wrist, testing the strength of the cuff that held you. "Derek... Please. Let me go. D-don't do this!"

An odd smile crossed his face as he backed away from you. "Oh, I am not doing anything to you, beautiful. Well... other than keeping you here, that is."

You shook your head, confused beyond measure and now frantically yanking at your wrist. "What? Why? What is this?"

"Do you know how valuable you really are?"

"What are you talking about," you screamed at him, fear shaking your voice. You began pulling at your wrist again, trying desperately to get free. "This is crazy! Let me go!"

"I'm being compensated for your capture. The money I am getting..." He trailed off and chuckled slightly. "...It's well worth giving you up. I'll be rich and able to get any woman I want. Someone who won't make me wait months just to take her to bed."

His disgusting and vague explanation still cleared nothing up for you. But before you could ask any more questions, the bedroom door blew open with what seemed to be a huge gust of wind.

A gust of wind that never died. It kept roaring and screaming; whipping—not only your hair, but your t-shirt and shorts—around on your body. The force of it nearly ripped the clothing off of you in its strength.

And then another person was in the room with you and Derek. Only a silhouette was clear at that moment, what with the living room light blindingly bright behind them. Had the light been that bright when we first came into the cabin? The being appeared to be male, what with his physique and stature. Panting from the struggle to breathe with such a brutal force of wind in your face, you glanced over at Derek. He seemed to recognize the man, but he had terror in his eyes, nonetheless.

"I brought her," Derek spoke loudly over the air lashing about all of you. "I brought her here, just like you wanted. Now give me my pay. I want to get out of here and be done with it."

The man silently lifted his arms, making a parting motion with them and the wind finally ceased. You nearly toppled from the absence of the strong force. Willing your wobbly legs to hold you up, you glanced in the stranger's direction.

Something is really wrong here. He actually made that wind stop. Completely!

"Pay," the man repeated. "You want your pay?"

You cringed. The man's voice was horrible. Scratchy, and deep and full of malice. Horrified, you watched as the man—or creature—gave a flick of a... a talon-like finger? And then Derek was propelled across the room and dropped at the monster's feet; suddenly a whimpering mess.

No sound escaped your lips as you watched in open-mouthed horror.

"You should know better than to make a deal with a demon. We're not known for keeping our word."

What? Your mind was not computing, nor accepting the fact that you were indeed in the room with an underworldly force. And then you mentally replayed what you'd seen the... thing do, and you knew—to the marrow of your bones, you truly were in the presence of a monster.

The creature suddenly reached down and tangled it's fingers into Derek's curly hair. Your chest heaved as you waited to see what the demon would do. And yet, somehow... you knew...

Your ex-boyfriend screamed a hideous howl just as the monster lifted it's curled fist, with what appeared to be no effort at all, and tore Derek's head from his shoulders. The scream was cut short. Only the sound of ripping flesh and the cracking of bones could be heard, mixing with the sound of the demon's purr-like growls. You grew nauseated as Derek's spinal cord emerged from his body next, still attached to his head.

Then his decapitated body fell limply in the floor, right at your feet.

Finally.

Finally, a scream ripped from your throat, scorching it raw.

You tried to back away, but of course, your cuffed wrist would only allow you to go so far. Ignoring the pain, you yanked and pulled anyway, praying you could break the cuff with enough strain on the chain. Your eyes stayed on the monster's figure. You still were unable to make out his features as he'd remained in the doorway the whole time, but as he moved forward slightly and turned to stare at you, you could see that his form was naked. The possible implications of that had you panicking even more, pulling on the cuff's chain, determined to break it and free yourself.

You could feel his eyes raking over you, watching you stare at his naked body. A sinister, gravelly chuckle filled the room.

"Don't worry, little human. Many of us demons don't feel the need to bother with clothing. No, I'm not here to bed you." He released Derek's head and spine, and the bloody mess hit the floor with a loud, squishy thud. "I'm only here to kill you."

You screamed again, your attempt to calm yourself completely forgotten. You began violently pulling on your wrist, twisting it this way and that, frantic with the need to get free. Out of nowhere, a force propelled you through the air, much the same way Derek had been treated. Your shoulder screamed in protest as your body jerked in mid-air having gone as far as the handcuff would allow. You were tugged further and further till you felt a snap in your shoulder and collarbone.

"STOP IT! PLEASE!"

Your tortured scream only seemed to amuse the demon. You heard him chuckling again, a dry, scraping sound, deep in his throat. And as you watched him with wide frightened eyes, he lifted a clawed finger to his lips and shushed you as if admonishing a small child.

He flicked the same finger down toward the hard-wood floor and you fell to it in a crumpled heap. The only sound you could make was a wheezed gasp, as you fought to stay conscious. Pain attacked your neck, shoulder and collarbone all at once and it was difficult to breathe. Fingers curled into the hair at your scalp, and tugged, forcing you up onto your knees. You pictured yourself being torn apart by the bloodthirsty demon, just like Derek was.

"Do you know why this is happening?"

You swallowed hard and shook your head, not trusting yourself to speak.

"You're to be King Bálor's wife—his Queen." His fingers curled tighter into your hair and you cried out softly from the sharp twinge of pain at your hairline. "Being bonded and married to you will only make him stronger. I can not let that happen. I plan to overthrow him."

"It... It-It won't happen," you managed to say through chattering teeth. "I don't want to marry at all. Let me go. Please, believe me! I won't marry anyone."

"He's not leaving you a choice. And he's left me none as well. You have to die. It's the only way. And I have to be the one to kill you." His free hand went to your throat and squeezed harshly, a foreboding warning of your fate. Instantly, you began struggling fruitlessly in his hold. "Some of the other rebelling Fomorians won't back me up in the overthrow unless..."

Shaking uncontrollably, you tuned him out at that point and tugged and clawed at his hand, frantic to get him to release you.

That's when you noticed a dark blur fly into the room and dive right into your demonic captor.

Both beings flew across the room, grappling as you tumbled back to the floor.

You took that moment to back up as far as you could in an unstable, one-armed crab walk. An invisible fire seemed to flair relentlessly up and down your left arm and shoulder at the movement, and you collapsed once more to the floor, fighting off the urge to vomit with a soft, pained groan.

In the next instant, you were lifted to your feet, gently. A strong arm went around your waist and tugged you against a sure, sturdy frame. Your head tipped forward and rested against a hard chest as your eyes closed. A soft, male voice, warm with a thick Irish accent whispered near your ear.

"Open y'r eyes, love. Look at me." Fingertips touched ever so lightly at your temple and you began thinking more clearly, your drowsiness was slowly ebbing. "I need ya t' stay awake, Y/N, so ya can get outta here—safely."

You lifted your head and looked at the man who was addressing you so intimately.

And you gasped.

Despite the fact that your life was in peril, you couldn't stop the thought:

He's... breathtaking!

His face was insanely handsome. A fairly tall—at least next to you he was—gorgeous man wearing solid black—a black shirt, black jeans and a black leather jacket, to be exact.

A full, dark beard and mustache adorned the lower half of his face. The same color of hair topped his head in a short fade haircut. His eyes were as pale a blue as the morning sky. His skin was neither pale, nor dark, and his sensuous, full lips glistened after a quick swipe of his tongue. Before you could say anything to him, the arm that held you pulled you even closer, and then his mouth claimed yours softly; lovingly. His mustache scratched lightly at your upper lip and you leaned closer into him.

It was a simple kiss, but it left you reeling. You couldn't lie to yourself. You wanted more. This was the man you were meant to be with. But instead of kissing you again, he pulled back a ways and smiled at you once more. "Beautiful."

Wait... He's calling me beautiful?

It was then you noticed that he held one hand up, his palm facing the direction of the demon who'd tried to kill you. The monster was currently frozen in place. He appeared to be under the control of the man holding you. Your rescuer's hand tremored slightly, as if an unseen force had hold of his wrist and was trying to move his hand away.

Your purse and car keys materialized into the gorgeous stranger's free hand then and he placed them into the hand of your uninjured arm before touching the handcuff on your other wrist. The restraint instantly fell open and you were free.

"I want ya t' go. Get in y'r car an' get outta here, lass. I will find ya when I'm done wit' the trait'r. Then you're comin' home. Wit' me. Finally." His blue eyes glanced over at the demon; pure disdain on his face. Then he turned to you once more and before you could ask him where "home" was, he kissed you again, sweeping his warm mouth across yours, and a subtle thrust of his tongue past your lips. You couldn't stop the whimper that escaped you. He swallowed it greedily then gave you a gentle nudge. "Go, m' love."

You took a tentative step backward, eyes wide and fixed on your beautiful rescuer.

In the next instant, he was gone and another man stood in his place. Swirling ribbons of reds, and blacks and smatterings of white swirled all over his shirtless frame. A set of washboard abs snatched your attention, and you let your gaze follow them down lower to the slightly skimpy pair of black trunks that revealed a clear imprint of his very impressive-

"GO!"

With a frightened gasp, your eyes shot back up to his face and discovered he was glaring at you with red eyes. "LEAVE!"

You stumbled backward, ignoring the stab of pain in your shoulder and then spun around and scrambled out of the cabin and out to your car.

You wouldn't see the look of malice on the stranger's face as he turned and glared at the Fomorian traitor.

"You knew not t' screw wit' me, Turlough," he addressed his former servant. "And you definitely knew not t' put your hands on my Queen."

}i{}i{}i{}i{}i{

You somehow hauled yourself into your SUV with only one good arm but had to attempt several times at getting the key into the ignition, your hand was shaking so horribly. "Please..." you sobbed, trying once again as you glanced toward the cabin. You could hear all kinds of growls and roars and the sounds of punches being thrown and landing. The lights flickered on and off in the windows. You finally heard the metallic scrape of the key sliding into the ignition after you jabbed at it once more. You turned it, and as soon as the engine kicked over and started, you were peeling out backward, eager to get on the road, and head back to the safety of your house.

Gravel flew all around you and pelted your car in your haste to leave. But you didn't care about the possibility of a chipped paint job or cracked windows. The only thing you wanted was to get home, shower, curl up in your bed and try to forget the terrifying things you'd seen that night. Though, secretly, you hoped your rescuer would find you again. A couple of kisses were not enough by a long shot. Then you realized you must be completely insane to fall in love with a man you'd just met.

Lost in your thoughts as you sped down the deserted old highway, you were startled by a loud banging sound at the back of your car. Suddenly, you were fishtailing all over the road. Instinctively, you applied pressure to your breaks and tried to regain control of the vehicle. A flurry of movement to your left snagged your attention then, and you dared a glance out the driver's window.

And you instantly regretted that decision.

The demon that had attempted to kill you apparently escaped your rescuer somehow, because he was tailing you.

On foot.

Bare. Foot.

And he was keeping up with your car's speed.

His eyes glinted brightly in the darkness and you could feel the anger and hatred for you radiating off of him.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Your scream did nothing, of course. The demon only snarled at you before launching his body at your car. The same banging noise reverberated through your car and you almost lost control of it again.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

You struggled to keep your car on the road as the demon once more slammed into it. Not giving you a chance to recover, he slammed into you once again, giving the car a hard shove as he did.

And that is when you lost all control. Your world literally spun around you as you screamed and the car took flight and rolled over and over again. And again, and again. You were catapulted into pitch black darkness before the vehicle had even stopped flipping.

}i{}i{}i{}i{}i{

When you finally began coming to, your eyes struggled to open. You blinked them and scrunched them, but your vision was blurry at best.

A pained groan emerged from your throat and you became aware of hands on your face, and coasting over your body. Immediately, you remembered the car accident.

And the demon who'd caused it.

Acting on impulse, you kicked out with your foot and swung your fist. Which did nothing to help you, since you didn't connect with anything—or anyone. The sudden movement merely sent tremors of excruciating pain through your entire body and head. You sobbed and tried to turn onto your stomach; your mind telling your body to crawl and get away.

"Shhh, love." A familiar male voice spoke softly as hands took hold of you and once more ran over your body, seemingly searching for something. "You're so strong. An' perfect," the man spoke again; his tone full of awe and pride. "Hurt as much as you are, and still tryin' t' fight to live." There was a pause. "I have t' get ya back t' d'a castle. You're badly hurt."

The Irish stranger... Your thoughts were muddled, but you'd recognize that voice anywhere from then on. It was as if it was branded into your mind.

Fingers brushed over your ribs, sending a wave of fiery pain bolting up your side. You winced as a ragged wail burst from your lips.

"Broken ribs," came his murmur. "Dislocated shoulder and broken collar bone. Definitely a concussion."

Hearing all your injuries listed off sent you into another panic. You struggled anew, trying to free yourself from the hands holding you prisoner. The only thing you accomplished however, was sending more roiling pain crashing through your head and body.

"Easy, lass. Easy," the man soothed as he held you tighter. "I'm not goin' t' hurt ya."

His words didn't matter. Not after what you'd been through. You continued to panic and fight and struggle until your body could take no more pain and you went out like a light.

You became vaguely aware of being carried as you slowly gained a little consciousness. Your head rested against a strong shoulder. You wanted to lash out—to fight. But your limbs were so heavy. And literally everything hurt. You couldn't even open your eyes any more than little slits. You were at your rescuer's/kidnapper's mercy. And you hated it.

"Please..." you whimpered. "Please, don't hurt me..."

To your surprise, you felt soft, warm lips press against your forehead in a tender caress.

"Nev'r," came a whispered reply. You felt yourself being laid down on a soft surface—a bed. "I'd take my own life b'fore I'd ever hurt ya."

You let your head settle into the pillow beneath you. "You don't even know me..."

"Oh, but I do, love. I do. You have no idea how much I know you—how much I love you. I've waited s' long t' have you." You felt him take your hand and bring it to his lips with a soft kiss. "I'm Bálor. I'm your husband."

"I've gone crazy..." you uttered, struggling to open your eyes. "You're a Celtic...myth. I have to be dreaming." I have to be losing my mind, you thought groggily. You gained enough strength to open your eyes and looked up to see the gorgeous Irishman gazing down at you, tenderness in his blue eyes.

Bálor, you thought.

He was beautiful, but intimidating. His eyes were a vibrant blue but they would flash red every now and then. Suddenly, he was... painted for the lack of a better term—the swirling red, black and white colors returned with a vengeance.

"I won't hurt you, love." His voice growled at you, but his face held no malice—quite the opposite, actually. "You don't have t' be afraid o' me. I'll protect you wit' my life."

"B-but... You... you scared me. At the cabin. You looked like you'd kill me," you stammered, struggling to sit up.

Bálor helped ease you up so you were propped against the headboard and shook his head.

"As I told ya, I would never hurt ya. I was... scared of you bein' d'ere, in d'a cabin wit' d'a traitor. Ya were too stunned to leave, so I had to get a little fierce to frighten ya int' leavin'. But I'd never've hurt ya."

"I still..." you had trouble finding the words you needed. "I still... am not sure what you want with me."

"Ye're mine, love. Ye're my wife and queen."

"How," you asked incredulously. "I mean... There's been no wedding! And what if I don't want to marry anyone?" You moved to rise from the bed when he stopped you by gently taking your arm.

"You didn't want to marry anyone," Bálor admitted, shifting back to his human form. "Till you saw me. Till I kissed you."

You froze. He had you there.

Before you could reply, an older woman in a black, modest maid's uniform knocked on the open door, and stepped inside the room. She carried a small silver tray with what looked like a shot glass of red liquid in it.

"The... medicine you asked for, your highness." She gave a respectful nod to Bálor.

"T'ank you, Sophie," Bálor replied, stepping over to her and taking the glass from the tray. "D'at will be all."

You'd shakily risen to your feet as the maid vacated the room, but nearly sank to the floor as your pain attacked ferociously. Bálor set the glass down on the night table and then shot over to you and caught you, holding you up as gently as was possible. You apprehensively grasped at his torso so you could keep your balance.

"Maybe... I could stay till I'm healed up," you murmured weakly. A pained grunt passed your lips as another stab of pain assaulted your ribs. Your legs threatened to buckle when Bálor lifted you up and placed you back on the bed.

Bálor picked up the glass again and then lifted your head enough so you could drink it. "Take d'is, love," Bálor whispered. "'Twill help with the pain."

"What is it," you asked, suddenly growing sleepy again. Pain had always affected you that way.

"It's, uh... medicine," Bálor said, glancing at your face and then back to the glass. "It's a concoction of t'ings d'at will help ya feel bett'r. A potion for healin', a pain killer, a sedative so you can rest, wine t' relax ya, and... a couple ot'er t'ings d'at will aid in your healin'."

Your eyes were closing even as he spoke, and you felt the rim of the glass touch your lips.

"Drink, love," you heard him rasp softly.

Too drowsy to argue, you accepted the drink, wrinkling your nose as a metallic flavor flooded your mouth. "Yuck," you sighed once you'd swallowed it. Your head was gently deposited onto the pillow. And, true to his word, you did begin feeling less pain almost instantly. Your sleepiness increased ten-fold. and you felt something else... Something strange... As you slowly drifted, your body began humming with sensitivity. You gasped at the feel of heat flooding your body.

You'd never felt aroused in your life. You never knew what the big fuss was all about. But now...

Now, you knew—all too well.

"What... what did you do?..." You moaned out at the man watching you intently.

"Ye'll sleep now," Bálor smiled warmly at you. "And ya will have many...interestin' dreams." He leaned down, brushing his lips across yours, eliciting a sharp moan from you. "And when ya wake, love... Be warned. Y'r body will be aching f'r me."

Blackness slid across your eyes and settled into your mind then.

Until the dreams began...

They were strange... In that you were in pitch darkness. You couldn't see anything.

But oh... You could feel...

You couldn't move. Normally that would have panicked you, but... Not when warm invisible hands touched you the way they were.

With no warning, your eyes shot open. Your chest heaved as you panted for air.

But you felt no pain. You'd apparently healed up, just as Bálor said you would.

Not to mention after your long sleep, you were wide awake.

And so was your body. You discovered that quickly as the knot of tension in your belly made itself very known and-

Wait.

You looked to your side and found Bálor.

Naked as the day he was born.

With a shocked screech, you sat up in the huge bed and attempted to vacate it, only to be pulled back by a pair of strong arms. You struggled as you were tugged down to the mattress. The arms surrounded you and you became aware of the fact that you suddenly didn't want to resist.

"Where do ya t'ink ye're goin', lovey?"

You lifted your gaze upward and found yourself staring into Bálor's captivating blue eyes. An amused smile played at his full lips.

Why does he have to be so gorgeous?

"You're gorgeous too, darlin'." Bálor growled softly.

Your body shivering from raw nerves, you stammered out, "Y-you can r-read my mind?"

Your hair was brushed from your neck and his warm mouth peppered the skin with soft kisses and nibbles. "Mmm-hmmm..."

Your body's shaking intensified, and Bálor tilted your face up to his. "Don't be scared, love. I'm not goin' t' hurt ya." He smiled at you hungrily. "Anyt'ing but."

Something clicked in you then. You didn't know if it was the drug you were given to drink—you highly suspected it was blood—or if it was just self-discovery time. But...

You wanted him.

All of him.

You reached for Bálor, pressing your mouth to his and giving into your feelings for once in your life. You moaned into his mouth and curled your fingers in his hair, scraping his scalp lightly with your fingernails.

"Make love to me," you said, softly, shyly.

"That was my plan the whole time, love" Bálor chuckled, returning his mouth to yours. He slid his body over yours and slowly began unbuttoning the buttons of your blouse...

The End

#Finn Balor Fan Fiction #finn balor imagine #finn balor demon #finn balor x reader #finn balor one shot

60 notes · View notes

8-rae-rae-8 · 2 months

Note

Okay I need you to bare with me for this one cause I haven't actually played dbh, I've watched some edits and that was enough for my brain to apparently come up with some thoughts.

What about Caregiver!Hank with Regressor!Connor find out that Amanda? (I think that's her name) Made more versions of Connor that physically can't regress because angst.

I really hope this made even a little bit of sense lol

-🚁

OH THAT IS ANGSTY

Lemme know if I'm interpreting this wrong, but like

Connor not being able to regress because Amanda tells him in his head that it's bad. She's always been his guidance, his mentor, his support. He likes her, he does, but he's terrified of doing something wrong so he doesn't regress at all... He can't, she's blocking something in his program. His fear stopping him even more.

Hank had let him move in post android revolution. He gave Connor a safe space, and everything he needed. Who was he to judge him for needing to calm down in an unconventional way? Better than booze, for sure.

The more he learned, the more he was with Connor when he regressed. He had experience with kids, and it was really no different. But seeing Connor not Abel to regress and mumbling something about Amanda, it hurt. He didn't want him to hurt like that- so he took the problem into his own hands. Literally. He plopped Connor into his lap after lifting him from the floor. He sat on the bed and held him close.

They talked. About Amanda, about his fears, about how he only wants to be good- and fuck, Hank understood that. All the reassurance in the world wouldn't fix his programming, but he could be there for him when it fucked him over.

all the models after him have the same problem if and when they discover regression.

It's Sixty that deals with it first (Cyberlife tower Connor). He's working with Allen (swat captain in the rooftop scene), Allen knows. They're close friends, very close- off work there's hugs, occasional kisses. But they just like each other's company after Allen learned that Sixty wasn't a threat.

And he's trying desperately to regress one night. He's done everything, even had Allen help! He took a bath that he didn't need, he got cozy in his safety corner with all his studies and a little tent. But still, he couldn't.

Amanda in his head, even after deviation. He didn't get the slow deviation like Connor, no safety exit- she was there in his head all the time. Telling him how to do everything. And sometimes he was grateful, but others?? No. Not when it came to comfort. He wasn't allowed comfort by her standards.

It pissed him off not being able to relax. A wet kind of anger, the kind that made him tear up and shout wordlessly at nothing in particular. He just couldn't regress like he needed.

/pos

#dbh agere #fandom Agere #🚁#detroit become human #dbh #connor dbh #dbh sixty #captain allen

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brewsbrownies · 3 months

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Theory: what REALLY makes a spider-man?

I don't know about you but ever since I watched across the spider-verse I've been curious about what makes spider man, spider man, if supposedly 'anyone can wear the mask.' It's obviously not appearance:

It's not whether or not you were bitten by a spider:

and we've already seen that it's not one's species or gender.

It's not 'destiny' either *cough*Spider-Man 2099*cough*

And I really don't think it's capability either

So what is it? I'm not sure since nothing is confirmed. I've tried to think about it but there is always something that contradicts whatever I come up with. I can't think of anything that makes perfect sense or has tons of proof but I do have a theory that I think makes the MOST sense and i hope it's good enough.

It's already been shown that every spider-person has a 'with great power comes great responsibility' moment at some point in some kind of way, whether they were directly or indirectly told or shown it.

Well, I think that kind of makes almost every spider-person have a mindset of 'I have to fix my mistake' even if there is quite literally no way they can fix it, not any kind of way to redeem themselves.

Even if they aren't told that it's their fault most spider-people already convince themselves it is. So basically I think it's their mindset. Every spider-person has an 'it's my fault, so I have to fix it' sort of mindset, even if it is their fault, there's never a way to fix their 'uncle Ben' moment.

They try to fix it but it never fulfills anything.

Some of the only solid proof of this is from a DELETED scene so I'm not sure how accurate it is.

in a deleted scene Miguel asks miles what makes a spider-man, miles answers and Miguel says his answer is wrong. That means that there is a right answer (in Miguel's mind) so any spider-person who the 'right' answer applies to immediately has the chance for miguel to ask them to join the spider society. This is what happened with gwen.

Miguel still doesn't want gwen to join even after he sees how capable she is, he doesn't want her to join still when her dad had a bad reaction to her identity reveal, he only decides to let her join right after she says something along the lines of "I don't how I can fix this." He replies with "join the club." And lets her join the spider society.

This leads me to believe that it has something to do with the mindset of the spider-person. If anyone knows anymore proof or has anything they want to add or prove wrong than feel free to say it.

Edit (I keep realising stuff AFTER I post theories): miles was never told in any kind of way "with great power comes great responsibility" he also never could come to that conclusion since when his 'uncle Ben' moment happened uncle Aaron told him "I let you down man" he also told him to "just keep going" and "you're the best of all of us" so miles never blamed himself instead he tried to improve, just keep going. this is one of the reasons he's considered an anomaly.

Some may make the argument that gwen never had a WGPCGR moment either or that she never blamed herself for peter's death, but when Peter died (her peter*) he told her that he wanted to be like her so gwen might've realised that peter did that because of HER and she technically killed him even if it was an accident it was still her. So peter sorta indirectly said that it was HER fault possibly still making her guilty.

#Across The Spider Verse #ITSV #ATSV #spider-verse theories #Across the spider verse theories #miguel o'hara #gwen stacy #spider verse #spider man theories #spider man #marvel

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jacksprostate · 3 months

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boss pls elaborate on the songs you used.!!!

- superfan anon

Warning: under the cut is a lot of rambling with only mild incoherency!

So like I said it's sort of chronological...

How to Boil an Egg is very much her discontent building up in her current life. All the lyrics are spot on lol it was an easy pick I stole from my friend. Most of these songs I stole from my friend

Cubicle is again that sense of displacement and upset that drives her to develop someone that gets her... She wants someone to do anything. Push tacks in her eyes. Bring her into their nest and regurgitate worms in her mouth. She wants to be led somewhere, away from the void of fucking nothing that is her life right now

And Breeding is also so spot on haha. Only edit required is change Barack Obama to your president of choice during her lifetime. Trying to procreate without fucking and breeding <- trying to make Tyler, tbh. And of course the opening brings to mind the space monkey and 30 yr old boy thing. That in itself I have thoughts on how it would get inverted for female fight club but that's neither here nor there.

Pedestrian at Best is them living together.... Pretty much the verses are the narrator, self critical and lost and a mess, and the chorus is Tyler — all that but confident and a bit of a shithead.

It won't be with me on my deathbed, but I'll still be in your head

Put me on a pedestal and I'll only disappoint you

Tell me I'm exceptional, I promise to exploit you

Like. It hits that aspect of Tyler so well. In contrast, verse:

I'm resentful, I'm having an existential time crisis

What bliss, daylight savings won't fix this mess

Under-worked and over-sexed, I must express my disinterest

The rats are back inside my head, what would Freud have said?

So. Yes it's Them :) (and of course, something to be said about how Tyler parts are really just the narrator's grown projections etc)

Wonderful Hell — Oh you wanna start a revolution and destroy the world so bad haha fight club fight club perhaps even Project Mayhem.. in an idealistic way

Dogma literally just sounds like Tyler lecturing lol

Chamber for Sleep (Part Two) OK so THIS one I feel is a little more opaque in the connection but also works REALLY well if I explain a little. It's the narrator... Especially during Projrct Mayhem, when she's losing Tyler's attention. She wants Tyler's attention so bad. She wants it like she died and Tyler cares. Grieve as if I died and I'll become a fragment in your mind <- she does not know Tyler is a fragment in hers... She wants so bad to mean more. I'd like to love me like you seem to, how do you hang this heaven over me <- Ok fundamentally even though Tyler treats the narrator shitty sometimes, even in base novel like... what Tyler does is ultimately all for the narrator. Creating this heaven for the narrator. No matter how twisted. Even in the book, Tyler's big martyr thing — it's because the narrator wants to die and doesn't want consequences. With feamle fight club, too, a big part of my little canon for it is that Tyler really invests in the narrator developing her own strength. Tyler wants her strong. Hungry. Tyler feeds her meals with protein and carbs and cares for her like a lover. But Tyler also abandons her. Tyler has close little conversations with Marlon that the narrator just barely can't hear but sre loud enough to keep her awake all night hearing how Tyler's relationship with someone in this house is deepening, and it's that undeserving fake, Marlon, not her. She wants to be more important to Tyler SO bad. 'Braid my hair to yours and drag us blind' come on. No matter how short Tyler's hair is that's Them. + Nail me to the bed

Relating to a Psychopath — a lot like Pedestrian at Best's chorus... sort of making Tyler into this extremely confident and charismatic heavily flaky and flawed idol. Constant back and forth between the narrator being good company and mocking the narrator for caring about her so much.

Glass House — god, this song. As my friend said, 'the narrator after realizing Tyler is basically a brain parasite'. Obsessed with this song in general and also specifically for them. I have nothing to say you can only experience it

This Tornado Loves you <- like I said earlier... everything Tyler does is really for the narrator, at the end of the day. Even if it hurts. Like a tornado. But also, reflectively, the narrator now feels this way about what she's done to everyone around her.

Horseshoe Crab is her in the psych ward.... She's unfamiliar to herself. She's learned, but god. Nothing is the same. Especially not her. Wishes she could do it better. Be better. For her? Tyler? Marlon? The women in fight club? Probably all of the above. She's dissociated from herself.. a bit lost. So much learned, but lost. This is the song that inspired me to make the playlist.

And then you cycle back.

#asks #music

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river-mort · 3 months

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Hey this might sound kind of stupid when talking about dick knubblers stupid robot eyes but there is an unfortunate history of disabled people's medical aids getting erased and photoshopped out of photos and fan works to see either what a disabled person would look like "normally" or because they don't like the look of them. So seeing his robot eyes photoshopped out was kind of upsetting as someone who uses medical aids. I'm not angry or accusing you of being purposefully ignorant or malicious about it just so we're clear and you don't have to respond this this. I just wanted to let you know that it can be harmful.

I want to thank you for your polite language. I can see your genuine desire to make things more comfortable for others, it's a great wish, so i will try to give you proper answer as much as my english skills allows me.

First of all - I love Dick Knubbler. I'm one step from obsession, which is good because when I'm obsessed I start to act pretty weird as if I had maniacal phase. I love everything about this ridiculous man and I love his robotics eyes, it's such a genius concept and it looks so neat. I did edits only because of my love to him, I didn't have any intentions to "fix" him or give him more proper look. He used to have eyes for such a small period of time and I wanted to fantasize about how would he look. In fact he looks better WITH robotic eyes. That's all, I didn't think about surgery he came through or if it's more or less comfortable. To me, he is just a picture on screen.

Second - I can't take care of everyone who come across my art, it's not my responsibility to filter content they might or might not see. Everything can be harmful, it's internet, its filled with so much different shit, if you just float in this dirty river you will drown in this swamp, unless you get yourself a boat and a paddle and make your own course. No one will do it for you, no one have to do it for you. Internet is magnificent,you literally can build your own world. Make yourself a safe, beloved space. And you're the only one who can do it, it's only in your power.

You can't come across everyone saying their content is harmful and expecting them to follow YOUR rules. If you come to my place saying you has a traumatic experience with cats, I will suggest to meet in different places, not close my cat in room and don't let him be anywhere while you visit me.

EVERYTHING can be harmful. Anyone can have traumatic experience about anything. O came through tough bullying in school for 11 years and every time I hear anyone has good relationship with their classmates I feel both angry and jealous. But I can't tell them not to talk about it. It's not their problems.

Now, I clearly understand your point. I don't know your story, but I maybe you come through bullying or stressful operations, maybe you had rejection from people or painful memories. And I feel sorry about that. I hope you have a good treatment and friends and family that support you and love. But I personally can't help you anyhow and I can't filter my content because of you. I know what I did has nothing to do with any kind hate so I don't see any reason why I should be aware of "harmful content".

#Me #Anon

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chemicalbrew · 4 months

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2023 game list, part 2: more like one game six+ times 🥉

I'll be honest: I separated this year's list into two parts mostly for ease of editing (the first part had ten lengthy entries I got tired of scrolling past long ago), but also... I thought it would be nice to have a clear divide between games I was not quite happy with and the few games that managed to impress me this year. If for some reason you want to see me being salty first, you can click here, but other than that... we're good to get this show on the road!

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox (PC, 2019; 2021 port) [♪ New Life]

This one will be more of a rapid-fire ramble, because, even though I enjoyed the game and am willing to defend certain aspects of it, there's little doubt that it's one of this series' weaker outings. Really, it making it onto the second half of the list is mostly due to bias and the fact that this series' core systems (most of which any Ys fan is painfully familiar with) are consistently good, mindless fun. Anyway, here's my more scattered thoughts I can't be bothered to stitch together:

The soundtrack is mostly an obvious downgrade and largely forgettable - literally the only tracks that stayed with me even a little are the one linked and, surprisingly, Marionette, Marionette, but that's to be expected of nu-Falcom :(

The amount of references to past games Monstrum Nox has shows good self-awareness and is something I was absolutely not expecting. I'm just familiar enough with Ys to pick up on most of them, so I wonder how subtle they are for those without the knowledge.

I actually loved being confined inside Balduq and forced to explore every nook and cranny of it, even more so because of how it contrasts with the openness of Ys 8. They pulled no stops when it came to committing to the aesthetic, and I was caught off guard with how much I liked it all. A highlight to me is the graffiti you can find all over the streets!

The new gift abilities greatly expand traversal options, even if implementation of them is not exactly free-form. A bold idea and one I enjoyed greatly. Otherwise, there isn't much major change in how exploration and battling works from 8, but there really doesn't need to be, I think. They fixed the fucking raid mechanic, and that's all that matters - even if the equivalent of it feels horribly tacked on.

Most people would say the Monstrum designs are over the top, but I personally don't care. They all slap, especially Doll and Adol himself, of course (I was ogling that long hair even before the game came out, hell yeah). As for their personal arcs, nothing really stands out the way Dana did in 8, despite each character getting their own time to shine, but I can forgive an Ys game for not bothering with complex characters. In particular, the development surrounding Jules and the conundrum with his disabilities, while somewhat barebones, didn't feel disrespectful at all and was a super pleasant surprise.

(screenshot that doesn't have much to do with anything, I just liked it)

The homunculus twist at the end of the game came out of nowhere and ruined my final impression of the story greatly. That's all, really.

Chained Echoes (PC, 2022) [♪ Standing Tall]

One of my clearest memories of Chained Echoes is the amount of people I'd seen among circles of RPG fans crying out last December that this is the game that was going to snatch the title of GOTY right from everyone's noses. Admittedly, this is one of those silly cases where I recall being intrigued by the name of the game alone (how often does that even happen these days?), and the rest was just a bonus - yes, even the impressive pixel art and soundtrack.

This makes me think I'd had healthier expectations of this game than most people, but even then… The truth of the matter is that Chained Echoes will never leave the shadows of the classics from the 90s it proudly claims to be inspired by. In trying to make itself stand out and match its own ambitions, it forgets itself and fails to leave a lasting impression - I can certainly say I enjoyed the time I spent, but when I remember more about fighting sentient vegetables than how the game actually ended, something is obviously wrong.

Now, I loved smacking the hell out of those vegetables - the battle system is decently refined for the most part, and values your time greatly. To me, the most notable features of the process are those shamelessly taken from Chrono Cross, and for good reason: if there's anything that game nailed, it's the on-field enemy encounters, automatic resource restoration between battles, and what's probably one of its more well-known ideas - lack of EXP in a conventional sense. Chained Echoes wholeheartedly embraces those conveniences, almost as if to ask 'Why isn't all this standard yet? It's the 2020s!', and I find myself agreeing. The unique systems this game presents on top of everything are hit or miss (particularly the mech combat, the part that remains grindy through the dumb proficiency system), and combat may not be perfectly balanced (if you weren't shredding through mobs with Sierra, what were you even doing?), but… Everything surrounding combat just felt so full of fresh potential, and took so little time besides, with the already quick animations whooshing by at the press of a button, that it was extremely easy to forgive any faults.

There are many creative changes made out of battle as well - the most interesting of them being the reward board. It's simple to explain - very early into the game, you unlock a list of objectives spanning the entire world map, laid out on a grid. The tasks themselves range from 'enter the area' and 'beat this specific monster type' to 'beat a miniboss without taking damage' and 'open every single chest you can find'. The cool part is that, while each square provides a reward on its own, there are bigger fish to fry, as there's a separate list of items you get by filling out squares adjacent to each other! It's genuinely impressive how effective this elegant system is at getting you to engage with the world you explore… at least until you realize how ridiculous the late-game tasks can get. And even here, there are misguided ideas that threaten to ruin the gameplay flow - for example, the gem system, that was likely inspired by its simple and functional counterpart in Xenoblade 1, is exceedingly convoluted and involves lots of boring fishing for item drops for somewhat negligible advantages.

It's when the game stops copying the greats that bigger cracks begin to show, though. As a whole, Echoes' writing is a weak point - both because it seems to favor shock value and piles of barely logical twists over anything coherent towards the finish line, and because this game's sole creator took great pains to write the script entirely by himself, in a language that's not his own (guy's from Germany, if I remember correctly). Being bilingual myself, I'd like to say I can imagine how much of a struggle that must have been, and you seriously have to respect the hustle, but it doesn't mean that the end result of all those efforts isn't faulty and should be safe from criticism.

This is a game that very clearly would have benefited from just one more person looking over the script and flow of the plot - if practically every main party member winds up traumadumping to keep the player's attention as tropes they'd probably seen in Chrono Trigger before play out… once again, something has gone terribly wrong, especially since most of said characters weren't too appealing in the first place. This makes Chained Echoes one of the RPGs where the G part is stronger than the RP part, for better or for worse. But it's fun while it lasts, and not the worst way to spend 40 or so hours!

Pokemon Black (DS, 2011) [♪ Relic Castle]

Everything went precisely as I predicted, with the exact problems I imagined I would have, but I finally managed to find the mystery of what makes the series tick for people, both on a general and personal level. Pokemon has spat on some of my detrimental gaming tendencies (as in, the urge to explore everywhere that exists and obtain everything that moves) and in the same breath provided an experience that, in all its flaws, either objective ones or stemming from my own misunderstandings, proved to be surprising at every turn. It's, uh, really cool.

Now here is a funny thing: I cheated. In the literal sense. And I did that a lot. Here's what I used in Black, just cause I can put it out there:

full exp share without needing to swap your whole team in (they should just make this a toggle in the settings, the fact that they never have, not even in newer entries, is baffling.)

forcing any Pokemon within the regional dex to spawn. I probably wouldn't do it ever again, cause now that I understand what Pokemon wants to be, I also see there's really no point to forcing Pokemon to appear just to box them - it's harder to get any sort of bond with your creatures going that way. In addition, a lot of the alternate Pokemon at least get shown off in mandatory fights, so there was no point fretting over not getting to see them (you have no clue how happy I was to see N with Reuniclus, it just felt so right). The series is lying to you - the real joys are NOT in catching them all.

Season switcher (since I played 90% of the game in December, and it took less than a month to beat, it kinda sucked seeing the dreary winter variants all the time. I don't really blame the feature itself, it's just that I don't like real-time-sensitive things in games - especially when they're linked to unique rewards. I loved Deerling and the concept behind it, but just because it was December, I'd have been robbed of its illegally adorable spring variant without cheats! Boo.)

Spawning phenomena and random encounters at the press of a button. Probably the key improvement to the experience! Call me spoiled by modern RPGs, but I have grown from disliking pure random encounters to disdaining them, and this allowed me to segregate area exploration (which was enjoyable in its simplicity and layering through the dowsing machine) and making sure my catching and leveling is up to par while I chill out listening to different pieces from this game on loop or catching up with a stream - two goals that, to me, kinda don't mesh that well on their own. Especially with the normally horrible phenomena appearance rate.

Suffice it to say, my experience with this game was not quite the intended one, but I am still glad for it - it allowed me to get over my preconceptions and expectations of this storied series and, at least to some extent, prepared me for whatever entry I will choose to engage with next (likely Black 2). Next time, I won't be bending the game to my whims quite as much, but I feel like my frustrations with this series heavily relying on missable content will always remain.

With this silly kind of disclaimer out of the way, let's try to talk about Pokemon Black itself. The first thing I remember is just how linear it was - you walk through route after route and claim one badge after another until you find yourself facing the champion, which is where the game finally pulls its rug from under your feet. By now, it should be obvious that I enjoy not having to fuss over what to do next, so I found this to be a boon, but I could absolutely understand longtime fans being irritated by how little choice you have in matters.

Speaking of which, Unova robs you of choices in another infamous way - for the duration of the main story, you're forced to use the new additions to the Pokedex. Once again, this is something that bothered me less than it would most people, doubly so because a lot of the seemingly commonly hated new (for their time) designs actually appealed to me a fair bit. If there's only one Trubbish and Vanilluxe fan on this earth, it's me, or however that meme went - I would give my limb and soul for object Pokemon, I think that's one of the best ideas of the series ever.

The graphics certainly aren't much to write home about and didn't truly age gracefully, but nonetheless, they likely stand the test of time better than the entries following would, and are more than serviceable. With sweeping camera angles, detailed Pokemon sprites and larger-than-life vistas greeting you as you bike from town to town, it's clear this game wanted nothing more than to impress players, and I'd argue that it succeeded, given the timeframe of release, and especially the region Unova was inspired by.

The music, however, is where the game really shines - with town themes ranging from sweet and cozy to ones that end up never quite leaving your mind (remember how Driftveil City became a huge meme? Oddly, I feel like that's enough proof of how awesome the soundtrack is), character themes that feel tailor-made and convey more about them than their own dialogue sometimes, and sufficiently catchy battle music (with the standouts, of course, being reserved for the more… legendary encounters).

When it comes to the story, I... appreciate it existing. It was what I came to this game for, but I ended up staying more so for the team that I lovingly chose for myself and that carried me from dungeon to dungeon. It's not bad by any means, and I can see why people want the series to even try something like this again, but what's bold for this series is overdone for many others.

That said, they really nailed basically everything about N, dear god. I love him so much. And while I might not be familiar with how the series usually handles rival characters, I enjoyed getting to compare and contrast between Cheren and Bianca's personal struggles. Cheren's theme is a banger, to boot.

PS. I hope whoever decided Volcarona should evolve at level 59 explodes somewhere, that was NOT worth it.

Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS, 2013) [♪ Aboveground Urban Area C]

BEHOLD, MY DEMONS! (pictured: not demons)

Holy shit, an actually fun dungeon crawler from the company behind the ever so boring Etrian Odyssey that I decided to play only thanks to Tumblr memeing on the glorious Black Market theme? Who woulda thunk.

If you say you play this game for the plot, I will not believe you. I'm here for the character design (equal parts silly and god-tier, which, going by my opinion on Xenoblade 2, is just what the doctor ordered), the surprisingly exhilarating kill-or-be-killed battle system designed around finding and capitalizing on weaknesses, coupled with the distinct gameplay loop of fighting, coercing and fusing demons, the incredible atmosphere every grossly pixelated texture seems to ooze, and most of all, what might be one of the greatest soundtracks in all of gaming, to me.

The music is what single-handedly turns what would otherwise be a forgettable, convoluted and at times almost offensive experience into something outstanding. Combined with the broad strokes with which SMT4 sets up and gradually expands its setting, it's jaw-dropping just how big of an impression the game can leave you with while utilizing what feels like the bare minimum in terms of visuals (I mean this in the best way possible! I love when games make the most of their limited resources). It's a shame, then, that these two qualities practically carry the game on their back, riddled with flaws as it otherwise is.

Seriously though, the storylines manage to be simultaneously straightforward and messy somehow, to the point where even the self-proposed 'golden' route is easily questioned by a player who's willing to give it a minute of thought. There's enough to latch onto here for impressionable people, but the truth is, SMT4 loves to oversimplify complex matters in favor of haphazardly committing to extremes, which in turn ruins its leading characters - each in their own way, as they refuse to grow and develop most predictably, even if you go out of your way to give them a chance.

(how the fuck are you supposed to take a game that has this textbox in it seriously? This is divinity talking, you know)

The worst part about it all is that while it's you, your player character, influencing the world, you're not really given an explanation of how your actions change things until it's already too late and you're left on your own to gape at how you trying to be nice to people actually led to what's functionally an elitist genocide. That is, if you weren't like me and didn't end the game prematurely with the ending that wipes out everyone instead of most people that are baselessly declared filthy and unclean. And if you want to see a path that pretends to be more reasonable, you have to use a guide and jump through hoops and fetch quests beforehand. Yeah, sure, that's fine.

I'm sure there are many more things people more familiar with SMT could critique when it comes to this entry (especially since I mentioned nothing about the Chaos route, which I frankly don't remember), but the fact that even me, a complete newcomer to the series, ended up less than impressed with SMT4's overall message... has to say something, no?

And yet, the experience remains unique and, in the most literal sense of the word, addictive. Maybe it's just my monkey brain willing to give games a pass if their mechanics click with me hard enough, but... It's fun to explore a kingdom and city in turn, to uncover bits and bobs on your map as you hunt for relics, to overwhelm your enemy in a single Press Turn, and even to get lost in the horribly designed Domains, all the while the literal coolest music you've heard in your life keeps playing. And soon enough, you come to feel that strange familiarity and comfort as go through the motions and backtrack to Mikado for the 100th time.

I'll be honest, this shit is why I yearn for more dungeon crawlers to love (that aren't just Brandish...) all the time. Hopefully I'll eventually man up and play another entry in this series, so I can better understand what the core fanbase appreciates and wants from Shin Megami Tensei as a whole.

Octopath Traveler II (PC, 2023) [♪ Cait's Theme]

(Someone tell me who had to sell their soul to make such gorgeous boss sprites...)

I missed my chance to engage with OT1 back in the day (mostly because I was put off by middling reviews), so to see the series spring back to relevance this year was actually a lovely surprise, especially with me gaining appreciation for HD-2D after playing Live A Live. It really felt like everything had aligned for me to get the most out of Octopath 2! Even more so because this game is a shining example of how to iterate on a sequel.

Most fans say there's barely any reason to return to 1 after playing 2, and they're frankly right. It would be harder to say what 2 did not improve on than to list all the positive changes! But here I am, trying to explain just how many elements had to combine to create my actual favorite RPG of the year. Here we go!

First off, this is the prettiest HD-2D game yet, pulling all the stops when it comes to polishing the style. There are more refined details in the scenery, every sprite looks buttery smooth, and with the new day and night cycle, OT2 is extremely eager to show off just what its lighting engine is capable of. This game is simply a treat to look at no matter what you're doing, and the soundtrack matches the ambition it exhibits.

There are more voiced cutscenes than before and you can let them autoplay - a small but vital quality of life change. The main stories have a decently varied structure compared to the previous game's rigid formulas, and the sidequests generally value quality over quantity (though they're still not much to write home about, and they're a pain in the ass to actually find and keep track of - this game has the most useless journal of any RPG).

One of the core elements of the battle system - the jobs your characters can use - are rebalanced and made easier to understand, and there's more of them to discover for yourself. As a whole, the tools you get to use in battle are greatly expanded, but more on that in a bit.

Lastly, it's easier to witness the cast interact, because they fixed the travel banter system! (Can't believe they made so much of what makes these characters likeable so easy to miss before...) There's more of these interactions to see, too - Crossed Paths, quests tailored to specific character pairings, are a genius addition to the game, if somewhat underutilized. They actually bothered to try and tie the eight stories together, as well, compared to the pathetic whimper the first game ends with! Though whether the attempt was successful is debatable, what's there is not half bad.

While I do believe I would have laid my eyes on this game eventually no matter what, due to the praise it's been getting in circles of RPG fans (I wish OT was more recognized than it already is, even if it is decently popular. The potential the series has is off the charts), what really pushed me was Hikari's very existence. One look at him, and you just know he's gonna be involved in an epic struggle and have to fight for his friends - and that's exactly what he does. It's glorious, and fits the overall message\vibe of the series - that is to say, getting to go on a journey and find new friends for your cause and new experiences - exceptionally well. This is why I, and most people, would probably recommend you start with him, though of course, you're free to do what you want.

Being relatively free to explore instead of roped along to go places like a traditional RPG would is a double-edged sword, especially because Octopath locks in your first chosen character, so they usually get overleveled, but at the same time the game expects you to have a functional (evenly geared and leveled) party of eight by endgame, which you might not be aware of and only have four peeps prepared. This could be solved with a simple toggle to give benched party members the same amount of EXP, or - and they literally do this in the endgame, so why not before?! - let us freely swap any time instead of only getting to do it in towns.

On the other hand, getting to watch eight (seemingly) disjointed stories unfold makes for a refreshing experience where you never know what (or who, at first) you will find. The travelers are divided half and half between two continents, but on my run I screwed it up - I got really curious about what's up north, which led to me finding Osvald early (and his chapter 1 warning scared the crap out of me for no reason, lol), so three characters were from the west and one was from the east. It's not nearly as big of a deal as I make it sound, especially later on with more options available, but before you discover such things and adjust yourself to what the game wants from you, it can feel quite challenging.

Speaking of challenging, I loved how the battle system in this game works - even if it's your typical turn-based bells and whistles with a job system attached, at least at first glance. The jobs themselves, while probably not groundbreaking or anything, still succeed in giving the party members their own ways to shine and even diversifying their movesets, thanks to the mechanic that lets you freely mix and match jobs! You can optimize to your heart's content, or mess around and go with the prettiest outfits.

(look at them!! just look!!)

The bread and butter of this series, however, the Thing it does to distinguish itself from myriads of other turn-based games, is the Break and Boost systems.

Break is simple enough to explain - each enemy you face boasts a certain number of shields, and before you figure out their weaknesses and break through, you're unlikely to deal any significant damage. Finding weak points can be cumbersome at times, especially if you don't have a Scholar to reveal them for you (I admit to looking them up occasionally instead of wasting SP\BP with Analyze), but it still doesn't take too much time, even less if you know the one trick to it. And your reward for doing so is getting a free turn to dish out damage (or set up buff combos)!

Boosting is an entirely different matter, though. In addition to the usual health and skill points, your party members gain a boost point each turn (provided they didn't use them on the last turn). You can have up to five points in reserve, and you can use up to three in a single turn to augment your chosen move - from simple damage increases to attacking multiple times in a turn (to break shields faster) to making buffs and debuffs last longer… basically everything gets much better if you boost. There are even special moves called Divine Skills that require 3 BP to use in the first place, and funnily enough, they range from game-breaking to actually kind of pathetic.

What's more, each character has special actions in and out of battle that are mostly unique to them - for example, Castti, the apothecary, can concoct powerful brews to aid you or damage the enemy, and in towns, she can chat up NPCs to get information by day or put them to sleep with specialized herbs by night. Meanwhile Hikari, the warrior, can learn skills no one else can by fighting NPCs one-on-one, which can be extraordinarily useful or... something like this:

The NPCs themselves don't seem too impressive at first, but as you make use of your characters' Path Actions, you realize that most of them have a small story to tell almost entirely through game mechanics, reminding you how vital worldbuilding is to an open-ended game like this. Robbing children of candy with Throne or getting to uncover short, but ridiculously dark backstories with Osvald never got old.

OT2 adds a cherry on top of all these layers by giving each party member another unique move in Latent Powers, which, too, can be either ridiculously overpowered (hello, free concocting?! why yes, I want to give my entire party 2000 HP, 200 SP and 1 BP at literally zero cost!) or incredibly niche (Osvald really got the short end of the stick here - you're better off boosting his actual spells than using his latent, which at best is only useful when Mugging and feels like an afterthought.).

And before all of that even starts, you have to pay attention to how you kit out your party. It's not just about what equipment has the bigger numbers - you need to consider its secondary effects, too, but more importantly, you need to pick the right secondary jobs to have a party that's truly well-rounded. If you explore the world thoroughly enough to unlock lots of job licenses, the sky's your limit, really - but the idea is to have a healthy balance between weapon types and skills while playing into each character's natural strengths.

You'd think having to make so many choices would feel overwhelming, but there's plenty of opportunities for the player to acclimate to the system and make it work for them. And they better learn the ropes quickly, because in boss battles, Octopath expects them to use every one of the tools they have. The game doesn't really go out of its way to explain how your skills can synergize to wreak havoc upon anything that stands in your way (sometimes before the enemy even gets a chance to act!), lending a sort of simple and pure joy to the moment when it all just clicks, when you begin to try out one bonkers combination after the other (does Critical Scope work on magic spells? Just how powerful is poison in Challenge fights? If I make Osvald a thief, will he still hit the damage cap with Aeber's Reckoning?), and they all just… work. Before that point, the game isn't afraid to kick your confused ass to the game over screen, but if you experiment, it won't be too long before you emerge victorious every time. To be rewarded like this for taking in your every option is immensely satisfying.

I also have to give a shout-out to the voice work done for all these battles specifically - every character gets a unique line for every move in every class, and they react to fellow party members breaking enemies or getting low on health. Really, the amount of detail in this one specific regard is just insane. Add to this the fact that you can fight at double speed with a press of a button (sure, this is nothing compared to how 6x turbo mode in Trails spoils you, but it's better than nothing, and for a game like this, it's enough), and battles in OT2 flow like a spring breeze, especially since, due to gear mattering more than level, you're not really encouraged to grind throughout the main story… or stories, as it were.

You'll have to forgive me for spending so long rambling about gameplay intricacies before getting to the game's actual draw - the eight different plots it offers you and the open-ended structure that comes from it. The truth is, most of these stories start out with a bang, but few of them have really enjoyable resolutions, and even less will manage to impress seasoned players.

Not to mention that, aside from the skit-like travel banter, they're completely isolated from one another, further lending to the feeling that your party members are less characters and more movesets. This is likely the most common complaint the series gets, and I have to say, it felt odd at first to me as well, but by now I'm a little tired of seeing people rag on the lack of connection between the stories. Having smaller vignette-like stories instead of an overarching plot is something you never see other RPGs do nowadays, it's one of Octopath's selling points, it's practically its beating heart, and it's something done with purpose. An artistic choice not being something you're used to is no reason to completely disregard it, even if there's room to grow and improve.

And plenty of room there is - while the stories have enough meat to them to enjoy what's happening in the moment, the boss fights in them are as cool as always, and the voice work accompanying all of the scenes is just lovely (though it can be poorly mixed on occasion - looking at you, Ori!), the core of the individual tales is usually somewhat basic and a little underdeveloped, if not downright nonsensical. Ochette's story could probably be put in a Pokemon game with very little changes, and, sorry to say, I don't mean that as a compliment. Having the plot revolve around catching legendary creatures to save the world had me mostly snoozing, controller in hand.

Or take, for example, Partitio and his charming, resourceful butt. It's hard not to love him, but if you think about what he's doing for more than a moment, it doesn't quite make sense - how do you go about squashing capitalism on the entire continent on your own, much less by ushering the world into the industrial era? Isn't that having too much faith in people?

Even Hikari, who started as my favorite and ended just the same (Howard Wang killed it as his voice actor, let's be real), doesn't have a particularly compelling plot going on. His story of having to take off to reclaim his kingdom is, I'd wager, one with more wasted potential than others, given how the whole cursed bloodline subplot just went nowhere. And don't get me started with Throne - I got spoiled on what happened at the end of her story and refused to believe it until the farce was staring me right in the face.

The exception to this would probably be Castti, whose tale of self-discovery and determination, while still playing out by the books, ended up genuinely touching all the same, with a natural escalation of the stakes in it and a wonderful conclusion that integrates gameplay mechanics particularly well, having you personally concoct the remedy to save a whole region and give them peace.

The one thing that elevates every one of these plots, every failure and success of this game, is its soundtrack. I'm not sure if I wholeheartedly prefer this OST to the first game, but they're both just outstanding. While it was easy for me to pick a single favorite to show off, it's hard to overstate just how awesome Yasunori Nishiki's work is as a whole, and we'd be here all day were I to keep pointing out the majority of the music as the masterpiece it is. The themes for various locations are lovingly crafted to suit the mood, with an awesome choice to add ethereal vocals for some of the night themes to make it more atmospheric (my favorites are Roque Island, Tropu'hopu, and, of course, the kingdom of Ku), and the character themes are particularly well thought out, expanding on their personalities in ways the text never quite could. Shout-out to both Agnea's theme and her Song of Hope, and the ways they tie her whole plotline together!

Octopath Traveler II turned out to be my sleeper hit of 2023, and has done so much more for me than I expected it to. Now there's nothing left for me but to yearn for an even more polished and expansive continuation to the series!

A Hat in Time (PC, 2017) [♪ Heating Up Mafia Town]

I feel like I owe much of my enjoyment of this game to my inexperience. 3D platforming is one of those genres that is practically integral to gaming itself (and collectathons, more specifically, are niche only in the most technical sense), yet before playing A Hat in Time I'd refused to engage with anything of the sort out of sheer principle. "What fun is there in getting perpetually lost while trying to hunt for pointless thingamajigs scattered all over?", I'd think to myself. I'd see people online wax poetic about the old classics like Banjo and Spyro and such and find it all completely incomprehensible.

In comes Hat Kid, and from the word go it's obvious that the name of her game is… silliness. After all, the question isn't 'why should you sow fear in mafia goons and crash onto filming sets', it's 'why shouldn't you do that?'. And as you get roped in by the absurdity of these subplots thrown at you, with so many NPCs having a goofy one-liner or three to say, you realize that behind these layers of charm are solidly crafted sandboxes for you to just enjoy yourself in, coupled with delightful sections that are, for all intents and purposes, obstacle courses.

I enjoyed the latter much more, as I tend to do, but they're two different sides of the same great coin, so to speak. And aside from a couple specific levels that gave me a headache (like the long-ass parade level, the infamous Alpine Skyline hub with how long traversal takes in it, and ESPECIALLY The Twilight Bell. Holy shit, that one just wasn't fun for me after a while), exploration was rewarding, and pretty smooth sailing - with good variation in level structure and near endless attention to detail (be ready to sit there like 'they made a unique animation just for that?!').

A part of what made it so easy to enjoy was how simple the movement in this game is - what you have at your disposal is, essentially, a double jump and a dive, which can be canceled out of. That makes it great for someone like me, who still fears being forced to get acquainted with a complex control scheme in a game with movement as the focus (the 'why press three buttons when one would do' approach), but at the same time… it means that there's only one optimal way to move through the world quickly, so dozens of hours in, I felt as if I could repeat the button combination endlessly in my sleep.

Sure, there's badges that can change your experience substantially - making you dash faster, or turn into an ice statue in lieu of a ground pound, or use a goddamn hookshot, or a bunch of other things, but… having only three slots for them, and knowing one of them will probably be always taken by something like the No Bonk badge (which feels like an essential quality of life feature) is severely limiting. I would love it if there were more slots to prevent constantly having to compromise and switch badges around… or a slightly expanded base moveset for Hat Kid.

On a more positive note, I loved the more tightly directed and difficult experiences that the optional Time Rifts offered. Finding them might not have been half as fun as clearing them, but the reward was more than worth it almost every time. And that's to say nothing of the game's presentation, which is sublime in how stylish it is. I could see people being set off by how the art style feels purposely crude at times, but personally, I couldn't care about that less - it only adds to the charm, in fact.

The music, meanwhile, is peppy and upbeat every step of the way, and fits the mood of the game perfectly. Even though you find yourself revisiting the same levels numerous times, there are always new versions of the tracks you've come to like, and neat twists to the traversal process - it's obvious how much A Hat in Time wants you to relax, be entertained, and enjoy the ride. That might come at the cost of it not telling a particularly gripping story, but it's hard to hold that against the game. Sometimes you just want to bonk mafia goons on the head for a while, you know?

Tower of Heaven (PC - Flash, 2009) [♪ Indignant Divinity]

There is no prize as precious as that which you have lost.

Tower of Heaven, to me, is about going back to the roots - in the literal sense, as your character gets cast down and smitten by lightning over and over, and in a sense that's more meta, as there's definitely a sort of through-line puncturing the developer's offerings; one that presents itself in subtle ways, but is plain to see regardless with every game you boot up, and every death that makes you chuckle at your own subpar execution. So, in essence, me playing this platformer (on my birthday, no less! good to know there's something you can rely on even on otherwise middling days) became this experience about paying respects to foundations laid in the past so I could better appreciate the legacy they leave in the future.

It's kind of a tall ask for a game this small and niche (and Flash having been murdered in cold blood absolutely does not help! Everyone say thanks to that one post about Flashpoint that was making rounds back in the day, it made my mission to experience this game that much easier!!!), and I do admit to over-exaggerating the feeling, but still, it's hard not to feel affected in any way, as insignificant as it may be, while playing Tower of Heaven. The presentation is subdued and few words, and hours, are spared to explain your situation. It's just you, the blocks and doors that comprise simple levels in front of you... and a godly force seeking to work you hard as you try to go ever higher.

But as you walk through the first door on your way, the soulful music kicks in and begins to swell (if I were any more nerdy, this game would have probably become my favorite example of leitmotif usage at the drop of a hat. People who complain about this soundtrack are cowards), and your journey starts to grow more complex, little by little. As the levels slowly expand, so do the rules the mysterious force encumbers you with - combining to demand you make a singular, perfect path forward for yourself. This feeling of honesty and straightforwardness between designer and player is one of the key things this developer simply never fails at, and a part of what made me fall in love with it all in the first place.

The twists along the way may be small, but none of them feel like a waste, and as the game comes to an end, a familiar theme of standing up for yourself and facing a world unknown comes to the surface, and you can't help but feel... accomplished, if only a little. It was you who started this journey and you who brought it to its inevitable end, after all! But when you see the credits, plainly stating your basic stats, you might gawk a little. Secret rooms? What secret rooms?

With that simple move, you're encouraged to spend just a little while more - looking around, polishing your movement, paying more attention. It's not like the secrets are hard to find (or are, indeed, worth anything - it's incredibly fitting that the rooms contain treasure that is of no tangible worth to the player), but it's the fact that they were there all along that elevates the experience.

Tower of Heaven might not have much to say, but it says what it has to gracefully and concisely, in ways that many other games simply do not. And even as you inevitably fall, it makes you remember - there's always somewhere to go. Always a place to make for yourself. No matter who might be saying otherwise.

Pause Ahead (PC - Flash, 2013) [♪ Hiatus]

In many ways, this game is treading familiar grounds, but it manages to expand upon them gracefully. There's a greater sense of mystery to this one, and a lovely meta-narrative that never feels overbearing - not to mention the obvious difference in presentation and the gameplay change Pause Ahead is named after.

With a light tap of the Shift button, you can ground the level to a halt... while retaining momentum yourself. Knowing when to stop and go is key to making your way forward, as you're, once again, at times belittled and at other times besought by a mysterious voice. And, of course, you're free to simply abuse and spam this feature just to see the small easter eggs and jokes it hides. As should be by now expected, the little things like this make it feel like no time or space is wasted executing a small, but powerful concept, and iterating on it over time.

As you clear a stage, you are treated to a quick playback of all attempts you've suffered through to get this far, reminding you of your persistence and the power you wield in this strange, somehow lonely world. This may be little more than an escape attempt, but it's uniquely yours, and you're free to take your time with it as you please. This, coupled with small, but consistent details like the messages in the fake pause menu I mentioned, leads to a pleasant feeling that you're getting as much out of this game as you put in, and it's relishing your time spent with it as much as you do.

Just like I said before, there's something about the tight design of these compact experiences that is hard to find elsewhere - a sort of wordless understanding that gradually forms as you experiment with the small pool of options given, and manages to stick in your memory long after you put the game down. And that's to say nothing of the tiny, yet meaningful and insanely catchy soundtrack this game boasts, and the return of secrets to haunt you, this time even more expansive.

In just about every way, Pause Ahead is a solid hidden gem that doesn't ask much of you - at least, not outright - but gives you plenty in return: a challenge to overcome, a moody setting to enjoy, a feeling you'll be seeking and failing to find elsewhere for all time. ...or maybe it's just me?

OverPowered (PC, 2014) [♪ A True Hero and More]

I honestly think you should close this page right now and go beat this thing - I left you a link right there. I promise it won't take long, and I'm sure you'll come back with a smile on your face.

Obviously, the one thing that makes OverPowered really impressive is the time constraints it was made under - without them, it's probably just a blip on most people's radar, not even worth looking over.

Fortunately or not, I'm not most people, and I simply came into this little game looking for more of what I'd come to expect from the dev - enjoyable platforming, music that sounds like a balm to my ears (I still remember when I was doing research and I audibly went 'THAT flashygoodness?'), and witty humor that aims to subvert expectations - and succeeds every time. I got all of these things and a hearty chuckle or two, so I have no complaints.

Katana ZERO {again 💿💙} (PC, 2019) [♪ Silhouette]

Killing is the only time we're able to touch that thing we were never able to have.

What can I say? Katana ZERO is significant to me on a personal level, to an extent very few games, if any, ever have been at this point. A lot of this comes from the fact that I… knew it would be so, but at the same time had no clue. It's hard to explain - call it a gut feeling, but even in 2021 I knew there was something outstanding here, something I was tapping into, and even resonating with, but not quite as deeply as I could have been. That knowledge lingered, buzzed in the back of my mind like white noise - even as my hands would begin to ache from how much I'd been playing, how hard I'd been trying to open myself up to the game, even when the memories began to fade a little.

While I was playing, however, I was constantly aware I'd been ignoring the fine details, afraid to rise to the mechanical challenges the game offered, sometimes afraid to admit to myself how much I enjoyed KZ at all - as if it'd been a crime to recognize how it left me yearning in a haze few things can hope to match. When I tried to look back at it, I almost felt desperate to find some flaw, some excuse to lie to myself and mask the passion this game had awakened in me, for a time; and even then, I could only point to how the game's plot fizzles near the end in an attempt to set things up for the future that still hasn't come yet, eager to leave you with a feeling of uncertainty that stings all the more with how pointedly efficient KZ is about nearly everything else.

(see also: images that get funnier with time)

And even now, putting it to words, I just feel silly and dramatic - probably because, despite everything, a small part of me still feels inexplicable shame, thinks I ought not to be obsessed with something like this, something small and unfinished. An experience that some people (who are very wrong) would say is trying too hard.

It's not silly, though, and I have to remind myself of this often. Every time I come back to this game (and I've come back many times over the year - so many I lost count, including the refresher run I did last week, before writing this. It's amazing how much a passing, almost laughable thought can end up haunting you, but that's neither here nor there), I remember how much there is to love about it - how hard it is not to love it, when you realize just what it is you're dealing with, when everything slots into place and the world before you whirs to life in an almost literal fashion - and live it does, no matter what.

This is a story about finding choice where there is none. It's about discovering the truth, staring it in the face just as it has been watching over you, and resolving to do something about it - with whatever little means you have. Because what matters is trying. Without that, what can you do but remain trapped, objective unfulfilled?

But here's the thing: to most people, it's probably not quite like that. It's hard to describe something that hasn't finished telling itself, after all - but these days, that bothers me far less, if at all. If nothing else, it's hard not to appreciate the irony of it - not knowing the future when once you'd thought you'd all but had it. Even if this story's ending never sees the light of day, I feel like I've come to understand it far better, in its current state.

The unquantifiable, almost mythical extent to which KZ goes to immerse you in its world (or, at the very least, in Zero's shoes), if you let it, is one of its most important qualities. Everything this game does, from the more obvious mechanics like slightly branching dialogue options (with the lovely twist of being able to interrupt people) to the subtle touches like the way KZ uses vibration (one of the very few games to do it right, and I'll die on this hill), hides its (surprisingly plentiful, given its length) secrets in almost plain sight, or takes great care in the details of its entire user interface or goddamn dialogue formatting... it's all in the service of immersion, and that goal is masterfully achieved.

Even after spending more hours than most people would with this game, I keep discovering minute dialogue changes, tiny graphical touches, or new options to try that I can't help but smile at. Yes, some of it stems from the strange sort of fear I had that just... kinda prevented me from exploring, but not all - you'd be surprised at just what you can see if you pay attention to your choices.

And that's to say nothing of how pretty KZ manages to make everything look (and sound - you know you have a problem when you get attached to sound effects), how it perfectly walks the tightrope of letting every happening on screen breathe and speak for itself while still allowing it to remain a spectacle (look, I might not be an expert, but I love how this game frames its cutscenes and uses lighting to enhance things further). It tells you that every moment is precious - simply by wasting nothing itself.

Of course, there are more obvious ways the game respects you and your time: interrupting dialogue doesn't just lead to interesting results, but can also save a bit of time; there are a few clever skips (tied to secrets, as well) built into the levels themselves, and you have an option to respawn instantly when you restart a room (or at literally any time, if you bother to assign a quick restart button). This last thing I want to bring special attention to, because I think it spoiled me beyond belief (just look at me complaining about Celeste earlier!).

On top of this, something awesome that makes a return to Katana ZERO from its predecessors is a dedicated speedrun mode, allowing you to engage with the gameplay and practice on your own terms. And like in the other games, using it is in no way a requirement - while there is an achievement tied to speedrunning the game, nothing in the interface itself urges you to push yourself if you don't want to. The ranking system is as important as you allow it to be, and for my part, I'm mostly content with the meager results I got (bet you were wondering why I put that emoji in the title... hopefully it's clear now. If I get a silver ranking one day, I'll be beyond content.). More action games should aim to be as instantaneous and responsive in all aspects as KZ is, and I'm completely serious about this.

The last (but absolutely never the least) thing I want to bring up is the soundtrack. It's the piece in this elegant puzzle that makes everything come together, it makes every moment shine on its own merits and stay in your heart. It's easy to point to the more obviously appealing tracks that accompany you as you actually play, and the way they perfect tension and release (i.e. Delusive Bunker or the ever-so-awesome Overdose), but there's something to be said about the subtler pieces too. End of the Road never fails to tug at my heartstrings. Hell, hearing Come and See at the end of every run still makes me want to explode. And beyond that, well...

Have you listened to Chemical Brew yet? - Tumblr user chemicalbrew

To conclude, Katana ZERO may lack the universal appeal that true classics have, but I believe that at some point it will have carved out enough of a niche of itself to become a cult classic. I would love nothing more than to have a reason to feature this game on my list a third time (we'll have it one day. I'll keep waiting, this much I know), that's how much my love for it has grown. And, really… I hope it never diminishes.

PS. Believe in yourself! 👹 Also, if you're one of the people who has supported me this year as KZ made me descend into insanity, if you're one of the (surprisingly many) people who I managed to convince to give it a chance with my passion, thank you ever so much. And have a nice 2024!

#okay google how not to feel cringe when you get super passionate about a game. i could probably keep going btw #i avoided talking about katana hero on purpose; i wanted to be cheeky & iykyk but. that was the loudest i've laughed all year. that's all #ys #pokemon #smt #ot #kz #zero.txt #yearly game list #flashing gif #.gif

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