#in case anyone is wondering: one of the other video game

[captainmvf]

Perso the Supersaurus is one of the very few fictional monsters that scares me but I love their design very much <3

🦕🏙

#mvf art #fossil fighters #perso #vivosaur #vivosaurs #fossil fighters fanart #in case anyone is wondering: one of the other video game #monsters that scares me is wi.thered fre.ddy #perso is so cool though even if i have childhood trauma/fear #from fighting the one Saurhead has-

[privitivium]

can you write another Yan streamer x m!reader but have it yan!streamer invite reader to his stream for some gaming and chat actually liking reader a bit more than yan!streamer or just trolling on him, then maybe after the reader and yan!streamer start talking about dicks again and reader mocks yan!streamer saying he probably cums quick like a virgin, and then it inevitably leads to them jerking off together on a video call both mocking each other about how their faces look or the noises they both make just a angry video jerk off sesh.... and if I had to use like the terms you listed on your rules probably a domtop m!reader x dombot yan!streamer vibes, both fighting for dominance but reader wins ^_^

sorry it took so long, havent been getting lotta inspo to write for streamer yan ....... sorry for any mistakes mwah

yandere amab streamer x loser amab reader

[ his name is ambrose. he just looks like an ambrose shh. ] cw;; masturbation, creep streamer - mentions of stalking

it's a wonder how he manages to live so long. this goddamn idiot… he, ambrose - a friend, some weirdo streamer ( who you watch on the down low ) who invited you on his stream.

skeptical of course, as anyone would be really… like, would you be doxxed for hanging out with this guy??? he did have quite the following - ( you werent about to admit that he's pretty ), so it'd be a bit normal to have a few threatening comments directed at you.. haha. but that didn't seem to be the case at all! entering with the line, “you ruined my cloud watching.” when in reality you were just fucking around on your computer with no intent to play nor bother nor be bothered nor cloud watch - stealing the attention quite easily with idiotic one-liners after you kill him. the score, 10 to 3. how embarrassing for him…

“you literally keep giving yourself away, what's wrong with you?” you grunt, annoyed. yet humorous... not watching his stream for once to take him down for once… how commendable. but with one quick glance at his chat would tell you all you need to know, really… they seemed to favor you. your “cloud-watching” really got through to them, huh??? ( of course it was ambrose talking about you to his chat beforehand ) ah - in the midst of reading the flirtatious and ego-boosting comments, you were killed in your hunkered down position by melee.. yeah fuck this guy. grumbling to yourself as he laughs at you, face growing warm - anger or embarrassment? both.

“dude, just say AFK?” ambrose snorts, acting as though you are stupid. fuck you can't stand that tone of voice… obviously, you actually being pissed off is something he immediately takes note of - after a few more minutes of badgering you, he decides to end the stream. a sorrowful goodbye from his chat to you… how sweet.

ambrose humming in delight, clicking away and immediately running around the map to figure out where you respawned. if only he could stream snipe you like you do him... the second best thing is just watching you on a smaller monitor playing in your room. jerking off every other night like a crazed freak... him to you. he cant help himself, alright?!ㅡ“what do you know? who just got knifed in the throat?” that smug little bastard. in a private room, 1v1 on a relatively huge map… just for the comedic appeal for his viewers as he told you over messages

ㅡ“fuck you, i was away from keyboard!!”

“good game..” he says after an awkward throat clearing - squirming in his chair, trying to keep his tone from wavering…

“whatever, fuck you…” obviously having no other insult other than the classic fuck you. you grimace at your words, knowing you could've done better - done worse, commenting on his physical appearance again, or even mentioning dicks. but you were… hn. thinking about something else. jerking off after this ends…

ㅡ"yeah, yeah, i bet you dream of that…”

“no… who would want to dream of fucking a two-pump fuck like you?” you wrinkle your nose, grinning mischievously as you exit the lobby - relaxing back in your chair… “you wouldn't last.” you say simply, glaring over the camera at his form over the monitor.

ambrose scoffs, jerking his head back in disbelief. was he really talking this way to his object of affection? this is just like the dick thing all over again. he already feels his dick itching - precum smearing and staining his boxers as he aches uncomfortably in-between his legs.. “you probably can't last long… you seem like the type of virgin to cum right when he sticks his dick inside someone. or even something.. ” he huffs - a bit too nonchalantly. you weren't even on stream to be play fighting like this - ( doing it mostly for attention and because it's just your attitude - ) yet here you were.. “you seem to be the type to just use toys cuz he can't get anyone to let him fuck...” he grumbles under his breath, obviously picked up by his high-quality mic- it seems your comment hurt him, huh…?

“naah…” you shake your head, lackadaisical. “i pride myself in lasting long.” with multiple long lasting sessions of edging - yes, you couldn't not gloat. and this fucking guy would have no way of knowing if you were being serious or not… of course - ambrose knew this. he knew all too well of course?? spying on you, masturbating to clips of you jerking it - one so reminiscent it pops into his head doing his daily routine... your thighs trembling from overstimulation of not cumming, your head thrown back against your chair, fist gripping at your dick and languidly stroking... teasing yourself. augh..

ambrose pauses for a brief moment - looking off camera and fiddling with his keyboard. a moment of awkward silence… you fear you went too far with your teasing before he breaks the uncomfortable quiet withㅡ“why don't you prove it?”

ㅡhuh?

“prove it?” you repeat, dumbfounded and glancing at the monitor displaying his face - jumping slightly when you see him already glaring into you, immediately looking away. “prove it by what, jerking off in front of you?” you scoff at the idea - definitely open to it. it sounds like something you jerked off to once anyhow - and to live it out with this fucking jackass tryhard? hm.

“... yeah. let's see who'll last the longest…” ambrose shrugged, all “cool-like”. “actuallyㅡno.” he shakes his head, grinning smugly as he runs a hand through his shaggy brown hair, playing his chill-relaxed guy persona.. “i already know it'll be me, no need to embarrass you.” he snorts, shaking his headㅡ

he gets anxious after you don't reply for the next minute. you couldn't help it - you were thinking excruciatingly hard about the offer - jacking off to each other, technically? well.. don't mind if you do…

“... sure.” you finally decide, pursing your lips and making a point not to look at the screen displaying his face, fiddling with your keyboard. “i'll win. you're a fucking virgin, after all..” still getting one last grumbling insult in… sounding utmost serious about the whole ordeal, and he was sure you would. he ... really, realistically, wouldnt last a minute...

“s-sure??” he questions, making sure he heard you correctly - seriously? SERIOUSLY SERIOUS? already fumbling with his pants - dick hard from just talking to you, the person he held deep affection forㅡ

"y-you look.. so .." you exhale deeply, biting harshly on your bottom lip as you thumb the slit of your cock; warm spit-covered palm gripping softly, up down up down.. urk-! head tilted back and glaring into the monitor that displays his frame, shirt pulled up revealing his abdomen and a full shot of his cock that he was abusing- you can't finish your first sentence, it was supposed to be an insult... but the coiling of your lower intestines distracts you - and you try to dissuade your bodyㅡ”really… i can tell you're seriously holding back.” trying to act all nonchalant while beating your dicks on video chat.. fucking nerds.

"y-you're one to talk, look at you!!" he hisses, almost slamming his hand on the table as he grips the base of his cock. jesus. fucking loser ass nerds. "you're clearly about to cum. j-just look at your faceㅡwhat, do i get you off?? cmon, you can tell me.."

tell him that he gets you horny? as if, that fucking creep.

#ocs =͟͟͞͞★ #streamer yan :3 #male reader #x male reader #top male reader #dom male reader #x dom male reader #x top male reader #dombot male character #bttm male character #yandere oc x reader #yandere x male reader #yandere male x reader #yandere m x m reader #yandere male x male reader

[strulovitches]

first move (?)

cbf!lance x f!reader

summary : basically you and lance are childhood best friends and one day when he was sitting spread eagle it makes you h*rny and some suggestive stuff ensues.

a/n : inspired by lance sitting spread eagle in that one video. you know which vid i’m talking about. this has been in my notes for so long and it really isn’t written very well but i just thought i should put this out there in case anyone would enjoy it lmao. so,,,, if you’re a lance enjoyer,,,, have fun!

you locked your phone, staring at your reflection as the screen turned dark. qualifying had just finished about half an hour ago and from where you were standing in lance’s motorhome you could still hear the distant cheers outside, undoubtedly celebrating a rare occasion where pole position was a car that wasn’t a red bull. lance had invited you to this race, just like all the other dozens of times you have attended a grand prix weekend. the relationship you have with lance is kind of cute, both of your fathers were long-time friends which meant that you knew lance ever since he was a little boy racing go-karts around montreal. growing up together, you were there when he first won his go-kart championship and he was there to comfort you when you first failed your maths test. a childhood best friends trope at its finest.

more than a decade has passed which has seen both you and lance grow to become a man and a woman. you thought about how lance was no longer a scrawny boy with a bowl haircut. he grew to be a handsome young man, his job requiring him to train religiously and as a result gain muscle. his skinny arms, ones which you used to compare with chicken legs grew thicker, his chest wider, and he soon towered over you. throughout these past few years, you always found yourself staring at his shirtless torso a bit too long during both of your family’s annual yacht trips together. you wanted to cup his face in your hands and at the same time his broad back made you wonder what it would feel like your dig your nails into it. you chastised yourself, how could you have thoughts like that about your childhood best friend? despite that, you weren’t oblivious to the glances lance would give you as well. lance too, noticed your physical changes.

his cheeky teases turned into flirtations and once innocent hugs lingered a bit longer as you both savoured being held by each other. so were both you and lance sort of pining for each other? well, yes. has anyone made a first move? nope. (but maybe that’s going to change now)

lance walked in plopping down on the couch with a huff. his legs were spread and arms on the couch rest throwing his head back

you felt like you were in a trance. your eyes trained on his neck watching his adam’s apple bob trying to catch his breath from his sprint. the sweat on his face was dripping on to the towel he had on his neck. he was always so sweaty after sessions in the car for some reason. your gaze trailed down his body seeing how his fireproofs perfectly hugged his biceps, chest and torso. the longer you stared at his thighs made thoughts made your mind wander about what was beneath his pants. slowly, you felt your face flush. the heat pooling in your stomach was starting to intensify the longer you spent gazing at him.

you broke your trance to find a pair of cheeky brown eyes already staring back. a stupid cocky smirk plastered on his stupid handsome face. obviously, you’ve been caught checking him out.

‘like what you see?’ and so, the teasing game begins

you give him a once over again, trying to sound nonchalant. ‘definitely’ you paused. ‘close your legs before i do something stupid’ you continued, fumbling with your phone to calm down your racing heart.

he let out a laugh. ‘i’m intrigued now. come on, nothing will be too stupid.’ you hear him persuade.

moments pass. were you really going to be the first one to make a move?

fuck it. you placed your phone on the table and walked towards him, never breaking eye contact. stopping in between his legs you gaze down at him. he still has that stupid smile on his face.

staring into his eyes, you slowly start to kneel. your hands place themselves on his knees as you feel the plush carpet underneath your knees. you could see his eyes turn dark and his smile falter. his relaxed posture becomes apprehensive, slowly sitting up at this turn of events. you smile as your hands slide up his legs and place your cheek on his thigh, lips dangerously close to somewhere he would rather them be. clearly, there’s no need to explain what something stupid is.

‘happy now stroll?’ you lilt, seeing his jaw clench at your precarious position.

‘no, show me what you’ve got’ he continues.

giving him your best doe eyes, you bring your lips to the canadian flag printed on the navel of his racing suit. hands still on his thighs, you start kissing each letter of his name printed. you could feel your chin brushing against his crotch every time you shift.

‘how about now?’ you tilt your head looking up at him.

he doesn’t look too happy when he cups your jaw with his hand. ‘teasing isn’t nice you know.’ he says, brushing your bottom lip with his thumb.

you catch his thumb between your teeth as you give it a lick. a teasing glint appears in your eyes, opening your mouth to release his thumb. ‘then don’t start’ you finish, pushing his legs wider as you use the momentum to stand up as you move to amble away.

what a fucking temptress. he curses in his mind. ‘1-0 stroll! it’s your turn to make a move!’ he hears you yell out. just you wait baby, just you wait.

#lance stroll #lance stroll x you #lance stroll fluff #lance stroll x y/n #lance stroll smut #but it isnt really smut now is it but whatever #f1 imagine #lance stroll x reader

[danrifics]

you all pestered me for it and here it is. the closeness analysis/ theory.

now if you didn't see I basically had this theory that the closer to BIG and COTY we get in the DAPG timeline the closer dan and phil sit to each other. Dan made a comment about how them playing Heartthrob being like a gay soft launch and that got me thinking of some other ways they could have done it and one of those being the idea that as time goes on you get less and less strict and worrisome about what others think of you and so they end up gravitating closer and closer.

This post will be under a see more cos its probably gonna be long af.

I will be splitting it into stages.

2014 -15

2016 - 17

2018

revival

sorry the screenshots arent clickable to make bigger tumblr only allows for 30 on a post so i had to group them together!

(i will not be covering horror games apart from in the revival stage and i will also not be talking much about gamingmas 2023)

2014 - 15

now when i initially went to collect my evidence, i was suddenly worried maybe i kinda had things wrong because i feel like in Donkey Kong Country (the first dapg video, see screenshot below) they're sat pretty close but honestly when we get to how they sit a lot later on you'll see that this is actually pretty far apart

now here are some screenshots for the inital look at at the end of them we'll talk (this will be the layout for most of this post i think)

now of course this is only a selection of those year's videos if i screenshotted them all i fear this post would never end. now these first 2 years are a good mix of at desk videos on sofa videos. i noticed from some other videos not show here that in sofa videos they rend to sit a lot closer to each other than they do at the desk, this is kinda funny to me cos really they definitely have room for a wider frame on the couch if they wanted to sit like normal people.

2016 - 17

2016 and the start of 2017 feel like a mixed bag of how close together they are but i did notice that the more into 2017 we got the more they seemed to be shoulder to shoulder! these also started to wean out sofa sitting games (not 100% gone yet but almost). now if you're wondering why i've kept this screenshot apart its cos this is the last one in the first london apartment.

and honestly from here on out is where i believe the "soft launching" begins!

so lets finish 2017 and see if im right!

just had to single out this screenshot for a sec:

in case anyone wondered that is the face dan made during dream daddy when phil reads "we were roommates for a while too"

softlaunch?

anyway moving on

watching these videos definitely feels like something changed btw, while they still arent as close as we'll start seeing them sit, i definitely noticed more often they were shoulder to shoulder. but like a new room has definitely changed the vibe a little bit between them, and now we can move on to the next and final year of pre hiatus dapg, where things as you will see immediately start to change.

2018

like i said... immediately we are met with this, i would also like to let everyone know that 2018 is my favourite era of pre hiatus dapg

lets see what the rest of this year will bring

now i'm splitting 2018 up into parts because i need to do a whole talk about the tour situations so for now lets look at the above screenshots, now its very obvious that they are sitting so much closer to each other which i think is really funny considering how big that room is and often in this section of videos there is a lot of room either side of them so they literally do not need to be that close.

now lets talk about the tour bus. this is how close they're sitting

thats for sure a 1 person seat yet they've both forced themselves on even tho the sofa literally behind them would have been perfectly fine to sit on, and they cant give me "this is the only place to set up the camera" babe its really not theres a whole surface behind you.

okay thank you for listening to this, moving on to the final part of 2018!

(the last 2 screenshots are out of order oops)

idk about you but yeah i think they are definetly a lot closer than they were way back in 2014. i really dont have a lot to say other than that, and i have definetly proven my theory so now we've established that lets have a brief look at post hiatus dapg!

Revival

Now this is gonna be really brief its just a summary of where we are post BIG/COTY and post hiatus (things my brain still cant quite believe is real)

now here are the revival moments i wanna give a mention!

firstly sims season ep 3 when dan moves his chair away from phil and their wheels are literally locked together, pushing phil's chair too

heres dan looking into the monitor and then moving closer to phil <3

and finally

hand hold

thanks for reading all this and sorry if it didnt live up to the hype lmao

#dan and phil #dan howell #phil lester #amazingphil #daniel howell #danisnotonfire #phan #dapg #dnpg

[kitasgloves]

"You are in love"

event masterlist

— ♬ "And you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars. And why I've spent my whole life tryin' to put it into words"

— ♬ Kuroo x Reader, timeskip, SFW, fluff, gen reader, high school friends to lovers, no beta

One look, dark room, meant just for you. Time moved too fast, you played it back. You see buttons on a coat and remember a lighthearted joke, back then it had no proof and it was not much but you saw enough. When you were younger, you had trouble making friends. You used to believe that there was something wrong with you and that nobody was willing to stay and play, for a long time you coped with that. Being alone. Until high school went up and changed everything.

You didn't originally want to go to Nekoma High, you were aiming for Fukurodani Academy or even Itachiyama Institute. But you ended up going to Nekoma which you admit you hated at first. You had the potential to be in more prestigious schools in Tokyo but at least you ended up in one of the higher class sections during your first year. In terms of academics, there was no hassle. You went through every homework, classwork, presentation, and even group activity like a breeze. However, in terms of social life, you offer nothing but silence.

You couldn't connect with anyone in your class, they were kind people but there was no one who you see willing to open up to you and vice versa. It felt like your childhood and middle school all over again, you always ended up alone. But you were fortunately wrong. It was a fateful day during lunch and you were eating alone when you spotted a shadow over your head. And you saw him, feline-like eyes and bedhead hair. He offers you an eager smile.

"Mind if I sit here with you?"

He asks and you nod. He sits across from you and pulls out his lunch. He looked taller and older than you. The way he behaved around you told you how he was comfortable with approaching strangers, and you stopped eating.

"You're Kenma's seatmate, right?"

"Oh, you mean Kozume-san?"

"Yep! He didn't go to school today, he got sick"

"You know him?"

"We're childhood best friends, we sorta tell each other everything. I'm Kuroo Tetsuro, by the way"

"[Name], [Name] [Surname]"

Kuroo seems so eager to get to know you. Your first lunch shared with Kuroo left you perplexed, you're convinced it was only a one-time occurrence. But it repeated, again, and again. For months until the entirety of your first year. You and Kuroo became friends, something you never anticipated. You two became so close that it felt natural. By the time you reached your second year, you and Kuroo were inseparable.

He convinced you to join the boys' volleyball club as manager. Kenma became the witness to all your shenanigans with his childhood best friend. Because of Kuroo, you changed. You've learned to open up to people, you've become the person you are today thanks to him. Your friendship with Kuroo got you through the hardships in high school up until graduation. The two of you remained close after he left for college and the beginning of your third year. You and Kuroo consistently kept in touch until it was your turn to leave Nekoma for college.

You haven't heard from each other ever since and you've made a new life while in college. You gained new experiences, new friends, and new challenges to overcome. Even if you and Kuroo drifted apart, there wasn't a day that you don't wonder where he is right now. By your last year in college, you began to miss him. To miss the memories you had with him in high school. Watching movies, playing video games with Kenma, volleyball practice, and having sleepovers. You had a major case of nostalgia when you went through your photos back at high school, there were polaroids of you and him on his graduation that never fail to make you tear up.

College ended as your career started. You found a good job that paid enough to sustain yourself, that's when you began trying to reconnect with Kuroo. You also found out that Kenma became a YouTuber, rising in popularity. All it took was a quick DM to his Instagram account and you got Kuroo's contact number. Apparently, he works at the Japan Volleyball Association within the Sports Promotion division. Something you knew he would definitely pursue. 

It was close to midnight when you contemplated calling up his number, a million scenarios flooded your head. He could be already asleep, he probably doesn't know your number, or maybe he has already forgotten you. Your chest goes tight at the last thought. But you suck in a deep breath and dialed Kuroo's number. You held your phone against your ear and stared down at your Polaroid picture with him in your hand.

"Hello?"

You hear his voice in the line and your throat goes dry. It felt like your heart stopped beating but began racing after realizing the weight of the situation. You let out a shaky breath.

"Hi, Tetsu"

"...[Name]? Holy shit [Name] is that you?!"

He sounds so excited and it causes tears to well up in your vision. You let out a relieved chuckle knowing Kuroo hasn't forgotten about you. Immediately, you and him began talking and catching up on each other's lives. There was a brief exchange of apologies for letting the years go by without keeping in touch, but there were no grudges held and all was forgiven. 

"Where is your place? I'll pick you up, let's get coffee"

"Sure"

It began snowing outside as you wrapped yourself in your warmest clothes. You waited in front of your apartment complex and saw a car pull up minutes later. The windows roll down and your heart leaps out of your chest. It was Kuroo Tetsuro, your high school best friend. He was grinning at you like he always did back then. He kept his signature bedhead hair and the only difference was he seemed to look more charming than he was during high school. You smile as he opens the door for you.

You sat in the passenger seat in quietness while smiling at each other, it truly felt like nothing had changed. Small talk and he drives. You two grab coffee at midnight. You and Kuroo stood against each other under the snow, sipping on coffee and laughing. The lampost light reflects the chain on your neck, Kuroo's eyebrows raised.

"Look up"

He says, and your shoulders brushed. It was no mistaking it. You were still wearing the necklace he gave you on your eighteenth birthday. You couldn't tell if the cold made his ears red or something else. No proof, one touch. But seeing Kuroo slide closer to you made you feel enough.

Something has changed, you couldn't point out what it was but something wasn't the same with you and Kuroo. The two of you spent a whole month making up for lost time. If it was possible, it seemed like the two of you became even closer. Perhaps closer than him and Kenma but felt way more different. You began noticing the shift in your and Kuroo's relationship one morning when you woke up at his place after spending the night before drinking. You smell burnt toast in the kitchen and it was a Sunday. You keep his shirt, and he keeps his word. And for once, you let go, of your fears and your ghosts. One step, not much. But it said enough.

You feel the change transform you and Kuroo uncontrollably. This felt nothing like high school anymore. Kuroo was getting closer and closer each time and you always let him. You've never felt so comfortable with anyone in your life. This is proved when Kuroo and you began kissing on sidewalks. You knew you'd never find someone like Kuroo in your life, so whenever you two would fight, you two would always talk.

However, everything comes into full circle one night when Kuroo wakes. He spent the night at your apartment and slept beside you. You stirred awake and you see the strange look on his face. He looks at you deep into your eyes, you gaze back with bated breath. He pauses.

"[Name], you're my best friend"

He says. And you knew what it was, he was in love. He's in love with you. So you instantly leaned against him and shared a long gentle kiss. For a long time, you felt like you two were dancing in a snow globe 'round and 'round. And now he keeps a picture of you in his office downtown. And understand why you spent your whole life trying to put it in two words. But you can hear it in the silence. You can feel it on the way home. You can see it with the lights out. You didn't see it back then but now it becomes crystal clear; you're in love, true love. You're in love with Kuroo Tetsuro.

"I think I fell in love with you the moment you gave me this necklace for my eighteenth birthday"

"Oh, really? Well, I think I fell in love with you when I sat with you for lunch back at high school for the first time"

"You're lying"

"No! Ask Kenma! I just didn't know it back then. But now, when you called me up after what felt like ages, I knew I didn't want to be in love with somebody else"

"Ew, cheeseball"

"Look at you, being so in love with me"

"As if you aren't more terribly in love with me, Tetsu"

"I wouldn't want it any other way, darling"

©kitasgloves (do not steal or copy)

#— ♬ ©kitasgloves #haikyuu #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu fic #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #kuroo testuro #kuroo tetsuro x reader #kuroo tetsuro x you #kuroo x reader #kuroo x you #kuroo x y/n #Spotify

[serialunaliver]

My response to this post about the possibility of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley's mom being charged with involuntary manslaughter I was tagged in (putting it in a separate post because I don't feel like starting shit with anyone):

The case here being used is unique to other shootings. Typically mental illness is not actually the primary deciding factor for violence. Media coverage of school shootings has caused more school shootings than mental illness. A large amount of school shooters were inspired by the ideology of other school shooters. If Columbine wasn't treated the way it was I have no doubt there would've been less shootings.

When it comes to negligence involving mental health I don't actually see a big increase in surveillance or institutionalization as some are claiming though. The fact is parents can already use mental health as an excuse to force their kids into abusive 'treatment' with no consequence. It happens in every psych ward. It's also already used in legal cases as well, that happened to me and it did in fact lead to being forced into harmful treatment, so really the precedent and incentive is already there for those who choose it in my opinion. Meanwhile there's the opposite case where parents would rather their kid cause destruction than admit any mental health issue exists regardless of consequence. Logic is thrown out the window for the most part.

Now the defense of Ethan's mom is claiming he is a manipulator and not mentally ill. While anyone who follows me knows I despise the mental health argument about school shootings, it's quite clear this kid's actions prior to the shooting were at the very least a cry for help. He didn't try to make this secretive and even drew pictures of it. If his parents didn't care about this, it's possible he's neglected in some way at home, which can actually lead to antisocial behavior and acts of violence or threats of them, because, well, one would assume your parents would finally give a fuck about your well-being in that case. I'm diagnosed with a cluster B personality disorder partially due to "manipulative behavior" in the past which seemed horrible and illogical but was literally the only way I thought anyone would know I was hurting. Obviously I don't know if this is what's actually going on in Ethan's case, but what everyone can agree on is the parents' response to all this was not normal or acceptable and doesn't exactly paint an image of a well-adjusted family. And I do wonder if the "manipulator" argument comes from the (most common) perception that anyone with this behavior was just born evil.

ANYWAY, here are some articles/resources on common causes of school shootings and how media coverage and environment impact them, both to spread awareness and to point out that you should not in fact paint anyone as born evil or a future shooter just for certain issues.

• Bullies, black trench coats: Columbine’s most dangerous myths

• Violence has grown since California's incel shooting

• Who is most likely to get bullied at school?

• School shootings and student mental health (Includes more detailed statistics but some are misleading - the one on bullying is based on public perception of shootings, not actual cases, and the one on violent video games has no real correlation. Let this be a reminder to research your own sources!)

#school shooting #seriousposting

[incorrectbatfam]

Who would get snapped by Thanos?

(also on Ao3)

Of all places, he was buying fucking cigarettes when it happened.

Jason was digging through his wallet when the woman behind him suddenly screamed. He whirled around and—

Hang on, didn't she have a kid with her? He could've sworn there was a toddler whining about candy just now. But when he looked, his eyes were met with a pile of dust and the lady staring at her hand, face pale.

Behind her were a group of teenagers. The shortest one—couldn't have been more than 14—turned to the others and said, "Guys, something's wrong." But before anyone could react, his skin cracked and he crumbled to pieces, leaving his friends scrambling.

The cashier dialed the police. Someone demanded to know what was going on. Without his helmet or guns, it wasn't as though Jason could say he got this all taken care of. Cigarettes forgotten, he slipped away from the crowd and called Bruce.

No answer. So he tried again, and on the third time he left an expletive-filled voicemail before hopping on his bike.

He zipped past the changing signals and swerved around the three-car pileup forming as he tried Dick's number. But all he got was that godawful singsong voicemail that Dick recorded years back.

That was two down already.

No.

No, he wasn't gonna think like that. Those two knuckleheads were fine. Hell, with a family of detectives, they were probably cracking the case as Jason broke a red light.

He picked another number.

It clicked.

"Roy, are you—"

"Jason." Roy's ragged breathing almost made his words unintelligible. "It's Lian. She—she..."

"It's happening everywhere," Jason said. "I don't know who's behind this but I'm gonna keep you updated."

There was nothing on the other line. Not a breath or panicking keen. His heart dropped.

"Roy?"

After several attempts, he had no choice but to hang up.

He didn't even wait for his motorcycle to stop completely, dumping it next to the others.

"Guys?"

The Cave was far, far too quiet. Jason grabbed his domino and a batarang lying on a bench.

"Hello? Anyone?"

He stuck a comm in his ear. It crackled to life.

"Guys, we have a situation. Is anyone reading me right now?"

Silence.

He spotted a familiar wheelchair in front of the glowing Batcomputer and let out a sigh of relief.

"Oracle! I'm glad you're—"

But there was no red hair or keyboard clacks to go with it. A steaming coffee cup was tipped over, soaking a case file and dripping onto the floor.

Alfred had to be okay. He's Alfred.

Jason raced upstairs, almost missing the three piles on the couch with purple, yellow, and orange video game controllers buried among them. In the cat bed is another one. His lunch crawled up his throat, but he swallowed it down and moved to the next room.

"Alfred?" His boots echoed through the halls with each step. "Anyone here?"

He checked the kitchen, but it wasn't Alfred he found. Rather it was Damian, staring at his ash-covered fingertips just like the lady at the store.

"They were right here." Damian's voice trembled. "Me and Cain and Pennyworth, we were talking and... and..."

He stumbled forward. Jason caught him.

"I got you. I got you." He wrapped his arms around the kid.

"Akhi?"

Something about it made Jason's blood run cold.

"I don't feel so good."

"Don't say that. You're fine." He squeezed tighter.

"I—I don't want to go. Not again." Damian's fists—oh God, they're so tiny—clung to Jason's shirt.

But all the pleading in the world amounted to nothing as the atoms of his baby brother slipped through his fingers. And even though it felt like everything was bubbling to the surface, he couldn't scream or cry out. All he could do was kneel there, numb, wondering who would have the audacity.

After who-knows-how-long, he felt Ace nuzzle against his ribs.

"You're still here."

"Arf!"

"You're right." Jason swiped the tears from his face and stood up. "Fetch me my guns. There will be hell to pay."

#jason todd #red hood #damian wayne #robin #roy harper #arsenal #red hood and the outlaws #batfam #batfamily #batbros #batboys #batkids #batsiblings #batman family #dc comics #dc fanfic #marvel #crossover #alternate universe #fanfic #my writing #thanos #mcu #infinity war #tw angst #tw death #tw swearing #ficlet

[itzalizeyyy]

Hey everyone! I just recently learned a lot about non-dualism from the wonderful series created by @msperfect777 . I am coming from loa, and I will still keep my past loa posts up as it helps others but will start posting non-dualism blogs on my page too. Also anyone please let me know if I got anything wrong. I am getting a grasp of the concept, but I am still fairly new. Hopefully, I got it right, let's get into it.

You are awareness. Your solid purpose is only to observe. You are everything but not everything is you. You are human but human isn’t you. You are an awareness simply taking on the form as a human but this form isn’t you as a whole. You are awareness, therefore you are the entire source of all of your forms, but your forms aren’t the source of you. This human form comes with other human things such as the ego and brain. Only the ego can doubt, question, and say that the “3d” / “physical” is all there is to know. It has been conditioned to think so limited, but it has absolutely no impact on you, as you are the opposite of the ego, as you are limitless. If you are in pain, only know that the ego is the one in pain, that the human form is the one in pain, but you aren’t as it is unnatural for the awareness to feel pain, it just can not be, as it contradicts the entire purpose of awareness, it only supposed to simply observe. Nothing more, nothing less. When non-dualism states that you are everything, it is fact, because you can observe/be aware of everything. And you have the power and nature to be aware of something different whenever you like. In my case, I say I am void, and it automatically exists, and I automatically experience it, because if I am everything then that includes the void also.

The void is simply another form of me, as an awareness, and I am now aware of that form of me. There is no need to doubt if I am everything. Which means anything is possible, and there is nothing left to lack.

If you are feeling pain or any of the sort I am not saying to suppress that or neglect it. Trust me, it will just lead you to a spiral of negativity. What this concept is simply saying, is to realize that when you are in pain, it is not actually you, but your ego. You are simply the observer. You are observing that pain but not actually feeling it. Only your human body is. The ego/brain makes it *seem* like you are feeling it because of all of your senses, emotions, and any other human tendencies. It only *seems* like it..but not that it actually is.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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The best I can put it..is to imagine your human form in a third-person view. It is like playing a video game. If your player is getting hurt, that is not you, you are simply observing your player getting hurt, but you are just overseeing the pain.

The player is the ego. The pain is only towards the ego. And you, as an awareness, is just what it says, is to simply be aware of that pain, but nothing more, or nothing less. You do not take that pain, you do not have it. Remember, a human form is again just a form of you, the ego..is just a form of you, but it never overpowers, or over-consume what you naturally are which is a limitless being. It can never define you or limit you.

I use my life as a little example. My parents are toxic. They have been emotionally abusing me for a very long time. But I do not suppress that. I do not neglect that. I do not pretend that it doesn’t exist. I do not sugar-coat it. I simply observe it and realize that this pain is not in my nature as an awareness. That this pain doesn’t define me. That only this temporary human form of me is experiencing that pain, but my true self (awareness) is not. And having that awakening sets me free and heals me. It makes me realize that this experience, this abuse, will never be permanent and it doesn’t have to be something I live with forever. And knowing that, reminds me that as I am everything, that includes that I am FREEDOM. I am POWER. I am NATURE. And YOU are as well. The ego can talk, question, get offended, and get sad, but it can never have power over you as you are always above the ego. The ego is always below you, and the ego will never be satisfied. Therefore, you need no approval or validation of the ego. You don’t need to satisfy it. You don’t need to listen to it. All you need to know is that you are everything, and your entire purpose and motive is to observe and with that, you can decide what you want to observe and what you don’t.

#non dualism #non duality #conciousness #void state #observer #nonduality #nondualism

[catherinekal]

Giant Fucking List of Obscure Video Games I Recommend!

It's finally done!! Took me long enough, but here it is. Over 50 games I recommend. Just in time for the Steam Sale. Holy shit I spent way to much time on this.

Some of these are well known to anyone into the indie/AA gaming scene or just on the internet often, but I still felt the need to mention in case people haven't heard of them. All of these are obscure compared to any AAA game and I'm confident no one would have heard or played all of these.

They all have something I found interesting in someway. I was going to include a trailer for each game, but apparently Tumblr doesn't like that. So I have put a link to a Youtube playlist for all of them in the same order as this list. Some of these games are also on various consoles to, but I can confirm they're all on Steam beyond one.

I only picked games I've played personally. I know of many other good obscure games, but haven't tried or bought them yet so they don't get on the list. Also many games on this list remain unfished to me, but that's more due to time and other life shit then them getting bad.

There's a lot of fucking games In this list so hopefully you find something you've never tried before and give it a shot. All these games are on Steam with one exception, but that's a free game. I also organized them by genres that make perfect sense to me.

Trailers Link:

The Best Game Ever:

Outer Wilds

Fuck it let's just start with the only mandatory game on this list you need to play. You know how nearly every space game is a overpromised underdelivered fucking mess? Like all of them.

Outer Wilds is the actual good one. Don't want to say much more then that. This is very much an experience that you need to know as little as possible to get the best experience. Not even linking the trailer in the playlist.

Absolutely play this game if you had to pick only 1 thing on this list.

EarthBoundLikes:

OMORI

OMORI is a game about a group of kids who go on magical adventures and save the day. That's it. Nothing else sinister going on here.

It's a well known indie game and for good reason. It's fucking good. One of my favorite games of all time.

Art style is peak. A mix of pixel and pencil drawn art that works so damn well for me. The battle system is turn based and revolves around changing emotions and teamwork. It mixes a happy child like vibe with a darkness underneath it, which is right up my alley. A tale of trauma and grief. I'm still fucked up thinking about some story bits in there. 

All the characters are wonderful and the story is helped a lot by keeping it focused on a small group of friends.

Play it.

LISA: The Painful and LISA: The Joyful

LISA: The Painful/Joyful are a pair of games that fuck. They fuck hard.

They're morbid, tackle many taboos, and have a dark but also stupid sense of humor. The visuals are nothing groundbreaking, but this isn't a game that needs perfect pristine pixel art. The combat system is a lot of fun, but takes very clear inspiration from Earthbound. The story is just perfect though.

You play Brad whos on a journey to rescue his adoptive daughter who was kidnapped in a post apocalyptic world of only men. You meet the strangest allies and the game has a lot of odd characters in it. Want a lawyer fish in your party? This game has it.

It does not shy away from throwing punches and is not for anyone who can't handle a story that tackles themes of abuse, depression, suicide, and more. The game also has a sequel I don't want to say to much about, but it's absolutely worth it as well.

If you want a fun and fucked up 2D RPG adventure and somehow haven't played this then please do so.

Mandatory Metroidvania Soulslike Indie Game Darlings:

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights

Ender Lilies is the first of many metroidvania's on this list. The indie scene is filled with them and for good reason. The formula works so damn well.

What I love about Ender Lilies is the concept of the player character. You play a white priestess who is also a child and helpless on her own. However, you can summon the spirits of allies and slain enemies to fight for you and those spirits are all your attacks. Gameplay is the same as any other Metroidvania, but knowing I'm this helpless child in this world infected by blight really sells me on the setting.

There's nothing revolutionary to this entry in the pantheon of Metroidvanias, but the visuals and setting are why I recommend it. This game is a slow descent into hell. Also you do get a big heavy hammer attack and any game with a big hammer weapon attack is a good game. Big bonks.

Craving a Metroidvania with a macabre setting? This will do it.

GRIME

GRIME is something else. I don't hear anyone talk about this game and it's a damn shame. I don't even know how to even describe GRIMEs setting. You play as essentially a sentient black hole on a rock body. You go through, with lore slowly revealed as is the Metroidvania stable, and absorb your enemies.

This games aesthetic is best described as fleshy stone. It's very unique visually and what made me want to try it out. As for gameplay you'll need to learn parrying as this games combat system heavily relies on it.

This game surprised me and has a entire level I never expected with one very unique boss to top that off. Also be warned. This game is very much a platformer as well. Similar to how the Ori games are, not just pure combat challenges. If you like your metroidvanias with little to no platforming then you won't enjoy parts of this game, but nothing as difficult as things in Hollow Knight.

If you enjoy metroidvanias then this is a must play. More people need to talk about it.

Salt and Sanctuary

This is where it all started. Certainly not the first Metroidvania by any means, but the first 2D Soulslike Metroidvania or at the least first advertised as such. The devs intended to make Dark Souls in 2D and they did it. Before Hollow Knight, the games listed above, or so many others that took inspirations from Souls in the 2D world, was this game. I know this game was popular with the souls community as it came out, but I don't really hear about it anymore. Hollow Knight just dominated all discussion.

The controls and combat are very much Dark Souls but in 2D. The lore is cryptic and hidden away. There's a fuckton of weapons and spells and multiple playthroughs worth of stuff. The game is hard though Hollow Knight would easily one up it in terms of difficulty.

This game also has covenants that are actually good and the mechanics around them are vastly improved over any souls game that has covenants. I won't go into detail, but I wish the souls games copied this games mechanics for that.

The setting is high fantasy with the lovely dark bloody horror underneath it all. The art style can turn people away, it's not as pretty as other 2D souslikes, but I enjoy it personally. It fits.

The game has a lot to explore and you can get lost in its world pretty easily. I remember walking into a boss room from the exit somehow and got behind the boss and it was all intended if you navigated around him.

If you can appreciate or just get past the visuals and want to see where the 2D soulslike genre began then you should play it.

Metroidvania's Before the Dark Age of Soulslikes

Dust: An Elysian Tail

Long ago there was a time where Metroidvanais didn't have soulslike mechanics defaulted in and set in these bleak post apocalyptic worlds. I have 3 of them to recommend. Starting With Dust: An Elysian Tail

This is a fun little game. A game that I'm not sure many people know about or would think to play today. Metroidvanias pre Hollow Knight tend to get forgotten when I see people about them now. It has a mix of platforming and hectic combat. I remember the game having a cool spin sword attack with a even cooler aerial attack. I liked it a lot when I played it many many years ago.

The art style is colorful and everyone is an anthropomorphic animal. More games need anthropomorphic animals beyond catgirl or rabbitgirl, seriously I grew up on shit like sly Cooper and Ratchet and Clank.

You play as Dust and are accompanied by Fidget. you got a magic sword and you kill a bunch of shit while saving the day. Just a fun little Metroidvania that doesn't overstay and go on forever.

It may be dated in some ways, but if you're a fan of these types of games and want to play a older one then here you go.

Guacamelee!

The combat in this game feel great. Another little forgotten gem of a Metroidvania. It has such a unique style to it and has a fun cartoony vibe. It's pretty fucking great.

You play as a farmer who dons a luchador mask to save his friend he loves and the world being taken over. The combat is a mix of punches, kicks, and throws which is unique from the usual swords and magic these types of games tend to default to. As the game goes along enemies will have shields that need certain moves to break and you'll be switching from the land of the dead and living in combat and platforming.

Both this and Dust before it don't reinvent the genre or anything, but have their own unique charms that I recommend them both if you're a fan of Metroidvanias.

Cave Story+

This is a old classic. The original Cave Story came out in 2004, and was released with a enhanced version in 2011. This is a must play Metroidvania and an old gem. It's the oldest game on this list technically.

This game has little to no melee combat, but instead goes all in on using guns. More Metroid then Vania in that sense. What's unique to the combat is enemies will drop experience that will level up your guns automatically. Each gun can be upgraded to 3 levels, but when you take damage you lose experiences and levels. This adds a extra layer or rewards and punishment to getting hit that I like. Your weapons are perfectly usable at level 1 so it's not like you're fucked, but it gives a greater incentive to avoid damage.

It has fun characters and and fun gameplay. It's a genuine indie gem that I think everyone should play.

Pixel Action Adventure Games With A Dash of RPG Elements to Taste:

ANNO: Mutationem

This game is a pixel art cyberpunk adventure. I adore the art style. It's a 2.5D action platformer set in a futuristic setting. You're on a quest to save your brother with the help of your hacker friend/girlfriend. A quest which leads to a far more complicated story.

The story in this game goes off the rails in ways I love, but I know it threw people off. People have compared the latter half to Evangelion and It can be confusing to follow at times. I still highly recommend it, even if you get lost near the end. A simpler story in terms of Lore would have worked better, but I say fuck it. Go all in.

To me the appeal of this game is the setting. A fascinating cyberpunk sci-fi setting shown through wonderful pixel art. Just walking around the various cities was a joy on its own. There's a lot of attention to detail and I think it's worth playing for that alone. Combat is your standard side-scrolling Metroidvaniaish kind of stuff with various weapons and upgrades and all that. I found it a little challenging at times, but this isn't a game meant for extreme difficulty from what I remember.

If you want to play as hot badass woman in a cyberpunk setting given life through detailed pixel art, then this is the game for you.

CrossCode

This is the most dense indie game on this whole list. CrossCode has so much to do. The game is expansive and slowly drip feeds you with more. You have 5 skill trees, 4 of which are tied to an element, multiple upgrade paths in them. You have a mix of melee combat with twin stick shooter mechanics thrown in. The game has multiple dungeons with puzzles that are both difficult to figure out and then execute the solution for. These aren't like a 2D Zelda dungeon where things never get to complicated, I really took a lot of time with every dungeon.

The setting takes place on another moon physically, but its actually all virtual and a MMO people are playing from all over the galaxy. Though the game itself isn't a MMO really. You play as a set character in a set linear story that's unrelated to that actual in lore story of the MMO. 

The characters are fun and the setting is a joy to explore. There's a lot of side content and I don't remember any of it being a drag. This games also challenging and I know It took me a bit to progress at various points. The pixel art is very detailed, especially with the outdoor environments.

This game will keep you engaged for a while and there's challenging DLC and even fun incentives to play new game plus. This is just all around a solid game experience.

Hyper Light Drifter

I played this game a long time ago so details are hazy, but I know I really enjoyed it. It's top down and filled with action. You got a sword. You got a gun. You go kill things and I do remember many challenging combat encounters.

I have forgotten all story elements, but even now I still remember some imagery that reminded me of Evangelion, which is always a plus. Though story was never the main draw to games for me so the setting and combat were all I needed to keep engaged.

Not the most descriptive review of the game, but I know this is one of the furthest game on this list from when I played it and I only went through it once. It's a cool game though and if the trailer enticed you then you owe it to yourself to get it. 

Phoenotopia: Awakening

I adore this little hidden gem of a game. If CrossCode is the most dense indie game on this list then this is a very close second. Possibly even more dense, I truly can't decide for sure. It's cute, funny, charming, and full of legitimate challenges.

You play as Gail who lives in a small town village. Some shit happens that I won't give away, but you end needing to travel the land and go on a fun adventure. The story is full of comedic and lively characters. It never takes itself to seriously or gets really dark which Is a nice change of pace.

This game really is an adventure. You will travel a lot and get very familiar with any hub area. There's secrets and puzzles packed all over and gives you good reason to revisit. A nice drip feed of progress is felt as you unlock more stuff.

In terms of combat it's bar far the most simplistic on this list and could even frustrate others, but like everything else in this game it has charm and I adore it. The simple mechanics don't mean no challenge though. I was stuck often, but felt so satisfying when I won.

Some of the late game areas can be bullshit and will frustrate you, but stick with it. This is a genuine top tier hidden indie gem that got no attention. Honestly just under Outer Wilds this would be the other must buy. Absolutely play this.

Vampire Survivorlikes:

20 Minutes Till Dawn

Everyone knows about Vampire Survivor and everyone knows many games came out that tried to capture that style of gameplay. This one is the only one of those I've played and it's wonderful.

You unlock multiple characters and multiple guns with various upgrade trees. Kill the horde, survive, upgrade, survive even longer. Each level only takes 20 minutes, hence the title. I appreciate that as the game would never end with how strong you end up being by the end after you learn the mechanics.

This isn't anything groundbreaking, but if you need to kill half a hour then it's a fun thing to play.

Hawklikes:

Umurangi Generation

Let's fucking go!! This game rules!

As someone who is going to pursue photography more seriously as a hobby this game is perfect. Unlike something like Pokemon Snap or games with photo modes, this game really captures the feeling of holding a physical camera and the moment to moment decisions you make with each shot.

You unlock different lenses and control each shot as you would a real camera. After each photo you can edit it on the spot purely for your own creative reasons. The visuals are low poly and very colorful.

The game has a tony hawk style of progression. A hawklike if you will. You get dropped in a level and are given a list of photos to try and take. You can of course take photos of anything. You have a limited amount of film and can find more throughout the level.

Also there's a story. There's a dark undercurrent to the whole thing and the game is very overtly political in all the right ways. Don't like politics in your games? Fuck you! This game dives right in while still maintaining the core gameplay loop. Need more games like this please.

Please buy this game and it's DLC.

Action Games:

Furi

Top tier action game. It's a boss rush game, that's it. 10 bosses with some vague story that briefly connects them. It's not bloated with bullshit and knows exactly what to focus on.

The combat is a mix of intense melee combat with parries and dodges and the like, with twin stick shooting. No upgrades. No farming. No choosing between this weapon or that. No additional moves or mechanics. You fight a tutorial boss which teaches you everything and then you go. You have the full toolkit from the start and that lets you master it slowly over the game.

It's so fucking satisfying finally winning and knowing you improved and earned that win. I like the story as well. It's not that complex, but the ending bits worked for me.

If you want a genuine good action game that has no bullshit attached then get this.

Amid Evil

There's not much to say about this one other then it's really fucking fun. It's a first person action game where you use magic and weapons to go through combat filled levels. You have health and mana that all weapons use outside of your axe. The levels are filled with secrets, you move fast, and it's just a fun action game.

Sometimes a game isn't more then that and it beats games that are stuffed with unnecessary mechanical bloat. If you want a fun first person action game that's not just a full shooter then this is the game for you.

Adventure Games:

The Cat Lady and Lorelai

I love these games. No one ever talks about them or knows about them and they will certainly linger in your mind. The devs have made 2 other games that I have yet to get to so for now I am recommending only these.

Play The Cat Lady first. It's the first one and tells the story of a very depressed middle aged woman who gets a second chance at life, at a cost.

Lorelai is about a young woman in a very abusive household trying to survive while seeing what lengths she will go to save those she loves.

Both these games revolve around deals with a devil and feature a lot of horrific violence. Fun!

The stories in both evoke a creepy disturbing feeling and you're always on edge. I won't say these are straight horror games, but they sure use horror imagery. The art style really helps sells it. The animations or character models may not be the most beautiful thing around, but it has that indie charm I love. The voice acting isn't perfect either, but these aren't negatives for me. These are passion projects and imperfections are what make any piece of art shine brighter. Real people put their soul into these games and it shows.

The gameplay is standard adventure game fair, but all keyboard controlled. So no endless mouse clicking everything on the screen. which works wonderfully. Though being pure adventure games you're here more for the story then the moment to moment gameplay.

Please play these.

Detention

Detention is probably well known due to the controversy with Red Candle Games other game, Devotion being wiped online for shitty reasons. It's available now on their own websites store, though I still have never played it. I should one day as Detention was pretty fucking good.

The gameplay is the usual 2D adventure game fair. A lot of clicking and puzzle solving with some horror thrown in. The story and setting are where it's at though.

The game is unique in that it's made from Taiwanese devs and the games setting is rooted in their cultures history. I don't want to give away any real details beyond that, but it certainly left an impact and seeing a game not set in Europe, America, Japan, or any fantasy equivalent to those was refreshing. The games also not super long and could easily be beaten in a day.

Go buy it. Play it on a long free night. Support these devs.

Rime

I love the aesthetic of this game. Cel shading indie colorful goodness. I got this for the visuals alone and was very happy the game that came with it was good to. Visuals are a major factor in me getting interested in a game and the reveal trailer was enough for me to play it.

It's very light and cryptic on story for most of it as to be expected from this kind of game. You're a kid, you wake up on a beach and go forth exploring. You solve puzzles and hide from danger and go through each of the unique levels trying to piece together whats going on.

Like the game before, this isn't a super long one. Shouldn't take more then a day or a few to get through it all. Though I do recommend you take your time and explore like I did. Let yourself be immersed in the setting.

This is another example of just a pure perfect indie game. Doesn't overstay it's welcome, tells a simple but cryptic story, and has lovely visuals.

Atominous

This is the one of the few games on this whole list that I would say is truly obscure. In fact I have no doubt this is the most obscure. If you're big into indie games then nothing on this list will honestly surprise you, but I'm confident this is the exception.

In this free game you place as a a little guy who's job is like pest control. Instead of bugs your job is to collect and protect the world from rare atoms called Atominous. Basically little atoms that can alter reality. You go into a big house and your job is to find them through the power of puzzle solving and clicking every little thing you see.

This game is all about clicking everything. Nearly every object has unique text that pops up, if not multiple. You find keys to open more of the house and slowly suck up the atominous atoms and clean up the place.

That's it. It's a fun quirky little free game that shouldn't take more then a couple hours. No excuse not to try it, it's free. It's also the only game not on steam, but instead here

Adventure Games Where You Hit Things:

TUNIC

TUNIC is a lovely indie game. You play as a little cute fox and go on a adventure to save your poor trapped mom. such a cute game :3

I adore the visuals, I love low poly stuff and the game is full of charm. Looking at this game makes me happy. The game is like a mix of a top down Zelda and Fez and it being reminiscent of FEZ was what really took me by surprise. I won't go further in how it's like FEZ, but it really elevated the game for me.

It's a fun top down game with simple fun combat. You kill enemies, find key items, unlock more of the world, and get fed cryptic lore. The perfect formula for a fun little indie game. The game is decently challenging to with it's boss fights, and overall a nice fun little experience with some neat surprises.

TUNIC is wonderful, go play it.

Kena: Bridge of Sprits

This is the most PS2 game I've played since the PS2. I mean that as a compliment. This game felt like going back in time to a simpler time.

Visually the game is not at all like the PS2. The visuals are beautiful and has been compared to Pixar. It's bright, colorful, and well polished. To me this is peak aesthetics. This game is worth playing just to see all the work that went into the game's visuals alone.

It reminded me of a PS2 game because it's a self contained fun third person action adventure. Just a fun game with no bullshit holding it down or any other purpose then being a fun adventure. The world is a joy to explore with a nice steady progression. I especially love how the Hub is mostly corrupted and you slowly restore it over the course of the game. Shit like that always feels so good.

There's a lot of unexpected challenge to. Some of the later fights and especially bosses took me a bit to beat. Just like a PS2 game you'll get random difficulty spikes that are so fucking satisfying to beat.

I highly recommend this game.

Adventure Games Where You're in the Desert:

Sable

Sable is a coming of age story presented in a very fun interactive package. This is a game about heading out into the world and exploring on your own whim to figure out what your character becomes as an adult.

You play as Sable, a young adult girl who has to leave her tribe and head into the wider world to discover herself. The goal is to find mask which representative a life path and pick one by the end. The actual game is about heading into a desert open world, solving puzzles, helping NPC's, and discovering what bits of hidden lore hide throughout. You do this all on a hoverbike you can customize as you unlock more parts.

As always the art style is important to me and this game has something really unique. The characters animation is low framerate and it can be off putting to some, but of course I loved it as I love any odd creative choice. I love the lighting and colors to. It's hard to describe just why I was so mesmerised by the art style, but I can safely say it's one of my all time favorites.

The only negative goes to technical issues. The game ran like shit on my PC and my PC isn't bad. Even people with far better PC's then me ran into frame rate issues and others didn't have any. Sometimes games aren't optimized well, but this game was so magical to me that I loved it, despite the tech issues.

It's a very chill game. You want to explore a cool world at a slow pace and get lost in it? Sable's the game for you.

It Comes In Waves

This is a short game where you have to start over if you die. A penalty I feared, but truthfully this isn't that difficult of an experience. You start on one end of a desert and have to carry something to the other end as it grows inside a tank on your back.

As you wait for whatever your transporting to grow you will explore minimalist environments with some unique imagery that speaks of a wider history you just have to wonder about. The whole time you have to watch out for raiders and watch your water level. It always depletes and you will need to explore and refill it as you journey on. I also love how you have a map, but the map is like an actual map. It doesn't show you on it, but just the overall area.

This game will take you a hour at best and is unlike anything else on this list. There's something about just slowly walking across the desert, not knowing what's ahead, and hoping you can make it to the next water tank. Just a little experimental game about a harsh journey.

Platformers With 2 Entire Dimensions:

MO: Astray

Ever wanted to play as a little blob? No? Well you should because this game was a hidden gem. I was thrown off by this game at first and then pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

This game feels like it should be a metroidvania. It's 2D and you're on a broken down ship or facility or something. Nope. This game is fully linear and at first I didn't think I'd like that and was disappointed, but it works so damn well.

You play a slime essentially and you have the magical power to read the last thoughts and minds of corpses by settling on their rotten fleshy head. With this power and other little story tidbits you learn what's going on, your purpose, and so on.

There's no combat in this game really. You move by shooting yourself in any direction you can see and you can stick to surfaces. There's danger. There's enemies. There's boss fights. All without the usual fair of attack/dodge roll, that's standard for 2D metroidvanias now. This game is something different and that alone makes it worth it.

Also a note on the boss fights. All of them felt very unique from each other I prefer having a few well crafted unique bosses then having a bunch of the same type of fight over and over again.

Another genuine hidden gem you should try.

Platformers With 3 Entire Dimensions:

Frogun

Frogun is adorable. It's like a N64 game and I love it.

You have a frog grappling hook and go through little short levels that ramp up in difficulty. There's optional challenges in each one. The art style is absolutely going for that early 3D low poly vibe that is starting to become more popular.

This is a perfect example of just a fun video game for the sake of being a fun video game. No serious story or message or intense complicated gameplay mechanics. Just a cute 3D platformer reminiscent of a older time.

Also I played this back when I used to stream and a Frogun speedrunner showed up in chat and helped me pull off a couple speedrunning tricks so that was fun.

If you want something simple and fun then here it is.

Cyber Hook

The ultimate speedrunning game. You have a gun, a grappling hook, and the ability to slow down time. This is a pure platformer. You enter levels with the goal of getting through as fast as you can.

I never got great at it, but the few times I really got going fast and flew through a level felt awesome. It's so satisfying finally doing things right after many failures and you will fail a lot.

There's really not much more to it. Neat visuals with satisfying and simple mechanics. If that sounds fun to you then check it out.

Marble It Up! Ultra

Platformers really are just the perfect mechanic to make fun mindless games with. Marble It Up! Ultra is another simple 3D platformer that's just purely focused on being fun.

As always it's not that complicated either. You're a marble and you try to reach the end of each stage with a time limit. There's items to stop time, make you jump higher, and go faster. Just all about building up speed and there's tons of ways to skip past parts of levels. Like the two games before, this one is perfect for speedrunning.

It's fun, go buy it.

RPG's:

Roadwarden

I was going to make a big post about why I preferred this to BG3, but scrapped it. BG3 is fun, but the story just bores me from the get go. Where BG3 failed for me Roadwarden succeeded. All story and all fantastic.

This is a text based RPG. Very simplistic visuals which show just enough to let your imagination handle most of the work.

You play a roadwarden who has the lovely job to travel the dangerous roads and help the townsfolk all while working on your greater goals. You pick between 3 starting classes and those do change how you approach things quite a bit. You have a time limit and that will force you to prioritize things over others. You can't do everything in a single playthrough. Your decisions matter and you aren't going to figure everything out.

You have to manage your health, money, hunger, and cleanliness. You will never have enough money for everything and that helps create more interesting choices. You have to manage what you do in a day. You meet a lot of people and forge allies or enemies and it's all told with stellar writing.

If you want a well written fantasy interactive story then you must play this game.

RPG's With Intense High-Octane Turn Based Combat:

Epic Battle Fantasy 5

A long time ago in times forgotten there existed these ancient relics called Flash games. Maybe one day I'll talk about old flash games I was into, but for now I'm only talking about the latest instalment in one of them. Epic Battle Fantasy is a series of games made by Matt Roszak. They started as little flash games, but have since turned into bigger games that are on Steam. 5 is the latest one and also the best so I'm recommending this one.

I've gone through this game multiple times. This game fucking rules. The game is easy to control, satisfying, and has my favorite turn based combat system period. No seriously, this is my favorite turn based combat system. I could go on what I like about it so much, but I'll spare you all most of the details. I'll say it gets rid of mana entirely and put all your abilities on cooldowns which changes based on what you're using. This just fixes balancing and helps you from spamming heals and all that. I love this system. It's easy to control, intuitive to understand, full of options, and can have a chaotic randomness I enjoy.

In this game you explore the overworld, solve puzzles, and fight enemies. The story is not at all serious or anything like that. It may not be a Flash game anymore, but it still has the older internet spirit of not taking things to seriously and being a little juvenile. There's also a lot of post game challenges that still are impossible for me to really do well or at all.

You can change the difficulty anytime and another thing I love is the entire game can be controlled with just a mouse. You can use a keyboard to, but a mouse covers everything which I think is neat.

This is such a wonderful combat system and the game I've beaten most on this list. If you want legitimately challenging turn based RPG combat and don't care about story or characters to get that then this game is a must play.

Shadows Over Loathing

Want a lovecraftian mystery RPG injected with a dose of comedy where everybody is a stick figure? Yes? How very specific, but luckily there's a game just for you.

Shadows Over Loathing is a turn based RPG where you search for your missing uncle in a area full of strange locations and characters. I never did play their other game West of Loathing, and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It was a lot of fun, creative, difficult at times, and had a world I really wanted to explore.

It has a lighthearted comedic tone throughout and the silly art and stick figure characters help with that. The actual turn based combat is fun to. Nothing to complicated but could be challenging to which is needed to help this style of combat really shine.

There's really not much more to it. If this sounds like something you'd enjoy then please check it out.

RPG's Fused With A Light Novel:

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA

AA games still exist! I finally get to talk about Ys. I've played 3 Ys games and I'm going to talk about my favorite one because of the fun gameplay. This is a very unknown franchise that has existed since the 80's and even now the 10th instalment is set to release later this year.

As for why I'm recommending Ys 8, it's because it has some of the most fun gameplay. The combat is fast paced, encourages good timing, and full of that anime over the top stylish action. You control up to 3 characters and can easily switch between them. Each character plays differently and has their own special moves and everything just feels so satisfying.

You play as generic light novel anime man, Adol. Tagging along is generic tsundere light novel anime girl and other light novel anime characters. Like edgy boy with a gun, loli raised in the wild, and blue haired girl. You crash land on a island and have to survive and find survivors. Much like LOST the story goes off the rails and of course in classic JRPG fashion you need to stop the end of the world somehow. Unlike LOST characters are generic and the usual anime fair.

Despite the lackluster story this game still fucking rules because it's so goddamn fun to play. It also solved crafting forever by making it so you can convert common items into rarer ones making anything you find useful potentially. Seriously it's such a nice feature and all crafting systems without it are lesser.

If you want some fun action combat and don't mind anime bullshit then really, check out the entire franchise. Any of them will do, but this is the one I'd recommend the most.

RPG's Fused With A Light Novel and A WW2 Textbook:

Valkyria Chronicles 1 and 4

Picture this. WW2, but with anime and magical girls. Japan just never stops with these incredible ideas.

I adore these 2 games. I haven't played 2 or 3 as those are PSP games and I don't hear great things. However I can confirm 1 and 4 are fucking fantastic.

These games are tactical RPG's where you command troops one by one in missions. Most are usually about capturing a enemy base, but there's a lot of variety beyond that in both of them. You lay out your troops at the start plus your commander who's in the tank. You get a set level of CP per turn and each CP is used to control a unit. The actual game is probably piss easy for experienced tactical game players, but I'm not that at all. I found it legitimately difficult, both games.

What sets it apart is the game turns into a sort of third person shooter when controlling the units. You can freely move up to your AP and get one action to do. If it was just top down the whole time I'd find that not that interesting, but actually moving around and taking cover unit by unit is very engaging. There's 5 classes in the first game and a 6th added in the fourth game. Each class can be upgraded as well along with weapons, equipment, and the tanks.

The stories in both are nothing special truthfully. It's anime WW2 with silly dumb anime characters. I don't mind that and had a lot of fun, but if you can't stand something like Persona then these games will infuriate you. To me stupid anime characters in games can be a lot of fun, like Raz in 4, the dumbest but somehow most entertaining character for me. Expect some silly anime cliches and tone changes and the usual fair for these kinds of games. Even if the story is a big nothing for you, I still think both games are worth it for the gameplay.

Another aspect that I really love is all your units have personality traits that can trigger as you control them. What caught me off guard was that they're both positive and negative ones. There's ones like a woman having man hater and fancies woman as traits, aka the lesbian. There's straight up a guy with misogynist as a trait. Some are lonely, frail, daredevils, have crushes or people they hate, even one with the masochist trait. All these good and bad traits translate into potential buffs or debuffs that can happen in the game.

Sadly these side characters don't get much story in the first game. Just a unique design with some personality traits and maybe a couple in battle lines of dialogue. However, the 4th one introduced squad stories. Essentially little side stories that revolve around the non important squad mates. They were always fun to do and the missions for them are more unique because they are designed around only using those 3 characters.

I recommend both of them, but if you had to play one I'm not sure. 1 has the better story, the overall lore itself establishes in 1, and the gameplay is still fun. 4 has the better gameplay, more unique missions, and the squad stories which were a highlight for me.

Just pick which one sounds more like your thing if you only want to spend the time with one of them. Both are fun.

RPG's About the Harsh Reality of Capitalism:

Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale

I adore this games concept. It takes the common NPC seen in these little RPG adventures, the shopkeeper, and puts you in their shoes. You're father has a big debt to pay off and you now have to sell items out of your house to help pay it off before the deadline.

You lay the items out and then have to haggle your way to a profit. Finding the line of when to haggle and how much is the key to success and I failed miserably. I never did beat this game, but I haven't beaten many games on this list and that won't stop me from telling you to play them. I think the concept alone is enough of a reason to check it out.

The game does have combat as well. You can hire an adventurer to go with you into a dungeon and fight enemies for treasure. I like how you hire someone from the Adventurers Guild, just another cool concept as a typical game would have you play as the character being hired instead all the time. I also like how dungeons are high risk high reward. If they die then you lose most of what you gather and essentially just wasted the day.

It's just a cool concept and a nice change of pace from how a game set in these typical fantasy settings would go. You aren't some savior of the world, but just a shopkeeper trying to pay off debt.

Spooky Games:

Yuppie Psycho

Do you want a game about a corporate building being haunted by dark forces and being a badass fighting your way through it all? That's Control. You just want Control.

Unlike Control which bored me to death after a while. Yuppie Psycho is about a haunted corporate building, but you play a new lowly worker who's been tasked with something far above his pay grade. Brian Pasternack is a new hire who's in way over his head. What should have been a normal corporate jobs turns into a witch hunt, literally.

You aren't a badass and will have to sneak your way to victory, uncovering the buildings hidden secrets along the way. For me that's part of why this works over Control as a effective story. You're kind of a fucking nobody who has to be extra careful and is reluctant to even do this. Far more relatable honestly.

The joy of this game comes from exploring this building and uncovering the secrets and horrors. Each floor is unique and this game gets creative with the corporate horror vibe. I love some of the designs of things and how it blends comedy and horror together. It also has branching paths and even limited save slots which seemed frustrating at first, but wasn't really a big deal. Not saving every chance you can really adds to the tension when sneaking around.

It's not a true horror intense experience, but as someone who is a baby with horror I found a lot of genuine tense moments. It's a real indie gem.

The Complex: Found Footage

Kane Pixels backrooms videos are honestly pretty fucking great. I'm not usually a fan of horror at all, but there's something about these videos that just work for me. Then pgWave decided to make a video game creating the experience of exploring these kinds of spaces.

This is a creepy game where you slowly move through liminal spaces and just sort of get lost in it. There's no jumpscares or anything intense happening, but as a baby with horror this game was tense to go through for me. Honestly I appreciate it's not a more traditional horror game with a monster or something. Just dropped in a space that's inherently unsettling and leaving it up to you to explore.

If you have a free night and want to get lost exploring spaces only games could deliver then play it. It's literally free.

Games Where You Gotta Go Fast:

Distance

This game fucks. I actually remember when playing the first version of this game back when it was a student project. Students at DigiPen made a game called Nitronic Rush and it was (maybe still is?) available to download for free from the schools website. That game fucks and they announced a proper full game called Distance and it was one of the rare instances I actually bought a early access game.

Distance is a car game about going fast as fuck. The levels don't put you against anyone and instead just getting to the end is the challenge in itself. You have a boost that can overheat, a jump, and even wings when needed. The levels will require you to weave in and out of oncoming danger. They have jumps where you'll need to turn the car 90 or 180 degrees to land on a new track. All while giving you a wonderful sense of speed and accomplishment when you pull things off right.

It's not a easy game either and levels will get challenging. There's a ton of levels and challenges and if you get sucked into the gameplay then there's a lot to keep you there. This game seeks to deliver the thrill of going fast in a dangerous track where everything is out to kill you, and making it to the end. There's really not much more to say. It has a specific vision and fully realizes it.

Games Where You Trust the Heart of the Cards:

Foretales:

This game is very unique and nothing quite like what I've played before. The entire game is card based. Each of the characters have their own decks that are all mixed together in your hand. You have 4 resources you can collect, gold, food, fame, and infamy. You can get item cards as well. The board has various location cards you need to move through to move the story along. What's unique about this is the cards can be used in battle or on locations.

It's hard to really go into details how this all works, but you don't have a separate hand or anything for when combat begins.

Some cards have uses in locations and battles and others don't, but there all mixed together which adds to you planning ahead and making the best choice. You can use a eavesdrop card near a guard post to get a juicy secret which can be used for blackmail later. You can forage for food and obviously a forest will give you more then a mine shaft. There's a lot of really cool little interactions and creativity put into this systems that's just to complicated to type out and explain.

One thing I can get into is the best feature of combat. The fact that you can get through it without fighting or with less fighting then needed. Those 4 resources can be used in locations for story or optional reasons, but they can also be used in combat pacify enemies. Bandits can be bribed with gold or food for example. Fame and infamy can be used as well in certain circumstances. They are a constantly growing resource that always have uses. I'm sure it's possible to do a full pacifist run, though I imagine it would be difficult.

The game also has multiple paths for the story to go and lots of optional stuff. Multiple characters to use down the line but only 3 party members so there's more choice as well. Also everyone's an anthropomorphic animal because why not.

I just like how it's a card based game that's not just a battle between opponents or a roguelike or how cards are typically used in video games. If nothing else this game should be played for it's game design alone. If you want a really unique interactive story experience entirely dictated by cards then this is about the only game I know of like it.

One Step From Eden

I'm very bad at this game. So bad I still have never beaten it once. It's really fun all the same though.

It's a deckbuilding roguelike set on a grid. As the formula goes you fight your way through, choosing your path, collecting cards, and seeing if you can win. In my case that's a no.

The game is set on a grid where you have to manage what spells you currently have, dodging enemies, and somehow making sense of the chaos. You can unlock other characters that have their own unique mechanics to help freshen things up. Also the game just throws you in the deep end and lets you learn through playing. No tutorial or anything, just have at it.

If you're itching for a roguelike that's very fucking challenging then enjoy. 

Inscryption

This is another game I expect many others to know about, but if not then honestly just play it.

It's a rougelike card game set in a wonderfully crafted creepy setting. You're alone in some mysterious persons shack forced to play a really well designed card game. Of course if it was just that I'd not be recommending it.

The mechanics are well thought out and slowly learning the mechanics feels nice. You will fail, a lot, as is the case for roguelikes, but keep at it. The game is filled with secrets and puzzles and mysteries that you'll just have to figure out for yourself.

Much like with Outer Wilds way back at the top, I don't want to say much more. If you have somehow not played this or don't know anything about it then you should.

Tainted Grail: Conquest

This is still the only proper deck-building roguelike in the same vein as Slay the Spire. While I haven't played much of that and honestly couldn't get into it, this game I did.

It was described to me as Slay the Spire meets Dark Souls by some poor soul who's brain is forever lost in soulslike hell. In reality it's just a cool deck building game where you fight creepy monsters and slowly build up the village to make each run easier. There's characters to find and NPC quest you can make little progressions on each run. It's just enough story and context to give this game a sense or purpose and progression outside collecting cards.

What added more replayability to me beyond the quest was having 9 classes to work with. In truth it's really 3 broad classes with 3 variations on those broader class types. You have the fighter, archer, and summoner as the broad classes. They use similar cards, but their strategies vary with each subclass. A summoner is more about making their summons powerful, bloodmages use their own life to summon minions that get stronger and die on their own, and necromancers sacrifice their minions to turn into a Lich. The fighter and archer subclasses are as varied and it's a good way to use similar cards across different playstyles.

I had a lot of fun with this one. It's a fun deck building game. 

Thinking Games:

Manifold Garden:

I love the space this game takes place in. This is the shit only games can truly deliver on. The world is basically always looping. Each level repeats in all directions when your in open space. If you fall anywhere, you'll be ok. You can just fall endlessly even, it's very mesmerising and freeing once you get used to the fact that you can just jump off anywhere, and even needed to solve the level sometimes.

The other fun mechanic the puzzles primarily revolve around is the ability to walk on any surface and change gravity as you do it. Essentially you turn the wall into the new floor and is the main mechanic for puzzles in enclosed spaces. This game uses blocks of various colors and the simple task of putting them in the right slot is made complicated by having to altar gravity and matching them up. There's other mechanics introduced of course, but you'll need to discover those yourself.

The game can be beaten in a day give or take your skill at puzzles. I appreciate that it doesn't overstay it's welcome and uses it's mechanics in interesting ways. Also this reminds me I still need to play Antichamber someday.

If you like exploring spaces only games can deliver on or puzzles then this is the game for you.

FEZ

FEZ! This is such a fun interesting little game. It's probably well known given who the creator is, but if you haven't checked this out before, then you should.

The trailer makes it appear to be more a platformer then a puzzle game and that's half right. Similar to another game on this list, FEZ goes much deeper then a mere platformer. It has some esoteric puzzles. As I understand (could be wrong) one puzzle still hasn't been solved legitimately, but had to be brute forced and even now the community has no concrete answers on how you were supposed to get the solution.

The good news is the harder puzzles aren't technically required to just finish the game. You could still enjoy this as a fun platformer. The way the world works is you see the game world on a 2D plane. Like any other 2D platformer. However, the world itself is in 3D and you can switch the perspective to change where platforms and other things are. It's really fun moving about this world and in a sense each level is it's own puzzle to figure out how to get through it with these mechanics.

I highly recommend this game.

Thinking Games for DJ's

FRACT OSC

This is another game I would be shocked if anyone knew about. No one talks about this game ever and I don't even remember how I found out about it wayyyy back in college. This is also the oldest game on here I've played. I haven't touched this is years, but know I enjoyed it a lot.

What i remember is it's filled with music based puzzles. I also remember being very fucking confused and having to look shit up, but the real joy is just the vibe. Everything makes sound and the whole game revolves around music. I slowly explored as much as I could and just took it all in. It's a fun space to be in and I'm a sucker for being dropped in a unusual place only games can delivery on.

If you don't know shit about music production like me you might have a hard time or maybe I was just a fucking idiot and needed help. Either way I still recommend this to everyone.

Vibing with the Beat Games:

Sayonara Wild Hearts

This is basically a interactive album. It's a rhythm game that's not to difficult, which is good as this is more about the flow and vibe. There's not much more to say about it. It will take an hour and every bit is lovely. It's a visual and auditory feast that has some clever ideas packed in. I think everyone should experience it.

Soundodger+

This game won't be on the Steam store for much longer sadly. Warner Bros being shitty and taking cool shit down. I haven't played any other of the Adult Swim games that are being taken down, but I encourage you to find the list and get anything interesting while you still can.

The game itself is a fun little bullet hell rhythm game. The song plays and you are a circle in the middle of larger circle. Obstacles are thrown out into the middle timed to the music and you simply have to dodged them. I don't remember it being to hard, but I know there are community levels and I just have to assume those are going to be tough.

It's a cool game to vibe to and it's going to be gone soon. Don't miss your chance to get it.

Artsy Games That I Don't Know Where Else To Put Them:

The Beginner's Guide

This a narrative experience about the relationship between the narrator and the game dev who's games are being played. That may not sound like the most interesting premise, but trust me it's very engaging. This game has a unsettling feeling underneath it all and it's really hard to go into more without just spoiling things.

The actual game is you going through a series of small little games made by a Dev named Coda as the narrator Davey speaks to you about various things relating to the game and Coda himself. It's explores a character who's frankly caught up in a unhealthy obsession with someone else and quite the journey.

It will only take a hour and half to get through and I think it's worth a playthrough if you like narratives only video games can deliver on.

The Static Speaks My Name   

This is the shortest game on this list. It's also the most depressing. If you struggle with dark thoughts and depression and really need something happy to distract you, then do not play this little free game.

It's a sad and unsettling little experience that has a lot of room for interpretation. I'm a fan of little strange pieces of art like this and if this sounds interesting to you then it's free. Check it out.

Minimalist City Builder Games:

ISLANDERS

This such a cute game. It's a simple city builder where the goal is to keep building things correctly and move on to another island. You start on a randomly generated island and are given a set of buildings and a number to reach. Buildings will get bonuses based on whats near them and as you unlock more buildings the number to reach gets higher.

That's really it. It's easy to understand and a nice little relaxing game about building a cool island town. Pretty cheap and pretty fun.

Multi Genre:

The Hex

This is multi genre because it quite literally has many different gameplay modes packed in it. A bunch of old video game characters stay at a Tavern where a murder may take place. It's a murder mystery! Also so much more.

In truth it's a narrative video game about exploring these characters past lives and revealing a larger narrative underneath it all. This was made by Daniel Mullens who's latest game I recommended earlier. Much like Inscryption, this game slowly draws you into it's setting and drop feeds you it's secrets slowly.

The Hex was pleasantly surprising as I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. It's worth playing.

That's it. That's the list. Over 50 more games to add to your Steam library which means over 50 more games you'll get to, eventually.

#video games #Steam #indie games #Steam Sale #Gaming

[bothoutsiders]

Jason had seen it happen multiple times in the past. He would see how people pretended to be friends with Tim, telling him how funny he was, or flattering him some way or another, only for them to later stay quiet, pull away and ‘turn’ into him.

It was almost at a cosmic level. It didn’t matter where they were, or who he was pretending to be. It would happen.

It wasn’t that Jason was always watching, but … it was pretty obvious to him.

This time it wasn’t any different. Although, if he were to be honest, it was kind of a funny scene.

Tim had been working on a case for a while at Gotham’s hospital and Caroline Hill had been back for months now. Working hard to help around, and collecting valuable information while playing the role perfectly. She even got some weird, flirty comments from male nurses and doctors.

Of course Caroline had made new friends. Connections are a must when they are working undercover. Pretending to be another pawn, to not know what is going on and go to a new friend for some gossip. A very common and normal behavior between humans. Between those people who have nothing to do with the event, but want to know what is going on anyway.

Between those new friendships though, Caroline had met a particular person. They got along immediately and seemed to have the same taste in video games. While Tim was conscious that their friendship was fake and it applied only to Caroline, it was still nice. It made the role more believable and easy to play.

Jason had heard everything about it. It made Tim wonder if he could keep the friendship after the case. Yes, it meant he would have to hang out with them as Caroline, but he was down for dressing in different clothes other than the blue scrubs with the white nurse coat. Because of Tim’s consideration of this new friendship, his boyfriend had even offered himself to go buy clothes together for that occasion. 

And after Tim had already decided to keep the friendship– it began to happen.

That said friend suddenly stopped talking to Caroline. They didn’t eat together, they didn’t share gossip or spoke about video games anymore. Everything was gone as soon as it had come.

Even if Caroline tried to start the conversation, it wasn’t working. There was a moment where Tim wondered if he had done something wrong.

But tonight, everything made sense, and Jason couldn’t help but snort when he saw it.

The hospital charity ball wasn’t that big, and he already knew the face of Caroline’s friend. And they were there, with the same hair color as Caronline, a very similar tone of voice.

“If you were to buy any of these pieces, which one would you get?” Jason– Elias asked.

“Mmm… I would go with this one.” Caroline’s friend pointed at one particular painting. “The back story is rich and the colors are nice. The artist knows how to utilise shading interestingly, too.”

Elias nodded. That was definitely Caroline’s tone of voice. And some nerdy comments, too.

“I like it. You definitely have good taste.”

“Thank you,” the friend smiled.

Elias looked back at the painting. While this was only Tim’s mission, he also knew about the case. He knew the real name of the staff in the hospital, the target and anyone involved.

“What’s your name? If you don’t mind me asking. I would like to know the name of the only person here who has good taste– other than me, of course.” 

“Madeline.” 

Elias couldn’t help but grin. 

Of course it was Madeline.

--

based on some stuff i've seen in fandoms i follow. including this fandom. people getting close to others and then stealing their personality blatantly. wow wow wow.

#JayTim #Caroline Hill #JayxCaroline #Jason/Caroline #w: story

[duelistkingdom]

in case anyone was wondering about the kazuki takahashi house tour: this is the video. i tracked it down to share with all of you. in here, he shows off his home and studio, where he has entire shrine dedicated to yugioh merch, in addition to other various interests such as horror movies, marvel comic books, and other mangaka’s work. in his studio, he has the original yugioh manga and seems fairly proud of the work he’s created. he still had the original inkings he’d created.

takahashi was a lover of games, and i’d like to think having a hand in creating one of the biggest trading card games in the entire world is a legacy that a such a game lover would take pride in. takahashi clearly enjoyed and loved the series he created, and the loss of him is devastating. thank you, takahashi, thank you. your work inspired me to create, and i am indebted to the work you did that shaped my childhood and me as a person. this is a sentiment echoed by millions right now.

#kazuki takahashi #kazuo takahashi #takahashi kazuki #takahazhi kazuo

[rallamajoop]

Did Ethan play the piano?

There are a bunch of little hints scattered through these games about Ethan's character. He seems to have a love for the retro ‒ at least, his drawer is full of jazz CDs and he drives a 1971 Dodge Challenger. As Rose notes, he's clearly a wine drinker. And he may have played he piano.

I don't want to overstate the hints RE7&8 give us on that last part. Resident Evil is, after all, a universe where apparently being able to bang out a full sonata at a moment's notice is just a basic life skill for anyone who might want to infiltrate a suspicious facility (though just jamming a few bars of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star may also do in a pinch).

There's a piano in the Winters' home, but then, maybe Mia's the one who plays, or maybe the BSAA set them up in an already-furnished house ‒ who knows? You can't actually interact with it as Ethan, nor does Rose comment on it. But Rose does wonder out loud if her Dad played any instruments (after he jokes about whether baby Rose banging her spoon to the Miss D. record suggests she's going to grow up to be a musician) ‒ and that at least primes you to notice that piano, if you hadn't already.

There are also two different pianos you can interact with in the Baker property ‒ one in the guest room, which will slam shut if Ethan reaches for the keys, and a second in Lucas' room that merely prompts the message 'it's broken'.

It's not until Dimitrescu's castle that Ethan himself finally gets to make like all those other Resi heros, and bash out a quick solo to open a mini door in the piano, in which you'll find a key that will open another door... look, you've heard this one before.

There's an argument to be had whether any of the puzzle solutions in a video game like RE should be taken as truly diegetic. But if nothing else, this does at least suggest Ethan can read sheet music. Here's the asset for the sheet, by the way (and again with the bit you actually play highlighted). You can hear someone play the full song ("Sogno" ‒ which means 'Dream' in Italian ‒ by Francesco Paolo Tosti) here.

There's even a version with lyrics, though I doubt they necessarily meant much to whoever picked this piece for the game: more likely it was chosen for being a song with a very simple treble clef (so the player doesn't have to do too much work to solve the 'puzzle') but a much more complicated bass (so it still sounds sophisticated when played). Regardless, you can hear it sung here.

There's also one other little clue that might suggest that someone in the Winters' household has some real musical leanings: one of the CDs you can find in that drawer is titled 'Jazz Standard Theory'. Which sounds a lot more like an instructional CD than easy listening (though they're certainly not winning any prizes for those other titles).

Actually, while we're talking Ethan's CD collection, here's the asset for that Miss D & the Pallboys CD too! Surprisingly, it has a back as well, suggesting that at some point you might have been able to pick it up and examine it. The text is all pretty illegible, however.

(I've talked before about the theory that 'Miss D' is actually Lady Dimitrescu, but if you want the short version ‒ given that she's not from the village and is 'descended from a fallen noble', this one's surprisingly plausible!)

Hilariously, a love for jazz might just be one thing Ethan has in common with the Bakers, given you can find some records lying around the rec room upstairs.

Mind you, even RE2R managed to work a jazz festival flyer into this one puzzle solution...

Does someone in the team at Capcom have a thing for Jazz? Evidence is starting to stack up...

But getting back to our original topic, does Ethan play the piano? You can make a case either way, as the game never tells us explicitly. But there's enough here to point that way that I'd like to think he does, anyhow.

Which only makes the implications of this so much more tragic.

#Ethan Winters #Resident Evil Village #Resident Evil 7 #Rosemary Winters #Shadows of Rose #Resident Evil #RE lore #RE assets #jazz #Miss D and the Pallboys

[081314]

Book 7: The Ruler of the Abyss – Chapter 4 (Part 3)

Following is part 3 of my translation of Chapter 4 of Book 7: The Ruler of the Abyss. This part contains episodes 7-66 to 7-68. This concludes Chapter 4.

Main storyline spoilers after the cut!!

Episode 7-66

Sebek: …. By the way. You haven’t once yet fallen asleep, Silver. Even though you typically nod off throughout the day, be it in the middle of a conversation or during training.

Silver: That’s…. For some reason, I never get attacked by those sleeping spells when I’m inside a dream.

Sebek: Ha! So it’s when you’re fast asleep that you’re finally awake, eh? How laughable.

Silver: You’re right. I wish I could stay awake like this in the real world, too...

Yuu: You’re always sleepy?

Silver: Yeah… Ever since I was little, I’ll get these sudden bouts of drowsiness out of nowhere.

Grim: I totally get it! Whenever I’m in Trein’s class, or when I sit outside on the bench after lunch, I conk out.

Silver: …The type of sleepiness you’re talking about is probably a bit different from mine. In my case, regardless if I’m walking down the hallway or in the middle of a conversation with someone… or even when I’m practicing my swordsmanship, I’ll suddenly become incredibly drowsy.

Grim: Wait, even when you’re sword fightin’? Do you stay up all night playin’ video games or something?

Silver: No, I always get plenty of sleep at night. I don’t know what causes it, either. My father’s taken me to more magical healers than I can count, but… No matter where we went to, they’d always end up throwing in the towel, unable to find out what was going on.

Yuu: (Actually, that reminds me… I’ve been having those dreams a lot more often lately…)

Silver: If I could just find the cure for this sleeping habit, it’d be one less thing for my father to worry about.

Grim: Oh, yeah. I just remembered. Sometimes you call Lilia “Father”…. Is that, like, a nickname or what?

Yuu: I’ve been wondering about that, too.

Silver: Aah… No, it’s not a nickname…

Grim: Huh? So how come you call ‘im that?

Silver: When I enrolled at NRC, Lilia Senpai told me to keep this a secret from everyone to avoid causing any issues with the other students, but…. I’m sure it’s fine if I tell you two. Lilia Senpai-… Father took me in when I was orphan and raised me. He’s my actual parent.

Grim: Huh? Wait, so Lilia’s… He’s literally your dad!??

Yuu: Okay, I didn't see that one coming!

Silver: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to confuse anyone. I try to be careful and call him “Lilia Senpai” while we’re at school… But calling him “Father” is just a force of habit at this point.

Sebek: You humans may find this incredulous, but in Briar Valley, ‘tis not at all unusual for aged fae to appear much younger than they actually are. My mother, for example, is a fae, and though she’s older than my father, she looks younger than him.

Grim: Huh… But still, Lilia looks exactly the same four hundred years ago as he does now.

Silver: Yeah, but… Even though he looks the same, he’s totally different from the father I know. I guess I... I really didn’t know anything, did I.

Imperial Guard A: Gaugauu! Shaa!!

Sebek: Yes, sir! We apologize for causing a disturbance. We shall retire at once.

(The Imperial Guard departs)

Sebek: Now look what you twats did! Your little uproar incensed our Imperial Guardsman senpai! Listen to me, our goal here is to reach the fortress and deliver this letter as soon as possible, and then immediately return to “Briar Castle” so that I may admire our Lord’s pearl-like visage!! Humph!

(Sebek departs)

Silver: Yeah. Let’s all get some sleep and get ready for tomorrow. Good night.

(Silver departs)

Grim: ….Uh, Sebek just totally changed the plan on us. Man, looks like we’re really in it now, Yuu.

(Yuu nods)

Grim: I wonder what kinda dreams Ace and Deuce are havin’ right now… *mumble mumble* Zzzz….

Yuu: Goodnight.

Silver: …..Yuu, Grim, wake up.

Grim: *grumble* …It sure feels weird goin’ to sleep and wakin’ up inside a dream.

Silver: Did you sleep alright? You should go wash your face in the river. It’ll perk you up.

Grim: Yikes! The water’s freezin’!

Silver: The spring water in the Thunderclap Mountains is cold all year round. The continent that Briar Valley sits on is located much farther north than Sage’s Island, after all. The mountains always get covered in snow during the winter… We’re lucky we didn’t land here in the middle of winter, even though this is just a dream.

Sebek: The Imperial Guards shall soon embark. FINISH WITH YOUR TOILETTE AT ONCE!

Silver: …We need to stay focused, Sebek.

Sebek: Just whom do you think you’re addressing? You best keep your wits about you, you dolt.

Grim: Okay, let’s hit the road!

(Battle map conversation)

Lilia: Now then, if we want to take the quickest route possible to that fortress, our best bet would be to cut through the Canyon of Howling Winds over in the northeast. However…

Baul: We’ve also received reports of the “Iron Ones” being spotted at the base of Dragon’s Tail Mountain and the villages along the coast. Before we traverse the Canyon of Howling Winds, it might be a good idea to canvass the Verdant Moors first.

Lilia: Geez… We keep throwing them out over and over again, but they just come right on back.

Baul: In the name of the Imperial Guard, we will drive them out past the Canyon of Howling Winds… NO, WE’LL DRIVE THEM OUT PAST THE CORAL SEA ITSELF!!!!

Lilia: Tone it down. The west side of the Canyon of Howling Winds still belongs to the fae. The real battle won’t begin until we reach the Crimson Plain.

Baul: Yes, sir! We’ll remain vigilant.

(Battle map conversation)

Lilia: If we head directly northwest, we’ll reach the Canyon of Howling Winds in about half a day…

(Two Iron One soldiers appear)

Lilia: Yup, and here they come. A couple of nuisances.

Iron One D: You assholes sure did make yourselves at home at our camp yesterday!

Iron One E: There’s no telling what Lord Henrick’ll do to us if we report back empty handed…!

Lilia: Heh. That’s fine with me. I hope he gives you brats a good spanking!

Iron One D: Shut your damn mouth! You better prepare yourself, Vanrouge!

Lilia: Kishyaaa!

Iron One E: Eeeeep!! P-Please, spare us!!

Baul: You’re the ones who came back and picked a fight with us after we let you go last night, you idiots!

Silver: Please, wait! They’ve already surrendered! You can’t….!

Iron One D: W-Wait, it’s you! Ahh, you came to save us!

Silver: Huh?

Iron One D: Wha-… I guess I was mistaken…

Iron One E: You idiot! There’s no way “that person” would come all the way out here. But I mean… They do look alike.

Baul: Stop quibbling! Go back to the Canyon of Howling Winds and get the hell out of here!

Imperial Guards: Kukeeee!!

Silver: …I wonder who they mistook me for?

(Battle map conversation)

Baul: The Canyon of Howling Winds is up ahead.

Sebek: If I remember correctly, the lands to the east of the Canyon are under the “Iron Ones’” control, yes?

Baul: NO!! They don’t own anything- this entire continent belongs to us fae! ALL THEY’RE DOING IS SETTLING DOWN HERE AND ACTING LIKE THEY OWN THE PLACE!! DON’T FORGET THAT!

Sebek: M-My sincerest apologies!

Lilia: Keep it down. I can hear the clink of their armor.

Baul / Sebek: …!

Iron One A: Maaan, Lady Leah sure is cute, huh… She’s like a beautiful flower blooming amidst the squalor of that damn fortress…

Iron One B: I know, right? It’s hard to believe she’s Lord Henrick’s little sister.

Iron One A: And she’s always so nice to use, too…

Iron One B: But you know, I heard she and the “Knight of Dawn” are in love with each other.

Iron One A: Wait, what! Aww, come on. Why’d it have to be him! I don’t stand a chance.

Lilia: Oh, my. I had no idea the famed “Knight of Dawn” had a lover.

Iron One A: Well, it’s just a rumor. But man… It sucks to admit it, but even as a guy, I gotta say he’s real good looking.

Iron One B: And his hair’s soft as silk… Ugh, I’m so jealous! I can see why Lady Leah fell in love with him.

Lilia: Oh, yeah? I’ve never seen him take off his helmet. I’d love to catch a glimpse of his face, too.

Iron One A: Yeah, he hardly ever takes that thing off- Waaah!!???

Iron One B: A fae!???

Lilia: We’ll have to cut our chit-chat short. Get ‘em!

Imperial Guards: Garurururu!

Iron One A / Iron One B: Aaaahhh! Somebody, heeellllp!!

(The two Iron One soldiers run away)

Lilia: Tsch. Scaredy cats.

Baul: We can’t let them regroup with the “Silver Owl” members gathered at the Canyon of Howling Winds.

Lilia: Yeah. After them, quick!

(Canyon)

Grim: Waaaah! This wind is crazy I’m ‘bout to get blown away!

Yuu: It really does sound like the wind’s howling.

Lilia: These strong winds come down from the Thunderclap Mountains, and they blow through the gaps in the rock formations down here.

Sebek: Argh… Even just walking is a challenge.

Lilia: As long as this wind’s blowing, any projectile attacks will miss their marks. That doesn’t apply to our magic, of course. We fae consider this place a natural stronghold.

Grim: Huh? I hear somethin’ weird mixin’ in with the wind…

(Rumble rumble rumble!)

Imperial Guard A: Kukeeeeee! Gyagyaaa!

Baul: Something massive is coming this way! The hell is that? A stone golem!?

Lilia: No, that’s… It reeks of iron and oil! Troops, at your ready! Here it comes!

Lilia: Go to hell, you iron monster!!! Hiyaaaaah!!!

Iron One A: The armored excavator’s taken serious damage!

Iron One B: What the hell are these guys! How'd they take down the excavator like that!?

Iron One C: There’s no way we can beat them without the excavator. Retreat! Retreaaat!

(The Iron Ones flee)

Baul / Lilia: Haaaah, haaah……

Everyone: Haaahhh…. Haaah…..

Baul: W-What is this… this iron golem!?

Silver: Haaah….haah…. Looks like it’s got a shovel attached to it.

Sebek: The “Iron Ones” seemed to refer to it as an armored excavator. Judging by the name, they must be employing this device in their construction operations.  

Grim: Phew… Now that ya mention it, I feel like I’ve seen somethin’ like this before back at the port town on Sage’s Island, when there was some construction goin’ on.

Baul: So they’re using this device to dig up the earth? How bizarre!

Lilia: When the hell did they even… Not even twenty years ago they were using plows made from trees to dig up the ground, and now this. They must’ve used this thing to tear up the mountains. They’re gonna strip the Thunderclap Mountains bare in the blink of an eye at this rate. …For the time being, we need to report back to Lady Mallenoa. You, messenger, hurry back to the castle and let her know what just happened.

Imperial Guard A: Kekeeee!!

Lilia: Ugh, now my entire body reeks of iron and oil. I’ll need to wash this shit off… Blech. There’s a small lake just past the canyon. We’ll setup camp there tonight.

(Campsite)

Lilia: Aah, that hit the spot.

Grim: I wasn’t expectin’ Lilia to try an’ eat those frogs he caught in the lake.

Sebek: Thankfully things ended without incident, as we went and caught some fish in a panic…

Lilia: What, you guys didn’t know? Those frogs weren’t poisonous.

Silver: Erm, them being poisonous wasn’t really the issue… Ahem! Um, fath- I mean, General Vanrouge. May I ask you something?

Lilia: Hm? What?

Silver: Both the “Iron Ones” and the Imperial Guards keep mentioning some people named Henrick and the “Knight of Dawn.” Who are they?

Lilia: Hmm. Sounds like they aren’t very well known in other lands, then. Henrick is the human man who acts as the leader of the “Silver Owl”.  He’s greedy, crude, and big as a barrel. He’s always kicking back and relaxing in their fortress to the east, and he hardly ever comes out… But there was one time, quite a while back, when he came to Briar Castle with a requisition in hand. Lady Mallenoa didn’t listen to him one bit, though.

Sebek: He brought forth a requisition!? Though his men are the ones tearing up these lands!? Absolutely shameless!!

Lilia: And as for the “Knight of Dawn”…. He’s the commanding officer of the “Silver Owl’s” guards. Their group goes after magical stones and precious metals, and they’ll even tread into some pretty dangerous places.  For example… Places like the west side of the Canyon of Howling Winds, where we so-called “insurgents” run rampant, as well as the nests of the magical beasts that reside on the Thunderclap Mountains. And that’s why they employ guards to protect them - ones very skilled in fighting, to boot. Amongst their ranks, the “Knight of Dawn” is ridiculously powerful.

Silver: …!  If you even recognize his strength, that’s…

Lilia: He protects the fortress that sits on the eastern tip of the continent, over on Cape Sunrise. That’s how he earned himself the moniker “Knight of Dawn”. He’s an expert swordsman, and I can’t even tell you how many of my comrades he’s beaten. We followers of the night know no fear, and yet our people will cover their eyes and run away in terror at the sight of his shining white armor and his golden hair.

Yuu: I wanna see him myself now.

Lilia: He accompanied Henrick that time he came to Briar Castle, so I did see him then, but… He had his iron mask on, so I didn’t catch a glimpse of his face. According to rumor, he’s supposed to be quite the looker. People say the diurnal fae must’ve blessed him with beauty.

Grim: Woah. So he’s got a pretty face and blonde hair, huh. Maybe he kinda looks like Vil.

Sebek:  Hmph! To hell with beauty! All a knight requires is strength! And when it comes to strength, not a single person in this land rivals Sir Lilia, General of the Right!

Lilia: Duh… Is what I’d like to say, but I’ve never fought him myself. He’s always protecting that fortress, and he hardly ever goes past our side of the canyon. I’d certainly like to go up against him, though.

Silver: So in other words… If we go to this fortress, you might be able to fight the “Knight of Dawn”, then?

Lilia: That’s right. …And there’s rumors that Levan, the first to set out to that fortress with one of Lady Mallenoa’s letters, even ran into him.

Grim: You mentioned that Levan guy a couple times before. Who is he?

Lilia: The Dragon-eyed Duke, Levan. The cornerstone of our country’s diplomacy efforts. He was Lady Mallenoa’s eyes, always at her beck and call… And he was her husband, too.

Sebek / Silver: !!!!

Silver: Don’t tell me… Was he in charge of those delegates who went missing…

Lilia: Yes, that was Levan. He was an aristocrat, and the best damn envoy we had. He told his wife and their egg that he’d be right back, and then he up and left the castle without a trace… Geez, just where is he wandering around now? And who does he think’s going to have to look after the princess and the egg while he’s gone, huh? I’d love to find some clues on his whereabouts and bring them back to the princess…

Sebek: ….. Ugh… *sniffle* …! Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!!

Grim: Yikes! The heck did ya start bawlin’ for!?

Sebek: Nary a soul could listen to that story and leave with dry eyes!! Why, just think how Sir Lilia, the princess, and His Eggcellency must be feeling right now, to be left behind by their dear companion…! Oh, it’s too much! It’s simply too much!!

Lilia: That’s just how things are nowadays. Stuff like this happens all the time. Besides, he could show up again out of the blue someday…. And until he returns, I have to protect the princess and her egg with my life. Just like I promised him…

Silver: Father…

Lilia: Didn’t I tell you to quit it with the “father” thing? I’m only 300 years old, you know.

Silver: Ah, my deepest apologies. I didn’t mean to…

Lilia: I’ve been rambling too much…. When I look at you guys, all these old memories start coming back to me. I’m going to bed. You all hurry up and go to sleep, too.

(Lilia departs)

Silver: …Good night.

Sebek: Ugh…. *sobs*

Silver: Sebek, it’s about time you stopped crying. I get that you’re sad, but… It won’t do you any good if your eyes are all puffy tomorrow.

Sebek: These are not tears of sorrow! They are tears of rage!! If it weren’t for humans, for the “Silver Owl”, then the Young Lord’s father would still be….! In the real world, both of his parents are gone. Even Lady Mallenoa – she only exists here within this dream!!

Silver: !! That’s…

Sebek: Tell me, why did the Young Lord have to lose his parents! Tell me, Silver!!

Silver: Don’t ask me that…

Yuu: I get how you feel, but…

Sebek: I cannot bear this anymore. I cannot continue to stand around just twiddling my thumbs. We must protect Lady Mallenoa with our lives – together with Sir Lilia! For the Young Lord’s sake!

Silver: I don’t know how many times I have to keep telling you this, but this is all just a dream, Sebek. It doesn’t matter what we do here, the real world isn’t going to change.

Sebek: If that’s so, then... Then why don’t we just stay here?

Grim / Silver: !!??

Grim: Are you crazy!? The whole reason we came here is to try an’ wake up!

Sebek: If we refrain from journeying back to reality, then the Young Lord will be able to live together with his mother, here inside this dream. And you, Silver! You can stay by Sir Lilia’s side! What more could you ask for!?

Silver: …! That’s… No, we can’t!

(*gurgling*)

Grim: Ack!? That yucky black stuff’s comin’ back!

Silver: It’s the darkness! …It must’ve gotten wind of Sebek’s emotional state. Is it trying to pull him into an even deeper sleep!? Sebek, take up your weapon! The darkness is going to pull you under!

Sebek: If we could just stay here within this dream…. Then the Young Lord could….!

Silver: Sebek!

Grim: The darkness got ‘im!

Silver: We can still bring him back! Yuu, Grim, lend me your strength!

Grim: Geez, this guy is such a pain!

Silver: Haaa….haaa…. It just keeps coming back! At this rate, we’ll…

(Silver’s ring starts to glow)

Grim: Silver! There’s something glowin’ by your chest!?

Silver: This light, it’s… the ring my father gave me?

Darkness: (*gurgles*)

Grim: I think the darkness is scared of that light!

Silver: It’s like there’s power emanating from whatever the ring’s light touches. Just what in the world is this ring…?

Grim: Who cares! Hurry up and get rid of this stuff already!

Silver: Okay!  O Light, dispel the Darkness!!

Darkness: (*melts away*)

Grim: It spit out Sebek!

Silver: Sebek! Are you okay!?

Sebek: Uggh… What… happened?

Grim: You started throwin’ a tantrum sayin’ how much you wanted to stay here and then the darkness stuff got ya.

Sebek: …I see. I….

Silver: Sebek, you’re right. Life would be so much easier if we just stayed in this dream… But.. But even then… we have to find a way out of here. Just think about all our classmates trapped in sleep, what about their futures! What about your family waiting for you to come home! And most of all… What about Lord Malleus!! He’s out there somewhere weaving this world of dreams in his solitude!

Sebek: ……! But if Sir Lilia awakens, then he’ll…

Silver: I know. But even then, there’s no doubt in my mind my father would try and get Lord Malleus to see that what he’s doing is wrong.

Sebek: That’s… Yes, I’m certain he would.

Silver: A retainer’s role isn’t just to obey his king and agree with everything he says. At times, remonstrating our Lord is an important part of our duty. I’m sure my father taught you that, too. Right?

Sebek: …You’re right, Silver. Long have I been troubled over my defilement against the Young Lord. The way his eyes burned with sorrow and rage as he glared down at me… I shan’t ever forget the sight. I still have my doubts, I’m still not certain that returning to the real world is what’s best for the Young Lord’s happiness… But I… I cannot forget my dream! My wish! TO BECOME THE GREATEST RETAINER THE YOUNG LORD SHALL EVER HAVE!! And I cannot achieve that trapped here within this illusion.

There is only one person I shall ever serve, only one person I respect with all my heart and would lay down my life for, and that is the Young Lord – the real Young Lord! The one who bears the heavy burden of his solitude and walks together at Sir Lilia’s side. The one who loves gargoyles and ruins and frozen desserts… Who dons the same uniform as we do and attends Night Raven College together with us – the crown prince of Briar Valley he may be… The real Young Lord! Him and him alone! …!! I shan’t indulge in these dreams any longer! Just you watch – we shall return to the real world and join him at his side!! I shan’t waver a second more…. Do you understand, Silver!!

Silver: …Heh. Now there’s the Sebek I know. You better not go back on your words.

Sebek: Hmph! I don’t need to hear that from you! …*sniffle*!

Grim: Good grief. Sounds like Sebek’s feelin’ better. He’s back to his loudmouth self, at least.

Sebek: I do apologize for my irreprehensible behavior, beast- I mean, Grim. And Yuu.

Grim: What the? You’re sayin’ sorry? What’s next, are pigs gonna start flyin’?

Yuu: Wait, he called us by our names!

Sebek: N-Now then! I shall retire forthwith! You all best soon get to sleep, as well! GOOD NIGHT!!!!

(Sebek departs)

Grim: Would ya quit screamin’, it’s the middle of the night! Good night!!

Silver: …He gets like that when he’s hiding his embarrassment. I promise you he's feeling very thankful to you both right now. People misunderstand him a lot, but he’s actually a really compassionate guy. I hope you two will keep being his friend.

Grim: Nyeheheh. That all depends on his attitude! *Yaaaawn* Man, I’m exhausted. We’ve been walkin’ around and fightin’ all day today. I’m goin’ to bed. Good night.

Silver: Good night.

(Grim departs)

Silver: ……

Yuu: What’s up?

Silver: My heart wavered at Sebek’s words for a moment there. If we stayed in this dream, then Lord Malleus and father wouldn’t have to… you know.

Yuu: Yeah, but…

Silver: Ah, don’t worry. I know that’s not right. But if I ever start clinging to this dream and I get engulfed by the darkness… Yuu, I want you to stop me. No matter what it takes.

Yuu: Of course.

Silver: ….Thank you. The nights here are cold when it’s sunny during the day. Keep warm and get some rest. Good night.

Baul: We’ll be setting off soon! Hurry up and get ready to go… Uwaah!

Sebek: Good morning….

Baul: Your eyes are all puffy. Did an insect sting you or something?

Sebek: Ah, please don’t mind me. ‘Tis but a bit of edema.

Baul: A-Alright. Fine, as long it’s not any sort of disease. We’ll leave behind anyone who gets sick!

Lilia: Time to head out. Let’s go pay a visit to the “Silver Owl’s” turf.

Baul: The shortest route to their fortress would be going east along the river that runs through the Crimson Plain. However… There aren’t many places to take cover on the plain, and it’s likely we’ll end up running into the “Silver Owl”. Not far from here, to the North, there’s a Mysterium forge. I think we should stop there and have our weapons repaired.

Lilia: And if we want to focus on searching for those missing delegates, scouting the area around Dragon’s Tail Mountain is also an option… Hmm.

Episode 7-67

(Battle map conversation)

Silver: There’s smoke up ahead. It might be a bonfire…

Lilia: Seems the “Iron Ones” are setting up camp. They’re making our beds for us and preparing our dinner, huh. What wonderful hospitality.

Baul: General…

Grim: Wait, they got grub for us!? Then I got no choice, I’ll have to put on my A-game here.

Lilia: That’s what I like to hear. All right, you lot. Let’s take care of one last job and then call it a day. Kishyaaaa!

(Battle map conversation)

Sebek: Sir Baul! I’ve your meal ready for you.

Baul: …I don’t like the food you lot make. Just leave me be.

Lilia: You already ate their food before, shouldn’t matter if you have to eat it again. Now's not the time to be picky.

Baul: Picky? That’s… General, you’re way too indifferent about things.

Lilia: Tsch. This is why I can’t stand you well-bride types  …Pride isn’t going to fill your stomach, you know. …*sigh* Lady Mallenoa always has something to say about food, too. I remember that one time she kept quibbling about something I made her.

Silver: Did you, erm… Did you cook something for her?

Lilia: What? Of course not, I don’t cook.

Sebek / Silver: Huh!?

Lilia: Why are you acting so surprised? If you can eat something raw, there’s no use wasting time cooking it. All I made for Lady Mallenoa that time was some jerky. She wouldn’t stop complaining about it, saying it was too dry and salty and whatever. In the end, Levan stepped in and summoned a pot or something and made her some soup. You know what she had the nerve to say? She told him, “You really are the only one I can count on!” Unbelievable… …I guess he had the edge over me there. Even though I was the only one who brought along something to eat with me.

Baul: Lady Mallenoa ate jerky…? How exactly did that come about?

Lilia: I got caught up in another one of Princess Tomboy’s little whims and we got lost in the forest one night. This was back when Levan, Lady Mallenoa and I were kids, and we hadn’t learned how to fly yet. The forest was covered in a thick fog that night, and we couldn’t see a thing. Levan was absolutely miserable, heh… I’ll never forget his face. But Lady Mallenoa was taking everything in stride. I guess because everything was so new to her, but she was having a lot of fun. Me and Levan were exhausted from walking around all night, but she kept us up until sunrise with her blabbering, saying she just couldn’t sleep… …I’ll probably spend the rest of my life wrapped around her little finger.

Sebek / Silver: ….

Baul: And how did you all end up returning to the castle after that?

Lilia: Some Imperial Guards came and found us the next morning. Even though it was all Lady Mallenoa’s idea, I was the one who got a earful about it… *sigh* …Being friends with that woman is just one pain in the ass after the next.

(Battle map conversation)

Lilia: Wait a sec, look over there.

Baul: They’ve got a wagon and one of those iron golems with them… It’s one of the “Silver Owl’s” platoons!

Lilia: They sure are walking slowly. They must have a lot of goodies loaded up on that cart for us. Looks like they haven’t noticed us yet. Perfect. Let’s go!

Imperial Guards: Gaugauu! Gyarururu!!

Baul: Ha ha ha ha! Look at that! They’re running with their tails between their legs!

Lilia: Kay, let’s see what all they’ve got here. There’s magical stones, food, and… a suit of armor made out of Mysterium. It’s got the Land of Briar’s coat of arms on it.

Baul: Grrrr… Damn them! Damn those “Iron Ones” – every single one of ‘em!

Sebek / Silver: …..

(The Darkness appears)

Grim: Ack!? That black stuff’s here again!

Yuu: It’s coming straight for us!

Silver: The three of us will deal with it. Yuu, get behind me. You ready, Sebek?

Sebek: Naturally. And we’ve no time to waste, let us finish this quickly.

Grim: Nyahahah! Those guys were no match for me!

Sebek: Do not boast over something so trivial! Let us return to Sir Lilia and the others at once.

Silver: Right. We don’t want to get left behind. Yuu, Grim let’s hurry.

(Battle map conversation)

Lilia: The enemy’s fortress is up ahead. We’ll stop here and get something to eat first.

Sebek: Understood. Then we shall begin preparing a meal at once.

Grim: Hey! There’s some tasty lookin’ fruit growin’ on that tree over there!          

Sebek: …There’s a fair amount of them, and they look just ripe for eating. However, they’re located incredibly high up that tree. Now how should we go about collecting them…. Even if we attempt to use our magic, if we should let even one fall to the ground, we’ll alert the enemy to our presence. And we cannot allow that to happen. Be quiet and give up on your quest, Grim.

Grim: Noooooooo! I want me a piece of that fruit!

Lilia: Keep it down, you brats. You’re telling me even though you’re studying magic at school, you can’t even control your powers good enough to pick some fruit? That’s pathetic.

Sebek: Yes, however, there’s a large amount of foliage impeding our way, and to attempt to pick them without making a sound would be…

Lilia: Fine, guess I don’t have a choice. I’ll show you brats how it’s done.

Sebek: T-That’s much too risky! The enemy is in the vicinity. Even for someone of your abilities, Sir Lilia, it’s….

Lilia: Stop worrying. There’s only one time in my life I ever missed my mark.

(Lilia uses his magic)

Grim: Woah, you dropped the fruit right in my lap for me!

Sebek: And he did so in the blink of an eye, with nary a sound…! That was truly splendid, Sir Lilia! To think, someone of your caliber could have ever missed their mark… Just what was it that you were aiming for at the time?

Lilia: Who knows.

Grim: This stuff is super sweet and tasty! *munch munch munch*

Lilia: If you don’t hurry, Grim’s going to eat them all. Here’s one for you, catch.

Sebek: Y-Yes, sir. Thank you.

(Battle map conversation)

Iron One C: Fae! It’s the fae! Capture them!

Baul: Argh! When did they get behind us!?

Sebek: Sir Baul! They’re approaching from the front, as well!

Lilia: Shit, it’s a pincer attack! Split it into two groups and take them down!

Silver: Yes, sir! Yuu, Grim, go take shelter behind that boulder there!

Silver: Haaaaaaah!!

Lilia: Haaah, haaaah… We get all of them?

Silver: Haaa, haaah…. Y-Yes, sir. I think that machine was the last one…!

Lilia: Heh…. You can hardly stand on your feet right now. The shit's about to start hitting the fan, kid. I’m saying this for your own good - scram already. Go back home. You can probably find refuge at the humans' port town up ahead.

Silver: …..No. No, we're staying with you! We aren’t going back home!

Lilia: This is our problem. It has nothing to do with you lot. There’s no reason for you to stick around.

Silver: I do have a reason! Because I’m your….!

Lilia: My what?

Silver: Your so-…….! …At any rate, I just want to…. I just want to help you all.

Lilia: You seriously are a weird little human, saying something like to a fae you just met…. *sigh* If you’re going to get that riled up about it then I’m not going to stop you. Do what you want.

Silver: Yes, sir. I will.

(Battle map conversation)

Lilia: There’s a ghost town up ahead. Let’s take a break at one of the cabins, it’ll at least keep the wind and rain off us.

Sebek: A ghost town…? Don’t tell me, was it destroyed by the “Iron Ones”!?

Lilia: No. Stop jumping to conclusions. Most of the people there worked at the nearby mine… But it shut down after they dug up all the Mysterium. And everyone just up and left after that.

Sebek: I see, so that’s what happened.

 Silver: Wait, these footprints…

Baul: No doubt, they belong to the “Iron Ones”. They’re heading for town. Looks like there’s a good number of them.

Lilia: Ha. Looks like they had the same idea as us. It sucks they beat us to it, but… We’ll just have them set up camp for us. This is our last job for the day. Let’s get to it.

Imperial Guards: Gugiiii!!

Lilia: This place is a mess… But the house is in pretty good condition, all things considered. We’ll camp out here tonight.

Silver: Is that a… spinning wheel over there? I guess the people who lived here must’ve worked at home, in addition to mining.

Lilia: Don’t you go touching that stuff here willy-nilly. This was originally a fae home, and some of the stuff here could be enchanted.

Sebek: However, there’s quite the thick layer of dust about… Perhaps we should clean this place up a bit. There’s a doll lying on the floor over there. It appears to be a… an animal donning a suit of armor? Heh, it’s making quite the gallant expression.

Silver: And check out the wall over there. Looks like they were recording someone’s height as the years passed by. I’m guessing kids must’ve lived here at some point.

Lilia: ….Why the hell do kids have to be so damn messy.

Silver: Do you, erm…  Do you prefer keeping things clean, General Vanrouge?

Lilia: No? I don’t even own enough stuff to make a mess with in the first place. But I already know when Lady Mallenoa’s egg hatches, she’ll be forcing babysitter duty on me. And when that little brat makes a mess, I’m going to be the one who has to clean up after it, right? I’m getting depressed just thinking about it. I hate kids. They’re loud, they do whatever they want, they cry over the littlest thing… And worst of all, they’re weak. I get chills just thinking about looking after something that gets worn out so easily.

Silver: ……..

Sebek: Given the right circumstances, you might change your mind someday. Say if… Say if your family were to grow, for example.

Lilia: My family? I have no intention of having a family. I never have, and I never will… *sigh* I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed.

Baul:  Then I’ll keep watch… And you brats, stop with the meaningless drivel.

(Lilia and Baul depart)

Silver: …Sebek. Thanks for looking out for me.

Sebek: You’ve no reason to thank me. 'Twas simply the truth I spoke.

(Silver Owl’s Fortress)

Sebek: We finally made it. So this is… The “Silver Owl’s” stronghold, then.

Baul: Stop goggling at everything! We’re here as delegates of the Land of Briar. We have to make sure to give off a stately air. Be confident.

Silver: …..It’s strange. There’s a ton of “Iron Ones” outside the fortress, but not a single one in here.

Lilia: …..No! It can’t be!

(The doors slam shut)

Sebek: What!? The doors closed all on their own!

(Something starts rumbling)

Everyone: !!??

Imperial Guard B: Gauuu!?

Lilia: That sound, it's...! Everyone, to arms!

Episode 7-68

Grim: Pfew… Haaa… D-Did we beat it?

Silver: Appears so… Is everyone okay?

Magical Armor: Creaaaak… Groaaaan…

Lilia: !!! Look out!!

(Lilia takes the hit for Silver and collapses)

Silver: Father!!!

Lilia: How many times… Have I told you… don’t call me... “father”…

Sebek: You wretched piece of junk! So you could still move about, eh? How dare you strike Sir Lilia..!? Haaa!!

Silver: No…! Please, pull yourself together!

Baul: Out of the way, human! General, take this potion!

Lilia: Ack… *gulp gulp* …Blech… Haaa…. Shit, that hurts.

Baul: You need to rest! An injury like this isn’t something to take lightly, even for you… Why on earth did you…!

Lilia: …That’s I want to know… Damnit… When I saw Silver was about to get hit, my body just moved on its own.

Baul: You fool! Did you not devote your loyalty, you life, to Lady Mallenoa!? So why… Why would you take a hit for a feeble little human of all things...!?

Lilia: I know, I know… This isn’t like me at all…

Silver: General Vanrouge…!

Lilia: Listen, boys. The moment you think you’ve won is when you’re at your most vulnerable. Don’t forget that.

Silver: Yes, sir…!

Lilia: Oh, would you quit it with the sniveling. I drank the potion, didn’t I? I just to rest for a little bit, and then I’ll be good as new.

Silver: (I knew it. Even in a dream, you’re still… You really are still my…!)

Imperial Guard B: ….Gyaooo! Gyaooou!

Baul: What did you say? Neither Henrick nor the “Knight of Dawn” are here!?

Lilia: …This isn’t looking good…

Imperial Guard A: Kishyaaa!

Baul: Messenger! You’ve returned!

Imperial Guard A: Gyagyaaa! Shyaaa!

Baul: W-What on earth…! General, I have news! Briar Castle has been… Briar Castle has been completely surrounded by the “Silver Owl”, and Henrick and the “Knight of Dawn” are leading the charge!

Silver / Sebek: Wha-…!

Lilia: ….!

Part 1

Part 2

Please note: We will not know what the proper translations of the new places and character names introduced in this chapter are until the official English localizations are revealed, so please take my translations of them with a heavy grain of salt.

#twst spoilers #lilia vanrouge #baul zigvolt #twst silver #sebek zigvolt #twst #twisted wonderland #the ruler of the abyss

[jjkamochoso]

Carhartt? More like Car Heart to Heart

NoCursesAU!Choso x female reader

Angst, fluff

Reader and Choso go for a late night drive (inspired by “Streetlights” by Elko)

Warnings: cussing

“Fuck you! We’re over!” you screamed, car keys grasped in your hands as you slammed the front door behind you. Your heart was racing in your chest, ready to burst out of your skin. You knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to be driving while in this enraged state of mind but you had to get out that house immediately. You and your boyfr—well, you weren’t sure what to call him. You had been seeing this guy for a few months. You two were supposed to be exclusive, sure, but there weren’t any real labels on what you two were. It didn’t matter anyway. That relationship was as good as dead now. You and him had actually just gotten into a big fight about the label, the lack of, rather, on your relationship. You’d dwell on the details of that fight later. The problem now was where to go. You were in between places at the moment and had been living with your now ex at his house for the time being. Thankfully most of your belongings were in storage, but you dreaded having to go back to the house for some of your personal belongings. You just hoped he hadn’t trashed anything. Putting your car into drive, you raced away from that place as fast as you could without sparing it a second glance. As you sped through the city, tears threatened to fall as streetlights lit your path. It was 1:30 in the morning and all of your friends were asleep; all, you knew, except one. As you pulled into his apartment complex, you took a deep, shuddering breath. There was a slight breeze as you exited the car and you felt goosebumps appear all over your skin. Although he lived in a safe area, you were still scared as you locked your car and ran up to his door, knocking frantically. You prayed he would hear your knocks over the sound of his video games that kept him up all hours of the night. As you kept your knuckles rapping on the door, your other hand was digging through your purse for your phone to call him. However, there was no need. You faltered slightly as the door opened and you were met with concerned brown eyes.

“Y/n? What—“

“Choso!” you cried out, throwing yourself at him in a tight hug as your tears began to flow. You felt him back up and shift around, bringing your body with him so that he could close and lock the door. You felt his strong arms grip you tight, resting his chin on your head while his hands moved up and down your back in an attempt to soothe you. Your crying finally slowed into emotionally drained hiccups and Choso took that as a sign that it was okay to let go for a few moments.

“I’m so sorry to just show up like this, I just had nowhere else to go and—“

“Y/n,” Choso said, calm and with a little smile, “whatever happened, it’s okay. I’m glad you made it here alright, given the state you’re in.” You wanted to be mad at his crack of a joke, but he was right. You were a whole mess right now.

“I’m sorry to pull you away from your game,” you motioned to his headphones that were hanging haphazardly around his neck and the game that was sitting abandoned on the tv. Choso furrowed his brow.

“It’s totally fine, it’s just a game. You’re much more important,” he said. You felt your heart flutter at his words. Anything Choso said, he said with such conviction and passion. He was the greatest friend anyone could ask for. He was reliable, kind, passionate. You’d had the biggest crush on him for years and years but you could never risk losing his friendship in case he didn’t feel the same. Sometimes, when he said things like that, and looked at you with that unwavering eye contact and soft smile, you couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he felt the same.

“Hey guys, I gotta go, my friend needs me right now. Yes, it’s important. Oh, haha, very funny. Okay, bye, I’m logging off now.” Taking off his microphoned headphones, Choso turned off the tv as well. “You wanna go for a drive? I know that usually relaxes you.” You nodded in agreement. Choso grabbed you a blanket off his couch, holding it open to help you get wrapped into it. Then he put on his leather jacket over the grey sweatshirt he was wearing and picked up his keys.

“You ready?”

You felt so much safer walking in the parking lot with Choso. He worked out often, that you knew, and he was most likely ripped, that you wished you knew. He opened the passenger door for you and you thanked him. Even though he does this kind of thing all the time, tonight felt different. Was it because it was so late at night? Was it the stress of the breakup? Or do streetlights just cast an ethereal look over attractive men who wear space buns? As he pulled the car out of the lot, you began to unpack everything that happened.

“Jake and I had a fight. It shouldn’t have gotten that big or that explosive, but it just got out of control and I broke it off.”

You couldn’t figure out the look that Choso had on his face. Was it… relief?

“Oh thank god! Y/n, he was a horrible dude. We all hated him anyway.”

“Is this the time where you say ‘I told you so’ and start making fun of me for being an idiot?”

The raven haired man laughed slightly and spared you a quick glance before looking back at the road.

“Yes to the ‘I told you so’ part but I would never call you an idiot. Love makes you do weird things.”

You scoffed.

“Trust me, there was no love there. We’d been together for months and he couldn’t even call me his girlfriend. Not even after I moved in with him! Not to mention, I thought we were exclusive. That’s how the whole fight started. I asked him why he couldn’t be my boyfriend and the whole thing tumbled into me finding out he’d been seeing other girls on the side.” You noticed Choso’s jaw clench at the mention of infidelity. You also noticed the car accelerating ever so slightly. “I mean, am I in the wrong?”

Now it was Choso’s turn to scoff.

“He basically cheats on you and you’re wondering if you’re in the wrong? You are seriously too good for this world. Y/n, the guy’s trash. I wouldn’t even give him a second thought. He didn’t deserve you and all the good things you have to offer.” The car plugged along, the speedometer ticking upwards. “I just can’t believe how he could fumble a girl like you.” 40mph. “How he could miss the great thing he had right in front of his eyes.” 50 mph. “Besides the fact that he couldn’t even offer you basic fucking respect.” 60mph. “You don’t deserve to feel like that!”

“Choso,” you gently laid a hand on his arm, “I appreciate your passion but you’re on a backroad. You’re driving way too fast.” He met your eyes for a split second then looked at his speed, immediately tapping the brakes.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. You’re the one dealing with the breakup and I’m the one getting angry, driving fast and pissed off for some reason. There’s that park you like coming up, I’m going to stop there for a second.” When he pulled into the quiet parking lot, the car was filled with silence as well. Choso groaned, putting his face in his hands, and resting his forehead on the top of the steering wheel.

“Y/n, I’m sorry. You’re one of my closest friends and I only want the best for you. I just get so upset seeing these guys take advantage of you and your kindness. You deserve someone who will open car doors for you, someone who listens to you and understands you. Someone who’s only wish is to be around you at all times. Someone who respects and worships you. Someone who loves you completely and unconditionally. Someone—“

“Like you,” you finished. “Someone like you.”

You’d never seen a person whip their head over to look at you as fast as Choso did in that moment. You were tired of hiding how you felt. Who else would be there for you at the early hours of the morning, offering you sympathy and a shoulder to cry on? Who do you call when you want to talk about something that happened at work, who do you text when you see a silly little snail on the sidewalk? Who do you want to wake up to every morning and eat breakfast with? Who do you want to eat dinner with and go to bed with? Who do you want to kiss and caress for the rest of your life? It’s Choso, it’s always been Choso.

“What?” His voiced was barely louder than a whisper.

“You, Choso. I’ve been in love with you for years, I’m surprised you never saw it. The guys I dated, they were just distractions from the fact that I had my dream guy right in front of me the whole time, just barely out of reach.” His big brown eyes with the slight bags under them from lack of sleep were boring into your own, frantically scanning your face for any sign of deceit. After what felt like hours, he finally spoke once more.

“You’re not joking, right?” he asked, and you shook your head.

“No fucking way am I joking about this.”

He breathed a sigh of relief and let out a slight chuckle. “I’ve been enamored, head over heels in love with you since the day we met. I always felt you were too good for me, that’s why I never said anything.”

“God, we’re such losers. We really are perfect for each other, aren’t we?” you asked, giggling.

“You know, there’s one way to make sure we really fit together.”

“And what’s that?”

“This.” Choso leaned in toward you slowly, giving you enough time to back away if needed. There was no need, however, because you’d spent years dreaming of the moment you could kiss Choso Kamo. When your lips met, it was like all was right in the world. His soft pink lips meshed perfectly with your own. Even though it was a bit of an awkward angle, being in the car and all, it was still perfectly romantic. When Choso rested his hand on your cheek, you felt like you were going to faint. It was like a scene straight out of a movie. The kiss wasn’t too long, but just the right amount for new lovers. When you broke away, both of your faces were tinged red from blushing and you two couldn’t stop smiling.

“So, what’s next for us?” you asked.

���Hmm,” answered Choso, “I’m thinking we head back to your ex’s shithole of a house, you get everything you need, and come stay at my place however long you feel like.”

Your face lit up with a bright smile. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

Choso looked at you like you hung all the stars in the sky. “I would do anything for you, my darling.”

You gave him a kiss on the cheek and held his hand as the car pulled out of the lot and into your happily ever after.

#choso x reader #choso x y/n #choso fluff #choso kamo #jjk choso #jjk x reader #jjk x y/n #choso #kamo choso x reader #choso kamo x reader #choso x reader fluff #choso x reader angst

[lulu2992]

(This is a reply to this reblog because the post would have been way too long otherwise)

You’re right, @purplehairsecretlair; it would make so much more sense if the priest featured in the video was not Jerome! I was ready to accept this headcanon, but then I found the official description of the trailer:

This is about Joseph Seed's journey before he became the Father, before Pastor Jerome was forced to forfeit his status as shepherd of the County's souls.

So The Baptism is about Joseph “stealing” Jerome’s congregation… That said, I totally agree that this isn’t consistent with the game for several reasons (which you probably already know, but I want to use this opportunity to talk more about the trailer).

First, Joseph found John and Jacob before he started the Project, and they all arrived in Hope County together. In the trailer, however, as you pointed out, he’s alone. We see him creating Eden’s Gate, writing his own holy book, and recruiting his first followers. Also, this shot...

...looks like what the 2nd step of the Pilgrimage tells us in the game:

II. The Cleansing: Joseph Seed affirms his obedience to the Voice by cleansing himself with his own two hands, becoming born again.

Steps III and IV are about him getting his first followers and the Voice telling him about the Collapse, and he only “collects his blood family” at step V, which... I realize is not consistent with The Book of Joseph, unless that means he had already found his brothers and only “[anointed] them as his Heralds” at this point.

Regardless, the story told along the Pilgrimage path isn’t consistent with The Baptism either because he only brings his disciples to Hope County at step VII, but he’s clearly already there in the video. Plus, his Heralds don’t seem to be with him…

I tried looking for more information about the trailer, especially about the cast and characters but, aside from Greg Bryk, I couldn’t find the names of the other actors.

However, I found this. The website says the video has won 25 (in my opinion, well-deserved) awards and provides a synopsis, probably written by DDB Paris, the agency that created the two live-action trailers, The Baptism and The Sermon, for Ubisoft. It says that the little girl is “the daughter of the legitimate priest whose place [Joseph] took, ten years ago”. Far Cry 5 never implies Jerome ever had a child, so I don’t think that’s still canon, but I’m glad we finally know who she is!

I stumbled upon this other article (with a behind-the-scenes picture). It’s in French, so here’s a summary:

It was Ubisoft who “imposed” Greg Byrk on the agency, but the artistic director thought he was “perfect” even though they barely knew him. The copywriter comments he was “very immersed in his role” and “exuded something powerful”.

The video was shot in Canada, in Merritt BC. To help the team, Ubisoft sent them the “huge mood board” they made during their one-year trip to Montana.

Some shots were unscripted, such as the scene with the little girl on the swing.

About 150 people were involved in the project which also required dozens of supply trucks.

Finally, it says the trailer was released 14 months after the first briefing. Jerome and Joseph’s backstories had plenty of time to be rewritten...

I also remember reading this interview with the director on the now-offline UbiBlog years ago. So, in case anyone was wondering (I was), that string of saliva was, in fact, totally unplanned :’)

#(anyway yeah you’re right it would have worked better with the rest of the story if the priest was someone else) #far cry 5 #joseph seed #jerome jeffries #and his unnamed scrapped daughter #I see the sermon has won 10 awards #but the credits suggest there used to be VFX and a nuke in it?? #I want to see that! #gifs I made #‘'blood sweat and tears'? how about 'snot spit and tears' instead?’ - greg bryk I guess

[psshaw]

Now I'm curious. What sort of art do you mean by "cynically crafted, redundant artwork?" This isn't said as judgment, or a gotcha, by the way. I have my own dislikes, I wonder how we match up in the sort of stuff we're bored by.

No gotcha taken!

Let’s see. My relationship to art is very me-focused. I got into art because I saw it as a way to express myself and communicate, especially back when normal socializing was confusing and hard. It’s how I say “I’m here, I’m me, my art is loud as fuck because there’s a theater kid trapped inside my body, deal with it”.

The great thing about being around artists, to me, is to see what THEY have to say about THEMSELVES through art. This is what made early webcomics so delicious. One person’s id on paper.

More and more, I’ve run into people who overtly use their art to please others, to build a following or otherwise Make Number Go Up, to sell products, etc. All of these kinds of artists are interesting enough in moderation, but now it feels like almost everyone acts like this. We always knew that throwing fandom a bone every once in awhile helped people find your more passionate work, but now even guilty pleasure art seems to have been standardized, categorized, and otherwise flattened out. Everything is about consuming or being consumed. I see very little playing just to PLAY. Very little drawing 100% for yourself and sharing only in case one person appreciates it. It’s harder than ever to escape the feeling that you have to perform for somebody. Be accessible, #relatable, and the accepted degree of grimy at all times. Is that really what you came to this world to do? I know for a fact that I came here to talk shit.

So to me, cynical art is art that pays too much attention to how to catch eyes and blow up. I’ve felt the “oh no this will be too niche and narrative for anyone to like!” self-limiting instinct before, and it feels like hell, so I never want to encourage it. Usually I do this by avoiding fandom in general, which works out because media products made by paid teams are not very interesting to me anyway. The other reason it works is where “redundant” comes in— I don’t need to keep seeing the same portrait of a cartoon character standing still and possibly in a funny t-shirt or reciting lines from a meme. I want to see YOU. Not the video games and TV shows you watch!! Beautiful wriggling horrible horny weird idiosyncratic Y O U