#posting a bazillion updates in one go

[runningquill-art]

Happy New Year!!! Here is my very belated present for you; a little family portrait that’s becoming an annual holiday tradition. Lyra and Orion always bully their father into doing Smaug’s voice when Hermione is reading these passages, and Draco always grumbles about it (also in Smaug’s voice, to their delight) but he secretly loves it ;)

This took ages to make, as life kept happening, but I hope you like it all the same even if Christmas is over… For 2025, I wish you health, safety, love, and happiness. May your ships always end up together and may you have 16463829135 tabs open with your favourite fanfics. This is going to be an amazing year for the fandom, with so many of our writers getting published! Thank you to every writer, artist, and bookbinder for giving everyone so much joy; may the muses always whisper in your ear! And thank you to every single member of the fandom for keeping it alive and supporting us!

[qwertyprophecy]

Mortholme Post-Mortem

The Dark Queen of Mortholme has been out for two weeks, and I've just been given an excellent excuse to write some more about its creation by a lenghty anonymous ask.

Under the cut, hindsight on the year spent making Mortholme and answers to questions about game dev, grouped under the following topics:

Time spent on development Programming Obstacles Godot Animation Pixel art Environment assets Writing Completion Release

Regarding time spent on development

Nope, I’ve got no idea anymore how long I spent on Mortholme. It took a year but during that time I worked on like two other games and whatever else. And although I started with the art, I worked on all parts simultaneously to avoid getting bored. This is what I can say:

Art took a ridiculous amount of time, but that was by choice (or compulsion, one might say). I get very excitable and particular about it. At most I was making about one or two Hero animations in a day (for a total of 8 + upgraded versions), but anything involving the Queen took multiple times longer. When I made the excecutive decision that her final form was going to have a bazillion tentacles I gave up on scheduling altogether.

Coding went quickly at the start when I was knocking out a feature after another, until it became the ultimate slow-burn hurdle at the end. Testing, bugfixing, and playing Jenga with increasingly unwieldy code kept oozing from one week to the next. For months, probably? My memory’s shot but I have a mark on my calendar on the 18th of August that says “Mortholme done”. Must’ve been some optimistic deadline before the ooze.

Writing happened in extremely productive week-long bursts followed by nothing but nitpicky editing while I focused on other stuff. Winner in the “changed most often” category, for sure.

Sound was straightforward, after finishing a new set of animations I spent a day or two to record and edit SFX for them. Music I originally scheduled two weeks for, but hubris and desire for more variants bumped it to like a month.

Regarding programming

The Hero AI is certainly the part that I spent most of my coding time on. The basic way the guaranteed dodging works is that all the Queen’s attacks send a signal to the Hero, who calculates a “danger zone” based on the type of attack and the Queen’s location. Then, if the Hero is able to dodge that particular attack (a probability based on how much it's been used & story progression), they run a function to dodge it.

Each attack has its own algorithm that produces the best safe target position to go to based on the Hero’s current position (and other necessary actions like jumping). Those algorithms needed a whole lot of testing to code counters for all the scenarios that might trip the Hero up.

The easiest or at least most fun parts for me to code are the extra bells and whistles that aren’t critical but add flair. Like in the Hero’s case, the little touches that make them seem more human: a reaction speed delay that increases over time, random motions and overcompensation that decrease as they gain focus, late-game Hero taking prioritising aggressive positiniong, a “wait for last second” function that lets the Hero calculate how long it’ll take them to move to safety and use the information to squeeze an extra attack in…

The hardest attack was the magic circle, as it introduced a problem in my code so far. The second flare can overlap with other attacks, meaning the Hero had to keep track of two danger zones at once. For a brief time I wanted to create a whole new system that would constantly update a map of all current danger zones—that would allow for any number of overlapping attacks, which would be really cool! Unfortunately it didn’t gel with my existing code, and I couldn’t figure out its multitudes of problems since, well…

Regarding obstacles

Thing is, I’m hot garbage as a programmer. My game dev’s all self-taught nonsense. So after a week of failing to get this cool system to work, I scrapped it and instead made a spaghetti code monstrosity that made magic circle run on a separate danger zone, and decided I’d make no more overlapping attacks. That’s easy; I just had to buffer the timing of the animation locks so that the Hero would always have time to move away. (I still wanted to keep the magic circle, since it’s fun for the player to try and trick the Hero with it.)

There’s my least pretty yet practical solo dev advice: if you get stuck because you can’t do something, you can certainly try to learn how to do it, but occasionally the only way to finish a project within a decade to work around those parts and let them be a bit crap.

I’m happy to use design trickery, writing and art to cover for my coding skills. Like, despite the anonymous asker’s description, the Hero’s dodging is actually far from perfect. I knew there was no way it was ever going to be, which is why I wrote special dialogue to account for a player finding an exploit that breaks the intended gameplay. (And indeed, when the game was launched, someone immediately found it!)

Regarding Godot

It’s lovely! I switched from Unity years ago and it’s so much simpler and more considerate of 2D games. The way its node system emphasises modularity has improved my coding a lot.

New users should be aware that a lot of tutorials and advice you find online may be for Godot 3. If something doesn’t work, search for what the Godot 4 equivalent is.

Regarding animation

I’m a professional animator, so my list of tips and techniques is a tad long… I’ll just give a few resource recommendations: read up on the classic 12 principles of animation (or the The Illusion of Life, if you’d like the whole book) and test each out for yourself. Not every animation needs all of these principles, but basically every time you’ll be looking at an animation and wondering how to make it better, the answer will be in paying attention to one or more of them.

Game animation is its own beast, and different genres have their own needs. I’d recommend studying animations that do what you’d like to do, frame by frame. If you’re unsure of how exactly to analyse animation for its techniques, youtube channel New Frame Plus shows an excellent example.

Oh, and film yourself some references! The Queen demanded so much pretend mace swinging that it broke my hoover.

Regarding pixel art

The pixel art style was picked for two reasons: 1. to evoke a retro game feel to emphasise the meta nature of the narrative, and 2. because it’s faster and more forgiving to animate in than any of my other options.

At the very start I was into the idea of doing a painterly style—Hollow Knight was my first soulslike—but quickly realised that I’d either have to spend hundreds of hours animating the characters, or design them in a simplistic way that I deemed too cutesy for this particular game. (Hollow Knight style, one day I’d love to emulate you…)

I don’t use a dedicated program, just Photoshop for everything like a chump. Pixel art doesn’t need anything fancy, although I’m sure specialist programs will keep it nice and simple.

Pixel art’s funny; its limitations make it dependent on symbolism, shortcuts and viewer interpretation. You could search for some tutorials on basic principles (like avoiding “jaggies” or the importance of contrast), but ultimately you’ll simply want to get a start in it to find your own confidence in it. I began dabbling years ago by asking for character requests on Tumblr and doodling them in pixels in whatever way I could think of.

Regarding environment assets

The Queen’s throne room consists of two main sprites—one background and one separate bit of the door for the Hero disappear behind—and then about fifty more for the lighting setup. There’s six different candle animations, there’s lines on the floor that need to go on top of character reflections, all the candle circles and lit objects are separated so that the candles can be extinguished asynchronously; and then there’s purple phase 2 versions of all of the above.

This is all rather dumb. There’s simpler ways in Godot to do 2D lighting with shaders and a built-in system (I use those too), but I wanted control over the exact colours so I just drew everything in Photoshop the way I wanted it. Still, it highlights how mostly you only need a single background asset and separated foreground objects; except if you need animated objects or stuff that needs to change while the game’s running, you’ll get a whole bunch more.

I wholeheartedly applaud having a go at making your own game art, even if you don’t have any art background! The potential for cohesion in all aspects of design—art, game, narrative, sound—is at the heart of why video games are such an exciting medium!

Regarding writing

Finding the voices of the Queen and the Hero was the quick part of the process. They figured that out they are almost as soon as writing started. I’d been mulling this game over in my mind for so long, I had already a specific idea in mind of what the two of them stood for, conceptually and thematically. When they started bantering, I felt like all I really had to do was to guide it along the storyline, and then polish.

What ended up taking so long was that there was too much for them to say for how short the game needed to be to not feel overstretched. Since I’d decided to go with two dialogue options on my linear story, it at least gave me twice the amount of dialogue that I got to write, but it wasn’t enough!

The first large-scale rewrite was me going over the first draft and squeezing in more interesting things for the Queen and the Hero to discuss, more branching paths and booleans. There was this whole thing where the player’s their dialogue choices over multiple conversations would lead them to about four alternate interpretations of why the Queen is the way she is. This was around the time I happened to finally play Disco Elysium, so of course I also decided to also add a ton of microreactivity (ie. small changes in dialogue that acknowledge earlier player choices) to cram in even more alternate dialogue. I spent ages tinkering with the exact nuances till I was real proud of it.

Right until the playtesters of this convoluted contraption found the story to be unclear and confusing. For some reason. So for my final rewrite, I picked out my favourite bits and cut everything else. With the extra branching gone, there was more room to improve the pacing so the core of the story could breathe. The microreactivity got to stay, at least!

A sample of old dialogue from the overcomplicated version:

Regarding completion

The question was “what kept me going to actually finish the game, since that is a point many games never even get to meet?” and it’s a great one because I forgot that’s a thing. Difficulties finishing projects, that is—I used to think it was hard, but not for many years. Maybe I’ve completed so many small-scale games already that it hardly seems that unreasonable of an expectation? (Game jams. You should do game jams.)

I honestly never had any doubt I was going to finish Mortholme. When I started in late autumn last year, I was honestly expecting the concept to be too clunky to properly function; but I wished to indulge in silliness and make it exist anyways. That vision would’ve been easy to finish, a month or two of low stakes messing around, no biggie. (Like a game jam!)

Those months ran out quickly as I had too much fun making the art to stop. It must’ve been around the time I made this recording that it occurred to me that even if the game was going to be clunky, it could still genuinely work on the back of good enough storytelling technique—not just writing, but also the animation and the Hero’s evolving behaviour during the gameplay segments which I’d been worried about. The reaction to my early blogging was also heartening. Other people could also imagine how this narrative could be interesting!

A few weeks after that I started planning out the narrative beats I wanted the dialogue to reach, and came to the conclusion that I really, really wanted it to work. Other people had to see this shit, I thought. There’s got to be freaks out there who’d love to experience this tragedy, and I’m eager to deliver.

That’s why I was fine with the project’s timeline stretching out. If attention to detail and artistry was going to make this weird little story actually come to life, then great, because that’s exactly the part of development I love doing most. Projects taking longer than expected can be frustrating, but accepting that as a common part of game dev is what allows confidence in eventual their completion regardless.

Regarding release

Dear anonymous’s questions didn’t involve post-release concerns, but it seems fitting to wrap up the post-mortem by talking about the two things about Mortholme's launch that were firsts for me, and thus I was unprepared for.

1. This was the first action game I've coded. Well, sort of—I consider Mortholme to be a story first and foremost, with gameplay so purposefully obnoxious it benefits from not being thought of as a “normal” game. Still, the action elements are there. For someone who usually sticks to making puzzle games since they’re easier to code, this was my most mechanically fragile game yet. So despite all my attempts at playtesting and failsafes, it had a whole bunch of bugs on release.

Game-breaking bugs, really obvious bugs, weird and confusing bugs. It took me over a week to fix all that was reported (and I’m only hoping they indeed are fully fixed). That feels slow; I should’ve expected it was going to break so I could’ve been faster to respond. Ah well, next time I know what I’ll be booking my post-release week for.

2. This was my first game that I let players give me money for. Sure, it’s pay-what-you-want, but for someone as allergic to business decisions as I am, it was a big step. I guess I was worried of being shown that nobody would consider my art worth financial compensation. Well, uh, that fear has gone out of the window now. I’m blown away by how kind and generous the players of Mortholme have been with their donations.

I can’t imagine it's likely to earn a living wage from pouring hundreds of hours into pay-what-you-want passion projects, but the support has me heartened to seek out a future where I could make these weird stories and a living both.

Those were the unexpected parts. The part I must admit I was expecting—but still infinitely grateful for—was that Mortholme did in fact reach them freaks who’d find it interesting. The responses, comments, analyses, fan works (there’s fic and art!! the dream!!), inspiration, and questions (like the ones prompting me to write this post-mortem) people have shared with me thanks to Mortholme… They’ve all truly been what I was hoping for back when I first gave myself emotions thinking about a mean megalomaniac and stubborn dipshit.

Thank you for reading, thank you for playing, and thank you for being around.

[legendguard]

I'm doing it! I'm finally doing it! I'm uploading to Tumblr like I said I would fifty-bazillion times but never did! I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm doing it!!

I'm a long time user of DeviantArt, trying to escape its bullshittery and find a new home for my art. If you've ever seen that "Arceus Gospel Form" or "Eowenah Enraged Form", "Shadogaire Omega Form", or "Yinyanro Pondora form", that was me. I'll probably be re-uploading my gallery here, or at least plan on it, along with gradually switching away from DeviantArt for good. For a while at least, I will probably submit to both until I wean myself off.

I do have a lot to learn, though... It's going to be hard because I've been using Deviantart almost exclusively since I first joined back in 2009, so learning an entirely new format is really daunting. Probably why I've been avoiding the switch for so long. But my despise for DeviantArt and its shitty Eclipse update is far greater than my fear of trying something new, so here we are.

Fair warning for all future posts; I am a terrible writer. Be prepared for text that looks like it was written by a middle schooler who just discovered a thesaurus and wants to sound smarter than they actually are

--

This is the latest iteration of the head and corresponding skull of my long-time sona/Pokesona Eowenah, and the character for which I derive my username (She is the "Legendguard" Pokémon, or Legendary Guardian). Since I'm new here and y'all haven't been exposed to my shenanigans for the last sixteen years, I remake her. A lot. I'm not even sure what "version" this redesign is at this point. I will probably do it again. No I'm not sorry. I will say I am quite happy with this version, at least for now, so maybe it will be a few years before that happens. You can see the previous version here: https://www.deviantart.com/legendguard/art/Anatomy-The-Head-of-Eowenah-2022-905702058

Eowenah is a light/psychic* type legendary Fakemon and the mascot of my fake Pokémon version, Pokémon Celestine. She is a chimeric clone of many, many different Pokémon, created by Mewtwo very early on as a test of how to mix various Pokémon genes more efficiently, who then became "possessed" and enhanced by the legendary Fakemon Haliapio to transform her into the Legendguard to take on the Evil legendary Fakemon Shadogaire. If that sounds like a bunch a' cringe... it is... but goddammit it's my cringe.

*Flying/Psychic if the Light type is repressed by certain attacks

Being a chimera, Eowenah possesses traits from many different Pokémon families, especially from avian, felid, and pterosaurian lines. This can easily be seen in her skull, which looks a bit like a mammal skull with avian parts glued on. But there is a method to the madness. Being arguably one of the most powerful Pokemon ever, and having the best attributes picked out by Mewtwo during her initial creation, all of these parts meld together into a surprisingly cohesive structure, even if it looks a bit odd.

Here we will solely be focusing on Eowenah's head and skull, minus the hyoid apparatus (for now). (Cont in comments(?))

[cbk1000]

Hey, so kind of a general writing/not been on tumblr much update (because apparently I'm so perpetually online people will ask me if I'm ok after a few days of me not posting as much lmao): I have been having some health issues. I haven’t really mentioned them aside from updating a couple people I talk to daily on why I've been so quiet because a.) I felt too poorly to do anything other than marathon sitcoms I've seen a bazillion times, and b.) I didn't know what was going on.

The tl; dr is that, after getting diagnosed with strep throat a few weeks ago, and feeling mostly normal aside from some minor irritation in my throat, I started feeling horribly weak and overall just fucking terrible, and I was having bad tachycardia. Like a heart rate in the high 130s just standing, and a sitting heart rate of like 110 (my normal resting heart rate is in the low 70s). Three trips to the ER later, a bunch of normal labs and cardiac tests, and my boss (ER nurse for 20 years) pushing for an echo, and I finally got a diagnosis of pericarditis, which is inflammation of the sac around your heart. It's most commonly caused by viruses. The ER doc suspects my strep throat was misdiagnosed and I had a virus that caused the inflammation of my heart, although I think bacterial infections can sometimes cause it as well. I've been put on high dose ibuprofen and some acid reflux meds to protect my stomach while I'm on such a high dose of ibuprofen, and I have to take it easy for at least the next week and then be careful and play it by ear. I have been too weak to even sit up much for the past several days and cannot stand for very long, which is infuriating as someone who does one-armed push-ups for funsies.

Anyway, all this is to say, I'm still alive, the next chapter of Book of Merthur (for any of you following it) was coming along just fine but for obvious reasons is a bit postponed now. I'll probably be off work all next week again and hopefully will feel strong enough to get in a bit of writing. (And for any readers about to say, 'Oh my God, don't worry about that, take care of yourself!!' I am literally gnashing my teeth to go back to writing and am furious that my last week or so has consisted of me being too exhausted even to read. I've been marathoning sitcoms I've seen a bazillion times, I'm not even much of a TV watcher, and I'm going crazy. Yesterday I lifted two books to get to the one I wanted underneath them, and was so exhausted I went straight back to bed. THEY WERE PAPERBACKS. AND NOT WAR AND PEACE PAPERBACKS.)

[sntechsupport]

hey im still playing an old version of sburb that only has the 14 classes and 12 aspects, and i keep seeing stuff on here abt other ones like the grace class and mist aspect?? i tried to find the changelog but i just cant access it for whatever reason. not interested in updating, just curious about the new classpects!

I was halfway through bazillion of explaining words written here when someone hacked and slashed some cables and my computer went dead, and nothing saved, so. You are going to get the links to the posts where I had already explained it.

Here are the remaining 10 Classes.

Here are the remaining 12 Aspects.

Knock yourself out.

Very, very tired Gear out.

[toyhou-se-drama]

I am so considering doing the apparent "asshole" move of forcing people to wait for my half of an art trade until they give me their half, unless I'm already familiar with them and know they're not going to scam me out of free art.

Someone initiated an art trade with me, I got my half done pretty quickly and sent it over. No thanks or anything when they accepted. It's been 2 months since the trade and I still don't have their half. I asked them about it before and they claimed to be burnt out (but they were still able to make 10+ pages of personal art?) and now they're just flat-out ignoring me when I ask for updates. And I know they've been online because they have their "last seen" status set to public and I've seen them posting more personal art + commenting on my mutuals' art trade threads.

I'm honestly getting really annoyed because I feel like I wasted my time with the entire thing. If you just wanted free art, why didn't you just go to one of the bazillion "offering free art" threads? Why come to my art TRADE thread? Can't help but feel scammed. :/

I don't mind doing free art for stuff like Artfight or when I have requests open, but I was very clear and honest in my intentions that this was a TRADE and I expected to get something in return.

Either way, I won't be trading with them again. But after being soured on that yet again, I think I'm probably just going to flat-out not do my half for new traders until I get theirs.

🦫

[eldritchmochi]

okay so, to have a place for consolidated information for the next little bit, since i'm sure folks have QUESTIONS given my incredibly aggressive gallows humour

MOCHI, WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THAT?? (guts edition)

if you got here via a link, follow this link instead for the latest update here's updates 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 !

tldr ive been getting a number of recurrent small bowel obstructions located in my duodenum (first part of the small intestine, connecting the stomach to the rest of the bowel) due to external pressure on the duodenum around the 3rd to 4th (of 4) section. what's causing the pressure?? no clue actually ive done a bazillion scans and none of them have been quite clear enough for a real confident dx so i get to have surgery about it at some point in the near future

current theory is the pressure is from some sort of non-cancerous tumor mass and the plan is to cut me open nice and big, look about, and remove both this mass and the affected section of the duodenum (.5 of an organ) at a minimum, but may involve fully bipassing the duodenum when my guts get hooked back up to my stomach which could (would???) also require removing my gallbladder (1 and 2 organs respectively) (i'm having so much yanked out of my abdomen this summer jfc)

atm i'm still waiting for scheduling to give me a call to set things up. surgeon's estimate was 4-5 weeks from now (8/17 when he called). from that point i'll spend a week-ish in the hospital to make sure all hoses are firmly affixed, and then i'll have a month at a minimum before i'm reasonably healed and can go back to normal life

i have good insurance and the luck (????) of being incredibly ill at the best of times, so i've already hit my out of pocket max and thus this WHOLE THING even back dating to my first er visit end of june will cost a whopping 189$ that i've already paid. i also should qualify for my states paid medical leave and my wife will get a hefty chunk of change for living expenses via student loans. however, both those things won't hit until late september at the earliest

long term, im not expecting much of a financial burden, but short term we could use a hand with groceries and similar while we wait for my backpay and my wife's student loans

for venmo and paypal: i am @/sumomomochi for both and either is fine, though pp is labeled as a business account so pls mark f&f if you can

i also have this amazon wishlist ( https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/N1NSTH3JPCX2?ref_=wl_share ) that is like 90% meal replacement shakes and bulk shelf stable snacks, but also has a couple of other useful things like bathing wipes since i am unlikely to be able to shower well post surgery, pj pants for when it cools down (i went up a size with t because my ass and thighs got just so beefy and thus have one pair that fits rn lmao), and cat food for the penni (gotta keep my nurse well paid)

uuuh what else

like i said, i'm incredibly ill at the best of times so i am a champ at weathering this sort of stuff its nbd. "i'm sorry"s are not helpful, i'd much rather have people ask direct specific questions, either about my health status or things i'm doing to keep busy (ie "any new and fun things causing tummy issues?" or "hows your battle vest coming?" or "whats your fav line youve written this week?"). engagement and entertainment is Important to keep me from climbing the walls but i swear i will bite at straight sympathy

things ive been doing to keep me out of the er include: laying on my left side or stomach (The Digestion Position; helps get food past the squished part); eating a semi-liquid diet (hence ensure, jello, pudding, the like, though its important that i also eat solid food as much as is tolerated, which is such a delicate balance. this is why i cannot currently work); going on stupid little walks for my stupid digestive health (honestly the most important thing i can do, which im mad about, because it requires pants, but not only encourages guts to digest but also will help me not decondition, which i have already done a lot of :I)

things YOU can do to help (because i know *i* am a helper but also what is actually helpful??): financially with the above deets (no pressure); asks, comments, and other conversational interactions (i am absolutely chill with basically any kind of question and i dont mind dms if youd prefer privacy, just dont pedestal me i promise i am just A Dude); fanart for my fics (i do not care if you "cant draw" i will still love it); prompts for fandom but not necessarily fic projects (wardrobe moodboards/meta for characters, playlists/songs, smut writing how to questions, cosplay progress/plans qs, those "what was x's pov in this scene/what specifically happened between x and y in this fic?" qs andor other ask meme things idk dude i haven't been able to do shit for almost three months im booooored)

in conclusion

nurse penni says do not worry about herb patient, he is in good hands, just be sure to offer regular enrichment

[bvannn]

Weekly Update May 10, 2024

Today was a bad day but the rest of the week was decent all things considered. I got an okay amount of work done, but I’m still really exhausted from school. It might take a bit longer to rest but I’m still trying to do stuff because I’m addicted to work.

Main thing this week was comic work, I’d say I’m 14% done, planning to be better and faster once I’m better rested, I’m going to try to do all panels on the same layer as opposed to a billion layers like before, see if it speeds things up. I’m pretty confident in the story and want to get to writing more but that’s not as high a priority as some other projects.

Music video work, OEB is about 30% boarded, it’s very exhausting to do because of adobe’s interface but it still gets done well enough when I’m in a good mood. I wanted to get making a puppet rig this week, hoping it’d go faster now that I know what I’m doing, especially since I’ve gotten basic ones done faster, but again didn’t have time due to body needing to rest and personal problems. I’ll try again next week, since it looks like work is taking longer than expected to get started back up. I’m also a lot better at rig animation in general now so it should be quicker to do too.

Other music projects, I’m very close to done on one of the two lyric batches so I’ll try to get that done this next week. I’d like to finish off the other one too but I’m very slow. Once my body is rested up enough for my brain to really work those will be the priority, then I’d like to do more. I’ll probably do another cover or so before anything else but I’d really like to do songs based around my OC stories, and maybe I will. At the very least attempting will be a nice exercise.

Other general drawings, I’m trying to figure out when I’ll have time to do more. I’m taking a fair amount of time on each of those now, which sucks since I’ll have to up my comm prices, but I don’t want to push for those until I know exactly how much to change the prices by. I’m not a professional so I don’t want to charge like one.

Anime Campaign stuff: writing my own campaign still, got a huge bite of that done, but not the part I would have wanted. Planning on seven ‘Episodes’, 1, 2, 3, and now 5 are done. I might iron out some kinks with episode 1 but I really want to get episode 4 done before anything else. Might still get some tokens done, but I don’t want to post too many, since ideally I’d like to release my campaign as a prewritten module for free, then offer the maps and tokens as a paid optional add on. Maybe. Either way I need to focus on writing more than I have been, I’ll try to use my insomnia for that.

Minor bits and bobs, music writing impulse is coming back so I’d like to make or finish a little smaller tune, but again that relies on time and OEB and comic are taking priority. If I get BMBO or BATB lyrics done I’ll get tuning a VSQX (or whatever they’re called in vocaloid 5/6) and pass that so we can figure out which voice to use and any tweaks that need to be made. If BMBO is done before BATB I might look into typography animation to see if I can throw together a video for that, since that’ll be less effort than a full video. I’m also always tempted to do a bazillion covers, but I’m not really working towards any actively. The ones I’m debating would be called SSCS, ILMC, LIS or S (again going by initials or partial initials to not say too much). I did a basic VSQX for SSCS but mostly just to test how a certain voice tuned, and I know who I want to sing it but I don’t know what to do with the instruments so I’m not planning to work on it unless inspiration really hits. I have so much desire to do things and not enough body power!

Next week priority will be comic again, I have 4 pages done and one sketched, I’ll be maybe staying up late on Sunday again so I can get a big bite done then if I’m somehow unable tomorrow. OEB is next priority, alongside lyric writing, header/newgrounds collab, then AC writing and token practice. Thanks everyone for being so patient with me not posting much, I’m so sorry I’m so slow to work on bigger projects but I really hope they’re worth it.

[0nelittlebirdtoldme]

Hiya, Birdie! For the Ao3 Wrapped game!

3: What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

10: What work was the quickest to write?

15: What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

18: The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

23: Did you do any collaborative works this year?

27: What do you listen to while writing?

Have fun! Hope this wasn't too many questions!

So sorry for the super late answer, Salty! Going to answer these in a speed round! I think a few I have already shared before, but eh :D

3: I am most proud of either Violet Rays of Sun, because I wrote it for the Slash Server challenge, and managed to post one 500 word chapter a day, or the ongoing TGN. Ladybugs Don't Fly at Night was a plot bunny that has taken me in a storm, and there was a super hard chapter to write during the end - messed me up for days after, but I am glad I managed it anyhow

10: Probably one of the bazillion drabbles i did. I can crank these out in 10 minutes by now

15: Sadly, it's going to be TGN after all and Thirty-One Days of Night, which I think I last updated in October. Oh dear

18: Ironically, probably Jean and Gabriel from Empire of the Vampire, because I still haven't finished the novel yet, and don't know through what a character arc they'll go in canon. So it's still a bit rough finding a voice for the two of them at this point in time

23: Not a collaborative work, but I did beta read for some of KINGBeerZ's fics. I also drew a piece of Johnny fanart specifically for @argyleheir's fantastic 90s AU, which i think kind of counts

27: Silence <3

[hackedmotionsensors]

QUICK UPDATE

lmao

So I just got back last week from Anime Impulse Bay Area! That was a lot of fun and I did a lot better than I did at Fanime Night Market. But I'm glad I did fanime night market bc even tho it cost me a LOT more than it should have and I was WILDLY emotionally and financially stressed.....it gave me a chance to trouble shoot a lot of issues BEFORE going to Anime Impulse where I was basically on my own.

Someone even gave me a stevetony charm bc they remembered me from the before times lol

Aside from that, like a lot of the animation industry I am still woefully unemployed. So any donations or commissions are greatly appreciated

FOR COMMISSIONS!! I have like three???? right now in the wings. But bc I have another con at the end of the month (anime impulse orange county! PLEASE COME) and I'm trying to get merch sent to manu before its too late or I have to pay a bazillion dollars I don't have I've only been able to cut away at them a little bit at a time. The next one (A STEVETONY NO LESS) is on its way! I just need to finish drawing the rest of the background but they lads are drawn in and I think its really cute. I'm usually really nervous about commissions which is why I'm so slow. I wring my hands a lot hoping that people like them. But lol Stevetony are like ....putting on my favorite shoes asdfasd

LAST PART OF THE UPDATE IS....

my fucking laptop is on the fritz. I'd been using this bad boy since right after graduating. Almost 10 years. It still WORKS but I had to repair the screen in 2022. And it didn't even really fix it. And NOW....my keyboard died lol The side of the keyboard where the A is just WOULD NOT WORK. Luckily when we got the notice that we were getting canned from Disney/Marvel I was like I'M BUYING A COMPUTER NOW!!!

That was in November lmao. I'm only setting it up now. There were a lot of things I apparently was missing bc I just never needed them by having a laptop. I had to go to target and get a little adapter for the cintiq plug. And I needed to order SPEAKERS lol What the hell is this 1994?!!!

So for today I don't have speakers so I can't watch anything on my main monitor so I'll just watch stuff on my ipad. I tried using headphones but it sounded so BAD.

So I think for the rest of the day I'll be spent fighting csp to give me my files but the computer is set up and now its just all the boring part of setting up all my old settings, ad blockers, anti virus stuff lol

GODDDDDD

Last little mention is that I'll TRY to use tumblr a bit more but only after I finish Good Omens bc I know all y'all fuckin nerds can't stop posting spoilers lmao (TBF the season is over)

[dentalmarketingexpert]

What Google’s Latest Algorithm Means for Your Dental SEO

You probably didn’t become a dentist to worry about Google. But here you are, trying to keep up with an algorithm that changes more often than your patients floss (and let’s be honest—that bar isn’t super high). If you’ve noticed your website traffic has dipped, or your phone isn’t ringing like it used to, there’s a decent chance Google’s latest update has something to do with it. That’s where Dental Marketing Experts can help you navigate the complexities and optimize your online presence.

So what does this mean for your practice? And more importantly—what can you actually do about it?

Let’s break it all down in plain language, with just the right amount of tech speak so you don’t get lost but still sound smart the next time your nephew asks about SEO at Thanksgiving.

First Things First: What Even Is a Google Algorithm Update?

Think of Google like the front desk at your dental office. People walk in (or search) with a question, and Google tries to point them in the right direction as fast and accurately as possible. The algorithm is just the behind-the-scenes system that decides which websites show up first, and why.

But here's the thing—Google doesn't want to just show any result. It wants to serve the best content for what the person needs, based on about a bazillion signals. So every few months, it tweaks the algorithm to try and do that better. Sometimes it's a big shift (like realizing people want answers, not sales pitches), and sometimes it's more subtle (like prioritizing mobile-friendly sites).

For you, that means your practice’s online visibility can go up, down, or sideways without you changing a thing.

What Changed This Time? (And Why It Matters to Dentists)

The most recent update focused hard on two things: quality content and user experience. And while those terms sound a bit fuzzy, they have real-world consequences for your practice.

Here’s the gist:

Helpful, original content is now king (or queen—your call). If your site has generic copy that could be slapped on any other dental office’s homepage, that’s a red flag for Google.

User signals like bounce rate and time on site matter more. If people land on your site and hit the back button within 3 seconds, Google notices.

Mobile usability and site speed are increasingly critical. A slow, clunky website that doesn’t look great on phones? Google isn’t a fan. Neither are your patients.

AI-generated content is under heavier scrutiny. Google’s not banning it, but it wants content to feel human, trustworthy, and specific.

If your site hasn’t been updated in the last year, you might be feeling the pinch right about now.

So How Does This Hit Dental Websites Specifically?

Dentistry lives in what SEO folks call a "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL) niche. Translation? Google holds health-related websites to a higher standard. You're expected to be factual, trustworthy, and clear—because people are making health decisions based on your content.

Here are some common issues dental sites face post-update:

Overuse of template content (you know, the same "Our office offers gentle, compassionate care" line that’s on every dentist’s homepage)

Missing author credentials or trust signals

Lack of location-specific relevance (like talking about "your city" instead of actually saying "Boise" or "Naperville")

Outdated blog posts that don't reflect current practices or technology

And perhaps the biggest one? Ignoring your Google Business Profile. Google treats this like your digital storefront. If it's not optimized, updated, and reviewed, you’re leaving money on the table.

What Can You Actually Do About It? (Let’s Talk Solutions)

Here’s the part you came for. Actionable, no-nonsense tips you can use without needing a marketing degree.

1. Audit Your Website Like a First-Time Visitor

Is your website loading in under 3 seconds?

Does it look good on a phone?

Are your services easy to find?

Is your contact info right there, no scavenger hunt required?

If you answered “no” to any of those, that’s priority #1.

2. Refresh Your Content (Yes, That Means Writing Stuff)

We know, you’re a dentist, not a blogger. But your website has to sound like it comes from your practice. Not from a copy-paste factory.

Add real patient FAQs (from the front desk or your hygienists)

Share updated info about your tech (are you using 3D imaging now?)

Post about seasonal topics (back-to-school checkups, holiday whitening specials, etc.)

3. Highlight Your Credentials & Build Trust

Google wants to know: are you legit?

Add bios for each dentist with credentials, awards, and even a fun fact

Include testimonials from real patients (with names and photos, if possible)

Link to your professional associations (ADA, local dental societies)

4. Don’t Sleep on Local SEO

This part’s huge.

Make sure your Google Business Profile is claimed, updated, and includes hours, photos, and services

Get reviews (nicely, ethically) from happy patients

Use your city name and neighborhood throughout your site

Google wants to know you’re the go-to dentist in that area, not just some floating generic clinic.

5. Watch Your Metrics (They Tell a Story)

You don’t need to become a data nerd, but tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4 can tell you:

What pages people visit most

How long they stick around

Which pages send them packing

Those are clues. Follow them.

Rankings Dropped? Don’t Panic—Here’s What to Do

Let’s be real: Google updates sometimes feel like getting a surprise cavity after brushing like a saint. It happens. The key is not to freak out.

If you saw a drop in rankings or traffic:

Check what changed: Did your competitors update their sites? Did you lose reviews?

Fix technical stuff: Broken links, missing pages, or slow speeds? Those are fixable.

Compare your content: Look at who’s outranking you. What are they doing that you’re not?

Update and monitor: Make changes, then give it a few weeks. SEO is a slow burn, not a quick zap.

Thinking Long-Term: Your SEO Game Plan for 2025 and Beyond

Google’s going to keep updating. That’s just the nature of the beast. But that doesn’t mean you have to play catch-up forever.

Here’s a future-proof plan:

Create content regularly (even short updates or photo posts help)

Respond to reviews (yes, even the weird ones)

Make your website reflect your actual practice

Invest in help if needed (marketing agencies, freelance writers, SEO pros)

The goal isn’t to game the system. It’s to make your website so helpful, clear, and human that Google naturally wants to show it.

Final Thought: Keep Being a Dentist. But a Visible One.

You didn’t sign up to learn algorithms. You signed up to help people smile without wincing. But like it or not, your digital presence is part of your practice now. It’s how people find you, trust you, and book that first appointment.

So while Google does its thing, make sure you do yours: stay visible, stay helpful, and stay human.

Because honestly? That’s the kind of content Google’s looking for anyway.

[starsbegantofall]

haven't updated much outside of complaining and some planned blog posts. i've been trying to stay on track working on my cosplay and lolita coord for the upcoming con in a week and a half, it's causing me a bit of stress, to put it lightly. first off, i don't wanna leave my air-conditioned house when it's a bazillion degrees outside, don't want to fight holiday traffic for 6 or 7 hours each way, don't want to deal with the sweaty b.o. and/or diseases of the unwashed masses at a con, and most importantly, i'm unsure of what the boba situation is in a different much smaller city with a much smaller Asian population, although they must surely have at least one of the major chains near my hotel.

on the other hand, i really want to see my friends, not sure if i will see them again before the end of the year! i want to go to an actual big artist alley or dealers room and treat myself. and i gotta support local lolita events in my state, without a doubt. so i am determined to look my absolute best in this cosplay and lolita coord even though i'll be sweating by default.

the costume has given me grief (although that's not too unusual, this was just a relatively simple design), and i probably will need to redo one or two pieces if i have time, but i'm on track otherwise. at least my creation is much more accurate than whatever you can buy at the store for $15 and that's my goal. then i have to sew decorations to a hat, consider an overskirt, and make some deco nails for the lolita coord and i'll be happy.

[danny-chase]

Responding to your tags on this post, got way to long so I'm making a separate post, @no-mere-mortals

This also isn't me trying to like be rude or anything I've just read a lot of comics with Dick so I think I can give a good analysis and show his response concisely (or well, this will be long but it's easier than reading a bazillion comics).

So without further ado, Dick's reaction to Jason's death, how he found out, what he felt, and why, with as much canon context as I can fit into a semi-reasonably length post:

Jason died while Dick was on a mission on another planet, right at the end of the Who is Donna Troy (take like 29384, I'm exaggerating but her backstory is ridiculously complicated and this is not the first time they did one of these) event. For context: Dick's been living and working with the Titans for a few years, Robin!Jason occasionally pops up in the comic (notably, he joined the Titans to help save Dick from Brother Blood).

So it makes sense, then that Jason is in the Titans files. Enter Danny Chase, a younger teenager about Jason's age. As previously mentioned the Titans are in space, but Danny being younger, Dick orders him to stay home because he doesn't want him to get hurt on an interstellar mission. Danny is bored. He's a pretty cocky kid, he's hyper competent but also hyper annoying. So he does what any bored overpowered teen would do and starts going through the Titans files to make his own team because those losers left him behind. (Following panels are from The New Titans #52)

When he tries Robin, it comes in as reclassified and he's like whoops. Jason is stored under Robin-2, and his status comes up as unknown.

Danny's confused by this, the computer updated through some external system, and no news had come to the tower about Jason, who he saw last week:

There's not actually panels of these two hanging out, I'd argue that it's implying that Jason comes and hangs out with the Titans semi-frequently and Dick and Jason likely hung out with each other the week before Jason died. Also Danny calls Jason the Toddster which is hilarious but besides the point.

Dick doesn't find out that Jason's died until The New Teen Titans #55 when (because Danny is an asshole) this exchange takes place.

From here, things start spiraling (I'm showing things in what I believe is chronological order)

Dick is pretty devastated by Jason's death. A lot of fans assumes that because Dick and Bruce were somewhat estranged, that extended to Dick and Jason - and at the time of Jason's death, just like in current comics that's not true. I would say it's somewhat analogous to having an older sibling in college that you get to go visit a bunch (pre-crisis, with innocent Jason had Dick actually coming home a bunch, it's post-crisis where they start setting up Dick and Bruce as estranged and Jason as the violent one tm). These comics are post crisis yes, but they didn't erase Jason being semi-close/visiting the Titans. When Dick mourned Jason, he mourned the person, not the brother he never had or being like it's sad a child died (I would say that's more akin to Tim mourning Damian).

Now to your point, Dick feeling guilty. He does initially. Visiting Jason's grave with Kory, there's the following exchange (again in The New Titans #55):

Dick: I gave Jason my old Robin costume. I should have been there, Kory.

Kory: It's not your fault.

Dick: Maybe not. But that doesn't make it any easier.

Dick know the guilt he's feeling is irrational, but again that doesn't get rid of the feelings. He's pretty messed up by Jason's death, as Kory remarks to herself later:

Kory: He hasn't been the same since he found out about Jason. Oh, Dick -- I know you were Robin. I know what it means to you that the new Robin died. I know you feel like part of you died, too -- but it wasn't you, honey. Robin died. But you didn't. You're still alive honey.

At the end of this scene, Dick decides to go talk to Bruce, partially about the fact that Bruce didn't even try to contact him and we get this (warning for abuse) scene (also from The New Titans #55).

So before his guilt was mainly, “I gave Jason my suit” which is pretty much his stamp of approval (even in retellings where Bruce gives Jason the name Robins, which is all but one, Dick gives Jason his old costume as sort of an acceptance of Jason in the role). Which he knows is irrational, because Bruce made Jason a vigilante, not him, and Jason would have died whether he was in another suit or not. But now adding this conversation into the mix, it becomes “I left Bruce, so Jason had to replace me.” to which, Dick again knows is illogical, because that was Bruce’s choice not his and he does defend himself because he knows that accusation is wrong. And then it becomes “Taking me in made Bruce weak” and “you never actually even cared about him” (which especially in this continuity) which again are both false. But it’s coming from Bruce, someone Dick loves and respects and that’s hurtful and words like this have a lasting impact. You can see just how defeated and small Dick feels, curling up into a ball at the end. My point being, not all of the guilt came from Dick. Dick reacted like anyone would, “I should have been there”. But Bruce blamed Dick, not all of the guilt comes from Dick himself.

We see Kory commenting again on how Dick’s changed since seeing Bruce (still New Titans #55)

And we see that Jason’s death, has made Dick view having side-kicked aged partners in a worse light, and maybe partially because of feeling responsible for Jason, he realizes he can’t be responsible for Danny anymore. 

And you can see that Bruce’s words hit home because he’s considering that Bruce taking him in may have been a mistake as well. 

Now at this point Kory realizes there’s something wrong with Dick, and she intervenes (mentioned in New Titans #56) and he ends up going to see a therapist. Chronologically, Secret Origins Annual #3 comes after he starts going to therapy (but before we’ve actually seen him in therapy).

The issue starts with Kory and Dick going on a date, and Dick going home because he feels awful (he blames a stomach virus, so we can assume he physically feels terrible as well as mentally).

The context that comes around that hallucination, is that he’s being attacked by Gargoyle and the Anti-thesis, who have personal grudges against him, and draw him into limbo once he falls asleep to mess with him (and eventually kill him). The reason as stated at the end is his weakened mental state. 

It’s also confirmed that things got bad enough for Dick to be using sleeping pills, canonically in response to Jason’s death here, as well as the fact that he’s not super bothered by like hallucinating a person in his mirror painting not the greatest picture of Dick’s mental health. 

Anyways, time for guilt tripping.

It’s notable that though he’s not the ones making the words, the words are having an effect, and it can be assumed he feels as if he failed Jason. An interesting parallel that can be drawn with Jason, is that Dick has had teenagers die while on his team before.

So it’s possible that guilt over Tara could mix in and influence his feelings towards what happened with Jason. And it’s actually being blamed for Jason’s death that allows him to start turning things around, because again, he knows that Jason’s death isn’t his fault.

And he’s right. The Titans did need him. He loves a lot of people, and he can’t be everywhere at once. And what’s further is that he doesn’t blame Bruce for Jason’s death after that conversation in the cave. With the help of his friends, they defeat the nightmare scenario and Dick reaffirms his love for them and they go to the tower to party, and this is where Dick starts turning things around. 

Now back to The New Titans #56 we get to see Dick go to therapy and work through his feelings about the whole situation.

And here we have Dick talking about his guilt again. Standing away from it, he knows it’s not his fault, but in the beginning he felt guilty, which has been compounded by the two external incidents with Bruce and Gargoyle - even he knows both of them were in the wrong to blame him. 

I guess, my point is with all of this, is that most of the fandom assumes that Dick is the type of person to feel guilty for no reason (to some extent he does have a “tendency towards self blame”), and even if fans understand that Dick and Jason had a good relationship, they tend to make him feel guilty without understanding where that guilt was coming from. Dick’s reaction to Jason’s death is sometimes framed as Dick feeling bad because he didn’t do enough - but he did do enough, and there was nothing he could have done. It’s much more a case of Dick blaming himself, and that blame being reinforced by those around him, his friends helping him realize that he needed help, and him getting that help and being able to recover. 

Honestly, I also think these comics handle the blame of Jason’s death the best, because later literally everyone will go onto blame Jason for his own death, but these comics pointed the blame at the adults for letting him become a vigilante in the first place - they show Bruce’s justification for having Jason in the first place (things worked fine with Dick, he was lonely and needed a partner, Jason could be the same right?) and Dick turning away from the idea of having child sidekicks (after this comes Tim’s introduction, and it seems Dick’s position slides to, well, if Bruce is going to take on a kid, I will do everything i can to help train them so they don’t die, which is logical, and isn’t some big betrayal to his morals - he can’t really stop Bruce and he does tell Tim to go home, Tim just won’t - but Dick not wanting to be responsible for child heroes comes up again, in his reluctance to be a mentor for the young justice gang). Because this is from the Titan/Dick’s perspective, the comic was allowed to challenge Bruce and Dick in a way that other comics couldn’t.

As for Dick being clingy after Jason comes back uhhh I’ll analyze Brothers in Blood another day 💀, but currently their relationship is on good terms, Dick’s not overly clingy, nor canonically has he ever been like that (he’s actually probably the best at emotional intelligence out of the batkids and gives family members space if they need it, he shows up when Jason needs him and doesn’t come barging in uninvited). What can I say, they’re brothers.

[mettic]

Talking about multiplayer games 2022

Hi, I don’t really talk about this much because I mostly do it on twitter, but for the past two years or so I got active on backloggd because I enjoy writing in depth about video games but wont pretend that I have the speech ability to start a video game essay youtube. Feel free to read some of those if you want, I put more time into them than I should

However those who did click it might've noticed that I don’t really put stuff out on multiplayer based games. It’s not that I don’t play them; I play a lot really, but I have a hard time leaving a permanent review on multiplayer games just because of how the modern multiplayer games are; if you game is not actively updated it dies and is left in the dust. Every multiplayer game, even if it doesn’t call itself one, is a live service game, and live service games have to be iterated on constantly, it’s just the nature of the beast. How do you put a review on something that might radically change in a year from now? 

But I do want to talk about multiplayer games i put a decent amount of time into; but backloggd doesn’t have liek an individual journel entry thing i think and twitter doesn’t have the character limit for it, so I wanted to talk about multiplayer focused games I put time into this year  in this post. check it out under the cut

Lets just peel the Bandaid off real quick

Fortnite

fuck me. 

I think everyone has a character that fortnite will put into the game and it’ll break the camel’s back and you go “alright, i gotta see whats going on” and install it. for me it was vegeta.

It’s all an elaborate bait. They lure you in with truly outrageous crossovers; like shonens? we got DBZ, naruto and now MHA. Your favorite game characters? we got a lot of them; and god help us if they managed to make a deal with nintendo. You like marvel? cuz baby we Got Marvel. And the trap they lure you into with the bait? it’s that... fortnite is a good game?

Fortnite just hits a wonderful level of casual while still being a game where you can solo queue. The game just loves adding or rotating in weird stuff and it conjoins into a truly unique experience, while still having solid gunplay and honest 1v1s.

I’ve caught people filling gas with a pumpkin themed rocket launcher, turning them and the entire gas station into dust. In squads we set up a bounty, all four of us got on our own motorcycles and bows and chased them half way through the map like we were modern day mongels. I downed someone, picked them up, and had my friend with the bow that shoots poison gas shoot a cloud at my feet so I can smoke a dude out to death in my hands, which irl would likely be a for real warcrime. I can’t get this anywhere else.

other short thoughts: the game’s story setup of an island where realities crash together does wonders for the games skins. Outside of the collab stuff the skin parameters jsut being “a human body shape”  means they have full freedom to do whatever they want with skins; and this game has better original skins that most games on the market, there’s something you like in it. 

Part of the game’s success is its ability to just pump out content faster than any other game on the market, almost to the detriment of the entire gaming scene. The game rotates in new stuff almost every single week. Season 4 almost feels like a brand new game. Every other games output factor feels sluggish comapred to fortnite, which isnt fair because they make a bazillion dollars a day.

Also all of this is because of no build. Every time i’ve played gamemodes with build I find building just a straight detriment to the game. I would not of gotten into this game if I didnt get into it when no build was in the game; something that i’m pretty sure epic realizes. add no build royal rumble NOW

Fortnite unfortunately rules on multiple fronts

Gundam Evolution

Gundam Evo is a fun game with just the most annoying progression/monetization on earth.

Gundam is fun, fast, with cool characters even though I mostly just wanted to play methus/unicorn. Coming off the OW2 beta where i played for one evening with friends and didnt feel like playing it again into evo felt like night and day. Felt more frag heavy, far less CC/shield shooting, everyone’s got dashes, far less dependant on mmo tank/healer/dps focus in shooting game for some reason lead fora very fun time.

It still had overwatch problems; sometimes a team pops 3 ults at the same time and you just gotta give it up, lower skill team mates makes the game extremely hard and lop sided, ect ect but I still greatly enjoyed it more than OW2 and is one of the funner games in terms of pure shooting

however, the F2P aspect of the game basically killed it for me. The currency to buy units (and loot boxes) is limited to just rewards from the battlepass; of which giving how the first two went will require you to reach almost the end of the BP to get enough currency to buy a unit. Given the plan seemingly to add 1 unit a season, there’s no way to acquire every unit free to play (there’s 5 locked from the beginning, 6 now with Nu) , and if you fall off for a season the stuff you cant get just piles up. Along with that the daily/weekly system is frustrating; all quests are also locked to randomly selected choices of units, an idea perhaps made to force variation but often leads to you just not playing what you want so you dont fall behind on the BP. 

This all came to a head for me when i finished the S1 BP, took a break from the game, returned to S2 to see that every weekly/daily i had was for units I don’t want to play and had all interest in playing get sucked out of me.

Gundam evo is a fun game just dragged into the mud with the infuriating f2p design choices.

Multiple Different Fighting Games

I have a complication relationship with fighting games. I like them, and buy them, but just cant commit myself to them. I hate playing online, part of it being how ladder experience in most fighting games and also i’m not good at them so I get angry if I’m not playing with my friends, and sometimes i still get mad when i’m playing with friends. I’ll keep buying them and there’s plenty I do want to put more time into, but I had hitting discords with @everyone games? so a lot of them are doomed to be low on play time. here’s a quick rundown for them anyways

KOF 2002UM: picked up for the rollback update. I already kinda knew it but I played a decent amount of KOF this year and I really enjoy this franchise, hitting a nice middle ground between games like SF and faster anime fighters for me. This game is very fun and I had a blast. I also picked up 98 but i didnt play enough of it to make a real opinion.

Melty Blood Type Lumina: I really wanted to like this, and returned with the 2.0 update, and just still can’t get into it. it’s really disappointing because i LOVE MBAACC, which I would say is one of my favorite fighting games. Just never hit otuside of very early days; I still dont like shield and changes just feels like a bandaid and I never found a charater i was in love with like I was with C Wara, and seeing how this game is now half tsukihime and half FGO i guess im just not gonna get it.

KOF XV: similiar to 2002um, I really like this game and wish I had it in me to put more hours into it. I just think KOF is fun. Really hate how Billy ended up in this game because that’s my dude but terry and kukri are still cool and Shigo is on the way as well. We’ll see.

Not Traditional Fighters:

Nick all stars brawl: I’m a huge fan of Slapcity so I was onboard with this but honestly was just a flop for me. people understand that half the fun of melee is that the game is fast but games dont really understand WHY or HOW Melee is fast. Their solution is just to give people a million air dashes. The game feels mashy; even playing against people who knew more about what they were doing felt like tons of just air dashing and mashing out the safe airs, and if you’re really a gamer you knew jablock combos.  The psuedo 2.0 update helped the game on a small scale with voice acting and kinda fun items for castuals but I just wasnt having fun when playing this game. I liked Shredder tho

Multiversus: I still hop on this game a bit but I think I have similar issues with this game that I have with nick brawl, although i think MV is just better overall than NASB. Similarly just replaces movement related techs by giving people fast air dodges with long ranges and multiple uses. Still, it’s pretty fun, I think the 2v2 emphasis is a cool angle and there’s some cool characters. I still get a very It’s Mashy And Air Dashy feel from it but miles better than how it was in NASB, the F2P systems are fine and I hop on every once in a while. Also I can play Lebron and hes actually fun.

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

not necessarily a pure multiplayer game, but hey i like playing with friends

I like MH, and I think Rise and it’s systems are all great, and I wanted to actually play it which was unlike how i felt after a few hours in Iceborne. But as i’ve said before, the modern game content implementations is the worst thing that’s happened in the Monster Hunter. I hate MH drip feed. I dont want to play MH a little bit every few months, I want to just go extremely hard for like 2-3 months. But that’s not good for Engagement Numbers. Of course with drip feeding a few monsters every few months is fucking up the gear game; because they want you to not just kill a monster once and close the game the gear from new monsters has to be worth grinding out, so every patch the previous tier of weapons and armors have to be put back for the new hotness... which also makes the grinding kind of worthless because the elemental set of SAs i grind out with afflicted is about to have multiple pieces of it get outdated and needed to regrind.

Still, the game is fun, switch skills and wirebug is fun as hell. This is one of my favorite interpretations of my already favorite weapon in rise SA. I just hate that the drip feed is the fate of this franchise now because I really cant stand it, but hey when this game gets its last update i’ll dive back in.

THE CARD GAME SECTION BEGINS NOW:

Yu-gi-oh Master Duel 

I did write a review about this game on backloggd so i’ll keep it short. YGO is a fun but devisie game, and the game’s Balls To The Wall At All Times gameplay is 100% not for everyone, but going balls to the walls also can rule. 

MD as a client is pretty good, and is especially generous compared to most TCG clients, but the games lack of formats is painful. YGO is a particularly brutal BO1 game, and a lack of BO3 with sideboarding leads to frustrating laddering experience. Along with that, the game’s card list being multiple sets behind both TCG and OCG, and having a strange banlist that’s a combination of TCG/OCG and some half hearted BO1 hits leads the game to not really feel like an actual simulator for either of the games. 

I don’t hate MD but BO1 no sideboarding has lead to constant utterly miserable metas where you fight floodgates or 45 step bazillion endboard negate combos which burned me after, you know, a solid 200 hours.

Marvel Snap

It’s honestly remarkable that this game is good. I see most Brand: The Card Game! games to feel like just quick cash  grabs that never go anywhere, but they actually tried with this game, although i continue to lament on how games simply feast on the corpse of Artifact.

But yeah it’s fun. The power of the location cards alone do great to stop people from autopiloting turns, which would be a problem with this game if they didnt exist. It does lead to games sometimes being crapshoots and sometimes you just gotta take an L when X Mansion gives you quicksilver and your opponent infinianut, but all games being short and under 5 minutes makes it hard to get really mad when you get fucked. It does make the game’s signature Snap system, which lets you effectively gamble rank points, a very strange edition when location RNG can just fuck you over.

The game’s card collecting system is... weird but it is fairly F2P friendly ( even though ive bought all of the season passes lol). A lack of a way to just craft a card I want is frustrating, especially when you see a deck that’s cool and you’re just gonna have to wait forever to play it because you dont have like 3 of the cards needed for it, or just lack a strong lynchpin in an archetype (i STILL dont have Death man), and once you hit collection 4 opening like 3 crates without getting a new card is going to start getting really annoying.  Variants are a great way to do alt card art and there’s many that are pretty, although i mostly just spend my gold on new dailies for more chances at cards anyways.

it’s fun. god i really want more fucking cards man cmon.

Pokemon Trading Card Game Live:

Also did end up writing a backloggd review on this (very recently too) so i’ll keep it short: Game is fun and client is fine. Great new player onboarding due to the game just giving you the shell for a meta deck, and the other starter decks feel more reflective of the actual game as compared to the previous PTCG client. Incredibly stingy currency makes F2Ping hardly feasible, and whaling in this game involves just buying bulk codes off ebay... which is remarkably cheap honestly but still. Also teh game jsut has miserably ugly avatars, really dont know why they committed to that design. It’s fine, but if you want to F2P i can’t recommend it.

And that’s it for multiplayer games I put a lot of time into this year. fortnite is fun and i wish i could play fighting games without getting annoyed.

[snappedsky]

Borderlands: Skies the Ultimate Treasure Hunter

Skies, Timothy, and the Vault Hunters fight their way into the Handsome Jackpot.

If you haven’t seen my post about it, I’ve decided to change my update schedule. Instead of every other Sunday, Skies will now update every Sunday!

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

--

The Handsome Jackpot: Chapter 1

It’s a rough ride as the security tractor beam pulls the drop ship into the casino. Skies, Timothy, and the Vault Hunters hold on tight as they’re jostled around, until the ship finally lands inside the casino’s entrance. The hatch opens up and they stumble out.

“Sorry about the rough entry,” Moxxi says through their ECHO communicators. “Security tractor beams don’t play gentle.”

Just in front of them is a large door with the Handsome Jackpot logo and ‘WELCOME’ displayed overhead in bright neon letters. As they approach, they pass by machines with a big button that reads ‘Win’. Zane presses one and money pops out of a drawer.

“Hey, free money,” he smiles.

“Oh, it ain’t free,” Skies replies, “you now owe the casino like a thousand dollars.”

“What? But I only got two hundred.”

“Yeah. This whole thing is rigged as hell.”

“That’s Jack for ya,” Timothy grunts.

They go through the entrance into a big hallway with velvet carpeting, tapestries of Jack’s face on the walls, and big windows looking out into space.

“I’ll keep Sanctuary away from the casino before we all become permanent guests,” Moxxi says, “Jack’s idea of a good customer was one that couldn’t leave.”

“Was Jack really that big of a dick?” Amara asks.

“At least those have redeeming qualities,” she replies, “Jack was a tyrant and a bastard to his core. The only thing he loved more than himself was making others hurt. He left scars on all of us.”

The Vault Hunters glance with concern at Skies and Timothy, who regretfully glare at the ground, clearly lost in memories.

Skies quickly clears her throat. “This place must’ve been locked down since Jack was killed by the last Vault Hunters seven years ago. Who knows what’s been happening inside so be ready for anything.”

Everyone nods and keep their weapons ready as they enter a large room with giant statues of Jack. They press through it into an even bigger room as camera flashes go off. Up a small set of stairs is another doorway with ‘CASINO’ in big letters overhead, and over that a large hologram of Handsome Jack appears.

“Jack here! Welcome to the Handsome Jackpot! Who’s ready to give me their money?” the hologram exclaims.

Timothy shudders. “It’s been so long since I’ve heard his actual voice.”

As the team approaches, they notice the doorway is actually blocked by a large slot machine. “Hey-hey-hey, we got a new chump! I mean customer. Ah, whatever, you’re already here. You gotta spin the wheel to get in, dumb-dumb,” the hologram explains.

“Alright, have at it, kiddos,” Skies says. She motions to a lever sticking out of the mouth of a statue of Jack’s face in the floor and Moze pulls it.

“Ohohoho, what are you gonna win? I’m so excited,” the hologram cheers.

The slot machine flips to three faces of Jack and flashes red.

“Oh, sorry, kiddos,” the hologram says, “the Jackpot can detect poverty-stricken Vault Hunters a bazillion miles away. VIPs only, bitch.”

“Wow, he is a dick,” Moze grunts.

“It’s also detected lazy subordinates who should be doing their jobs instead of slacking off at my casino,” the hologram snaps.

“Oh, slag you, Handsome Jack-off,” Timothy groans as he and Skies flip it off.

“Ooooh, insubordination detected.”

“I’ll show you insubordination,” Skies snaps as she whips out her pistol and shoots the hologram. The bullet passes harmlessly through its head, but it seems to be piss it off as more red lights start flashing.

“Oho-kay, how about a consolation prize,” the hologram says, “let’s see what you’ve won...it’s a bunch of murder-bots! You’re so stupid.”

Loader bots digistruct into the room and begin firing at the team. They quickly duck behind cover as the Vault Hunters fire back.

“Been a while since I’ve seen these guys,” Skies remarks, “you gonna be alright, Tim?”

“Yeah,” he replies as he readies his SMG. “No problem.”

Together, they tear through the onslaught of loader bots, but more just keep coming.

“The house always wins, Vault Hunters,” the Jack hologram says, “and I’m the, uh...well, I’m basically the frickin’ house. Whatever. You’re gonna die now.”

“Ugh,” Skies groans with disgust. “I have not missed the way you never shut up. We’re not playing Jack’s game. Cover me, guys!”

She stands up as her friends lay down cover fire and pulls out two small bombs from her coat, which she whips at the door. As soon as they hit, she activates their detonators and completely blows up the giant slot machine. The Vault Hunters finish off the remaining loader bots, and no more show up.

“Oh, you survived. Congratulations,” the Jack hologram says sarcastically. “But that’s a shame for you, because the cost of every one of those loader bots- and the frickin’ door- just went on your tab! Now you’re in the debt to the Jackpot, kiddos. Once you’re in, you’re never getting out.”

“Tch, whatever. I can afford it,” Skies grunts.

“That’s Jack for ya,” Moxxi says, “dead seven years and he’s still trying to screw us. But don’t worry about that debt. Once I’m in charge of the casino, I’ll wipe the slate clean.”

Skies, Timothy, and the Vault Hunters go through the smouldering doorway into a room with ambient lighting. On either side of the walkway are rows of slot machines as they head up to another doorway flanked by two golden Jack statues.

“That debt scheme is how Jack kept people from leaving the casino- and from winning,” Skies explains, “since they’ve been stranded all this time, they’re probably not gonna be very happy. Stay sharp, kiddos.”

They go through the doorway onto a balcony of a very large room lit up with many neon signs. On the floor below are more slot machines and goons with guns.

“Hey, meal ticket!” a scruffy voice shouts. “Wanna play?”

“Case in point,” Skies grunts as she grabs her assault rifle.

The team ducks behind the banister of the balcony and begin firing at the goons. As they do so, a large door on the other side of the room opens up and loader bots march in.

“Oh, crap! Loaders! The boss is after us!” a cowardly voice cries.

“Boss?” Timothy questions.

“Somebody else must have taken control since Jack died,” Skies muses, “whoever they are, they won’t give it up easily.”

Even with the added loader bots, the team make quick work of their enemies and head through the now opened door. They enter an exterior area with trash on the ground and graffiti decorating the walls. In the distance is a large, golden structure reaching into the sky.

“That tower is the control centre,” Skies explains as she points to it. “To take over the casino, we’ll have to get inside. And probably whoever has taken control since Jack’s death is there too.”

“Hopefully they won’t give us too much trouble,” Timothy adds.

“I hope otherwise,” FL4K argues, reloading their shotgun.

“There’s a subway connecting all the parts of the casino,” Skies continues, “I doubt it’s working, but we can follow the tracks to the main strip and from there we can reach the tower.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Zane comments.

The team go down multiple sets of stairs until they reach a subway station. Bandit hovels have been set up and more enemies emerge out of them, guns blazing.

“Ugh, great, more of this,” Timothy groans.

“Don’t sound so disappointed, Timothy,” Amara grins, “this is the fun part.”

The team race around the station, taking out all the bandits. Once it’s clear, they head down the tracks into another bandit camp. Here, they meet a particularly large bandit with spiky armour.

“You the one in charge here?” Skies ask.

“I’m Third Rail!” he barks, “turn back now or by all means roll the dice, if you’re feeling lucky.”

“I make my own luck,” she grunts.

“That’s it, meal ticket! I warned you!”

Third Rail whips out a large rocket launcher. The team doesn’t have time to dodge as he fires, but Moze hops into her Iron Bear mech and blocks the shot, taking the brunt of the explosion. Skies leaps over her as Third Rail is reloading and lands on him, tackling him to the ground. Before he can try to recover, a blade pops out of her right fist and she smashes it into his face, turning his head to mush.

“Nice punch,” Timothy comments.

“You good, Moze?” Skies ask.

“No problem,” she replies as her mech disappears. “My Iron Bear can handle anything.”

The team leave the bandit camp and follow the tracks, stopping when they reach a dark tunnel.

“This will take us to the Spendopticon, the main strip,” Skies explains. “Moxx, we’ll likely lose you as ECHO signal gets spotty the deeper we go into the casino. Can’t have customers calling for help after all.”

“Then I should be forward with you,” she replies, “this heist...it’s personal. Jack and I were an item, briefly. Back then, I dreamed of opening a casino. Jack even promised to bankroll it. But he turned out to be a psychopath, and calling the breakup messy would be generous. He stole my designs to build this place, and taking it back is my way of scratching him out of my books forever.”

“Then I guess we both benefit from this heist in more ways than one,” Skies says, “you know, I’ve been wanting to use what I’ve gained from Jack’s legacy to try and help the people he screwed over. So let’s consider this casino my make-up gift to you for having to date Jack.”

Moxxi chuckles. “Deal.”

“Alright. We’ll keep you updated as much as we can,” she smiles and nods to the tunnel. “Let’s roll, kids.”

The team enter the darkness and head deeper into the Handsome Jackpot.

[eddisfargo]

Not a day will go by (7/?)

APRIL FOOL'S.

Get it? The joke is, you thought you were definitely not getting an update of this fic today, but actually YOU DID. The first of 2022 (yikes)!

But seriously, so sorry it took me this long! ADHD is apparently the boss of me much more than I would like. But I'm hoping to get back on--not nearly an every-day posting schedule, but definitely better than every-four-months.

Thanks a bazillion to @motherkatereloyshipper for coincidentally being awake at a million o'clock her time and willing to beta so I could post this on April Fool's!

Tagging: @resident-of-storybrooke   @everything-person @teamhook

AO3 Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7

Summary: Captain Hook wakes up in a strange bed, next to a woman he does not remember. He finds nothing particularly unusual about this situation. But the woman seems to know him very well.

In Storybrooke, there’s only one surefire way to get back a lost memory. And it’s not going to work until he loves her.

Rating: M

Chapter 7: Old faces and new

Chapter summary:

Everyone told him this house was supposed to be his.

So what was SHE doing at the door?

Hook stood rooted to the spot. The Evil Queen? Here? In what was supposed to be his house? What did she want from him? What could it mean? Certainly nothing good.

Henry was still talking. “Did I forget something at yours?”

Without acknowledging Hook’s presence further, the Queen moved her attention to Henry and her aspect underwent a change. A smile appeared on her face that didn’t seem to belong there. “Almost certainly,” she said, with what could’ve been fondness in her voice. “But that’s not why I’m here. Roland needs a sitter for a few hours, and he was begging for it to be you. Something about an almost-finished Minecraft world?”

“Oh,” said Henry, with the slightest edge of surprise. He glanced back at Hook, as if he would have something about this. Was it his job as… stepfather to stop the witch from taking him? He wasn’t sure what was expected of him. He couldn’t imagine he was the right man for the task. Before he could even consider a move to make, Henry had shrugged. “Okay, no problem.”  After a moment’s hesitation, he galloped upstairs, making rather more noise than Hook was used to. He did not spend much time around children – not since Bae.

Once he was certain the boy was gone, Hook stepped toward the Queen. His voice low and venomous, he asked, “What the hell are you doing here?”

The smile had left her face the second Henry was out of sight. He suspected it had never been real. “Here I thought you’d know,” she said coldly, inviting herself into the house.  “Emma called me last night saying there was a crisis. For some reason, I assumed she’d tell you.” She looked at him intently. “She sounded upset.”

He tried to form a theory that would make this make sense. The Queen was in his house. His wife had called her when there was a problem. Hook couldn’t think of anything the Queen could do with a crisis except cause it.

And perhaps, he considered, she had. Evidently something had been done to him to cause him to lose his memories–if the Evil Queen was in town, it seemed more likely than not that it would be her. Hook decided to refrain from mentioning his situation, to see if she dropped any clues.

Hearing a sound from behind him, he glanced over, not quite turning his back on the Queen. Emma had appeared, rubbing her eyes.

“Oh,” she said blearily. “Regina. You’re here early.” Hook was taken aback at the lack of formality, bordering on disrespect, that she showed to the Queen. He was a bit impressed.

“Sorry,” the Queen said, not sounding sorry at all. “Where I come from, first thing in the morning usually means before noon .”

Emma rolled her eyes. “It’s two hours before noon. I haven’t even had breakfast yet!”

The Queen raised one eyebrow. “I was under the impression that there was some urgent situation? But by all means, let’s procrastinate.” Back straight, she walked further into the house. Hook, observing the dynamic, watched her warily.

Surprisingly, Emma grinned. “You angling for a breakfast invite?”

“Hardly. I ate breakfast nearly three hours ago. And it looks like Henry’s been left to fend for himself, judging by the plate of pop tart crumbs. Should I start sending him here with a sack lunch?”

“Great plan. Send enough to share.” Grinning, Emma turned to Hook as if to share in the joke. When she found him looking stonily back, she seemed to remember the situation. Regina rolled her eyes and followed Henry.

Try as he might, Hook couldn’t assimilate the information thrown at him. The Queen sending Emma’s son to Emma’s house? He thought again of Henry’s other mom . It seemed this was the explanation, but it only raised more questions. Did the two of them… get along? He couldn’t picture anyone “getting along” with that woman. Emma hadn’t struck him as a villainess, and he couldn’t picture the Queen keeping up a camaraderie with any other sort. No, her type was capable of one kind of alliance – the kind ended with a swift knife in the back. It was inconceivable that Emma wouldn’t know what kind of person she was. If she was, indeed, Hook’s wife , surely he’d have explained. Although he supposed that certainty depended on the type of marriage they had. There were doubtless parts of his past – parts involving Regina – that he’d have kept to himself. Or maybe Emma was aware of the company she kept – perhaps her heart was darker than he’d previously surmised. That made some sense – she was, after all, supposed to be married to him . She could hardly be a paragon of virtue.

Emma’s demeanor took on an air of haste. “I did mean to be up a little earlier,” she said sheepishly. “I said I’d be at the apartment first thing. I just didn’t sleep so well last night.” She shot Hook another look, this one wistful. She took out a box with what appeared to be a drawing of a tiger and poured the contents into a bowl. Hook supposed he ought to do the same, and moved to take the box, but Emma stopped him.

“You’re uhh… not a fan,” she informed him, with a small smile. She reached into the largest box in the kitchen and pulled out what was unmistakably… a grapefruit. In moments, she’d sliced it in half and handed him a spoon.

She poured water into a device on the counter, and shortly the smell of coffee suffused the room. Her constant motion hadn’t given him a chance to get a word in, but he’d used the few moments to figure out just which words to use. His strategy, he decided, would be to play dumb.

“Who was that woman?” he asked, taking a bite of grapefruit and starting a bit at how cold it was. From his brief glimpse into the large box, he hadn’t seen any ice.

“Oh! Sorry!” Emma said, her mouth full of whatever she had in the bowl. That’s Henry’s other mom. Long story.” She looked thoughtful. “You didn’t recognize her, huh?”

Hook affected surprise. “Should I have? I’ve forgotten everyone from this town, haven’t I?”

“Yeah, but…” she hesitated. “You two had met beforehand.” She shrugged. “I guess that puts a firmer figure on when your memories stop.” She motioned for him to finish his grapefruit a bit faster. Hook’s priority, he decided,  was not to give away any information that his past self had elected not to share with his wife. Since he had no idea what that might include, he had to be cautious. “Were we… friends? This Regina and I?”

Firm footsteps headed toward the kitchen told him that the object of their discussion was approaching.

Emma smiled at him, a little wryly, and her answer was surprisingly straightforward. “No.”

An impatient voice sounded from behind him – so, he had turned his back on the queen after all. “ Can we get a move on?”

Emma started eating faster, so Hook followed suit, although he didn’t quite match her haste–he had no scruples about making the Queen wait. He’d gotten about half the grapefruit down when the world around him filled with purple smoke. He froze, but it cleared almost instantly. Emma was still there, but the food was gone. And so was the kitchen. He was standing in a small hallway, crowded with himself and the two women. The Queen was smiling smugly. She’d done that. She’d transported him to parts unknown without his permission. What else, Hook wondered with unease, could she have done while he let his guard down? Emma crossed her arms. “I assume that was you volunteering to wash the dishes later? That bowl was full of milk, Regina.”

“A dirty dish left standing in your kitchen? Yeah, I’m really shaking up the status quo.”

As Hook continued trying to figure out their relationship, the nearest door opened. A woman Hook had never seen – that he recalled , he reminded himself – stepped aside for all of them to enter. They did, Hook trying to get his bearings. The woman had short, dark hair. Her raiment was not quite the same as Emma’s or the Queen’s–she wore a bit more lace, and a concerned expression. “Emma! Are you OK? You said you were coming over first thing!”

The Queen scoffed. “You think she’s done other things today?”

“I’ve done things!” Emma protested.

“Maybe,” said the new woman, whom no one had bothered to introduce, “but answering your phone isn’t one of them. After your cryptic text last night, I was afraid –”

A man entered, holding a baby. A child? How big did they get before you stopped calling them babies? Hook didn’t have much experience in the matter. He thought it was dressed as a boy, but with the way the adults dressed in this land, he couldn’t be sure. He supposed at that age it hardly made a difference.

“What if,” the new man said, “we paused for a second and let Emma explain the crisis?”

The first lull in the conversation allowed Emma to take a breath. “Killian’s lost his memories.”

There was a moment of silence. “Amnesia?” asked the new woman. Emma shrugged. “Does he… know who he is?”

“He can speak,” Hook said flatly, tired of all the conversation passing over his head. This felt like a tactical error when every eye in the room turned to him. He didn’t know any of these people, and the only familiar face was one he abhorred. Turning his discomfort to bravado, he stood up straighter. “I know who I am. I just don’t know any of you .”

The new people looked at him and then at each other. Regina narrowed her eyes. Emma smiled at him in a way he was unfamiliar with. He thought perhaps she meant to be supportive, but it wasn’t an expression he was used to seeing directed at himself. The baby, for his part, was focused on his hook, which did seem to have caught the light. He surreptitiously moved the appendage away from the child.

“When did it happen?” asked the woman. Well, he’d just admitted he had no idea who she was. If she hadn’t deigned to introduce herself, he refused to be the one to ask. Surrounded by strangers, you didn’t simply admit to weakness.

“He woke up like this yesterday,” Emma told them.

The woman looked troubled. “But… I talked to you yesterday. We had a whole conversation. You let me go on about Neal teething on my nice sandals when Killian had amnesia?”

“I uhh…” Emma broke eye contact, looking off to the side. “Didn’t immediately…” After a breath, she finished in a mumble, “...cotton on.”

“ You didn’t notice ?” the Queen said, sounding delighted.

Anything that brightened that woman’s mood darkened his, so Hook felt compelled to say something in Emma’s defense. “It wasn’t immediately clear to either of us that anything was wrong.” “You didn’t wake up… together?” the other woman ventured.

“Oh, we did, but…” Hook chuckled. “It would hardly be the first time I’ve woken up beside a beautiful woman. Truth be told, at first I thought she was a professional.”

There was a long silence. He turned, hoping for a nod from at least the other man, but he found himself on the end of a dagger-sharp glare.

“I think…” the new woman ventured. “Introductions may be in order.”

“Killian,” Emma said, her voice choked. “These are… my parents.”

Killian gulped, as the room filled with the Queen’s laughter.