#trying to look up walkthroughs and they always beat this boss in their first go

[paintsplash1712]

Just booted up Lies of P for the first time and I've already died.

Like literally botted the game, explored this train station and died immediately to Mr. Smasher or whatever he's called.

How do Souls-Like fans do this? You guys are beasts!

[windser]

thinking more about streamerbf!kenma and how his subscribers have been pestering him about a q&a but kenma just hates the idea of just talking about himself. he’s fine having the sole attention on him while he’s playing games, used to idle chatter and occasional questions about his play style. but thirty minutes of what it’s like to be kenma ?

hard pass.

he complains about this to you one night, head tucked into your lap while you run your fingers through his scalp. he was approaching another significant subscriber milestone and his usual rewards aren’t cutting it. they just want to get to know you kenma, you try to reason. but all you get in return is a soft groan that could double as a whimper.

as a moderator, you know how his fans can get. social media in general when they unite under the same goal. no, this will hit a pinnacle if not handled carefully. part of you gets it. it took quite a bit of time for kenma to open up to your social agenda. from inquiring from his favorite type of bird to how he decides on what video game to play next, you spent what feels like years now getting to know your other half. now your boyfriend hardly even blinked while answering your-

at the thought, your lip purses in consideration.

days later, kenma only gives you a questioning grunt when you slide beside him during his stream. a few months ago, he’d purchased you a more comfortable chair to lounge in to share the same space as him. he rarely minded when you did, but usually you’d give him a heads up.

his chat is well trained enough at this point to know when you’re around.

user795: is that them? user23: hiiiiiiiii!! welcome user55: are they going to play today ?

you follow the messages with a hint of a smile, only giving a little wave in frame before turning to kenma. your boyfriend had removed the headphone closest to you, a small acknowledgment that always sent your heart a flutter.

off screen, you massage the top of his thigh which earns you a another quick glance and a slight slouch as he relaxes into your touch.

“ken, what was your first ever game you played ?”

now this gets you a longer look, one accompanied by a furrow brow and confusion. his lips move in a mumble but audible enough to hear however as he concedes without question, "mega man.”

from the corner of your eye, you see that chat reacting to his answer, some acknowledging it either familiarity and others new to it.

user124: ohhh i played that. good game man user775: i think my cousin played that but i’ve never seen it. can you still get that? user65: @user775 the og? you need backwards compatibility i think but yes user8895: i had a hard time beating that one. has kenma ever been beaten by a game?

still following the chat, you catch the question and propose it to kenma. with you here, he minds the chat a little less closely, only catching up when he breaks between missions.

“in middle school you played this one game for what felt like weeks, did you ever beat it?”

kenma shifts his leg under your touch, redirecting the circle of your thumb to a new spot. “tactics ogre? no, i kept getting stuck on the last boss. tetsuro asked to borrow it to try but he lost it.”

he’d obviously been miffed by the lost game but apparently not enough to repurchase it and probably complete it. that note didn’t seem to be lost to the chat.

user321: damn at least we know he’s human. even kenma gets stumped user642: to be fair that was a tough one. even the creator acknowledged that it was tough on players on release user533: i bet he could beat it now. that should be his next walkthrough.

“ah,” you bite your lips when kenma's gaze flickers briefly to the chat. “yeah, i might. i already have it in my library.”

grinning, you give him a light squeeze catching his eye in return before they went back to his game. you browse the slowly rolling in questions carefully, weeding through the more repetitive ones to find ones with more substance.

“did you ever play anything other than volleyball growing up?”

you wince when your boyfriend full on turns to face you. that might have been too specific of a question, something you so obviously knew and had no reason to ask without context. so all you could do was give him your best pleading gaze, hoping he’d play along and ask later.

it’s not until he huffs that you know you’ve won, his response coming right after if not with a bit of sass.

“i got nagged enough between you and tetsuro with just volleyball, that was more than enough.”

user863: looooool user3626: i can’t really imagine kodzuken playing anything else. like soccer, can you imagine? user6556: nah volleyball was fitting user3322: they’ve always been familiar but how long have you guys actually dated?

your mouth opens and close sky soundlessly on the taste of that one. you knew in general when kenma actually asked you out, just short of your second year in high school. back then, the two of you had been fumbling with your feelings for months. but you never really learned when those feelings actually seeded for him.

but that was a moment for off screen conversation. instead you ask

“our first date back in second year of high school, you took me to the arcade and i obliterated you in DDR, remember that?”

kenma fires back quickly,” after i claimed high score on every other one game.”

it's impossible not to grin as you remember that day. what had started as an awkward date forty minutes in had lasted an additional three hours as the both of you eased back into your normal routine.

user7: ughhhh to have a gaming s/o user6552: they’re so cute goals man user172: are they actually gamers ? user032: @user172 kenma plays some games with them on stream. they’re actually pretty good user4534: ohhh kodzuken never talks about his his favorite snacks, can you ask what those limited ones he always eats are?

that was an easy enough questions that got written off as your own ignorance. while you often did the grocery shopping, kenma placed most of his snack orders online. partly due to its limited availability and other reasons pertaining to it being out of country. kenma responds easily in turn.

user333: wait, is this the q&a we've been asking? user405: omg i have soo many questions saved!!!! i didnt realize it was today user7532: i thought kodzuken didn't want to do this? user89305: @user7532 well he's answering questions like he is

you frown as the chat explodes with activity, some questioning the validity of the 'event' others spamming the feed with their questions. it's more than enough to draw kenma's attention away from his other screen and you find yourself pausing as he tenses under your touch.

while you hadn't maliciously tricked him, you had coerced him into this. he'd have every right to scold you for it. you wince when he scoffs, preparing for the brunt of it. but what comes next is just a sigh as he shifts in his chair, the movement inviting your hand to rest comfortably more towards the inside of his thigh as he leaned back.

"you guys ask too many questions, this is why i didn't want to do this q&a. if you get too much for them to handle, i'm going to end the event."

and while his words sound stern, he truly does harvest a bunch of excited individuals as the stream only explodes even more with enthusiasm and inquiries.

frankly way too many for you to keep up with as you bewilderly try to scan the chat for feasible ones to ask. when you finally identify one and turn to ask, you find kenma watching you with that smug pull of his lips.

"well what's next?"

bonus:

eventually, kenma had taken over selecting his own questions as the stream properly shifted into the q&a event, title change and all. the chat adjusted to the new handler as well, being more strategic about their question timings in order to get the most of his attention.

every so often you would chime in, but you mostly relaxed back in your own chair with your legs resting across his lap.

you weren't sure how long exactly you expected this event to go, but you knew it was getting late. not necessarily for a kodzuken stream, but in the day in general.

it was kenma's touch now, that stroked your skin as his gaze followed the never ending influx of questions.

user345675: has he talked about hinata shoyo yet? user09432: i feel like people are asking the same questions user869320: will you ever have guests on your stream? user9642: kodzuken what is it like to run your own company?

intrigued enough, he opened his mouth to reply when another question rolled in

kenmaskitten: what does kodzuken want for dinner?

you look up from your phone as kenma's attention shifts to you. he holds your gaze as he replies,

"i want katsu."

you shrug, easy enough and all the ingredients are probably in the kitchen. however, as you go to slide your legs away, kenma captures one ankle.

"and apple pie."

that was less simple and tastes like a reward.

[hey-its-roseaurum]

Hot or Iced (Superman/Clark Kent One-shot)

Pairing: Clark Kent/Superman x fem reader (Katrina, "Kat" for short)

Word Count: 4.8K

Summary: When Kat decided that she was going to work at the Daily Planet, she didn’t expect to be an IT Specialist. She also didn’t expect to meet Lois and Clark Kent. While going to meet Clark Kent at a restaurant to look into Superman, something terrible goes wrong.

Warnings: Cursing, violence/gore, kidnapping, SMUT, oral, Sex P n V, Unprotected Sex, creampie, kissing, praising kink, consent

A/N: This story is dedicated to @lainiespicewrites and her love for Superman. We decided to write a story for each other, this time a one-shot. This story can be from whatever iteration of Superman you like, whether it's Reeve's, Cavill's, or Corenswet. This is my first time writing something that has a little bit of spice to it. Let me know what you all think and enjoy the ride! (Because I may not be doing this again ;) )

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

I pushed past the bustling people of Metropolis with three to-go coffees in tow. Each cup looked the same, except for one, a pink lipstick stain on the top of the lid. I had used my mouth to hold the coffee in place while I was on the subway twenty minutes earlier. It took every ounce of balance and coordination to keep myself from slipping and spilling the cups all over myself.

It has been a while since I’ve brought coffee for my favorite coworkers, Lois and Clark. They had been super busy these last few weeks tracking down Superman. So I thought bringing them coffee to give a caffeine boost would help. I figured they would appreciate the kind gesture, considering everything they’ve done for me.

After all, it was Lois that helped me get a job as a reporter here.

She was the first person I met when I moved to Metropolis a few years ago. I had spontaneously accepted a job as an IT support specialist at the Daily Planet in hopes to eventually be promoted. I’ve dabbled in a few IT jobs in my previous job just enough that I was “qualified” for the position.

Lois had been the one to show me around the building. My new boss wasn’t available at the time.

Don’t ask me why it was her that walked me around because I don’t know why either. I’m guessing it was fate because her and I instantly clicked and became friends by the time the walkthrough was over.

We were exchanging numbers just as Clark stumbled into the elevator. He had come through the front main doors disheveled and looked completely out of his element. I found out later that he had been accepted as an intern reporter in the same department as Lois and was starting that same day.

I didn’t know it then, but I was about to see more of Clark in the coming months.

I took ten different visits in the first week to fix his computer before I became friends with him. I found out he’s from Kansas. He grew up on a farm. And he was terrible with technology.

But he was awkward, cute, and kind to me.

From that day a year ago, its always been Lois, Clark, and I.

For a while I wanted something more but I never felt like he looked at me the same way he looked at Lois. I would sometimes catch their silent glances while I’m fixing a printer. It was like they had their own silent language when I wasn’t around. Everyone that I’ve talked to on Daily Planet thought the same thing too. So for the past year or so, I’ve been trying my best to move on and just keep Clark and I as friends.

But it's been harder than I thought.

My thoughts slammed back into the present as I stood in front of the Daily Planet. I was hoping that I was going to beat the rush of traffic this morning.

I didn’t expect a huge crowd of people this morning. The sidewalks were so congested that I couldn’t see the pavement. But hey, the city never sleeps.

And neither do the news reporters.

Shoving myself through the crowd, I made my way up the stairs that lead into the building. Thankfully I didn’t spill a drop of coffee in the process. I crammed myself into the elevator with five other workers and let the lift take me up. It was like a pack of sardines in here, and it even smelled like one. I had to hold my breath to keep myself from gagging. When the elevator stopped at floor 15, I bolted out of there like my life depended on it.

What I was met with was bustling people, newspaper bundles all over everyone’s cubicles and multiple conversations that I couldn’t make out. I scanned the room until my eyes landed on Lois by her desk.

“Hey Kat!” Lois called, motioning me over to her desk. I didn’t wait a second to go over to her cubicle. “Come take a look at these photos.” She clicked on the image tab on the desktop, pulling up a couple pictures. Each image was blurred and looked to be taken from surveillance footage. You could somewhat make out a silhouette of a person, most likely a man by how big they were built. One was near Gotham. Another was in an unrecognizable location, most likely north of Metropolis judging by the mountain scenery. The last one looked like it was taken a few streets over from The Daily Planet. The time stamp on the top right of the photos were dated to yesterday.

“You think this is THE guy?” I pointed, setting her coffee next to her on the desk. A stack of files sat haphazardly on her desk. “Because it looks like someone either photoshopped these or it was a drone flying across multiple cities.” Lois rolled her eyes.

“I’m sure. I wouldn’t be showing these to you if I didn’t think otherwise.” She beamed, not even wasting a second to grab the coffee cup and took a sip. “I got these images from a reliable source. I trust that they wouldn’t have tampered with them.” She rubbed her eyes, the dark circles under her eyes like a flashing neon sign.

“Rough night again?” I questioned while grabbing my own up to take a sip, changing the subject. My eyes settled on the images again.

“Perry wanted another article on Superman by this morning.” She shrugged. “You know how he is with that. He always wants to know more about this mysterious hero rather than what is ACTUALLY going on in our streets.”

“Unfortunately I do.” I let out a sigh “Every time I come up here to fix his computer I have to hear him ramble on about Superman. I don’t know how that hasn’t driven you crazy yet .” I laughed, my eyes scanning the room until I spotted the man himself. Perry White was on the other side of the room yelling at another reporter. A half smoked cigar hung loosely from his lips. “I’m surprised he didn’t ask Kent to write it. He was able to get some good info on the mysterious superhero last time.”

“Lois, did you get the photos I sent?.” I felt my heart stutter as the deep voice reached my ears. I spun around so fast, almost knocking the files off of Lois’ desk.

Speak of the devil.

“C-Clark, hi! Didn’t see you there. We totally weren’t talking about you or anything.“ I cleared my throat. Shut up. Shut up. Put yourself together Kat.

I grabbed the last to-go cup and gave it as a peace offering. “Did you just get in?”

“N-No. I’ve been here for a while.” He chuckled, adjusting his glasses before accepting my offering. “H-How was the commute? It looked intense out there”

“Great besides the bustling people. I thought I was going to get here before the morning rush hour. Guess not.” I finished the last of my coffee before turning to Lois. “If you can send those images to me, I can see if Daryl can trace those images to when or who took them.” Lois nodded, working on my request right away.

“And you.” I pointed at Clark. “I need to talk to you.”

“Me? W-Why would you need to talk to me?” A creeping blush began to grow on his cheeks.

“You were able to get some info last time on Superman. I’m just as curious as anyone else about this mysterious hero. I figured I could see what you know and branch off from there.” It was a half lie. I wasn’t super curious about Superman, but I did want to spend more time with Clark. This was the way to do it. “But if you don’t want to, that’s okay. I can scope out other sources.”

“No, you don’t have to.” He stuttered. “I-I meant to say, yeah I can help you” I held back a chuckle at him stammering. His stutter and awkwardness always was flattering to me.

His mumbling brought my attention back to him.

“What did you say? I’m sorry I couldn’t catch that.”

“W-We could do it over d-d-dinner. As colleagues.” Colleagues.

Yeah…just colleagues. Just friends.

I smiled even though there was a hollow painful feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“Sure. Sounds great.”

The rest of the day went fast. One of my co-workers Daryl was working on teaching me how to switch Ram on a computer. He was the real IT genius in this department. The only things I knew how to really do was turn a machine on and off and troubleshoot computers when they crash. However Daryl and I were in the middle of tracing the images before the day ended. He and I were going to finish it and look into it further the next day.

By the time the ‘non-date’ approached, I was filled with nerves. I desperately needed his help. He always seemed to know where the best shots were taken. With his help, we might be able to uncover who Superman really is.

But I never made it to dinner.

:(

The bag got whipped out of my head. I was met with bright lights, causing me to squint and turn away. The only other things I saw were two silhouettes. My eyes traveled around me. The first thing I noticed was that I was in a chair. The next was my arms tied behind my back with zip ties. Finally, I could be moments away from giving my last breath.

I racked my brain for any sense of time, any clue as to how I got here. The last thing I remember was standing outside the restaurant that Clark and I agreed to meet. The next I’m here, tied to a chair.

“Good, you’re awake.” The voice was male, not distinguishable. “Tell us where he is!” My heart began to pound, its constant beat hitting my ears.

“Where is who? I don’t understand.” My voice sounded like sandpaper against my ears. A million questions were racing through my head. “I don’t even know why I’m here.” The man cracked his knuckles, bringing the light down so I could see their faces.

There were two men, one towards the door at the end of the room. His bulbous nose looked like it had been broken one too many times. The other one was closer to me. He had a scar vertically going down his eye.

“You’re here because we found you lurking in our data system. We traced your IP address. What do you know about these images?” The second one responded. His voice was deeper, more distinguished. The two photographs were shoved in my face.

I recognized them immediately. These were two of the photos that Lois showed me this morning. The one near the Daily Planet was missing. But how did those have anything to do with me? I swallowed hard.

“This has to be a misunderstanding. I didn’t take these photos. I don’t even know who is even in the photos.” I rambled, unable to stop myself. “They are probably photoshopped. I stumbled upon them by accident. I really have no idea so please-”

“You know damn well it’s Superman.” The first man growled at me, cutting me off. I swallowed hard, trying my best to remain calm and not have a panic attack.

“I’m telling you I don’t know!” I practically screamed. “I’m just a girl who fixes printers when they get jammed. I don’t even know why I’m in an IT department in the first place. I’m not even qualified.” I couldn’t stop myself. “If anyone, it would be Daryl. Daryl is practically a genius. He’d be able to tell you and confirm that your-” Hot pain erupted on my cheek as a fist collided with my face, abruptly shoving my face to the side.

“Shut up bitch.” The one closest to the door screamed. I bit my bottom lip, tasting blood in my mouth as something hot ran down my cheek.

“Lie again and we will do more than hurt that pretty little face of yours.” The other one taunted, taking a cloth and wiping blood off of his ring.

Oh my god I’m going to die here.

I’m going to die here and Clark is going to think I stood him up. When I don’t show up tomorrow, Lois and Clark are going to notice. They are going to find my body somewhere in a ditch all because I decided to do things myself.

This is all my fault. I should have never tried to figure out what those photos are. I shouldn’t have just let the journalist speculate who this Superman was. If I kept my nose out of it, I would be sitting at home. I ruined everything and my life is going to be the price.

“Now I’m going to ask you again.” The one with the ring pulled out a knife, pointing it towards my throat, “Who is Superman?” I glared up at the man, tears brimming my eyes. Just as I was about to open my eyes, something burst open behind me. Chunks of cement flung in the air, one of them hitting the man with the ring in the shoulder. The other one pulled out a gun, his eyes looking like saucers.

“Oh no, its-” The man didn’t speak another word before he fired bullets behind me. I flinched before throwing all my weight to one side, tilting the chair enough to fall. I collapsed to my side with a thud, my head hitting the floor. Everything moved in slow motion.

The man with the gun fired more bullets before something red and blue rammed into him. The man laid there, his eyes rolled back. His gun was a few feet away. The man with the ring didn’t have a chance to react before he too was on the ground unconscious.

Then I felt my chair move, repositioning me so I was sitting upright again. I was met with blurry blue eyes.

“Katrina, can you hear me?” I squinted, trying to focus my vision. It kept going in and out of focus. The only things I could make out were that this man was built with brown hair.

“How do you know my-” I started before cutting myself off. This must be the Superman that those goons were talking about. Here he was in all of his superhero glory. His eyes trailed my face, searching for any injuries. His jaw flexed when he caught sight of the blood and what was surely going to be a bruise.

“Let’s get you out of here.” He said breaking the zip ties as easy as snapping toothpicks. Lifting me up bridal style like I weighed nothing, he hoisted himself up into the air.

:)

“So let me wrap my head around this…you’re Clark AND Superman?” I asked while Clark was cleaning the scratch on my face. The two of us were in a place called the ‘Fortress of Solitude’, a place where Clark claimed he goes to recover after battles. After the fight with the goonies, he said he didn’t want to take me back to my place. If they were able to trace my address, then they knew exactly where I lived.

And I didn’t want to be left alone in my place after everything that’s happened in the last twenty four hours.

“I’m Clark when I’m at the Daily Planet, but Superman when I’m saving Metropolis.” Clark responded, dabbing a wet cloth on the scratch, soaking up the remaining clotted blood. He was in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. I watched him as he worked. His eyes looked so focused, so intense. It was a complete contrast to him at the Daily Planet.

“So then…who are you to me? Superman or Clark?” I bit my bottom lip. He pulled away, finished bandaging the wound. But it also looked like he was taken aback.

“To you, I’ve always been me. Not Clark Kent from work, not Superman, just Clark.” I just stared at him, almost unable to believe him.

“So then why tell me now? You could have just taken me to the hospital. Your identity would have been safe. So why reveal it now?’ I couldn’t stop myself from asking the question. After all this time of separating Superman from Clark Kent, why choose now to say something?

A long moment passed between us, so long that I didn’t think he was going to respond at all.

“When you didn’t show up that night, I thought you bailed.” His words were soft, raw. “ But then I knew that you’re not known to just not show up. So I panicked. I was losing my mind trying to find you. I almost lost it when I found out some of Lex Luthor’s henchmen took you.” I felt my heart fall into my stomach. He continued on. “And when I found you tied up and hurt, I knew I couldn’t hide it from you anymore. You needed to know.” He let out a shuttering breath.

That’s when I saw him, the real man behind it all.

Not Superman.

Not Clark Kent.

Just Him.

Quickly unlocking the door into another chamber, I followed him inside. The door shut behind us with a soft thud. Inside was dimly lit with blue lights. A king sized mattress was placed on the back end of the wall, followed by a bookshelf to the right and a chair to the left. I leaned against the door and bit my bottom lip, hesitant to make the first move. All this time I’ve been wishing for Clark to see me more than a friend. And there was for sure something here. So why am I so shy all of a sudden?

Seeing him in the red and blue suit as superman did something to me. All of the feelings I’ve kept inside began to bubble to the surface. I was still reeling over the fact that out of everyone I thought would be Superman I never expected Clark Kent.

His hand gently grabbed my chin, leading my gaze and thoughts back to him. When did he become so close?

“What’s on your mind?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Tell me. It’s okay.”

“I just…I just have been wanting this for so long and I didn’t think that you thought of me like that.”

“Kat, isn’t it obvious. I always wanted you.”

“But what about you and Lois? I thought the two of you were…” He chuckled, shaking his head.

“Lois and I have never been like that. We’re just really good friends.” He stepped closer, closing the gap between us. I froze, my mind reeling but became silent at the same time. His mouth softly grazed my ear.

“Why do you think I always called for you to fix my computer?”

“Because you don’t understand it.”

“No Kat.” He paused, “It’s so I could see you.” I’ve never felt my face heat up faster in my life.

“Oh!....Oh” He let out a laugh.

“I’m from Kansas, not from Mars. I know the basics of fixing a computer.” His laugh died suddenly. Both of our lips were mere inches away. All either of us had to do was move and our lips would touch. My gaze stayed on his while his eyes moved from my lips to my eyes. There was yearning in them, longing, desperation.

“We shouldn’t do this. You’re hurt. You’ve been through a lot. I don’t want to hurt you.” He whispered, his body visibly. straining. Clark was doing everything in his power to restrain himself. Desperately. I couldn’t help but find it hot.

“It’s okay.” I whispered. “You won’t hurt me.” His lips were on mine in an instant. His lips were soft, his kisses softer. He tasted sweet. I could feel him still holding back. But I didn’t care, I was beginning to drown in those soft, delicate kisses.

Just as I was about to drown, he drew back.

I watched him as Clark tugged the fabric over his head. His chest was glistening with sweat from the flight here. My heart was pounding in my chest, a violet rhythm that wished to break through my ribcage and escape.

Mouthwatering. He was utterly mouthwatering.

And I am utterly fucked.

This wasn’t just Clark Kent standing in front of me anymore. He wasn’t the soft spoken, nerdy Clark I met at the Daily Planet. He wasn’t the big, rough Superman either. He was both, but yet none at the same time. This was the human being behind it all.

And I just fell harder.

“Clark.” I whispered.

He stepped closer, his movements slow. Deliberate. Like a man who knew exactly what he wanted. In an instant, our mouths met again. His kisses were primal, wanting, demanding.

“I want you bent over, whimpering,” He groaned in between our kisses. “I want your nails on my back. I want to hear you tell me how good I’m making you feel. I want you to forget every man who tried. I want you to feel like you’re safe with me.” With each confession, his kisses grew more soft, more held back.

His deep almost primal voice cracked-like a part of him was coming through the urge.

“But if you don’t want this.” He pulled away a moment, his eyes locking with mine. “Stop me. I’m not going to force this on you.”

The air between us pulsed with tension. But he never wavered. All I had to say was the word and he would back away.

But I didn’t want that, not when just him telling me how much he needed me was wrecking me. I could feel myself trembling, my inner thighs soaked. It took everything in me to grip the last shred of my composure.

I swallowed hard, nodding once.

“I trust you.” I whispered.

And Clark, ever the gentleman, ever the hero, let out a sound so low and primal that I felt my entire body shiver.

His mouth was on mind again. These weren’t soft, sweet kisses like before. They were wanting, hungry. He was like a starving man who had just found a buffet. And he was intending to eat.

He cupped my cheeks, deepening our kiss. My head felt light, either from how good it felt for him to kiss me or because of lack of oxygen I didn’t care. All I wanted at that moment was him.

When neither of us could breathe anymore, we broke the kiss. I took it as an opportunity to meet him halfway. Gripping my shirt I yanked it over my head, not wasting a second to discard it on the ground. Clark froze, his breathing hitched and his eyes wide. Completely awestruck.

“Kat…You’re so beautiful.” He whispered. Then closed the distance again but before he reached me he stopped, dropping to his knees. He looked up at me, his eyes never leaving mine as he slowly dragged my pants, then underwear, down to my feet.

I’ve never wanted him to touch me more than I wanted him to now.

“Ladies first” he said, his lips grazing the inside of my thigh. Soon after he kissed up my thigh over and over, little gasps and moans escaping his lips. He was giving me another chance to back out.

But I was too far in to back out now.

My hands grabbed his hair, my fingers tangling with his dark locks. My breath caught in my throat, each kiss sending signals to my middle. “Clark-please.”

That was all the confirmation he needed before he dove in, his tongue met my pussy. I felt him moan into me, like I was the best thing he’s ever tasted.

He started incredibly slow, at first long, broad strokes over my entrance before he made his way up to my clit. Each pass he let out a groan, like a starving man being fed.

“Fuck,” he gasped, “You taste so sweet. So good.” My legs trembled from his response.

His mouth closed around my clit and sucked. I saw stars as he sucked, licked, devoured. The only thing I knew was that he was divine and that I wasn’t going to last much longer. He pressed in further, deeper, messier, louder.

A cry escaped my lips, my legs barely holding me up with how much they shook. Clark wrapped one of his arms around my thigh, holding me in place and stabilizing me. He groaned into my clit, sending pleasure towards my approaching orgasm.

“Come for me.” He gasped in between licks. “Come.”

I cried out as my whole body jerked, each one of my muscles clenching to the pleasure. My hands gripped his curls, my world dissolving to the pleasure. His name released my lips as a moan, a soft chant and cry. My legs collapsed, but Clark made sure I didn’t fall.

He released his grip on my clit and looked back up at me. His eyes were wild, desperate, like he wasn’t finished with me yet. He surged to his feet.

He grabbed me by my waist, hoisting me in the air like I was weightless, and carried me to the bed. I was still reeling from my orgasm that I didn’t register us moving until my back hit the mattress. I gasped, my thighs spreading out, my back arching. My eyes moved to him in front of me. He worked on his sweats, pulling them off and then-Oh God.

A whimper escaped my lips.

He was huge. It stared at me, flushed, thick, veined, and leaking. It look so fucking hard that it looked painful.

“Birth control?” His voice was hoarse at the question.

I nodded, breathless.

His eyes darkened before meeting me the rest of the way. Gingerly, he pushed my legs open with almost trembling hands. Lining himself up with my soaked entrance, he paused.

One last chance to back out.

He looked down at me as he stood over me, waiting for the silent confirmation before his eyes softened. “I’ll go slow.”

“I don’t want slow.” I said in a soft whisper, “I want you ruined. I want you rough. I’ve always wanted you”. That was all the confirmation he needed.

He slammed in.

I screamed, Clark matching mine with a moan so deep, so wrecked, I felt it go straight to my core.

“Oh fuck,” he gasped, loosing his composure, “You’re-fuck, you’re so wet-so tight. You’re perfect.” He pulled out and thrust back in hard. Deep. I could feel him hit my cervix. I felt tears fall down my face at the pleasure. I was already overstimulated, but I couldn’t stop wanting, begging for him. I could feel myself around him, needing him to keep going. Clark braced over me, driving in.

Again.

Again.

Again.

His hips kept snapping, every thrust more brutal. More perfect.

I clutched his broad back, my nails raking down, digging into him, as he pounded into me. I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Harder,” I begged, tears continuing down my face. “Harder, please-need it” Clark responded, hips snapping faster, his whole body jerking with the effort. “You’re doing so good, so fucking good.” As he kept thrusting, he reached in between us, rubbing my clit. I felt the pleasure, built to the point where I thought I was going to explode. I think he saw it in my eyes.

“You gonna come again? He panted. “Come with me baby. Meet me over the edge.” I nodded frantically.

Then it hit.

The pleasure exploded, the pleasure releasing in big waves. Both of us felt it. I could still feel him deep inside me, his cock pulsing inside my clenched pussy. He let out a loud moan.

“Fuck-I’m gonna”

“Do it.” I gasped. He groaned as hot, deep, almost endless heat grew in my insides. His hip twitching, body shaking, gasping my name before he collapsed over me. We both layed there in a haze of sweat, come, and ruin. Our bodies were tangled, hearts racing.

It was the best feeling I’ve had in my entire life.

He pulled himself out, rolling over me and collapsed next to me, his breath still ragged and panting. He looked gloriously ruined, his brown locks damp with sweat. His breaths brushed against my neck in soft, contented huffs. One of his arms was around my waist. I couldn’t help but have my hand against his chest, making sure that what just happened was real.

The room smelled like sex, sweat, and victory.

I had hopefully survived the last abduction of my life.

And Clark was mine. And I was his.

“So how are we going to tell Lois?” I asked sleepily, turning my body so I was facing him.

“About Superman? Or us?”

“Yes.” Clark let out a chuckle, tracing small circles on my hands.

“Someday she’ll catch on that I’m Superman. But as for us.” He paused, locking eyes with me. “I think it’s best we let her know before she investigates us like she does Superman.” I let out a laugh.

“Fair point.” I smiled, kissing him gingerly.

[hybridraita]

25 January - 15 February 2024 Part 2

[First Account]

50th Reroll Result : [☆☆☆] : Mu, Rorona, Logy & Ryza [☆☆] : Shallie & Vayne

I wanna to see him so much, how difficulty to reroll many times to get 3 star three characters only. If i failed collect 3* three characters before next day it will be stay save account 3* two characters only.

Well, looks like i got stronger top tier one character that's who saved developer game, GREAT! HA HA HA HA!

NEXT!

[Second Account]

51th Reroll Result : [☆☆☆] : Mu, Rorona, Ryza, Marie & Keithgriff [☆☆] : Shallie, Ruven, Violet & Esty

When i won't give up to try reroll again before next day appears, this is be last reroll after a second time i got 3* three characters so lucky, i'am tired it's over i don't have time to continue daily missions first day.

Sound like i got more stronger top tier characters again has debuff fire & ice resists WOOOOOW… it become easy to beat monsters right now. Then it will be slighty difficult to beat bosses on next chapter 2, always do startover-startover again because it got unlucky by paralyzed, it's annoying.

Of course, i was already watched chapter 1 and chapter 2 while for first account will be skip story after watched used second account then focused training quests quickly.

Next! After chapter 2 finished

[☆☆☆] : Marie, Resna (Both), Ryza, Logy, Mu, Rorona, Cornelia [☆☆] : Vayne, Viorate, Escha, Totori, Meruru & Shallie

I was accepted got reward 3,000 Lodestar Gems from event discord first time after…

I got Two 3* characters anymore, Marie and Resna?! Wait What?! more again the next day i got cornelia just one free wish?!! Whaaat?!!

WHAT MORE AGAIN??! It's because The Power to Grant Wishes's Effect?! NO, NO WAY! WHY WHYY?!! It's because i just really wanted see him OHMYGOSH! Is this buff Wish Blessing's effect?

No it's joke it's impossible get 3* has 4% also memorial has too has 1% so i feel got luckiest get new stronger top tier characters and Memorials also i able use Escha and Logy to equip perfect memorial sets now.

I guess, i didn't shows all memorial results forget or nevermind.

[☆☆☆] : Resna, Mu, Rorona, Ryza, Marie, Keithgriff & Ayesha [☆☆] : Ruven, Violet, Esty, Totori & Shallie

Ayesha has only got new one [☆☆☆] Character, she's so pretty and i really wanted because her character design looks interesting for me Fairy & Floral theme, Apothecary? she's not alchemist? What is Apothecary…? Hmm… I see. I got learned few years ago after watched video game: Atelier Ayesha walkthrough but i don't have continue because i'am afraid if got bad ending results so, i really wanted to watch about good ending or true ending well be better however, when will it continue watching again…

. . .

My fate is come, i decided to keep choose First Account while second account be delete because i can't play both accounts it's made it a waste of time. so playing both accounts is over.

Early my plan to delete first account but i guess be gonna to continue collect more Lodestar Gems before chapter 2 finished then a results is success now.

Thanks i hardworking do reroll 51 times, I'am gonna to raise him for future to become [☆☆☆☆☆] next months.

Free User forever… I wonder if Ma-

I waitting for Patience the Next Months! LET'S GO!

[fataliitea]

so I bought Yomawari: Lost in the Dark a few days ago, and just beat the story last night, and boy do I have some thoughts. note: my experience is with the Long Night Collection on Switch for the first two games.

I'll try to stay spoiler free as best as I can for those interested, because despite how ridiculous some of the bosses are, I highly recommend it as a survival horror experience.

the controls are the exact same as the previous games, with the small added bonus of being able to spin/turn your character with the right stick, which only used to just let you look around slightly. this only works if you're standing still, but it's a really neat touch imo.

the movement of the flashlight as well is slightly delayed, but also way more smooth. it's near seamless with how it looks. honestly, the way it shines and works with the world was one of the first things I noticed.

a lot of spirits from Midnight Shadows returned, with only a few new ones scattered about, excluding the bosses, which is kinda weird when you remember LitD is not connected to the first two. it is it's own story and town, no connecting between the first two towns.

a really cool (and sometimes OP ability) you gain is the ability to close your eyes and sneak passed spirits. this obviously doesn't work for all of them, but the ones it does work for, is numerous. this does have its draw backs however... the speed your character moves is painfully slow, you have to actively hold down the trigger buttons, and there are no bushes/signs/etc to hide behind anymore. this sucks worse because those things where near guaranteed to save you in a pinch, where the closed eyes doesn't always work.

same as MS, there is no ability to warp straight home, which really sucks imo. I don't know why they got rid of that feature from Night Alone, it was so useful.

the heartbeat sound has changed as well, it's hard to describe but it's definitely different.

moving on from controls, the actual story is superb. i love the amount of engagement it has, pulling you in especially into the side stories. my only gripe is the amount of hand holding it does. obviously NA required a lot of assumptions on the players end, which made a lot of puzzles difficult, and MS helps a bit with that, but I still needed to look up some things.

LitD holds your hand too much in some places, and not at all in others. during the little stories, what I could've easily learnt through watching or just being shown, was blatantly told to me by the protag. like yes, I'm aware, I saw it with my own two eyes.

obviously I could go on but this post is long enough, and everything else is just a nitpick or me gushing. please, I highly recommend checking the game out yourselves, or watching a walkthrough.

[veenxys]

Henlo! I have been wanting to share this relationship headcanon I made for Shigaraki for a lil bit. I shared this with my friends and I felt like you'd enjoy this one too? I hope you don't mind.

It has themes of relationship struggles, dismissing feelings. It might trigger some people so please, take care and maybe skip/ignore this one?

Relationship Headcanon with Shiggy

As much as Shigiraki loves you, he is still an extreme man-child. He doesn't understand why you're still upset by his words from previous arguments, he already agreed to whatever compromise you had proposed.

At your wits end, you break down to him one night once you couldn't hold it in any longer. You pour out your feelings to him and it's still the same.

"I said I was sorry, can't you move on?"

"I CAN'T, I just can't. Not when I'm plagued with the thought of you thinking of me like that. Like I'm disgusting."

"I told you I don't. We already talked about this already."

Little whimpers turn into sobs and into laughter. You've emotionally detached from this situation and the truth comes out in its most pure and blunt form. Wiping away your tears, you say something that strikes a chord in his heart because he never imagined it would be this bad.

"I don't feel emotionally safe with you. Y'know, we'll never get married at this rate. I won't."

You showed him true love. Unconditional love. He knew he didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve an angel like you. You were always the one levelheaded during fights, the one who held on tight, the one who didn't let go no matter how much it hurt. So knowing that you're holding on by a string, it shook him to his core.

Making up your mind to leave him, you give him his final chance of trying to understand and fix the problem. You use a game terminologies as a metaphor.

"Listen. I can't always tell you when I'm upset. Imagine if we have a kid and I'm tired. I don't sleep. The house is messy, the laundry is full. Physically, the indicators are there. Do I need to tell you to help out before you do it? The fact that I have to ask when the indicators are physically there is already a hit to the relationship. What more if the indicators are not physically there like emotions?

Observation and communication is a skill and these fights are quests. You gotta level up to finish a quest. You can't stay at one level forever.

Me telling you how to fix it is like searching for walkthroughs on the net. You won't learn the skill but you'll pass the quest. Eventually,the walkthroughs run out and you're going to be stuck."

It's like a switch went off in his head. You can't beat a level 60 boss when your skills are at level 30. You gotta improve them

"So what do we do now?"

His voice is so quiet, if you weren't looking at him, you wouldn't know it was him talking.

"I don't know baby. What would you do?"

And for the first time in the longest time, he finally communicates. He finally reassures you. He finally validates your feelings. Once he finishes, he pauses for a second.

"Was that good? Did I pass?"

With a weight that has been sitting on your chest for years was lifted off, you smile genuinely for the first time in the longest time.

"Yeah. You did good."

-------------------------------------

So yeah that's it ♥️. It might be a lil OOC and I'm a lil rusty when it comes to writing but it truly did bring me joy and i hope it brought you some too. Spreading love for Shiggy

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD THIS IS SO PERFECT LIKE IT'S SO AWESOME AND ACCURATE AND I CANT STOP SMILING BECAUSE FJDIOGJDFG I DONT HAVE WORDS I'M JUST SO IN LOVE AND AAAAAAAAAA I CAN SEE HIM DOING THESE THINGS!1!! YOU WROTE EVERYTHING SO WELL & GOOD AND I LOVED FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART LIKE I'LL CHERISH THIS FOREVER AND EVER I LOVE YOUUUUU AAA THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS PIECE OF ART WITH ME !!1!! AND FEEL FREE TO SEND ANYTHING ANYTIME BECAUSE I LOVE YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU DO I AM CRYING JGIOFDJDFGDFG

[darkspellmaster]

Sex and the Castlevania series

So you may have all heard by now that the new seasons of Castlevania will have more gore and sex involved in the series. And for me at least this is a bit of a surprise. Not because Castlevania has not had sex as part of its storyline, (how else are the Belmonts going to be born), nor that nudity would be shown (see the Succubus for example) but in how it’s going to be used. 

As a player of the games, one thing has always stood out to me about the Castlevania series and the idea of fan service and sexuality and sex itself, it’s never used as a means of just titillation. There’s always a meaning behind it. And the reviews have me wondering if this is going to still be the case with the show, or is it going to be used as an “Oooh look how edgy we’re being this season.” because that’s not what sex in Castlevania is about. 

Sex, or the idea of intimacy between two romantic partners, has always been at the heart of the backstory of the Castlevania series. From the outset there’s has always been a sense of family and love and devotion in Castlevania. Even with the Arcade edition of Haunted Castle in 1988, the addition to the story of Simon was that he was newly married to his bride Selena, who was taken by Dracula. Years later Selena and the Mysterious Woman in Simon’s Quest II were mixed to create Linda Entwhistle who was Simon’s girlfriend in the book series based on the games. 

Years later during the more story-driven games that came out, sexuality and intimacy became part of the game in how it was presented. Namely the use of sex as a way to pull the innocents to the darkness ala the Vampire Brides in the original Dracula, and the loss of innocence (as with Lucy in the novel) and the idea of devotional love that conquers that darkness and temptation. 

In this sense, we’re seeing the use of the deadly sin of Lust acting as a temptation to the heroes as a means of making them be killed for their wanton desires. Yet love and intimacy also plays a huge part in fixing issues in the story and leading to tragic and happy endings. 

So with that in mind, I want to do a quick walkthrough of the way sex and love is used in these games and discuss why the idea of sex and violence shouldn’t be on the table with Castlevania as a metaphor as much. 

Let’s start with the timeline, rather than the game order because it makes more sense that way. 

The story of the Belmont Clan and Dracula are intertwined for all time, this is just a fact of the matter and not just some random accident. And Love plays a huge part in this story as the cannon story stands right now. Prior to this, Castlevania was a fun romp through the idea of beating up Old Universal Monster Movie characters (every one of the main bosses in the first game was tied to some form of Universal Horror Monster and it even has some Hammer Horror connections as well). But with the growth of the franchise, it was clear that a story needed to be told, so over the years, that story had evolved until in the early 2000s we got the very first story in the Belmont vs Dracula timeline in the form of Lament of Innocence. 

Now Lament isn’t just a story about the loss for Leon and his world view that there is nothing lurking in the dark. It’s the loss of friendship and of love, but also it’s the reinstatement of belief of the good of people and that there are those that can and will stand up to the darkness and that even as one loses everything, you don’t have to lose your soul in the processes. 

But let me start from the beginning in this case. Leon Belmont was a knight templar in the crusade. He was best friends with and cared deeply about his fellow Crusader Mathias Cronqvist. Now Mathias was a man of science and of learning and of a lot of things, he wasn’t a fighter the same way Leon was, so he was more into spells and magics, something that his family kept mostly from the Church at the time. 

Both Mathias and Leon were in love and devoted to the women that they felt deeply for, that being Leon’s fiance Sara Trantoul, and Mathias’s wife Elisabetha. Leon’s devotion to Sara was known by everyone, especially Mathias and this is very important since it’s Leon’s Love of Sara that drives him to abandon his cause with the Crusades and pretty much take up Vampire Killing for the rest of his life, training his children and their descendants, on how to defeat the man that took that love from him. 

Mathias, on the other hand, was emotionally devoted to Elisabetha, and, given the way he speaks of her, it’s clear that the devotion and love was returned. So much so that his love for her basically poisoned his mind and made him into the monster that would later come to regret his actions. As it was, Elisabetha died due to illness and Mathias abandoned the Crusades, became ill, and holed up in his home unable to be reached by any of his friends, Leon and Sara. It’s only when he learned that Sara was in danger from Walter Bernhard that he was able to get out of bed and warn his friend Leon of the danger, but, by then, it was too late and Sara was captured and taken to Walter’s castle. 

Now one of the huge parts of the story of Lament is is that it deals with devotion, honor, and the choices we make based on love. So while Leon is trying to save Sara he meets up with an alchemist, Rinaldo, who had lost his daughter Justine to Walter and was unable to save her. 

Leon renounces everything; his baron title, his home, his lands just so he can cast off his duty to go and save Sara. His love for her runs that deep that he’s willing to go into the Castle of Walter with just a sword and prayer and god save anyone that gets in his way. Rinaldo is far more of a pragmatic person and in this way juxtaposes Leon’s love of Sara.  Whereas Leon is far more optimistic about his chances against Walter, Rinaldo knows the bitter truth, that Sara has no hope of making it out of the castle and not becoming a vampire in the process. 

This becomes an important part of Leon’s story as he traverses the castle to try to locate Sara and comes across a number of characters that play a part in the story and the idea of love. Medusa, though not a sexualized being in this one, mentions that the whip he’s using is far more powerful than that of the version that Rinaldo used to save his daughter. 

Now, why is that? One could speculate that Rinaldo lacked the will to save his child, or that he knew the truth and couldn’t bear to have to take his daughter’s life. His feelings, however, whatever they lacked, caused the Whip to fail in what it needed to do, and thus he was forced to kill his own daughter. Leon on the other side of things has nothing but the will and drive to save Sara, and his love for her and desire to bring her home urges him on. This love, this need to help her, is what makes that whip work. That need for protecting something, it’s why Trevor needed to find Sypha and Alucard to eventually come to a reason why the Vampire Killer came to him. 

Joachim is an interesting one in regard to love in this game and how it is presented. Walter seduced the young man with the idea of immortality and when Joachim gained his Vampire state he realized that Walter was above him and rebelled. This lead to Walter putting him in captivity and driving him mad, for his own amusement. But how is this love? It’s a very dangerous and bad form of it, as Joachim both loathes Walter but also seems obsessed with him. He hates him with all he is, and at the same time wants to overpower and control him. This same sort of hate and love is what drives Mathias as well in his story. 

Then there’s the Succubus, the one character that really hammers in the idea of desire/Sex and love in this game and the differences between them. So the Succubus in Lament is an actual boss, vs. just being an enemy. She has no name, but her role is critical in understanding what’s going on in Walter’s castle. This succubus had previously disguised herself as Justine for Rinaldo, allowing him to lower his guard and possibly may have harmed him in the process. His rejection of this form of his daughter may have to lead him to make some critical mistakes. Mistakes that Leon doesn’t seem to make. Namely, after a bit, he sees through the Succubus using Sara’s form to trick him. 

Leon recognizes that the woman isn’t Sara based on her actions and way of moving, showing that though his connection with Sara he can’t be tricked and lured in by kind words from a monster. This is the opposite of what happened to Mathias. 

As I said there’s a tragedy to the love and sex in this game and the use of it. Walter luring Justine away with his beauty and her desire for him lead to her downfall, which leads us into Mathias. (We will circle back to Leon, I promise.) For Mathias Elisabetha was his whole world and when she died while he was away it leads him to reject all of his desires for hope and love and feelings. He lost his way and decided to renounce God and live as an immortal as revenge for God taking away his beloved wife. In order to get what he needed, he made a deal with Death, and the two decided to use Sara as bait for Walter and Leon was to be his sword. Mathias’s own devotion to Leon, and some of his humanity as well, shows up later in the story where he sympathizes and connects with Leon in regard to his own loss. Showing that they’re the same and that Leon should join him, which Leon rejects. 

This moment in the game is interesting because by this point in the story Leon has learned about how to defeat Walter and that Sara was bitten. In a lot of Vampire lore, biting is used as a way to indicate, in some cases, a sexual desire or a need that is fulfilled in a more intimate way. After all the neck is a body part that is known for being very much something that can be used for erotic aspects of lovemaking or showing desire. Which brings us back to the fact that Sara didn’t want to be turned. This wasn’t a choice on her part, unlike Joachim, and it leads to her rejecting the idea of wanting to remain a vampire. She desires death over having to be a monster and leads to Leon, at first vehemently rejecting Rinaldo’s order to kill her, and then accepting Sara’s desires to become one with the whip. 

It’s an important moment because it shows that Leon is willing to ignore his own desires for that of Sara’s, again showing his selflessness in putting what she wants ahead of his own, showing his love and devotion in a more adult and complex way. Sara’s own love is what fuels that whip and her need to protect Leon are the quintessential factors of  Love (Leon) to the opposing one of Lust (Walter) and in this case. 

Trevor and Sypha come next in regard to the issue of love and sex and while the show is clearly going to be showing more of their romantic escapades, it should be noted that the game doesn’t really make much mention of it at first, as Sypha in the game has a bit of a love triangle going on with Grant and Trevor as the main choices, although it seems like she only had eyes for Trevor. We know the two eventually had children but Sex, or lust, in the game never was a thing. Their devotion to each other in the show is telling, and in other games, both do pair up frequently, even in Judgement there’s an underlying tension between them. 

It’s of interest that in the show, we get to see the two of them acting as a couple, much like how Lisa and Dracula were shown acting like a couple. But actual sexual acts are, as with Lisa and Dracula, put on the side and in the case of Trevor and Sypha it’s only hinted at and not a full on display. Which falls into the same idea that most Castlevania games seem to have, the hero’s love interest typically is not shown engaging in sexual activity, or rather, only after bad things happen. 

I’ll jump to Richter and Annette, because that seems to be the next one in regard to how sexuality is used heavily in Castlevania. So in Rondo of blood, Dracula has Shaft take Annette since she is engaged to Richter Belmont. In a scene with him during the game, Annette threatens to take her own life rather than have relations with Dracula who intends to drink her and turn her into his bride. For the original version there’s a dramatic moment where Annette is talking to Dracula and he tries to lure her into becoming immortal to stay with him. She says she will not fall in such a cheap manner, the implications there are more along the lines of sex and him taking her physically from her fiance Richter. In the PSP game, if you take too long or go the wrong route you get the bad end where Annette has been transformed into a vampire and is placed in an overtly sexual outfit, down to a thong and bodice. Her hair goes down rather than the updo she has when she’s not turned and she very certainly is meant to be a temptress and a signal that Richter failed to save her from the deviousness of the vampire. 

This idea of sex, or the sexual, being used as a temptation and a devious thing in Castlevania has been around for a long time. However for every moment of some devious succubus being in the way of the hero, there’s always a moment of love that shows the positive side of it’s nature vs. the lustful side. Again, looking at Annette and Richter we get a moment when he frees her of her embracing him and happy that he’s there to be with her. That she knew he would come and that everything will be okay. 

Sexuality plays a heavy role in tempting Gabriel Belmont in his game, Lords of Shadow. During the game, as he tries to get to see his dead wife with a specialized mask. During the game he meets the Vampire Carmilla who offers to him a chance to become a vampire and enjoy the idea of a lustful existence. Every inch of her in the game is designed to pretty much be a temptress and lure Gabriel from his path to finding a way to see his dead wife. Yet it’s in this moment that we get to see how deeply his affection for his wife runs as Gabriel rejects this offer even more violently than with other Lords of Shadow that he’s faced. It’s a pretty strong moment for him as a character, and shows a deeper feeling in regard to his connection to his late wife. 

The reason I bring all these moments up is because even in the games where there’s hints of the sexual, as Vampires now are associated with Lust and temptation, the show uses sex as a means of connecting it with violence and some pretty dark ideas. Which contradicts the idea of how Love is the most powerful thing to defeat the darkness in Castlevania. 

Take Hector’s story right now. In the show we have his sexual encounter with Lenore which is contrasted with Isaac’s battle with Legion. The idea here is to show that both Isaac and Hector are being used, one being brought to his knees via false affection and entrapment by a woman who doesn’t love him and is using him as her own pet, who later slips the ring on him to collar him as she would a dog or cat. While the Isaac, even though he’s doing a good thing in defeating Legion (and i’m still damn sure that woman is Death in a false form) was used to destroy the wizard in the tower, releasing the village. In both cases manipulation was used in order for the opposing party to achieve their goal. 

For Lenore it was to get Hector to trust her enough to trap him and use him in her own way and for her own needs. She controls him now, making it impossible for him to escape from them, or so we are told to believe. On the other hand you have Isaac who, while used, acknowledges that he was so, accepts it, but is free to move on as the use of him wasn’t against his will, nor was it something changing him down. Rather the manipulation was used to not only stop something terrible, but also show him that there were others out there that were worth saving. Thus, in the poster, we have Lenore holding onto a bound and trapped Hector, and Isaac not quiet twisted up in thorns. 

The use of violence that we see shows that there’s a thin line in this world causing people to become entrapped by their own desires. For Isaac it was his revenge, for Hector it was his need to feel human again. Which brings us to the point where Rosaly comes into play in regard to Hector’s story. In Hector’s game Curse of Darkness, we see how his life drastically changed when he and she connect. From where he was in the story she brought the idea of hope and light to him, vs the darker aspects in the game that hint at someone who was cursed to believe he is a monster. In this way, I hope that if they bring in Rosaly we can see the opposition to Lenore’s way of using him for gratification and chaining him to her. 

On the other side of things, and something a bit easier to get at, is the idea of  trauma through the use of sex as shown in Alucard’s story. In the show we get to see Trevor and Sypha in bed, but it’s clear what’s happened there and the idea is that it’s less about their sexual encounters with one another than about their growth as a couple and how they interact outside of the bedroom and how they show love for one another. We see also they have a sense of betrayal when dealing with the Judge and the idea of Sypha’s world going from it just being fun and doing the right thing, to realizing the world is not black and white, and that not all people are good. 

In Alucard’s case we see the idea of the twins (I’m using the term as it’s easier for me to call them this, it doesn’t mean I’m saying they are twins just that they look alike) as filling a void and clearly being a representation of Trevor and Sypha (They even share the first initial of their names) that Alucard is looking for. Through their interactions we see that Alucard is, like Sypha in the other town, trusting them regardless of how many red flags they raise. The whole issue comes to a head when, after sharing a lot of things with them, Alucard is seduced by the two while trying to sleep. During the scene, as with Hector and Isaac, we see the sex as being connected to the violence of the battle that Sypha, Trevor and Germain get into. The twins end up wrapping Alucard in iron rings, much like Hector is imprisoned by Lenore with the ring, so to is Alucard. We see then that like Hector he’s betrayed and harmed by the emotional aspect of the betrayal. But unlike Hector who feels trapped, Alucard now feels anger at those that hurt him. 

The sexual act leads into the idea of him no longer trusting humans, especially with his heart. This of course is being used to drive Alucard to decide to lock himself back to sleep until the time of Richter and Maria (the warrior and the Mage), three hundred years later. The idea here is that the physical act of it is being used to show people being harmed in vulnerable states, and that sex is used as a tool to harm or destroy others just as certain acts of violence can. 

Yet, part of the story line of Alucard is that Maria chooses to go after him even after he says he’s cursed. Again, like Hector and Rosaly, showing that love is more of a counter to the anger and hate that seem to embolden those that would do bad in the world of Castlevania. So then, I must ask, why is the sex in the show being used not as it should be, showing how love can change someone, but rather as a connector to the violence. That wasn’t the idea of Castlevania, so I have to wonder what Warren is driving at here. 

[runefactorynonsense]

Do you have any tips for someone playing RF1 for the first time? Obv there's references like fogu and freyashawk's walkthrough but I was wondering from the standpoint of someone whose played it several times, what are the most helpful hints you can suggest, mostly in re: to the storyline (I'm not as concerned with rushing marriage at this point).

Hello, anon! <3

First of all, I’m glad you’ve seen the two resources you named! They are definitely some of my favorite refreshers and guides; I encourage anyone else playing the game for the first time to look them up :)

Storyline and gameplay wise... I’ve jotted down anything I can think of, and apologize if there’s anything you already know, but hopefully something here is new and helpful to you or someone else!

Your friendship level doesn’t decrease over time.

I mentioned this in a previous ask, but friendship levels don’t decrease in this game if you don’t talk to someone, or if you don’t give someone a gift. They only decrease if you give disliked gifts. So you don’t have to stress about making absolutely sure to talk to anyone and everyone every single day unless you want to. So there’s a lot of time that you can use for your own goals, instead of socialization!

Item hoard + Make your own weapons.

Probably my #1 tip in any Rune Factory game honestly. If you plan to forge your own weapons - and I encourage you to - it can make the final 3 caves a breeze. There are 8 caves, and by the time I make a weapon with materials from 6 (and sometimes 7), I usually don’t need to make anything else afterward.

Take time every so often, go to a certain cave, target a certain monster or set of rocks, and just collect as much as possible from them. (This also helps level grind your actual level or mining/fighting stats, so, win-win.)

This can easily overload your storage, small or large, so I might plan ahead with what you want. For instance, I abuse the line of Wind Magic based weapons, so I need a lot of wind crystals, aero elements, and bird feathers, which means I can sell a lot of the other elements’ items.

If you craft, keep a stock of silver. I may be an outlier, but I always find I run out of silver way too fucking fast. Gold, too. But not as badly as silver gets.

Buy crafting books.

These can be grabbed from Russell in the library, and they rotate, the same books for every individual weekday. Grabbing them all as soon as possible is so useful when trying to raise crafting stats. Some can get as expensive as 25k - 28k, but they’re a worthwhile one time purchase. These can teach you how to raise your tools beyond what Leo can do, which will get you through chores and raise your levels faster- on top of the weapons I already mentioned.

The magic books at the back shelf are also useful, get them, play with them, see which ones you like! (Medication and Cure are lifesavers.)

Have a WATER or NON-MAGIC based weapon ready for later plot events.

I don’t know how much you care about spoilers, especially if you’ve already looked up those other resources- but. When you get to Danaan Cave, be ready to fight with a weapon with no magic ability, or something that is water based. Trust me. It will save you a lot of headaches. (Don’t be like younger me and try to brute force your way with a wind weapon.)

No magic is also a good strategy to have for the final cave, Greed, as well- but anything of significant power, if you level grind, with you having good accessories, can be viable.

Level grind.

Pretend this is Pokemon and get all your starters to at least level 12 before taking on the first gym. Run through any cave to the boss room, all the machines removed so you can enter the boss room at any time afterward- then go back. I like to go through the cave again, and again, until I can get to the boss room without breaking much of a sweat.

If you’re not pressed for time, grow two or three spots of quick growing crops somewhere in the cave that’s easily accessible, especially if you’re using lower quality sleeping bags. (If you’re going to Melody’s bath house to refresh before bosses, however, this can be ignored~)

Level grinding will also put you at a strength where you can more easily figure out if later troubles are because your defense isn’t high enough, or if there’s a magic weakness you’re not exploiting.

And, well, as mentioned, it nets you lots of items. Monsters can drop weapons or crop seeds or even nutritional things/other chemicals sometimes, and it’s nice to grab what you can get!

Upgrade your house.

2,000 lumber and 200,000 gold is a lot, but honest to god it is so worth it. This allows you to make food that actually helps your HP and RP, allows you to make NICE medicines for pennies, allows you to craft weapons and accessories more powerful than anyone should have any right to be. 

And you finally get the blessed, larger storage units, that Ivan had no reason not to give you sooner.

You can easily get half this amount by participating in the summer’s Treasure Hunt Festival (summer 26), so I encourage doing it either year 1 or year 2 if need be~ (A mix of teleport/return, the speed of a Silver Wolf, and angling yourself while running can net you a fast time.) 

Take advantage of the broken item pricing coding to make gold. 

In the first RF game, an item’s price is multiplied by its level, not raised by a fraction based on its level. This can be particularly seen in mining, especially since rocks respawn every time you leave a cave, not once every morning.

Say you go to Toros Cave and mine yourself some rather common, 700 g base price Sapphires. A level 2 sapphire is worth 1,400. Level 3, 2,100. And so on.  Upgrade your hammer, go to Toros, mine rocks in the first few rooms, and that one room where you loop around to the right and find yourself above the machine that spawns the slimes- a good day mining can net you a good haul of higher level sapphire and silver, perfect to stuff your pockets and ruin the local economy with.

I recommend doing that any time you need money. It’s easier, and much faster, than crops. However, using dungeons year round to raise crops to level 10 is also a super viable strategy if you want to use the farming mechanics!

Don’t feel like you have to rush!

Although the 5th cave - Misty Bloom - is landlocked, inaccessible except for in winter, it’s not the end of the world if you miss the chance to beat that cave in your first year! It will slow you down, sure, since you then have to loop the year all the way back around- but hey. You can get your farming level up, which means you won’t waste as much energy when tilling squares to get later cave permits. You can use the time to mine in the first four caves and raise that skill, which will also give you a lot of useful ore to craft with, give to Leo, or sell. You can work on upgrading your house. Or catching monsters to strengthen for either their products or to be cave companions. Or getting to know everyone in town so you can witness their side events. Or maybe you’ll decide to get married in the meantime, iiiiif you don’t have your eye on Lynette.

Or, if you get really tired, you can sleep through days and get to winter asap, it’s your playthrough, do what you feel you need to do! <3 Have fun, figure out what works for you, and so on~

If anyone else has any tips for anon, I’d love to hear them myself, as well! Best of luck, and enjoy the storyline!

[yggdrasil-mith0s]

Another reason people probably didnt like Symphonia their first time but later loved it is because of the themes and undertones. Here is another essay that's going to be a very quick Symphonia walkthrough as a young child playing.

Here's a warning: I mention some stuff that happens in Symphonia. It will be mostly vague but there will be mention of death. There also might be some spoilers in here but nothing too serious, just some of the beginning story more than likely.

Let me begin by saying the box art looks pretty cool for the Gamecube but the front and back does look like a very, very young child's RPG. It seems like an RPG that was creates for super young children that havent hit there teens or are in the very first years of being a teen.

I'm about to give a quick walkthrough as if I am a very young kid playing Symphonia for the first time. This is to show why a lot of people had this as their first game in the series but didnt like it. Why a lot of people weren't the biggest fans until their second playthrough or when they gave it another chance and realized it is absolutely stunning. A top 10 game of all time across every platform created.

First off, there was a lot of adult themes and tones in Symphonia. Obviously, I dont mean nudity or sexually explicit material. I'm talking about the Desian Camps. The idea that millions of people are being captured, put to work, then put to death or letting them die. These type of adult themes.

The first time we played, we were young. We didnt get choked up or super sentimental about what was going on in video games. We didn't care so much about the parallels between real life and our video games. Usually, we just wanted something fun to play. I mentioned it earlier but the start of Symphonia looks super childish and like it's going to be a lighthearted adventure. You have a cast of kids (2 very young adults that added comedy and badassness). A majority of the beginning fights are snakes, birds, bunnies, and bears. The battle system is fun but also easy enough to get the hang of. You can honestly button mash with the occasional arte and not worry about combos . You didnt have to worry about combos at all, really, and just use artes when you wanted. Some of the artes were pretty cool looking and strong too which added more of a "wow, the combat system is cool. There's attacks and a bunch of power attacks you can use. You can also move around and dont have to wait like a turn base game." It's also possible to just button mash or use all your MP on Artes and really kick their ass.

Combining all of those elements together makes it seem more kid friendly than it really is. Playing through the start makes you feel like a 10 year old playing his first RPG with an age appropriate game since you control a bunch of kids. The fights are easy and usually bees or some weak animal. Nothing serious, really. The artes are cool and the more artes you learn, the cooler and more fun Lloyd gets. It's cool to play as Lloyd when you learn a new arte or two.

So far everything has been pretty lighthearted. This RPG is fun, the characters are pretty cool and can be funny. The dungeons aren't super confusing. It's just a fun game overall but nothing spectacular or crazy. Really the worst thing that has happened is "Desians bad. They destroy hometown over something stupid."

Marble's scene is the only real adult sad part in the game so far. They kill Marble in a way that you kind of don't get crushed by emotions. They let you down pretty easy and you get Marble's ring for Genis so now she is always with you. Her death isn't too bad because she was old and it was just one old woman in the game. It's sad but not devastating. Also the Ranch. They use them as slaves. But tbh it doesn't really hit you that they resemble real world stuff and you dont see the parallels like you should. You just kind of write it off as shitty and Desians are evil and the bad guys. Surely you save everyone from the ranches and that's the point of the game. Kill Desians and save everyone.

You get to the dessert oasis where Colette crashed through the wall. Cute and funny. Oh, Lloyd and Genis get captured by bad Desians but the wanted posters were bad so it made it funny. Eventually, You escaped the bad, bad Desians and are back with your friends, yay!!! You go to the fire shrine, finally see more menacing enemies but they still arent that bad, and start your first puzzle dungeon! It's short but a lot of fun with a boss fight. It was a little tough but fun!! You beat the shrine, yay!!!

The serious Angel (Remiel) comes down again and talks to Colette and the gang. He gives her wings! She is becoming an angel. At this point you are thinking, "How cool. Colette is becoming an angel!!! She has wings now and can probably fly wherever she wanted to go! This game is really fun. It's not bad at all. The weapons and equipment aren't difficult and it's fun buying or finding stuff better than what you have and equipping the new stuff. The skits can be funny too and I get to know the characters better with the skits. This game is really cool, actually." It's time to speed this post up, though. I'll be going faster and doing more short versions/storytelling.

We sail across seas and bow we are at Palmacosta!!! Here's where things get a little weird and stuff too. So Palmacosta is cool. We look through town, only to find imposters. That's right. These fools are pretending to be me and my gang. Im the one with a cool group and shit. People wanna be me so bad!!! Lol.

By the way. General Dorr is also the Mayor of Palmacosta.

Imposters are rude and we meet mayor who seems cool till he tells us he thought the imposters were us and gave them a book we need. So....little me is like

"YOU DID WHAT!?" .... so we leave. Lol

We go to mountain gate, cant pass yet, learn Palmacosta is under attack by ... you guessed it... Desians. ,

*little me has eyes stretch wide open* But I was just there!!!! Sucks, I know.

So we head back and make it to Palmacosta. Remember the girl we saved from extreme questioning and customers that were badgering the girl since she was the store clerk/owner. Of course not. I never mentioned it. I saved her back then at the start of Palmacosta. Naturally they chose Chocolate, in some weird, sick revenge way for me making them look weak when they verbally attacked her. So Chocolate is about to hang and be killed. Some stuff happens and Lloyd ends up using his sword to save Chocolate. Boom. He is a hero. He saved someone from hanging....

Wait.... hanging? In kids game? Damn that's a little intense for a kids game but I guess you do save her. Carry on.....

So let's speak to the Mayor. He was conveniently gone while that was happening but meh. Coincidence right? Yeah. Yeah.

Talking to the General/Mayor we decide to go rescue everyone who has been kidnapped from Palmacosta. By the way there's a ranch for most cities that Desian's manage. So there is a Palmacosta Ranch and a bunch of people from Palmacosta are now held prisoners in the Ranch. Boo! But I digress.

Off to Palmacosta ranch!!! We finally reach it and... oh look... General Dorr"s personal Aide/Assistant. What's this? He is a traitor!? You've got to be kidding me! I trusted that dude!!! Maybe that will teach little me to be careful about who I hang out with. A pretty good life lesson for little me and nothing too serious. I'll handle that later though, and rescue the prisoners in the Palmacosta Ranch.

We save Chocolate but she would almost rather die than be saved by you. So you save her but not without a fight and learning some shocking stuff that little me is like "WHAAAA!!!???!??? NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY!!!!!!!! she still lives cause of you and you fight the leader of the Ranch and win that battle!!!

So yay!!! You won the battle and beat Palmacosta Ranch! Good job little you! You did awesome!!! The game has been really great, with a pretty light tone for the most part. Everything is bright, the enemies arent that bad at all, nothing truly fucked up has ha---"we're going to blow up the Ranch with people still in it" -Raine.

That's right.... "YOU'RE GONNA WHAT!?!?"

So yeah, we blow up Palmacosta Ranch. Desians were probably still inside along with a janitor named Chet that everyone forgot about lol. So bye bye Ranch!!!

"That got dark really fast and Raine is pretty ruthless but most people escaped. I guess I can kind of forgive that. This game is definitely darker than I thought but it could be worse. Most people escaped anyways I am sure. So it's not that bad." -me.

Back to Palmacosta to confront the traitor General Dorr!! Here we are! General Dorr and his daughter are standing suspiciously in the basement of the government building in Palmacosta. I'm sure he knows that he has been found out. I know he tried to sabotage the Chosen's journey. He has no exc--- OH NO! They got his wife with the Demon Seed, too!! Now she is a monster! No wonder he is a traitor. He is trying to get a potion which is the cure to save his wife. I kind of get it but that's pretty messed up. He is basically being held hostage. This game just got a little darker.... but it could be worse, I suppo----WHAT!? HIS DAUGHTER IS A DEMON! DID SHE JUST SAY SHE KILLED HIS DAUGHTER A LONG TIM AGO AND HE WAS TOO STUPID TO NOTICE!?"

She really just called him stupid and is acting like he is the biggest idiot for not knowing she killed his daughter!!! This whole time she has pretended to be his daughter. That means she probably went to her school, played with her friends, talked to her dad and played with him. She probably told him she loved him which is so messed up. She also knew there was no potion but continued to watch him and be ready to kill him if he tried to snitch about his wife. This got dark really fucking fast wtf!!! She is a complete demon stranger in a girls body pretending she loves her daddy, plays with friends, and does child things but is a demon the whole time. "I love you daddy says the demon pretending to be your daughter. That's really sick and twisted. Sad thing is little me is like "well that's weird. How did no one notice at all she was acting odd?

Maybe she didn't have any friends and her dad is to distracted about the medicine for his wife, he doesn't notice.

That's absolutely crazy and completely dark. Woah. This game is way way darker than it lead me to believe when I was young. That was pretty much my first reaction/playthrough when I was little. Symphonia is dark as fuck.

I played a little bit further to the next ranch my first playthrough but quit when I found out they were killing people like it was nothing. I was really little then, too, btw. I quit because it got really dark and kind of weird and complicated to fully grasp everything going on and the parallels to the real world. I always played RPGs relating it to real life and such. I have done that since my first RPG so with Symphonia I had to quit. It was too dark and weird when I first played it.

Once I came back and beat Symphonia I thought it was Brilliant. It was absolutely amazing and worth so much more praise. I loved it and still do. Even the dark side of things.

Turns out I am not the only one who did this. Play through, reach a dark part or part where you realize how dark it is, and then quit. I'm glad I picked it back up, though. It's almost a perfect game!!!

So yeah... here's a playthrough of little me and Symphonia. I was too little to be playing games with dark themes even if they were short or small. I say this because I was stupid small and really let my imagination run wild when I played games and read. I often make things 20 times worse so I really shouldn't have played Symphonia till later.

Anyways it's amazing. Nearly perfect.

Enjoy your games, everyone. If you arent currently doing so, find a Tales game to pick up and start playing!!! Tales of Arise or some other Tales game will be here before you know it so practice up!!! Play a Tales game!!!

[spacemilkies]

serendipity || captain allen x reader

for @thedevianthunterrk800 who unknowingly dragged me into the pits of hell dau. now i can’t play or watch footage without focusing in on this man. 

“I’m sorry, ma’am but no press are allowed on the premise without strict permission.”

The accusation nearly stuns you at first, before you realize in fact that you never quite shed your work clothing before venturing out. Not that it did much good now that you were caught red handed, you plucked your badge from you neck and offered a placating smile to the receptionist android.

“Sorry, I’m here on personal business not journalistic ventures.” As if to prove your point, you rose the hand clutching the bag of take out. “Just a wife bringing dinner to her husband.”

The android was quiet, her gaze giving you another look over. No doubt cross referencing your heart rate to your words. Perhaps had your husband not been employed at such a high risk job, a simple face recognition scan could have cleared you. But it seemed not even matrimony came with any real civil benefits. 

The android completed its assessment.

“I see. Please-”

“Hey, what are you doing here so late?”

A visible shudder of relief ripped across your skin as you whipped around. Appearing to be finishing up for the evening, Hank was looked about what you expected him to look first thing in the morning- ready to go home.

It’s easy to offer a smile in disguise of pity. “Figured if he wasn't going to make an effort for dinner, I could at least keep him from starving.”

“Yeah, is that why he’s so cranky? Missing one too many meals?”

Hank’s years of ‘facility’ comradery with your husband managed to bleed into a promising friendship of your own. It was a specific type of working relationship that only your hardened husband could achieve. Frankly most of his more social interactions were bridged by your efforts in some way or fashion. 

“Trying to keep him fed is a full time job.”

“Dealing with him period is a fucking career,” he muttered under his breath. Gratefully, Hank waved off the android. “Wife of the fucking SWAT captain, relax would you.”

“I honestly have no idea where he is but we all know his second wife is his desk.”

The obvious joke resonated differently with you than he likely intended for it to. In truth, your husband, his desk … and yourself had a bit of a polymourous relationship, to put it lightly. Not that you would embarrass David by bringing that up now. 

Maybe over drinks on night. 

Grateful for the unexpected intervention, you took advantage of the reprieve to escape through the security gates while you could. Waving to Hank, you bid him a good night.

“The fourth floor isn’t that big. He can’t hide forever.”

The few officers who did recognize you bid you a mix of greetings and farewells from those eager to return to their own families. As you climbed levels however, the gestures became more strict in the form of salutes and slim smiles that oozed stress. 

Rolling your eyes to the roof of the elevator, you began to pray that it wasn't a premonition of what to expect when you finally discovered your husband. You reminded yourself that you were merely there to deliver a meal, not stir up anything that could be settled at home. 

Your marriage worked this long because you respected those boundaries. The same ones that had been built without your knowledge back in university. 

By the relaxed posture of his assistant it was safe to assume he wasn’t in his office. Rachel confirmed as much with a quick wave.

“Captain Allen is in a meeting, ma’am.”

“Thats fine. Is his office open? Just dropping off dinner.”

She eyed the bag as if it was a saving grace. No doubt a prayer she’d made earlier in the day to try and aleve whatever symptoms were aggravating her boss’ nerves. 

If only it was so easy.

“I can get that for you.”

The panel in front of the door switches from red and blue, granting you access. You find yet another reason to send the young woman a nice gift basket. As if all the years of putting up with your husband didn’t earn her a vacation overseas.

Frankly, she might never look back.

“Thank you, Nancy.”

His office is as bleak and bland as the last time you’d entered it. Not even the wealth of his awards managing to permeate the walls. A few of the important credentials made the cut out of sheer necessity. You’d managed to break up the rest of the wall with two scenery photos. 

And that was it.

For someone who practically made his office his home, the lack of comfortably baffled you.

Placing the bags on the corner of his desk, you made yourself comfortable in his chair. Your job title aloe made snooping both enticing and forbidden. A thin lace of trust had been bestowed upon you given your connection to one of the largest media networks in the city. While your husband’s authority gave you more liberties than most it didn’t mean it couldnt be ripped away.

So against your journalist instinct, you kept your hands to yourself while you twiddled with a simple app on your phone. Fortunately, your husband didn’t keep you waiting long before you heard Nancy sharp cry of warning.

“Oh! Wait sir, your-”

You don’t know who is more surprised when you husband enters his office unaware. His shoulders stiffen briefly before he recognizes your silhouette by his desk, Nancy’s warning long forgotten. He looked like he was ready to chew out his next victim of the day and you could only snort in amusement. 

“Really, David.”

He’s wearing your favorite hoody of his- one you know come with a plethora of replacements but not a single is ever given to you despite your insistence. You’ve taken to wearing them briefly after laundry loads, while the house is to yourself. By the time he makes it home, its nestled comfortably in his drawer as if it was never touched. 

A secret compromise.

The door slides shut behind him as he approaches the desk. Affections pleasantly not forgotten as he leans down to peck at your cheek,“Its late, you didn't have to come by.”

“Well, I was hungry too. Figured you wouldn't want your food to get cold. Reheating meat will sometimes make it tough.”

David took the opportunity to peek into the paper bags, a hint of a smile triggering wider one for you when he recognized one of his favorites. You watched quietly as he unpacked the food, not missing how he arranged things carefully to keeps your safely confined while setting aside his own. 

It was an easier dismissal when you were expecting it. 

The hard edge of your neglected badge bit into your skin as you adjusted yourself against the desk, “Trying to get rid of me so soon, captain. I didn’t even get to opportunity to ask my questions yet.”

Unraveling the warmth of a freshly baked roll, your husband gave you an unamused grimace before taking a bite from the buttery loaf. 

“The SWAT team is not currently accepting any questions nor has any scheduled plans to council the press for ongoing operations.”

Your smile is as dangerous as your job implies, “So you guys are working on something top secret.”

“Would be home if it wasn’t.”

That was a lie and you both knew it. David would always find something to keep him occupied in his career. It had built him up and functioned as his stability. You were mere crutches on the sidelines waiting until you were needed.

As simple as it would be to challenge the claim, you thought better of it. Instead you continued to eat up time, relaxed comfortably in his chair while your husband was distracted with his meal. It seemed that his hunger had gotten to a point where he was reluctant to entertain anything that isn't satisfying his stomach. 

“Strip was sold out, so I hope skirt is okay?” 

Your husband wasn’t huge on grilling like some of the neighbors in your area but he did appreciate a good steak. Sometimes if you were lucky, he would even surprise you with a nice dinner in the kitchen on the rare occasions he actual beat you home or the scarcer days off. 

Using his teeth, David fought the crackle of the plastic wrapped utensil set,” Smells good, baby. Thank you.”

His obvious appreciation warmed you enough to coax a bit of boldness out of you. Walking your fingertips closer to the bag, you tugged it closer. “The renovators called back. They can fit us in next weekend to resurface the shower.”

Your house wasn’t old but there had been some changes you’d promised yourself when you’d first moved it. Earlier in your marriage, you had hoped to make a couples project out of it. But as the years passed, you began to understand that if you didn't  get someone else on the job it wasn't going to get done. 

Carefully pulling your own box free, you kept your voice even as your poked through your meal. “I’m having my mom come meet them that Thursday so they can do a final walkthrough for a quote. I’ll be home for the other days.”

“You’re not worried she won't change your plans?”

Twirling your pasta around your fork, you gave his question a thoughtful pause. It had crossed your mind. Your home wasn’t the first thing she had tried to intervene in. But you had made your own wishes noted in the initial meeting. Having your mother there was just supervision at this point.

“Nah, I'll be there for all the real work. I really just need her to keep Kaius calm.”

Retired from service but certainly not an impression on his age, the eight year old shepard still took his training seriously at home. It made it difficult to let anyone into the house without one of you there to assure him it was okay. The task was still difficult for you without David’s overwhelming presence to settle the canine. 

Resting his hip against the corner of the desk, your husband became visibly more relaxed into the conversation as he balanced the bottom of his togo box on his hand. “I don’t mind if he comes to work. He should be fine in my office for a day.”

You shrugged,”It's all worked out.”

At most, you were expecting one human to supervise a few androids. As impersonal as it made the job, it certainly didnt put a damper on efficiency. You expected nothing less than the projected project. 

He surprised you by leaning in then to press a quick kiss to your lips, a sneaky swipe of tongue catching the splash of sauce previously unknown to you. When you look up, he was watching you with that analytical look.

“I know what you’re doing.”

Caught, you could only smile sheepishly as you pointed the fork in his direction. “This is nice, don’t ruin it.”

Humming thoughtfully, your husband eventually returned to his own meal. 

David finished well before fullness crept in for you, his own haste favoring time over taste. But he was getting his nutrition so you found it hard to complain. 

A few tedious comments came to mind but none of them felt strong enough to tether him to a conversation. Accepting the time you got gratefully, you began putting away the leftovers to take home. 

“I’m off tomorrow so you don’t need to tip toe. I’ll leave the light on above the stove.”

Sometimes you found it funny how much your friends raves about the life you must have being married to a SWAT captain. Overwhelmed by their own fantasies of rugged encounters and frantic passion. 

It was true on occasion. There were times  that the stress of the job encouraged his hands to be a little more rough. Or time constraints found you bent over something convenient with your panties jerked to the side. 

As thrilling as it was, the novelty wore off quicker than it did in literature. 

There wasn’t a day you weren’t thankful of how well your husband aged, you just wanted more opportunities to appreciate it. 

You rise from your seat, expecting a final kiss of gratitude before you went on your way. 

You hasn’t realized your eyes had slid closed until they were opening in confusion at the touch of his thumb against your cheek. Against your better judgement, you leaned into the brief show of affection, lips parting to accept the pad of his finger. 

You know it won’t lead to much but the small stirrings it causes is worth the brevity. You crave his closeness whether he’s away like any wife would. But loving David Allen takes the punch of out love and jackhammers a new meaning into it. 

“”Thank you.”

The sincerity of it pressures your heart and your eyes close voluntarily this time, just wishing he would meet your expectation.

There is a pause, the silence tarnished by your audible sigh. Part of it is drawn back in a sharp gasp when his nose bumps against your own, then his lips find yours. 

The kiss is slow and measured, familiar even as you dare to run your palms down his front. His stomach curls under your touch, the lean muscle jumping slightly as your fingers challenge the hem of his pants. 

Swallowing, you taunt further with another tug. Venerability paints itself a lovely shade against your skin, coating you in a rosy blush. This wasn’t your arriving plan. But years have taught you that planning ahead rarely went well with David.

Carefully, you reach up and thumb the curve of his lower lip and draw him even closer. Even breaths waft over your face. Measured well, despite the proposition offered before him. 

In a mess of tongue and teeth, you whisper his name and teeter his resolve in the same breath. 

It has been a very long time since he’s humored an excursion like this and you’re patting yourself on the back for taking the chance. 

His mouth teases the skin at the nape of your neck and you wonder how far he plans to take this. His nose brushes against your ear next, nuzzling just under the curve where he knows you like it best. 

Your shirt rides up as he rolls his body against you, his hands quick to tend to your warm skin. His thumb teases the underside of your bra and it’s difficult not to let your mind wander.

Chest rising and falling in erratic intervals, you finally put a voice behind your desires. 

“Will fuck me here?”

David breathes in sharply then and for a moment you’re worried he’ll pull back to he senses. Your heart flutters nervously, awaiting a curt dismissal. But then a knee nudges firmly between your thighs and you find yourself biting your cheek to contain your grin. 

He continues to mouth at your neck while his hands answer your question, quickly and efficiently working at your belt. The hand not holding you in place slips under the hem of your pants with practiced ease. 

It will have to be quick but part of the thrill is inherit in the act itself. You know you’re already wet before his fingers reach their destination, his thumb flicking against your clit as his fingers curl into your sticky wetness. 

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, kitten? That’s why you came so late at night. Hoping to bride me into a quick fuck for your troubles?”

Part of you wished that had been your intention. You would have tried a hell of a lot harder if you’d known he’d be this willing. 

Sorry, Nancy.

There was always something sinfully dangerous about being taken in his office. To think the place where the city puts most of its trust will be defiled by your marital affairs will never fail to get you in the mood. 

David catches you before you can get careless, moving the food a safe distance away from your body before pressing you firmer against the desk. He doesn’t pay much attention to your breast but the stimulation from being pressed into the desktop makes up for it. Nothing else matters however when he’s dragging down his pants and your own with hast movements and lining himself up. 

It’s a slow sink- deep as he allows you time to open up for him. 

The situation doesn’t allow for it to be drawn out much longer than that. The frivolous teasing prior had already eaten into your limited time of unsuspicion. Not to mention any concerning noises that might permeate the door.

David does the sound control for you, risking quiet grunts as he digs his grip into the curve of your hip. His pace is slow but firmly backed by his weight as he quite literally fucks the air right out of your lungs, thrust near hard enough to shake the desk. 

He lifts his hips slightly, just enough too prod for the right angle, hitting that same spot again and again as you grip desperately at his arms. You return the favor, stealing his groans as you kiss back as vehemently as his hips grind into you. It only takes one good strategic thrust to capsize you under your simmering climax.

You remember a time, fumbling in college when you had to remind him to be wary- to pull out. Even early in your marriage you’d been cautious. 

Now, it was welcomed. The fact of not trying to try bleeding into a kink to take off the edge of pending results. You’d decided mutually to accept a child if the possibility arose but you wouldn’t make an intentional effort. 

Nearing your forties now, it wasn’t a forgotten proposition but it hardly factored into your mindset. It’s no where near innocent as your ankles dig firmly into his lower back, drawing him closet and locking him in.

Your husband’s hips stuttered briefly as his fingers reassessed their grip before he resumed his pace with firmer thrusts. Each one bouncing off the round of your backside. The hand at the base of your spine keeps you anchored- not that you’d made any attempt to disagree with anything he was giving you. 

He seemed to reward you for that, a lazy thumb counting your vertebrae in its travels, eliciting a quivering pleasure.  

“Maybe this is the key, huh? You’re always so much more receptive when there is the potential for audience.” 

He knows and fuck, you miss that voice. The way it rumbles deep in his chest before tumbling out in timber. 

“Of course, I’d never let them see. But I’d be happy to show off the results, hmm?”

His hands slid to your flank before curling around to flatten against the plane of your belly. It stays there, stroking the pseudo curve implanted in his head. 

He encourages you to grind back into his quickening thrusts, the fingers at your hip dragging you back in assistance. Whining, you dip your chest and arch your back. Your actions echo your thoughts. Faster. More. Deeper. Please

“That's what you want, right? For me to fill you up, baby?”

God… you drool around the thought. Your words fumbling around gurgles as you attempt to collect yourself enough to stop moaning and properly respond. Blood rushed in your ears and floods down your body. Working yourself up from your toes, you flex them, pushing your weight to your feet and lifting. It offers you a better advantage to pushing back into each eager thrust. 

Rather than praise your efforts, your husband only returns your gesture by carding his fingers through your hair. Tightening. Shoving down. 

“Fuck, yes, Dav-“ You hiss when he knocks particularly hard against your cervix to which he mends with an apologetic kiss to the back of your head. His thrust slow marginally, just enough to regain control before he’s coaxing you again with a nip to the shell of your ear. 

“Tell me, kitten.”

You reach for something-not sure of what. Neither does he it seems, but his hand finds yours anyway to which you curl them both the fabric of your chest. 

“I want it all-please.”

He jerks you back-once...twice before suddenly you’re overwhelmed with the weight of him on top and the pressure of him inside. 

You lie there for a short time, uncomfortable, but too laced by exhaustion to do much else. The feeling of fatigue crept onto you both with out warning, using the disguise of passion to worm its way inside.

He’s not perfect. Neither yourself or this marriage. But where most had doomed you both to fail, mutual perseverance told the rest to go fuck themselves.

There wasn’t much else either of you could offer to the remaining hours of the night. With that resolve, your slow rhythmic strokes against your husband’s back came to a halt, slightly rousing him in the process.

“Mhmm, come home with me, yeah?”

He heaves a sigh but you know you have him. 

“Yeah. Let’s go home.”

[ranger-report]

Thoughts On: Heretic

Earlier this year, just before the beginning of quarantine, I played a little game called AMID EVIL, something I would not have done were it not for the enchanting video skills of YouTuber Civvie 11. In his video, Civvie demonstrated the awesomeness of the retro shooter, both in graphics and gameplay, and since I was jonesing for something a little more dark fantasy than I was used to, I decided to give it a try. The game is a thrilling rush, and worthy of its own post here, but that game was a segue into me finally picking up and playing a game series that I had been intrigued by for nearly twenty some odd years: the Heretic and Hexen games.

AMID EVIL owes a lot to these games; in fact, it's not much of a leap to say that it owes everything to these games. It's even less of a leap to say that most first person shooters, whether dark fantasy or no, owe a lot to these games. Raven Software introduced a monster of a franchise when they dropped Heretic in December of 1994, working in collaboration with id Software as Raven was creating their games using the DOOM engine (or, as I think we're calling it now, “id tech 1”). John Romero helped in-house, giving advice on how to work with the engine, which was instrumental for Raven to push id tech 1 to its limits. They made changes to the engine which eventually became staples in other FPS games: an inventory system, translucent objects, pushable objects, the ability to look up and down, and the ability to fly. While the game itself was objectively a reskinned version of DOOM, it was stylish and engaging and reworked the most popular game engine at the time. In short, it won accolades in no small amount, and sealed itself in history as a high watermark for boomer shooters, hell, for PC gaming in general. So when we're looking backwards into the foggy past of our ancestors, is Heretic a game that we, in the Year of Our Lord Gaben 2020, should consider playing, either for the first time or as a throwback? Roll up your sleeves, party people, we've got a deep one to dive into today. Because we can't simply look at Heretic alone; oh, no. We're going to have to look at the whole franchise.

Heretic is not a complicated game per se, but it has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. We have the standard issue Run-Gun-Have-Some-Fun gameplay that Wolfenstein and DOOM brought to the table. There's three keys of different colors – yellow, green, and blue – there's a variety of weapons that almost line up point-for-point with DOOM's stack of damage inducers, and there's a horde of enemies that are around every corner waiting for you to come out magic blazing. But where DOOM has a mostly straightforward path from point A to point B, Heretic is a trickster which can and will give cause to tear one's hair out. Secret doors, invisible walls, fake walls, and hidden switches are everywhere, which means that nine times out of ten you'll either be consulting your map to figure out where the fake walls are, or you'll be pressing the space bar on every surface to see if it will open or activate something useful. Raven did a bit of a whammy on the game, setting up the simplistic stuff to lure you in, as though promising a hot night out with the kind of experience you think that you're used to, but then they strap you in for the kinky stuff that you always imagined you'd be into, but now that we're here you're not so sure. Make no mistake, I did consult a walkthrough at least once, maybe twice if I'm remembering right, during my playthrough. And the game is punishing the deeper you get: enemies lie in wait immediately behind doors, around corners, hidden out of sight or just above you since some of them can fly, and as your limited ammunition dwindles down into the red, you'll be forced into running risk-and-reward of melee weapons and inventory items to keep moving. Fortunately, each weapon has its own ammo stock, and some enemies are more susceptible to different weapon types. Adding to the bonus in the player's favor are inventory items that boost weapon damage, specifically the Tome of Power which magnifies the current weapon's attack power into a secondary fire that more often than not is absolutely brutal. But, unlike future entries in this series, the motto of the day is: Keep Moving, Keep Shooting, Don't Stop Moving, Don't Stop Shooting. It's Fun, Fast, and Furious in an entertaining way that only occasionally leaves you pondering why you even booted up the game this morning.

However you may feel about the gameplay itself, it can't be denied that the visual aesthetics and gamefeel are dripping with atmosphere. Everything from top to bottom feels like the best of cheesy 80's style fantasy art, from the front cover to final screen. Gloomy castles, underwater domes, craggy hellscapes. Weapons impress with over-the-top magical properties. The default staff acts like the DOOM pistol, lobbing nearly harmless yellow energy, while the Etheral Crossbow shoots multiple energy arrows at once, like a magic shotgun, easily the most versatile weapon in the game. Besides that one, my other favorite weapons are the Hellstaff (which blasts rapid-fire red energy, and causes acid rain to fall when Tomed up) and the Phoenix Rod (basically a magic rocket launcher that belches fire when overpowered). Depending on what you're facing, proper usage of these weapons (all finely drawn sprites, natch) can either chew through a mob with ease or leave you scrambling to get back. Stun lock Disciples with the Dragon Claw while obliterating Golems with the Crossbow; save the Phoenix Rod for big bads. And enemy creatures run the gamut from the simplistically annoying Gargoyles (red bat-winged creatures who also shoot fireballs) to the sturdy Golems (which come in a secondary variety which throw flaming skulls at you) to the Disciples of D'Sparil (faceless hooded monks who fly, chant, and shoot fireballs at you, on theme). Usually these damage sponges come at you in packs, rarely doing so in solo numbers because otherwise the game wouldn't be a DOOM clone. What really gets challenging is when boss creatures start popping up like regular enemies – in packs. Take the Iron Lich for example, a massive floating skull wearing a spiked helmet that throws walls of fire and tornadoes that do continual damage, they appear as a boss at the end of the final level of the first episode, then appear later on in groups. They take incredible amounts of damage and return fire constantly, which leads to a tense game of bobbing and weaving and staying as far away from them as possible. But the absolute worst is the Maulotaur. Basically, a minotaur that stands head and shoulders taller than the Iron Lich, carries a huge mace, and shoots waves of fire at you which can one-shot you if you're not paying attention. Staying away from them is key, but they can charge forward fast in order to close distance and take a few swings at you with the mace. These assholes also start as a final bosses, then appear as regular enemies surrounded by waves of other mobs. Maulotaurs are the dealbreakers of the game; they require ridiculous amounts of ammo to kill, and will force you through most of your inventory items if you're not already powered up. Thankfully, your inventory can hold quite a few helpful items, such as quartz flasks for health, the aforementioned Tomes of Power to boost weapon damage, invisibility spheres and wings of flight, and even motherfucking time bombs. But amongst all these, the most ridiculous and yet satisfying item is the Morph Ovum. Shaped like an egg, when used it gets thrown outward and whatever it hits is transformed into an easily killable chicken. Got a wave of monsters crowding too close and you need to thin the herd fast? Turn them into chickens, then turn them into fried chickens.

What gets me is that this game doesn't feel nearly as highly regarded as its indirect sequel, Hexen, and that's probably because for the most part this is a full-on DOOM clone. There were a lot of them back in the day, too many to count, and I think that if wasn't for the legacy of Raven and Hexen, this might have fallen through the cracks of history. Is it uninspired? No, not in the slightest. The quality of the spritework and animations are top notch, the production values are stellar, putting it just above the quality of the average obvious Doom clone. The amount of innovation, with the aforementioned inventory system and modifications to the engine, mesh well with the ambitious world/story crafted in the background of a single warrior trudging across worlds to defeat an evil tyrant who has taken over his people's lands. The current version on Steam is actually the second version released; initially, the game launched in 1994 with three episodes, the first one being the shareware version, and then later on in 1996 had a second physical release which added on two new episodes. It was like an expansion pack folded into the main game, and considering that Hexen was released in 1995, it makes sense that the two new episodes of Heretic feel so much more brutal in difficulty by comparison. And thematically it makes sense for them to have a higher base difficulty, since it’s about escaping the dark world you had to break into, and now you're crawling your way back out of it. Kind of a neat trick, having the hero beat the bad guy halfway through the story, then showing his journey to get back home. Hell, even the name of the main character is awesome. A later game in the series will reveal that his name is Corvus, but originally the character was simply referred to as The Heretic, and in a gaming landscape featuring such characters as Doomguy, the Quake Ranger, and the Doomslayer, the Heretic ought to stand right up there with the rest of them.

So is the game worth playing today? Absolutely. Any fan of boomer shooters or retro gaming in general should absolutely play this game. Utilizing DOSBOX (which the Steam release uses) is fine, but doesn't allow for the best playing experience currently. A quick download of GZDOOM to launch the game will give better controls, easier mouse compatibility, and smoother graphics. There's a method to tie GZDOOM into your Steam page so you can even track how long you've been playing it (for those who this is important for). And it's super cheap, meaning there's little to no excuse to not play it. So why then is this game sitting in the background, kind of like the little engine that could? You know, I'm doing my best to get into the meat and potatoes of this game, to be more descriptive of it and really entice you, the reader, into wanting to play this game. The powerups are fun, there are segments where you absolutely get to go apeshit on monsters and laugh hysterically while you do so, there are moments where the “AHA” is so enlighting that the relief is palpable. Some of the bosses are so memorable that to find them around the corner later in the game as minibosses – in multiple! – is downright frightening and adds to the risk/reward, since they're usually guarding something good that you want to pick up. Long story short, if you like DOOM, you'll like Heretic, which feels like selling the experience short. But the real reason I think Heretic is overlooked is because it is overshadowed by the more complex, more engaging, and more brutal Hexen.

If it hasn't become obvious yet, this is going to be a multi-part Thoughts On post. You've read Heretic, which is a fine game that does what it does and is memorable and fun and fine. But next, we're going to dive into the second course of this delicious fantasy meal, Hexen, and talk about how the second game in this series is the one that got everyone to sit up and take notice of what Raven Software was doing.

[moonlightgirl-05]

Ray Bad Ending Story 1 walkthrough + Bad Relationship 1 walktrough

Bad Ending Story 1 (5-6 days)

1. Get into Ray’s route from 1 - 4 days in Another story 

Day 5:

00:21 

*  I can’t go to sleep. There’s something bothering me….

*  Hmm… I’m sure he has an important thing planned.

*  Whoa, whoa… Let’s take it easy, Jumin.

*  Does your father have a new girlfriend…. ?

*  Did you eat them all? I bet you’ve been pumped up lol

*  Talk about his scale… Your father’s the best!

*  Does that mean we’d get to see a cat tower in the company????

*  … You actually have the time to make this print?

*  I think motivation works best when it comes from pressure.

*  I don’t think you have to worry about me

*  No, nothing.

*  You mean becoming a cool-headed businessman?

*  Because then more people would get to see it?

*  Jumin, when do you plan to get to bed?

*  ….

*  Do we really have to identify who the hacker is?

*  Even if Seven gives his all, he’ll never be able to beat this hacker lol

*  V…is this really the best?

*  …You’re trying to keep your secret, not lighten his load.

*  But I think you’re already good enough!

*  …At least I appreciate that you’re working so hard.

*  You’re not up to something with Seven, are you?

*  I’ll see you again – !

*  Well, I only wish everyone’s paradise will come soon

*  I wish you wouldn’t underestimate that hacker.

* I  agree…. V seems to have a very strong sense of responsibility.

*  I should settle down now and go to sleep.

02:44

*  It’s just that this hacker is a bit frustrating

*  It’s just that….I feel frustrated for some reason.

*  Because he told you not to chase the hacker?

*  Sure…

*  Guardian? Yeah right… I think he’s just busy cleaning up the mess.

* But you gotta admit you’re not as good as that hacker…

*  You should be ashamed of yourself. And admit that the hacker is better than you.

*  Are you sure we can trust V?

*  Hmmm…I don’t think you should trust him too much.

*  If you’re good to work, why not recommend a guest? LoL

*  I wish she could write this complicated situation into poems… Sure, let’s invite her…. or I don’t know…. She doesn’t sound like a good guest. (If you don’t want the email)

*  …Still, you won’t be able to defeat this hacker.

*  Bye –

06:03

*  Seven won’t be after you anymore… What do you think about that?

*  I was surprised, actually. You’re weaker than I thought

*  Arrogance results in misfortunes.

*  Hmm…are you sure I’ll be safe here?

*  I think you should work harder if you have time to chat like this.

*  You should stop chatting and get to work now.

09:12

*  Hey Yoosung

*  That’s because your digestive system is failing.

*  Huh…..

*  You’re rude to your mother!

*  You should do something about him…

*  Yoosung, you should keep a regular lifestyle.

*  They’re both bad. Both of you need special treatment for your health

*  Who knows…? Maybe your face will turn all shiny and pretty like a sunflower!

*  Your mother called?

* Your efforts will all return in the end.

*  You should try it. You”d see in the end that your mother is right.

*  Don’t you think you’re being obsessive…by keeping your questions, Yoosung?

*  Even if you are disappointed, I think it’s because she’s your mother. Try to be a little more understanding.

*  But V could almost be your family in the past.

*  You should obey your mother. Your family might ask unreasonable things but they provide you a place to be

*  But then again…you wouldn’t know the duty of a mother, Zen. Bond with a mother is indestructible…

*  One more game?

*  We can all have our own ways with life – !

*  You’re being unreasonable.

*  Goodbye.

*  He’s so immature. I think it’s because he’s not with his parents.

*  He’s being immature. Someone’s gotta teach him how cruel the world is.

*  If I were you, I’ll try calling them. Don’t you think it’s such a tragedy to stay disconnected from your family?

* Goodbye.

12:21

*  Hello.

*  Not yet…

*  Why were you so busy?

*  You should work on things that got delayed while standing by.

*  What meaning would that have? You’ve joined the company recently, it’ll be better if you think about […]

*  Here’s your boss.

*  Don’t you think you’re slacking off too much?

* Don’t tell me… Jumin… Do you have a new business in mind…?

*  Caps.

*  I don’t think anyone can beat this hacker.

*  That’s not gonna happen…because no one’s as good as this hacker. ^^

* That’s nice…We can bring both of them to this…

*  I feel like having the unit’s info for dinner…

*  Though I’m sure you’d need more than that to defeat this hacker.

*  Perhaps the department doesn’t exist at all…

*  Good luck.

*  I’m not sure…

*  Could you fix my computer, Jaehee?

*  Congrats – !!! Haha.

*  You’re so generous.

*  This is your chance. I look forward to your performance.

*  You can’t beat this guy anyways. So don’t work too hard.

*  There might be a difference of thoughts at work here. I understand.

14:37

*  What are you doing, Seven?

*  It’s the only way for him to stay.

*  I’m okay. I got loads of time.

*  I wanna see who would win this war.

*  Save is good…! DB is more than welcome! or It sounds too tricky. I don’t know about DB…. (If you want the email)

*  Your hand is so pretty….

* I wanna know what your hand looks like Zen lol

*  Are you feeling better? You had an argument with Yoosung.

*  There’s this term to call a person who talks like you…

*  …In his personal Zen Report ver. 06.

*  Dying-to-brag-about-something’ mood!

*  So that means your practice begins now.

* That must be a lot of pressure… You should work a lot.

*  You should know when to celebrate and not.

*  You should be grateful for your present day!

*  This is boring! I’m outta here!

* You should get to work. Now.

*  You should stop making excuses and get to work.

*  You’re not slacking off, are you?

*  You still won’t be able to beat the hacker…

* He’s working without even sleeping. You think you can beat him?

* Is this woman your girlfriend?

*  You’re feeling down because you should.

*  Good luck.

*  He should deal with it. It’s his job.

*  Shouldn’t you practice right now?

*  Have a good day.

16:13

*  All his hard work is finally paying off. Now he has to work even harder.

*  Why don’t you say that after you’re done with your duty?

*  I wonder if he can really do it….

*  Is musical that popular among the public?

*  This is a person, right?

*  I don’t know. An AI…? Sounds too difficult. or Okay! Let’s send an invitation. I’d like to learn a thing or two about ticketing. (If you want the email)

*  I thought you have something more important than tickets.

*  So long

17:45

*  Hey Yoosung…

*  LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

*  Wow… I wonder what it tasts like. Let me know after you try a sip, Yoosung!

*  Speak of the devil. LOLOL

*  Oh GOD7… Is it not too late to buy stocks?

*  Stocks come in 1+1? Smells fishy here…

*  Seven, didn’t you say your’re busy? Do you have time to do pranks like this?

*  He’s got a point lol

*  I’m not interested in your hobby, Yoosung.

*  Cooking?

*  LOL

*  Why don’t we now talk about GOD7’s dynamic business hobby? Give it up for Sevenstar Drink!

*  You’re too fishy…. Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying it.

*  …Police won’t be good enough to stop him. I should report his agency…

*  Sounds like an excuse to me.

*  You should first do what you have to do with classes and work… You don’t deserve to rest if you don’t.

*  Don’t waste your money on something like that.

*  It’s too late for you. Forget it.

*  That’s what the world wants us to do.

* I wish I could live without worrying about anything…

*  Dream is nothing but a mirage.

*  Since you’re giving advice…I assume you did your job well, Seven.

* Go back to work now.

*  Bye…

* You should think about what to do in the future and plan accordingly

*  He’s just…a different type of person from you.

*  You should find ESL tutoring class instead of whining.

*  Goodbye.

19:23

*  What was that? You screw up just now, didn’t you?

*  Looks like you’re full of faults.

*  Work harder. So that I can see you’re useful.

*  Okay. I’ll tell you, so first make sure you take care.

*  Are you sure the savoir trusts you?

*  I expect you to be better.

*  I’ll see what I can do and let you know whether I like it or not.

*  I also think that was a huge mistake.

*  Do your best

*  What is it?

*  I’m not going to get in trouble because of you, am I?

*  When does the elixir start to take effect?

*  Don’t tell me what to do.

* I don’t like the menu.

*  I’ll never leave you it you’re good enough.

* It’s a little cold.

*  Keep up the good work.

21:13

*  Welcome, Jumin.

*  This is rather depressing, since I’m stuck in between…

*  The hacker will win.

*  I think it’s a waste of time…

* Patience is the key…

* Don’t you think you might prick your finger if you do it in your car?

* I think it’s better for you to review documents than stitching.

* What you lost in time never comes back. You should always focus on your every second.

*  How did you get to know this person?

*  Why don’t we invite Pillow Love? or Is that what you’re going to use the unit for…? Oh dear…Jaehee… (If you want the email)

* Why don’t you start with cats?

*  That’s a simple naming…

*  Sayonara…

23:09

*  Are you still practicing, Zen?

*  His hobby is his to choose –

*  What’s your hobby, Zen?

*  Job = hobby for you…?

*  I think you should make a plan and practice accordingly.

*  Shouldn’t you just do it until you make it?

*  Why not ask Seven for help?

*  Yoosung looks so immature. Why don’t you lecture him a bit?

* I think he shouldn’t waste his time like that.

*  He’s living in a world where he has to be a hypocrite like others. I think I’d get mad if I were him.

* Whatever happens, I hope a person who hurts other will pay in the end.

* You should get to work!

* See you.

________________________________________________________________

Day 6:

00:55

*  I’ve been waiting!

*  That’s because you’re not working hard enough.

*  Isn’t tomrrow the rehersal? Are you sure you’ll be fine?

*  You’re nervous because you haven’t worked hard enough.

*  LOLOL!

*  You’re distracting Zen. Out!

*  Lolol Zen I think you’re distracted.

*  You didn’t even start your life outside of school. You already think life is pointless?

*  You should always watch your behavoirs and obey the rules.

*  The world is a dark place! Hopeless! With no light!

*  I think he still has a long way to go until he matures.

*  Oh, so this is the infamous…

*  Lololololol

*  What a repetition… It must have been boring.

*  So…is that darkness of yours…still there in your heart?

*  Think about how frustrated your parents will be with you.

*  …..

*  It’s bedtime for you.

*  Back to practice you go, Zen

* I think you’re better off alone.

*  Enjoy –

*  You’re not making excuses because you’re tired of practicing, are you…?

*  Have a good one.

03:17

*  I had something to do.

*  She said you need to do better than that.

*  I have a feeling I’ll get along with her well.

*  You’re not thinking anything funny, are you?

*  That’s a bit creepy.

*  I can drink it if I have to.

*  I think you’re weak.

*  Don’t make me hear such weak thoughts. I’m tired of them.

*  You’re pathetic…

*  Run along now.

* If you have time to show me this, you should work more on proving yourself.

*  You should go. Now.

07:40

*  I’m feeling gloomy…

*  Situation?

* Do we have a trouble or something?

*  Let’s hear it – !

*  Don’t you think it’s so alarmingly sudden?

*  V’s work must be awesome!

*  I think you should first contact V about this.

*  Maybe he wanted to get in touch with the prime minister for his grand personal plan…?

* What?

*  He seems to be rather in a hurry….

* I think you’re all being overdramatic here

* What a joy, but I think V wouldn’t even bat an eye at the news.

*  But he’s too high in the authorities. I’m getting nervous…

*  I wish we could bring the prime minister to the RFA. That will be… so fantastic

*  You do know you have less than a day till the rehersal, don’t you?

*  See you.

*  Maybe you should keep trying to reach him.

*  It’s no wonder. They’re childhood friends.

*  Congrats! The prime minister wants to buy your pictures

*  Well, I am getting a bit frustrated. Isn’t it about time…?

*  You should set the appointment now. Why don’t we bring him to the RFA?

*  I hope the prime minister could be one of us.

*  That’s just my opinion.

* I hope you consider bringing him to the RFA

* Yes…?

*  Who?

10:23

* Jumin – ! You’re seeing the prime minister today, aren’t you?

*  What a waste of few seconds of your life.

*  Do you think there’ any meaning in temporary leisure…?

*  But we can’t deny that social recognition comes before leisure. That’s unfortunate…

*  I think break and hobby are the same… They prove how lazy a person is.

*  I salute you, o wielder of life oh-so-empty…

*  The pure essence of darkness… Oh, the might power of puberty…

*  Don’t you think it’d be more lit…if the prime minister joins us?

*  You must be nervous!

*  You two shouldn’t get too involved in your hobbies and instead focus on your duties, with classes and work.

*  Does it matter whether if you tell them apart? It’s just another way of wasting your time.

*  …Anyways, I think slacking off is lazy and bad.

*  Don’t ask me something like that.

*  It’s a break when you do something without any thought. It’s a hobby when you use your head as you slack off.

*  His world is different from ours. No need to understand him.

*  That’s why we gotta choose our hobbies wisely.

*  I don’t know. I’m not really interested in his philosophy… or I’m curious about him. Why don’t we invite him to the part and hear more from him? (If you want the email)

*  I think hobbies are something out of our league. We should just balance work and break.

* Hmm…..

*  I think that’s possible because her job is still her No. 1 priority.

*  I don’t think parents are every wrong…

*  Jumin, you actually know what ‘fangirling’ means?

*  lololololololol

*  I hope you make yourself useful.

*  Do ask him about joining us…

*  I think you need to get a grip on yourself.

*  I don’t think this is the time for you to procrastinate.

*  I’m gonna finish what I’m doing!

13:10

* I’m skipping today –

* How was it?

*  The difference between talents isn’t something that can be overcome.

*  Tell me about it…. I wish his pictures would see at high prices.

*  How did your meeting go?

*  You mean V lost this golden opportunity?

*  I’m sure it’s related to that secret of his. Just what could it be?

*  He just can’t tell apart his personal life from his business life, can he?

*  Was the prime minster understanding?

*  I think V is ill. Both his body and mind seem weak.

*  I wouldn’t have let that opportunity slip away.

*  He could have had a new recruit!

*  Did you have a feel that V’s hiding something?

*  Then that would mean we can trust him…!

*  I wonder what he liked about V’s photos.

*  I don’t think discussions on politicians’ looks have any particular meaning.

*  I don’t know. I’ll side with the majority.

* I don’t think giant corporations will always assume the bad role in the economy, as long as there are good.

*  I’m not really interested in politics.

*  I didn’t know you were interesed in politics.

*  I’ll see you again, Jumin.

*  I think I’m close to conservative.

*  Hmm, not really interested. or Good idea. I’d like to learn couple things from him too. (If you want the email)

*  I’ll see you.

14:50

*  Hey hey hey Yoosung

*  You’ve barely done anything so far. I don’t think going to class will do any difference….

* I thought the only thing you do at night is playing games….

*  You said you’d do it. Now there’s no point if you’re not the best.

*  I thought you had a lot of thoughts the other day…..thinking about your dark, pointless life….

*  Why don’t we change the subject? ^^

*  Same here lol

*  He’s got looks, good social standing, authority…. I think he has everything.

*  V’s reason was kind of unreasonable….

*  I think you lost your concentration here.

*  Tomorrow’s the d-day for the rehersal.

* Don’t fall for such waste of time…..

*  Welcome, Seven.

*  Is there something wrong? It’s not related to the hacker, is it?

*  You’re not relatives with the prime minister, are you? lololol

*  I will…!

*  I’m sure he’ll manage.

*  I don’t think you have time to chat right now….

*  ….I don’t think it’ll be really helpful even if Yoosung goes to help you.

*  I’m not sure if this is a good idea….

*  Focus on your class. Now.

*  Now, back to your practices.

* A job is meant to be painful

*  I want you to think about how to improve your acting before you come back.

16:37

*  Why did you decline the offer for purchase?

*  ….I think it’s fishy that you declined.

*  Has anyone ever told you that the guilty tends to be talkative?

*  V, why didn’t you invite the prime minister to join the RFA?

*  Jumin, don’t you think that V and Seven…are really suspicious?

*  Considering the weight of the secret burdening V, I think it’s amazing that he’s performing this much as the head

*  Of course you feel complicated. You have too many secrets.

*  …It looks kind of dark.

*  At least there’s no doubt that flower doesn’t belong there…

*  ...I think you should plant the daffodil somewhere else for the sake of the small flowers. They will suffer

*  I think you’re being obsessive, V. I think the daffodil has reached a stage you can’t do anything about it….

* You should give up the daffodil. It will just ruin your garden.

*  No. Rather than throwing away a problem, I think you should try to fix it until the end.

*  Don’t you think we’d get to expect tomorrow because it can’t be predicted?

*  You should give up if you can’t solve it.

*  Come on, they don’t look alike at all.

*  Explain to me later on.

*  Do you honestly think….he really deserves the seat at the top of the RFA?

*  Does he…still miss Rika?

*  Tell him the solid truth!

*  I don’t know.

18:52

* I think he’s trying to run away from reality… It’s kind of irresponsible of him.

*  We should consider our audience’s state even when discussing truth, shouldn’t we….?

*  Uhm….I tend to say truth indirectly, so that I won’t hurt anyone….

*  Don’t you think you’re losing focus? I knew it….

*  Don’t you think you’ll get disappointed in yourself if you ruin this?

* I don’t think being good is always right.

*  Hello!

*  What kind of wine are you drinking?

*  I’ll say. I thought it’s easy.

*  You shouldn’t do that to your family.

*  I think everyone has evil within. You should awaken it, Zen.

*  But Zen would be the master of potrayting good Dr. Zekyll. That’s his area of expertise….

* You’re good-looking. I’m sure you’ll look good with whatever expression.

*  Nope he’s not.

*  lolololol

*  Is it your chief bodyguard?

*  I knew it. You so smart, Jumin.

*  Then tell him to send me an email! I’ll ask him. or I think he’ll just be busy working even if he attends the party…. Let’s just keep him working. (If you want the email)

*  Hard work matters.

*  Jumin, you’re leaving now?

*  Bye –

*  You sure are interested in Jumin a lot.

*  Go practice now.

*  Do your best.

20:49

*  Are you whining to me?

*  Aren’t you gonna work?

*  You don’t even desreve to get excited.

*  Do you even realize what the best really means?

* I wish you’d be different. I think you’re being a parrot here.

*  You’re such a freak.

*  You’re growing more pathetic the more I stay with you.

*  I was talking to be nice to you. But since you say no, I can’t help it.

*  You disappoint me every time….

*  Really? Anything?

*  So you’ll do whatever I tell you to do?

*  Again with the please… I’m getting tired of this.

*  You’re such an airhead. You’re so stupid.

*  Just go away. You’re annoying.

21:21

*  Welcome, Yoosung. Are you done with your classes?

* I don’t think that’s a dream…

*  A bad dream!

*  There’s barely a difference between love and hate.

*  This world is dominated by capitalists… This world is a chose where sentiments cannot last!

*  LOLOLOLOL

*  The sun will rise again tomorrow. As if nothing happened. Proving how small our troubles are….

*  Zen…are you sure you’ll find Yoosung helpful?

*  White is your responsibility. I don’t understand why you’d ask for help.

*  But beauty is something you’re born with…

*  That’s right… No one can dare to match your beauty, Zen.

*  But you should prepare for your future.

*  Zen, admit that you’re not good enough!

*  Narcissism doesn’t work with Yoosung the Sentimental.

*  Nope you can’t help him.

*  …This is tricky. Group project is another name for a little hell….

*  You’re doomed…

*  Are you gonna take this opportunity to master math?

*  Then I think he’ll know a lot of math tricks useful in real life lol

*  Oh! That’s good!

*  Sure. I think I want to ask him something about math. or I don’t know. I think he’ll be busy trying to hunt for clients at the party… (If you want the email)

*  Are you sure you enrolled in ones absolutely necessary?

*  You’re a perfect husband material…!

*  I think it’s because he didn’t get enough practice.

*  Zen do you think you can count on Yoosung’s advice…?

*  Make sure you don’t waste time…

*  You think that can chance anything…?

*  So there goes your sleep for the night.

Visual Novel #1:

* Who is it?

* (Open the door and check what’s outside)

* This is creepy. I hate someone like you

* I don’t need this. You should work If you have time to do this

* Why are you crying?

* Where are you going!?

23:19

*  Are you done with work?

*  Great work!!

*  Zen and Yoosung would be practicing, so other than those two… Probably…?

*  I think it’s better for him to do it alone…

*  You’re here? Don’t tell me the hacker’s loafing around…

*  So the fight isn’t over yet… I wish it’d be over quickly.

*  I think the hacker is being lazy.

*  I’m sorry I confused you a little here.

*  If this is something illegal, I’m reporting it.

*  And that hacker couldn’t beat you…? I think he’s no big deal.

*  Do you like cars that much?

*  …I knew it. You’re always up to something fishy.

*  You’re kind of weird. Seven, but since you’re talented…I’ll give you a pass.

*  I don’t think you have time to collect cars if you want to keep breathing.

*  …But having a suspicious job isn’t a good thing. I think you shouldn’t let others know.

*  I don’t know. That depends on how hard the hacker works…

*  A true love’s kiss?

*  You just won’t stop, will you…?

*  Seven…

*  This is reality…Don’t get your hopes too high.

*  I’d like to know who’d win!

*  Peace will only come after endless work.

*  Goodbye.

Visual Novel #2:

* (Go outside)

* My savior... Weren’t you going somewhere?

* I don’t like that face of yours

* This is boring now

>> BAD ENDING STORY 1 <<

________________________________________________________________

Ray Bad Relationship Ending 1:

1. Get into Ray’s route from 1 - 4 days in Another story

2. Don’t participate in the chatrooms from 5 - 6 days

Visual Novel #1 - Day 6 after chatroom at 21 : 21

* (Opens the door)

* Come in, Ray

* Thank you, Ray

* Ray

* Where are you going!?

Don’t participate in the last chatroom at 23 : 19 and unlock the branch.

Visual Novel #2:

* (Go outside)

* Who is it?

* Where is Ray?

>> BAD RELATIONSHIP STORY 1 <<

[rewind-reviews]

So I Just Played... Owlboy

So I just played Owlboy and I have somethings to say. Owlboy is one of the best games I have ever played If you haven't played it stop reading this and play it right now. I got Owlboy as a birthday present this year but didn't play it for a good four months but when I finally got round to it I just couldn't stop. I’m gonna talk a little about story but I will try not tho spoil too much because that's the most important thing about this game. Owlboy is about a little owl called Otus who isn't like all the other owls, he’s small, mute and he can bearly even fly at the start of the game. Otus is constantly put down always being called useless, weak, weird and no matter what happens he is always the one to blame. This really struck a chord with me because I was in the same boat when I was young and it felt good to be playing a character that was feeling the same things I did when I was small. Life isn't all bad for our little hero though. There is one person that's always there for Otus his best friend Geddy. Geddy is the one person in all of their home town of Ville that truly understands and accepts Otus and seeing their friendship and their take on the world attitude when they are together nearly brought tears to my eyes at times throughout the story. Otus is told by his mentor to do one simple little job but when that quickly spirals into chaos him and Geddy are thrust into trying to save the world with nothing but the support of each other and the friends they make along the way. Now I would love to say more but I honestly feel like if you know the story of this game before you play it you would really be missing out. The next parts of this review are going to be a little hard but hey here we go. The gameplay in Owlboy is pretty simple the game mostly consists of flying around as Otus solving puzzles, exploring and grabbing a limited number of coins to get rewarded at the shop that right not buying things rewarded. you don't buy anything in this game as the coins act more as collectables than they do currency, each milestone you hit nets you either a simple cosmetic change or something to give you a little extra help along the way which I think is perfect because all of it is entirely optional plus the dialog with these scenes is absolutely halirous. Not everything is that simple however the combat is where the gameplay takes a turn.  Otus isnt a great fighter he can do a tiny spin which will stun some enemies but can't really kill anything that's Geddy's time to shine. When the need arises Otus will grab hold of his trusty companion and Geddy will use his pistol to dispatch of the bad guy of your choice (it gets more interesting later on in the game but I'm not spoiling anything). When you need to fight the game becomes a twin-stick shooter of sorts you move around as Otus and use the opposite stick to take aim with Geddy to take down the bad guys. I will admit this took me a while to get used to but it soon enough because second nature and I was taking down everything that dared block my path well up until the bosses but you will have to seem them for yourself. Next up is graphics. I'm not the type of person to think graphics are the make and break of a game but if a game looks good hey I'm not going to complain so it's just a bonus that Owlboy looks so spectaular. Everything is done with a pixel art style which yeah is kind of done to death but the detail in this game is something game devs and artists alike should take note of. The art in this game perfectly captures every mood and emotion the story wants you to feel be it full of excitement and optimism when you first see Ville, anxious and fearful in a dark and spooky cave or even full of wonder in a lush green forest it does it all seamlessly. Even the sprite work is downright perfect Otus is constantly expressing his emotion through movement or facial expressions which is great because you know he can't talk. You can always tell what the little guy is feeling through the way he acts and if I'm being honest its pretty impressive because the sprites aren't all that big plus I played through Owlboy on my switch in handheld mode so the screen wasn't super big but I could still see everything the characters were feeling at all times. Owlboy isn't perfect though and fell short in a few places towards the end of the game. There is one section of the game where flight is taken away from you and honestly its the worst part of the game, in my opinion. The whole section is an auto scroller which no one likes at the best of times and you need to jump from one crumbling platform to another while I was playing this I felt like it was impossible, you have nearly no space or time to make the jumps its asking you to do and I had to watch a walkthrough just so I knew what was coming up so I could plan ahead and no word of a lie this one small section took me around an hour and a half to beat. There are also some side quests that I felt were way too hard for a one of event that you only ever see for that quest. Don't get me wrong it is all possible because I did do it all eventually it just doesn't feel like they tested it enough. Overall Owlboy is one of the best games I have ever played, the gameplay is simple but engaging, the graphics are stunning, the music is incredible and the story is one of the best I have experienced in a very very long time. yeah sure it has some issues but that won't stop you from loving every part of this game. So please if you are looking for a fun little indie game to fall in love with give Owlboy a go you won't regret it.

I want to once again say thanks to mousieex on instagram for inspiring me to keep writing here please give her some love she deserves it.

https://www.instagram.com/mousieex/

[scaryscarecrows]

Long Live the Knight

AN: I considered tacking this onto ‘Returning Home’, but. Well. Why would I do that when I can hurt you again? For free! Your choice as to whether it’s an alternate ending or canon; whichever makes you happy, my friends.

Happy birthday, Jason!

* * *

Even though it’s technically their fault, Antoine is grateful there’s no emergency services coming. That is one more headache they can’t afford to deal with right now.

(Although they could...maybe...sort of take them hostage? No, no, they can’t, but…)

The rain is doing a fine job of getting the fire under control, but somehow that just makes this worse. With the inferno gone, they can get a good look at what’s left of Arkham. It’s not much. There’s a couple of walls that survived the blast, but at least one of them looks like it’s swaying where it stands. Everything else is a pile of bricks and smouldering wood, with a few broken gargoyles scattered amongst the rubble.

“What do we do?” Jimmy’s whispering. He’s fine, minus the headache; whatever the Bat nailed him with didn’t last long. Or wasn’t enough. Who knows. Who cares. “Do we just...leave?”

He doesn’t know. Nowhere was this possibility mentioned. Even all the way down the list to contingency plan fuckin’ Z, this was not planned for.

“Antoine?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know!” He gestures to the buildings. Or. What’s left of them. “I don’t know, man, just...just give me a minute, okay?”

Okay. Okay. Gordon and Robin are in the car. Gordon wasn’t too happy with being a technical hostage yet again, but he’d shut up about it for the time being in favor of making sure Robin’s okay. He seems to be fine. You know. Given the circumstances. He’s not gonna bleed out or anything awful. But… 

Logically, he knows the boss has to be dead. There’s no way in hell he could have survived that blast, especially not with that gunshot wound, and…

But he’s shrugged off explosions before. And they can’t just leave him here, but…

He has no idea what to do.

“Do a walkthrough,” he says at last. “See if he turns up, and if he doesn’t, we’ll...we’ll go. I guess. I don’t know.”

“Okay.”

Antoine has no idea which is worse; finding what’s left of him, or not finding him at all.

“Somebody stay with Gordon.”

“On it.”

Trent gets Gordon duty, in case the guy tries anything, and the rest of them spread out to search the grounds. Well. As much as they can, anyway.

There’s no sign of the Knight. No sign of Batman, either-what was that?

Nothing. Just. Just wind. Or rubble settling, whatever. Nothing living.

(He doubts there’s anything living under that.)

He should, he guesses, get back on the main line and...and tell people that the Knight’s gone, give the order to pull out and...he doesn’t know. There weren’t supposed to be fatalities.

(There wasn’t supposed to be this fatality.)

There’s a noise and he flails until the flashlight hits a shadow a few feet away. His first thought is a terrified, BATMAN!, but it’s not Batman. No ears.

“Identify yourself!”

Whoever it is says nothing and he moves closer. Maybe Batman lost his cowl-that’s not the Bat. Holy shit, it’s the boss. How the hell…?

Doesn’t matter. 

“I found him!”

“What?”

“Where are you?”

“Over here!”

Frank’s sprinting over here already, Mark not far behind, and Antoine checks-more out of habit than anything-for Batman before following.

The Knight doesn’t see to see them, even when they get close. His hand’s still plastered to his side, but--

--he’s going down. Frank catches him before he hits the ground and he chokes and tries to right himself, legs twitching like an insect’s, but Frank’s already easing him down with a soft, “We gotcha…we gotcha, you’re okay…you’re okay, just don’t move, you’re gonna hurt yourself…”

“Y-you came back.” He reaches up and grabs onto Frank’s arm, the one bracing his shoulder. “You came back, y-you didn’t—”

“Sh-sh-sh.” Frank moves to let Mark close and tilts the boss’s head away from his side. “Don’t. Just don’t, we’re gonna fix you up, just stay still, okay?”

The Knight gags, back arching, and now there’s blood on his lips and dripping down his chin. Frank pulls a glove off to wipe it away and Mark swears.

“Shit-okay. Okay. Sir? Anything I should know about?”

“Mm.” He swallows, face scrunching up in a clear blech, and gasps out, “I dunno. I dunno, it hurts—”

“Shh,” Frank soothes, and the boss whines. “It’s okay, you’re gonna be fine. Just stay still.”

“Yeah,” Mark says, and oh no. He sounds. Not mad. “You’re gonna be fine.” Oh no. “I’m not…okay. Okay. Riley! I don’t care what grandmas you have to run down, get the car here, close as you can get it without hitting us. Today!” Antoine doesn’t hear him leave-didn’t even hear him come up-but that doesn’t mean anything. He’s not the stealth expert for nothing. “Okay, boss, you gotta stay still, and you gotta stay with me. All right?”

“M’sorry.” He swallows again, doesn’t even seem to realize that Frank’s started petting his head. “M’sorry, I-I-I tried—”

“Shh. You’re okay, you’re fine, we gotcha, just stay still, okay? Stay with us, Mark’ll patch you up, good as…” Yeah. “Before.”

Somebody gets out another flashlight and Jesus he doesn’t look good. He’s white as a sheet and there’s so much blood and—

That’s not really the Knight, not anymore. That’s a kid, a hurt, terrified kid, and he looks like he’s about to die.

“M’sorry,” he’s still mumbling. “God, m’sorry, I jus’…I didn’t…”

“Shh.” Frank’s fingers cup his chin to keep him from looking at what Mark’s doing. “Shh, you’re fine, just calm down. Breathe with me, come on…”

“Mm—”

“Shh. Don’t talk, just breathe,” Frank murmurs, fingers still stroking his hair. “In and out, nice and easy…you’re gonna be okay, just stay still…”

“Gimme more light,” Mark barks over his shoulder. Then, softer, “Stay still, sir…okay-no-no, you gotta stay awake, boss, c’mon, look at me.”

He shudders, just once, and whispers one last, “Sorry,” before his fingers slip off Frank’s arm and he goes still.

There’s suddenly headlights, and then Mark’s shouting for Trent to ‘get his California-king-sized ass over here and be useful’. But the boss’s eyes are closed, a-and this wasn’t supposed to happen and—

He’s just so still.

* * *

Antoine’s playing a hidden object game when the boss rasps, “George Washington’s in the clock case.”

So he is. Antoine clicks him, pauses, and sets the laptop aside, out of harm’s way.

“You back with us this time, sir?”

“Mm.” He looks at the IV in his hand and grimaces. “Ev’r’yone okay?”

Antoine is seriously, seriously considering beating the dumbass to death. But he knows he’d regret it later, which means he settles for envisioning it, taking a few deep breaths, and trying to keep a neutral tone when he answers, “Yeah. Everyone’s fine. No sign of Batman, but there’s people on the alert.”

Antoine hopes, he really does, that Batman is still buried in the rubble. He would have liked to handle this mess himself-and has been, to an extent-but the last couple of times the boss was conscious, he’d been mentally back at Arkham and freaking out about that. So he’s been hovering from here, sometimes bullying a private into Skyping him and carrying the tablet through the rubble so he can see things. Not that there’s been much to see.

“Good.” The boss yawns and squirms under the blankets a little more. “Status report.”

He’d regret it, honest he would…

“Mark’s gonna kill you for that stunt.”

“S’that all.”

Really. You know what, screw you, Mark, get in line.

“I’m gonna kill you for that stunt.” The boss grins up at him, because he’s an asshole. “I’ll do it! There’s sharp objects in here, I will not hesitate to stab you with something! You fuckin’ left us in a hostile situation with no way of finding out what was going on, brought a building down on yourself, and flatlined. Twice. Two. Whole. Times! Give me one good reason not to stab you. Sir.”

“Paycheck?”

Breathe. Breathe deeply. Let peace and serenity flow through his veins and prevent him from using a scalpel in a way the Surgeon Gods did not intend.

“Seriously.”

“I think s’a good reason.”

“That-that’s not the-fine.” He huffs and throws his weight back so that the chair tilts onto two legs. “It was still stupid, and Mark really is gonna kill you for it, and I’m gonna be cheering him on in the background.”

“Mm.” He turns his gaze to the ceiling, eyes already fluttering shut. “F-five minutes. Gimme five minutes.”

He knows he’s just gonna pass back out. And he should probably go and get Mark anyway. But…well…nothing’s beeping angrily, and it’s not like Antoine can see the future. The boss might still be awake in five minutes.

“Sure, sir,” he says, leaning back down to collect his laptop. “Five minutes it is.”

So sue him. He’s tired. He can put off his revenge for five minutes.

He really does mean for it to be five minutes, but then he gets very comfortable, and the loading screen is sort of hypnotic, and, well…

It isn’t five minutes. He’s not entirely asleep, either; he registers someone coming in and muttering about family dumbasses, and then the someone (or a different someone?) takes his laptop and replaces it with a blanket, still muttering about ‘dumbfucks with no self-preservation’ and ‘do no harm could mean do no permanent damage’.

He blinks and then Mark’s shaking him and grumbling, “If you have a crick, I’m going to laugh at you and then get rid of it by straight-up karate kicking you in the face.” How will that help a crick. What’s happening. “He wake up at all?”

“Little bit.” What year is it. “Enough for me to yell at him.”

“I wanted first crack.”

“Move your face, lose your place.” 

He cracks his neck, then his knuckles, and realizes it’s been, like, two hours. Wow. Mark scowls at him and huffs, “You’re nice, though. You suck at yelling.”

“I threatened to stab him.”

“And ruin my nice, neat, stitches?” He didn’t think this through. “Stay here. If he has another episode, you get to be the backup.”

Oh, great. Just what he’s always wanted.

“Hey, boss,” Mark says, voice unnervingly soft. “You wanna wake up for me?”

“Mm…”

“Wake up, asshole.”

“Hrm…?”

“You heard me. Rise and shine.”

He’s not intervening, he wants to make that clear. Partly because he doesn’t feel that charitable, partly because he does indeed have a crick and he doesn’t want to draw attention to himself.

“Jones…?”

Mark is silent. From here, Antoine can see the vein in his temple pulsing.

“Do you know where you are?” he asks at last, voice back to the scary-soft tone. The boss is quiet, probably realizing what sort of danger he’s in.

“Med bay,” he says carefully. Mark nods, slow and exaggerated.

“That’s right. And do you remember why you’re here?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me. Just so I can be sure.”

“I’d imagine it has something to do with the bullet wound--”

“THE FUCKING FEAR TOXIN BULLET,” Mark snaps, and then he’s calm again. Or. Sort of calm. The boss, to his credit, doesn’t try to hide under the blankets. Much.

“In my defense, I didn’t know about that part.”

“Of course you didn’t. Continue.”

Antoine fully pretends not to notice the look of ‘please get me out of this’. He’s not doing shit. He’s tired, and this is well-deserved.

“The building collapsed.”

“And why was that?” When the Knight doesn’t answer, Mark steeples his fingers and gazes over the top of them. “What’s that? You’re not remembering? Hmm, perhaps you took a knock to the head when the building collapsed. Yeah, that’s it. So I’ll bring you up to speed, sir, don’t you worry.” Judging from the boss’s expression, he’s...probably wishing he was dead. “Well, the way I heard it, you decided that the best course of action was to lock yourself in with a, if you’ll pardon the expression, batshit crazy Batman and blow up the goddamn asylum.”

“That’s...about what happened, yes.”

Mark gives him the blandest smile Antoine has ever seen.

“Care to tell me why that was the best you could come up with?”

“The good of the many--”

“The many call bullshit. You do not-do not-pull that again, so help me, or I will personally staple a toddler to your back to guilt you into making better choices!” How-no. No. Antoine doesn’t wanna know. “Is that clear?” The Knight’s quiet and Mark sighs. “Lemme see...I’m thinking you got yourself into a pocket when everything came down. Few scrapes. Climbing out made that bullet wound worse, but your armor kept you together enough. Barely,” he warns, one finger popping up. “Do not try and get up, don’t you dare so much as think about doing a damn thing until I say. You still flatlined on me twice, and that toxin did you no favors.” He clicks on his penlight. “Lemme see...that’s cleared out, at least. No more green tinge.”

“Did I...say anything. While I was, ah…” The boss waves his hand a little bit. “Not all here?”

The short, honest answer? Yeah. A lot. Is Antoine going to tell him that? Hell no.

“Not much, boss,” Mark says shortly. “You weren’t really that coherent. Okay, follow my finger, please…”

“Gordon. And. And Robin. They okay?”

Mark sighs.

“Yeah. Only one in really bad shape is your dumb ass. Gordon had scrapes, Robin needed a few stitches. We dropped ‘em off by the GCPD when we were done.”

“Batman?”

“We’re still looking.”

“Great.” He closes his eyes. “Keep an eye out for--”

For the love of God, really?

“Boss,” he says dully, “we are handling this. Maybe shut up and go back to sleep.”

“Old habits,” the Knight murmurs. Mark mimes strangling him, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “S’r’y.”

“Hm.” Mark stows the penlight...honestly, Antoine doesn’t know. It was in his hand and now it’s not. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be in later to make sure you’re not dying.”

“‘ve had worse…”

“Yeah,” Mark says carefully. “I, uh, I kinda figured.”

He leaves and Antoine wonders if he can go back to his nap. Is his laptop battery dead-oh God. The crick is real. The crick is real. Maybe being karate-kicked would help after all. Mark? Mark, come back.

“What did I say.”

“Sir?”

“You heard me.”

Shit.

“Um.” Can he lie? No, no, lying is not his strong suit. “You really weren’t. Um. That coherent. Mostly, er, screaming. Not a lot of words.” It was a little closer to fifty-fifty, but eh. Semantics. “And, uh, you were kinda convinced we were still at Arkham, so a bit of that.”

“What else.”

Damn.

“I wasn’t here?”

“Bullshit.”

It takes all his willpower not to shrink into a puddle on the floor and flow gently out of the room to safety.

“I don’t remember?”

“Drouot.”

Ngh.

“A little bit about the, uh, the Joker, boss. Not much-” Well, that they could understand, anyway, with no context and all. “-but a bit.” Enough. Enough for Mark to explain a couple of scars that he’d had trouble pinning down, and enough to rattle him badly. He’d sent one of his little medical minions to get him a bottle of Jack Daniels when it was all over. “Y’know.”

The Knight sighs and drapes an arm over his face.

“Shit.”

There’s nothing to say to that, and Antoine leans down for his laptop. If it’s dead, it’s at least something to use as a shield against the awkwardness.

Mercifully, the boss’s forcefully calm breathing gives way to the shallow, even breaths of sleep in three minutes. Horrible conversation averted. And his laptop still has battery life.

Not that it matters, really. Nothing’s turned up, and honestly, Antoine’s pretty much convinced that nothing will turn up. Batman is either burnt to ashes or holed up somewhere, hunched over a rat carcass and giggling. And as long as he’s not here, that’s...that’s kind of enough, y’know?

Somebody should probably let Gordon know, just in case, but...later. Gordon’s lived this long, even with all those kidnappings. He’ll be fine.

Antoine doesn’t mean to return to his nap. He really doesn’t. But it’s been a long few days, and nothing’s happening for once, and…

Zzzz.

THE END

[atopearth]

Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster Part 1 - Chapter 1 & 2 on YRP’s Adventures

I still think that for all the dress spheres, only the main ones (including the songstress) had effort put into it because I remember the rest being pretty ugly lmao. . Anyway! Always happy to see Rikku. Not too fond of her costume since she’s barely wearing anything LOL, but I guess it suits her despite that. Leblanc the thief dancing in the form of Yuna is still weird lol, I know she took her garment grid but does that make her take on her face etc too?? Lol, I never understood that. I always find it so funny to go touch the crouched Yuna wearing the moogle costume to heal your HP/MP hahaha. I remember everything about the introduction so not much to say besides, I wonder when Yuna learnt to use a gun? Still think Yuna’s Gunner costume is like female Tidus, but I guess since the focus of FFX-2 is her seeing a sphere of Shuyin thinking it’s Tidus so she goes around looking for similar spheres to see if she can somehow find him again, it’s a very fitting costume haha. Brother learning their language to communicate better with Yuna is so cute. Anyway, let’s see if I enjoy FFX-2! I don’t remember much about it but I remember thinking it was okay…hahaha.

I still remember the running after and beating Leblanc to the top of the Mt Gagazet ruin in a limited amount of time! I remember thinking it was so annoying because I was so lost the first time I did it, and the timer being annoying didn’t help hahaha. Think I missed one item but whatever, I got there with like plenty of time to spare XD The most memorable optional visit is definitely the Luca one, I think it’s so funny to see Yuna’s perspective of the beginning, since she had to hide in a moogle costume whilst Rikku and Paine dealt with Leblanc the thief haha. Yuna’s so expressive in her moogle costume that it was pretty funny. Dona and Barthello in Luca are as meh as usual, never been fond of Dona haha. Running through Mi'ihen highroad was dangg tiring though, so many battles loll, the encounter rate is high. Oh well, I guess I learn my skills that way.

I remember visiting the Youth League headquarters and talking to Maechen, he gives a nice little background on what happened in these two years and how the Youth League came to be so it’s worth a listen even if it’s a bit long. Considering that Clasko enjoyed taking care of chocobos, I’m not sure why he’s playing tour guide here, at least he follows us along on the airship after? LOL when he asks if he can come along and the no option is “sorry loser”, so mean hahahaha. I also remember the mission at the Moonflow where you have to protect the hypello from bandits! I remember failing in the past hahahaah, I guess I’m better now since I did it on the first try?

Gippal was and will always be my favourite new guy in FFX-2, Nooj and Baralai have always been pretty meh to me. Gippal is funny, cool and pretty cute. I guess alike others, I would ship him with Rikku hahaha. As the leader of the machine faction, he’s doing a lot of good for Spira as well since he’s helping to improve their lives, such as fixing the lightning rods in the Thunder Plains so that we’ll never need to dodge lightning ever again hahaha! I still remember Macalania Woods very well because I really love how ethereal it all looks and since Tidus and Yuna had their scene here, it’s hard to not think it’s a beautiful place. So really, thinking about how the Fayth not being here anymore is causing the woods to slowly die is just so saddening. It only adds to the sadness to see the once proud Guado be left scattered everywhere, hiding in Macalania and other places after not being able to fend off the Ronsos that came for revenge. Considering how much the Guado did in support for Seymour, it’s difficult to not hate them, nevertheless it’s still sad though.

The Calm Lands seem even more vast now, so many mini games but yeah omg, that publicity campaign for one of the companies there, I remember that! I remember thinking it was so annoying lol. Had to track my footsteps and go back to all the places I went to, just to talk to all these people to get those publicity points zzzz. Argent it is btw! Seeing Kimahri as elder is really nice, too bad his job is difficult so it’s hard to get the approval of everyone there, but he’s trying so I’m happy. Wakka and Lulu expecting a baby is all I remember about Besaid haha. It was bad of Yuna to leave without telling anyone but I think it was the right choice, it was about time Yuna got the freedom she could never have and explore the world she saved. I remember silly Wakka hoping to find a sphere of his parents so that he could see how he should act as a father, but really, he just needs to act how he thinks he should and learn from there, no one knows how to be a parent from the start.

Lol, Yuna and them were so happy to steal that awesome sphere from both New Yevon and the Youth League and then felt bad so decided to return it to one of them? Okay lol. I’d definitely choose to give it back to the Youth League, so thankfully you have to choose them to get the 100% completion. I mean, New Yevon just continues to hide things all the time, like all these spheres etc, how do they want people to trust them? Well, Beclem (the guy that lets you play gunners gauntlet) is such an ass, no respect for the person that brought about the Eternal Calm, actually, he’s got no basic respect for even her as a person, zzzz. Otherwise, gunners gauntlet is a pretty fun game, I’m not bothered to get the points but it’s cool to shoot fiends with different bullets haha. Shelinda being a reporter now is very fascinating… Considering that she’s left the temples because she didn’t want to be ordered around like a slave anymore, why does she still wear her temple garments? Where’s her makeover lol. Seeing Calli (the girl that was excited for the Calm in FFX on the Mi'ihen highroad) was nice, just because it really shows that time has passed and people had the room to grow up doing what they want. Not sure if chocobo rights are best argued by saying we should get to ride them throughout the highroad since I feel like they should roam free but okay lol. At least the chocobo catching game was a bit fun, seeing it surrender was so cute but saddening lol.

If Yuna really joined the Youth League and got a Yunie Squad, that would be so funny loll. But really, as a high summoner and the person who brought the Calm, I’d agree that she should stay as neutral as possible but side more with the Youth League just because they really do have Spira’s best interests at heart. Not sure what Tobli’s concert is for but if I get the profits, sure thing! Easy way of earning 12,500 gil, yay! The data seller at Guadosalam is cool too! Got 70,000 gil for selling the data to the right person! Could have kept restarting to hopefully get the 100,000 gil but I was too lazy hahaha. As for the Thunder Plains mini games with calibrating the towers though? I hated that, I remember the pain so well lmao. I could only do 6 towers and gave up lolol. Could probably do 7 but if I can’t do all 10 to get the ribbon, why bother? Hahaha, sorry my reaction speed and hand eye coordination just isn’t that great lol. I also want to preserve my sanity. We even got Tobli the musicians at Macalania! Really, Tobli, what are you even doing lmao. Still sad to see them talk about how Macalania Woods is nearing its end since the Fayth are gone… Seriously though, everyone needs help lol, even Clasko deciding to open up a chocobo branch needs YRP to clean out the monster arena and catch chocobos for him lmao. I really wonder what Clasko really did as a soldier if he can’t even clean up some fiends though…🤔 Oh well, whatever, as long as he’s happy lol.

Alike Yuna, seeing Zanarkand as a tourist spot never sat well with me, so if pairing up monkeys can make them multiply and cause a monkey problem that will prevent people from coming, I guess it’s good? Lol, nah, I don’t like the idea of Zanarkand filled with monkeys either lmao, can’t they just label it as a historical site to be preserved? Sigh. Lmao at the way Yuna holds the monkey when you’re pairing them up though, it’s like the Lion King🤣🤣 Seeing that YRP quite blatantly stole the Leblanc syndicate uniforms (and spheres!) at every encounter, you’d think Ormi and Logos would strengthen their security on the premises but nope, YRP easily infiltrates! Also, kinda disappointed in Yuna dipping in the hot spring on Ronso sacred grounds, Kimahri trusted her to understand that so I didn’t think she’d be like the Leblanc goons and do such a thing as well, so yeah… Anyway, Leblanc is so smitten with Nooj, I wonder if he likes her at all? Are they together? That massage game was weird though lolll, I swear FFX-2 has the weirdest mini games to complete. How would I know which part Leblanc wants me to massage?!? Yes, I kept cracking her bones LOL. Anyway, just wanted to say that I’m glad I don’t write walkthroughs because I’ve been steamrolling through these boss battles so I don’t even know what they really do lmao. Paine as a Festivalist, Rikku as a Psychic and Yuna as a Songstress is the team I’ve been levelling and it easily deals with everything besides any instant kill moves lol.

Hmmm so there’s some sort of machina at the bottom of Bevelle called Vegnagun that could destroy all of Spira… Wouldn’t it suck if Yuna brought the Eternal Calm but then they all get killed by this machine? Lol. At least Nooj is aware and hopes to disassemble it before anything happens, guess Gippal might give him a hand? Not sure what Baralai’s objectives are right now though~ I see, so Baralai thinks that Vegnagun is too dangerous and shouldn’t be touched, so he’s stopping everyone from approaching, which is fair enough, what if it activates because you come close or whatever, very risky. Otherwise, underground Bevelle was pretty annoying with all the jumping, operating machines in different ways to get chests, kinda confusing but I guess it’s probably worth it? Lol, always good to get a ribbon! Anyway, fighting Dark Bahamut was kinda saddening, not the way we wanted Yuna to see aeons again, since it wanted to kill them etc. I wonder what happened to Vegnagun and Nooj and Baralai? Where did they all go?

[vomiting-out-words]

Twilight Princess - Surprise Part Two

Session Two - May 30th, 2018

Lakebed Temple, Master Sword, Gerudo Desert, Arbiter’s Grounds, and Snowpeak Ruins. 

Session One - Session Two - Session Three - Session Four

All cozy on a chair in the living room, let’s begin where Link has been left at, the bottom of Lakebed Temple; the third dungeon and the one I fucking hate the most due to really shitty controls when in the water with the Zora Armor; thanks a lot partly inverted controls. I try really hard to not wear the Zora Armor in this dungeon, mainly because there is no point for it until like the boss fight and like as your getting boss key. Other then that, it’s pointless, and Link’s regular tunic does better at protecting him then the armor. My suggestion is really only to wear the armor when you truly need it, even if you think Link looks cool, it’s terrible and you’ll eat through hearts like crazy, maybe even a few games over’s.

Another thing about this dungeon; there’s a lot of running back and forth, also all the falling if Link doesn’t grab the lever to turn the stairs. It’s time-consuming, and you get really turned around if you don’t pay attention. It’s too much after such simple dungeons, with a very straightforward layout. I think the only thing that was good about the Lakebed Temple is the design of it, the color palette suited the place. Some of the enemies seemed out of place due to their color design but it was perfect. And the puzzles could be too if there was more of them. The mini-boss fight was simple, made getting the Claw Shot worth it, but did nothing to help with getting the boss key, which was like fifteen minutes to get due to finding the right rock to blow up and not touch the jellyfish or get eaten by monstrous clams. That was when I was seriously finished with this dungeon due to its bullshit controls.

Thankfully, it was a straight shot to the boss room, where you think you might be fighting a jellyfish with an eye, but you get Morpheel; a giant lobster, eel which is easy to fight once you’re past the first stage. With final the Fused Shadows, Midna and Link head back to the Lanayru Spring… Only for Zant to show up, be a real prick by trying to kill Midna. You almost think you need to fucking do the Tears of Light again, but nope, just need to rush off to Hyrule Castle, and get to Zelda, while making sure Link doesn’t die due to shitty controls. Managing to get to Zelda with a few minor scares, Midna decides to give her dying wishes. The scene really drags out, losing whatever feeling it was going for, right up until Zelda magically disappearing to save Midna. The only thing you get out of that entire scene was Link needs to get the Master Sword to break the damn curse on him. The strangest thing out of that though is Midna’s personality did a 180, but near deaths like that can do that, and the revenge for Zelda. With that junk out of the way; pretty much just warp to the Forest Temple where you run into Flower Monkey, who is being chased by fucking puppets that could actually haunt my nightmares. So, as Link, you head over and behold the person you find is none other than Skull Kid. Not sure if this is Skull Kid from the previous games, but it is Skull Kid who fucks with you. All the player can do is follow the brat around. What makes it so interesting is the fact that they bring the mechanic from Ocarina of Time to listen to how loud the music is by each path. Though Skull Kid kind of acts like a boss in the way, but more of a puzzle and a key to the Master Sword. He’s easy, and makes the transition into the second half of the game smooth, along with the nostalgia boost of Skull Kid. Now actually in the Sacred Grove, you got to howl to awaken the two Guardian Statues; they look more organic than anything else in this game. Well, awakening these guys causes a puzzle.

This puzzle has Link in the middle of floating blocks, two of which are special, where you need to place the Guardian Statues, who are position at either end of the heart-shaped grid. I cheated and used a walkthrough for this part, considering it’s just a mess to figure it out on one's own and you can literally be doing it for three hours if you aren’t careful or tactful. With that mess out of the way, Link heads inside to retrieve the Master Sword, which literally could have been gotten at the beginning of the damn game. Now with the sword in hand, Link has the ability to change between "Beast” Wolf and human. At this point, you can do some serious running around if the player wishes to do so, if you think you're ready, then head to Telma’s bar where you meet these people that she mentioned before in Kakariko; There is Shad, Ashei and to everyone’s surprise; Rusl, Colin’s father. There’s another in Lake Hylia who head off to meet. Forgetting to mention before, Midna asks Link to help her find the Mirror of Twilight, the only way now to get to Zant. On this tower at Lake Hylia, you meet Auru, who tells you that he has a feeling that all the bad things that are currently happening in Hyrule are coming from Gerudo Desert; which holds a prison, which held the worst kinds of criminals. With a letter from Auru, Link goes down Fyer; who runs this canon to go back up to the Great Bridge of Hylia, but with Auru’s letter, Fyer sends Link to Gerudo Desert. Here, you can get the piece of Eldin Bridge that went missing back into place before heading back towards the prison. Before you can get in though, you need to deal with a Bulbin encampment. Either you can try to stealth it or can just go ham; normally I just stealth it because the Bow and Arrow is my jam, yet this time I bring pain and carnage. Get a key, open the gate to ride a hog, only to need to beat the shit out of big daddy Bulbin for a third time, because not getting knocked off a damn bridge, twice, isn’t enough. Jumping on the hog after the Bulbin decides to burn Link alive. Break gates and Link is at the entrance of the prison; Arbiter’s Grounds.

This is where my favorite dungeon comes in. Though Arbiter’s Grounds is my number one favorite out of this entire game, mainly due to the fact that it brings the “Beast” Wolf factor into these next few dungeons, making it an interesting component by adding it in now though it would have been better if it was brought into the game sooner than pass halfway through the game. Now, introducing this component, you have to steal back the flame to get into the main part of Arbiter’s Grounds. This takes some running around, but it can be done pretty quickly if you stay in beast mode for the majority of this part. A good tip for this dungeon is spending most of your time as a Wolf because Link doesn't sink into the sand as quickly. But getting to beat up huge Poes is really fun, kind of wish the other Poes were like this rather than their really childish imp design. Once done with this, you pretty much go to the mini-boss; which is the only fight you really get to do as a Wolf. The wonderful item you are gifted with is the Spinner, which takes you; the player, straight to the boss key and to the boss. All Link has to do is hit Stallord with the Spinner. The battle is pretty quick and fun. The cutscene after the fight with the Sages is really interesting due to the fact that the designs for them are different but very fitting for the design of the game. We also get the first look at Ganondorf; and the Sages somehow didn’t realize that Ganondorf had the Triforce of Power, also the fact that Zant broke the Mirror of Twilight, meaning Link and Midna need to run around Hyrule once again to get the three missing pieces. With this new information, head back to Zora’s Domain.

Link learns that there has been a monster going to the Domain rather a lot lately. Yet it always heads to Snowpeak with a Reekfish. If you go to the first bit of Snowpeak, Link runs into Ashei, who gives him her notes about the monster. Show some of the Zora’s the notes, then they point the player to Kakariko Village, where Prince Ralis is currently. The only person who knows how to catch Reekfish. Use Midna to warp to the Village.

Link finds Prince Ralis at the Zora’s Bartual Site, where Link got the Zora Armor. Show him the notes, and Ralis will give his earring to use as a hook. Return to Zora’s Domain and start fishing, which might take a bit due to the fact that fishing is an interesting pastime in this game. Just hold your arm really high up in the air. Once you catch a Reekfish, it’ll land on the floor, change into Wolf Link to learn the scent of the Reekfish. Follow the scent through the Domain and head to Snowpeak. With the scent Link will see a huge beast, triggering a small cutscene with Yeto, a very kind Yeti that invites you over. The best part of trying to get to the Snowpeak Ruins, you snowboard on ice. Adds just a nice little bit of fun from the questing. Yeto brings Link in to meet his wife; Yeta. Who hasn’t been feeling well lately due to a mirror that Yeto brought home for his darling Yeta. So, Yeto locked the mirror piece in their bedroom. Yeta goes out of her way to try and remember where the key was placed while Yeto cooks.  

With Yeta trying to remember where the key is, Link ends up running around the ruins looking for this key, Link ends up with food items instead. His first food item ends up being an Ordon Pumpkin, you have to pass Yeto to get back to Yeta, and he smells it, shoving Link rather brutally to get it. Now, the soup is a little stronger, so Link can fill his bottles and gain more hearts from it. I’m kind of surprised that Link doesn’t lose hearts when Yeto shoves him, it would have been entertaining. Now, Link will travel around the ruins once more, gaining a rather slow, yet powerful weapon; the Ball and Chain. Like you can react quickly with it, but it’s kind of slow, especially when you need to defend yourself or move out of the way. After requiring this item from the mini-boss, behold, Link finds Ordon Goat Cheese. Bring that back to Yeto, once again shoved, with a stronger soup. On Link’s third attempt to get the bedroom key, Link actually finds it, after some really bullshit puzzles that make you want to pull your hair out or snap the game’s disk in half over your knee.

Returning to Yeta with the key in hand, she’s suddenly feeling a lot better and offers to take Link to the bedroom. The quickest way to deal with this is just to rush on ahead, and let Link chill at the door to wait on Yeta. Good time to go to the bathroom or anything else. Make sure that Link has full hearts, and your battles are filling with Yeto’s soup or have a couple of fairies on hand because this boss fight is actually pretty hard. Once in the bedroom, Yeta is looking into the mirror, admiring herself. And this is where shit gets really fucking creepy. Yeta gets all fucking Exorcist in the cutscene that makes this entire thing part just a fucking horror movie. Yeta transforms into Twilit Ice Mass: Blizzeta. Like mentioned before this boss fight is kind of hard due to the fact that Link must use the Ball and Chain for the entire battle, which is powerful, but since it’s slow on the return once thrown. So, timing is key and you gotta work quickly. When this battle is over Yeto comes rushing in, knocking Link out of the way to be really mushy with Yeta.

A perfect way to stop for the night, seeing as I knew that shit was about to come at me within the next couple of hours for the next day. I kind of needed to be mentally prepared or I would fucking scream all the curse words that I could think of.