#Akito and kk are watching tv

[woundedheartwithin]

The team

[quietplace26]

Final part~

A/B/O au (4)

It's been a year since the Shibuya crisis. Since Mari's death...

It was odd going through life now without his little sister by his side. Akito missed her terribly...

But despite the sadness he felt, Akito knew he had to keep going!

He had to live for her and their parents.

They would've wanted him to be happy...

And the omega did find happiness. He found it in a grumpy yokai hunter alpha called KK.

KK, to Akito's relief, kept his promise at being a better alpha.

The grumpy alpha was being much more careful with how he acted around Akito or other omegas, and even though there were moments where KK would let something rude slip out, he always aplogized.

This meant the world to Akito.

KK also made it habit now to stop by Akito's place at least once a day to check in on the omega.

Sometimes he'd bring food or even gifts!

Akito's inner omega purred loudly whnever the alpha did this, whispering how their mate was courting them~

Akito just ignores his inner omega and takes KK's gifts with a smile.

KK wasn't courting him. The alpha was his friend. Nothing more. Nothing less...

But the most surprising thing KK did was offer Akito training.

Defense training. Yokai hunting training. KK shared everything with Akito.

KK admited that he wanted the omega to be prepared for anything in case he wasn't around to help...

Akito was touched. Very much so in fact.

But when KK felt like he was ready and started taking Akito out on hunts, Akito felt like it was a bad desicion.

Oh, it wasn't because KK didn't allow him to fight, oh no! It was because KK kept going all out on every yokai they fought.

No matter what yokai it was, big or small, the alpha tore through them no problem!

It was almost too hot for Akito to handle!

And KK just kept doing it!

After a few more hunts, it finally clicks to Akito.

The food, the gifts, the training, and the way KK kept going all alpha on his enemies.

He was-!

"KK?"

"Hm?" The alpha was sitting beside him on the omega's couch, watching tv.

Akito, with some pushing from his inner omega, asks KK a question. "Are you... courting me?"

KK glances toward him. A lazy smirks grows on the alpha's face.

"Yep. Got a problem with that... pretty omega~"

Akito squeaks, blushing darkly as his inner omega starts purring up a storm, clearly liking where this was going.

"N-no! I don't have a problem with that!"

KK's bark of laughter makes Akito's blush worse.

When KK's finally laughs subsided, he gains a serious expression. "Are you really okay with me courting you? I'll stop if you aren't."

The omega's answer was a swift kiss and a light nip to the alpha's nose.

It was turn for Akito to laugh as KK jerks back, covering his nose in shock.

KK was the only alpha he wanted so of course his answer was yes!

A few weeks and a heat later, both Akito and KK's neck had matching mating marks on them.

They were mates now~

Now that they were mated, a new matter is adressed.

Having pups.

And to be honest, Akito did want one, but now wasn't the best time as he and KK only just became mates.

It was just too early to think about pups...

But once everything calms down in their life, Akito had no doubt in his mind that he and KK will have a big, loving family.

[first-impressions-gaming]

Ghostwire Tokyo

Developed by Tango gameworks

Published by Bethesda Softworks

Release Date 2022

Tested on Xbox Series X

MSRP 59,99 USD

A game, whose focus and primary direction is misguided, is doomed to fall short on everything it tries to be, Ghostwire Tokyo is a great example of that. 

The game opens with a young man, the protagonist named Akito, on motorcycle who tries to get to his sister upon a phone call, he learns that she has an accident and hospitalized, all of a sudden a mist covers the surface, citizens around Akito drop dead to the ground, and it looks their souls (or what I make of them) ascend and are trapped inside articulated boxes. A masked man, the main villain, gives a speech on billboards and TVs all around the city on live, I gather that he (with his group?) has hacked the network in the city and cut all communications. What is weird in that specific moment is that, all the people in the city are already lying on the ground unconsciously and basically there is no living being in the city, what’s the reason for the live broadcast? It is not like some people are going to watch you or your little stereotypical villain-ish speech. It’s like dropping a nuclear bomb in a city and also streaming your victory speech on live. Before the mist covers the surface, a spirit penetrates into Akito, we get to speak to it, and later we learn that his name is KK. The spirit inside Akito but he is not possessed by it, KK does not control us or our will. Then we get to realize that Akito did not drop dead on the floor unlike the rest of the people because KK has made Akito sort of immune to it. 

I expected KK to be our guide throughout the game, seeing that he knows this masked villain and what this mist means, and people getting kidnapped in the air inside boxes etc, there are so many questions and yet no answers. KK does not live up to my expectations as a side-kick type of guide. He does not have any qualities that make a difference in our journey, it is fascinating that KK and Akito interact often but backstory is never explored. If you are not diving into the lore one bit, what’s the role of KK? Akito, being the protagonist, lacks the enthusiasm and curiosity the player would have. He does not ask straightforward questions such as “Who are you? What has happened to my city? Where did you come from?” etc.

Okay, the setting is modern-day Japan, that sounds promising because there should be numerous themes and lore you can present to un-familiar players. Yet, the map in general does not have any originality sadly, you visit many locations, some of them in higher levels such as the roof of apartments, but the environments you are in are mostly in black or dark blue, with not much of open spaces (mostly confined), even the streets you get to journey on your way to next mission point don’t add anything to your experience, they are not unique in simple words, and after half an hour you the game introduces Torii Gates. These do remind me of forced-filler-content like pushed side missions. I carefully use the word forced here because when you are on your way to a main mission, your character stops and the camera locks on torii gate and enemies around it, basically telling you first you need to clear torii gate from enemies. Clearing torii locations don’t add anything to the experience, they simply exist to spend around ten minutes fighting and killing enemies. Upon clearing the first torii gate, you are bombarded with half a dozen side missions scattered around the map. Side missions have “meika” and spirit point rewards yet the attention to detail is missing because the description on all side missions is the same, “there seems to be a spirit with something to say.” I wish there was a specific information attached to side missions to pique my curiosity. Before dedication time to a side mission, I’d like it to be worthwhile, otherwise they seem to be filler-content with zero driving force on main story. It is clear that the intended world-building and story progression is linear, on the other hand side missions randomly available on the map, this breaks the main story flow and created a conflict and inconsistency. When you are in an open-world game (let’s just say Assassin’s Creed Odyssey), you can do main missions, side missions, other quests, basically the whole world is before you in an unrestricted way (except for level requirement), and side missions complement your vision and they are core experiences to the world you are in to some extend. Ghostwire Tokyo sets off being story-centred yet introduces side missions in the most ineffective and boring way I’ve ever seen, you feel and recognize that side missions are more or less an afterthought when they are lacking essential mission satisfaction, plainly they are not rewarding to spend time with. There is no connection between main progression and side missions. 

I extensively talked about side mission and map structuring because the protagonist’s motive is stated right at the beginning, he is doing all he can to get to her sister at the hospital, knowing this you would think the story’s main focus will be this. It is a familiar subject to see a main character who has lost contact with somebody who is close to them, a lover, a relative, a sibling or a parent etc, and the audience witnesses the journey the protagonist reaching the lost one, you definitely know this plot from movies, series or games. Where Ghostwire Tokyo fails is that the game does not build on this plot and you become the spirit-possessed guy killing unworldly enemies with newly-acquired abilities. I knew I would be let down the moment I saw the map, side missions, side objectives, area point and icons all over the place, it boils down to this: it is not possible to mix open-world activities and interactions with linear story in case of Ghostwire Tokyo. A linear story would mean that your character moves forward primarily, not backwards, ever. Let’s take The Last of Us, it is 100% strictly linear game and your path is already outlined. Ghostwire Tokyo attempts to be a linear game, taking into account that the main mission locations do move forward as you reach them, yet side missions are randomly distributed, such as the location you visited an hour ago. The main story moves forward constantly, yet side missions are not in line with the story. In open-world games such as Read Dead Redemption 2 or Horizon, your main missions are marked on the map with side missions and misc quests, the world is given to you and you decide what to do next, you can journey to anywhere around the map, the main mission does not limit you where you can go or what you do. In Ghostwire Tokyo, your character moves forward in an restricted world, you cannot just travers in this city with complete freedom, the mist will kill you if you attempt to do it. My beef with side missions is the structuring behind it, it feels teams who build main missions and side missions did not communicate at all, and side missions were not tested in actual gameplay, you cannot have an understanding such as “okay these side missions do not work that well with the actual story, but just put them in, whatever, it is filler-content at best.” This is the exact vibe I am getting. If side missions don’t add any value, don’t put them in at first place. 

In “Landmarks” sub-menu under “Database”, the major locations are listed, I took a look and my impression was “Hmm, are these really landmarks? They aren’t distinguished locations, they don’t have any highlighted back-story to make them any different from the rest of the environments”. Landmarks should be unique locations, places that remind you of something, or connected to a story revelation or as such. They shouldn’t be basic locations you travel.

There are collectibles like audio recording too, which can be listened to only in menu, and not during the game. I prefer the approach of The Division franchise on audio logs, you pick them up, and you start listening to them as you play.

The abilities you are equipped with includes wind, water, fire and a bow. You cannot do combos during fight, you need to switch between abilities to use them, you cannot attack enemies indefinitely, you need resource for each ability that you obtain by killing enemies or melee-attacking highlighted objects you can randomly find.

This is a clip to show you what combat looks like:

As you visit different locations, you come across spirits of people whose souls are trapped, and you can deposit them in phone boxes. I wish there was more to this mechanic, for example getting to know people whose souls we rescue, this feels like a missed opportunity to me.

And this is the entire menu:

Even though you have abilities that are in direct opposition with one another, your attack style or type is literally the same, for example wind and water abilities have same layout, when you are attacking with fire does not make the fight any different compared to wind and water. I would have expected uniquely-crafted game styles for each of them.

[quietplace26]

Final part~

Here are the fluffy pups~

Haruka (Spring, Fragrance): 6

Fuyuhiko (Winter, Boy, Prince): 5

Natsumi (Summer, Beauty): 3

Werewolf!KK au (7)

"Finished!" Akito smiles as he closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair with a happy sigh of relief. He finally finshed his newest story and sent it over to his editor. If all goes well, it will be published in no time!

He's broken out his thoughts by a tiny hand grabbing his pants leg, tugging on it with a whine.

Looking down Akito sees it was his youngest pup, Natsumi.

She was pouting up at him cutely. Her tiny fluffy ears were twitching restlessly on her head and her tiny little wolf tail was doing the same. "Up! Da! Up!"

Akito could never say no to his kids.

"Oh! Natsumi!" He quickly scoops her off the floor and into his arms, nuzzling his face against her's playfully. She squeals happily and returns the nuzzles excitedly.

"Come on. Let's go find everyone else." Akito carries his giggling pup out his room and into the living room, where he finds Mari chilling out on the couch, watching tv.

She had time off from work so she was crashing at his and KK's place for the time being.

The pups love her, and Akito loved it when ever she had the chance to visit, but KK was still rather terrified of her. Akito just thought his old wolf was being dramatic.

As he passes her, Akito teasingly calls her a couch potato. She just blows raspberries at him.

When he steps outside on the porch, he's greeted by the sound of squealing and laughter.

KK was playing with their older pups. Haruka, who was the oldest, and Fuyuhiko, who was the middle child and only boy.

Even after having three pups with KK, he still couldn't get over the fact that he, a human male, created these precious little pups.

Haruka was without a doubt a female version of Akito. She had his looks and personality down to a t. A protective older sibling that would do anything to look after her younger siblings.

Fuyuhiko on the other hand was a of mixture of Akito and KK in looks, but personality wise, he's very, VERY timid. However, he did seem to inherit Akito love for stories.

As for their youngest pup, Natsumi, Akito knew for a fact she was going to be a female version of KK. KK even agreed with him, saying she reminded him of himself when he was a pup.

Speaking of KK, it looked like he lost whatever game he was playing with the pups, as he was laying face down in the dirt with his pups sitting proudly on his back.

Akito laughs at the chaotic scene in front of him, letting the three wolves noticed how they were being watched.

"Daddy!" The two pups jumps off KK and darts over to Akito. "Did you see it? We won daddy! We beat papa!" Haruka bounced around excitedly as she pointed over to KK, who was getting up with a pained groan.

"I'm getting too old for this..." KK groans again as he walks over to Akito. "Finally admiting that you're old, old man?" Akito teased him.

KK snorts at his comment, giving him a fond look. "Brat."

Natsumi, who had been dozing off in Akito's arms, finally notices KK. "Pa!" She quickly begins squriming in Akito's arms, making grabby hands at KK.

KK plucks the squirming pup out Akito's arms and gives her an eskimo kiss. "Hello to you too little one." She giggles happily, cooing as she nuzzled against KK's face.

Shifting the giggling pup into one arm, KK wraps his free arm around Akito, and proceeds to herds his other pups back into the house, proclaiming that it was time for lunch.

"Did someone say lunch?" Mari's voice comes from in the kitchen. "How convenient! I'm making some sandwiches right now and wouldn't mind some help~"

"Me and Fuyu can help!" Haruka says as she tugs Fuyuhiko into the kitchen with her.

"Please don't make my kitchen a complete mess Mari." Akito warns his sister as she began pulling out all sorts of food that clearly didn't belong on a sandwich. She just ignores him and begins making lunch with the pups.

"Our kitchen's gonna be a complete mess by the time's she done isn't it?" KK huffs as he places Natsumi onto the floor, letting the little pup wander over to her older siblings.

"Yep." Akito sighs out, watching the pure chaos that was happening in his kitchen with fond exasperation.

It still felt unreal to Akito. A few years ago he was working a dead end job that was more or less sucking the life out of him, making him utterly miserable. But now he had everything ever wanted!

He had an amazing lover, three adorable kids, his sister was happy, and his dream of being a famous writer was finally coming true!

Strong familar arms suddenly wraps around his waist, tugging him back against a familar body. KK his rest his chin on Akito's shoulder and gives him a curious look. "What's going on in that pretty head of your's Aki? It must be good since you're smiling."

Akito just hums, leaning back against KK with a even bigger smile. "Just thinking how lucky I was to have met you KK~" He says as he playfully kisses the wolf man's cheek.

This leads to KK attacking Akito with kisses of his own. Every part of Akito's face was attacked. His forehead, nose, cheeks, and then finally, his mouth.

"Hey lover boys! Get in here before these pups of yours eats all the food!" Mari yells from the kitchen, causing the happy couple to cease their makeout session.

KK rolls his eyes as he and Akito walked into the kitchen, muttering how it wasn't his pups who were going to eat all the food. "I swear that girl has a black hole for a stomach..."

"What was that KK?" Mari was cheerfully smiling with a knife in her hand, twirling it between her fingers slowly.

KK flinches at the sight and nervously shuffles behind Akito, muttering a quick, "Nothing!"

Akito, while finding the whole interaction amusing, claps his hands together to get their attention. "Mari put that knife away, and KK, get over here and eat before the pups eats everything."

Sometimes Akito swears KK and Mari give him way more trouble than his actual pups do... but even with all the trouble they cause, Akito would never wish for them to change~