#It could be a cool concept but it’s been done in the worst way possible

[fallingdownhell]

Genshin men dealing with separation anxiety.

You didn't really specify any characters except for the men, so I just picked out some who I think fit this description. Hope you're okay with that.

Characters Included: Xiao; Wanderer; Tighnari; Diluc

Content: gender neutral reader; separation anxiety; mentions of insecurities; reverse comfort

Word count: 1,8k words

Thanks again for your request!

Xiao

Xiao is relatively new to the whole concept of dating and relationships in general

He tries to get used to it, but it's difficult for him. For so many years, he saw himself as nothing but a weapon. So this new situation is just something he never thought would happen to him

once he fully trusts you with everything about him would be when this particular "problem" starts to show itself

would have one of the worst cases, in my opinion

he is so used to loss, yet he can't imagine having to deal with your loss. He's sure that should this day ever arrive, it would ultimately destroy him, too

he can deal with a few hours alone, he doesn't need you by his side 24/7

but, once a certain time frame has been reached and he hasn't heard or seen anything from you, he starts to grow restless and anxious

Xiao tries to play it cool, but deep down, he worries about you

are you okay? are you hurt? could you possibly need his assistence? But you haven't called for him.. so everything should be fine, right? But what if you just didn't get the chance to call for him and you were already....

he tries to keep his thoughts under control, but he can't seem to redirect the course his mind has taken

he tries to reason with himself, not wanting to immediately assume the worst possible things

but soon, he can't take it anymore, so he starts looking for you. He searches the places you frequent the most, while maintaining a safe distance so you don't immediately spot him

he soon finds you in the streets of Liyue Harbor, talking to one of the vendors, laughing happily

as he sees you like this, his heart suddenly grows lighter, the impending feeling of dread slowly going away as it's replaced by this warm, loving feeling he always gets when looking at you or spending time with you

he waits until your done with your chat, watches you as you walk away from the booth. Once you're in an area with less people around, he appears in front of you

you're slightly startled, but you start to get used to his random entrances and dissapearances

you smile at him, and the last bits of Xiao's worries are instantly blown away as he allows himself to take in your calming presence

somehow, he always feels at peace with you. No matter what life might throw at him in the future, he's sure he will be able to conquer it, as long as you're there with him..

Wanderer

definitely the worst case out of all the others

but can you really blame him? He endured so much already, has experienced so much pain and heartbreak... can you blame him for not wanting to loose you as well, after he let you in?

it takes time and effort to convince him that your feelings for him are genuine and that you would never, ever leave him behind

it's not like he doesn't want to believe you. He really does, but he just can't imagine anyone being actually interested in him and wanting to maintain a relationship with someone like him...

like I said, time and effort is the key into his heart. And even once you managed to take your place there, he won't openly show it. He's awkward about those kinds of things, it's a whole 'nother issue

once you've successfully broken down the walls around his heart and marched your way in, he really can't handle being away from you for more than a few hours

as soon as you talk about leaving (be it to go to work, or groceries) he begins to feel anxious

because... what if you don't return after all? What if you finally realized how insufferable he is and you decided to not deal with it anymore? He knows you proclaim your love to him daily, but he can't help it

the doubts just start to act up like it's second nature to him, and no matter how hard he tries to suppress it, he can't seem to win against his own mind

his imagination runs wild, painting a hundred different scenarios on how you might leave him and run away

he wants to get up and out there, looking for you, but that would make him seem desperate and he most definitely does not want to be percieved in that way

so he sits it out at your shared home, trying to deal with all those intrusive thoughts in his head, intently watching the clock hanging on the wall, counting the minutes until your return

as soon as he hears the door opening, he is up and "greeting" you at the door

"Took you long enough. Where have you been all this time?"

he tries to sound indifferent, but to you, you can clearly tell that his voice lacks the ususal bite and he seems to be frantic

instead of an answer, you pull him into an embrace, lightly stroking his scalp

the Wanderer is taken by surprise at your actions, but that quickly fades and he melts into the touch, knowing that this was your silent reassurance to him

he acknowledges it, but doesn't comment on it

maybe one day, he'll be able to openly talk to you about everything that bothers him and be completely vulnerable to you. But that day is not now...

he just hopes that you can wait for him until this day finally arrives..

Tighnari

as cool and composed as the fox hybrid likes to think that he is, he has his weak moments as well

although... this problem probably won't arise until after the two of you are mated

he's not becoming overprotective of you and he's also not controlling or anything. He just.... he can't really deal with being alone anymore

in the past, before knowing you and even while dating you, it never really bothered him. He was used to not seeing you for a few days, sometimes even weeks, thanks to your position in the academiya

but now... he can't seem to deal with it anymore. Whenever you tell him that you have to leave for a few days, he dreads for those days to arrive

He's perfectly fine for the first two or three days, but anything that comes after that... total nightmare for him and his crew

He is restless, anxious, constantly thinking about you and your well being

Tighnari knows that you're more than capable of protecting yourself, but still! He's not there to protect you, how can he be sure that you're fine?

Sure, you write letters to him almost daily to keep him up to date and reassure him that you're fine... but what if those letters are written by someone else, who just happens to be extremely good at forging handwritings?

During that time period, Tighnari is also not able to sleep very well, if at all

he tosses and turns througout the entire night, hugging your pillow close to him, imaginig that it was you laying next to him, hugging him and stroking his back like you always do

he thought that this might help him to calm down, but all it does is increase his intense longing for you

he whines, calling out your name in the dead of the night, hoping that by some miracle, you would hear his cry and return to him

when you do come back to him, he doesn't care for any work he has to take care of that day

he will leave it for the other rangers to take care of, he has more important things to attend to now

namely, cuddling you in his bed, wrapping his tail around your thighs and burrying his nose in your neck, breathing in your scent that he missed so much while you were gone

he feels your fingers stroking along his back and he can't help the shiver that runs down his spine when you do so

he won't let you out of bed for the next few hours, after all... he has to make up for the days that you and him were separated..

Diluc

oh boy.. another one with a pretty bad case

Diluc has lost so many important things in his life, he couldn't bear losing you as well

He is a busy man, he knows he can't be by your side 24/7, even if he really wants nothing more

time spent with you is always the most treasured to him. With you, he always feels safe and loved. He had no idea how much he has missed feeling like this until you walked into his life

Now that he has those feelings back again... he won't trade them for anything else in this world

being as busy as he is, he doesn't really have much time to see you. Sometimes, you both go days without seeing each other, this fact made worse thanks to Diluc's unpredictable time management

only when his anxiety keeps getting worse, when thoughts from back then start to flood his mind again, does he give into his desires

in the dead of night, he seeks you out, knocking on your door, hoping, praying to the Archons above that you're not asleep yet

and it seems like his prayers were heard, as he can hear footsteps cautiously approaching the door

"It's me, darling. Please... can you open the door?", he calls before you even have the chance to ask who is out there

without hesitance, you open the door, seeing him standing there causes your heart to ache

without questioning him, you pull him inside, closing the door and then immediately turn to hug him. You instinctively know that he needs this right now

Diluc wastes no time in reciprocating your show of affection, burrying his face in your hair, breathing in and commiting your smell to his memory

standing here like this for a few minutes, you are the first to pull away, asking him to lay down with you

he nodds his head in agreement, following you to the bedroom where he pulls you close into him as soon as you are both comfortable on the bed

night like this have become a common occurance for you, knowing where the roots of his actions lie

without him having to ask for the much needed reassurance, you give it to him, trying to further the comfort with your touches to his arms and back, lightly stoking the skin there until his eyes start to grow heavy and he falls asleep

he has never told you the full story about the things that had happened in his past, and you don't pressure him to do so. Once he's ready, he will come to you on his own, you're sure of that

Until that day arrives.. you can wait and help him in any other way that he needs..

[conceptmobius]

Staff Recruitment

Greetings! This is a post regarding staff recruitment for Concept: “Mobius”, as you probably surmised. Vertekins and I always looking to add to the ranks and make the site as detailed, informative, and cool as it can be. If you’re interested in joining, great! Let’s find you a spot! Incidentally, you may be able to fill multiple roles, but first things first. You need to run before you can Spin Attack, after all.

Concept: “Mobius” is a Sonic the Hedgehog site dedicated to information about the games within the franchise and the worlds, characters, and events within. While there are multiple wikis and whatnot that serve this purpose, we’re trying to do things differently. We want to enrich the world of the Blue Blur and hopefully make it more cohesive, less muddled, and more fun. Obviously, this is too big a job for a few people, hence the slow trickle of updates over the years.

So, we need a team to tackle this endeavor, and we have many branches for all skill sets. You'll also be asked to help out here, as well, but more on that at another time.

Writers

Arguably one of the most important roles. Writers will be contributing the bulk of the site’s content, from articles and reviews to think pieces and news blurbs. You’ll be expected to be able to spell, know your grammar, and write coherently. If the most writing you’ve done is on Twitter, you may find yourself at a loss here, especially since you’ll probably have to be your own editor, unless you ask your teammates for help (which you can, to be clear).

Artists

Another absolutely crucial role. You’ll be responsible for how the site looks: graphics, character art, zone landscapes, etc. It’ll be a big task, but you’ll always be credited for your work, with links going to whatever platform you choose.

Programmers/Modders

Your job will be to modify the games. Why? Two reasons.

We’ll be using various games for clips and showcases, and we need them to be accurate as possible. Many of them are either missing content, have various inaccuracies between one another, or just don’t look/sound/play right for our purposes. We can’t very well show Sonic’s world if it’s lackluster, can we?

We want to show what even the worst of the franchise could look/sound/play like if given the TLC they deserve.

I know this doesn’t sound necessary or worthwhile, but I assure you, it will make sense in the future.

Theorists

You’ll be helping with various theories and doing your best to plug up various plotholes in the Sonic universe. Unlike certain other game theorists, however, you’ll be expected to show restraint when speculating and not go off on tangents or grasping at whatever straws you see.

Cartographers

Your job is a doozy: making a single, DEFINITIVE map of Sonic’s Earth. You see, there have been many in the games, and they’ve been different every time, depending on the game or the area it's based in. And each one has been inconsistent. Heck, people don't even know where Green Hill Zone definitively is, despite its number of uses.

THIS.

WILL.

NOT.

DO.

If anyone is going to take Sonic lore seriously (and few people do), we need one map that can be used for every game. That way, there is more consistency in the narrative and people have a more defined view of the world.

Modelers

Your role will be to make various character renders to be used for the cast in the Character Database. You’ll be working with the artists to make the most “true to life” representations of Sonic and the others as you can. You might also find yourself recreating certain areas or scenes from the games, demonstrating various abilities, or just letting the cast style on each other.

News Reporters

You’ll be reporting on everything Sonic-related that is newsworthy, whether it be a game announcement or a funny pic from Sega. Just try not to post any memes.

That'll do for now, although, we're welcoming anyone with a notable skill set. If you think you have something to contribute to Concept: "Mobius" that is or isn't listed here, let us know. Just be aware that we can't afford to pay anyone for their work.

Thank you very much in advance!

~Ryan

[invested-in-your-future]

Genuinely, why were the hound and leviathan grimm a mistake?

While a concept of dangerous sea grimm is great, The Leviathan's design is honestly a complete mess. And it suffers the exact same fate any remotely intriguing concept does in this show - getting flattened by plot device without doing anything of note. And in this case its done in one of the worst most anti-climactic fights in the ENTIRE show, as a combo between a plot device of silver eyes (hey remember when they used to be a genuine mystery and not just "Break in case of Emergency" plot device writers remember about when they need to delete a monster and don't know how?) and one of the most unlikeable side characters in entire show. The Leviathan could have been literally ANYTHING, even a generic pack of beowulves and nothing would change in the story. What was the point? All it does is to make the hyped-up "underwater grimm" even more anticlimactic and boring than even that one time two teens on a ship randomly killed a sea dragon.

The Hound is one of the least threatening grimm in the entire show that ends up jobbing to a slab of stone. In any other show the concept behind it would have been intriguing, but with RWBY it feels like edgy afterthought as an attempt to make Salem "scary" or "threatening" that then sabotages itself by how freaking easy the thing just keels over. Salem making whaaaaaacky Grimm experiments would truly be fascinating…Were we not aware of her backstory(that show stated is 100% accurate) and her pretty generic set of goals. As it stands The Hound is an afterthought that exists solely to attempt to get some mileage out of Summer drama down the line that will no doubt make Raven look like even bigger anticlimactic idiot. Seriously, "wooo, what if spooky Grimm Human Hybrids!" is something you'd expect of an average fanfic, not the actual main show. And those fanfics likely put more thought into it than the show did.

Both are examples of semi-intriguing ideas being done in the most haphazard, boring and anticlimactic way possible.

The concept of a weird abomination creature of Grimm that develops and evolves IS cool though. One of my ideas involves a cannibalistic kind of abnormal grimm that consumes other creatures of grimm to evolve and adapt, essentially skipping usual steps of Grimm development (which I also kind of wrote up from ground up since this is the "world of bloody evolution" even though MilesWBY kind of forgot). I am not making it some Salem special project though, because in my idea Salem doesn't really have "control" over Grimm, nor ability to make them. The idea of RNG just sometimes leading to "glitches in the system" like that by pure chance is far more fascinating to me.

[adarkrainbow]

I will try looking through Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales comics, the main series.

I have already some experience and knowledge of Zenescope’s Fairy Tales franchise, but throughout the many spin-offs and side-series that form the vast Zenescope-verse. Their Oz comics, their Wonderland comics, their Gretel witch-hunter mini-series... This allowed me to see the best and the worst of the Zenescope-style, and the worst is precisely why I avoided for a long time the main series.

If you know a bit Zenescope, you know the flaws I am talking about. Gore for the sake of gore and shock value ; an uneeded amount of female nudity and sexual scenes that makes the comic borderline erotic ; over-simplified knowledge and appreciation of the original work they are re-creating, so-called grand and ambitious fantasy stories that are just flat and stereotyped plots filled with cliches and uninventive takes... 

These flaws were most notably what made me go as fast away from Zenescope’s Oz comics as possible when starting to read them ; and I know they are part of the main series (since they are present in all of Zenescope’s products). BUT... things are not all bad - it is just that the bad tend to out-shine the best. I did notice here and there, from series to series, interesting concepts, some fascinating ideas, some cool monster designs from time to time. The Wonderland series in particular, despite having prevalent flaws as described above, including very gratuitous and unecessary nudity, and shock value content that could have been conveyed more elegantly, actually started out in an excellent and very clever way by (slight spoilers here) mixing the Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass world with a world of “madness, eldritch horrors, cursed dimensions and dark cults” a la H.P. Lovecraft. The mix was done very, VERY well and this is why I binged the original series... too bad after its conclusion, its various sequels and continuations just devolved and worsened into a more and more cliche and empty action-fantasy line that didn’t made any more sense... 

And from a first look at the first issues of the main series, I find the germs, the seeds of both the good and bad. Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales clearly is one of those “edgy” works that makes everything dark and violent on purpose - but the horror elements are relatively tame and the gore quite soft compared to what later series would bring to the page ; and it is also very clearly one of those “adult” American comics that purposefully designed all women as “sexy” and had them ending up half-nude one way or another, to appeal to their lecherous demographic... But this early in Zenescope’s development we weren’t yet into the borderline-porn state some of the later comics would end up into. And for the good, there are a few interesting retellings and details here and there. Given it is an anthology format, with each issue briefly twisting one tale, these interesting ideas aren’t very much fleshed out - but between quite expected and “usual” takes on the tale (such as the Little Red Riding Hood issue) and twisted takes that don’t really twist so much as just edgy-out a summary (the Hansel and Gretel issue), there are some stories with interesting more mature takes (the Sleeping Beauty issue) and with some plot twists I did not see coming and felt quite good (the Rumpelstilstkin issue). 

My last and final problem will without a doubt be the reading order. For now it is quite easy, since the main series is one straightforward line of issues. But when I tried to read the Wonderland, and then the Oz series, it was a true nightmare because of Zenescope’s particular marketing and publishing style. Basically they build these spin-off series by doing mini-series after mini-series ; sometimes breaking a full series into several mini-series, other times adding mini-series after mini-series, and then when they become succesful redoing it all as a full on series - and that’s without counting the specials and the annuals, that should be “special” side-stories but rather are half of the time actually needed stories to understand the unfolding of the mini-series, or bridge-pieces between two series - so if you miss them, it makes no sense to read the rest. This gets especially complicated since some of these stories are found into general and annual Fairy Tales issues covering the entirety of the franchise and mixing the series together - without even talking of the numerous crossovers in this shared universe, making it so that, at one point in each of the side-series you are forced to read all the others to understand what the heck is going on... Reading the Wonderland comics was fun - but I had to track them down one by one, note down each specific title and date, and then look on the Internet to see in which order they actually come, and in which order they should be read, since I could spoil myself by going over the wrong title and not all series were linked the same way... This franchise is furiously confusing since it seems to basically spread out its stories and break down its series into a quite anarchic way, making it a whole maze of issues and titles, a puzzle you have to piece by yourself. 

[toosmallformyowngood]

Hear me out, karl heisenberg gets like 10,000 knives and stabs miranda with them. He then spins the knives to create a blender like action so she becomes pulp. Also he could of done that to kill ethan as well there was no need to mutate into a useless tank thing.

Exactly! See, you get it! He had so many options but clearly all four of the lords share a single braincell and it has never been in Heisenberg's possession in his entire life. Either that or the theatre kid ™️ instincts took over and he simply couldn't help but do everything in the most complicated and dramatic way possible (though I argue would that blending Miranda into the world's worst smoothie is sufficiently dramatic anyway). My good sir just decapitate her. Or poison her! Iron poisoning is a thing! And it's stated he has power over electromagnetic radiation which we never see used in game, so, like, just microwave her ass. Air fry that motherfucker until she's crispy chicken. Agian, so. Many. Options. And he went with zombies because of course he did. I mean granted it wouldn't really be a Resident Evil game without zombies (though personally I think the concept of RE works with a surprising variety of antagonists and environmental horror and yes I know this is a hot take that I'm going to get lambasted over but I will stand my ground) so he sort of had to take one for the team but c'mon man. You can indulge your inner mad scientist later, we've got a bitch Mirander to kill.

Also! Speaking of Heisenberg's mutated form, the design fucking kills me every time I see it because like, the top 99% is perfectly fine but then you look at the very bottom and he's got this one tiny wheel he's rolling around on. Unicycle looking motherfucker 😭

Like, look at this shit

"Oh hey, that's a neat design! ... Wait a minute..."

"Computer, enhance!"

FUCKIBG DINKY ASS WHeel Bitch what the fuck my man's popping a wheelie constantly. Also that would wear out so fucking fast man what the hell? I'm willing to bet he weighs a lot in that form and one commercial grade wheel is not going to cut it. How does he even maintain balance with the very visibly insecure weight distribution?!?

Granted, this design, despite being official released art (not concept art) is slightly different to the actual in-game model because in that one he has two wheels side by side like the kind you'd see on a lorry. I get the arguable benefits of less surface area in contact with the ground to an extent but again, in terms of balance and structural integrity sir you are going to fall over. You are not a racing bike Karl you are a fucking tank please act like it. It is arguable that me might not have "chosen" this form (as in, like, building it or something) because with the other two lords who's transformations we see, it's clear that both are entirely organic and involuntary mutations rather than them going "okay I want to put a mouth here, and an arm here" etc, etc. Sort of like when a tadpole turns into a frog it doesn't really go "yeah I'd like spots, spots look cool", it just turns into a genetically predetermined frog. Following that logic it can be assumed that rather than "putting together" a mutated form with various metals around he simply... grew it out of his skin, for lack of better terminology. Of course arguing that it may be pseudo organic or even an inorganic secretion (like those seen on the scaly foot snail) sort of falls short when you factor in the fucking wheel because his powers are over electromagnetic fields, not rubber (which is ironically an insulator). So unless he's been eating rubber bands in his spare time who knows where that wheel came from. Also given the argument of organic mutation, how would his body know "yeah that's what a wheel looks like". Alcina and Moreau's transformations make sense from a scientific standpoint (if we suspend disbelief about the actually transformation sequence itself) because all the traits depicted therein are in fact very real assets possessed by our pre-hominid ancestors and thus from a genetic standpoint could at any point reoccur in a modern human, but never in my life have I seen it heard of a creature rolling around like its showing off it's new heelies in the school parking lot. Look I know it's a video game but this single fucking wheel has sent me on a tangent I could rant about it for hours but I will shut up now so I don't talk your ear off (I have so much more to say but I am using all of my restraint). As much as I love RE 8 there are so many plot holes and things that just plain don't make sense even with the suspension of disbelief that comes with it being fiction designed to entertain for the sake of entertainment. But anyway in conclusion Karl is a dumbass and I love him.

[c7thetumbler]

Quick Game Reviews: Games I played 2022

Whoa, what is this? Will I get this done on time, or is this doomed to be released unfinished when it's automatically posted on the 31st? Only you will know!

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker [PC]

Endwalker is probably the best possible expansion a game could hope for. Shadowbringers had just managed the herculean task of unifying like 7 years of content and plot that seemed mostly disparate and succeeded fantastically, so it was really cool to Endwalker take the core concepts that were introduced in ShB and run with them in a way that made the game "End" in such a satisfying way. Story had me on my toes the whole time rewarded players who had tried all sorts of side content, and even made me like characters I strongly disliked through the whole game prior.

Sage and Reaper are pretty cool too. I'd highly recommend giving FFXIV a try if you haven't, and of course if you've been away from the game and haven't played Endwalker it's definitely a masterpiece in its own right.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus [Switch]

This one was really surprising. After having come from BDSP, probably the worst games in the entire main Pokemon series, I didn't have high hopes they'd pull this one through. What ended up happening though is that, while still having its bugs and graphics problems, Gamefreak is definitely capable of making a cohesive game with fun mechanics and feels good to play. Battle isn't that complex, but given how slow and obnoxious normal Pokemon battle is the lack of abilities and new styles are a fresh change of pace.

Movement outside of battles feels good, if a little janky. What really sets it apart is how fun it is to actually sneak up on Pokemon and use pokeballs and food outside of combat to catch them, and adds an extra level of play that supplements the simplified but interesting battle style well.

One thing I can say about this game: it feels like a complete experience. I'm not missing out on the ability to get certain pokemon becase there's another version. I'm incentivized to play with all sorts of pokemon with all sorts of playstyles to fill out the pokedex. Exploring could leads to new items and rarer Alpha pokemon. Quests allow you to keep goals, and the battle challenges are at least interesting. That's something that no other Pokemon game has been able to offer since they stopped doing the 3rd, "best version" of the games like Emerald and Platinum. I highly recommend this game, and believe it's the best Pokemon offering Switch has (including SV)

Super Mario Run [Android]

This one was interesting to go back to. So I picked this up because MyNintendo finally started doing okay physical rewards, and this game is a very good weekly source of Platinum coins. In the process, I went ahead and 100%'d this game. It's pretty fun! It's got a lot of challenges, the toad rush and remix run are fun stwists on the existing levels. It's a shame Nintendo saw the millions they made from this as a failure and went with Gacha models instead.

While it's not as satisfying as your normal Mario platformer, it's definitely a fun mobile game and worth the $10, especially with weekly platinum coin challenges

TIS-100 [Steam]

I will be 100%, I have not played this game very long. I really like these kinds of games, however for the past few years I've fallen into a place where every time I think of playing these, I get caught up in "Well, what I really should be doing is coding for real." Then I go on Reddit or Twitter and do neither.

The short time I did have with it was fun though! I'm not sure I would call it a good intro to programming since it's mimicking assembly instructions, but if you're curious it's definitely an interesting experience and pretty similar to how how that sort of language works.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land [Switch]

This is probably the most faithful recreation of a 2D Kirby game into a 3D platformer that you can get, and boy it was a long time coming. The games fun, albeit pretty easy, and has a lot of post-game more challenging content (that is also not too challenging). That's not to take away from it of course; Kirby's a fun, relaxing game usually and this is no exception. Even though this is more a Super Mario 3D World than a Super Mario Odyssey, the transition to 3D is handled very well, and I'm eager to try more Kirby games in this style. It could do with a little more content, but then it runs the risk of overstaying its welcome. I highly recommend this to anybody who's ever enjoyed a Kirby game; It's not groundbreaking, but it does the Kirby formula well

Lost Nova [Steam]

This is one of a few games I've played where I don't really have a solid enough opinion of it to really recommend it or not. I got like an hour in and really liked the vibes it was giving off (cute top down exploration game, very wholesome) but got distracted and never picked it up again. I'm a big fan of the artist, Jon Nielson, and his other game projects that I've played, but this is one I'll have to restart and get a good grip on.

Dusk [Steam]

I grew up on a multitude of games, and Doom/Quake were right there. It was nice to be able to revisit that style of gameplay, and Dusk certainly nails the aesthetic and feel of it, but I think the levels themselves leave something to be desired. A lot of the time I was running around in open spaces between buildings that were packed with enemies and items, and that felt a lot less Quakey to me. Still, that much is a personal preference and I didn't end up taking this one too far, but for retro fast FPS fans this seems like a very solid choice!

Going Under [Steam]

This was another in the string of Rogue-lite's I played. I was pretty surprised because I wasn't expecting this kind of gameplay when I first got it, but this is another that I didn't spend too much time with. From a strictly personal level, I've become really tired of corporate culture and HR speak. While this is parodying that, it still struck a nerve that was difficult to get into because the kinds of things I've dealt with were just too similar to the joking happening here.

Visually it's very fun and I do love the style. Gameplay wise, it seems like it would take a bit to get used to the controls and how the mechanics with weapons interplay with combat and different enemies. It definitely has its charm and is a labor of love, but I myself couldn't revisit it.

Bugsnax [Steam]

This one was one I'd been wanting to play for quite some time. A friend described it to me as Pokemon Snap but with puzzle elements and a mystery story, and I was down for it. That's pretty accurate, and the whole game is very charming. Without giving spoilers, I was very invested despite a lot of the characters at least seeming very 1-dimensional at first, but each one actually gets fleshed out into something more real and interesting the more you look into them. My only gripe is the physics on some of these things made it very annoying to catch certain bugsnax that required precise timing. For example, there's be a flying bug above an aggressive bug, and you had to knock down the flying bug into the trap, trigger the trap, and collect it before the angry bug noticed any of it and knocked you and it over. That being said, there aren't many instances like that and it seems like the kind of game where there's an easy solution to catching them all.

Another pretty high recommendation for those interested in a fun story experience and some collectathon elements

Rogue Legacy 2 [Steam]

So I was a big fan of Rogue Legacy when it first came out and 100% it. When I picked up this one however, nearly a decade after the original released, I had a lot more experience with rogue-likes and what I wanted out of them. This game is definitely the Rogue Legacy experience, however for some reason I found myself way more easily frustrated with it than I did with other Rogue-Lite's I've played recently. Something about how immensely the stat boosts and things outside the castle affect how you play within it just doesn't feel as good as learning the game better and just playing better, or unlocking alternatives instead of just straight upgrades. That and there's like 4 gear-like systems outside of the main game, which just seemed overly complex.

All-in-all, if you liked the original Rogue Legacy you'll probably like this one since it's a lot more of the same with additional things to grind, but for me personally there are better Rogue Lite experiences out there

Dead Estate [Steam]

Look, no- Look see I- Wait, listen. Hold up, no. Stop. I know what you're thinking, and yes I absolutely clicked on this game initially because of the thumbnail. We're moving on.

Barring that, the game is crazy fun! 2 Characters to start with going into 8, 4 of whom have entirely unique playstyles and 8 different floors to go through. Loads of secrets, challenging but not repressively so, and a very charming and funny but with an interesting story with plot twists galore, Dead Estate is probably one of the best Rogue-lite's I've played in a while. My only gripe is that they could do with a bit more content (which they are launching out as well so I will revisit it!) and that the 2.5 D Isometric angle sometimes messes with enemy placement relative to the character, but all in all I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun rogue-lite to scratch that itch! Especially now that they're updating it, though expect to take a little bit to get used to the 2D isometric jank.

Kirby's Dream Buffet [Switch Download-Only]

I got this one near launch thinking "Hey, this will be a fun time! Kirby spin-offs are typically loaded with content and fun things to unlock, so this should be at least a few days worth to keep me entertained!"

Not so.

Not sure if it's been updated since release, however when I played your only real option was to go online and play the normal game, which is just kind of okay. The racing is a bit of a crapshoot; it's really easy for one player to pull ahead of the pack and have the Mario-Kart issue where everyone behind them is fighting to get close to them, and the ending area is really the one that matters. The final battle minigame is also a bit hectic but not really deep as well. None of it is particularly satisfying, and it's something I would've expected to be a side multiplayer mini-game in a mainline Kirby game instead of its own release. Unless this gets an update that lets you play for free, this one's a pass and not worth the money.

Dr. Mario Rx [Switch Online: N64]

I revisited this one since I never 100% it as a kid and unlocked the final 2 characters, and figured with the save state system I could at least make it so I didn't game over. Boy, do I get why I never beat it!

This game's charm, which future Dr. Mario games will routinely miss out on, is that there's a very simple plot and weird Wario Land 3 characters scattered throughout. Sure, it's not exciting, but having another player character to go against is fun, and seeing Wario and all his wacky enemies react to a puzzle game is just delightful. Of course, the game is RIDICULOUSLY HARD and you can only unlock the final 2 characters by completing both story paths on hard WITHOUT DYING. I'm convinced this is impossible, making the NSO version of this the best possible version for allowing people like me to finally get their closure of a complete character select screen. Dr. Mario Rx is probably the best Dr. Mario experience you can get, and while I wouldn't say get NSO for it or any of the N64 library, it's definitely a highlight of the library if you have access. It's difficulty can be incredibly frustrating though, and this is a game I would encourage using the save state function if only to restart levels after a loss.

Disney Dreamlight Valley [Switch]

This one's funny because my sister actually played this for a month while I watched and was nearby, so while I don't have direct experience I do have enough to give a recommendation on it.

It's pretty clear this was an attempt by Disney to appeal to the exact market of Gen Z/ Millennials that have nostalgia for their childhood and were struck hard by the pandemic. Basically, it obviously saw Animal Crossing's runaway success and thought "Oh shit, that's a market!" It shows, pretty hard.

As far as gameplay goes, it doesn't seem bad. You run a Valley with a bunch of Disney characters around. You farm, fish, and do favors for these characters while trying top build up friendships and solve mysteries of what happened to the island. On paper it's a good idea at least In practice? Well.

The game is incredibly buggy. Like I can't believe Nintendo let them put this up for sale levels of buggy. I understand that it's in "Early Access", but looking at this through my Sister's eyes, who has no concept of a game which was sold for money being a buggy alpha version, this is an incredibly poor show. The music stutters, quests would easily be stuck in an un-completable state because of bad logic, characters interact poorly, timed music did not lined up with the mechanics, and the game would frequently come to a standstill and crash. When she wasn't actively fighting it, she was engaging in what was your basic skinner box with villagers asking her to find, fish, or craft (crafting animation matches AC's almost 1-to-1) , and while there's definitely something there, the whole time I was watching I just felt like this was a really cynical cash grab. I would avoid this, especially the Switch Version, like the plague until they've removed it from "Early Access" and their monetization scheme gets finalized

Splatoon 3 [Switch]

I am still coming to terms with the fact that no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I research, and no matter how many times I delve into it, I will never be good enough at most competitive games that I like to be able to play online in a way where I'm not bogged down by my own disappointment with my abilities and frustration at the game.

It is a good thing then that the Single player and Salmon Run in this game are so much fun! While I can't say those themselves are worth your $60, I can say that I had a great time with it while I did play, and really enjoy the setting and world they've built with the series. While it doesn't break much ground in comparison to the previous game, it's definitely worth a go if you've enjoyed the first 2 entries.

Kirby and the Crystal Shards [Switch Online: N64]

This is probably my 7th time revisiting this game. As a kid, this game felt very challenging and I never 100% it. As an Adult, I realize it's more arguing with the floaty controls and knowing the really hard to find 3 crystal locations, and then just paying attention to where you can get the power ups you need. It's definitely not the best or most content heavy Kirby outing, but it's definitely worth a play for the cute character interactions and fun of mixing and matching power-ups. The experience is worth like $5 at most these days, but for sure give it a go if you've got access to it for free.

Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope GOLD EDITION [Switch]

This now being a spinoff franchise is really cool because it's wacky and out there, but still very fun to play. Gameplay wise it's not too much different from the original. The grid is gone and replaced with normal movement, which has some downsides but is overwhelming a positive change. The more open level nature is also welcome, and the humor is still pretty good.

The biggest issue with the game for me is something that not everyone will take issue with, but it very much kind of misses the tone. It feels like a rabbids game with 5 Mario characters in it instead of a Mario spinoff. The environments, plots, and characters are all Rabbids and loopy fantasy mix, and none of it at all to do with the title characters until the very end. The first game combined Mario, Rabbids, and toysets into the environment which all gelled really well together, but without the Mario aspects it really just feels like they made a game without the Mario characters and then threw them in as an afterthought.

It's still a wonderful game and I highly recommend it! Just don't go into it expecting a pre-sticker-star Mario RPG level of world building and storycrafting

Banjo-Kazooie [Switch Online: N64]

Another 3D collectathon classic I revisited and 100% this year. I still strongly hold that Tooie is the better game. Unfortunately it's not currently available on Switch for reasons that are unclear, and the Xbox releases of these games are definitely still the superior way to play with their widescreen, controls, and frame rate improvements. With all that said, this is pretty much the best 3D platformer experience you can get from that time that's aged well enough to recommend, so whether you're like me or are just able to try this for the first time, it's definitely worth the go.

Sonic Frontiers [Steam]

A Sonic lore fan's paradise, and a Sonic gameplay fan's reason to keep holding on. It's hard not to compare this with Pokemon in a lot of ways, if only because Pokemon has similar opportunity to deliver on what fans of the series actually want and has failed bother technically and from a gameplay perspective for several games in a row now (except Arceus, which still could use some work). Frontiers however managed to hit that sweet spot where the gameplay was fun and not in the way of the game, and the story scratched that itch that I've had for Sonic games since SA2.

Gameplay has some series staple Sonic jank, but the action stages are really fun, the boss fights are hype af, and it's just fun to run around in the overworld again. That last point is something that the series hasn't really nailed since dashing around station square in Sonic adventure, and maybe a bit in the 360 versions of Unleashed.

Is it perfect? No, but it's right where I wanted it to be with my expectations on what an experienced developer should be able to do, with some great high points to counteract the low. I do recommend this game for any fans of any of the 3D Sonic games. A word of warning though: the PC version is best. Even though it still has pop-in issues, the framerate and visuals are most consistent on that version and the rest of the ports are just taking bits away.

Nier:Automata [Steam]

This one I'm still playing; apparently getting the first real ending isn't actually enough to experience the full game. I'm halfway to the second now, and I think I understand that.

Game's fun! I feel like I'm missing out on a lot as I go though, which always makes me anxious. I do really like the themes of the game so far and the character interactions, even if some of them are incredibly anime. I don't have a really solid opinion yet, but dumping this many hours into it and then wanting to continue is definitely a good sign.

Pokemon Violet [Switch]

So this kinda bites. For the first time in a long time Pokemon actually managed to nail movement and interesting play mechanics in Arceus, and just threw most of that right out. This game is a buggy mess that a developer with Pokemon's resources and Nintendo's reputation has absolutely no right to release in this state.

Additionally, the story is great! Sure some of the characters are a bit one note, but the ones they did flesh out are really cool, and their character designs are memorable and fun. Mechanically though this game smells; terrastrallizing is very basic and the once a battle mechanic is overdone at this point. Battle animations are somehow worse and the game's pacing is hot garbage. Due to the lack of level scaling, a feature that is canon and has been done by hobbyists for over a decade now, the "challenge in any order" brag is functionally meaningless. Battle is still painfully slow, the game looks ugly which is only exacerbated by the anti-aliasing and texture tiling issues. For the first time in a very long time, there is no post-game battle challenge, which means once you beat it and finish the dex, something Arceus made fun and fulfilling, you're left with nothing.

Give this a pass over for Arceus, at least until they finish updating and releasing patches for it.

BEST GAME I PLAYED THIS YEAR

I am disqualifying Endwalker because A) I've been playing FFXIV for years now so it's not really new, and B) it would win

So, that leaves an actually very tough decision. I'm actually struggling to pick one, because on the one hand I had a great time with a lot of these but on the other some of those are absolutely carried by their IP. While Arceus is a huge leap forward in terms of actually making a great Pokemon experience, it still has some major issues in terms of visuals, general buginess, weird design decisions, and plot/character interactions still feeling very stiff and uninteresting a lot of the time.

Sonic Frontiers is also up there, but again it's because I've waited so long for a Sonic Plot that took itself way too seriously combined with 3D Sonic Gameplay that was actually fun. Gameplay wise there were a lot of great action stages, but also some rough ones, and exploring the islands was fun but could get tedious, felt a bit futile in terms of how broken fishing is, and janky due to pop-in.

Nier Automata was also really fun, but I haven't really hit a point far enough where it feels like I've truly experienced the world and story despite finishing the first ending. Mario + Rabbids was really good too, but it felt a bit more hollow than I would've liked. I also had a rough year mentally, so it's a bit hard to contextualize each of these in ways that would be expressible in text.

I'm of course overthinking it, because I do have a pick, but it was surprisingly difficult. However, this game single handedly took the most time, consistently surprised and impressed me, and offered a fun challenge while still allowing me to vibe at my own pace.

I am, of course, talking about:

Mario's Super Picross [Switch Online: Super Famicom]

What a fucking SUPRISE this one was. I have a very short tolerance for playing games in other languages, but this one was very easy to figure out after just the first couple puzzles. I love picross, I'm a sucker for Mario, and this one is jam fuckin packed with so many levels. It just keeps on giving for days and days which turned into months and months of chilling on the couch, petting the cat, listening to podcasts, and chiseling out a picture of a tiger that could only possibly be considered one after you finished the whole puzzle and they added color and animated it. Have you played the best puzzle game on this Switch yet?

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

I am actually reading Alastair Reynolds' Revenger now, and it's a book that's equal parts good and irritating to me, and is really good at tapping into certain things that I like about fiction (like a "concerned with how individuals relate to / are connected to [something big and mysterious], specifically the social institutions and beliefs surrounding it" vibe that I think is present in many books that I like, but not in books I've written in the past)

But the irritating parts are taking up a lot of my attention, so that's what I will write about here

The first, and least surprising, annoying thing is Reynolds' emphasis on sexism and sexual violence. This is a matter of taste, and it would be silly to accuse Reynolds of trying to write a book that's "too political" or whatever (it's very obviously not his intention to lecture his audience, or anything like that)

That said, one of the main characters is a fat dude who is mocked for the fact that he is fat, and Reynolds' sexism is not just limited to making fun of this guy for being fat, which I could deal with -- it's also this:

He could have been the most handsome man Gwen had ever clapped eyes on, if she'd never seen an unmasked man before -- as it was, he simply looked like someone had tried to make the worst possible choice. He was gangly and graceless and simply too tall to carry off the physiognomy of a fop. One thing he had in his favour, Gwen thought, was that a man with his build couldn't exactly be called a "twig".

Unacceptable for a book whose politics are "pirates are awesome," for sure

Moving on to stuff that bugs me more. Reynolds makes a point of showing us that some magic in his universe works by removing a person's spiritual self from the body and inserting it into a sort of miniature wooden puppet, where it will go about its daily life like a normal person (except not really). He then makes a point of making this more central to the plot than his previous books had, and I'm not at all sure why

In Reynolds' earlier books, this concept was just part of the world-building, and was occasionally there for plot purposes, but not the main way he used it (e.g. the dramatic climax in the first book involves a puppet named after a god falling into a conveniently-placed gorge so that her divine spirit can merge with a larger god and trigger a crisis). Here, we are shown a lot of stuff that has to do with these miniature puppets, and it's slowly explained to us that a lot of the arcane magic in the world works via these puppets.

And, again, this is fine as world-building . . . but it becomes way more important to the plot. The main reason for this is that the puppets used to store people's souls contain a mysterious, possibly magical technology that has the ability to regrow its own insides, possibly "ascend" to a state of divinity, etc. This technology is, in the present day of the story, primarily distributed among puppets that, in turn, are owned by this new society of pirates who are the "good guys" of this book. This society operates in the sea (which is mostly covered in ice), and so to get from there to land (which is mostly covered in the puppets in question), they've set up an elaborate system of relay points that send messages back and forth to each other (for some reason).

All this makes sense to me as a "subplot" that is a) well-integrated into the main plot and b) doesn't feel "padding" in the way I am complaining about here. But it is also the main thing the new pirates are doing, and has nothing to do with anything that would traditionally be done by pirates, and I don't understand why Reynolds does this. The society in question contains a bunch of very young teens, too -- which is fine for a character's point of view, since we can just follow one of those kids (but again, not clear to me why Reynolds does this). At some point it just feels like he's showing us that he has a cool new setting that he wants to use, and damn the plot

Which is sort of frustrating, because the book is very well-written and suspenseful in many ways, and I do want to know how it ends, but the author is making me spend a lot of time worrying about nonsense that doesn't seem to matter at all

[carogdraws]

Idea 4: Vanny comes back

I'm gonna be honest, this one is my personal favorite, and I am quite surprised that it hasn't been done yet.* Think of the angst potential!

*This is no longer true

BTW this idea is a standalone

Imagine it's been a few weeks since the 3 star ending and the 3 goobers are getting more acclimated to living with each other. Gregory is getting used to the fact that he has 2 adult figures that actually care about him. Vanessa’s nightmares are starting to become less severe. Freddy’s head was reattached to his body, and he now remotely controls a child-size bear doll (like a Lonely Freddy but not evil) so he can still easily be with Gregory when he isn't at the pizzaplex.

The day would start like any other: everyone wakes up, goes through their morning routines, and eats some breakfast. Gregory finishes first and gets up to go and wash off his plate in the sink. That is when it happens, Vanessa starts to feel a little off, like she is moving slower than normal. At first, she brushes it off as her still waking up. Then she hears a voice… a voice she only hears in her worst nightmares… VANNYS voice. Vanessa would then discover that she could no longer move or speak. She could only watch as she felt herself get up from her chair, and pick up a knife from off of the counter. The reason that she still has any knives at all is for Gregory to use to spread various condiments on his school sandwiches when he makes them.

Meanwhile, Gregory and Freddy are near the sink, having a conversation about Freddy's obsession with dad jokes or something (You are the Morbest superstar!) They turn around, preparing to return to Gregory's room to get ready for school, and they see Vanessa, holding a knife. Gregory would feel a sharp twinge of betrayal before looking at Vanessa's face to see that her calm green eyes, ones that had reassured him after many a nightmare, were now glowing a sickly purple. Freddy and Gregory would realize that the person in front of them was no longer Vanessa, but Vanny.

Vanny raises her arm, Gregory is looking for a way out. He is also preparing for the possibility of being killed, and he doesn't want to give Vanny the satisfaction of being scared if that happens. Through all this, Vanessa is trying desperately to retake control, all the while Vanny mocks her efforts, making sure that Vanessa won't be able to mentally look away from her worst fear, the death of her savior by her own hands. Freddy is preparing to try and jump in front of Gregory at the last second to try and cushion the blow of the knife using his plush form.

Just before Vanny is able to deliver the killing blow, she disappears. No warning at all, like a true glitch, Freddy and Gregory watch as Vanessa's eyes flicker from purple back to green, drops the knife and collapses to the floor, hugs herself and sits in complete silence for a few seconds before bursting into hysterical tears.

That is where I will leave it, what happens next is for y'all to decide!

👀👀👀

Yoooooo, that's actually a really cool concept! (Unfortunately, I won't make it happen in my AU for other reasons and there's enough angst already)

The idea of Vanny being its own entity is really cool though! That would really make an interesting story. And yes, the angst potential...

(I won't be able to do a proper work on this since I have different AUs in the works already. But someone else could take this up and turn it into their own story.)

[whetstonefires]

For the oc ask game 2, 3, 6, 20, 21, and 25.

Okay this time I'm gonna do Darya. She's from the same story as Marl, and technically in story structure terms she's one step less Main Character than he is, but she's also one of the main POV sources and we're not allowed in his stupid head, so no she isn't.

2. What do they think is their best feature? This can be both physical or personality wise.

Her greatest asset has always been her looks, but she knows she was only able to use them to her advantage instead of getting victimized for them because she's a schemer, goal-oriented and patient. Also she's 37 and aware the usefulness of her beauty is very much in decline.

So definitely her ability to think long-term, even in circumstances that pressure you toward thinking only about surviving to see tomorrow.

3. What is something they are really self-conscious about?

She tries really hard to be aware of how she's coming across every second of every day but also not to care what people think, except as it's relevant strategically. So this is tricky! :D

The places she's worst at the latter are...she's overly defensive about being seen as an opportunist in the places she's acting out of loyalty or something approaching altruism, but since she identifies as an opportunist generally assumes people are always assuming it.

But at the same time she's very touchy about the idea that she's letting herself be taken advantage of and the possibility people might assume that instead.

6. What is something they are absolutely hopeless at doing? Why?

Darya has a lot of holes in her education generally because she basically brought herself up and not in great circumstances. But she's done a pretty good job of filling most of them in. So there are a lot of things she's pretty bad at but can scrape by in, and mostly avoids having to attempt. She's a bad cook, but that just means the food is bland and overdone.

I guess what she's hopeless at is vulnerability? I was going to say emotional honesty but while she's pretty avoidant about it, and will often default to either appeasement or anger, she could be a lot worse.

The funny thing about her is she considers herself a schemer but is pretty straightforward, for the most part. Which is only partly because she observed from a very young age that every additional point of complexity introduces a new potential point of failure, so the strategic thing to do is usually not to over-strategize.

20. What makes your OC special? Why are they important or different ? What makes them a particularly wonderful and/or evil character?

I should make a case for her?? Like in the story or in the literary canon?

The point of Darya, for me, is she's someone who's always had to rely on herself but in a way that's made her acutely aware of how false and untenable the concept of self-reliance is. That people need people. So her personality is defined by the need to obtain security from others without trusting them. Which is a shitty way to live.

But she's not like some glamorous mastermind or social predator, she just ingratiated her way from abject poverty, to mild respectability, to the leisure class. Then found that position insecure in a fun new way and was eventually forced to choose between 'kill a decent person to ingratiate yourself with Asshole Social Leader and become his direct client' and 'chuck it all and throw yourself on the mercy of Cool Bandit Teenager' and chose the latter in a fit of basically violent reaction against the sunk-cost fallacy.

That was nine years ago and they've since overthrown the government, so she's just constantly torn between viewing her relationship with her found family as a healthy mutual-reliance thing built on trust, and seeing it as a complicated web of mutual exploitation that may collapse at any moment as their individual needs evolve.

And she wants it so desperately to be the former, but she can't bring herself to rely on it. Or even admit this conflict is a thing.

Which means everything she does has at least two motives and both of them consequently feel a little like lies she's telling herself.

Like, she's quietly setting aside a small fortune in relatively liquid assets--is she embezzling from her friend's nonprofit militia to set herself up in comfort when she's left hanging since they have no more use for her and have moved on, or is she socking money away to take care of her family when Elaine's stupid refusal to let the wealthy buy her off leaves them all in the lurch? It's both.

21. What sets your OC off? What will make them go from a docile little lamb to a rampaging, fire-breathing dragon?

This is a weird question, why would everyone's OCs default to lamb? I don't think any of this group are docile lambs. Marl can be uncomfortably slavish but only to (1) person, Owl only does what people want if it seems like a good idea, Elaine's entire Deal is about personal autonomy. Duluth likes to get along with people but he's got a lot of pride and grew up with Elaine as his top role model. Dan is probably the most biddable overall, but he's also royalty so the number of people he actually defers to is low and mostly he's kind of high-handed.

Anyway though. Intent of query. Darya gets mad pretty easily, but she usually channels it through her survival instincts so there's no rampaging, because she doesn't have the kind of power that makes that useful to do.

She gets mad about injustice but she's also really inured to it and thinks of herself as a strict pragmatist, so what truly pisses her off is being sold dishonest narratives about why an injustice is actually Good and Moral. Still wouldn't fly off the handle about it, though.

I guess the main exception turns out to be when someone she trusts lets her down severely, and she's the one in a position of power subsequently? Or at least enough power? Like that's the one scenario where she'd consider it worthwhile to just have a yell, and/or her survival instincts wouldn't be enough to counterbalance the amount of emotion.

If she doesn't care about someone personally and she's yelling at or attacking them it's not because she's simply lost her temper, it's because she thinks it'll help in some way to do that. If someone has offended her deeply and she's destroying them because of that she will probably do it like. In a way that isn't obvious.

Not, again, that she's someone inclined to or capable of deep elaborate manipulations, but it's just safer to cut a throat or publicize someone's dirty laundry than to confront them directly. And if she's planning to murder you (note: she has never actually assassinated anyone but she thinks of herself as the sort of person who would if it was ever a good idea) she's not going to blow up at you first. That would be stupid.

So yeah, her first instinct is to sit on that kind of feeling.

If she's betrayed and she's at a disadvantage she'll keep her head down and try to find a way to salvage the situation for herself, regardless of level of seething--the anger will definitely inform her choices and is likely to make her more reckless, but she's not going to actually blow up unless she feels secure. You know? She's a survivor first.

That's kind of what makes Elaine stand out, in the setting. She's the person who can get apocalyptically angry and go on a flaming rampage and find she's accomplished something thereby, and isn't dead. But you can't count on that happening every time, even when you're a hero.

25. Describe your OC in one sentence.

When your second midlife crisis is that your first involved leaving your husband (who let his boss throw you to the wolves) and joining a nomadic commune, and now the commune finished killing evil wizards (like your husband's boss) and is breaking up.

[nocturne-of-illusions]

finished s.ubahibi. man. okay. like. complex feelings… (i am once again The Rambler, i just planned to shit out a paragraph or something but. this got long. ignore me~)

[cw nsfw mentions, vaguely talk around darker story elements without mentioning the acts themselves, tried to be as vague as possible but i do sorta gesture at the story structure of s.ubahibi + mentions of u.mineko and a little aside about d.ead e.nd a.egis... so a heads up about all of that!]

[guy who's only seen boss baby voice] i was able to figure out almost everything that was going on LITERALLY in ch1… and i think that's largely influenced by the fact that i read umi first and have had years to digest it. and if i had read this first i think it could have helped me solve umi! but… thinking on it… i would MUUUUUUCH rather have read umi first and made it a huge portion of my personality instead of s.ubahibi LMAOOOOO this is not a good first introduction to these concepts. i think there are some really cool ideas and themes here, and they were leading up to something interesting… and then just kinda fell flat in the last couple of chapters. it undermined a lot of the work it had set up throughout the earlier chapters, and dropped some really promising thematic threads right before the end.

this is also a game that really stretched my personal limits to their breaking point. it's grounded enough that the darker content ALSO feels grounded and more… real. tangible. which is the kind of thing that wrecks me. i am SOOOOOOOO glad that, in the second-to-last chapter, they didn't go with the Absolute Worst Possible Option towards the end. if you know, you know. i felt if they went with that option instead of the more symbolic one, i would have quit the game. like, "idc that i'm maybe 6hrs away from finishing, i'm done." i spent multiple chapters with a rock in my stomach, fearing they were going that route, and i feel like most of the Awful Terrible Horrible scenes up until then were in that area of "you're meant to sit in how horrible this is" without being… gratuitous. through focusing on the characters' inner thoughts and how THEY see the situation, it made the most disgusting scenes FEEL disgusting without showing more than needed. the single gratuitous scene was that way 1) for a specific reason, and 2) because of plot reasons the reader couldn't see it as being "as bad as it seems". i'm trying so hard to be vague sknKJNNASF.

ig i'm also mentally comparing this to d.ead e.nd a.egis, which i read… a year or 2 ago?? which had SOOOOO much potential, but it faltered at every step when it came to the darker scenes. it wanted to have its cake and eat it too, by emphasizing the horrors of state-sanctioned abuse while also making the art as sexy as it possibly could. maybe it's just the way i personally react to r18 content in general (aka i don't really play eroge with the intent to jack off KJNADKJ), but s.ubahibi rarely felt "sexy". there are SOME touching scenes, but they also have either an undercurrent of "horrible things are happening while they're off doing this" OR, wrt the first chapter, it feels so… fake. imaginary. seen from the perspective of someone who maybe doesn't understand certain kinds of relationships. POINT BEING!!! i feel like if s.ubahibi had done that one late scene the Worst Way Possible, it would have been more like that kind of contradictory vibe as opposed to the just Gross and Unsettling tone they thankfully chose.

i do still think a lot of the last few chapters were completely ruined by the. uh. "romance" it chose and the "jokes" it makes. especially in contrast to the first horror scenes in ch3????? like????? you're gonna show us THAT and show its massive effects on the rest of the story and then just????? do all of… /gestures vaguely at everything past ch4/ that????? gross. really ruined what it was going for for me. almost like that first horror scene was just accidentally horror, if they can make those kinds of jokes later on and not understand how it contradicts all of that set-up. ugh.

i'm just blabbing now jsndkfjn ;; this is all stream of consciousness, so sorry for any weird wording. i'm just coming out of this like… i can see why it made a huge impact when it first released, but i think there's a higher standard now. AND i think, while their end themes and goals were different, umi handles a lot of their similar elements in a much more interesting and respectful way without sacrificing the horror elements. i'm going to have fun watching some analysis vids and see if i catch anything on a second "read" through them (bc by god i am NOT read this a second time even if i am curious about how the first couple of chapters read now)!!! gonna seek out analysis from both people who read it at release and people who read it more recently to compare the experience. :)

ANYWAY. otonashi ayana best girl. <3 (EDIT: I FORGOT KIMIKA BC I HAVENT SEEN HER IN A WHILE! KIMIKA ALSO BEST GIRL!!) sorry in advance if i decide to go on a rb spree <3 teehee, lalalalala, ano eto bleh, etc. <333

[aaronafgash]

NBA City Edition Tiers

A Crime Against Humanity, Deep Fried Ass, etc.

Indiana Pacers - When I think about Indiana Pacers basketball, I think about … spray paint? Graffiti? I like nothing about these.

Miami Heat - Enough has been said about these, but my lord, they are atrocious. The fact that “Culture” is distressed is really the icing on the cake.

Milwaukee Bucks - The off-center arch (I get that it's supposed to look like the arch of the Fiserv Forum - it's not landing). The weird texture. The inexplicable lime green stripe across the shorts. They did so much to give us so little. We deserve better in Milwaukee.

Minnesota Timberwolves - It seems like people are digging these and I just don’t get it. They look like the cover of a middle school science textbook. I don’t hate the concept but I think they’ll look bad on the court.

Washington Wizards - Because when you think Wizards / Bullets / DC, you think .. DISTRESSED TEAL AND COPPER?! The red line cutting across the jersey renders me speechless in the worst way possible. Probably my least favorite uniform of the bunch.

Gray, Black, and BORING

Chicago Bulls - If you spend more than $15 on this jersey, you deserve to be cyberbullied. Absolutely 0 effort.

Dallas Mavericks - These feel like a distant relative of the Mavs ill-fated reflective garbage bag uniforms.

Denver Nuggets - So many giant numbers. Feels like a concept they could have done something with and they were instead like “let’s make a less inspired version of what we’ve worn in the past.”

Los Angeles Clippers - If SportClips made their hairdressers wear jerseys, these would be perfect. The most frustrating part about these is the multicolored basketballs on the bottom of the jersey - the part that will be tucked in - is actually kind of a cool design! Do something with that!!!

Los Angeles Lakers - I was tempted to put these in the next tier because I don’t hate them quite as much as some others on this list, but I couldn’t get there. Yellow on the piping instead of purple could have been the push it needed, but they just don’t pop enough as is.

New Orleans Pelicans - New Orleans is such a cool, interesting city, and they made sure that these uniforms do nothing to reflect that in any discernible way. Just soulless.

Philadelphia 76ers - The spacing feels all over the place here and there are too many inexplicable choices made. You could argue that it’s “more inspired” but I think it’s just a darker, worse version of something they tried last season.

Slightly More Inspired Gray and Black

Detroit Pistons - These are slightly better than others on this list and they’ll look good on the court, but still just … bland. I like the cursive “Detroit”. Don’t love how the number is silver but the text is white.

Golden State Warriors - These have gotten a lot of hate but at the very least they’re unique. The yellow on the black pops and I dig the cartoonish shadowing on the numbers.

Memphis Grizzlies - Listen, they’re not great, but they tried to do something a little different with the weird MEM and it’s unfortunately more inspired than a lot of these.

Oklahoma City Thunder - The yellow / orange combo is cool and actually makes sense because those are part of their color scheme, so it’s a creative way to utilize those. I don’t love the design, but again, they tried and I have to honor that.

Orlando Magic - Appreciate the star in “Orlando” - don’t appreciate the complete absence of color. They could have included a vibrant blue or even leaned into their orange obsession but chose neither. These are fine but won’t be remembered.

Portland Trail Blazers - Still kind of boring but the red plaid / cream is nice. I’m not enthralled but they don’t upset me. 

Flawed, but Tolerable

Atlanta Hawks - These could have been lumped in with other bad gray/black City Edition jerseys, but I think they’re simple and solid. Not my favorites and I don’t love that they’re not really Hawks colors at all, but they’ll look good on TV. I like the lower case ATL font.

Boston Celtics - These were so close to being great but the fake wood on the side panels is wretched. I dig the font and color choices here.

Phoenix Suns - A clear downgrade from their previous “The Valley” uniforms of the recent past, but the colors are still cool and they tried something different with the side panel design. The dull purple was a choice - I think black would have dramatically changed my feelings on these.

Toronto Raptors - Pretty boring but tolerable. Feels like we’ve seen some iteration of this jersey a million times in the last 5-10 years.

Uncontroversial and Solid

Charlotte Hornets - Not my favorite Charlotte uniforms, but it’s a good shade of blue/teal and the gold isn’t bad. I don’t have impassioned takes about these, they’re just solid and in comparison to others, they get the job done.

Cleveland Cavaliers - I hated these when they were first revealed but the detail on the piping vaulted them to a higher tier. Still think they need to stop trying to make The Land a thing, but the maroon with the gold is a classy look and I fuck with it. The font is unique. I have nothing more to say.

Houston Rockets - Never mad at cursive. Simple, clean, old school vibe. They could have done more but could have done way worse, but I appreciate them not trying to reinvent the wheel. Amazing logo on the shorts that I would love to more prominently featured on the jersey - alas.

Sacramento Kings - Just a solid, classic look. The vertical stripe / name is unique, and while the uniforms aren’t particularly ambitious, they’ll look good.

Utah Jazz - While they’re not on the level of the classic Jazz mountain design from the 90s, they look great and it’s a nice modern interpretation. The NOB beneath the number on the back feels unnecessary but that’s nitpicking.

I Am Willing To Argue With Someone For Hours That These Are Cool

Brooklyn Nets - *dodges tomatoes* THESE ARE KIND OF TIGHT. I like the abstract design and the font used for “Nets” on the chest. For a team that has no colors to use outside of black and white, this gives them something different and subtly pays homage to the previous Nets blue / red jerseys. NBA jerseys have gotten so boring - I can’t be mad at this.

New York Knicks - Another jersey that people have hated on that actually lands for me. The double New York / city-so-nice-they-named-it-twice concept is cool! Very 90’s-esque with the black side panels and the pinstripes. I was shocked that people didn’t fuck with these.

San Antonio Spurs - Howdy! While these are simple, the font is beautiful and I love the way the stripes on the piping play with the stripes in the number. Great color choices. Great jersey. A Wemby version of this would slap. (These will look great with their gorgeous alternate court. Quick shoutout to the San Antonio content team for this nice little website they put together for these uniforms.)

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

For the ask game: 🥸

🥸 - Did Staged Finale negatively impact Punz/Tommy's character arc?

I'd say it negatively affected Dream's character arc far more than those two! Punz had potential character development and depth removed- with him being willing to take lesser payment for the work of the truly desperate, those he has a soft spot for, and being willing to betray his main contractor if he thought it was right- and him just being the same completely amoral mercenary who cares only about money, him just being another pawn. The issue with Tommy is that it removes any sense of hope or freedom from his story, makes it seem like his abuser will always have power over him, and makes it impossible to ever trust any victory he has over Dream ever again. But those are like, issues with potentially losing out on depth with one and pretty massive but still subtextual issues with another. These aren't an immediately apparent flaw.

With Dream, though? This raises so many questions, and not in a good mystery way, in a why the fuck was this decision made way. Because, whoo boy, does this muddle season 2. Because, like, what reasons were there for Exile and destroying L'Manberg if he was just gonna get himself thrown in jail anyway? What was the point of pushing further after Tommy was already perfectly obedient, moulding him into distrusting everyone around him but Dream, conditioning him into codependence, if he wasn't even planning to use that? Only sheer cruelty? That's even less depth than before. Why did he destroy L'Manberg if it wasn't going to be a threat to him? Again, just pettiness and cruelty? Why did he get a favour from Techno he wouldn't be able to redeem? Or was the plan just to get him out all along? Then the whole prison scheme was an overly elaborate mess that wasted valuable resources on something that could have been achieved in so many easier and less risky ways, and that makes Dream look like more of an idiot than a non-staged finale ever could.

And, if it was planned, why was so much of it in Sam's hands? We know Sam was never in on the plan at all, so why was he the one to suggest the prison? Why was he the warden, and not, say, Punz? It was Dream's prison, he could have done that. Placing such an important variable on someone who's not in the know and is completely unpredictable and untrustworthy is the most idiotic fucking decision ever. And Dream knew Sam was friends with Tommy! He had to keep him away in Exile! Why pass over the keys to your life to someone who will very much have a grudge against you. And it's not like Punz wouldn't be seen as trustworthy, he organised the damn thing! The only explanation I can think of is that he intentionally engineered a scenario where he'd be mistreated for sympathy, which would not only be a massively skeevy uncomfortable and victim blamey plotline, but it'd also be dumb. What if Sam snapped and killed him? And why wouldn't he be able to fake mistreatment with someone more trustworthy?

And it's just. Explanation hasn't come in six months. I've lost hope of this ever making sense. I don't want to accept that Dream's a complete and utter incompetent schemer who goes for big cool seeming plans without giving a shit about what'll happen as a response and who trusts people he knows would be pissed off by his actions and wings it so bad he nearly permanently died without the intervention of someone unrelated to the plot, but what other explanation is there?

(And no, Dream being sooooo hypercompetent it just goes over everyone's heads isn't an answer, just a cop-out).

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading every article in my twitter likes part 3

part one part two

took a break to bake some cookies and read a few chapters of Darcie Little Badger's new YA novel, but now it's back to the grind. for those of you playing along at home, I've made it as far back as my likes from early November 2021.

article 41: "Twitter Is The Worst Reader" by noted Fonda Lee on the twitterish tendency to assume the worst of everyone - particularly women, people of color, and other marginalized folks - at all times. of particular note is this scathing observation of twitter mobs demanding apologies from the targets of their harassment: "Never in the history of Twitter have I ever seen an apology be accepted or actually reduce the abuse leveled. One hundred percent of the time, they are dissected for inadequacy and insincerity, held up as proof of the offender’s malicious intent all along, and used as kindling to further fan the flames."

pried from behind the cold and unforgiving paywall of the New York Times it's article 42: "The Mark Zuckerberg Aesthetic" by Amanda Hess. I'm so tired of this utterly banal cyberpunk dystopia. there's not even any neon. and I would rather swallow a live iguana than ever have to interact with Zuck's shitty little metaverse.

article 43: "We Were Too Stupid for Jennifer's Body" by twitter user @/SamFateKeeper. did NOT expect this to talk so much about post-9/11 conservatism but I love the journey I've been taken on.

anyway probably should have mentioned that we've crossed the line back into tweets from October 2021.

article 44: "Thackery Binx is not Trans Masc, Sorry, and Neither is Rufio, or the Concept of Jonathan Taylor Thomas" from Julian K. Jarboe's substack. what a buckwild analysis of... something? characters that transmasc dudes of a certain age tend to project onto? also just a fantastic series of digs at poor useless Thackery Binx.

article 45: "New roots: Black musicians and advocates are forging coalitions outside the system" by Jewly Hight at NPR (our first NPRticle!). incredibly exciting to discover so many of my faves in this article - Amythyst Kiah! Yola!! Lizzie No!!! - discussing the way they've fought for space in a genre so heavily dominated by white artists. also a lot of cool new names to know - go listen to Roberta Lea n o w.

you guys are not gonna believe this but article 46 is ANOTHER entry from Ijeoma Oluo's substack. this time it's "All Of the Outrage You Could Ever Want." it's about "cancel culture," it's about accountability, it's about hierarchies of perceived value, you know the drill.

article 47: back to BuzzFeed for another article by Scaachi Koul, "Emily Ratajkowski’s New Book Tests The Limits Of Self-Awareness." an unsurprising and very fair criticism of Ratajkowski's essay collection, which I am still very much looking forward to reading based on my great appreciation of her September 2020 essay in New York Mag about experiences with an exploitative photographer. I don't need to her to solve the conundrum of benefitting from her objectification; I'm content to pick a stranger's brain.

article 48: speaking New York Mag, we've got "You Can Still Say 'Woman' But You Shouldn't Stop There" by Irin Carmon. I've never in my life seen such an impressive collection of pissbaby justifications for refusing to use inclusive language to talk about reproductive rights. grow up lmao.

article 49: everyone stop sharing that fake Bible verse about how Jesus was transmasc and read this article by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg queering Joseph of the infamous technicolor dreamcoat.

article 50 (can you BELIEVE I've done 50 of these? 40 of which I've read over the course of a single Saturday?): the intriguingly titled "The Politics of 'Jewface'" by Rebecca Pierce at Jewish Currents. an almost undeservedly thoughtful response to some comments that, at a guess, Sarah Silverman did not think about for more than approximately 0.003 seconds before making.

[highlifeboat]

A concept: Bela overhears her sisters talking to her mother about how clingy she is.

Cassandra and Daniela really don’t mean it personally, but their words sound so harsh in Bela’s sensitive ears. Her sisters are just discussing the things they’ve seen with Bela’s neediness, expressing that it’s concerning, and when Alcina reluctantly agrees that, yes, it can be a bit much at times, Bela shatters. Her sisters were one thing, but her mother...

Realizing she had to do something, Bela starts to pull herself away. She doesn’t eat or sleep; she only showers or bathes in frigid water, leaving her skin sore, ashy, and riddled with blisters; she barely leaves her room; and worst of all: she starts talking back to Alcina.

That last thing is what REALLY concerns everyone. And Bela hates doing it, but she feels the need to distance herself from her mother, and this is the only way. It’s better for everyone if she loosened her ties with them.

Eventually, Bela’s attitude gets so bad that Alcina finally snaps at her, and it hurts Bela more than she was expecting. She had been trying to prepare herself for the pain, but it still came to her like a knife in her stomach.

(Hurt no comfort)

She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. It wasn’t something she would normally do. After all, she’d never want her sisters to listen in on one of her private conversations, especially with their mother, and in truth she hadn’t planned to stick around. But when she heard her name mentioned it seemed to make her pause. They were talking about her. Why? What had she done? Was she in trouble? Bela’s mind raced with possibilities, and pressed her ear against the door so she could hear a little better.

“You don’t think it’s weird?” Cassandra’s voice asked. “How… clingy she is?” Bela swallowed. Clingy? She wasn’t clingy. Well, maybe she could be. A little. “How she always wants to be around you? How much she seems to care what you think about her?”

“Yeah, and the lengths she goes just for a pat on the head.” Daniela’s voice agreed. “I’ve seen her go days without sleep trying to impress you with something. It’s not normal.” Not normal? Bela shifted. “And she’s been like this forever! It’s really weird.”

“And a little creepy.” Cassandra added. “Like, I know we were all attention seekers at first but even you have to think this is out of control, right? We aren’t crazy for thinking that.”

Bela heard her mother sigh, her teeth starting to grind together. “Bela can be… overbearing at times, yes….” The blonde sunk her claws into the door as her heart seemed to stop. “And it is a little odd.” Odd? “If I knew how to help her I would.” Help? Mama thinks you need help? That you’re odd? Overbearing? Not normal?

Bela felt tears in her eyes and rushed as quietly as she could away from the door and the conversation on the other side. Her sisters were one thing. Their complaints still tugged at her heart, of course, but they had been teasing her for years. But her mother? Her own mother thought she was overbearing? She didn’t understand, she thought she was doing everything right. Did Mother not like when she went the extra mile for her? Did she not like that she followed everything she said? Bela pulled her hair. No, she had to do something. She would gain her mother’s love back, and show her sisters she wasn’t “clingy”. She could change. Or, at the very least, try to.

That was probably where the downward spiral started.

She started off small. Putting no more into her work than necessary, and slowly lessening the time she spent around her mother and sisters. At first they had seemed a little impressed with her new found ability to say “no” to them, even if it was eating away at her internally. But her sisters were happy with her, and even their mother seemed content with her new attitude. That was all she wanted. But it was keeping her up at night.

When she sat alone in her room, the wind howling outside her window, it felt like torture. Her mind raced, some parts telling her how useless she was becoming, and others reminding her this was for the best. It was nothing but a constant whirlwind of conflicting ideals that rang in her ears no matter how hard she tried to make them stop. She’d even started losing her appetite, the stress of it all twisting her stomach into a terrible knot that refused to keep food anymore. She did eat in front of her family when they were gathered at the dinner table, if just to act like everything was fine, but she always purged it afterwards as if her body was rejecting it. Every part of her body was blistered, and ashen, and terribly raw from freezing showers, even the usually soft fabric of her dress was beginning to feel like sandpaper. Headaches came often, and felt like they lasted for days, and in private she would writhe and cry on her bed from the bouts of pain that were plaguing her being. It was becoming unbearable. But her sisters were happy, and her mother was happy. And that was all that mattered, wasn’t it?

Or, they had seemed happy up until Bela started back talking to her mother.

She didn’t know if it was the constant pain, the hunger, or the fact she always felt on edge, but her mother’s voice was starting to grate on her ears. It had gone from simply saying “No” to certain requests, to sarcastic comments she’d picked up from Cassandra, to down right snapping back at her mother for making comments to her. And it was killing her more than any of the pain she put on herself. The way her mother looked at her. The sadness that turned to concern. It twisted her heart with guilt. But this is what they wanted right? No more clinging to mommy? Bela wanted nothing more than to apologize and hug her mother, but she kept holding herself back. You don’t want to be overbearing. Mother wouldn’t like that. Walk away. Walk away. There didn’t seem to be any way for her to win this internal battle with herself.

And then they had a fight.

She couldn’t remember what had started it. If her mother had simply asked her something, or if she’d made another comment on her recent behaviour, or if she had just looked at her the wrong way. All she knew was that she’d stood from her seat and sparked the argument. She told her mother to stop trying to pry into her life. That she didn’t want her help. That she just wanted to be left alone. That they were all stressing her out. That she hated her sisters. That she hated her.

Bela said she hated her mother. To her face.

Her sisters froze, having come to see what the yelling was about, and the look on their mother’s face made Bela want to dissolve into the floor.

“I-I didn’t-” She jumped when her mother interrupted her.

“That is enough!” She snapped, and Bela’s entire body went rigid. “Young lady, I don’t know what has gotten into you these past weeks, but the way you have been acting is completely unacceptable! I have had enough of your attitude, and I will not be spoken to in such a manner by my own child!” She raised her hand to make a gesture, and Bela thought she was going to be struck. And you would deserve it, wouldn’t you? “I would expect this from Cassandra, maybe even Daniela, but not you!” She crossed her arms. “I’m very disappointed in you, Bela!”

The words cut into her so much worse than she thought they would. Bela had prepared herself for this, knowing her mother wouldn’t put up with her act forever, but to have it actually happen made it feel like her guts were getting ripped out. To be called a disappointment, it took the air from her lungs and strangled her with it. She couldn’t breathe properly, her heart was pounding in her ears. She hates you. Doesn’t want you here. She hates you! HATES YOU! HATE HATE HATE! Bela’s vision started to blur with tears, and, at a loss for what to do, she did the only thing she could think of.

She ran.

"BELA!"

Her mother called for her to come back, but she only ran faster. Through the castle halls, down the stairs, past a group of surprised and frightened maidens, and finally out of the castle’s main entrance and into the cool night air. It burned her skin, but she just kept going, out past the Duke’s cart and into the Vineyard, until her foot caught on loose rock and she fell face first into the hard ground. After that she couldn’t push herself up. Too sore, too tired, too hungry, too cold. So she did the only thing left she could do. She cried.

She cried, and screamed, and pulled at her hair. She curled in on herself, claws sunk into her scalp as if she were trying to rip out her brain. Her mother hated her. Her sisters probably hated her, too. She hated herself. Everything hurt. She just wanted it to stop.

She wanted her mother.

“MAMAA!” The wail tore from her throat before she had a chance to stop it. She certainly had the audacity, didn’t she? Mother wouldn’t rescue her. Not after that horrid display. “Mama….” It felt like her skull was splitting open. She didn’t deserve to see mother. To be held in her arms and cradled. Not after the way she’d acted. “I’m s-sorry….” It was far too late for apologies wasn’t it? Bela choked on her tears as her vision blurred and distorted. She felt terribly light headed. “M-M-Mommy, please… Please help me….”

[atomicfilm]

INTJ pairings

I'll make this into a fun short "put you in my pocket and take you `to my mom's Thanksgiving party" version too.

I'm not an INTJ, but I do converse with them (and by them, I mean maybe 3 total and 1 regularly) and I've been asked to talk about my thoughts on this, so for tonight only, I'm giving myself a really cool sash that says I'm an authority on the subject. I also think as an INTP I run into somewhat similar issues with certain types.

* means I like this pairing.

Typically, the INTJ's golden pair is the ENFP. I think that works for some people, but is probably a kind of short-lasting passionate fling rather than the ideal pairing. ENFPs are great people, they're lots of fun to be around, they care a great deal. They bring out the INTJ's soft side, which they may hate but they secretly quite admire. But ultimately, ENFPs can be flaky. They see something new and exciting and they move on. Novelty is the greatest motivator in a lot of ENFPs. New friends, new places, new things to do. And while the INTJ may deeply admire that and may find it quite exciting, it's not going to last forever. Eventually, the INTJ will become tired of playing games and want to settle into their ideal lifestyle pursuing their carefully strategized goals and the ENFP will become bored. The INTJ I speak to and I have the same issue, which is that ENFPs by nature are manipulative. It can be used for the good of inspiring people and bringing them together, but it can also become quite selfish and unstable. This leads to the ENFP saying things like "You try to apply logic to everything" or "you don't really respect me" or something like that when in reality, if someone loves an INTJ they'll love that they apply logic to everything and they'll love their snarky edges.

INFPs. I have not heard a lot of feedback about them as I think INTJs tend to be drawn more to extraverts. But as someone who spends quite a lot of time with INFPs, I would imagine that a lot of INTJs who can't make it work with ENFPs can also not make it work with INFPs. Once again, INFPs are great at engaging our minds but they are terrible at accepting that we live by rationality. INTJs use Fi a little bit, so to some extent they'll have similar engagements with their emotional side, but INFPs live by thinking "what can I do to nurture myself" and INTJs live more by "how can I best mold the world to fit my vision of efficiency". You'll see the commonality of Fi at the worst point possible when the INTJ is breaking down. INFPs kind of never stop using Fi and as someone who is thinking-dominant, that is almost impossible for communication. Ultimately, they'll eventually hit a point where their love languages and ways of interactions may be so disparate that they feel neglected.

ENTPs **. This is a golden pair that I can kind of get behind. The INxJs I know are obsessed with ENTPs and tend to think they're quite attractive. They're not only gregarious (when they're not arguing) but they're also quite intellectually stimulating and since they have opposite functions from the INTJ, there is still quite a bit of difference to make it fun. There shouldn't be too many emotional issues, aside from the fact that both these types tend to bottle up their emotions and resent vulnerabilities. The ENTP will probably be the more caring of the two in a conventional sense, but I would think both would have similar love languages of caring both through action and thought. ENTPs also tend to not be quite as flaky as a lot of xNxPs are, but, I would rate both of these types as highly likely to ghost. My best advice is that if you want to be around ENTPs, pick one who can be honest about their real values and whose values align with yours. If they make a lot of bigoted jokes, take that at face value, no matter how "ironic" it is. ENTPs can be a little fake in the sense that they will blend in just enough and hide behind so-called irony to be friends with a lot of different people.

INTPs. I don't really see it. I think INTPs are lovely as an INTP who likes other INTPs. Likewise, I enjoy a good conversation and friendship with an INTJ. But I find it not only difficult to tolerate relationships but also being told what to do. I make every decision in a relationship as a compromise and I think that would eventually quite interfere with the INTJ's ambitions because I wouldn't back down on mine...at least, not without resentment. So perhaps an INTJ and INTP with similar life goals could work out romantically, but personally, I view them as platonic and the one time I liked an INTJ it ended beyond poorly. I don't bring out their softness and they don't bring out mine. We're more like buddies who complain about other people when we do the entire group project by ourselves. Of course, romantic preference is a preference.

ENTJs. When has it ever worked out for someone to date their sister-type? Name one time! If someone names one time I'll update this. I think an ENTJ and an INTJ would be quite an argumentative couple even if they were on the same side about everything. Then again, INTJs do admire extraversion and it is always nice to be around people you don't have to explain yourself to every sentence.

INFJs ****. Oh, I like this pairing. I have not heard much about it, but I think it would be really cute. INTJs are complete badasses. They're very "I'm going to take over the world and you're just going to have to deal with it. And if you say no I will secretly cry". INFJs are very "I'm going to do everything in my power to heal everyone and the world and I am probably crying because I saw a baby bunny". INFJs are The Best! They have the softness of ENFPs but they're logical and they use Ni like INTJs but have Fe, which means they are thinking about harmony 24/7 and not that Fi-version of harmony. That genuine "I will make sure everyone is cared for at no social benefit to me" kind of harmony. They do socialize with a lot of people, but INTJs sometimes like to be social and party, they just aren't typically regarded that way. Do Fe and Fi mix that well? Maybe not. But as an Fe user who is quite fond of INFJs, I think they could potentially be a very cute power couple with the INTJ and there would be fewer issues with communication than other types as Ni-doms (but this also might be boring at the same time).

ENFJs. Similar to INFJs. They might work together a little less simply because of the change in function positions.

ESFPs *. Do I know for sure that this is a good pairing? No! But gosh, do I like it. INTJs become ESFP-like when they're sad. So, you know, maybe the ESFP will draw out the worst version of the INTJ and that could really suck. But this is the perfect little theatre kid dates total nerd trope and I like that. ESFPs have the social circle that the INTJ desires and the INTJ has the "got their shit together" vibes that ESFPs, despite being quite talented and successful, may lack. They both have skills one another can benefit strongly from, but it may come at the cost of a lot of arguments. Not sure. But I think this is actually my personal favorite since they have near-opposite strengths but a common reason to respect one another.

ISFPs: Pft. Idk. This is not the same as ESFPs. ISFPs are lovely but they sort of fill the same niche that INFPs do. Perfect for an INTP like me, but I don't think INTJs are looking for the quiet, artsy, weirdo so much because they already often fill that niche to some extent, even if it's more technical. I've noticed that INxJs really want to be around people who are the life of the party and very socially dominant (and ISFPs can fulfill that role, but there are other types who win via extraversion). The ISFP will likewise appreciate a little practicality, but I've noticed they're more likely to gravitate towards other xxFPs. Probably a better friendship and as a relationship would take more effort.

ESTPs: I think this one comes with its own difficulties and will work less than ENTP/ESFP pairings. This is because while they can have the same charisma that ENTP and ESFPs have, they can also have that same fakeness as a defense mechanism. Both will value action but the ESTP will probably drain out the INTJ more than ENTPs will (who are more ambiverts) and more than ESFPs too. With ESFPs, there's a good amount of the right kind of opposites. INTJs are action-driven, but they're strategic and take a while. ESFPs are action-driven, but they're more spontaneous. And ultimately, that leads to a lot of arguments about how to get things done. Whereas, the ESFP and ENTP might give the INTJ complete room to "manage", the ESTP seems less likely to do so.

ISTPs: This would be so stale. INTJs tend to show big emotions (to their own despise) when they're upset and ISTPs love to ghost at any sign of emotion. They would dip so fast. Top-tier friendship on an intellectual level but never particularly deep and unlikely, albeit not impossible to evolve into a relationship. Same issues as with INTPs, there's going to be a lot of admiration and probably not a lot of emotional attachment. I have witnessed an INTJ have a crush on an ISTP but that ISTP had a crush on me so that tells you how that went. Messy business. 

ESTJ: Yeah, I guess. I don't like ESTJs as a general concept but I suppose INTJs aren't necessarily as opposed to capitalism and tradition. Sounds dry. Next.

ISTJ *: This is probably a really solid pairing for the INTJ. Very marriage material, have the same job, raise cool kids. But I think that sounds boring. So if you want the "perfect life", this is probably a good type for you but I couldn't do that. You would probably only have minor arguments and the INTJ would have to learn to trust that ISTJs are incredibly good at reading situations while the ISTJ would have to learn to love that the INTJ is more fantasy-oriented than they are. Odd, right? Ultimately, you have two people who can be very commitment-oriented, who care for people the same way, who want to fix society, who analyze everything. You just have two generally different ways of doing that, where the ISTJ is probably actually better at being in society and the INTJ wants to change it in more drastic ways (although, for moral reasons they both want to change it).

ISFJ: I don't imagine it working particularly well. I honestly can barely imagine it at all. An ISFJ is my best friend and he is THE MOST gentle buddy. You cannot make fun of him even playfully and keep the friendship. Probably a deal-breaker for a lot of INTJs as they tend to love a good tease. My ISFJ has dated an INTJ before and while they’re still friends, it was a bad experience to witness all around. INTJs are very competitive and ISFJs are very open with their affection so that ran into issues but also, the ISFJ is not as likely to stand up for itself in a way that INTJs easily respect, which is to say, when they do it it will be something like “hey, you hurt my feelings” and if you’re the kind of person to  respond “then you’re too sensitive” you’ve got a whole ass toxic relationship on your hands. 

ESFJ: I think this could work a little better than the ISFJ pairing and a little worse than with the ESFP. Of course, there are general grounds for arguing over emotion vs. logic, but both types can have quite a good bit of talent and practicality coexisting. ESFJs tend to be a little better with criticisms (although they are still sensitive and should be treated very gently too) and they're more likely to want to accomplish goals that the INTJ finds easier to respect. For a lot of ISFJs, their goals are sweet and simple like raising a family, working as a computer scientist. The ESFJ might be a little more oriented towards large goals similar to that of the ESFP, which is more of the category that INTJs tend to fall into. However, the INTJ is going to have to accept that ESFJs love a LOT which means throwing a LOT of parties, probably the most out of any type and its probably going to lead to some burnouts. 

Overall, INTJs are great but need to learn to practice kindness and put their natural tendency for intellectual superiority aside. They shouldn't be with anyone that doesn't want to accomplish things they can respect. They shouldn't be with people who want them to compromise too much (they probably won't). They should be with people who bring out their nurturing capabilities and who they want to do things for, but not people that they see as incapable of taking care of themselves. They may prefer more social people and admire people who can network while being direct and genuine. Based on these criteria, INFJs and ENTPs are my highest recommendations while ESFPs (my favorite) and ISTJs also make the list for various reasons.

BUT, that being said, RELATIONSHIPS (including friendships) ARE A SKILL. They are most successful when someone becomes good at learning respect and compromise that doesn't cause resentment, regardless of type. All individuals will have different specific interests as well as red flags. And if you need me to tell you if your relationship works, it probably doesn't and you can DM me.

[harrywritingsbyme]

Just the thought of walking in on harry as hes stroking his thick cock and his eyes are shut closed and hes biting his lip one had behind his head. Fuck me up

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A/N: I was having brainfarts all day and all night long on what to write. Like I've been going back and forth on what concepts to write and I've been distracted with this election mess. Buttt...I was able to find something that I rlly liked and could actually write for you guys right now. So I hope y’all like it...crappy ending and all! Enjoy🙃 

Harry was alone and in his subspace. When he woke up, you were not by his side in bed. The house was completely silent with not even the slightest trace of you being there. The shower wasn’t running, there wasn’t any noise coming from the kitchen, and the simple feeling of your presence was absent for Harry. The only thing left of you for the time being was a little note on his bedside table telling him that you had to get an early start to your day, that you’d be back soon, and that you loved him. Other than that, Harry was all alone and left to his own devices. And that was the worst thing that could possibly happen when in his subspace. He needed you and only you to take care of him and make him feel good.

Now when he began to wake up, Harry was softly pushing his lower half down into the bed as he transitioned out of his sleep. He was becoming more and more aware of his hard cock and he was instinctively moving to relieve himself. This is when he began to slip into his subspace. As he continued to rut his hips into the bed, Harry was reaching out towards your side of the bed and feeling around for your warm body. But instead of feeling you, he was met with the cool sheets on covering the bed. And from that point on, Harry was fully awake and needy. Now despite the fact that Harry’s cock was throbbing and he was a squirming mess in the bed, he still tried his hardest to not touch himself. He knew that his hand would never compare to your soft hands or your velvety walls, so he did his best to hold off on touching his cock and he stuck to digging his hips into the mattress. His hips were uncoordinatedly and quickly pushing back and forth into the bed to give him some relief. As he does this, he is also a whimpering mess as he clutches onto the pillows and whimpers into them from the pleasure. Those whimpers and moans are very shaky and higher pitched at times as he tries to take care of himself without any help from his hands. 

But just like always, the pleasure was beginning to catch up to him. By using the bed to relieve himself, he was only intensifying his need and pushed him to use his hands. And that was what he inevitably did. After no more than 10 minutes, Harry was dying to feel some type of skin on skin contact with his cock, even if it was just his hand. He wasted no time shoving his boxers down his legs and flinging the comforter off of him so that he could have his cock exposed. And just as expected, his girthy shaft was standing proudly in his lap. The head of him was a bit swollen and his slit was even beginning to bead with his precum. Harry was also very sensitive. He was so sensitive that the exposure to the cooler air around him in the room caused his cock to twitch a bit in his lap. Before wrapping his hand around his throbbing shaft, Harry bring his hand up to spit into his palm a bit. He does this because he wants to feel something that can feel somewhat close to the way your mouth or cunt would feel. It’d never do you any justice, but for the time being, Harry needed to have a release or get himself close enough in hopes that you come home in enough time to take care of him the way he needs. He then finally goes in and wraps his hand nicely wrapped around his shaft, keeping it a bit loose for some movement but tight enough to simulate the same tightness, even in the slightest bit, of your hands and walls.

Even though Harry swore up and down that nothing could and would ever compare to you, he had to admit that his hand felt pretty good. As he tugged and tugged, Harry could feel himself melting into the bed and really feeling good. He was also very whiney. He’s so caught up in moving his hand back and forth and up and down his shaft that he couldn’t stop the loud and pleasured moans from tumbling out of his mouth. What also helped was what Harry was envisioning in his mind. His legs were spread and his eyes were closed as he brought his mind to the times where you were between his legs taking care of him in some shape or form. He remembered back to those times where you had your mouth on him and just made a mess of his cock. You just slobbered all over him and took him down your throat as you pushed him into a release. He also thinks back to all the times where you used your hand to pleasure him and make him spill all over your hand. He lived for how rough your were at times and how delicate you were at others. You managed to use two different techniques that were able to catapult him over the edge right into a blissful release. And of course, Harry couldn’t stop thinking back to the times where you masterfully rode his cock and bounced your body up and down on him, moving your pussy up and down on his shaft and sending him into the depths of your body the entire time. His mind ran through all of those explicit memories as he tugged at himself. But as he thinks back, he remembers one detail that he can’t get enough of. Whenever you took care of him, whether he was in subspace or not, you always played with his balls. You liked to cup and squeeze them in your hands and just roll them a round in your palm a bit.  And when you were physically between his legs, you’d go as far as to suck them into your mouth, mostly one at a time given that they were pretty sizable. In addition to that they were always heady and warm, and Harry was incredibly sensitive down there. Whenever you messed around with them, his moans always got louder and more plentiful as he received the bonus pleasure. And because of this, Harry doesn’t even think about it before he’s bringing his free hand down between his legs as well to cup his balls into his hand. When he does this, Harry’s moans become louder and more frenzied as he adds onto the pleasure that he’s giving himself. 

Harry continues to multitask and plays with his balls while tugging and teasing his cock. As he goes on with this, Harry becomes overwhelmed and wrapped up in taking care of himself. So wrapped up that he doesn’t even realize your presence in the house. After a little over 2 hours of running around and doing what you needed to get done, you were ready to get back to Harry and relax. You don’t even bother putting things away. You simply peel your jacket and mask off, wash your hands and make your way right upstairs to the bedroom to see Harry. You aren’t even down the hall and in the doorway of the bedroom to hear his moans. To you, they were more like whines. It sounded like Harry was fighting with the immense pleasure he was giving himself and the lack of your presence to give him the overwhelming pleasure that you never failed to deliver. Simply hearing his moans caused you to put some pep into your step and you were practically rushing down the hallway so that you could get in there and see what was going on. And once you did, there was an immediate shockwave that went right between your legs. He looked so desperate to cum and you could see how bad he needed help. Harry was bucking right up into his hands and trying his best to bring himself to the edge. After inconspicuously standing in the doorway for a little while, you finally step into the room and you make your way over to Harry’s side of the bed. Instead of going right in between his legs, you come up to where his head was resting against the pillows and you bring your hand down to his forehead so that you could push back the hairs that were clinging onto his sticky skin. When you do this, Harry instantly jumps. He has mixed feelings of excitement and need for you now that you were here and able to take care of him.

“Need you so bad mommy!” He whines continuing to move his hands between his legs.

“Aww baby, you feeling subby today? Do you want some help?” You coo, continuing to stroke his forehead and cheeks. 

“Mhm!” He whimpers loudly, begging for you to take control.

“Well mommy gonna take care of her baby.” You reassure, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek and parted lips. You then make your way down the bed, quickly kicking your shoes off before crawling between his spread and bent legs. Once you’re between them, you can really see him bad he needs you. His hands were gripping onto his balls and cock for dear life and he was very swollen as well. You could tell that he needed to just let go of the mounting pleasure and feel good. “Now let go of that pretty cock so mommy can take care of it baby.” You remind, bringing a hand up to pull his hand away from his shaft. As soon as he relinquishes control (well the little bit he had since you were still in control a bit despite you actually being there) you wrap your smaller hand around his shaft, resulting in an immediate gasp from Harry. You give him a little squeeze before dragging you hand up and down his shaft, eventually bringing your other hand to his balls. His cock looked so pretty when it was all swollen for you. It was nice and big and extremely sensitive. No matter what you did, he was going to be in shambles.

Harry was on cloud nine right now. He was finally getting pleasured the way he needed. Your soft hands and mouth on him as you play with and dote on his cock. He felt like he could cum right then and there from how good you felt. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Right as he was settling into the pleasure of your hands, you put your mouth on him. Pursing your lips around his head and suckling on it. This causes him to begin shaking and moaning even louder than before. Harry can feel a very familiar warmth spreading throughout his entire body, signaling to him that he was approaching his release. 

“Please mommy! Need t’cum!” He cries bucking up into you. 

Instead of replying to him, you decide to just push him so close to the edge that he can’t stop himself from cumming. So you push your head down, taking more and more of him into your mouth and down your throat while squeezing and tugging at his warm balls. For Harry, this was a deadly combination. He couldn’t hold himself back no matter how hard he tried, and without warning he begins to spill his seed into your mouth/throat. 

“Mommy!” Harry yells out, feeling the waves of his release crash down onto him. He couldn’t describe how good it felt to be pleasured by you and to cum because of you. Rope after rope Harry empties himself into your mouth to which you gladly swallow. Even though he always cums a lot, you noticed that he came even more when in his subspace. And you absolutely loved it. 

Once he’s completely done, you pull your mouth cup from him and you lick any remaining cum oof of his cock before crawling up the bed to check in on him. 

“How you feeling baby?” You ask softly,  cupping his cheek to calm him sown a little bit more. 

“Really good.” He slurs, relaxing into your hand and calming down some more. “M’sorry.” He continues on softly. Harry was now, slowly but surely, coming out of his subspace.

“You have nothing to be sorry for baby!” You coo sadly, bringing your face down to press kisses all over his face. “Being subby is perfectly fine. You’re just a man who’s in his subspace who wants kisses and his cock played with. And that’s perfectly fine! I’ll give you kisses and play with your cock and anywhere else for that matter as much as you want sweet boy.” You reassure him, making sure to look him right in the eye ass you say it. 

“I love you.” He mumbles with a little pout. 

“I love you too baby.” You hum sweetly, giving him another kiss to the lips.

“Can we cuddle for a little bit?” He asks shyly.

“Of course, do you want a toy inside too?” You ask him, to which he feverishly nods yes. “M’gonna need you to turn on your side for me and I’ll be right back.” You instruct before getting out of bed and making your way to the closet. 

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