#anyway i have to actually finish the game now. i really should stop doing side quests but the question marks taunt me

[chabbit]

I caved and decided to watch FFXV Kingsglaive before finishing the game and tbh I think if I were Regis I would have just stabbed the emperor at the signing instead of playing cute little word games. Like at that point he knows Niflheim isn't actually aiming for peace. The emperor chose to go to the peace signing and sit directly next to a guy who can famously summon like a hundred sword at once, if he gets stabbed that's on him. Empire can't fight a war and go after Noctis if they're dealing with a succession crisis. Let them eat each other alive, it's not your problem.

I mean obviously it wouldn't have worked because no one knew about Glauca or I guess Ardyn at that point (was he in the room?), but crucially I (as the fictional king of Lucis) also would not have known about them. I would have just stabbed that motherfucker. Regis my guy you are a warrior king. You can summon a hundred swords!! That's more than enough for all the higher ups who, crucially, are sitting in the room with you!!

I mean yeah it's a bad look to kill a bunch of foreign leaders "unprovoked" during peace talks but who's left to do diplomacy with anyway? Niflheim?? Who don't actually want peace anyway??? Maybe they'll think twice about fucking with you if you cut the head off the snake. Literally.

[hearts444innie]

Language!

Lee: changbin

Ler: Chan

🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧🫧

This picture Ssjshdhd-anyways I’ve actually kept this one in the notebook unfinished for about a whole month now because my brain kinda just-like burnt itself out by thinking to hard on the whole plot and yeah 🥲

Anyways here’s the fic longed for after I finished the hcs

hope you guys like this one \(^ヮ^)/

Changbin was in the kitchen looping around when his hand knocked over a cup, water spilling out.

“Oh shit-“ Chan not being fat and his dad instincts kicking in.

“Yah language!” Changbin rolled his eyes while cleaning the wet floor “yeah yeah I know”

“Watch it I might do something to fix that if you use anymore cursing”

Now did he take the leader seriously?

Nah.

Later throughout the day whenever the boy dropped something or made a mistake he cursed more even jeongin warned him. “Binnie hyung if Chan hears you he will punish you”

“It’s fine innie he was just trying to scare me”

“Okay whatever you say don’t say I didn’t warn you~”

A while after that changbin was playing some game on his phone and when losing he yelled out a bit too loud for Chan to hear “binnie..what was that I heard~” Chan said in a sweet tone but it felt scary rather than sweet to changbin, now changbin was really starting to take what the older had said earlier seriously.

“Changbinnie just know that I’m going to teach you well on this” the boy booked it out of there with Chan behind him, Chan had the boy cornered so with ease Chan threw bin over his shoulder taking him back into the room to finish him there

“Let’s get started Binnie”

“How about no and you let me go?”

“Yeah no.” Chan started off light but it still tickled badly.

“hyuhuhung ihihits soho bad..”

“Yeah I know and it will get worse~” Chan started squeezing his sides rapidly poking, prodding in different unprotected spaces

“HYUHUNG WAHAIT STOHOHOP I CANT IHIHI IM SOHOHORRY FOHOHOR SWEARIHING PLEASE!!” Chan didn’t say anything only having a fond smile on his face as if he wasn’t torturing the screaming boy under him, moving to prodding the boys hips

“NO-NOHO AHHAHAHA STOP-YOU!” Changbin couldn’t get his words out only laughter coming out.

“What was that Binnie? I couldn’t understand~”

“Pleahehehse I no more!!”

“What we only just got started bunny~?” He dug his fingers into the boys armpits leaving changbin screaming desperately trying to get his hyungs fingers out. “STOHOHOP LEHEAVE MEHEHE ALONE!!” Changbin whined a screamed yet it didn’t stop.

“Binnie I told you to stop swearing but you still did even in front of the kids” Chan giggled out stopping momentarily.

“Please they ain’t kids they are adults and I’ve seen jeongin swear more than me-NO!” Chan pinched the boy’s side

“No I think they are still kids living in MY house~” Chan tickled the boy faster moving from spot to spot squeezing, poking and prodding anywhere changbin couldn’t protect. “CHAHANNIE!! IM SAHOHRRY IM SORRY-AHAHA!!” Now Chan had already forgiving him but still didn’t let the boy off the hook that easily.

“You know I think this will make such a great rule to set now..what do you think bin~?” Chan said sweetly definitely not having the boy screaming under him “NOHO NOT A GREAT RULE-AHHH STHAHAP!!” Chan didn’t let the boy protest about it as he tickled the boy’s neck.

“Quihihit I chahant take it..” chan finally lets up on the boy “free to go bun but this is now a new rule~”

Changbin ran off as soon as Chan lets him go, his face still flushed red now wanting to be more careful to not swear around the leader.

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

Should I make a part two for a different member? (^‿^✿)

[iwillneverpoststuff]

You’re so annoying… | Lee!Venti, Ler! Diluc (Genshin Fic)

Fic! because i’m bored :D

Lee!Venti

Ler!Diluc

Diluc and Venti go on a mission together but the Anemo archon himself can never take anything seriously. Diluc takes matters into his own hands…

————

Diluc and Venti had been called to a meeting with the knights of Favonious. The whole team needed to go on a mission to fight off some fatui members who made their way into Mondstat territory. The team split up into smaller groups in order to work more efficiently.

“I’m sure I could get more work done on my own…” Diluc complained with his arms crossed when he was paired with Venti. But Jean insisted they needed each other to keep safe.

And so there they were… Diluc and Venti traveling towards Dragonspine together and it’s quite the long walk…

“Okay, Diluc! Looks like it’s just you and me. How about a drink? Or should I play some music to keep us entertained?” Venti takes out his lyre and a bottle of gin.

Diluc groans and holds up his hand to stop Venti.

“Don’t. This is a serious mission! There could be fatui around and you’re going to be out here making noise!”

Venti gawks, “This is not noise! That’s actually very insulting. I am a musician!”

Diluc rolls his eyes, “I wouldn’t exactly consider a bard a musician…”

Venti stops in front of Diluc with a glare, “What did you say?”

Diluc sighs, “Come on. We don’t have time for games, let’s just move on.”

As Diluc walks ahead of Venti, he feels a tug on the back of his boots. Diluc ignores it at first, but then one step after another he feels Venti flat tiring his shoes!

“Can you cut that out?!”

Venti mocks Diluc and laughs, “Cut what out?”

Diluc tries to ignore Venti’s antics, but Venti was making it really hard. He resorted to playing music anyway, pulling Diluc’s ponytail to mess with him, and overall just being a nuisance. Finally, Diluc has had enough. Venti’s squeeze to Diluc’s side was the last straw. As Venti tried to run away, Diluc wraps his arms around Venti’s waist to trap him.

“Eep!” Venti squeaks, “Diluc what are you doing??”

Diluc narrows his eyes at Venti, “You’ve been bugging me all this time and I’m not letting you get away with it anymore..”

Venti squirms in Diluc’s grasp, growing nervous already, “W-What do you mean? What are you going to do?!”

Diluc huffs, and the faintest smirk grows on his face, “This…”

Suddenly Diluc’s fingers dig into Venti’s sides, showing no mercy as Venti doubles over and starts giggling.

“GAH! Wahahait!! D-Diluc! Nohot that! Stop!”

Diluc smirks more visibly now, following Venti as Venti falls to the ground in stitches.

“No. This is what you get for pestering me. These are the consequences to your own actions.”

Venti squeals as Diluc spiders his fingers over his stomach, making his giggles turn into laughter that squeaks when he gets too close to his ribs.

“DILUC! Ahahaha!! Diluc nohohooo! I’m sohorry! I won’t do it again! Please! What if the fatui hears us!!”

“Oh, now you’re worried about the fatui?” Diluc chuckles and begins to tickle Venti’s ribs as if he were playing a piano. He wiggles his fingers over each rib, creating higher giggles as he moves up.

“How many ribs do you have, Venti?” Diluc smirks.

“I dohohont know?! Stahahap that!! Get off you weirdo!”

“I’m weird? Sheesh…” Diluc shakes his head, “Guess we’ll have to count… one… two..” He goes up his ribs one by one, counting and tickling the bones.

“DILUC!! STOhohoOHop!! Not thehere!!”

“Oh, you made me lose count.. I’ll have to start over~”

“NOOOooo!! Plehehease!! Nohoho more! It’s too ticklish!!”

“..Let me finish to count and then I’ll be done..”

“Screw yohohouu!!”

“That’s not very nice. Now I will start over. One.. two.. three..”

“NAHAHOO! IM SORRY! IM SORRYY!”

“..24!” Diluc exclaims before digging his fingers into Venti’s armpits. Venti bucks his hips and shrieks, landing into hysterical laughter and blushing from the embarrassment of the sounds he makes.

“DILUHUHUC!! NOOOHHOOHOH!! NOT THEHEHERE! NAAHAHAh!! PLEASE!”

Diluc chuckles and tickles Venti a bit more before letting up.

“Are you going to stop being annoying and take the mission seriously?”

Venti heaves on the ground, “y-yes..” he glares at Diluc,

“..but after i get you back for this!”

Diluc freezes before getting up to dust himself off quickly and make a run for it.

Venti laughs, “Oho! You can run but you won’t get far! C’mere Diluc~~!”

“Leave me alone!”

———

Fin

[imperator-titus]

Ghost from the Past [Part 2]

once again, very rough, subject to change. I haven't fully decided if I want to integrate a tav/gale thing. I really want to try a run with Eletha with the poly mod, but I don't want to mod my game until I've finished honor mode (or beef this run because I've gotten to act 3 this time) I haven't fully gotten Gale's... tone and mannerisms right. I feel like I need to relearn Astarion's early personality. I'm still tweaking Eletha's story/background/mannerisms. I'm experimenting with in-game conversation timings and just... obviously making shit up

I'm hesitant to tag this gale content yet lmao I probably wont unless it ends up being tav/gale or he's like REALLY prominent

anyway, I hope you enjoy this bit

[edit: just did some cleaning up on the "administrative" side of things now that the title is official and all]

(Prev)[Part 1] (Next)[Part 3] [Master Post]

[gif by half-dorks]

“What’s your secret?” Astarion asked Gale as they both sat in camp while others were out.

“What secret is that?”

“Why Eletha likes you.”

“Does she? I never noticed.”

“She’s ice cold to everyone else.”

“You must be thinking of someone else. Eletha is quite kind to everyone, until they prove they don't deserve it.”

“Fine. She’s ice cold to me, and she already knows me!”

“Have you considered that you gave her ample reason to be cold to you? Besides, she's not always angry with you.”

“How do you mean?”

“She sometimes laughs at your quips, or looks at you fondly.”

“If you can see that…” 

Later that evening, after they'd eaten and started turning in, Astarion approached Eletha.

“No need to sleep on the disgusting ground like a dog, dar- you,” he tried to coo, remembering a little too late how she prickled at his pet names. “You should join me in my tent. You would find it much more comfortable.”

“No thank you, I’m quite comfortable as it is.”

“On a bunch of grass and blankets?” He asked indignantly. After she hummed in acknowledgement, he approached so he couldn't be overheard. “The other day you said… that if I asked… well, this is me asking.”

She eyed him, but not exactly in a hateful way. Maybe Gale was right. “I'm not hearing much asking.”

“Maybe you could come to my tent, where I could ask you properly?” She followed him without much of a fight. “Would you… let me have some of your blood? Just a bit. Just to… sharpen the senses.”

“I’m aware. I knew a woman once,” Eletha explained as she pulled out her knife. He watched as she held the tip above the candle in his tent, sanitizing it.

“Should I assume you're doing this because we were… friends?” Eletha stopped what she was doing, took a deep, deep breath, and let it out in a long sigh.

“Yes. We were friends. Close friends.” “Look. I’m sorry I'm being coarse with you. Turns out, it's easy to think you've let something go until you actually have to look it in the face.”

“Well… I’m sure I deserve it,” he said sadly. She actually believed him and that hurt more than the cuts she made in the underside of her forearm.

“Not really. Now are we doing this or what?”

“I was hoping for your neck, but…” he carefully took hold of her arm like it was a precious heirloom, “blood is blood, I suppose.”

“The last time your mouth was on my neck wasn’t exactly a fond memory.” Despite this, she seemed unbothered by this offering.

He didn’t bother finding a response, the scent of her blood almost maddening. Lost in its taste, its power, he only stopped when he felt the sharp snap of her flicking his forehead. As he wiped off his face, he watched a little too intensely as she sealed the wounds with her heated knife. He met her eyes with rare earnestness.

“I won't forget this.” Eletha gave him a look that made him chuckle. “Well. Not anytime soon.”

----

Gale was right, Eletha was kind. Maybe too kind for his liking. Astarion would sigh in disappointment whenever she offered to help some poor idiot. Inevitably, she would give him a harrowing stare over her shoulder, he’d go ‘fine’, then she’d smile and move on. 

She defended him, vouched for him, when he came out to the group as a vampire. She made him ask, which was a little humiliating for someone like him, but she spared some blood for him. She doted on them all like a grandmother, practically pinching cheeks and shoving food in their mouths. Of course, she had to be quite a bit older than them, considering she knew him long enough ago that he couldn’t remember her. He’d forgotten a lot of things, though…

Eletha was acting cagey for the past few days. Lae’zel accused her of being a spy for these Absolutist weirdos. She promised to explain soon.

On the road, Astarion readied his bow suddenly, the only one to hear a subtle sound in the underbrush while the others were deep in discussion. They all stopped and trained their ears and eyes on what he heard.

The bushes rustled. He pulled back. He let go.

“No!” Eletha cried. His arrow sank into her back, above the shoulder blade. It was inches away from slicing open her neck. Astarion was frozen in horror.

Eletha didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she was laughing, playing with the bear that came out of the brush. It looked more like a pack animal than a bear, a leather harness strapped to its back to carry bags of things.

“Bonnet, my sweet girl!” she cooed, scritching the animal’s face. “You found me! What a good girl!”

“When you said you had a companion I was imagining a more… dog-like animal,” Wyll remarked uncertainly, a slight chuckle in his voice.

“At least it wasn’t a wolf,” Shadowheart said thankfully, approaching Eletha to deal with the arrow. She shot Astarion a look. “Are you going to apologize?”

“I-” he started, finally coming to. He was ready to apologize, but then scoffed and rolled his eyes. “It’s her fault, she jumped in the way!”

“You’re impossible.”

“Hey, let’s go back to camp,” Eletha said happily, trying to free herself from the bear’s affection. “Bonnet doesn’t fight, so I’d like to take her back and take all this stuff off her.”

“You should rest your shoulder, too,” Shadowheart reminded her, a suspicious squint to her eyes. Eletha actually seemed surprised to see the arrow’s shaft wiggling in the corner of her vision.

“Oh! I barely noticed.”

“How could you barely notice…” Wyll muttered to himself, a little horrified.

“I’ll explain after dinner. Let’s get going.”

True to her word, Eletha stood before them all.

“Look, this isn’t that serious, especially considering… One of you is a bomb, another is a vampire, one has made literal deals with devils, and, ya know, Karlach set a building on fire.” A few chuckles sounded around the fire, easing the tensions. “That’s all to say… I’m cursed.”

“What kind of curse? Where did it come from? How long have you had it?” Gale asked, a mix of excitement and seriousness.

“Well, I guess it’s not so much a curse as a… side effect? I made a deal with a fey and my payment is… I burst into flames during the new moon.”

Silence covered the campfire. Wyll opened his mouth to comment, but then thought better of it. Without waiting for anyone to say anything, she continued, rather happily.

“Yeah, so, tonight’s the new moon so I’m gonna… be naked and on fire next to the river all night.” She gave the sky a quick glance and started undoing the laces of her boots. “Kinda cutting it close, but we’ll be alright. Worst case, need to find new small clothes…”

“Wait, seriously? You’re just going to be on fire all night?” Karlach asked, the situation just sinking in. “Won’t that… hurt?”

“Oh, yes, it’s excruciating. I got used to it a while ago though.” Eletha got down to her underwear before some of them started turning colors and looking away. “Sorry. Been a while since I’ve had an audience. Forgot some people are shy.”

Karlach held up a hand like a child in class. Eletha pointed at her and she asked, “Do you think we could… touch each other? While you’re on fire?”

“Oh, that’s a good question…” Eletha rubbed her chin in thought. Then she held out her hand, palm flat, fingers to the sky. “High five!”

Karlach carefully smacked her palm against Eletha’s. The elf didn’t yell like Karlach expected, just shook it off. “We’ll try again when the sun goes down.”

They didn’t wait long, the sun was already low in the sky when she got ready for her fiery transformation. They were all varying levels of curious. Eletha seemed more bored than anything. It was an incredibly novel experience by now.

Then it started. Her blue-pale skin reddened, then split, and from those cracks came white flames. They grew and spread until her whole body was covered in an even level of fire, like a very weird wick. The hair on her head quickly turned to ash and blew away, as did her underwear. Excitedly, Eletha once again offered Karlach her hand.

They high-fived. They shook hands. They exchanged playful punches. With each experimental touch, Karlach grew more ecstatic. Eventually, she scooped Eletha up and crushed her in a massive hug.

“I can’t believe it! I’m touching someone!”

“You hug me any tighter, you might put me out,” Eletha wheezed. Karlach loosened her grip. “You gotta refer me to your tailor. I’d combust for some fire-proof clothes.”

“You’re so funny!” Karlach cried, literally in tears.

After everyone went off to bed and Karlach finally tired herself out from having a new non-flammable friend, Eletha sat on the cool sand of the riverbank, looking much like a small bonfire. 

“Mind if I join you for a bit?” Gale asked, startling her. He didn’t exactly employ a silent step. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“No, it’s just-” Eletha wiggled a finger by her ear. “It’s loud.”

“I imagine the sound of ones own ears burning like the edges of a nice roast is quite… distracting. Luckily, most people wouldn’t hear it for long.” Eletha chuckled, a little bit exaggerated in order to be heard. “Ah! You didn’t take offense.”

“I have a thick skin.” Gale laughed, but it seemed to surprise him.

“I’m curious; what will you look like in the morning?”

“No hair. My skin will be normal, but tender. Recent burns tend to go away, but unfortunately- or fortunately, if that’s how you choose to see it- old scars don’t go away.”

“Fascinating…” Gale considered some things as they sat in relative silence. “What was it? For which you are so afflicted.”

“We don’t know each other well enough for that.”

“A fair answer.” After a moment of him scratching his chin, Eletha said, “Peace of mind.”

“Mm… a rare thing. Was it worth it?”

Eletha shrugged casually. “Sometimes. A lot of the time? It’s not really relevant. But when it is? I’m really glad. And by now, I’m used to it. Sometimes it’s fun. I’m a folk monster somewhere near Arabel.”

“Do tell.”

“Age-old story. Drunk village men, doing whatever it is humans do in the woods. Be drunk, fight, make a mess. They see me, white dancing flame, lose their minds. By the time I pass through town, trying to trade pelts and such, they’ve already distributed some story about a fire elemental on the loose. I come through maybe a hundred years later, still scaring kids with stories about the scary fire demon.”

“I’m sure a bard could dress it up for you.”

“I’m not really one for stories, though I’ve had a few adventures. Wyll has me beat, though. I’m just much older.”

“I am sure this one will prove to be worth recounting in many a tavern some day.” He chuckled nervously. “I came here hoping to thank you for helping me. I suppose you… understand some of my plight.”

“We all have our burdens. You’re my friend, don’t worry about it.”

“Ah… friend? Hmm… I like the sound of that. It has been a long time since I have made a friend.”

“I understand quite well. I would shake your hand, but…”

“Yes, this camp isn’t big enough for three humanoid torches.” Gale smiled and then laughed at his own joke.

“Go to bed, Bhin. Young’uns might be full of energy, but they still need their rest.”

“Quite right. Good night, Eletha. I hope you burn a little less tonight.”

While trying to go to sleep, Gale would realize how dumb that sounded. The sentiment, however, was received in the manner it was meant.

[enemyoflactose]

Euroshipping for @iamallyetnotatall . It's a little on the angsty side. I hope you still like it. I still need to come up with a title for this.

The sound of a keyboard being relentlessly typed at resonated throughout the massive office of the world famous, Seto Kaiba.

This wasn't at all unordinary. He was usually in his office working on coming up with either a new Duel Disk system, or coming up with a new tournament idea. Currently, it was the latter.

This wasn't a particularly important tournament. Well, not important for getting the King of Games title, or any title really. It was mostly a charity event in which the best duelists from around the world would duel not only each other, but whatever adoring fan they had.

Right now, it is just in the planning stage and it hasn't actually been announced yet. It still took priority over the new Duel Disk upgrade, he could work on that later.

“Hey! Seto!” The sharp yell of Mokuba rang through his ears.

“What is it Mokuba?” That’s weird, Mokuba usually doesn’t bother him while he’s working.

“It’s about time you answered, I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes,” he scolded, “Anyway, I was just coming in to ask if you got Ryou his gift yet, or y’know made any plans with him.”

Gift? Plans? Why would he need to do that? Was Ryou feeling down and he just hadn’t caught it yet? Or was there some sort of special occasion he’d forgotten about?

“Why would I need to do that? Did something happen?”

If looks could kill, Seto would've died the very moment he ended that first sentence.

“Are you kidding me Seto!?” He cried, “You Didn't Do Anything For Ryou For Valentine’s Day!?”

“Mokuba I have a job to worry about-”

“You also have a boyfriend to worry about!”

Seto didn't have a retort. He did have Ryou, and he was probably waiting for him to call for a surprise date.

The thought of him waiting for a call or for Seto to show up only for neither of those to happen, wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world.

“Mokuba, tell Isono to set up a date for me and Ryou. Preferably at our house.”

｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+⁠*⁠.⁠✧⁠.⁠｡•⁠*⁠✧⁠*⁠。

“Thank you for staying late to help set up the new exhibit, Bakura-san,” Ishizu said, “this never would've been finished on time without you.”

“It's no problem, I'm always happy to help! And you know you can call me Ryou, right?”

Ishizu rubbed the back of her head and let out a breathy laugh, “Ah, I suppose I should now. I'm just so used to calling you by your surname.”

They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Ishizu spoke again, “By the way Ba-Ryou, do you have any plans with Kaiba-san this evening?”

This evening? Did Seto plan something and he forgot?

“Um, I'm not sure. I don't think so, why?”

“Oh,” she sounded surprised, “well I guess I should have expected that from you two. Valentine's Day isn't something either of you care for, is it?”

Valentine's Day? VALENTINE'S DAY?!

“I-i-I have to go. See you Monday Ishizu.” He stuttered and ran off.

*⁠.⁠✧｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡.•°✧⁠*⁠

Ryou ran down the streets of Domino. His feet hitting the pavement of the sidewalk in hard, fast steps.

‘Valentine’s day!’ he screamed at himself, ‘I can't believe I forgot!’

How he managed to forget the international holiday was beyond him. It was displayed everywhere, his friends were talking non stop about their plans, and Ryou had been given twice as many love letters and presents from unknown individuals. How did he manage to forget?

Coming to a sharp turn, Ryou slipped and fell face down on his chest.

‘First I forget about Valentine's Day, then I eat absolute shit. What a day…’

Crawling up from his fall and only wincing slightly, Ryou was suddenly lifted up and placed on his feet.

“Are you alright?” an all too familiar voice asked.

Ryou turned around and was greeted by the sight of the one person he really needed to avoid for at least an hour, “Seto..?”

“Hey, you're coming with me.”

Seto dragged him away from the corner and towards his car, tossing Ryou in the passenger side, and driving off once in his own seat.

Ryou fiddled with his coat’s collar, “so uhm, where are we going?”

“My place, I have something planned for you.”

Oh no… Seto had something for Ryou, but Ryou didn't have anything for Seto. He was the worst boyfriend ever. Tears were starting to prickle in his eyes. I can't believe this.

“Hey don't cry,” the soothing voice of Seto Kaiba demanded, “I know this seems like a last minute thing on my part, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you. I'm sorry I forgot.”

What? Seto hadn't remembered either? Well that made things less bad. Though he certainly had more of a reason to forget. Ryou didn't.

“I'm sorry, that's not why I'm upset,” his voice cracked slightly, “it's just that even though you forgot you still managed to do something for me, but I don't have anything to give you. Not even a card.” he was almost crying at this point.

Seto didn't respond. He only reached out a hand and ruffled Ryou's hair. This action soothed some of his nerves, but he was still upset.

“Don't worry about it. I don't care if you didn't get me anything, just that you owned up to it, and still want to be with me. We can still have a great Valentine's Day, but only if you stop crying and enjoy the evening with me.”

Ryou sniffled, and wiped the tears from his eyes. Seto was right… All that mattered was that they remembered now and still loved each other.

“You're right, I'm sorry.” he apologized.

Seto let out a sigh, and took his hand off Ryou's head to focus more on driving.

“Don't apologize for being stressed about this. Be glad we both forgot and not just one of us,” Seto snickered a bit, “that would have been worse.”

That little comment made all worries leave Ryou's mind, he smiled and let himself finally relax.

“Ok. Still love me?” He tried to cuddle up to Seto, but the seat belts made it difficult.

“Yeah. But only if you never bring this up again.”

Ryou giggled, and agreed. That was probably for the best. They could always have a better Valentine's Day next year.

[atonalginger]

WIP Wednesday

thanks for the tag @eridanidreams! I tag anyone who has something they would like to share.

My WIP sample today is from the Sam x Lila oneshot I shared a snip of a little while back. I've settled on calling it Unique Cargo and will finish it soonish...need to get to a comfortable point with the Ranger!Del fic and take a day to put finishing touches on the oneshot...anyway the WIP:

--

“Have you really boxed a terrormorph?” Ruby asked from her nest of pillows and blankets in a big chair in the living room. She was barely visible from her nest, her little voice slightly muffled by the pillow she rested her chin on.

Goose snorted a laugh from his chair, nearly choking on the popcorn he was eating. Lila giggled into Sam’s chest, her body bouncing with her laughter while curled up next to Sam. His arm bounced with her body, jostling him slightly as he stared at the large monitor on the wall.

His team was losing this series and he’d lost interest with the game so he didn’t bother pausing before answering the little one’s question, “I have. Several actually, but not all at once.”

Ruby’s little head popped up, her hazel eyes wide, “why?”

“Because he’s a touch crazy,” Goose joked.

Sam flashed Goose a ‘knock it off’ glance and looked to Ruby, “guns jam, knives break, but my fists haven’t failed me yet.”

“And he’s a touch crazy,” Lila added, a playful pinch catching him in the side making him jump, “but I think that’s true for most of the family. It’s what brought us together.”

Ruby smiled bright and then settled back into her nest, “have you ever wrestled an ashta?”

“I might’ve.”

“What about a siren?” Ruby asked.

“One or two,” he admitted.

“Have you ever punched a dropsalm? Ruby asked.

“Yup,” he sipped his beer, wondering how long this line of questions might go.

“What about a crocodaunt?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Tuskfrogs?”

“Yup.”

“What about a beetle grazer?”

“Never met a beetle grazer who caused me grief,” Sam smiled, realizing she was checking to see if he was listening.

Ruby peeked over her blankets again, “have you really punched all the others?”

“I have.” He admitted.

“Why were you on Jemison? It’s toxic or something there now.” Ruby asked.

“Loooong story,” He stretched.

“Do you punch everything?” Ruby asked.

“Nope.”

“Sometimes he kicks,” Lila teased.

Ruby giggled and disappeared into her nest.

(bonus second excerpt)

Lila’s laid her head on Sam’s chest and hugged him tight as he tapped his lamp to switch it off. It had been a long day getting Ruby settled into her new room and would take time for the little girl to relax at the ranch. Sam knew they should have stayed in Kryx a while longer or returned to Maheo where there were budding settlements. A place for her to be around people and get more in person care from her therapist. But she just wanted to hide so they retreated to the ranch. In a few weeks they’d head back to the Key for the Bitter Angel and a recheck with Samina and they could see to that then.

“We aren’t really going to be taking her raiding with us, are we?” Lila asked him, her voice a whisper.

“Bitter Angel is a safer ship than whatever either of us were carting Cora around in,” Sam said as he ran fingers up and down her back, “and it’s not like we’re going to raiding non-stop.”

“I suppose,” Lila kissed his chest.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

She pushed herself up and leaned close to his face, kissing him softly before speaking, “we’re in uncharted territory again.”

“We’ll be okay,” he said, even as his own worries continued to gnaw at him.

“We will,” she agreed, “it’s exciting.”

“It is,” he smiled.

She cuddled in close, her arm draped over his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to relax as his mind buzzed with all the things they needed to do. There were lessons to find, furniture to build, xeno to hunt, greenhouses to harvest. And little Ruby would be right there with all her curious questions. His smile lingered as sleep started to claim him, the realization that he was looking forward to the curious inquisitor tomorrow.

[solace-sylphieee]

For Contents Moving Forward...

The very first post in my tumblr and it ends as my final notice for 时空中的绘旅人 / For All Time / HLR / Lovebrush Chronicles / LBC.

The irony.

But anyway figured I should do here cuz it's going to be quite the long essay from me.

We're now halfway through March, White Day's almost here and so is my 3rd Anniversary Emerald's Wedding Ring Merch.

THAT'S RIGHT

I'm gonna get married with Emerald / Cael and retire for good to enjoy my marri-

...

To hell with that, I really can't bring myself to finish that bs.

But anyway the intention is still there - I am planning to retire from HLR / LBC but before that, I will clear off some of my stuff and I will drop the game as a whole: 1. Retrospring QnAs for the guide account I'm part of: @stshelterpedia 2. Chronological Summary to the game's story (had been requested to do this cuz the event release is now extremely messed up) 3. Claiming all my remaining monthly pack resources

For my followers from Twitter, new and old, I have gone missing from releasing the translation of game news for a long time, and now I feel the need and for the first time, share my thoughts in a very elaborative manner instead.

Sorry for ghosting on you guys for so long and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the follows all this while, even with me neglecting the translations here and there.

Although I believe many take me as a source of news translation and no more than that, there are still some who I've build relationship with as well throughout the years.

Now onto my retirement from this game and the translation thereof:

Do take note there's going to be some spoilers too -

Work may have been one of the reasons behind it as I've been way too occupied this year comparatively, but the very main factor would be the fact that I've lost my love and passion for this game.

In all honesty, I've stopped reading the Card Stories since Paradise / Eden and Event Stories since Onmyoji Collab. And for my long-time followers, I'm not sure if it's that obvious, but I have stopped fangirling or make any remarks on the game content for years - which I guess is quite the obvious sign from then on.

I loved HLR / LBC for its plot. I loved how plot is the driving force and priority of the game since the beginning. I loved how everything revolves around the plot, including the charaters to Event Stories and Card Stories.

But alas, all of that are past tense for me.

I may have been biased cuz I stopped reading all the side contents, so it's just the impressions I'm getting from the discussions I have with my friend. But for me after Destiny Corridor (DC) iirc? Fan service becomes the driver in this bus.

DC has its own share of service, but I feel the wrmth from deep down. All the nostalgia and warmth, and that's the peak storytelling before its downwards slope for me.

Personally I don't mind fan services, but for me it feels like Event Story has become more and more irrelevant to Main Story, unlike in the past. Card Story is there to build some background story, but since it's more fan servicey now, it's just a stalemate story with barely any development.

At least that's what I feel and my impressions here and there.

Some may wanna ask: "But isn't Empire series the most Main Story relevant Event Story?"

Yeah, it should be, cuz it's almost the deadline (iirc supposedly by 4th year) that Empire Chapter will begin for Main Story and the final route of it marks the end of Season 1.

But the latest one I've read - Tidal-Disruption, Admiral Star / Prefect Luminance side specifically, actually disappointed me a whole lot.

Chosen is written brilliantly to make us fear Maker more, but in juxtaposition Star / Luminance had a great start but a meh ending.

I find that the appeal behind Star / Luminance is that he is interested in MC for how strong she is emotionally and wants to break her, believing she will also be his greatest and most perfect creation cuz his other 'collections' can't withstand his 'molding'. All the revelations is nice and all, then suddenly he becomes so infatuated with MC he accepts his name as Alkaid (THAT DUDE HAS BEEN DENYING AND REJECTING OF SO STRONGLY SINCE HIS APPEARANCE) and play family with MC, imprisoning her and the story went like husband going back home to a lovely wife waiting for him treting his wounds.

I just

??????

DUDE WHERE DID YOUR COLDNESS, INDIFFERENCE WENT?

WHY DID YOU BECOME SO LOVE LORNED?????

I believed he had been better than that but he made my inner Asian Parent Disappointment surge up and I can only shake my head at the end when he decided to just let MC go.

Others let go cuz they are interested to see how far she can go, cuz she's not a threat at all, cuz she's a great piece for their plans, or cuz of their own twisted obssession; but for him it feels like a bad attempt in making him more romanceable.

End of ranting for now else it's gonna be for eternity.

Stories aside, what prompted me to ultimately announce my retirement as a whole is the moment I realise I hadn't logged into the game for 2 days (my birb brain had thought it's only 1 day).

That's right, 2 days and I didn't feel any urgency or frustrations for missing out on the resources. This is as of today, 10 March 2024:

While on the other hand I feel like choking myself for missing my morning grind for another game.

With such comparison, I figure it's high time I check this off with a notice for everyone.

It has been a long journey and I enjoyed the companion of this game that also bring many new encounters for me.

But it is also time for me to bid the game adieu.

Feel free to unfollow me on my Twt if you're not interested in seeing me anymore.

Moving forward, I might begin some other translation project for games I took interest in (time to see if 世界之外 Beyond The World's grip be that strong on me) and I will also share a more elaborative train of thoughts here too.

Thanks for reading all the way here, my DMs in Twt are open for chats, and feel free to interact with me. I will be more than happy to share my thoughts with you too :)

[shummashum]

Zeus Brundle Happy Ending [17~21]

She decided to leave the final stop of this tour entirely up to him. So the place they went was…

oh… the library? it looks so gloomy and dreary and dismal put some proper lighting on it, it's okay if the place doesn't live up to its name so please…

well… it's kinda impressive though

Accidentally stumbling upon a book she had wanted to read for a long time, she grabbed it up and sat down at a nearby desk.

what do you think is the reason for the existence of library…… you know what a library is, right? you're just joking, right?

I bet he's going to use his textbook as a trivet

how can she get it back if he steals the book like that completely behind in reach guess he's about 186~188cm tall? he'd have long arms then she has no choice but to lose the book :/

woah stop what are you doing now in this sacred space of learning do that somewhere outside!! don't in the library behave fucking behave

okay what can I do, anyway what can I do but groan in pain through the screen just don't get caught please……

okay! I think a kiss is okay it would be okay if they don't go beyond that please I beg you I don't like public stuff,,,,,,,,

this guy is a glass canon… right? his attack stats is indeed high, but his defense stats is noticablely low we should take advantage of that he tends to be weak in unexpected situations… so the answer is a kiss in return break his guard down!!

ha you can handle it? you just say that but I doubt you actually have any experience, my instincts tell me so

well, whatever! if you once start, show me the end hang on a second, I'll get some movie glasses and some popcorn…

huh wait what wait!! what's that hairstyle what!! why did my twin-tail bishoujo become two-side-up this is not good

what what are you doing now in this sacred space of learning just do that kind of stuff in the dorm… do you guys really have to do the deed here? in a place where there is no bed, no sofa, and only a hard wooden chair and desk? in a public place?? is this how all Gen Z live these days……

that's right!! that mindset go counter attack go

oh… she really did it

I got the feeling they'll compete with each other to take the lead when the time comes a competition to see who can send the other person to climax first huh lewd

zako ww so bad at defense www he is definitely a glass canon creak!!

they say that if you think someone is cute, it's game over if you think someone is cool, that impression can be broken at any time; but if you think someone is cute, they look cute no matter what they do

trailer bgm on I really like it when they play this song in the ending scene, it sure makes emotion heightened…

wa!! happy ending!!

So the Zeus route, which started on Dec 11th, was finished on Jan 25th. I'll just overlook that the upload date is the 26th

Review

It was fairly fun! Solmare must have prepared a lot during the cataclysm. The amount of content has increased significantly compared to the previous season… It's a good thing that there are many delicious things to eat.

The biggest difference from the previous season is: regular characters with unique personalities showed themselves. In previous seasons, only the characters from each season received screen time, and the rest took a backseat. But now S6 comrades (Z H A C L) continue to appear in the story and build a bond with Liz. Then there will be no such thing as a kinda unrealistic story like "I revealed my dark backstory to someone I met less than two weeks ago and I was saved by them." Moreover from the player's perspective, there is a much higher chance of feeling attached to the characters. It kills two birds with one stone!

This Zeus guy doesn't have any special backstory, but therefore, his route was able to provide a solid foundation for outlining a preliminary explanation of how the story will flow in future seasons, introducing the personalities and settings of S6 comrades. As I said before, it felt like a pilot episode… but in a good way. Given the cataclysmic event, it was essential to provide an explanation of the unfolding events, and I believe Solmare did a good job of using his route. There were a few scenes that made me wonder why they existed, but overall it was a very enjoyable story! Quite delicious.

About the character Zeus… self-centered, childish, overconfident, impatient, hot-tempered, and reckless dumbass, but unhateable! like that. I like this kind of goofy and idiotic guy. I already had a high affinity for this character just by glancing at him a few times on Tumblr before reading the story. Honestly I didn't give him a good evaluation in the first two chapters because… it's obvious. I even slightly lost hope in some of his "behavior used for a certain purpose" and that kind of behavior in Ch5. But! A lot of extra points were added in his creaking scene at the end of Ch8. I like a glass canon. Still, I think he would be better as a goofygoofy vibe side character rather than as a love interest… I'm looking forward to the stupid things he does in the later routes!

Trivia

It takes longer to read one character's story than I thought… considering there was a gap of about a week in between, roughly 6 weeks. not short. I can write one post a day because it's vacation now, but once the semester starts, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to maintain that frequency…? Well I'll think about it later, anyway my goal is to play all Season 7 routes within this year.

Aaaannd, I'll start Klaus' route in February. His birthday is Jan 26th, so I was originally going to start on that day, but writing this took up more of my mental energy than I thought, so I decided to take a little break this month.

btw when can I see his normal ending and unhappy ending, there are too many routes to observe and I don't have time to look at the one I've already seen erm.......... time to use youtube power again I guess

[cyberphuck]

I've been working hard, I've earned an infodump about my comfort character, right? The blorbo I put in Situations? Yeah!

SIT DOWN @qthewhatever IT'S TIME TO LEARN ABOUT ISILUD TENGILLE

(under a cut because I have *manners.*)

Isilud Tengille!

(we don't talk about his psx translation name!)

There he is, the boy! That's it, just a lil green dude! He's in three scenes! (people counting: abandoning Wiegraf and bleeding out both count as half a scene.)

Isilud is a Templar Knight working for the final fantasy tactics Church, sent-- along with his good buddy Wiegraf Folles-- to steal the Virgo Stone, a priceless religious artifact. He's 16 and he loves his job, which he got through nepotism (his dad is the leader of the Templar).

You first encounter Isilud at the monastery where Virgo is housed, where he casually stabs a defenseless old priest before stepping over his body and running to the lower vaults to grab the loot. Your main character charges down after him, and you smack into him while he's coming back up the stairs with a suspicious Virgo-shaped lump in his pocket.

Tactics likes to do this thing where it locks you into several (usually pretty difficult) battles in a row; Isilud is the second of these at the monastery. He's got a gang of both regular and Grasshopper knights crawling all over his battle map, which is a library where you can walk between or on top of bookshelves. Isilud is pretty much just a knight with rainbow sprinkles, but-- for some insane reason, as a boss whose fight takes place *underground*-- has both the "jump" and "ignore elevation" abilities, usually reserved for grasshopper knights who shoot 60 feet in the air and then land on you to deal damage.

(The jump ability is fun and useful if you're using it. When enemies use it it's fucking annoying, because you can't hit them while they're in the air.)

Anyway, Isilud's response to the main character's query of "why are you working for the Church, which the plot has established sucks a lot" is "the Church does not suck, in fact it's awesome, we want less corruption and more equality, and you should be helping us do that!"

(unbeknownst to Isilud, every single word in that sentence is wrong.)

Main character points out that Isilud literally just punctured a priest, and that's not very equality of him, but Isilud shrugs and says "you gotta break a couple of eggs to make an omelet. Also, you murdered a Cardinal."

("The end does not justify the means, do you even hear yourself, people are fucking dying" is the main theme of the game.)

The main character knows that the holy stones, including Virgo, that the Church is collecting are actually chunks of evil rock that turn people into demons. When he gently breaks this to Isilud, he says "NUH UH" and runs away.

That is the only battle you have against Isilud.

Isilud sprints for the exit, grabs main character's sister as a hostage, drags her out of the monastery, steps over a dying Wiegraf--

"Wiegraf, are you ok?!"

--and then makes his escape, only to be IMMEDIATELY stopped and taken prisoner by another dude.

(I am not even going to attempt to explain the different factions in final fantasy tactics, suffice to say this other dude is not on Isilud's side but he's not on your side either.)

Much later, Isilud is confronted by his father, who's just found out that Isilud lost all the special holy rocks he was carrying when he was captured. Enraged, his dad slaps him across the face and the animation for this is fantastic. I used to have a gif of it but idk where it is now, so here's one of Wiegraf killing his own dude:

And here's one of Delita punching Argath:

Which is a fan favorite.

Moving on.

After Isilud's dad is finished performing percussive maintenance on his son, he turns to the other people in the room, says "you fucked around, now it's time to find out," turns into a demon (hey, the evil demon stones really do make people into demons, who knew) and kills everyone in the room.

Including Isilud.

Isilud's final scene is of him being comforted by the sister he took hostage at the monastery. He begs her to tell her brother "you were right, sorry I tried to kill you" and then complains weakly that it's gotten really dark, and he can't move his arm to grab his sword (he also coughs up blood, another choice piece of sprite animation).

Then he dies.

(Later, HIS sister shows up to avenge his death, main character turns her around and points her at the right people, they go on to kill evil dad and save the ORIGINAL sister, and then everyone gets crushed under a cave-in and/or is trapped in purgatory forever.)

(It's a great game.)

[sfblah]

The Cleanup Crew - Tactical Maid Service

[Previous Chapter]

Chapter 2 time

Now to meet the rest of the main cast. Things still haven't really gotten tactical yet, but should I finish the third chapter sometime this century I promise this series will actually live up to its name eventually lol.

Female sneezes - Various causes

Operation "Crackers"

Cleanup Cafe. A cafe. With maids. A maid cafe.

And today, with one more maid than before.

Over an hour remains until the cafe opens, but she goes around back to the staff entrance anyway. Her hand stops short of the door handle, and her shoulder-length ponytail sways in the breeze for a moment before she finds her resolve and steps inside. 

The break room is more or less what she expected: a table, a few chairs, a series of lockers, and an outdated computer in the corner. The only thing that might seem out of place in any other cafe is the collection of weapons displayed on one wall. Pistols, rifles, shotguns, and so on, most of which she recognizes from various video games. Her eyes drift across a few empty pegs, and she can only hope she wasn’t supposed to bring her own.

“Ah, Miss Bucket, you’ve arrived.”

A low, calm, and mature voice, but it still startles the maid enough to make her jump. It sounds like the same person she’d spoken to after her assessment, but there’s really no way to be sure. And… ‘Miss Bucket’? She really should have done more to assert that that would not be her nickname.

A tall, proper woman emerges from around the corner, blonde hair in a claw clip updo and clad in a black and white maid outfit. Sharp but tired eyes pierce through the large, circular lenses of her glasses, and Bucket finds herself frozen to the spot.

“Uh. Hi,” she stammers, unable to give even a little wave. Why is she so anxious? She already got the job. Just clock in, collect a paycheck, and…

“Again I’d like to welcome you to The Cleanup Crew. You may call me ‘Kerchief,’ or simply ‘Manager.’ I hope you enjoy your first day with us.”

Bucket fidgets in place.

“Um, yeah. You too. I mean… Yeah.”

“Please don’t be nervous,” commands Kerchief, her flat tone of voice doing little to reassure her new subordinate. “I’m sure you want to meet the rest of the team, but first, I have an assignment for you.”

Bucket gulps. Is this going to be some kind of initiation thing? Something to get blood on her hands and keep her from running off and snitching? Kerchief begins to move away from the weapon wall, and Bucket enjoys a moment of relief before her manager pushes open the door to the kitchen.

“Your first task is to prepare something to eat. It could be a meal, a snack, anything that strikes your fancy. Then, you are to come out to the floor and serve us as if we were your customers. I think that would be a lovely way for you to introduce yourself.”

After Kerchief disappears into the next room, Bucket takes a second to shake out her nervousness, wiggling from her feet all the way to her head. She skips through the door, and… It’s just a kitchen. No command center, no vast collection of weapons. Hardly any euphemisms for murder to be found. For better or worse, the maid has little time to catch up before Kerchief is already on the way out another door.

“We’ll be right through here, Miss Bucket. See you soon.”

“Wait, I…”

And the door swings shut.

Bucket limply lifts her hands and lets them fall back to her sides. Great. Time to navigate this whole-ass restaurant-ass kitchen, because she definitely knows how to do that. Gotta start somewhere, just open a cabinet, any old cabinet.

Seasoning. Condiments. Is salt a condiment?

The pepper grinder lays on its side, along with a sprinkling of that black and gray dust. Bucket frowns and shuts the door, grumpily pressing her fingers across the underside of her nose as she turns away.

Just make something simple. More involved than handing out ketchup packets, but this didn’t exactly seem like a Michelin star operation.

Bucket squats down, checking the cabinets below the counter this time. Her eyes clench shut and she gives her pudgy nose an upward wipe with her palm, still feeling a peppery itch somewhere inside. Then, once she finally has a chance to look… Flour!

Perfect! Flour goes in all kinds of stuff, like bread, and other things made out of bread. Bucket grabs the bag, struggling with its surprising weight for a moment, and slams it down on the counter. She spies a stack of mixing bowls at the other end of the counter, and she slides over the biggest one she can get her hands on. Ready to finally get started, she tears the bag of flour open and begins to pour.

Suddenly, Bucket’s mind and expression both go blank. Flour continues to flow as the maid’s teardrop-shaped nostrils flare and constrict. Like it or not, it seems the pepper is ready to leave.

“ah… ah-ahh…”

The last of the flour falls into the bowl as Bucket’s breathing begins to heave and hitch. The bag wasn’t big enough to completely overfill the bowl, but a veritable mountain of white powder stands before her nonetheless. At least, until…

“aaAAH-CHOOOO!!!”

The hapless maid sneezes up a blizzard that envelops half the kitchen. Her face and clothes above the waist are completely covered in flour, a few clumps falling away as she weakly opens her eyes. She barely has time to realize what happened before her face scrunches up again and she delivers another “haa-CHHHOOO!” into the bowl.

After the second explosion of flour settles, Bucket cringes and cracks one eye open. The blow is softened ever so slightly by the kitchen’s already largely white decor, but the powdery mess is undeniable.

“Oops…” she mumbles, sheepishly rubbing an outstretched index finger back and forth under her nostrils. After a look over her shoulder at the door to the cafe floor, Bucket makes a token effort at brushing herself off as she runs back to the break room. Partway there it occurs to her that she really should be doing this outside, and so she flings herself through the exit door. Maybe she can change into a fresh uniform and pretend none of this ever happened. Just sweep the flour out and then the wind will… Th-the wind will…

“ah-ahh-ahhh-CHOOO!!”

A layer of white bursts away from the maid as she sneezes again. She snuffles and rubs a finger hard under her nose, bending it from side to side. And when she straightens up, Bucket finds salvation gazing upon her from across the street.

Paying no attention to any potential traffic and still blotchy with flour, Bucket flees to the catty-corner convenience store. She clumsily ducks down to hopefully avoid being seen through the cafe’s front window, and a moment later she sneaks her way back with equal care, hugging a tub of premade frosting and a box of club crackers to her chest.

“Um… H-hi, master. Sorry for the wait,” Bucket stammers, finally emerging from the kitchen. One hand holds a plate of frosted cra- Frosted cookies, while the other timidly rubs her nose. Her voice cracks when she sees not one, not two, but three fellow maids seated around a table. One of them is Kerchief, her manager from earlier, but the others are new to her.

On the left is a pale, gloomy maid with a bob of green hair and long, straight bangs that completely cover her face above the cheekbones. Including both eyes. If she even has eyes. And on the right sits a boyish, muscular maid wearing a lopsided smile. Dark skin, short and spiky black hair, and a bandage across the bridge of her long, upturned nose. Both turn to face their new companion, and each gives a little wave. Bucket swallows nervously and resumes her approach.

As she arrives at the table, muscle maid leaps from her chair and rushes over.

“Hey there, Bucket! Pleased to meet’cha!” she exclaims, offering a hard slap on the shoulder. Her other hand flies to the plate and pops a frosted cracker into her mouth.

“Ooh, nice cookies,” she says as she chews. “Sweet and salty’s a good mix. Anyway, call me Duster!” She pauses to swallow. “And this is Mop!” She gestures to the green-haired maid, who ‘looks’ up at Bucket and wordlessly waves again. “Welcome to the team!”

Kerchief, Duster, Mop, and Bucket. What a world. Settling into panic mode autopilot, Bucket deposits her plate on the table and sits in the one vacant chair. Mop and Kerchief each take a cracker of their own, and Bucket feels a massive weight lift from her shoulders when neither offers a complaint.

“What’s your secret ingredient?” Mop suddenly asks, startling Bucket out of her trance. Her lips part, but before she can bullshit an answer, her nostrils decide to respond for her. “Well, I… I… ah… ahh… CHOOOO!!”

[gio-cosmo]

ooh, 14, 21 and 22?

Hiii ^^

14. Worst game you’ve ever played?

ooo this one’s tough…realistically, the worst game I’ve ever played is probably some low-budget knockoff wii game I played as a kid or something LMFAOO but I feel like that’s a predictable answer on my part. I feel like I’ve had pretty good luck with games I end up playing, I’m really picky so usually I just. Refuse to pick up a game at all if it doesn’t look interesting lmfaoo. I will say though….the two games I most regret purchasing are Fire Emblem Engage & Pokemon Scarlet 😭 they aren’t the worst games ever by any means but. They were both 60 bucks and I never play them. Very devastating for my measly bank account 😢 ALSO tbf I feel like the reason I dislike Fire Emblem Engage is bc I want another Fire Emblem game to kind of go along the same layout of Three Houses…not a direct copy obviously but Three Houses was just so good. It’s so good in fact that any time I play any other Fire Emblem game that ISN’T Three Houses I’m like….🫤 LMFAOO which I know isn’t a very good mindset for me to have and I should stop comparing them so heavily but…alas. BUT I suppose I can’t even really give Engage a proper rating since I haven’t finished it. Idk I just didn’t really care for the storyline or characters but that’s just me personally.

21. A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving?

There’s actually quite a few where this has happened!! There’s been a plethora of games I’ve seen on Steam or in a store and I’ll look it over and be like “ehhh this really doesn’t look like my thing…but it has good ratings…and it’s under my recommended…” and then I’ll usually set it off to the side, and once I get really incredibly bored I’ll cave in and buy it just to give me something to do LMAOO. Needy Streamer Overload was one where I was very skeptic about at first, but I actually really ended up enjoying it (I especially love the soundtrack!) and also World of Horror! I remember seeing people say it was boring and the game mechanics looked so overwhelming so I put off buying it forever, but I finally got it a few weeks ago and it’s probably my fav horror game of all time now. I’m mentally kicking myself for avoiding it so avidly for so long! I don’t find it boring at all, I love games that are built to be replayed as many times as you want. It was funny though bc when I first started playing I was so confused..had me staring at the screen like ☹️ LMFAOO I WAS ACTUALLY BEFUDDLED. But after a few playthroughs it ends up being easy to understand which I am very thankful for. ALSO. Slay the Princess!! Another one I avoided for a while for..honestly idek why. But oh my GODDD I LOVE SLAY THE PRINCESS WOOO YAYYY 🎉 slay the princess honestly was such a crazy surreal experience idek how to describe it. It’s so awesome. It’s coming out on the Switch w a 200 dollar collectors addition thingy and oh my god. Bro. I am DEVASTATED at my lack of funds 😭😭 I actually have to put it out of my mind bc if I think abt it excessively I get really sad 💔 ANYWAYYYSS SHOUTOUT TO SLAY THE PRINCESS 🗣️🗣️ so wonderfully made, beautiful artwork, stunning music…omg. Also grotesque at times but in a way that’s just so fundamentally different and unique? If that makes sense? It’s all so meaningful and connected and they manage to express so many emotions throughout a playthrough. I’ve got every achievement and I’m so happy I gave it a shot :) OH. Also One Shot! One Shot is great…oh my goodness. Woaw. This is making me realize how overly skeptical I am about every game I ever purchase in the history of ever LMFAOO why am I so overly critical 💀 like why do I always have to mull it over for months smh 😭

22. Do you watch any other gamers?

As of right now, no. Not routinely, anyways. I used to be obsessed with watching YouTube game playthroughs as a kid, but I’m not really all that into it anymore. However! I will say that what got me into the Persona franchise back when I was a 5th grade child (?!?!??) is Kubz Scout’s playthrough of it on YouTube! I watched him tons as a kid (someone should’ve been monitoring my internet access for sure 💀) and I still watch some of his gaming videos every now and then. So. Shoutout to Kubz Scout’s for introducing me to my favorite game franchise everrr!! 🗣️🗣️ absolutely crazy that I was watching Persona playthroughs in elementary school though LMFAOO every time I think abt it I’m like … where were my parents at !! 😭

[telomeke]

TAG GAME – THIS OR THAT (BOOKS)

I was tagged by @colourme-feral (at this post here) and @neuroticbookworm (at this post here). Thank you sweeties! 🤗💖

I really should be doing something for work (deadlines are crashing all around me) so of course I'm going to do this tag game. 🤣 Helps that it's a short one.

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THIS OR THAT (BOOKS)

hardcover or paperback // PAPERBACK – they're just easier to handle. But I do try to get my cookbooks all in hardcover, because they last longer.

bookstore or library // BOTH. I love losing myself in a bookstore (one of my favorite memories is curling up in an armchair one chilly fall day in a secondhand bookstore in Ithaca, buried in an American-Chinese cookbook from the 60s that had very credible recipes). But libraries have great reference sections on all sorts of things (I found 100-year old Tamil-French and Tamil-English dictionaries in one, that were much better than the modern one Tamil-English one I’d bought).

bookmark or receipt // RECEIPT – I never seem to have bookmarks handy and I'm not going to make a special trip to buy one just because I'm reading a book. Especially not if a scrap of paper (envelopes, notepaper, receipts) conveniently at hand will do the job (and allow me to jot down notes too).

standalone or series // BOTH – I'll read anything and everything if it takes my fancy.

nonfiction or fiction // NONFICTION most of the time, but the odd work of fiction will also work its way in every now and then.

thriller or fantasy // FANTASY has the edge here, but I wouldn't turn down a good thriller if I was recommended one.

under 300 pages or over 300 pages // BOTH – I can do a long tome if the subject interests me. That said, Lord of the Rings was a trying read but I finished it anyway, if only to be able to say that I'd read it through.

children's or ya // Um, CHILDREN'S? This is an odd one for a grown-ass adult to answer. But as I said before I'll read anything if it piques my interest, so I wouldn't turn down a young adult novel if it was good. But I tend to think children's books are actually quite hard to craft and make interesting, and have a lot of respect for them. And a lot of my favorite works are children's books, so I'll lean toward the younger end on this one.

friends to lovers or enemies to lovers // I don't have a strong preference on this one. But I like enemies to lovers in BL, so maybe that…

read in bed or read on the couch // READ ON THE COUCH. Please. And I mean this as an injunction as well as a statement of my personal preference. The bed is only for sleep and… bed things. NOT reading for hours on end (a few pages at bedtime to wind down doesn't count; that's my second nightcap). Nor is the bed for food; crumbs and spillage, ugh. Any wonder I hate the idea of breakfast in bed? I repeat – for extended reading, go read on the couch.

read at night or read in the morning // BOTH – why restrict your reading time?

keep pristine or markup // KEEP PRISTINE – if I like a book I'll want to keep it enshrined and unbesmirched in the bookcase. I've bought new copies of favorite cookbooks that had started to look worse for wear, just because I wanted them looking unsullied on the shelf (but I didn't throw out the old working copies though; the stains and rips are evidence of how much they're loved and they have pride of place on my kitchen counter).

cracked spine or dog ear // NEITHER – I used to leave my books spine up and flat out, but stopped doing that years ago. And no to dog ears as well. Both go against the preceding guideline of keeping things pristine – if you liked the books, treat them well and you'll have the pleasure of their company for a long, long time.

Currently reading: Nothing in particular (unless you count a foreign language kid's book that I've been reading off and on, as part of language study with the English language counterpart by my side for reference). Most of my reading is done online nowadays, and it's focused on news articles and current affairs.

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I always tag too many people – it makes me feel so guilty leaving anyone out. I know only too well what it's like not to be invited to a party! And then I tag all and sundry even if it means making a nuisance of myself, if only to spare people that feeling of being on the outside looking in (that still haunts me way after my teen years). 😬

Anyway, sorry for unloading my teenage/young adult trauma on you! My last tag game post had dozens of tags, so I'm going to grit my teeth and tag only a few people in this one (whom I didn't tag the last time around). No pressure to play if you don't want to; and if you do want to play but I didn't tag you, please know that I would love to read your responses so do play along if you wish, and tag me so that I can read your post! 😍

Tagging:

@imminentinertia @he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle @wen-kexing-apologist @ranchthoughts @ranchtastic

@starryalpacasstuff @7nessasaryevils @relativelydimensional @blogiamgoingmad

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Here's a clean-slate version if you'd like to play:

hardcover or paperback // bookstore or library // bookmark or receipt // standalone or series // nonfiction or fiction // thriller or fantasy // under 300 pages or over 300 pages // children's or ya // friends to lovers or enemies to lovers // read in bed or read on the couch // read at night or read in the morning // keep pristine or markup // cracked spine or dog ear

Currently reading:

[asurrogateblog]

Sweet! :D Are there any other characters important to the story, aside from the band, you'd like to talk about?

ooh okay!

as usual I am wholly incapable of providing a short answer.

The most interesting side characters to talk about are from Cal's part of the story (basically the epilogue, see the last slide it does require that context)*

*sidenote: I do have side-characters for the "real story" obviously, but one of the points I want to make in the story is how the main cast is so myopically self-obsessed that they don't fully process the consequences of their actions outside of the circle of the three of them until it's way too late. so as a result everyone else is a little less developed (it's on the to-do list

ANYWAY. so as mentioned in the powerpoint, Cal in the present-day owns a little record/instrument shop. And speaking meta-textually, she REFUSES to get involved in an actual plot. I have a few ideas I'm playing around with for where to take her character but usually it's like "yah I'm not doing that." given this stand-off I've resorted to a more slice-of-life style of things. I guess she deserves that. arguably. a lot of philosophical questions there about whether you're responsible for the actions of the people you used to be.

so when I was thinking of her shop, I started thinking about the neighborhood around it. and I asked myself "who would be the funniest person/people to move in next door?"

Meet Arti and Ray! They're lesbian married, they're re-opening the old bar next door, and they just happen to be Clarion Call super fans. They even have matching tattoos and their bar is called Puzzlemaster after the Clarion album. In the CC universe they're definitely on tumblr making "rpf is fine" memes with photos of Roy and Nelson.

Facts about Arti:

Mellow (read: quietly chaotic), observant, creative

Trying to finish her degree in film studies on the side. Dreams of making really unsettling avant-garde horror movies.

Introduced to CC by her mom. She doesn't really talk to her family anymore (....it's complicated), but she kept the love of the music. Nelsongirl.

genuinely really enjoys bartending; mixology master

Facts about Ray:

Energetic, competitive, loud

Works part-time at a daycare to supplement their income; loves kids, should honestly be a gym teacher

Born in the Phillpines; moved to California (bay area) as a kid

Introduced to CC by their cousins. godsend for "teenager struggling to fit in who doesn't realize they're queer yet". Roy stan.

The premise for them is analogous to this: imagine, anon, that one day you're chatting with the old woman who lives next door and it strikes you that she looks a lot like John Lennon. Now consider exactly what would it take for you to go from "haha weird" to "oh my god, I think John Lennon is still alive and an old woman and also my neighbor". And beyond that, what would it take for you to actually accuse her of this.

As they get to know each other, this is the game of psychological chess going on between Cal and Arti & Ray (of course, they'd probably think that she's secretly Izzy Riles.... which she is, but that's only a third of the story).

So that's a little introduction to them! They're a lighter and sillier part of the story and I like them a lot

(I have to stop here. I have to make myself)

[pretty-idol-hell]

Oooh!

Hooray.... grey........

Huuaaah.

Okay, so. Since I noticed myself slipping into the 90s during the day, when I got home from work I decided to just focus on getting in another rank-up before my bonus is gone and forced myself to NOT look at or stress over the ranking until I finished. Currently, I am....

....65th!?

I guess it's safe to say I made it. I'm in the top 100.

Wow.

WOW!

Goddamn.

It seemed so impossible after the March event, but I did learn a lot from that experience. So, now that the event is almost over (actually it will be over when by the time this is posted) I'll share about my strategy. (And other thoughts.)

In the March promise event, I thought that as long as I had a lot of promise tickets I would be fine and tried to grind them down using instant promises towards the end of the event. (At this time, I was used to one good day of grinding being enough on SIF events.) But, I could never catch up to where I wanted to be and quickly realized it was too little too late.

So, I knew this time I had to start early and play consistently. I also decided to do mostly normal promises instead of instant, so I could get the most iine possible out of my tickets. In the meantime, I joined other people's promises while waiting for my own to fill so I could get some free iine on the side.

And this did work noticeably better. But I still wasn't able to crack the top 100.

And that was when I finally caved and did the thing. I put on the classic, the Laala Welcome SCR, and warmed up my fingers for some OPEN DREAM LAND.

So, up until this point I had actually been thinking that promises in the Welcome SCR wouldn't fill because everyone else would be sick of it by now too. But I was wrong.

SO WRONG.

Sometimes my promises filled so quickly that by the time the promise menu screen loaded, it was literally ALREADY FULL. So, as long as I was using the Welcome SCR it was basically the same as doing instant except for full points.

So, at this time I stopped joining other people's promises for the most part, and was largely doing my own regular promises in the Welcome SCR. And this was when I really started getting somewhere.

Unfortunately, this was also when I also started buying promise tickets. For the record, I do think it would have been possible to hit top 100 just using the promise tickets you have and joining other people's promises when you get more. But, only for those who don't have a full-time job and can play full-time Idol Land PriPara. I do have a full-time job, from which I gain money, which can be used to exchange for promise tickets haha ha....

Also I had a 65% bonus from the gatcha. A-Anyway....

During the last few days when I was cruising through the ranking, I was briefly lured into the false sense of... we did it. Maybe we really did it. We saved Idol Land!? How could the game be dying when my promises are filling SO FAST!?

Until of course, I logged into Lucky's account and played one promise to find out that... there are... less than 10,000 active players..... that's half... the number there was... two months ago.............

I was pretty crushed.

I mean, I should have known better but... yeah.

It's been something I've been thinking about all day. About how the game still feels so active despite this?

And I realized hey, wait. What if Idol Land was designed to run better with a smaller player base? I mean, less promises on the board means promises are more visible, which means promises fill faster? Could be.

After all, a lot of the problems we had during Idol Land's launch resulted from them not properly gauging how high initial demand was.

The game is running much better now, and the fans that are left are pretty ride or die at this point I think.

But is that enough.

...............................pro...bab....ly not............

Well, we'll see. If not tomorrow or next week, we'll find out something about the longevity of the game when the Season Select tab updates.

Ah well, no regrets. Idol Land has meant a lot to me, and I really wanted to show them through this event. Even if it was technically all for nothing, I don't feel like it was, strangely.

Well... There's more to say, but I'll pick up on this train of thought when EOS is actually announced officially.

Goodnight all! See you on the other side of the maintenance.

[voidcat-senket]

11, 17, and 23 for the writer ask game!!!!!!

11. Link your three favorite fics right now UHHHHH!! Okay my favorite SGA fic is A Beautiful Lifetime Event where John and Rodney Accidentally Make Baby with Ancient tech, super slow burn, very realistic low key "ohhhh" moment for them getting together, it's been a top fic for me for a long time

My favorite Star Trek (nuTrek) fic is a series actually Mijan's Academy Series the worldbuilding is phenomenal the characterization amazing and there's a mckirk bdsm side series that I can't recommend enough, the way Mijan writes the inside of Jim's head is so right for me

And then in Star Wars there's the behemoth I read recently, a KyHux series called Children Wake Up that is just sooooooo like holy shit. The way I was screaming about the foreshadowing

And not to be an asshole and I know a lot of people are leery of reunion fic for Killua and Gon but my favorite Hunter x Hunter fanfic is the one I wrote, Closing the Space (between us) I think we should be allowed to love our own babiesworks the most. But of course Liv you know I adore a lot of your fics toooooo~

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block) Seek help!! I ask my partner to reread some of it, I go find a friend to rubber duck... or I give myself a break! Sometimes you just need to stop working on the thing for a bit! Maybe that means get some food and sit outside for a bit, or longer term playing video games for a week and not thinking about writing, or just changing what WIP I'm working on! I mentioned in the last ask that sometimes my brain goes on Wait Mode, and I haven't found a trick to that. But. Sprints with Friends is a great help to just forcing that momentum... because it really is all about momentum! 23. Best writing advice for other writers?

We're all guilty of this but turn your editing brain off when you're writing! It makes it three times harder to write and you're going to edit later anyway, right? (Right?? ...No I don't always edit either, whatever.) But straight up it's like.... you know when your phone or computer starts going really slow and you realize it's because you have 300 apps open? Brains do the same thing. Writing and Editing are two tasks that don't even have the same goals. It's like trying to do linework and shading at the same time- they're both needed for the finished picture but how are you gonna shade when you don't have all the elements? (Listen, it's not a perfect analogy, you get my meaning.) Also-- your brain will try to trick you with like "oh writing sex is hard or writing combat is hard or- and that puts undue stress on you when you try to write that specific kind of thing. Throw scene categorization away. The basics are always the same-- what's going on here, how does the character feel about it, how will they respond, why does that matter.

And also, the other writers are here for you, we are in community not in competition! Even if we all wrote the same idea it would come out differently, so don't worry about what everyone else is or isn't doing! Unless! You want to help them do it <3

[uhohbestie]

hey besties i have fanfic-themed but not directly plot-related questions! well, mostly

question 1) do yall have any favorite zombie media? was there anything in particular that yall are drawing on for your fic?

personally i've been scared of zombie movies all my life lol but because of tamn i've finally been trying to finish the world war z audiobook? (the last time i tried getting thru it was pre covid which has been. a weird experience) it's fully voice acted and i like it so far! super different from the 2013 movie with brad pitt

question 2) :3 do you guys think you'd be up to talk about the no-apocalypse au where scarian get to have a normal breakup someday? :3 it doesn't have to be now or anytime soon but i'd be into hearing about it!

anyways hope yall are having a good day lock and key ^_^

These are some really REALLY good questions!!!

for starters! for me (Lock) I actually didn't start watching zombie media until Key introduced me to it! We watched the Korean series All Of Us Are Dead together, and then followed it with Last Of Us (the tv adaptation) and the first seasons of The Walking Dead, so I've have a very curated window into zombie media (actually! We watched Walking Dead as research for TAMN, because Key wanted to make sure I understood what hordes of zombies in cities look like!)

As for Key's zombie exposure (lol): I (Key) WAS BIG INTO ZOMBIES GROWING UP!! Constant zombie media consumption--probably one of my earliest hyperfixations ngl I feel like what we're drawing on while we write TAMN is an amalgamation of all our favourite bits from the things we've seen together, as well as some of my favourite formative zombie medias while growing up.

The Walking Dead Season 1 remains like, one of my all-time favourite seasons of any television show ever, so that's definitely a big influence. (Some of the later seasons get a lot less of my love LOL) The Korean movie Train to Busan is also a popular one you may have heard of--I'd definitely recommend giving that a go if you're okay with zombie media that veer on the side of tragic. When The Last of Us (Part One) came out, it quickly became my favourite zombie-oriented video game, though a lot of its predecessors (Resident Evil series esp.) really gripped me (even though it took me ages to play-through cuz they would scare the shit out of me LMAO) Its TV show is also an excellent adaptation, so if you're not into playing it or watching a Let's Play, the show is a good bet! The UK series In the Flesh was also an interesting look into After™ the apocalypse, and though it was cancelled after it's second season, it's also worth a watch for a fresh perspective on zombie media. 28 Days Later was an excellent movie and ofc Dawn of the Dead is a classic. And then the usual comedies like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, etc.

I saw World War Z as a movie but never read the book! I should def give it a try--idk why I never did! God, honestly I could ramble about zombie media forever if given the chance 😂 None of this even begins to cover the sheer amount of zombie comics I read. I was very much a "webcomic" era kid, so a lot of my favourite old original zombie comics are either offline now or I simply don't remember what they were called anymore, so I have no way to track them down :( I did recently enjoy the webtoon Boyfriend of the Dead as a light-hearted, humourous read, but there were a lot of gripping, nuanced, plot-heavy original comics like a decade ago that I loved and I wish I could link. ANYWAYS. I'LL STOP MYSELF HERE AND LET LOCK ANSWER QUESTION NUMBER 2 LMAO

HI IT'S LOCK. I'M BACK. Now, as for a non-apocalypse Scarian scenario, we've actually thought about this a LOT! One of our favourite things to do is make an AU, and then multiple "what if one key things was different" spinoffs of the same AU.

We're gonna put this under a read-more, in case you'd like to keep the "what if" a mystery forever, but to sum up:

In an alternate reality where Scar and Grian break up and then the zombie apocalypse doesn't happen........ they stay broken up! Scar gets what he longs for in the fic: time away from Grian to hurt and grieve and heal with the support of his close friends who care about him.

It takes him a while until he feels ready to date again, but Scar does eventually start a new relationship with someone he knows really well, and has loved and trusted for a long time. They get engaged and start planning their wedding..............

............. and then Grian comes back and says he's sorry, that he misses Scar, that he was wrong, and that he doesn't want to be without him. And Scar................... takes him back.

It's-- listen, it's not the best possible outcome! But we're basing heavily on the Life Series Scarian dynamic, which is itself incredibly nuanced and complicated and tragic and a little bit "you're both bad for each other." It's part soulmates, and it's part codependence, and it's partly killing the person you love with your bare hands alone in the desert, and how that guilt ends up haunting you into every other subsequent timeline. Grian's not the best person for Scar as he is, and Scar's not the best person for Grian, but they want to be with each other, and unfortunately that desire often overrides common sense.

As for what happens after that.... we don't know yet! It was a thought experiment we worked through and ultimately realised "oh, it's WAY better for them that the zombies DID happen in the long run, 'cause without them this would be awful." (Not that the zombies are great, but woof......... Scarian, c'mon.) In this version of events, they lose a lot of friends when Scar takes Grian back, and the isolation suits Scar poorly. It takes them a much longer time to work through how to be good for one another. If the zombie apocalypse was good for anything, it was forcing a reckoning of what they wanted and how to get it--the only other option was death. Without that hanging over their heads, it takes Scarian years to reach any sort of resolution, which (no spoilers but) takes TAMN!Scarian a much shorter amount of time to get to.

Hope that answers your question! The 'what ifs' are our favourite, so we love to ramble about them hahaha <3