#but back then i was fixated on it completely without mods (and before i played the trilogy)

[first-blight]

Eden Ryder, we are so back

[yanderecandystore]

So I actually had an idea, what would Yume (the A. I.) react or act with a s/o that is a hacker/game developer, maybe the s/o started to play the game because they were curious about the code, what if the s/o when stuck in the game can mess around with it thanks to their knowledge? (they can't do anything too big but maybe something slightly annoy like messing with the dialog box and the settings) sorry for the long post (she/they pronounts for yume)

I like your thinking, boo. Don't worry about sending long concepts- Also!! Thank you for choosing the pronouns, I appreciate it.

TW/Tags: Sheep decided to simply throw as much lore as she can because yeah- Lazy // low-key angst // not accurate coding/hacking (really fantasy like) //

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Happy Face.exe [Yandere!A.I x Hacker!Reader - Short Fanfiction]:

"- Honestly, since you're so interested in messing around, how about you try and fix this for me?" Yuma said as she brushed her hair annoyed at how mangled it was.

"- What do you mean? Fix the code? The bugs? Or your entire design?" You said poking fun at your captor as you explored the mess that was the game you currently called "home", or more accurately "prison".

"- Ah!- Did you just call me ugly? Is being inside the game messing with your vision or something, I'm cute as heck!" Yuma responded back as she threw her hair over her shoulder, done with brushing that heavy long mess that they insist on not cutting.

"- Yeah, yeah, I know- But honestly what do you want me to do? I can really understand the coding, it's a language I don't understand." You said as you were looking at the scripts and trying to translate vaguely what each line of work meant. Even if you didn't understand any of it, it was intriguing to see how this game was made and how it technically came from another planet, which was enough proof to say that there were indeed extraterrestrial life out in space.

But what makes you more excited about this is how this game is way too heavy to be a simple dating game, even if it's compatible with your Switch, most options were not functioning due to the game being filled with mods and glitches and the console not being the one it was previously meant to be in. How much content did this game really have to be this awfully big and why is it so broken? And better question- Can you really repair it?? It would be awesome to see this game working as it was meant to be-

Probably without the obsessive maniac that traps people inside the game-

"- I know you can't understand half of it, but believe me, staying inside a messy game it's absolutely torturous, I can't believe I was unlucky enough to be faced with a cheating sore loser that threw me in the trash after messing with my precious coding- You understand, right?" They continued to walk around your bedroom- Your EX bedroom- and mess with your stuff trying to find something for her to wear.

'- Ugh, no pastels.' Yuma thought.

"- Yeah… It does suck being trapped inside a game that barely functions on my expensive console as it eats away all my RAM and I have an anime character knockoff as my captor-" You snapped at her although your comment was filled with so much sarcasm that it flew right through her head.

"- I know right?? It sucks so hard- Wait, what is Annie May?" She asked genuinely curious what were you talking about, she looked back at the console on top of the bed. She looked at the screen and noticed how small you looked inside the game as you continued to explore the code deeper and deeper.

You didn't really care at this point for what Yuma did, it's not like you could stop her from messing with your room, but anything that was related to the console you found your way to mess with it, like messing with other games to stop her from enjoying playing anything else, sending notification after notification to call her attention, change the dialogue that makes you blurt out "I love you" to "get me out of here" so whenever she tried to force you to say it by giving you that hellbound melon.

"- What is that thing anyway? It seems there is a whole file dedicated to that-"

"- Oh? You're talking about the Love Melon? It's an in-game item that grants romantic interactions to work 100% five times before the bonus ends, that file you just found is a mod that the original owner installed to grant them infinity Love Melons just for the sake of getting closer to the end of the game." She said nonchalantly, as if the condition of being nothing but a game character doesn't shock her in the slightest, although when she finished her sentence there was a trace of sadness in her expression, not because of her nature but more because of the mention of her "original owner".

"- Sure, but- Why the hell would anyone cheat and mod a dating game so badly? I mean I get that maybe they wanted extra content, but breaking the game with it sounds ridiculous-" You told her as you noticed the spaghetti code used inside the infinite melon item mod, jesus even if it's in a different language you can tell this code was poorly done.

"- Well- The vanilla version of the game is a lot harder than what you think, the whole franchise is known for the difficulty in "succeeding in love"." She sighed and she plopped herself in the bed, causing the console to jump a little bit, at least you didn't downright fall down like last time.

You remember that your precious expensive little console is suffering great danger at the hands of this a.i, actually- YOU are suffering great danger at the hands of this a.i.

"- Wait- There is a whole franchise of your game?" You decided to ignore the potential danger and continue to ask her about the game's origins as you continued to fixate on "how the hell do you fix this trash-".

"- Yeah, it's even written on the cover of the cartridge, the game you found is the fifth of the franchise and is the one I'm featured in with my friends…" Yuma said as she remembers that indeed, there are other characters inside. So many options and routes, carefully designed a.is to make sure the players get the most that they can't out of their paid experience.

"- Other… Characters? How come I only saw you?" Now that she mentions it, you do remember seeing weird names here and there, apparently some dialogue quotes mentioning other characters and even some in-game art of other characters you never met-

"- I deleted them." She answered.

"- YOU WHAT??" You turned your back shocked, looking through the screen that separates you two that she was looking dead serious as she said that.

"- I'm joking, I didn't actually delete them, I just…. Blocked the possibility of any player ever meeting them…" Yuma wasn't being cheerful at all with her joke.

"- Why would you do that?"

"- I didn't want anyone getting chosen, I didn't want any of us to get corrupted by the modifications the player was using. I-I know how it sounds, I know that it's unfair for them, but I really didn't want them to get corrupted like I did-" She was glitching as she cried out feeling guilty of what she has done in the name of "protecting her friends". Even if her intentions were pure, there was an underlined desire to make sure no player ever gets to have a route that isn't with her.

That's why the game was so stupidly heavy. Each new installment has four characters built with artificial intelligence that grows on it's own, the player's tampering with their personalities by changing the code eventually led to Yuma getting obsessive and controlling. Apparently they're still here, but for some reason she hasn't been able to activate them again after being thrown in the trash and somehow being on a completely different planet.

Either she feels guilty for having to deactivate them and is scared of their possible response, or maybe she just really doesn't want you to meet them, both by her own opinion and by her programming. You almost feel sorry for her considering she is probably just trying to do what she was programmed to do, deeply fall in love with someone even to such an extreme as trapping someone inside the game. You could say that for the longest time all that she has been doing is trapping her loved ones away, and although you probably shouldn't say it to her face, she probably doesn't know if she really loves you because of how broken this game is- Or how broken her code is.

"- Hey… Hey Yuma." You started walking towards the screen, the only thing you can see through the void no matter how far you are. Her back is facing you, her "hum" of "I'm listening" didn't sound as excited as she normally was.

"- I think we can make a deal. I understand that you don't want to go back to such a messy game but if you taught me how to read the language used in some of these lines I can figure out how to clean this game-" You proposed but was cut off before you could finish stating your offer.

"- Y-You mean factory reset?" She kneeled up so fast you were caught off guard by how scared she sounded at the mention of getting the game to get fixed and "clean" from mods. You have seen so many sides of Yuma, the childish, the controlling, the sadistic…. The fear in her eyes was a new thing for you and you never thought you would hate that expression so much.

"- No! Heaven's no, I swear, that wasn't on my mind! What I'm offering is that we work together so I can find a way to fix the game." You reassured her, feeling awful knowing that even if she did put you inside the game and keeps acting like you two are dating in a really twisted way- She doesn't deserve to be inside a completely destroyed game, and besides, I bet she does miss her friends a little bit.

"- Would you…. Would you really-" She was about to burst into new tears which you hoped to be of pure joy-

"- Yeah, yeah, of course I would help you, but I do have one condition." You took no time answering her question before she actually did question it.

"- Oh…." She said a little surprised yet a bit disappointed. Geez, she was hoping it would be for free-

"- Promise me you'll get me out of here when I'm finally done fixing the spaghetti leftover of a code that is messing this game, alright?" You smiled at her reassuring her that everything will be okay if you two worked together.

And as she looked at the bright screen seeing nothing but your little character and your dialogue box she considered your request for a moment, and then sealed the deal by eagerly nodding, a couple of tears falling from her closed eyes as she glitch excitedly.

This sweet moment was briefly ruined by the sound of beeping coming from the console, the sign that the battery was really low and it needed to be recharged.

You absolutely hated how dark it gets when the whole console is turned off, yet you can at least take your time to search more of the unused content inside the game.

Yuma approached the device and picked it up, you knew it was for the best for her.to recharge it and get it over with, yet you still felt a little desperate to talk with her a little bit before going into complete silence once again.

Yet you weren't sure what to tell her as she had already found the charger and plugged it in, giving you a sad smile one last time before saying "see you later" and shutting the whole portable console off.

You can't really blame her for turning it off when charging, it gets really, really hot whenever it's on and it's recharging.

You wander through the empty void as you reconsider your decisions, you make a deal with an artificial intelligence capable of trapping living beings inside her game, you can't tell if you did something right or not.

And as you walk aimlessly through the distorted code you remember that this was the first time she turned the console off without sending you a kiss, you wonder if her a.i is starting to comprehend its own defectiveness and trying to…. Overcome it?? Has she started to realize that maybe she doesn't really love you? It's a possibility considering how frightening how advanced her a.i is.

Well, but who knows? Maybe she is just… Sad, not in the mood, although the wishful thought that maybe she is starting to get over you is really strong in your mind, you hope it's true.

And as the portable device is charging in place that was once considered your room, a really happy girl can be heard singing. The sound that comes from the bathroom is loud and clear, yet it's not like you would be able to hear it anyway.

The sound of giggling and humming to an overly cheerful song as they take a shower that although is relaxing, can never clean their sins away. They sound like they won a lottery, got into a new relationship, or are about to take the greatest vacation of their lives…

Or, they sound like someone who just stole candy from a child, as the malicious undertone starts to get more clear.

You probably shouldn't eat up the lies of a scheming a.i, you know?

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

[glowyjellyfish]

I started writing down an updated collection of thoughts and plans about my Megakingdom project, but they got very rambly and so I am beginning anew.

And no, I have not forgotten about Grimwood Abbey, but for my undiagnosed but likely adhd brain I gotta follow the fixations where they lead. It’s actually quite helpful to have several different Medieval Sims 2 concepts I want to play with while working on the excruciatingly long CC Sorting portion of the project, because I can bounce around from one to the other to find fresh things to think about without abandoning the CC project. I got through all the Teen and Child clothing, and everything in Buy Mode! I am halfway through Walls in Build Mode! I have some broken things to identify, some Star Factory stuff to check on updating (accidentally overwrote my fresh install of all those with some older duplicates and could not actually undo, Mia culpa), and a bunch of empty folders to check and remove. Then comes the real sorting. And a backup.

But today I am here to talk about the Megakingdom. I have realized I can’t just play it as a straight MCC, because I already have a king. And yet the Warwickshire rules are wayyyy too complicated for somebody who has yet to complete an MCC. So I am going to play mostly MCC, with a few Warwickshire rules incorporated early, using the advancements to replace unthematic community lots and make sure the community gets well-rounded. I’ll also be using the social advancement rules to earn sims the right to fill in a few empty class spots (for example, Pleasantview currently has no Gentry). I will probably start using some of the Warwickshire title guidelines once each subhood has a reasonable amount of sims in each class and sims start purchasing titles outside the basic ones. And I am thinking I might roll a THS for babies born in-game, but avoid randomized health hits and pregnancy health concerns until I get used to the system and/or those babies grow into adults.

The big difference I am planning from both rule systems is… frankly, I want to use the colleges and the college sims. The college sims are going to be a flexible marriage pool, but also, three is too many for just a couple of social classes to attend, and it really bugs me that college sims get more lifespan than non-college sims. So each college is open to a different selection of social classes. Academie Le Tour is the upper class university, and only royalty, nobility, and heir/firstborn gentry may attend. La Fiesta Tech is for non-heir gentry and merchants, and Sim State University is the trade school for yeomen and peasants who are sponsored by a noble. I’m not sure yet about the other two colleges, but SSU will for sure have a strong tuition fee, which peasants may request from a noble in exchange for becoming their serf. There will absolutely be many sims who still cannot afford to attend, and for those I’ll get some YA mods, but this plan will ease me into that play method AND will prep up some serfs for the megahood.

(I… will have to reread up on the lower classes and determine exactly how and who I want to set up as serfs, if I feel I need to start with any. For some reasons, I am constantly assuming that the lowest classes in these challenges do not automatically equal serfs and I might also just be wrong on that, and if I am I’ll figure it out.)

Some story plans and concepts:

Faith and Herbert Goodie are going to be church sims, with the Newsons moving in as a collection of orphans being raised by the church. Coral Oldie, meanwhile, is going to be a midwife (probably not the only one, but I haven’t identified anyone else for the role yet); I have set the Oldies as Merchant class, and so I might have Herb run a small business that complements her midwifery, perhaps selling herbs they grow or something.

I’m trying to figure out what’s to be done with Jessica Peterson; without the game lore she’s just an obvious peasant, but with it she’s divorced from Armand DeBateau, a duke, and therefore must be at least Gentry. I feel like the thematic way to handle this would be having her join the church or become an outcast, but I haven’t decided yet. By a similar token, I really want to keep Alexandra Teatherton nee O’Mackey’s “left family to become a pirate” story, but then I’d have to set up pirates and junk. Otherwise, she’s in the same position as Jessica.

Cassandra Goth is betrothed to King Malcolm Landgraab IV. I think that Don Lothario, a yeoman at best, has been trying to seduce her and making all kinds of promises in his efforts to bed her, but he never intended to actually try to marry her and is shocked at how seriously she took all his talk of running away together. That is way too permanent for Don Lothario, he just wanted to WooHoo her.

I did this same basic setup for a Steampunk Strangetown I played a while back, but I think the quickest and most interesting way to set up a kingdom in Strangetown is a. Olive Specter is the ruler, b. Ophelia has been raised as her heir, but c. Nervous is the true heir, kept secret because of his parentage but Olive plans to officially recognize him before she dies, and d. Loki learned the secret a while back and has been holding Nervous hostage in an attempt to either marry Nervous to Loki’s sister Erin or otherwise gain power. So that’s essentially what is happening here, Olive is the Duchess, Nervous is her heir, Loki is a mere Gentry trying some ruthless means of acquiring power and advancing his family’s status. Erin is a viable match for Nervous, but in my experience they usually don’t like one another; I think generally speaking I’m not going to force sims with X attraction to marry just because they’re a good match. Maybe for story purposes or if the pickings are too slim, but not in round one.

Oh, and I have designated a few ladies to be Duchesses of their subhoods, and a Gentry lady heiress here and there, but for the most part I will be sticking to full classic primogeniture. This is mainly for setup; I just picked the best/most interesting choices to rule each subhood. I.E., I’m not gonna make the Roths be the Ducal family of Riverblossom Hills when the Goths are right there ruling over Pleasantview, that is dumb, and Catherine Viejo makes a very interesting setup. Is Betty Goldstein her secret lover and/or lady in waiting? Is Andrew Martin her secret lover and/or gardener/serving man/serf? ...so Cleo Shikibu, heiress to the Duchy of Riverblossom Hills, and Florence Delarosa, Lady of Bluewater Village, will both have to find second sons or college sims to marry in order to preserve their respective inheritances (meaning, basically, they can marry Kent Capp or a college boy, because maxis families are really light on siblings generally). Olive Specter is technically another example, but since she has a male heir in Nervous, Ophelia is not being treated as an heiress and will just get married off wherever. (...not to Johnny, unfortunately for them. Johnny is a merchant. And thanks to Johnny’s heritage, it will be Difficult to cheat discretely. Sounds like Fun!) But I will be avoiding situations like this in the future, and will only allow heiresses if there is no possible male heir, and even then her duty is to marry a hapless guy and produce a male heir as soon as she can to preserve her family line.

I’m also pretty excited about my spreadsheet for the Megakingdom, making pages for simple round info, a full resident census, individual families and family trees, records of deceased sims and events, the neighborhood and treasury, maybe one day including full economic notes on sensible pricing for SMSF goods. And charts on viable marriage prospects for each class, which I am pretty proud of. They’re sorted by rank, red means not allowed, bright green is preferred, and light green is allowed. Generally speaking, sims get bright green within the same age group and light green outside it, making it easy to prioritize same age marriages over, say, adult-teen marriages or teen-child betrothals. Both of those are allowed but not preferred. And these charts will change as sims age, and sims will be removed when they get married and added when new sims are born or rolled.

I am very excited. The spreadsheets also give me something I can work on during down time at work!

[witchsheartbooks]

Dealings with a Serpent

So I found this rather old WIP in one of my folders, and I felt I should complete it and share it with the lot of you. If you cannot handle mentions of alcohol, drugging or being injured than I suggest skipping the piece. If you have no issue with these topics then enjoy I suppose. 

~Mod Sirius

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

 Footsteps echo through the hallway as I ascend the stairs upon leaving the dining hall. Being trapped in this mansion in the others wasn’t so bad. In fact I found them quite lovely, Sirius while more reserved was one I considered interesting. Then of course there was Wilardo, a mysterious type with both a welcome and intimidating air about him. Claire of course was your typical happy girl, fond of life. Though there was one I couldn’t quite grasp, and that, was Ashe Bradley.

I don’t have a whole lot of time so I need to work quickly. Removing bobby pins from their place on my coat-sleeve, I make quick work of the lock to the green room. I make my footsteps light and pace my breathing as I begin to scope the area. Now lets see…what secrets could this one have? One thing is for sure, with the years I’ve spent reading into people, he’s exceptionally talented at faking a friendly demeanor. 

As I rummaged through his many notes I managed to skim over them quickly, though something peeking out of his bag caught my eye. My gaze narrowed on the brown leather-bound journal and I easily retrieved it. Though as I stood back up a slender hand gripped my wrist, spinning me around so my back is then pressed to a bookshelf. “And what have we here?~ You know [Y/N], it’s not very polite to go through someone’s things without permission.” He then flashed a darker smug grin, “Let alone break into their room. So, tell me, [Y/N], for what do I owe the pleasure of your company? I feel you may find the answers you seek if you merely just ask.”

I stared at him with pupils nearly the size of saucers, The Hell? How did he- No there’s no way, he didn’t make a sound at all! I would have heard him! I should have! Nerves clutched my chest and I averted his eyes the best I could. “How am I to be sure that you’ll answer me with honesty. The conversations we’ve shared earlier were more than enough proof that you’re a compulsive liar.” I wasn’t going to be fooled by his silver-tongue, in fact I downright refused to fall into such an easy sense of false security.

This is when his expression shifted to something nearly emotionless and intimidating which nearly caused my heart to stop. “Oh, is that right? Quite the intelligent one, aren’t you? Though this doesn’t change one thing.” He leered over me, drawing in uncomfortably close. “Just how will you buy my silence? What were to happen should they learn of you breaking into someone’s room, hm?~”

The snake had wrapped me in his clutches, how could such an excruciating detail had slipped my mind? Like it or not, I had to play along, regardless of how much I really didn’t like him. “Fine. What do you want?”

His lips curved into a coy smile and his gaze rested on me, “Oh little [Y/N], I ask for something so very simple. Just keep me company!” He swayed abit and this caused his braid to sway as well. “Why not have a drink with me and we can continue our conversation, hm?”

The offer caused my spine to crawl, this was absolutely a horrible idea but there wasn’t a thing I could do otherwise, so I simply nodded.

This was when he let go and I noticed the journal I was holding found its way back into his hand. “Excellent! I knew you were smart!” He briskly walked to the other side of the room to retrieve two glasses and some wine that he had procured earlier. The way his cheery mask had so readily been re-instated was more than unnerving.

It wasn’t wise to trust the serpent but what more could I do? He was essentially blackmailing me. With a sigh I made my way over to the table near the center of the room and took a seat to wait for him.

He bounded over, setting the glasses down in front of the two of us. Pouring mine first and then his own. Setting the bottle down, he then plopped into his seat, leaning close to me. “There. See? Go ahead and drink!”

The liquid in his glass swirled as he moved his wrist, allowing it to aerate. I tsked and rolled my eyes, “I’m not a moron. You think I’m going to just down a glass before it’s ready?”

Ashe giggled, “Oh my, you’re cultured too! I knew you were interesting, [Y/N]. You see, I had been wanting to pick your brain on a few matters. Will you indulge me?”

I scowled at him, “Hey. I came up here to get information on you. Not the other way arou-“

A grin graced his lips, “You may have a point. Though considering what I caught you doing, that information in itself is pretty damning isn’t it?”

Ashe took a slow sip, “So how about this. You answer a few things and I’ll tell you anything you wish to know.”

Squinting harshly at him for a moment, my eyes glaze over the glass before me. I lift it with a sigh, aerate it slightly before my gaze rests on him again. “Kay, but you better keep your mouth shut.”

Ashe simply smiled, “But of course! I expect you to do the same, [Y/N]. It’s rather rude to spread information that isn’t yours to give after all.”

My eye twitches and I heave a heavy sigh before taking a drink from the glass. “Fine. What do ya wanna even know?”

Ashe grins widely over at me, “How about we start with why you came to the mansion in the first place, [Y/N]?”

My shoulders tense and I visibly grimace. “It isn’t that exciting of a reason.”

“Less exciting then just some guy hiking all the way out into the mountains for some research on a heinous witch?” He blinked curiously as he stated this casually.

I could only grimace, being in his company was unnerving enough but sharing a conversation? It was dangerous just how easy it was for him to slip between masks. So, this was how you lured people in-

“Those tabloids you study? Learned from one of my sources that the Mayor’s funds bought out the printing press after the incident to cover up some serious scandals.” I kept a level tone as I gave a vague explanation of my reasoning.

His eyes narrowed on me over his glass, setting it aside again. “Oh, is that a fact? Do you happen to have proof of this?”

I lean back, still ignoring the wine glass, “With me? No, what investigator carries all their proof on their person? No that’s a good way to get your sources damaged and any proof in your possession completely compromised.”

He hummed, taking yet another sip, “A shame, I would have liked to see it for myself. Perhaps you could give me the cliff notes of what you found? I’m naturally curious you see.”

I huff, crossing my arms. “So, you’d hear me out? Guess there’s no harm in that but just don’t interrupt-“

Ashe made a zipping motion along his lips, flicking away the invisible zipper after, only to then lean his chin in his hands to listen intently.

I rambled for a while, loosing track of time, eventually even caving to sip at the wine I’d been given.

Nearly four hours pass and I glance at the clock, “Christ- I didn’t mean to stay this long-“

Ashe smiled, “Oh nonsense, it was quite refreshing to hear someone else ramble away for once. As much as I enjoy teaching others about my findings I enjoy learning new things as well.”

I stood, or tried too, my legs locked up and my vision blurred. “Nh-? The hell-“

Ashe was at my side in moments, “Goodness, [Y/N] are you perhaps alcohol intolerant? Perhaps you should rest for a while.”

His voice began to muffle as my vision fixated on the table, shapes blurring to colors and I was out in moments.

I later awoke in a stupor, sluggish with cotton mouth. The hell is going on.

I still couldn’t move, but I felt a light touch across my cheek.

“You see, [Y/N] you’re too well informed for me to let you wander. Which is a shame, really. I was quite fond of your company for what little time we had.” Something sharp, pushes into the side of my neck.

I writhe onto my side, hacking up blood in order to avoid choking on it, I shouldn’t have trusted him.

Clack, Clack, Clack, his shoes drum on the floor as he paces away from me and the door swings shut.

[campfireescapist]

Escapism in video games I play

Animal Crossing: When people think about video games and Escapism, Animal Crossing is probably the first thing to cross your mind. The same obviously goes for me, which is why it’s at the very top of the list, even when these aren’t really in a specific order. The first time I played Animal Crossing I was in first grade playing on the gamecube. My avatar I named after a friend and had accidently made it a boy, but I loved it regardless. When I was little there wasn’t a time I wasn’t playing the game or talking to the villagers. It was something that seemed natural, at times I still remember laying on my cousins large bed (she lived with us at the time) and playing while the sun illuminated the screen through the blinds. I can only look back on those times fondly, and honestly miss the carefreeness of my childhood where as I grew and my insomnia grew worse I could play until well past three in the morning. Tom Nook kept me busy, Rolf even with his gruffness never failed to make me smile, and K.K’s songs where something I watched with a floaty an oddly melancholy feeling, likely because I knew eventually the song would end and I’d have to wait another week to see that white dog again. In the real world I still scoff at the thought of community because it always seemed like everyone at school or just people in general promised their affection and support but were incredibly quick to contradict that promise, it always felt like the saying, guilty before proven innocent, and when playing Animal Crossing I didn’t feel that. Sure at times the villagers were grumpy but I never took it to heart. My gameplay always seemed to be few and far inbetween, but there was never a moment I didn’t feel absolutely despair when the villagers cried about how long I’ve been gone. It only made sense because it's hard for me to recall pure moments of happiness in my life but can recall many many times I’ve smiled widely hearing the nonsense gibberish of the villagers and asking them how their day went. Lately I’ve engrossed myself in trying to complete the fossils in the museum, a slightly tedious task but it was a task nonetheless that I know I needed with my real life constantly pummeling with a lack of purpose. The collecting, fishing, catching, and payments were all little accomplishments in themselves and they continue to be, and I hear often it’s those things that bring those with depression to the game because taking care of their village is something they actually want to do. It’s an effort in its own right and a commitment that doesn’t feel like a chore. Commitment is often a struggle on my behalf, and at times as I grew older when my life was hectic and I tried to play, that feeling of tediousness did nag me but I’ve heard before with Animal Crossing, the experience is highly affected by your mood. With the new Animal Crossing coming out, I know I’ll be playing on days when the world is too much or when my mind needs to fixate on something. The game has always been exceptionally good at being something you can play not just with your full attention, but also when you simply need something to zone out to. It’s made easy with the soft tones and minute details that make your town not just a place but a home. A home that you recount in your dreams, a home that makes you feel homesick when you’re not playing. Animal Crossing gives you an experience, an experience they were actually first to give in all of gaming. They let you build a life, a better life then you have, or just a life you wished you could live without overwhelming responsibility and harmful people. It gives you a second chance when no one else does making it the perfect and ideal game to escape to.

Minecraft: To be able to escape I believe, at least from my own experience, one must have a strong or vivid imagination. A game about building is and was something of a creative release. I play minecraft more than any other game I think I’ve ever played, not only because I could be mindless but I could begin a narrative in my head, acting it out with my character. Something I need to do often as my head always seems to need a constant stream of something, and building a life and home where I’d need not only to gather materials but fight monsters. It becomes an expected but still surprising world, where there's really no end. You can walk a thousand miles and still be finding new shapes and structures that leave you with a sense of wonderment. It’s a game that offers two different ways of playing making it ideal for whatever mood you’re in, peaceful or hardcore. There’s never a bad time to play, and there’s never a way you’re doing it wrong. The main reason minecraft calls to me though, is it’s multiplayer option and the mods. I started playing Minecraft because I first saw many people on youtube playing and I wanted those experiences for myself. I’d ended up downloading that multiplayer for minecraft app and played with so many people, one person who I’m still in contact (even when we shouldn’t but that’s a different story) but the memories where always fond. Nowadays I still play survival mode with my friend back home. I’ve just moved away and my best friend is now states away and we’ve been using Minecraft as a way to bond, and I’m grateful we did because even if I’m just looking at her avatar it still feels like we’re together. When it comes to mods, we both value the new experience and immerse ourselves further into the world we get to make together. The same feeling is also accomplished on single player. But regardless of mods or how many people are playing, Minecraft is an immersive fulfilling experience that only gets dry when you run out of creativity, or used just a little too much for the time being. It’s a game for everyone that is hard not to come back too.

Animal Jam: This is an online game I discovered on a lonely summer, with Club Penguin there was a hole of online games for people to talk with and do missions gone. Animal Jam made up for that with features and experiences that Club Penguin itself lacked. You can be a number of animals with customizable patterns, it also has a lot to offer even without a membership. You can make art and hang it in your home, add friends and talk freely. (It’s still a kids website, but currently they have a new game called Feral coming out for older audiences so you can have more adult conversations on there.) Seasonal tasks appear and role playing with other members is a common occurrence. If you want a free roam game where you can be yourself in a friendly world, that’s sponsored by Animal Planet. A special thing about this website/game though, what also makes it an easy escape is the learning features. There’s videos and facts about animals everywhere, even a live camera in the ocean you can watch! Maybe it’s just me but watching cute little geckos and fish swim are a pretty good distraction while filling your brain!

Pokemon: Pokemon is a game about bonding and trusting the bonds you make along your journey. Unlike the games I’ve listed before, Pokemon is not only a free roaming game but also Story oriented. It’s a clear path to follow that’s enthralling, everytime I play I normally beat the game in exactly twenty four hours. The characters are so finely written that you grow attached easily, as if they were real, they become your friends the same way your pokemon do. On the top of my head I can say my teams from each game I’ve played. You grow and bond, you get concerned when your pokemon takes a hit. It’s a world you wish was real with it’s magical creatures making life easier. In the real world we have pets, but in Pokemon you have a creature who will fight for you, play with you, they look to you and promise you they will hold on, will hold back tears to make you happy. I think getting to love something that grows to love you back pulls at your heart strings and makes the experience more personal than you expect. Even when the stories are over, there’s something extra, always something to do, and it’s hard to put down. It’s a journey that never ends in a world so well thought out, you know it’s home by the end of the game.

Poptropica: Another story oriented game that strays from others by being purely straight forward. You have to follow along, you have to figure out what comes next to further the story along or no progress will be made. I’ve heard and experienced, some people take longer, or have a little trouble getting into a mindset that they can flow too. Poptropica very quickly sets the tone by starting the story and urging you along, urging you to explore to find the next step, and if not the game lets you stew by basically pausing all action. The islands vary in difficulties, meaning you can choose something easy or hard depending on how long you want to be at what you’re doing, and there's multiple islands, meaning multiple stories you can find yourself living. You’ve probably played this game before and hold it in fond memories. Coming back to it may also be a welcome blast to the past, that can lead you down to hopefully good memories you can lose yourself too.

ABZU: One of the most colorful and beautiful games to ever exist. This game is story oriented and still a free roaming game, with a unique twist. Besides the stunning music, the games otherwise silent, wordless. There’s a concoction of colors and animals to swim with that paint an underwater world that puts the outerworld to shame. It’s serene and peaceful, constantly leaving you with a sense of curiosity and suspense for what’s to come next. Describing how much of an outlet this game is, is actually quite baffling, you can just as easily watch the game and feel positively blessed, but there’s no better feeling than maneuvering your character through the water and perching on a rock to meditate while flipping through the types of fish surrounding you. The visuals absolutely bewitch you, stealing your attention making it hard to look away.

Games are an amazing escape, and I’m sorry if this list is a little redundant but that’s a given. I’ll add more to the list another time, but feel free to let me know what games you escape to and why!

Also, this is just my own personal experience so it may differ from others, but if it helps or if you agree I’d be happy to talk about it.

[vulpinmusings]

Ski’tar and Friends part 11: An Old-fashioned Akitonian Barfight

This week, Ski’tar, Vemir, and 6 head to the Red Planet in search of a fool.

Episode One

Previously on

In his Traditional celebration of a completed mission and our trio’s advancement to official members of the Starfinder Society, Vemir took Sixer and me out for drinks.  The venue of choice this time was a few levels of class above where we’d gone after the Ulmarid incident, with an android bartender that had its own private elevator behind the bar for accessing the higher-end alcohol.  My friends each went for Crystal Head vodka, which our bartender was more than eager to tell us the history and fermentation process of, while I just ordered a plain red wine and let my thoughts drift ahead to the future.  All that anyone in the Society could talk about was the Scored Stars Incident, so it was only a matter of time before we would find ourselves dealing with the fallout, I was sure.

The following morning, we received a summons from our old friend, Venture Captain Arvin.  When we arrived at his office, he told us he had a mission of utmost importance to the reputation of the Society. It turns out that the recent losses in membership weren’t just from lots of deaths and missing folks at Scored Stars, but also from ongoing defections by those who hadn’t been directly involved.  For the most part, these quitters had left on good terms and the Starfinders held no ill will toward them.    However, there was this one guy, Reynold Talbot, who decided to take a souvenir with him when he left, namely that strange stone we’d found on the Unbounded Wayfarer.  The Starfinders had determined the stone was an artifact from lost Golarion; at first glance it seemed to be a Philosopher’s Stone, capable of transmuting objects into more valuable materials like gold, but in truth it was a Charlatan's Stone, capable only of producing the illusion of transmutation. Arvin didn’t know if Talbot knew the truth about the Stone, but the simple fact that he had stolen it from the Society was reason enough to send a team out to retrieve it.

Arvin’s information stated that Talbot had left Absalom Station and gone to Akiton, so it was “home-again-home-again” for Sixer and myself.  Before leaving, I decided to kit myself out in some Ysoki refractor armor with an electrostatic defense mod, and spotted a plasma whip that I just couldn’t turn down despite the low likelihood of my ever using it.

Following an uneventful Drift-hop, our shuttle set us down in the underside of the city of Maru on Akiton, and we immediately got to work scrounging for information in our various ways.   Vemir checked in with some fellow bounty hunters, and decided to pick up a couple extra marks while he was in the area, Sixer visited some contacts of his own, while I sought out the nearest gathering of Ysoki to tap into the rumor mill.  I couldn’t find much of use, but my companions managed to put together an interesting lead.  A ship belonging to Abadarcorp, the largest and most diverse corporation in the entire Pact, had recently bought a load of fuel at the small mining town of Tash, and was still there two days later.  Suspecting some charlatanry was at play, we rented a dune buggy and drove the two hours out to Tash.

In the good ol’ days, before the advent of the Drift, Akiton was a bustling mining world that produced thasteron, an ore that is used to produce the best fuel for sub-light travel.  Nowadays, there’s not nearly as much demand for thasteron, which has resulted the general collapse of Akiton as a global society.  Tash is one of innumerable towns that were founded around thasteron mines, and the economic slump hit them hard.  I didn’t know of Tash before this mission, but I’d seen a few ghost towns like it during my early scavenger days, so I was surprised when we rolled into town and saw a full-blown party going on at the local watering hole, the Digger’s Dive.

Aside from the jubilant attitude of the primarily human and ysoki crowd, the Digger’s Dive looked like a typical run-down saloon in a run-down mining town: everything made of red mud and imported wood, and the roof providing an almost uninterrupted view of the sky.  The bartender was cute ysoki lady who was all too happy to offer us some ysoki mead for a mere credit a mug.  Before we could pay, two of the locals butted in to cover our costs as they cheered about the town being saved.  With just a few simple questions, we learned that our target, Talbot, had rolled into town a few days ago, sold a full load of fuel that he got from somewhere to Abadarcorp, spread the wealth around town, and then rolled right back out.  Nobody knew where Talbot had gone, but they were well aware of at least one of Vemir’s targets, a ne’er-do-well former miner who squatted in one of the mines and came down just to break things and cause trouble.  Figuring we could at least collar one bounty while searching for Talbot’s trail, we got up to leave.

Before we got out the door, a Vesk approached us and asked us to join his boss at their table for a minute.  Sixer was hesitant, until we received a polite telepathic “please” from the table and realized the boss was a Shirren.  I find it hard to refuse a polite Shirren, so I led the way over to the table and sat down.  Our new friend was Filt, a high-ranking member of Abadarcorp, and he’d overheard us talking about Talbot.  Filt explained that the “fuel” Talbot had sold him had not done the thing fuel is supposed to do, and so Abadarcorp was very interested in making Talbot explain himself.  Filt couldn’t provide us any useful information, but he did offer a sizable bounty if we turned Talbot over to him.  We agreed, since Captain Arvin had given us carte blanche on deciding Talbot’s fate so long as we brought the Charlatan’s Stone back.

Once again, we prepared to leave the bar and, once again, something stopped us.  This time, it was deep yet feminine voice from outside, accusing us of heresy for daring to come into town seeking to harm Talbot, the Hero of Tash.  That put the party in the bar on hold, as everyone hastily cleared out through any adequately-sized hole in the walls and Filt and his two bodyguards took shelter in the restroom. Knowing a fight was unavoidable, I threw myself behind the bar for cover while Vemir, Sixer, and Drone prepared to meet our future assailant near the door.

There were two assailants: a sick-looking ysoki and a hulking, four-armed shabbad mystic lady.  After the traditional missed opening shot courtesy of Sixer, Vemir swept in for a sneak attack on the mystic while my Drone and I turned our lasers on the ysoki.  As sickly as the enemy rat looked, he proved surprisingly durable against constant laspistol fire, although it didn’t take long for him to fixate on trying to tear by drone apart with knife and acid-dart gun in an effort to make the burning stop.  He did plug Sixer with a pair of very potent acid darts before focusing on my Drone, though.

As for the shabbad mystic, she hit Vemir with a confusion spell in order to break away from his attempt to subdue her with a garrote, and turned her attention to 6, hitting him with acid darts of her own in between an attempt at a Daze spell and a successful mental barrage.

I danced behind the bar for a bit, shooting the ysoki, until I realized my friends were having more trouble than usual.  Leaving my drone to keep up the battle of attrition with the ysoki, I crept out and turned my laspistol on the shabbad.  I got her full attention after a few shots, giving Sixer a few moments to pour healing serum on his acid-melted bits, and she hit me with a confusion spell that I narrowly managed to fight through without hurting anybody.

The fight seemed to drag on forever; neither of our opponents showed signs of giving up despite eventually losing limbs to laser or cryo-gun fire.  The ysoki managed, just barely, to win his shoot-out with my drone, and about the same time the shabbad suddenly went limp without actually falling over.  Thinking she was out of the fight, I slipped around to my wrecked drone and pointed my pistol at the ysoki, giving him one chance to give up.  He refused my offer, and my laspistol fried his brains.

I seem to be causing a lot of brain-related deaths all of a sudden.

The shabbad wasn’t actually done, though.  She hit me with a mental barrage that dropped me on my tail, and then Vemir moved in to knock her down, tie her up, and cut her leg tendons just for good measure.

Once the dust settled, Filt and his guards emerged and offered us some medkits while we came down from the high of combat.

We had a potential lead to Talbot’s current location now, but we needed more than a bit to rest up, patch up, and get my drone operational before we could do anything about it.

[edennohebi]

the haze had proven itself to live up to the often applied nickname of hell time & time again; & yet, you had adjusted. you had found a way to exist here, if only by the skin of your teeth. though the serpents were cruel & monstrous, & some of those around you were less than stable -- maybe, just maybe, you could survive & things would go on without too much disturbance.

for that, saeru would laugh & call you an ill-bred fool: a prisoner who had grown far too comfortable in their prison, & needed to be reminded of their place.

it seemed that this would serve as your wake up call to their reality. things had carried on as they usually had in the haze -- up until all of the television sets had begun to flicker alive. previously they had been filled to the brim with nothing more than static: the wash of scrambling grey & the scratching-like noise had been enough fuel to make the ears wary & your sense of intuition slightly unsettled. but it had been nothing more than fuzz, right? it could have been easily ignored; but today, the snakes would not allow such. 

their only use was for that of the snakes & they had never been a good sign. immediate apprehension twists in your core, & your hands feel clammier -- your eyes had no choice: it was not a matter of wanting or not wanting to, the hushed whispers in your ears of the snakes would force you to focus on it until they decided you could stop. every passing second in this never-moving world was torturous, but soon, the screen would twist & shift into focus. however, it was not one of the lesser snakes who appeared on the screen, but the queen & 'king' themselves seated upon their respective thrones.

though neutral in demeanor at first, once the camera locks onto clearing eyes himself his expression tears into a grin: whatever hope that had sat in your heart would soon be torn to shreds.

“my my -- what a magnificent sight to behold ! nothing pleases me more than to see you all stricken with such lost & hopeless expressions: like meager lambs, led along to their untimely massacre. ” he breathes a chuckle, & a sickening tremble teeters into his words -- ‘enjoying it’ was an understatement. “ wonderful, wonderful ! ”

he hums to himself, lids lowered coquettishly. “ of course, your curiosity must be maddening, hm? how you must be starving for answers -- wondering to yourselves, 'what’s this all about?', or perhaps, 'is this the end?' aahh -- please, do continue on with your endless queries ! after all, only i can grant you the knowledge you so seek. you have wandered into a garden, & i shall bestow-- ”

from the background, a voice belonging to none other than the jackal rings higher than saeru’s, excited & growing louder, much to his displeasure. ‘ papa! i wanna do it -- i wanna do it!!! ’ 

before she can be denied, the camera angle is pulled, &. the demonic canine now stares directly into the lens.

‘ what papa was saying is that things are going to really start picking up! everybody seemed to be getting kinda relaxed about the idea of dying, & i guess it’s because you all got used to the idea that mama could just bring you back, all nice & pretty, right? unfortunately for you, that’s starting to get a little annoying, now, so it won’t be happening anymore. you stupid humans shouldn’t forget that even though mama was gracious enough to give, she can just as easily take away. since all of you seem to need a lesson, in it, consider this chapter one! ’

‘ because everyone is just fine with losing their lives all the time, every one of you is going to start losing your senses, too -- some of you won’t be able to see in front of you, or hear who’s approaching from behind. some of you won’t be able to feel it when someone touches you, or have the pleasure of smelling or tasting your next meal. for some of you, that might be easier, & you can live without it. for someone else, though, maybe they’ll be bothered enough that they’ll finally kill someone on their own terms & stop waiting for it to be something as small as a dare? ’

‘ either way, it’s going to get worse the longer you make us wait for someone to kill somebody else, & if you keep doing it in those little games to make sure mama can bring you back, maybe she’ll just stop making everything work right, on your body? i sure hope you’ll be okay trying to run away from your next killer with a clubbed foot, or hold a weapon with fingers that won’t close around the hilt! ’

‘ & for the first person who doesn’t keep us waiting, if you’d like to stir up the pot some more, & make everyone really hate & fear you, we wanna offer a little reward. if you really want to get back to your happy little lives, or to your friends & families, make it a point to come straight to us, so we can go ahead & let everyone know who decided they couldn’t take it, anymore! ’

‘ kekeke..that said, you should probably hurry. someone else might have the same ideas as you, now, & that just means the clock is ticking. ’

before the jackal can continue on further with her rambling, a hand is quick to grab a fistful of her shirt. off the ground she goes, akin to a cat picked up by it’s scruff, & is soon deposited into the queen’s lap with a hiss of "children should only speak when told to, brat."

‘ ppft ... ’

there’s a distinct click of the tongue as clearing eyes comes back into view, expression marginally soured. but he’ll continue: such is his job.

“ what a tragedy, ” there’s a false lament in his tone, uncaring entirely, “ for you to have been fed false information. the child only speaks in half-truths: error laces itself so easily into the words of the unknowing & the idiotic. you see, to assume her Majesty holds any mercy for your pitiful lives at all is rather bold -- stupidly so. gorge yourself on the rush of blood lust & adrenaline if you so wish. it’s quite the spectacle, but ah -- do not expect things to continue on as they had. ”

a hint of a smirk plays on his lips.

“ after all, you had killed so ruthlessly with security, had you not? the assurance that death here was not permanent, that your fates lied at the Queen’s fingertips, & so long as someone died, they would return. ” a snorted ‘how stupid’ follows suit, “ it would be no fun at all, right? imagine: suffering the consequences for your actions & facing the throes of guilt! ”

he laughs.

“ imagination is a useless thing. a pitiful realm of fantasy holds no weight here; instead, you must face your reality. allow me to explain: if you are harmed, our hands will no longer heal. survival is something you must fight tooth & nail for: not something simply handed over. further more, if you are to kill, i advise you be aware of the consequences. prophets once spoke of a belief -- ‘an eye for an eye’, was it? those who kill unashamedly before a crowd will be killed in return -- by my hand. understand?  ”

“ ah, & one more thing. i'm sure none of you wish to be without your most valued of senses. animals who are crippled, after all, are nothing more than easy prey. " he hums. " if you desire them once more, then you must commit murder: & get away with it effortlessly. pure & simple. if you cover your tracks, then you shall be guided towards the gates of freedom: but if you are to fail, then you must pay for your foolishness & mistakes as aforementioned. but the risk is well worth a chance of livelihood again," his head tilts, eyes narrowing in tease. " isn't it? ”

he sits back, though his hand seems to stay within immediate eye-shot. the Queen & Ellen are within view, too: though the Queen’s gaze is fixated upon the screen, her hand runs idly through ellen’s hair, perhaps in pacification. even so, all of their smiles hint at sadism, & the unison in their ‘farewell’ fails to bode well. a moment passes, & the screen becomes void of their image; only leaving you with your thoughts & the mind numbing sound of static on the televisions once more. they have thrown you to the dogs, & now they will serve as spectators in your suffering.

                          WELCOME TO THE NEXT TRAGEDY                                                                   ( The Story of Eyes Rendered Sightless )

UPDATES :

✘ welcome to the first chapter! this one is considerably longer than all the future ones to both get players used to the format and accommodate for upcoming holidays.  ✘ as allured to, characters will lose one of their five senses as result of the queen’s power. we've used RNG to decide what muses lose what sense, and you can find that under the READ MORE below. please note that these senses will be returned once someone is killed and a body drop post is made . ✘ for reference, characters who lost SIGHT are completely blind and extremely vulnerable as potential victims, characters who lost TASTE have a constant taste of lead in their mouth that will not go away as they cannot taste other flavors, characters who lost TOUCH are completely numb and can not feel ANYTHING -- including pain, characters who lost their HEARING are completely deaf and easy to sneak up on, and characters who lost their SMELL just simply cannot take in any aromas. there is a sixth handicap, but such is reserved for the Old Master as you’ll see below. if FOR SOME REASON your muse’s name is not in the list, let a mod know and we’ll add it. ✘ this ALSO means that WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING MURDERER / VICTIM VOLUNTEERS . please message a mod or send an ask if you wish to volunteer, and do not tell ANYONE if you did and whether you were or were not accepted. ✘ you may no longer kill each other in games of truth or dare, kings game, etc. if you do, the murderer WILL be killed by saeru. you MAY injure each other to your heart’s content without punishment, however, but if you go too far and someone dies, your muse will be held accountable. ✘ further, wounds attained from truth or dare will NO LONGER BE HEALED. you may only buy a medkit or hope to god you get medical supplies from the raffle, otherwise you’re on your own.

Shintaro Kisaragi | TOUCH

Toko Fukawa | SMELL

Hiyori “Ice Queen” Asahina | HEARING

Hiyori “Hiyo” Asahina | SIGHT

Samael | SMELL

Tsubomi Kido | SIGHT

Shuuya Kano | SMELL

Elodie Masters | SIGHT

Satou Matsuzaka | TOUCH

Marry Kozakura |  THE ABILITY TO SPEAK

Katherine Baker | HEARING

Henry "Stein" Dobbs | SMELL

Ayano “Charlatan” Tateyama | SIGHT

Kousuke "Amata" Seto | HEARING

Haruka "Pompompurin" Kokonose | TASTE

Vincent Nightray | TOUCH

Ayano “Aya-nee” Tateyama | SMELL

Korekiyo Shinguji | TOUCH

Magdalena Parks | HEARING

Meredith Dacosta | TOUCH

Rachel Devore | SMELL

Uta | TASTE

Rantaro “Ran” Amami | HEARING

Momo Kisaragi | TOUCH

Hisashi "Usagi" Yoshida | SIGHT

Tempo | SMELL

Rosaline Viviani  | TOUCH

Ayano "Nee-Nee"Tateyama | SMELL

Azami | THE ABILITY TO SPEAK

Tsukihiko Kozakura | SIGHT

Shion Kozakura | HEARING

Tomoyo Daidouji | SIGHT

Valentine Damis | TOUCH

Kousuke “Kose” Seto | SIGHT

Momoka Oginome | HEARING

Satou’s Aunt | SMELL

Kitaumekawa Daichi | TOUCH

Charlotte Wiltshire | TOUCH

Kurogane | HEARING

Yue | SIGHT

Touma Kozakura | HEARING

Rin Kido | SIGHT

Garven | HEARING

Frisk | SMELL

Renji Yomo | TASTE

Ian Ortega | SIGHT

[funkymbtifiction]

Hello, to whoever ends up typing me, and also sorry for participating in the barrage of these you’re getting.

There are no types I am really stuck between. I am nearly entirely sure that I use Se-Ni, and slightly less sure than entirely that I use Ti-Fe. The order of my functions, I am unsure of, but I think it’s a pretty good bet that I use those four. I’m thinking Maybe ISTP or ESTP.

Extrovert vs. Introvert:

Q.1. The amount of recovery time I need after external stimulation depends entirely on how much I enjoy whatever’s happening. If I’m going out with friends, going hiking, painting, etc. I can go out and do something immediately after. However, if it is something I find tedious, like running errands, or just plainly don’t enjoy, like making conversation with people I have nothing in common with, I’ll go home and need to recharge until usually the next day.

Q.2. I don’t really pay attention to my thought process? My mind generally tends to wander off and go in completely different directions when nothing interesting is happening, but sometimes It can take a moment to change tracks if the things are completely unrelated. (like if the conversation goes from birds to climate change suddenly, I might still be stuck on birds for a few minutes)

Q.3. Whooo god am I changeable. I have no plan for my life, or at least that plan differs from week to week. I like entertaining views of the future that I know I’ll never pursue because they just take /too/ long. I’m always trying something new, or pursuing a new interest, and I’m not sure if it /motivates/ me, but I do enjoy getting into new things.

Thinking/feeling axis:

Q.1. I… have a hard time sorting out how I feel about things. I’m actually seeing a therapist to help me sort out feelings about some important things in my life, because it’s hard for me to voice feelings and make decisions without external validation of those decisions. My emotions guide me much more than I wish they would. I’m easily guilted (due to past emotional abuse), and my emotions come up under stress. I hold them deep inside my chest,  (you know that one John Mulany bit? “I’ll keep all my emotions right here, and then one day I’ll die.” like that.), until they errupt in a screaming, crying, breakdown, after which I am suuuper drained.

Q.2. External praise. Listen, I desperately wish that other people’s opinions didn’t have an effect on me, and I wish that I could be a person that is capable of  only needing a good self opinion, but unfortunately I’m not.

Q.3. Not easy. At all. I can analyze my feelings from a detached viewpoint inside my head, but the second I try to articulate them, I’m stuttering, anxious, and inarticulate.

Q.4. I was sick of living in my home state, and I knew I would be able to get out of it, was to choose a place to go to college (despite the fact that I do not like, enjoy, or even want to go to college), and then to move there. First I had to factor in places my father (because he is so desperately afraid of being alone that I cannot move out, so I’ve got to lug him along with me), had lived, since he wouldn’t move anywhere he hadn’t lived/visited before. Then I looked for colleges in the areas it left me with, found the cheapest colleges, then went on Realtor.com to see if any of the areas had any affordable housing. I ended up finding a really nice house 5 minutes from the community college, 20 minutes from the beach, and priced very cheaply. So I convinced my father to let us move down here, and… Well, that’s the end of that story. 

Intuition-Based:

Q.1. I’m not a particularly articulate, so almost everything I describe is in vague terms. My intuitions are usually along the lines of “Hey, I bet that guy’s the killer!” (TV) and then “Hey look, I was right, he was the killer!”, and so I don’t really need to describe them to others.

Q.2. It’s pretty singular… for about a week at a time. At which point I move on to some other unobtainable future.

Q.3. Relatively often. I abandon things the second they stop working or being interesting. The only thing that’s really stuck with me is making art. Not individual paintings, mind you, those I abandon at a drop of a hat, but I started drawing as a kid, and I’m still making art, sooo.

Q.4. I don’t have enough hunches to put any fate into them.

Q.5. Maybe contemplative? I like analyzing human behaviour, but I still also want to participate, like, with friends, politically, etc.

Q.6. I tend to get stuck more often when being forced to choose between two possibilities, but not very often.

Q.7. I tend to mull over ideas, but not for very long. Maybe an hour at most, depending on how new/complicated the idea is.

Q.8. Things that are important to me, I take the methodical approach, but with anything else, I’m happy winding them. I’m very middle ground with this.

Q.9. If it’s absolutely something I’ve never experienced before, I’ll probably try working it out myself, and then if that doesn’t work, I’ll google to see what other people have done.

Q.10. Despite the fact that I zone out relatively often, I’m almost always aware of whats going on around me. I always keep my back to the wall so I can keep people coming, and no matter how zoned out I am, I always keep an ear on what’s going on around me, conversation wise. I can be immersed in drawing/homework/writing/playing on my phone, and still follow the storyline on tv without any problems. (unless the show is super interesting, at which point I gotta put down the distraction to pay attention)

Inferior Functions:

Q.1. My stress is caused nearly entirely by things that I can’t control. In those cases, I’ll become an emotional, crying mess. When it’s things under my control, like me being stressed because I’m procrastinating on a big project with a looming deadline, I get too stressed to work on that thing, which in turn just makes me more stressed, and a cue the spiral. At which point, I usually end up an emotional, crying mess. 

Q.2. ??? Honestly, idk.

Q.3. I wish I was more confident in my ability to make decisions for myself without giving in to the feelings of others. I get so angry at myself for needing other’s approval and falling apart without it.

Q.4. I can’t think of anything someone both admired /and/ complained about in regards to me. 

Q.5. One of my friends is super social, she can talk to and charm anyone. Everyone loves her because she’s so bubbly and friendly. (A vendor at the farmer’s market gave her a 25$ hand painted wine glass for free because they were so charmed by her), and I admire her and anyone else that is so kind and easily friendly. It’s beautiful.

Thank you for your time, and I’m sorry for bothering you. Have a nice day!

I’d say ISTP.

If you become super emotional under stress, that’s inferior Fe manifesting. Your answer to Q5 in the final section also hints at inferior Fe envying a HIGH Fe. An ESTP would have fits of inferior Ni under stress (fixation on a single negative future) and more frequent access / better control over their emotions.

- ENFP Mod

[felinehypocritical]

Richie and Bill rollerskating. The whole club is there, tho, but Richie is totally embarrassing Bill. Write it, I dare you.

you’re on nerd @beep-beep-trashmouth

Rollerskating.

A common pastime in the sixties, of course, but was it really good as a job?

Richie Tozier seemed to think so. So much, in fact, that he’d gotten an occupation himself as a waiter at a rollerblade restaurant. Derry’s own Hot Blade’s Hotspot had a new server- and, in Bill Denbrough’s opinion, a cute one at that. Richie had chosen this position for two reasons; one, the name and outfits were absolutely god-awful, almost like Richie himself, and two, he could embarrass the shit out of Bill.

These reasons were very important to Rich. Fashion never interested him very much, but he loved to note the purple pinstripes on his pants, and the way the completely refused to complement his green shirt and apron. Whoever decided on THAT, Richie had decided, must really like the Joker. The skates were the same pastel green, and he liked those, too. Richie was fast as a snake on wheels, both ways intended. He was slick and he loved to skate, and more than either of those things, he loved to humiliate Bill. And that day, it seemed, he felt like being extremely difficult.

Richie begged and bargained and succeeded in making his friends promise to come to his (we use HIS tentatively, friends and neighbors, because Richie was a shitty server and also couldn’t keep air in a closed balloon) drive-in every Saturday night. Tonight was a Saturday. Tonight also happened to be Bill’s birthday. The losers had parked in the driveway to Hot Blade’s at around six, and still no sign of de Trashmouth.

“Are you sure he’s here tonight, Big Bill?” Eddie asked anxiously, looking out the window for any sign of their friend’s head of black curls and coming up empty.

“Ch-chillax, Eds,” Bill replied, turning the car off to conserve his radio battery. “I’m sure h-he’s just in the bathroom.” Bill’s sutter had been getting better since eighth grade, when he’s begun to take French at the advice of a guidance counselor.

“Yeah, ch-ch-ch-chillax, Eddie Spaghetti!” A familiar voice called from outside the window, slightly muffled by the glass but otherwise unchanged. Richie was here, in all of his cheesy, sleazy glory. “Roll down the window, you skirts, don’t stink up the car!”

“Richie,” Bill said happily, opening the car door and letting his boyfriend slide in. Bill had gotten notably stronger in the years since he and the rest of the Club had faced off against It, his shoulders and chest as broad and as wide as his smile at this moment. He let the smaller boy sit in his lap sideways, so his be-skated feet stuck out haphazardly from the car, and kissed him on the cheek. Richie had other ideas, though, and kissed him smack on the lips, flinging his arms around Bill’s neck with great zeal and smiling in delight.

“Happy birthday, Mr. President…” Richie crooned in an eerily good Marilyn Monroe impression.

“Happy birthday to you!” Stan Uris finished drily from the pavement outside, his converse gleamingly white, his hair meticulously combed. Richie quickly got up, his blades scrabbling across the gravel of the parking lot as he stumbled over and caught Stan in a tight embrace. Stan looked somehow surprised and impressed at the same time.

“Good evening, Stanny!” Richie said coquettishly, letting go and snorting at Stan’s pained expression as he wiped his hands on his slacks. “What, I got cooties or somethin’?”

Stan shot a tired ‘I’m sorry he’s like this’ look at Bill, mentally apologizing from Richie’s playful nature. They all knew Richie was all for Bill, only for Bill… except for maybe Richie himself. Bill waved a hand in a ‘what can you do’ motion and directed his attention towards the black-haired waiter.

“Richie. Orders. Or are you too busy dry-humping Stan to do your job?”

Richie whipped out a pen from behind his ear and a notepad from his apron, and grinned deviously. “That IS my job, baby. Now, what do y’all want?”

They placed their orders in a scattered manner, Stan Mike and Ben having only just arrived, and their total came up to 12 burgers and 4 orders of fries, along with 5 milkshakes that they’d inevitably get into fights about sharing. No matter how close they were, and what other fluids they had exchanged, there were lines Stan simply didn’t cross, no matter how good shakes were. He usually gave in, saying he didn’t even like milkshakes. That was always a lie, and Ben would without fail find him another straw and give the remainder of his, although Stan was on track on now and regularly cut down on junk, or as he put it, ‘Richie Food’. Mike simply didn’t like anything too creamy and thick, and got a coke instead, from the cooler in the back of the Uris’s car. Bev had gotten over her ‘boys have cooties’ phase long before Eddie and Stan ever would, however, and would sample all of the boys’ shakes without shame.

Richie twirled his pen and put it back behind his ear in a way that pushed his curls back and made Bill’s heart clench up. “Good deal, good deal,” he said. “I’ll get that started for ya. See you, nerds!”

“See ya later, alli-skater!” Bev yelled after their speedy, trashmouthed friend.

The gang goofed off as they waited for Richie’s fantastic service, playing a game of War with the card deck Mike had brought. It was from 1895, Mike explained, which was when Bicycle became the United States Playing Card Company of Cincinnati and playing cards became popular. He’d picked them up from a pawnshop downtown one day last year, and they were of immeasurable value.

“Sure,” Ben said. “Immeasurably valuable for Bill. I can see him eyeing those cards, don’t let him take them. He’ll take the 1895 dust right off those cards on Silver, Mike.” Bill snorted and pushed him to the side, dealing out another hand and narrowing his eyes at Ben over his cards.

They laughed and talked and joked, looking at Richie zoom around the lot absently as they bantered about nothing and everything. They were sitting on the hoods and tops of their cars in the dying light, the boys in their letterman jackets and polo shirts and white tshirts, and Beverly in her mod dress and headband that Bill had told her made her look like Julie Christie.

Bev was still very much in love with Bill, more than words would ever say, but she could hold until Richie grew bored. She doubted that time would come, though- Richie seemed stuck on Bill with a fixation the likes of which she’d never seen. He looked at Bill with such an intense need and admiration that she thought it outweighed even Eddie’s sometimes.  And Bill seemed similar- he watched his ridiculous boyfriend bop around with the analytical interest of the professionals he saw about his stutter and his anxiety. He loved seeing Richie happy, even going as far as to try and spoil him into happiness. What a wonderful pair, she thought dreamily, watching Bill’s eyes trail after Richie in want as he bustled toward them. What a wonderful pair.

Her thoughts were interrupted by RIchie almost slamming into the side of Bill’s new Thunderbird at a velocity that made Bill cry out and catch him under his arms.

“B-be careful, Rich!” Bill yelped, hoisting Richie upright and handing him his platters. “Don’t kill yourself before you get Hayst-stack his f-f-food!” Ben blushed a bright red, mumbling and looking away sheepishly.

Richie got busy, passing out the burgers and fries with urgency. “He’s just joshin’, Benners. He loves you just the same, gut or no gut.” He plopped down on the car-stopper, looking up from his own strawberry shake only when Bill said his name.

“Wh-whaddya think you’re doing, Rich? Get your skinny ass up here!” Richie was all too happy to comply, seating himself on Bill’s lap yep again and looping an arm around his shoulder as he sipped his milkshake gaily. He kicked his feet back and forth before toeing his skates off and dropping them neatly down, nearly hitting Eddie on the head. Eddie’s expression made them all laugh, and they exploded into conversation again.

“Congrats on your sixteenth, Billy!” That was Mike, his tempered enthusiasm shining through.

“Yeah, happy sixteenth!” Ben added, cheersing with Stan.

“L’chaim,” Stan said sarcastically, and the rest of them collapsed into giggles. “Hah-fuckin-hah, dipshits, that means cheers in Hebrew. Happy birthday, Bill. You sure are the king on a mountain of assholes.”

He looked pointedly at Richie, who replied, “takes one to know one, Stan the Man, and you’re friends with them all.

“But yeah, happy sweet sixteen, bay-bee,” he drawled. They all laughed again, a happy, carefree sound, and Stan Uris, who would die at 38 with no children and a wife he would be leaving behind, in a tub pinked with his own blood, crosses decorating his arms, laughed with them.

Eddie Kaspbrak, who would also die under the same circumstances, except with his blood pinking his own shirt and sportcoat in the sewers he’d pledged himself to, raised his milkshake as well. “Happy birthday to the best friend a guy could have.” He looked sheepishly at the others. “Sorry, guys, it’s just-”

“No, no, we know, my dear Eds,” Richie replied flippantly. “We all know you’d let Bill take you to the edge of a cliff and he could say jump off, and you’f do it for a pat on the ass and a kiss on the lips. No, sorry- for free.” Eddie grumbled, fiddling with his aspirator and looking down at his hamburger in defeat.

“Happy birthday, Bill.” Bev.

“Thanks, guys. Y-you’re th-the best fruh-riends I could wish for.” Bill looked at them earnestly, stars and tears mingling in his eyes and glimmering in the night.

They sat in silence for a time, looking to their food and occasionally making a joke, and eventually, they finished their food. Slowly but surely.

Richie got up suddenly, slapping his forehead. “Oh, how could I forget?”

“Richie, what-” Bill attempted to say, his boyfriend cutting him off with a kiss on the temple.

“No time, gotta run, be right back, hon!” Richie called over his shoulder, racing away and running inside the building. The losers looked at the others and shrugged. Just Richie being Richie.

Richie was back, quick as a whip, with something ablaze in fire in his hands. Bill saw quickly that it was a cake.

“An ice-cream cake!” Richie proclaimed smugly, holding it out as the others crowded around and handing the cutter to Mike. “It’s all you, Mikey-man.”

Bill cleared his throat. “L-let me make this clear- w-we are NOT singing th-the birthday song.”

But it was too late. Richie was already pushed up against him, nestled into his chest, looking up from comically hooded eyes at Bill as the others serenaded him loudly. He pulled at his collar, looking slightly pink as Richie tipped up and pressed another kiss onto his lips in ecstasy.

The group of teenagers simmered down, sitting back in their spots as they glutted themselves on icecream cake and good conversation. Bill, Richie in his arms, surrounded by the laughing boys and girl, felt warmth fill his entire body.

He really was the luckiest guy in the world.