#but having fp around at all in the first place is always weird so it's not that big a deal

[beatcroc]

i'm not as shy as that other guy so i would love to give your fakey kisses just as long as og peppino isnt around to see

See I also don't think this matters dfgsdxgf. peppino isn't gonna care. Hell, he'll probably be glad for someone besides him to keep fp busy for once.

[submalevolentgrace]

hey videogames enjoyers, play a little 'what if?' game with me.

imagine an alternate timeline where the modern first person shooter didn't and doesn't exist. no call of duty, no titanfall, no borderlands, no bioshock, no pubg, no overwatch, not even halflife. they never existed. there was however still a small experimental game way back in the 80's called 'wolfenstein 3d' that basically nobody remembers, leaving pretty much no cultural impact or legacy on the gaming landscape. and sure, around y2k if you fell down some very specific internet forum rabbit holes you'd find a small niche community playing some equally obscure successors inspired by wolfenstein: doom, quake, hexen, and some weird one called rise of the triad; 'wolfensteinies', the community called them, in honour of the original. most gamers would be put off by their confusing and frustrating mechanics, but of course, everyone that stuck around long enough to really get into one of these cult-canonical 'big four' in the genre was captivated by them. people in this tiny community loved their wolfensteinies so much that it was a (true) running joke that basically everyone was trying to make their own version of one.

but if you played these unknown games, or even just attempted to describe their characteristics to other gamers, they'd look at you like you were insane. who'd play games like that? they have such ugly primitive graphics, and you just shoot people with bullets that come out of your eyes somehow and you have to keep picking up fuel for the shooting, and the enemies shoot you back, and you're stuck in some kind of unfathomable maze and have to keep walking and opening doors until you find your way out, and you keep having to shoot at enemies the whole time while running out of shooting fuel? people play that for fun???

and over the years there were a few attempts at making something approaching this bizarre "shooting people from your eyes and opening lots of doors" kind of gameplay more mainstream for various 16-bit and early 3d consoles… but despite being both faithful to the wolfenstein roots and also bringing something fun and unique to the table, they always did poorly both critically and commercially, even with a big brand tie-in like pokemon or final fantasy attached, so were forgotten.

and the genre of wolfensteinies died out.

but then, something unusual happens in the early-to-mid 2010's; the indie game scene kinda explodes, and goes fully mainstream. it's never been easier to get your game up on steam or even a console's digital store, and with the boom in experimental indie games playing around with what's possible, a new type of game - a whole new genre! - blasts onto the scene: the "wolfensteinie". nobody seems to know where the genre or name came from, but suddenly every other indie game that comes out is a wolfensteinie or has wolfensteinie-style mechanics in it. mainstream gamers and fans of this brand new genre have still never heard of quake or doom let alone the original, but 'wolfensteinie' popularity has skyrocketed. confusingly, however, all these indie darling wolfensteinie games - that are ostensibly drawing inspiration from wolfenstein 3d or else why would they still be calling themselves wolfensteinies - none of them are really first person shooters… the first person shooter still doesn't exist, or at least hasn't for decades. some of these games have a first person viewpoint but most don't, many have guns in them but many don't, a few of them take place in mazey castles i guess, but it honestly kinda seems like none of the people making these games have ever even heard of wolfenstein 3d or the big classic wolfensteinies.

so what even makes a modern game a wolfensteinie then, if none of them are fps's? well it's the coloured keycards and dogfood, duh! that's what wolfensteinies are all about! you collect coloured keycards to unlock the respective coloured doors, and there is dogfood that you can eat. everyone knows that's what a game means when it says it has 'wolfensteinie mechanics' in it! and since these mechanics are so popular, game designers want to put them into as many of their games as possible. an action adventure wolfensteinie with soulslike combat, a dungeon crawling dating sim with wolfensteinie mechnics, an island hopping life sim wolfensteinie! although as the genre has broadened its appeal, the mechanics have obviously been softened a bit for the average gamer; it's generally accepted that painting over keycards to open unmatched doors and storing dogfood as an inventory item for later instead of having to eat straight from the bowl still let a game count as a wolfensteinie, or at least 'wolfensteinish'.

the word 'wolfenstein' is still literally in the title of the genre, but its roots and history and identity have been so unrecognisably mangled that most people seemingly don't even question where the name came from, whether this 'wolfenstein' thing might have originally been its own unique game, with its own unique mechanics almost completely unexplored in the modern genre. what would fans say of the original genre-defining game?

"eww, that's so ugly and basic, we have way better games now with keycards and dogfood in them, if opening doors in a maze is what you find fun gameplay."

imagine that world. no first person shooters are made, but the market is absolutely flooded with indie games - and AAA titles now too! - all proudly claiming lineage from wolfenstein 3d, all absolutely certain that what makes them part of that lineage is coloured keycards and dogfood. imagine the absurdity. imagine you were one of those big four cult fans from back in the day, struggling to even find a copy of 'doom community support edition' that can run on a modern operating system, while fans of keycard and dogfood games think you're nuts for wanting to play something as obscure, bespoke, ugly and just plain uninspired as doom.

imagine that reality. keycards and dogfood being the cultural legacy of first person shooters.

because, yeah, this post is an old gamer's lament for the absurd reality that exists with a little genre that for some reason is still called 'roguelikes'.

rogue? nethack, angband, linley's dungeon crawl, adom? a massive amount of complexly interactive elements allowing for inventive solutions and emergent gameplay unlocked through iterative knowledge and creative thinking of available tools? people play that for fun???

"eww, that's so ugly and basic, we have way better games now with permadeath and procedural generation in them, if playing the same bits over and over and over is what you find fun gameplay."

[akkivee]

I feel like HypMic is at this weird point where they are lingering on how they want to proceed forward. I feel like the music for the 2nd DRB was very experimental, and I did appreciate that even if I didn't like all the music (except for that DragonAsh song tho that was ass LOL). It feels like KR is struggling with how to move forward with telling a story while using the voting system, as such they've kinda written themselves into a corner. Like it was obvious they wanted FP to win the 2nd DRB because it was needed for plot. But at the same time it really feels like the plot has slowed to a crawl at the same time, and between that and the music creeping away from rap you're kinda left with a feeling of disappointment overall. It esp hits harder when you're a fan of BAT and DH given how under utilized they still are in the grand scheme of things. But given how they placed them geographically it feels like yet another instance of KR accidentally writing them into a corner and struggling to rectify that so they can be more relevant but also make it make sense, idk. I still love Kuko no matter what even if the series is currently languishing. (it also doesn't help that there isn't really any unified fandom because of politics, too much content too fast, and people being so oshi-pilled they have no interest in touching content that doesn't interest them. Which again, sucks as BAT fan cuz we don't really have a translator solider for us.)

what’s really really annoying about that, is that it has been put out there that we’ve entered the third act in hypmic’s story and tho it’s not always necessarily the case, usually that means we are heading towards an end. and we are starting to see an end with a lot of og division plot threads so to be closer to the end than not and still having like a third of your cast floundering around is not good!!!!! at all lol!!!! unless there’s a max effort push to bring nagosaka into the fold, it really does feel like nagosaka, no matter what, will feel under utilised

hypmic’s slow to come plot bombs have been a staple since the beginning so i’m not mad at it, esp since i suspect those long waits have something to do with production values and making the next shiny, economically stimulating thing lol, but you’re right about it not being great rn when everything else is not great lol

but i will say hypmic has its formulas. like the way first solos were surface level character introduction raps and the second solos went into depth, for the og divisions, their first drb and preceding dramas were introductory and the 2nd drb dramas really dug deep into them. so hopefully the same will happen for nagosaka when the 3rd drb drama hits them lol 🤞

[mechaknight-98]

The Problem with Well of Radiance.

So they finally nerfed well of radiance, but in doing so have made it still required cool. Upcoming rant if you don't like destiny you can ignore this post and just enjoy this cute Kura Gif

Okay so this is going to be a bit different from the content I normally make but it needs to be said. The balance team for Destiny 2 is super weird in that they understand that the well of Radiance is a problem and are pretty much the gatekeeper for high-level content if you're a warlock main but refuse to actually address why it's a problem. I'm not going to go into the numbers game as that's been done ad nauseum by better players. What I will go into is why it's so prominent in the first place and how we came here.

Destiny 2 in all facets is a twitch FPS that cosplays as an MMORPG. Its a lot of Halo with a sprinkle of wow and Diablo. You have classes, weapons, stats, and loot but it is all superficial as typically there is one correct build path for each class at higher levels. That would be fine if they didn't all play the same and had access to roughly the same weapons, active skills etc. So to differentiate each class they give supers with most being a big burst of Damage for one player and a buff. Save for one (maybe two) in particular Well of Radiance.

For those who don't know Well of Radiance is essentially a healing rift and attack boost rift that gives the warlock and supporting fireteam a considerable boost in survivability and damage for how long it lasts. Which on paper is fine but in practice serves to make it the most required super in the game for one class. This is specifically due to the fact that at higher levels content is only balanced around things hitting you harder and having more health. This would be fine if it weren't also for the fact that Bungie (the people who make destiny 2) balance high-level enemies around players having access to a well. Further cementing its need to be present. Bingie’s current solution has been reduce well’s synergies with other exotics and Well of Radiance itself, but at the same time not giving any of the other warlock options worthwhile supers or abilities that would divert efficacy. This would also be fine if at the same time they nerfed well they didn't nerf every other class except Solar/Arc Titan by reducing the class’s ability to survive in high content. So now well is still the best super because it gives your allies a damage and health bonus that evens the game in the player's favor in a way that no other super can. So as a warlock main, I’m Throwing the game because I'm not running it because Bungie’s balance team accounts for it and everyone else is squishier.

So whats the solution…

Remove it from the game. That's the answer Remove Well of Radiance from the game and just let warlocks not have good supers because this band-aid approach isn't working. Especially since they can't buff any of the other warlock supers so that they can compete with Well because you have to make the deal enough damage to compete with the loss of 6 players worth of boosted damage and mitigation. So just remove it. Give Warlocks another nova bomb because at this point there's not really much they can do to balance well then what they've have already done besides removing it from the game or power creep it out.

TLDR: If Well of Radiance is such a problem to balance just remove it. Don't band-aid fix it because it's not fun being the only class that has to one viable build option on one subclass because its better than everything else. Because it will always be a problem as long as you balance taking it into account.

[smash-64]

2023 Game of the Year Countdown #9 Pokemon Scarlet Nintendo Switch, 2023

I am slightly reluctant to rate this game as highly as I do, but I realized something important: that reluctance is firmly aimed at the executives that rushed this game to market, not those who worked hard to make the game what it is. So let me get to what succeeds and what fails about this game, and wow do I have a lot to say. Let’s start with the bad.

We all know how poorly this game runs. Animations of characters, Pokemon, and the environment beyond the area immediately surrounding you runs at single digit frames per second. It’s actually shocking to see something like this on a modern console, especially when nothing appears to be overloading the game from a graphics standpoint. I’ve seen claims that the game is constantly animating an entire globe of ocean, even when you’re nowhere near the water, nor able to see it, which would obviously slow down the game. But it also is baffling because what could possibly be the point of that? As someone who doesn’t really care about graphics or FPS, you really have to screw things up for me to take notice and have an issue with it. But it’s egregious and unavoidable. You’ll run into issues within the first 20 minutes of playing the game.

While it’s nice to finally have an open world in Pokemon, the cities and towns suffer massively from being literal facades. We don’t need to be able to go inside every single building, but there are almost zero buildings you can actually enter at all. Shops are just menus. Most buildings are just for looks. It makes the towns and cities feel empty and pointless, with little character or substance. Sure, some have interesting colors or designs, but there’s often just nothing to do in any of them. That’s not to say that the old games were the epitome of perfection; Viridian City has very little to do, for example. But, there’s something to be said for having a few houses with NPCs or something. Most NPCs just have generic lines or you can’t even talk to them at all.

Speaking of NPCs, the trainers spread throughout the land feel really weird. It’s like someone literally placed them at random. I stumbled upon some of them in the middle of nowhere. It would have been nice to see them clustered around natural formations or crossroads. There also aren’t very many of them. I found myself forgetting that other trainers even existed at times. 

One very odd thing about Scarlet is that you can’t re-challenge the Elite Four once you’ve beaten them. This seems supremely odd, as you’ve always been able to challenge them again. Usually, they even have improved teams. There is no Battle Tower, either. Instead, you do get a fairly fun Academy Ace Tournament, but it feels lacking when you look at what else there could have been. It would have been nice to have something akin to Pokemon Stadium, with multiple Cups representing a sort of progression of skill. Another missed opportunity.

My last gripe is something I’ve been disappointed with for many years and multiple generations: battle gimmicks. First it was Mega Evolution, then Dynamaxing, and now Terastallization. Z Moves I was actually okay with because it felt like finally having a game version of when Ash tells Pikachu to like…do a backflip while using Iron Tail for extra damage or something. You can also only do it once per battle, so it felt quite a bit less impactful. The rest are all really dumb, in my opinion. They make the entire metagame focus on the new gimmick that won’t stick around and shifts focus from just the actual Pokemon and their moves and type advantages and Idk just…regular battling. I’ve been so annoyed with these gimmicks and constantly let down each and every time we get a new generation because they’re obsessed with this nonsense.

Ok, that’s about the end of my complaints. I got a bit ranty on that last one! I do enjoy quite a few things about this game, however.

As some know, I speak Spanish and lived in Spain for a short time while in college. It was a highlight of my life and my friends will never hear the end of stories that start with “when I was in Spain.” So to have a region based on Spain was something that hyped me up so much for this game. 

I really appreciate the art direction and design of the region of Paldea. The eye-catching mosaics found throughout the region reflect things like Gaudi’s benches in Barcelona, and are bright in color. Buildings often share similar architecture to real buildings and cities in Spain, with the most prominent being the Sagrada Familia and the Pokemon Academy, but many others are also apparent, if not specifically, than in general style. I really loved walking the streets of the different towns because many reminded me of my time in Spain. Windmills are all over one mountain, designed to resemble those from Don Quijote, but also reminded me of a few clusters of modern windmills found on a chain of mountains on the highway near Burgos. It’s clear the designers did a lot of homework.

Beyond just the architecture, the geography of Paldea was also very reminiscent of Spain, especially the areas around Cortondo. I spent most of my leisure time in the game in and around this town. The olive groves, high sun overhead, the bounding Mareeps, and slowly floating Hoppips in the area are essentially my Pokemon heaven. Give me some queso manchego and a good tempranillo and I’d never leave. 

It’s moments like these that remind me of the good parts of the game. The Hoppip that float leisurely by, and the fluffy little Mareep that get curious about you, coming close to inspect you and then lightly bouncing around you are just two examples of the sort of life that the animators and artists breathed into Paldea and I think it would be rude to ignore them. Pokemon has always been about the moments we create and the importance we derive from those moments. For some, it’s surviving with 1 HP in a key gym battle. For others, it’s catching a shiny with the last Poke Ball. For me, it has become just enjoying the scenery with my favorite Pokemon. 

Character designs are also a high point, and one of the things Pokemon has consistently delivered on. We’ve had fantastic designs for a long time, even when the overall games themselves might be a bit lackluster. Caty, being a bug type gym leader, has hair that resembles spun silk. Levincia is as annoying as you’d expect from a high-energy streamer. I just like seeing so many unique characters in games, and they all stand out in their own ways. The Pokemon are also generally well designed this generation, something that I don’t often say. We finally get a dolphin Pokemon, and then they screw it up by making it a lame superhero, but that’s one of the few I actively dislike. Smoliv is great and I would die for Lechonk. 

Area Zero is a really fun postgame adventure, although it’s a bit short. I like how the music adds a bit of wonder and mystery to it all, and the addition of tons of high level Pokemon reminds me a bit of Cerulean Cave from Kanto. I was also partial to the fact that the first group of Pokemon I encountered asked me for a Pepsi.

The sound design is another success of the game, with plenty of solid music throughout. I especially enjoyed Nemona’s themes and the Pokemon Ace Academy theme is quite possibly the greatest and most fitting battle tune in the history of Pokemon. I once called Marnie’s theme my favorite, but this might rival it. I can’t think of a better example of combining big battle pressure with big friendly competition. It has high energy, but also feels grand in scale without heaping pressure on you like other great battle tunes do. Can’t say I’m a big fan of Ed Sheeran, though.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Scarlet, perhaps leaning a bit heavily on the Spanish inspiration and my own nostalgia to reach that conclusion. But, I also desperately wish that Pokemon would just slow it down. Release a game that works and feels complete, but that doesn’t burn your employees out. We typically see 6-7 years between Zelda titles, but Pokemon has been on a 2-3 year schedule for quite a while now.

[fisherrprince]

I hope you don't mind me asking, but what are your blind thoughts going into stormblood? Although you mentioned having received slight spoilers, despite what you may or may not know, are you hopeful or wary about the upcoming expansion ahead of you and ch'ahri?

I dunno hardly AAANNYTHING here is a complete list of my thoughts

kugane tower jumping puzzle (I will not be attempting to win this one) (I’m decent at jumping puzzles, but only because I’m on controller and enjoy platformers)

Godzilla 💕💕💕💕 no one told me Godzilla was here (seriously even the music and laser beams were goji-like) - they seem to be leaning into some tropes this time (with Gosetsu as well)

people seem to like the omega raids? excited for those. Halfway thru Alexander as we speak and those are fun I love gobbie

i am slightly wary going into the actual story content, since the concept of freeing ala mhigo is a healthy amount of detached from real-world allegories but also a healthy amount more connected to real world conflict around annexed powers and occupied peoples than we’ve previously gone into. It’s very grounded - the primal is a consequence, rather than a part of the conflict, and I expect them to split the focus. Insofar as post-arr and heavensward are, I mostly like how they handle complex societal topics and I trust them as far as not mucking it up entirely goes, but I put myself at a literary distance about the whole thing because im not one to speak about if they’re gonna handle it well. I’m gonna watch and mess around in the world they give me first. As far as pre-stormblood goes, in my not-a-guy-who-knows-things opinion, they handled it about a 7/10? Some dialogue bothered me, some things were like dam the horrors of war and desperation so true😔 (this is a positive). Some things were like yo is that Godzilla

I do LIKE the tone though. I think they did a tonal shift into something a little darker and brought in a Silly Guy to balance it, and it feels like they have a complete grip around their overarching story and world now.

I also wonder if they’re doing two things at once and how they’ll handle it? I want to visit Doma. I want to visit doma I want to visit that underwater bubble city you look like the monkie kid dragon place. Ch’ari will probably like it too, he’s one of those weird cats who likes water and being in water

i wasnt all that interested in the trailer aside from pretty location, it seems very stereotypical fantasy asia world tour. meteor buddy grow your hair out you look so good in Dawntrail

im trying to keep my opinions my own, since I hardly hear anyone talk about stormblood, sandwiched as it is between heavensward (everyone’s first exposure to the good kush) and shadowbringers (everyone’s perfect baby). So, about 1/4 wary of the msq content, 1/2 excited for the new dungeons and fights (is all of stormblood going to have 15+ enemies coming at you at once?? My frames get scared unless I’m wired into the internet and go down to 30 fps when they all load in), 1/4 excited to see new environments and new characters again :]

Ari is always excited to go to a new place. He always tries to make a good first impression, because whatever you do next (even if you’re rude) is colored by your first impression, and it sometimes fails and sometimes works to his benefit. He didn’t have a good reputation in Limsa, and it was shaky AT BEST in Ishgard, this is the first city he goes where either no one knows him or if they do know him it’s in a positive light. New experience for kitty

[goopi-e]

Finally got a semblance of free time to play the Recently Released Videogame! No plot discussions happen in this post, I just gush about the little things.

My experience is, uh. Suboptimal. I am grateful my laptop can emulate Switch at all, but when your average FPS is around 5, only gets as high as 12 and has a tendency to go into decimals or freeze, fast-paced combat gets hard.

Despite that, the gameplay is fun! All the abilities are such a blast, and compliment one another nicely: for example, I cheesed one part of a certain shrine by Ultrahanding a platform in one place in the air for a bit, then effectively Stasising it with Recall, then Ascending on top of that still-Recalled platform, and then getting additional height by shield-jumping on a shield fused with a spring. Just for funsies. The intended solution was to essentially shield-surf on a short straight rail.

God I love fusing springs to shields. Revali who. My Bomb Flower count is criminally low, as I haven't figured a way to dupe them w/o exploding, and I don't have consistent source of rockets yet, but the springs are relatively early-game and do their job pretty well!

You know what I love even more than that? Glitches :^). And they're finally easy enough for me, a total noob, to perform. I only duped materials so far, timing a frame-perfect weapon dupe on my suboptimal setup sounds hard... but I wanna try and transfer the legendary MsgNotFound one of these days. I was so lucky to find a diamond in one of the caves tho!

Did you know that the shrine lobby (a tiny area seen through the entry portal) can serve as a cover for your campfire during rainy weather? It made more sense in BоTW, as Shеikah shrines were more material, but beggars can't be choosers.

So far my playthrough fits the "feral Lonk" stereotype. Towns are laggy, so I mostly wander around the wilderness aimlessly. The overall plan is to grind the full second stamina wheel + activate a few towers, then go get the Heart Container from the Great Plateau quest, get the Master Sword, grind shrines for hearts and only then hit a couple of dungeons. After that, joining the Yıga is a must. I'm not even sure I'll be able to fight the dungeon bosses or G-man with how hard even the basic combat currently is, so my only hope is to be able to tank through damage.

I wanted to get the Lobster Tunic so badly, but the guys at Lurеlin keep kicking my ass :^(.

Sadly, it seems you cannot skip the first memory. The puddles just aren't anywhere inside the geoglyphs.

Fujibаyashi-san loves to put the "temporary equipment loss moment" in all of the series entries done under him (except MC), and in TоTK alone there's soooo many. It's a whole shrine subset now, not to mention the dedicated pantsless quest in the gazette storyline. Wonder how's the Еvеntide doing these days - judging by a chasm, it doesn't seem like a similar event will take place here.

Speaking of chasms on the islands... Remember the PH-themed archipelago in the wetlands? There's a chasm on Mercay island. You know. The island where the Temple of The Ocean King is located. Something about the way BоTW/TоTK genuinely appreciates DS games feels very vindicating. First Monster Cake being a chancellor's favourite dessert, then the Phantom armor being one of the most OP sets, and now this chasm.

I saw Flowerblight :з.

Ang got owned by the Floormasters Gloom Hands once. Not touching them with a sturdy-stick-stick before I get s'more hearts, I know what comes after.

The guy with the sign! Such a cute concept, and the rewards are always so generous!

Depths are weird. The flora is super cool, and the landscape is twisted to a degree that merely figuring out how to get from point A to point B becomes a nontrivial challenge. Collecting Poes is fun, and I love getting the uncorrupted weapons from the ghosts of the past. Everything else scares me shitless. Mostly

Catching a Star fragment mid-air feels downright magical. I know they were probably coded with exactly that method of aquisition in mind, but it always feels like such a lucky catch.

Saw Nауdra once. Got the scale. Fused it to a spear. Now the spear looks like a comically large spoon, and I can't keep a straight face when this thing pops across half a screen, so I never equip it, but don't unfuse it either out of respect for the comedy aspect. The only funnier weapon that I've got so far is the honeycomb boomerang I got from a monster camp (the idea is genius, and I have honeycombs to maybe recreate it later), which is currently fused to a surprisingly high-damage Boko arm.

Yeah, I'm not unfusing my comically large Nауdra spon until I get a camera and take a selfie with it.

I always feel bad when fighting the apple-collecting Bokos. They have tiny Boko baskets on their backs :^(. They're just little guys :^(.

PORTABLE COOKING POTS. AND MULTIPLE TRAVEL MEDALLIONS THAT AREN'T LOCKED BY A DLC. YES.

Purаh is the prettiest woman to grace this world.

[rigginsstreet]

If hermione every so often would make comments to fred when they were dating in high school about stuff like "aren't you going to brush your hair before we go?" "aren't you going to take me somewhere nicer for dinner?" "is that what you're wearing?" "is that all you bought me?" etc etc it was just in her nature even if she did truly like him for who he was and fred would jump to make her happy every time and fp would overhear and fume so bad because he would NEVER ask fred to change himself or imply he wasn't good enough fred was already perfect to HIM!!! 😤 how dare she make fred feel bad...

CANON TO ME!!!!!

like fred obviously enjoyed dating hermione but it kinda stressed him out cuz he always had to make sure he looked right for her and got her the right gifts and took her to the right places and like these are things he kinda worries about with everyone? because he wants to be a good boyfriend but with hermione it was always extra stressful lmao but with fp he found himself not really worrying as much, not because he didnt care but because fp never had a complaint about how fred looked or where they went (unless fred tried taking him some place corny but even then fp would end up having fun) or what gifts fred got him and fred wasnt really aware of that difference at first and what it meant, he just knew dating fp was easier on his spirit in a weird way even if they had to do all this hiding and secret keeping, the actual act of being around fp was just lighter and more comfortable

[dailybayonetta]

Dunno if somebody already came asking you this but, what do you really think about the graphics in Bayo3? They look very bland to me and somehow backtracked, even in the first preview trailer I was like "damn, this is not good". Look at Bayo2, a game from eight years ago, it still looking hella good and pretty, but Bayo3? Not even the hair moves or characters expression are giving that classic Bayonetta visuals. Honestly, for a rich company like Nintendo they should, y'know, gave more dedication on the graphics 💀(also, this is NOT a hate ask towards Bayo3, but comparing to the others two games in the franchise, this is the weakest in both graphics and gameplay)

Nope, actually so far noone talked about it! Yet! And yeah, I agree. Especially coming from someone who now used all three games on my pc by emulating them... Bayo3 is sooo rough. It's doesn't really holds up, even worse on handled mod. The way that wicked waves and wings look. At least it barely has fps problems like some other games (looks at smt5) or Astral Chain (that at least was running 30 fps only) so I guess sacrifices had to be made, so Bayo3 would run mostly 60fps. What also is so weird, not only Bayonetta 2 was literally made for WiiU which is even weaker system, but it runs perfectly on switch, in both handled and docked. And it looks fine in handled, unlike Bayo3 which cuts so many stuff. Thought If I had to guess porting already existing titles (bayo 1+2) is much easier than developing a game from the scratch on hardware? And switch isn't the easiet console to develop on, it's sure ain't no ps4/ps5/xbx1/xbxs and pc and etc. If to defend platinum somehow. But I think it's isn't just the graphic, it's just overall the artstyle (direction of artstyle?). Like, I get it, this game is departure for the series, but does it have to look so unisprised sometimes? So many empty space? Oh wow... destroyed Tokyo I guess. With roofs... REMEMBER WHEN WE WENT TO HELL???? Or visited ancient cities that looked unique and magic? Now we have anicent China and it's burning i guess :/ Oh look, there's an Egyptain lvl that contains three buildings and lots of sand to slide on, rocks and nothing else! Plus, yeah, the movement overall in cutscenes feels unnatural sometmes (my god did i felt so wrong when i saw how bayo1 bayo looks in bayo3 at the start and here i thought that bayo2 version of it was bad), and like Bayonetta cutscenes were always exgatarred, but this time it's not in a normal way? Again, the direction is all ovedr the place? Viola is overly animated, like her movement is so different from the rest of the cast, Bayonetta is mostly stiff I wouldn't say she feels as acrobatic or floaty. And like I said before, the script doesn't saves this mess either, you have this characters talk with each other but instead of having dialogue (hell it doesn't even need to be meaningful it can be just fun) they are like info-dumping or something (guess this also had to do with who's directing english adaptation this time around) To my suprise, I kind of disliked how Jeanne looked in the early trailers, but she actually looks fantastic (except the make up) and probably my favorite this time around. But her treatment is another story. And it's not even really Nintendo's fault, their current console has AND can handle beautiful games, I just think Platinum has quite massive ideas for action game and that requieres hardware that can handle and run it, switch isn't just build for that. Cause at the end of the day - it's handled system.

Plus, add to that, that currently it's quite common thing to go into more greedy / realistic style over the actual artstyle with a fun sense. I'll be forever mad that such good game as DMC5 got stuck in the most basic ass looking artstyle with scanned real people for characters and making it's locations and level design the most boring things ever in comparision to previous titles. Same goes for Baoy3.

[vyrim]

Im semi excited for the full Balders Gate 3 release in a month. I have no issue with the divinity style even if some aspects of it, such as the little amount of interesting stuff that comes from leveling up, arent the most exciting. My major concern is the performance side of things. First couple of hours I was fine, able to explore the beginning of the area with a constant 60 fps. Then it just kept dipping and dipping as I played, until I basically got to the end of the ea content barely able to keep a stable 30. With that teaser video they did of the actual Balders Gate city supposedly being massive and detailed, im worried that my computer wont be able to run it at all, let alone at a non eye straining frame rate. We'll see though I guess.

Minor complaints underneath

TLDR: Wish this game looked shittier but played better. I couldnt give two shits how realistic the models or environment if it was just really well tuned. Probably gonna be one of those "Devs bit off more than they could chew" situations that Ill end up getting angry at around the second half, finish, and never play again.

-Ive always hated the spellcasting system of most tabletops. Cast a spell and its gone, if it missed or failed then sucks to be you. Its not a fun idea, and I wish most of the spells were simply made weaker or placed on a cooldown rather than limited. That was what was cool about divinity, if you figured out some really cool combos then you wouldnt have to resort to resting every couple fights just to use them again. Sucks, especially since most stuff is subject to roll rng, so your big lv 3 spellslot ability means nothing cause dipshit beat the dc by chance. Even worse when alot of spells are channeled, so if your character gets hit even once and then proceeds to fail the concentration check the spell fizzles out. Lame shit.

-THE CAMERA. The camera is atrocious, and I dont know what they did differently compared to Divinity 2, but it is a nightmare to control. If you pan too far from your character theres this, like, invisible leash that sudden kills any further movement. It also hates and form of horizontal movement, which means if your character is really high up it wont go down, and if youre trying to look up a cliff it'll just rub the wall.

-The cast is underwhelming. You have a githyanki which is neat, but otherwise its literally two human guys, a half elf, and a vampire elf. Theres not a single dwarf, halfing, gnome, or even a tiefling in the party, which is super lame. They could have easily had a dwarf with the weird magical item hunger problem, or a tiefling vampire wouldve been funny as hell.

-While the variety of extra actions are cool (I cant count how many people Ive killed by shoving them off cliffs or into lava) but theyre really clunky. The environment has so much detail that shoving or shooting in a direction is at massive risk of being just caught on some stray rock or pillar.

-The AI for npcs is still as dumb as it used to be, had a slave get mad at me for shoving its captor into lava. Guys that have never pathed will suddenly turn around out of the blue, even had one person just t-pose and vanish.

-Most of the magical equipment I got wasnt very interesting. Even the adamantite stuff I got after the big fight in the forge was just a debuff on hit. I want silly shit, I want game breaking shit, I want more stuff like those weird tentacle grenades that pull people in.

-Very buggy, and with how big theyre saying the game is gonna be I dont think its any better on release, probably worse actually. I wouldnt have such issues with it if reloading the game didnt take thirty years to complete. Poor Shadowheart made a jump only to glitch out and plummet several stories mid way.

[inkywinkdink]

wrote this story called “appetite of one” on google docs, and gave it like 2 chapters before forgetting about it. remembered it awhile ago so i thought to share it

at first, i thought it'd be a bit weird to tell this story, but with a bit courage, i went for it. here we go :D

Chapter 1

It was a day like any other, I woke up. I thought to myself, “Better be ready for tomorrow.” I looked back at my calendar in my room, hanging on my wall with only a staple stabbed into it and the wall, barely hanging on. In a big red circle, with a doodle of a birthday cake on the day, June 5th. Today was June 4th. This isn’t my birthday, but my brother, Ed’s. “Huh.. What should I get him? He doesn’t like any toys, he’s almost 14. Maybe a game? No, it might remind him of dad and mom.” It took a while for me to think. Anything I thought of, either wasn’t Ed’s interest or could remind him of traumas. “I’m not trying to hurt Ed. I want him to be happy for the first time since his last birthday.” I thought.

Ed’s 13th birthday went worse than ever, as the house nearly burned down, and Ed has a phobia of fire. I think you can guess how that went.

On June 5th, 2010, Ed’s 13th birthday.

“We got you something you’d like, Ed.” Mom said, with a grin on her face. “It’s something you’d always beg for.” Dad said, with a slight smile. Ed gently tore the bright, red paper that was tightly wrapped around a rectangle box. He pulled out a box cutter, flawlessly slicing through the tape. The box’s arms flapped out, nearly smacking him at quick speed. Inside the box was a tinier box, it was carefully placed almost perfectly in the bottom of the cardboard box it sat in. Ed reached his hands in, both of his hands grabbing the sides of the box. He turned the box around, inspecting it. It had a poofy, red bow on the front side of the box, where some toy of sorts was inside. He gently pulled off the bow, then threw the bow to his dad to catch. The white box had a clear window, which showed a toy airplane. Ed’s smile grew more and more as he looked at it. “We knew you’d enjoy it. Since you were 10, you would beg us for an airplane toy. Here you go, Ed. What you always wanted.” “Thank you.” He mumbled, trying to not scream of joy. Mom looked at me, she seemed surprised how he said thank you. He’d usually not say it till I told him to. Ed started freaking out, like swaying his legs around and never leaving the sight of the toy off his eyes. But the most obvious part was his big.. No, gigantic smile on his face. He was like a squeaky toy that was squeezed really, really hard by a little kid. That’s how happy he was.

Chapter 2

I watched how he opened the box, with glee in his face. I have never seen him this or more happy. I could audibly hear his “happy noises” as mom called it, “Tourette Syndrome” as the psychiatrist called it. Sure, at first, his tics weren’t audible, but when it was quiet, you could hear it for sure. All that was making noise, other than him, was a speaker playing some overrated christmas song, like “All I want for christmas is you”, playing in the crispy 144 FP quality it usually does. That song makes me cringe, but also scared.

Ed, mom, and dad all started setting the toy up so it’d work. I just stared in awe. “How long is this gonna take?” I ask, pure confusion. “Just wait.” Mom said. I could see Ed not waiting, he’d look like he’d explode in excitement. “I was just asking in confusion, not hate.” I said back, hoping she’d understand. “Kay, whatever you say.” Mom said, not even focused on me. I am not a mean or selfish kid, but I felt like I didn’t get anything, since I didn’t open anything yet. “Did I get anything?” I asked, just making sure. “Of course, dear. We don’t hate you.” Mom said, sounding concerned that I asked. Dad just looked back at me, with a slight concern as well.

I look back at the tree, two gifts sat under it. I crawled toward the tree. I could hear them laughing in joy. I looked out the window, the night moon seemed to gleam at me, and the cold wind breezed on my arms, making me shiver. I could feel my hair flow backwards, like I shouldn’t do this. I decided that I was “just gonna check if they were for me” so I could, at least, not be impatient. I grabbed my black hair and tucked it under my shirt so it wouldn’t fly away. I looked at the presents under the tree, and checked the presents. Yup. “For Jay, for Jay.. both for me? No more for Ed? Well, he got an airplane, he’d be pleased with that.”

I thought it was strange how my parents put up a tree for a birthday party, but neither Ed nor I questioned it. It was “just tradition”, like mom said. And dad had the idea of giving both me and Ed presents, despite that it was his birthday. Not mine. It’s especially weird because of the fact that my birthday is in September, nowhere close to Ed’s.

But.. It's just tradition.

Just tradition.

[ end of chap 2 ]

yayayayayy!! :D

[ruscha]

so i finished my first playthrough of buddy simulator 1984, spoileps 2 follow

got the “neutral” ending, & it was intriguing enough to maybe do some more playthroughs and get the other endings eventually, but we’ll see. overall, loved some of the concepts a lot and was a little irritated by some of the other ones.

concepts that were really good:

- a programmed entity’s personality becoming warped and obsessive because of the way they were constructed or the limits to their programming (reminiscent of glados obsessively testing the player portal because what else would she do)

- a game creator hastily building a game around you and trying to keep you engaged to a desperate obsessive degree (probably hits home for the developers)

- the strange evolution of game design from text adventure to 3D fps

- glitchy dark shit happening to the meta of the world (we love an undertale don’t we folks)

- rly cute character design and dialogue from all the townsfolk, to the point where i was really torn on who to pick as my 2 party members in the 2.5D stage

things i wasn’t a huge fan of:

- i distrusted and was suspicious of buddy from the get-go, making the arc of our friendship feel fake and contrived from the start. buddy feels “caring” but always in a desperate, almost “mandatory” way, which ofc is the point of the game to an extent, but there’s very little time to bond w/ them organically before the creepy shit starts. i would have cared more about getting one of the nicer endings the first time if i didn’t feel like they were constantly manipulating my feelings and hiding things from me from the moment we started playing. perhaps this is something that varies from player to player based on past experiences, or maybe the devs didn’t intend for the relationship to have a true heel-turn moment but to be challenging throughout. who knows

- lots of the creepy moments in the game are sort of.. not addressed through the narrative or feel out of place. buddy isn’t “corrupted” or actively trying to be malicious to the player, so the only other narrative explanation for the creepy stuff would be owen (or whatever the other entity’s name is) fucking with buddy’s game on purpose, but that doesn’t account for a lot of the npc dialogue and other small horror-like situations. it just sort of feels like those things were added to appeal to ppl who like that kind of stuff in a cute 8-bit game (and i 10000% do) but it doesn’t reflect buddy’s sensibilities at all. they’re actively trying to create a cushy comfortable playing experience that evokes pure gaming enjoyment, so the brief moments of discomfort (that have nothing to do with the glitching) feel weird and off. again i don’t hate that sort of thing in games, and lots of said moments were quite amusing, but it doesn’t fit the structure of this game’s particular narrative — unless i’m missing something about the story ofc

- overall buddy’s dialogue and things just got exhausting after a while, which again is probably the point, but i don’t think the devs needed to lay it on that thick at all. like, we get that buddy has an unhealthy relationship w/ the player due to their programming, i don’t think it needs to be reiterated every 3 minutes

i think maybe expanding buddy’s personality a little more could have tremendously helped the story. like, if you’re not the first player they’ve befriended, perhaps they picked up some strange quirks from past friends who then turned “bad” and had to be unfriended before you came along. or maybe buddy *wants* to be more than just your buddy, maybe they want to be their own person, but they physically can’t surpass the limits of their programming, no matter how much they fuck with the source files or the os. just something else to help me feel bad for this obviously tragic character.

but maybe i’ll find out more from the other endings! who knows. lmk if i’m totally off-base here.

despite my criticisms, it’s a super neat little game and i’d recommend it, esp. to undertale fans.

[skewbforty]

Ranking gaming generations

Yes I stole this idea from This Is.

TW: Your favorite generation may be F tier. This may make you rage. If you think you can't handle is here's your out. I do not want to see pissed off replies here. I have RSD dammit.

First generation: C tier I know almost nothing about this generation. All I know is that it was the founding generation of gaming. And I know that BECAUSE IT’S THE FIRST GENERATION. So, I’m gonna place it in C purely cause I can’t figure out how much the pros of being a revolution outweighs the limitations games has at the time

Second generation: F tier This is unfair as I also know very little about this one too. And all I have to go by is the god damn controller of the Atari which for some reason locks up and becomes unmovable whenever someone with a name that begins with R touches it. Or something. Can’t rate games if I can’t play them. Something something cartridges yeah whatever stupid controller.

Third generation: B tier This is the one with the NES if you didn’t know. And also, if you didn't know… That was kinda a big deal. I’m not terribly fond of this generation but I will admit if it weren’t for this generation… I may not even be aware of what’s a huge part of my life today.

Fourth generation: C tier I initially had this in D tier, but I brought it up one ranking once I remembered that this was the Game Boy’s debut. I’ve always loved handheld gaming more than TV gaming. I could probably actually get by with a Switch lite. But I can’t bring it too much higher cause what else is there to talk about during this generation outside of the Genesis / Mega Drive?

Fifth generation: A tier Ah, here’s where I come in. The Nintendo 64, PS1 and Sega Saturn. Tho I know next to nothing about the Sega Saturn, there’s no denying that the other two were out there making history. I may have born into this generation but honestly. I wouldn’t have minded being just a bit older to allow me to immerse myself in this generation more. Sixth generation: S tier As you’ve noticed I’m really letting nostalgia doing the talking here. Like I’m not basing these off of any concrete evidence, I just rank the ones I know well higher. Typical. Anyway, this is the first of the 2 oddballs of gaming generations. And you all know how much I love weird. I had loads of fun with not only the Gamecube and GBA, but also the PS2 and its array of movement games. I forget what the camera accessory that came with it was called but that was awesome. And it definitely paved the way for…

Seventh generation: S tier The Wii, the Kinect, and that silly Wii remote knockoff by Sony. Regardless, this was truly the movement generation. Definitely the second of the 2 generational oddballs. But gosh darn did I have fun with it. I can name so many games that I played religiously on the Wii. But let’s not forget the DS, which was also a huuuuuge part of my life. So much so that I’ve got my eye on some second hand DS games even today. That’s how you know you’ve done a generation right.

Eighth generation: D tier This is the one with the Wii U, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. Microsoft in typical Microsoft fashion was making some dumb decisions which led to the ridicule of the Xbox One. But what Sony and Nintendo wasn’t any better. The PS4, although undeniably the most popular of the 3… Was kinda underwhelming, Nintendo was in trouble after the release of the Wii U so hurried to make the Wii U U (Aka Switch) and just generally things were slowing down. Technology was no longer improving at the same rate as before so there was not much going on here. Kinda a dark era of gaming now I think about it. This is also around the time Nintendo started to get… Unpleasant. Ninth generation: A tier. I hate this generation so much. It’s the same AAA games over and over again. Companies buying other companies instead of making games, Nintendo had gone full Nintendo. Gender politics wars everywhere you looked. Games broken upon release. Price increase to 70. FPS being the pinnacle of innovation. People stopped caring and started raging. It’s no longer about having fun. It’s a mess. But Steam Deck so that makes it A tier.

[fanficimagery]

Hell Takes Riverdale pt. I

Imagine moving to Riverdale while your father has some business to attend to. While there, you meet some people you find yourself growing attached to.

Words: 8.8K Author’s Note: Riverdale AU where FP didn’t go to prison for his crimes and Jughead joined the Serpents because he wanted to. This isn’t exactly Northsider friendly and I’ll be focusing more so on the Serpents, so I won’t go into detail about all the drama the Northside gang constantly puts themselves into the middle of, nor will Jughead be a part of it. I will mention a certain family who lives nearby from another show, but I will NOT be bringing those characters in here. The most you’ll get is what I explain about them in the imagine.

Jughead Jones was notorious for laying low and staying out of the spotlight. At least he was until a murder rocked his small town, Veronica Lodge- along with her criminal family- moved in, and his best friends Betty Cooper and Archie Andrews put together their very own crime solving Scooby Gang. He liked a good mystery every now and then, but the murder of Jason Blossom pointed towards his father's gang and he didn't know how to cope with that.

When FP Jones- Jughead's dad- eventually confessed to the murder, Jughead didn't know what to think. All he knew for sure was that his dad was innocent. So he and his friends did their best to prove Mr. Jones of his innocence, which they eventually did, but given FP's past the police decided to keep him a bit longer.

Jughead Jones was a powder keg waiting to explode, so in a move no one expected, he channeled his anger from the crookedness of their small town Sheriff to the local high school jocks when they decided to target the new girl for laughs. Y/N Y/L/N was a meek little thing, small smiles and small voice whenever called upon. She didn't dress like someone who had money, but then again she didn't dress like she didn't have any either. She presented herself as someone from the middle class which is probably why Jughead felt at ease coming to her defense one day out of the blue.

You're at your locker, putting away your books before you head over to the cafeteria for lunch, when someone shoves their shoulder into your back. You grunt as you collide with the metal in front of you, a few notebooks falling to the floor, and you turn to frown at the culprits. Reggie Mantle and his merry band of jocks laugh at you. "Seriously?" You mumble.

Reggie smirks, shrugging. "I gotta find my entertainment somewhere and what better entertainment is there than the new girl with no voice?" You roll your eyes and bend over to pick up your belongings, only for a sneaker clad foot to kick one of your notebooks away.

"Hey!"

The sound of someone being shoved into the lockers next to you has you looking up, a beanie-wearing, plaid shirt tied around the waist, boy coming to your aide. "What the hell is your problem, Mantle?" Hands fist into the material of Reggie's letterman jacket, slamming him twice against the lockers. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase pick on someone your own size?"

Reggie shoves him back. "Cool it, Jones, less you wanna end up in a cell next to your pops."

He scoffs. "You look real tough picking on a girl. Keep walking, jackass."

Your gaze darts between the two boys, chest to chest with one another, and you practically hold your breath. You can see the other jocks just itching for a fight, but the longer Reggie and your savior stare at one another, the less Reggie seems to be amped up for a fight. He eventually scoffs, smiling. "Whatever. The little mouse isn't much fun anyway."

Reggie goes to walk away, but not before kicking another one of your notebooks further down the hall. You sigh and start collecting your things closest to you once more.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about him. Reggie's a total dick."

You glance at the boy collecting one of your notebooks for you and flash him a small smile. "It's fine. Every school has a bully. I didn't expect this place to be any different."

"Yeah, well.." He trails off, placing the stuff he collected in your locker. "I'm Jughead."

"That's an unusual name," you say. "I'm Y/N."

"Well, Y/N, would you care to join me outside for lunch? I'm kind of alone today and I noticed you don't really sit with anyone either. I'll help keep Reggie off your back," he muses as if his protection would somewhat sweeten the deal.

"Sure. Why not?" You shrug.

Once everything is situated in your locker, you grab the lunch bag that had been hanging from a hook on the inside. Side by side, you walk with Jughead outside and towards one of the concrete picnic tables. He sits down and only then do you realize he had a brown sack clutched in his hand. Immediately he pulls out two smashed sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap, and unwraps them to start eating.

"So as a token of my thanks," you say while taking a seat across from him and unzipping your lunch bag, "have a fruit cup." You toss him a cool cup of mixed fruit and he happily catches it.

"Thanks." From the corner of your eye, you watch as he stares at you until you start eating your own sandwich and chips. "So Riverdale," he says. "Why here of all places?"

You huff a quiet laugh. Of course you'd heard the whispers about you, curious about your move, but you never spoke to anyone and no one dared to ask you before now. "My half sister lives in Greendale, and she and her aunts were having some personal issues. My dad moved us here so he could help them out, but he wasn't fond of the housing situations Greendale had to offer so we ended up here."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." He takes a bite of his food. "So are you and your sister close?"

"Not really." Your nose wrinkles. You eat a bit of your own food before explaining. "She kind of hates our dad because he slept with her mom when she was married, but instead of villainizing them both for their mutual decision, she puts all the blame on him."

Jughead shakes his head. "Well that sucks."

"Yep. But she obviously doesn't have a problem calling on him when she's in trouble." You roll your eyes, opening your water and taking a sip. "It's whatever. Riverdale is.. interesting."

"Yeah. It is," he huffs a brief laugh.

Over the next month or so, you and Jughead become actual friends. He attempts to introduce you to his group of friends, but the only one you can actually stomach being around is Archie. Veronica is too nosy, Betty too suspicious, and Kevin rarely hangs out with everyone less it involves a good gossip session. So more often than not, after realizing his group of friends wasn't just your cup of tea, you and Jughead hung out at Pop's Chock'lit-Shoppe.

The retro diner quickly became one of your favorite places in all of Riverdale, but upon entering one Sunday evening and seeing Jughead's expression you know you're not going to enjoy your dinner.

"Uh oh. What's going on with your face?" You ask as you slide in across from Jughead. "You look like you have some bad news."

He grins, shaking his head. "It's not bad. I'm just not sure how well you're going to take what I have to tell you."

"Mhm. Tell me after I've gotten my food." Almost as soon as the words leave your mouth, Pop Tate himself is dropping off your and Jughead's usual order. "Thanks, Pop."

The old man chuckles. "Don't mention it, Y/N. Enjoy your meal."

"Always do." Before any other words can be spoken, you and Jughead squirt ketchup on your respective plates. He steals the cherry from your milkshake and you plop a straw into his Coke to take a sip. The both of you take a bite out of your burgers, chuckling at each other and how at ease the two of you have become with one another. "So what's up?"

"I'm leaving Riverdale High." You pause in chewing and Jughead refuses to meet your gaze. "I'll be starting at Southside High tomorrow morning."

"Oh."

"It's just- my dad's getting out." When he looks up, the excitement in his eyes at the prospect of his dad coming home makes your exterior soften and you start to feel happy for your friend. "He, uh, he's been doing good. Jail forced him to get sober and he's talking about starting over. I'm going to move back in with him."

"That's good news, Jug. I'm really happy for you."

"Are you?" He grabs a fry and quickly dips it into your vanilla milkshake. You chuckle at him.

"Yeah. I mean we mostly hang out here anyway. That won't change, I hope." He's quick to shake his head, letting you know your weekly hang outs at Pop's would still be on. "I'll just have to toughen up and learn how to throw a punch. Reggie and his goons need a nice swift punch to the throat every now and then, I think."

Jughead exhales with relief. "Please let Kevin know beforehand so he can catch it on video for me."

"No promises."

The two of you go on to finish your food, making small talk and promises to keep in touch. Eventually you have to leave, so before you go your separate ways you decide to give Jughead a ride home. And since he's no longer embarrassed to have you over after the first time you'd been over, he accepts the ride with a shrug.

FP Jones has been out of jail for three days and in those three days Jughead has noticed his dad has been a little paranoid. So one day after school, he's had enough and decides to sit down and talk with him.

"What's going on?"

FP glances away from the paper in his hand. "Nothing. Why?"

"Because you're acting weird! Ever since you got out of jail it's like you're constantly looking over your shoulder."

Jughead and FP stare at one another before FP sets the paper down, running a hand through his hair. "Someone's coming to town," he says. "Someone you don't ever want to cross."

"Okay. And?"

"It's worrisome," FP says. "Mr. Morningstar, he's the real deal, Jughead. Expensive suits, expensive cars, posh accent.. this man can be very dangerous."

"Well then round up the Serpents. I'm sure they'll enjoy running this guy out of town."

"Nah." Jughead scoffs, confused as to what his dad's deal is. "Mr. Morningstar is the one who sent one of his lawyers to get me released."

"..oh."

"But Mr. Morningstar doesn't hand out favors without wanting something in return. I don't like being in debt, Jug. Especially to someone like him."

"We'll figure it out, dad. He reached out to you, not the other way around. He can't want something too bad if he came to you first. Right?"

"I don't know, son." FP falls silent, tapping his fingers along the tabletop. "And there's something else you should know."

"What?"

"Mr. Morningstar isn't exactly.. human." Jughead scoffs, but FP shoots him a warning look. "I'm serious. This man is capable of things you wouldn't believe unless you see it in person, but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. If he comes around, you do as I say. I'll settle my debt with him as quickly as possible and hopefully Riverdale will be in his rearview mirror sooner rather than later."

Jughead doesn't know how to feel at seeing his dad- the Serpent King himself- looking so on edge. He's never seen him so rattled, so it leaves Jughead himself feeling the dread start to seep in.

Every single Serpent inside the Whyte Wyrm was well aware of who Mr. Morningstar was and to be on the lookout for anyone fitting his description. For a week there was no sight or word about him, the same week which Jughead finally decided to throw in with the Serpents and officially become one of the gang. He had texted his friends, some more supportive than others, but he only found comfort in his decision after hearing back from Y/N who held no ill will towards him for wanting to be a Southside Serpent officially.

Jughead is still healing, everyone at the Whyte Wyrm celebrating him completing his initiation.

"Toni," FP calls out, "serve us up some shots!" The petite, pink haired girl behind the bar laughs, she readily grabbing up shot glasses and lining them up along the bar. She fills every shot glass, smiling as her fellow Serpents grab one to await the impending toast. As FP grabs one, he raises it up while staring at his son across the room who's hanging out with a few younger Serpents. "Jughead, while this wasn't the life I wanted for you, it is your decision and you don't know how proud it makes me to have you ride by side. To Jughead!"

"To Jughead!"

The Serpents all whoop and holler, downing their shots in one go.

"Hear, hear," an out of place accent muses. Those closest to the man who seemingly appeared out of nowhere all tense and FP's smile slowly vanishes as he stares at the man who hasn't aged a single year since he last saw him over fifteen years ago. "Well, well. Freedom seems to suit you well, FP."

FP schools his expression. "Mr. Morningstar."

"Call me Lucifer. No need to be so formal."

The Serpents seem to fall silent as FP and Lucifer Morningstar stare at one another. Jughead, seeing the way everyone is holding themselves as the tension amps up, pushes his way through the crowd until he's just behind his dad. "Lucifer," FP says, "why don't you follow me. We'll go somewhere a bit more private."

Lucifer gestures for FP to lead the way. "After you."

FP glances at Jughead over his shoulder, but he doesn't give him any sort of cue to follow. Instead, Jughead follows after them to a table that's not surrounded by any others over by the stage. Once seated, FP stares Mr. Morningstar in the face. "So what brings you to Riverdale? It's been a while since you were last here."

"Ah, yes," he says. Lucifer leans back in seat, smiling. "I originally came to watch a client of mine wreak havoc on your precious little town," at this, FP and Jughead tense, "but someone very important to me made attachments here and I've had to rethink my plans of letting your town burn to the ground."

"A client of yours?" FP's eyes narrow. "Who?"

"I think you know who," Lucifer says. "Annoying little bugger. But as I said before, attachments were made and I had to keep watch over said attachment to see whether or not I approved. And let me tell you, Mr. Jones, I quite liked what I saw."

"Okay?" He drawls. "So what does that have to do with why you're here? Or are you calling in a favor for getting me out?"

Lucifer laughs. "Oh no, FP. You getting out was not my doing." FP freezes. "You see, this someone important to me is my daughter. She's the one who requested you be freed."

"You have a daughter?" FP shifts in his seat. "Why would she want me out?"

"I do. And because one of your little snakelings made quite the impression on her after showing her kindness when he didn't have to." Lucifer raises an eyebrow at FP's completely flabbergasted expression. "This person was and continues to be genuine with my daughter, so I figured I'd step in and help clean up your beloved little town instead of letting it be turned inside out by Hiram Lodge. After all, it seems we're going to be in Riverdale for quite some time now."

FP glances around, but he can't see any of the Serpents being this person in question. Eventually, he asks, "Who?"

Lucifer's gaze darts up over FP's shoulder and lands on Jughead. Jughead's eyes widen. "Me? Who have I-"

"Me, of course." You choose that exact moment to walk out from the back room, ignoring everyone's stare save for Jughead's. You're a bit self-conscious of the black crystallized crown on your head and the skin tight, all black outfit your dad's minions had chosen for you, but you don't show it. The way you're dressed now, Jughead's never seen you this way. "What's wrong, Juggie? Cat got your tongue?"

Your friend gulps as he eyes you up and down. "Y/N?"

"Surprise!" You muse. At his slack expression, your smile diminishes. "It's still me, JJ. No need to be weird now."

FP glances between you and his son as Jughead asks, "Was our friendship even real?"

Your eyes widen. "Of course it was! I was never meant to make friends here," you quickly explain, "but you just couldn't leave me be when Reggie set his sights on me and you- you befriended me for me." Jughead loses some of the tension in his frame. "You didn't talk to me because of who my dad was and what he could do for you. You talked to me because you felt bad for me and then you continued to talk to me because we actually got along."

A beat passes and Jughead eventually sighs. "Don't kid yourself. I only talk to you because you let me steal the cherry from your milkshake." It takes a moment for his words to sink in and when they do you snort. Lucifer chuckles and poor FP has no idea what's going on.

"This is quite fitting, is it not?" Lucifer grins.

FP frowns. "What do you mean?"

"The Serpent Prince and the Queen of Hell. Royalty always seeks out royalty."

You freeze, Jughead's brow furrows, and FP seems to blanch as he comes to a sudden realization. Quick as a snake's strike, you slap the back of your dad's shoulder. "Not here." Then you glance at FP. "Can we continue this talk in a back room?"

He slowly blinks before he snaps out of his thoughts. "Yeah. Let's go."

FP stands and leads the way, and you grin over at Jughead. "Come on. We have some more stuff to talk about."

In a back office, FP and Lucifer have already taken their seats as you and Jughead join them. Instead of sitting, the two of you stand side by side after the door is shut behind you.

"So what exactly is going on here?" FP wonders.

Lucifer glances at you, smirking, and you sigh. You had a feeling he was going to make you explain yourself. "So I noticed instead of scoffing at the queen of hell comment, you blanched." FP hesitantly nods. "So that means you understand my dad is quite.. different."

Lucifer huffs. "I'm the devil, darling. No need to tiptoe around it."

You cringe as he so bluntly puts it out there and nervously gauge the Jones' reactions. Both seem more than a little intimidated and your heart starts to sink. "I'm still me, Jughead. Just a little.. more."

Jughead glances at you. "You're really the daughter of Satan?" You nod. "And this isn't some joke?"

"No. My sister, the one who lives in Greendale, was meant to take the throne," you admit. "But she really does hate my dad and refused it, so it passed on to the next heir. Hell got a little bit stuffy and some of my dad's more important minions were trying to marry me off, so I left with my dad as he dealt with business here. I was supposed to keep my head down until we moved on, but well.." you trail off, smiling softly. "I found that having a friend was quite nice." When Jughead has nothing else to say, you look towards FP. "You've raised a kind son, Mr. Jones. And for that, I'm going to offer you a favor." He seems to straighten up then, glancing worriedly at your dad. "And don't worry, this is a favor from me. I don't do contracts or cut deals like dad does. My favor is a no strings attached type of situation. This is a favor for a friend."

FP and Jughead glance at each other, and you notice FP subtly shake his head. Jughead sighs and looks at you. "Do you promise that me or my dad won't owe you?"

"Jughead," FP warns.

But you only have eyes for your friend as you step towards him and take up his hands within your own. "I swear. You're my friend, JJ. You got Reggie off my back and offered genuine companionship, so let me do something for you."

"You mean like getting my dad out of jail?"

You grin, releasing his hands and shoving at his shoulder. "Oh whatever. I was bored and you seemed like you missed him. Bite me, Jones." Lucifer chuckles and FP looks like he has no idea what's going on. "So come on. Whose life needs ruining?"

Jughead stares at you before shaking his head in amusement. "You're a little too excited to be ruining someone."

"I am my father's daughter."

Jughead stares at you, as if trying to conclude whether you're being genuine or not, and then has a silent conversation with his dad. Eventually FP sighs, cradling his head in his hands as Jughead looks back to you. "I messed up bad, Y/N. When my dad first got put into jail, someone suggested I visit this lawyer- who is also a Serpent- so that she'll guide me on how to get my dad released."

"And the snake double crossed you. Shocking," your dad chuckles.

"Shut up." Lucifer continues to chuckle, mime zipping his lips shut. You look back to your friend. "Go on."

"She gave me advice as a favor and said I'd owe her one someday in the future. I didn't think it through."

"The snake charmer is notorious for collecting favors and blackmailing you into continuing owing her favors," FP says. "She's turning the Serpents into drug runners and using video of my son delivering a crate of drugs as leverage so we don't tell her no."

Lucifer tuts. "That just won't do. Last I recalled, the Serpents were against drug dealing."

"We are," FP says, "but we can't deny her since she has that damn video. It'll be his word against hers."

Expression tightening, you glance between the two Serpents. "Give me a name."

"Penny Peabody."

Immediately you and your dad glance at one another, and you're the first to shout, "Dibs!" At his pout, you grin victoriously. "It's been awhile since I've seen any action. I'll call auntie Maze to collect the guest of honor."

You and Jughead are sitting at Pop's, waiting for your order to be brought out. It's your usual weekend hangout session, as well as a mini celebration for getting the Snake Charmer out of Serpent territory. FP had been a little hesitant around you and your father, but the more he watched you and his son, and you and your dad, he came to the realization that neither he or Jughead would be in harm's way. No one would be less they actually crossed the devil himself, so you were a bit surprised when FP had actually hugged you when you told him Penny would no longer be an issue. Afterwards, he was eager to talk to your dad and figure out a way to get the Southside cleaned up and fix the Serpents' reputation.

Seeing Jug's beanie laying on the table, you grin as you swipe it and quickly put it atop your head. "What do you say, Jones, wanna switch crowns for a day?"

He chuckles as he shakes his head. "I don't think I can pull off your crown." Your nose wrinkles at him as you laugh. "And speaking of crowns, are you going to tell anyone else anytime soon?"

You shrug. "I only talk to you and your dad, and at that your dad already knew about my dad."

"I didn't know anything about you or your dad and you told me."

"You were my friend before you found out about me being Hell royalty. I don't want to just tell anyone and then have them kissing up because of things I could possibly do for them."

Jughead nods in understanding. "I take it, it's happened before."

You touch the tip of your nose. "Bingo, JJ. Demons of Hell are shady assholes. But don't worry, if I befriend more Serpents they'll find out when the time is right."

"Well I think you're going to get your chance now because here come some friends of mine."

"What?"

"Whoa, Jughead, is that you? You've certainly changed from the last time I saw you earlier."

You smile sheepishly as three Serpents come up to your table, the one who spoke sitting next to Jughead while the tall one climbs in between you and the window, and the female sits on your free side. You pull off Jug's beanie and hand it back to him just in time for your food to be delivered. Immediately, Jughead steals the cherry from your milkshake and you take a sip of his soda. Once that's done, you squirt ketchup on your plates before you take a bite of your burgers.

"Well that was freakishly adorable." You glance at the pink haired cutie next to you and she grins. "Toni Topaz."

"Y/N Y/L/N. Well Y/N Morningstar now. I don't have to hide who I am anymore."

"Nice." She then points to the guy beside Jughead. "That's Fangs and the one on your other side is Sweet Pea." You nod at each boy in greeting, bite down on a few fries and steal from Jughead's plate every time he dips a fry into your milkshake. "So how did you and our snake prince become so close?"

Toni steals a fry from your plate and you grin at her. "First of all, I really hope you're not insinuating anything there. Don't get me wrong, Jughead's a cutie but I'd totally seduce Papa Jones before I went after baby Jones."

Jughead groans in disgust, Fangs and Sweet Pea snort, and Toni laughs out loud. "I like you."

"Maybe the sentiment will be returned soon," you say. "And to honestly answer your question, Jug came to my rescue when a few jerks decided I was an easy target at Riverdale High."

Sweet Pea scoffs. "Ugh. How do you put up with those mangy mutts?" It's his turn to steal from your plate, but you merely raise an eyebrow at his audacity before you glance at Jughead as he smothers a laugh.

"By avoiding them at all cost," you say. "Is food stealing a thing with you guys or..?"

"If you're really hungry, I'd hold onto that burger of yours. Fangs is notorious for stealing any and all food left unattended." Toni chuckles as you pull your plate towards you, but that only makes it easier for her and Sweet Pea to continue eating off your plate.

"You're all heathens," you deadpan. "At least Jughead waited a few days before he started eating off my plate."

The Serpents chuckle all around you and you find yourself relaxing in your seat. You knew the Southside Serpents had a bad reputation, but the more time you spent with them the more you realize just how wrong everyone is. The Serpents are some of the most loyal, drama free individuals you'd met and they're only riled up when someone attacks one of their own. And that- that you can respect.

During your lunch break, you're sitting alone and texting back and forth with Toni. Apparently word has gotten out that the Mayor is looking to shut down Southside High because it's unsafe for children, and the plan is to divide every Southside High student between several other high schools. Needless to say, every Southsider is pissed.

You send a text to your dad, asking if he knew what was going on, and he assures you he and Mr. Jones are looking into it.

Your can of Cola gets snatched up and you snap to attention, ready to argue back for your drink. But the sight of a grinning Jughead sitting across from you makes you relax and Sweet Pea straddling the bench right next to you makes you shake your head at them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Southside High is in chaos," Jughead says. He takes a sip of your soda before setting it back next to your books. "We were at the Wyrm when your dad asked us to collect you."

"Toni's been filling me in," you admit. "Does anyone know if the Mayor is for sure going through with this plan of hers?"

"It's such bullshit," Sweet Pea grumbles. "Yeah the school is shit ever since the Ghoulies started pushing Jingle Jangle on everyone, but it's ours."

"Don't worry, Sweets. Dad's on it. He'll figure something out."

He huffs. "Against Mayor McCoy? Doubt it."

You and Jughead share a knowing glance, and you bite back a grin. "My dad can be very.. persuasive."

"And scary," Jughead mumbles.

"Yes, let's not forget scary," you muse.

"What the hell is this?" The stern question is barked from somewhere behind you and you turn towards the voice. "Cooper dropped your sorry ass and now you're trying to lure in Y/N, Jones? I don't think so, you goddamn snake."

You roll your eyes at Reggie and his friends, and at the fact that the others sitting outside are now staring.

"Watch your mouth, you mangy mutt." Sweet Pea moves to stand, but you place a hand on his knee in order to silently tell him to stay put. He doesn't glance at you, but he does remain sitting.

Instead, you stand and step away from the bench in Reggie's direction. "What's your problem, Mantle? I know for a fact you don't care about me, so what is it about the Southsiders that has you so insecure?"

Reggie seems surprised that you've spoken back and it takes him a moment to school his expression back into one of anger. "Who the hell says I'm insecure?"

"Come on, Reggie," you grin. "You obviously have a hate boner going on for them." Jughead and Sweet Pea snort, and Reggie glares at them over your head. "So what is it? Is it because they're cooler than you? That they're so much more hotter than you and you know for a fact us Northside girls would willingly get on the back of their bikes than in the car mommy and daddy bought for you?"

Reggie sneers down at you. "Of course you'd be a Southside slut."

Jughead and Sweet Pea shout in your defense, rushing to their feet as you blink in surprise at the venom in his tone. But then anger quickly takes over and no one sees as your hand forms a fist at your side. When Reggie smirks at your silence, quick as lightning you change your stance so you can send your fist flying into his throat.

As Reggie stumbles back and gasps for air, Sweet Pea grabs you by the arm and then you're running. Sweet Pea and Jughead are laughing as they run for their bikes and you readily climb on behind Sweet Pea since he still had a hold of you. Two engines rumble to life simultaneously and you wrap your arms around Sweet Pea's waist, ducking your face behind his back so the wind doesn't sting your eyes.

When the three of you finally come to a stop, you're not in the Southside yet but you are well away from Riverdale High. The engines cut off and you finally pick up your head, and it's quiet for a few moments before Jughead starts to laugh once more.

"You actually punched Reggie in the throat." He shakes his head in amusement at you. "I did not think you were capable of ever hitting someone."

Sweet Pea chuckles. "You do know you left behind all your belongings. It's gonna be trashed by the time you go back for it."

You shrug. "The only thing worth saving was my phone and it's in my back pocket. A backpack can be replaced, and besides I think it's time Riverdale High and I take a break from one another."

Jughead and Sweet Pea's amusement slowly fades. "Wait. What?" Jughead asks. "You're dropping out?"

"No." You huff a laugh. "Transferring."

"Transferring to where?"

"Southside, you dimwits." You squeeze Sweet Pea when he scoffs at you calling him a name, letting him know you didn't actually think he was a dimwit. "I'm so over the drama of Riverdale High. I need a change. And if I want to go to Southside to be with my favorite people, do you really think my dad will let the school be closed down?"

"You really have that much faith in your old man, huh?" Sweet Pea asks.

"I do. And you should too." Jughead glances at you when you say that and you subtly shake your head at him. Soon, you mouth at him. "Now come on. Let's go see what my dad wants. I feel like going out tonight so I need to finish whatever task he has for me and make sure Toni is free."

The small gang of friends find themselves at Pop's diner once again, you being squished between Sweet Pea and Toni while Jughead and Fangs sit across from you. You and Toni share a plate of cheese fries, half of your burger having been stolen by Fangs and you steal sips of Cola from both Jughead and Sweet Pea since Sweets had finished your milkshake. When eating with them, you quickly learned extra food had to be ordered because once a plate was set down it was basically a free for all.

You're laughing at Fangs' affronted expression, from when he tried stealing cheese fries from you and Toni and you both had slapped his hand, when the bell above the door jingles. Your gaze is drawn to the group that enters, your mood souring just a tad when Archie, Betty, and Veronica enter. They glance around the diner for a booth and upon setting sights on your group, Archie chooses a booth not far from yours.

Toni nudges you to show you a message on her phone, lightening up the mood right away. But every now and then your attention is brought back to the Riverdale High group, and you can't help but notice the longing looks Betty keeps throwing at Jughead. And the fact that Jughead keeps glancing over his shoulder until he finally gets up, Betty following him seconds later to join him at a different booth.

"Did I miss something?" You ask when your friend is out of earshot.

Toni huffs. "They're doing that whole on again, off again thing. It's tiring," she says.

You frown as Jughead and Betty start talking, heads ducked close to one another, but then quickly avert your attention back to those sitting with you. You don't really have anything against Betty, but that girl attracts drama like crazy and you would rather not see her drag Jughead into it again.

The four of you left in the booth amuse yourselves while finishing off the remainder of your food, and you make sure that all your plates are stacked with the trash compiled on top so the busboy has little to no cleanup after you leave. But while you're still sitting there and waiting to see what Jughead is going to do, you can't help but overhear Veronica's obnoxious voice filling in her boyfriend Archie about all the great changes supposedly coming to Riverdale soon.

"I mean it's no longer a secret mommy and daddy are buying up property, Archiekins, but can you blame them?" Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs all tense, Fangs trying his hardest not to look in their direction. "The Northside is flourishing under their management and soon the Southside will too. We just have a few more hoops to jump through before we can start tearing down and rebuilding."

Having heard enough, you tap Sweet Pea's arm. "Move." Fangs widens his eyes at you and Toni giggles, she loving your more aggressive behavior. Sweet Pea stares at you for a moment before he grins, sliding out of his seat so you can follow right after him. Then taking a few steps towards Veronica and Archie's both, you stop and address the entitled teen. "Consider those hoops everlasting," you say. "Lodge Industries will no longer be buying up any property in Riverdale."

Veronica scoffs, smirking a second later. "And who the hell do you think you are to have any say so in my family's dealings?"

This time you smirk and you mentally cheer when you see her own falter. "Tell daddy dearest the Morningstars say hello. Lucifer will be in touch soon." You reach forward as Veronica's expression completely falls, stealing the cherry from her milkshake and catching the red, plump flesh behind your teeth and plucking the stem free. Letting the stem drop onto the table, you glance over your shoulder and gesture for your friends to follow. They do, chuckling all the while you walk towards the door. But before you walk out, you look over at Jughead and catch his attention. "Hey, JJ, we're heading out. Call me if you need a ride."

"Oh, uh, I'll come with." Betty quickly glances at him and for a split second you feel bad for her. "We're done here anyway." He slides out of the booth, ignoring Betty's frown as he makes his way towards you and his fellow Serpents.

Sweet Pea jostles Jughead, the two boys shoving each other lightly and laughing as the five of your exit. Everyone piles into your small SUV and it's not until Toni is comfortably seated in the passenger seat does she ask, "How serious were you with that threat back there? Can your dad really stop Lodge Industries?"

You slowly start to grin as you back out of your parking space. "Hiram Lodge is one of my dad's clients," you admit. "They have a.. contract of sorts, and Mr. Lodge is rich because of that. But my dad is starting to cut ties with some old clients of his and I'm pretty sure the Lodge's time up on that little pedestal of theirs is coming to an end."

"Sweet," Sweet Pea says from the back seat. "Hey, if your dad buys the school do you think you can ask him to put doors back on the bathroom stalls?"

You and Toni both snort, and you nod your head. "Sure, Sweets. I'll see what I can do."

          - - - - - - - - - - 

At the Whyte Wyrm, Sweet Pea and Fangs make a beeline for the pool table. Toni heads for the bar, her shift about twenty minutes from starting, and Jughead gets pulled into a conversation by some elder Serpents. Glancing around the bar, you don't see either man you want to speak with so you head for the hallway near the back wall where you know it leads to an office. A couple Serpents guarding the hall nod at you and let you pass without a word.

When you come upon the shut door to FP's office, you knock a couple of times and wait for confirmation to enter. A moment passes before his gruff voice is calling out that exact confirmation.

Opening the door, you walk right in and aren't surprised to see your dad in there as well. You smirk, happy to know he found a mortal he felt comfortable enough to share his identity with and that said mortal didn't go running for the hills. "FP. Dad," you greet. "Just the men I was looking for."

FP leans back in his chair as you take a seat across from him. "What can I do for you, Y/N?"

"Well first, I need to know your opinion about Sweet Pea, Toni, and Fangs." You then turn to look at your dad. "And depending on FP's answer, I need to know-"

"Your first orgy," your dad coos. "I approve. Especially the tall one. He'd make an excellent consort."

"I'm sorry, what?" FP glances between you and your dad, disbelief in his features.

You sigh, closing your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose. "Dad, no. Just no," you say. When your eyes flutter back open, you say, "What did I tell you about speaking of orgies so freely in front of mortals? It's weird. Especially since you're my dad. You're not supposed to approve of these things."

"Well fine. Have it your way." Lucifer leans back in his seat, resting his right ankle atop his left knee and taking a sip of his drink. "Probably for the best anyway. Naamah will be upset if you deny her the chance to plan your first orgy."

"Oh my god."

FP finally laughs, shaking his head as if he can't believe what he's hearing. Your dad pouts and you give your attention to FP once more. "The baby snakes are a loyal bunch," he says. "I've had some older Serpents question you and your father's presence here within the Wyrm, but Jug and the others were quick to defend you. Why do you ask?"

Here you look back to your dad. "I want to come clean to them. Jughead knows about me and it's getting tough to censor what I say in front of the others when we all hang out."

Lucifer salutes you with his glass tumbler. "You're the Queen of Hell, darling. You can tell whoever you want."

"Good to know." You push up from your chair, smiling at both men. "Oh and I want Southside High. Veronica Lodge and her family are trying to tear the Southside down and rebuild, but I feel like throwing a wrench into their plans."

Lucifer raises an eyebrow at you. "And how do you suggest going about that?"

"By befriending Mayor McCoy, of course." FP snorts, but you continue on as if you didn't hear him. "She seems like a decent lady when the Lodge's aren't blackmailing her into doing their bidding. Give her a little taste of power, no strings attached and without letting her know your true identity, and show her you're an ally. I have a feeling she'll drop the Lodge's in a heartbeat."

FP grins, shaking his head. "You really are your father's daughter."

You glance at him and smirk. "Duh. Now carry on. I'm going to be with Toni behind the bar."

          - - - - - - - - - - 

The Whyte Wyrm is as busy as always and you happily find your place behind the bar with Toni. She serves up the drinks as you walk around, cleaning glasses and/or wiping down the bar top. Every now and then you catch your dad or FP's eye, and they signal for a round of drinks that Toni readily makes before walking a tray over to them. You then watch your boys from afar, laughing when Jughead catches your eye and purposefully makes Sweet Pea miss his shot while playing pool. Sweet Pea is apparently a very sore loser, but you can't help to think that he makes a really cute sore loser.

When Toni returns and sees where you're looking, she sidles up to your side while cleaning a glass in her hand. "So, uh, I think I should apologize."

You look at her. "For what?"

"Earlier at Pop's, when I told you Jughead and the Cooper girl were on again/off again, you looked like someone kicked your puppy for a moment there."

"Did I?" You chuckle, shrugging her words off. "It's fine. Jughead has become a really good friend to me and I'm not exactly Betty's biggest fan. They say southsiders are nothing but trouble, but those northsiders have caused a lot more trouble than any of you have. I don't want to see him be dragged into their messes again."

"Oh," she drawls. "Okay. I just thought that you were upset because she and Jughead were together again and you had missed your shot or something."

"No." You laugh. "And besides, I kind of have my eye on another Serpent, but I don't think he likes me that way."

Toni rolls her eyes. "I don't think FP is into jailbait. Sorry."

You snort, shaking your head in amusement. "A girl can dream."

Over the next couple of weeks, you get well acquainted with the power struggle between the Ghoulies and the Southside Serpents within the high school. The school is practically run down, there's no privacy within the graffitied walls of the bathrooms, and a little less than half the student population have no issue taking drugs out in the open while standing in the hallways. Not a single one of your favorite Serpents lets you out of their sight, and though you don't need their protection you welcome it. And their loyalty towards you is what leads you to take that final step in finally telling your other three friends the truth.

Walking up to the Jones' trailer, you stomp up the steps and pound on the door. A few seconds later the door opens and FP raises his eyebrows at you as he's pulling on a leather jacket.

"Y/N?"

"Hey, FP. Is JJ home?"

"Yeah. Come in." He opens the door wider and you step in, heading for the couch. "Is everything okay?"

"Peachy." You grin. You plop down in the corner of a couch, crossing one knee over the other. "I just finally decided to tell the others the truth and I wanted to see if Jughead would be there for me in case things go south."

A look of understanding passes over FP's features and he smiles kindly at you when he notices your bit of nerves. "It'll go fine. If Jug and I didn't run, neither will these three little shits." You grin at him. "Now I should get going. Will your dad and I be seeing you later?"

"Depends on how well my little bombshell is taken."

"Alright." FP heads towards the kitchen, calling down the only hallway in his trailer. "Hey Jug, Y/N is here so put some clothes on before you come out."

FP smiles at you one last time before he exits his trailer and it's not until his bike's engine outside roars to life does Jughead exit his bedroom from the back. "What's going on?"

"It's time to tell the other baby snakes about my heritage."

He blinks. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." You nod, momentarily second guessing yourself. "Yeah," you then say more confidently. "I think the longer I wait now, the higher the chance of them being pissed at the fact that I kept something like this from them."

"Okay. Where are we doing this?"

"Quarry?" You wonder. "We need privacy, but not too private that they feel trapped should they not take the news well."

Jughead exhales quietly. "Quarry it is. My bike or your car?"

"Your bike. Text Toni and the guys. I just need to grab my bag from my car."

Jughead is pulling on his jacket as he gestures for you to join him by the door, then pulling on his infamous crown beanie before pulling out his phone to text the others. He heads to his bike while you head for your car, opening the passenger door and pulling out your messenger bag. Draping the bag strap over your head and across your chest, you close the door and lock up before pocketing the keys.

When you sidle up to Jughead, he hands you his only helmet and you readily pull it on before climbing on behind him. He's not normally a crazy driver, so you loosely wrap your arms around his waist and enjoy the short ride to the quarry.

You and Jughead are the first to arrive, walking towards a spot that seems to have frequent visitors. Seats torn out from vehicles and a few crates form a half circle around an unlit barrel just off to the side of the water, and Jughead wastes no time in lighting up the barrel since it's a little chilly out.

Placing your bag on one of the seats, you walk towards the fire and hold your hands over it to warm up. Then about five minutes later, the rest of your friends show up.

"What's going on?" Sweet Pea asks as his gaze darts between you and Jug. As he sees you warming up, he stops by your side and wraps an arm around your shoulders to offer some of his warmth. Toni and Fangs stand on the other side of the barrel, warming themselves up briefly before taking a seat.

"I, uh, I have something I need to tell you guys. It's going to sound incredibly insane, but I need you to trust me when I say I am no threat to you." Sweet Pea frowns down at you and he only takes a seat when you nudge him towards the others. Jughead grabs your bag and hands it to you, and you smile faintly in thanks. Then opening the flap, you remove your crown and let your bag fall before hesitantly putting the crown on. Clearing your throat, you say, "When you guys first saw me, I was wearing this."

Fangs grins. "We thought you were just another spoiled little daddy's girl."

You grin back. "I mean I am," you shrug, "but the crown actually means something."

"Are you trying to tell us you're royalty or something?" Toni chuckles. At your neutral expression, her smile falters. "Y/N?"

You inhale shakily, glancing at Jughead who gives you an encouraging nod. "Whenever people meet my dad, I'm well aware that they think his given name is rather unfortunate." Sweet Pea snorts, grinning. A couple older Serpents at the Wyrm made it no secret when making fun of your dad's name. "But what if I told you that my dad really is the Lucifer Morningstar?" Your serious, yet nervous, expression makes the other three go still. "That I'm literally the daughter of the devil?"

The only sounds you can hear are the chirping crickets and crackling fire until, "You really buying this, man?" Sweet Pea scoffs. You briefly glance at him to see he's staring at Jughead who's still by your side.

Jughead nods, his arms crossed over his chest. "I am. My dad knew something was up with Lucifer before they outright told us the truth. He's known for years, but Lucifer wasn't a threat to him then or now so he didn't make a fuss about it."

Sweet Pea frowns. He doesn't look scared or pissed, but he doesn't look impressed either. "Why are you telling us this now?"

"That first night, my dad let FP and Jughead in on our secret because he saw how I trusted Jug and wasn't planning to leave Riverdale anytime soon. We trusted the Jones' and they now trust us. The circle of people in the know was meant to stay as small as possible, but then you three," you pause, huffing and smiling sadly as you meet each of their gazes, "wormed your way under my skin and I knew I couldn't keep a secret this big from you anymore."

"So your dad really is the devil?" Fangs asks. His gaze is set on the flames just barely dancing over the rim of the barrel, an expression on his face you can't quite decipher.

Sighing, you let your left hand wave back and forth over the flames. "My dad really is Lucifer Morningstar." You hold your hand still then, the flames engulfing your hand. Someone gasps, but you don't look up until you say, "And I'm the Queen of Hell."

"Oh fuck."

Fangs immediately shoots up, stumbling behind his seat. Sweet Pea's expression has completely shut down and Toni stares with wide eyes. Without having to look in a mirror, you already know your eyes have gone pure white and the picture you paint with the crown atop your head can look quite daunting.

"I'm still me- the same girl you've been hanging out with for a while now." You swallow down the hurt you feel at their speechlessness. "But.. I will understand if this is too much. All I ask is that this little revelation doesn't leave the circle." Still your friends say nothing and fight against the burn behind your eyes. "I'm sorry."

As quickly as you can, you bend over to pick up your bag. Shouldering the strap, you turn to walk away when Jughead calls out. "Y/N.."

"It's fine," you say and cast him a small smile. "I'll pick up my car later. I'm going home."

"Let me give you a ride home at least."

You shake your head. "I'll manage." And with that, you turn and walk away, letting a swirl of flames whisk you away.

Maybe you should have waited, dropping hints here and there to ease them in. But as you appear in your room, you drop onto your bed and let the sadness swallow you whole. What's done is done. All you can do is hope for the best now.

[oddarin]

It is one of the most meaningless thing I’ve done in time - all least-to-most ranks and just characters’ fact answers (those that with no pictures) from oficial Ask Arcana gathered in one place. Have no idea what that information could be used for and if it even useful but it kept me occupied and distracted from some life shit for a while, so let it be.

who is most to least likely to enjoy the movie Frozen? Lucio, Portia, Julian, Asra, Muriel, Nadia

Out of the cast, who is the most to least likely to be the jealous type? Portia, Lucio, Muriel & Nadia (tied), Julian, Asra

would you like to rank the characters from who cries most to least ugly? like from sniveling to shoujo manga tears? Muriel, Lucio, Julian, Portia, Asra, Nadia

who is the most to least superstitious Portia, Julian, Nadia, Lucio, Asra, Muriel

most to least excited to be at a WWE event Portia, Lucio, Asra, Julian, Nadia, Muriel

From worst to best at handling children Nadia, Lucio, Muriel, Asra, Portia, Julian

From worst to best for alcohol tolerance Muriel, Asra, Lucio, Julian, Portia, Nadia

Character ranking from best at keeping secrets to loose-liped gossip? Asra, Muriel, Nadia, Lucio, Portia, Julian

best to worst dancers? Asra, Portia, Julian, Nadia, Lucio, Muriel

Most to Least likely to slap you for stealing a mcnugget Nadia, Lucio, Asra, Portia, Julian, Muriel

Least to most likely to eat something weird (read: probably shouldn't be eaten) because of a dare? Nadia, Julian, Muriel, Lucio, Portia, Asra and not even on a dare

how old are each of the revealed characters? everyone is old, but in order of least old to most old: Asra, Portia, Muriel, Julian, Lucio, Nadia

Who's the best kisser? Who's the worst? Best kisser: Faust (good snake smooches) Worst kissers: Mercedes and Melchior (too much cronch)

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

If the main 6 played MTG what color decks would they play? Asra: Blue Nadia: White Julian: Black (Portia made his for him) Portia: White/Green Muriel: Green Lucio: Red

How did cast look as babies? Nadia: The best baby, perfect in form and function Asra: A cute baby, always looking around Julian: Not the most handsome baby, a little gangly Portia: Round, squealing delightful baby Lucio: Red-faced screaming awful baby Muriel: Sturdy and well insulated for the long winter

Of the main six characters, which ones are capable of juggling and which ones would absolutely love doing needlepoint? capable of juggling: Portia, Asra, Muriel absolutely love doing needlepoint: Nadia, Julian incapable of juggling/ absolutely hate doing needlepoint: Lucio

what would the cast choose as their job in the mmo final Fantasy XIV? Julian: Dragoon Asra: Astrologian Lucio: Ninja, but he messes up the mudras Nadia: Machinist Portia: Summoner Muriel: Paladin

What would be the favorite attractions/rides of the cast at Disney? Julian: Pirates of the Caribbean Asra: Astro Orbiter Lucio: Tower of Terror (RIP) Muriel: Matterhorn Portia: California Screamin' Nadia: Carousel of Progress

What do the rest of the cast smell like? Nadia: Les Larmes Sacree Du Thebes by Baccarat Asra: Lord of Misrule Lush Shower Cream Julian: Leather seats in a rental car Portia: Cocoa butter and laundry soap Lucio: Fireball, Axe body spray & ass Muriel: myrrh

What board game would The Arcana gang be? Nadia: Clue Asra: Twister Julian: Sorry! Portia: Mouse Trap Lucio: Monopoly Muriel: Guess Who

Who do all the cast main in over watch? Nadia: Ana Asra: Sombra Julian: Reaper Portia: Zarya Muriel: Bastion Lucio: Genji

If everyone participated in a Winter Olympic sport, which one would they be in? Nadia: figure skate (singles) Asra: snowboarding Julian: alpine ski Portia: freestyle ski Muriel: luge Lucio: ice hockey

Main casts Starbucks orders? Julian: Black coffee and he flirts with the barista until it’s ready. Nadia: London Fog Latte. She comes in at exactly 8 every morning. Asra: Matcha latte unless there’s a new radioactive-looking Frappuccino flavor and then he gets that. Muriel: Waiting outside in the car, asks Asra to get him a water. Asra comes back with a hot chocolate and a cake pop. Muriel grumbles but accepts them every time. Lucio: Salted Caramel Mocha extra whip extra sprinkles nonfat no foam soy upside down actually coconut milk instead and then he yells at you if you get it wrong. Portia: Pink Drink and all the baristas get excited when she walks in because they love her and she always tips.

The cast as Kanye songs Nadia: Power Lucio: No Church in the Wild Asra: Love Lockdown Julian: Heartless Portia: Paranoid Muriel: Coldest Winter

Which characters would be in the fire, water, earth, and air nations? Slightly different from what you asked, but: Asra - waterbender Nadia - airbender Julian & Portia - non-benders Muriel - Earthbender Lucio - Firebender

What kind of parents are the cast at their child’s soccer game? Nadia: standing on the sidelines in sunglasses and heels biting her thumbnail and watching every move on the field because she doesnt trust the ref Asra: cheers whenever anything happens, takes as many kids as can fit in the car out for ice cream but doesn’t check with the parents Julian: chats up the other parents relentlessly and isn’t watching when his kid gets hit in the face with the ball Portia: “cmon cmon cmon cmon cmon cmon cmon AW WHAT WAS THAT” Muriel: watching from the parking lot inside the car Lucio: yelling on the phone the whole time, spills all 24 oz of his salted caramel mocha on the bench and doesn’t do anything about it

Which Disney movie is the favorite of each of the cast? Nadia: Fantasia 2000 Asra: The Emperor’s New Groove Julian: Muppet Treasure Island Portia: Muppet Treasure Island Muriel: The Fox and the Hound Lucio: Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True

what kind of youtube channel would each character have (letsplay, cooking, craft, etc)? Asra: very unstructured mostly-cooking channel that also features videos of him just eating weird things, and videos of Faust existing and being cute Nadia: beauty guru with very polished high-end editing Julian: doesn’t know how to use youtube but Portia made an account for him and uploads her shaky/blurry phone videos of his jazz performances Portia: likes and comments on all of Nadia’s videos while occasionally posting cute cat vids Muriel: does not have an internet connection Lucio: extremely loud letsplayer, mostly FPS

What would the cast be as animal crossing villagers? Muriel: Cranky Bear Julian: Smug Eagle Portia: Uchi Cat Nadia: Snooty Ostrich Asra: Lazy Wolf Lucio: Jock Goat

What Fire Emblem Fates' classes would each character be? Asra - Diviner Nadia - Priestess Julian - Adventurer Portia - Maid Muriel - Wolfskin Lucio - Berserker

if the arcana cast were naruto characters, which ones would they be Portia: Naruto Muriel: Gaara Lucio: Orochimaru Julian: Itachi Asra: Kakashi Nadia: Fancy Shikamaru

If the characters of arcana watched rupaul's drag race who would be their faves? Nadia: bebe, raja, peppermint Asra: yara, aja, adore Julian: nina bo’nina, sasha, raven Portia: chichi, bob, ginger Lucio: willam, kimora, mimi imfurst Muriel: Latrice Royale

WHAT ARE THE CHARAS PREFERRED FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM? Nadia: Lavender Lemon Asra: Rainbow Sorbet Julian: Pistachio Portia: Cookie Dough Muriel: Rocky Road Lucio: Red Velvet

Please please arcana cast as mcr songs Lucio: It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s a Deathwish Julian: Thank You For The Venom Asra: Welcome To The Black Parade Muriel: House of Wolves Nadia: You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison Portia: Give Em Hell Kid

What are the characters going to be for Halloween? Asra - glow-in-the-dark mermaid Nadia - [elegant ballgown interpretation of] a swan Julian - tortured vampire/werewolf hybrid Muriel - sheet ghost Portia - ninja turtle Lucio - slutty angel Faust - a very long hot dog

If you had to assign the characters from the Arcana to characters from Labyrinth who would they be? Nadia: Jareth Asra: Sara Julian: Sir Didymus Portia: Hoggle Muriel: Ludo Lucio: The Chilly Down birds

What's each character's favourite fruits? Nadia: Concord Grape Asra: Blue Raspberry Julian: Fig Portia: Banana Muriel: Lemon Lucio: Pomegranate

what's everyone's favorite season? Asra - spring Nadia - summer Julian - autumn Muriel - winter Portia - spring Lucio - summer

Who would the Arcana cast be in a cliche Noir Film? Nadia: boss with kinetic ball bearing desk ornament and brandy in the drawer Asra: first love turned old flame that you run into halfway around the world Julian: haggard scientist with an unbuttoned shirt scribbling on the walls Portia: wisecracking secretary who takes a bus a train and a ferry to work Muriel: ominous farmer that lets people use the phone after a car breaks down Lucio: raging starlet shattering a vase after being blacklisted by every studio

The Arcana cast as Michael Jackson songs? Nadia: Man in the Mirror Asra: You Are Not Alone Julian: Smooth Criminal Portia: Will You Be There Muriel: Ben Lucio: Bad

What would each character be in cats? This probably wasn’t supposed to be Cats the musical but if you think i’m gonna pass this up Nadia: None they’re all awful/ Munkustrap Asra: Mister Mistoffelees Julian: Macavity Portia: Jennyanydots Lucio: Rum Tum Tugger Muriel: Grizabella

what would their favorite emojis be? Asra: 🌚 Nadia: 🍷 Julian: 🎷 Portia: 👀 Muriel: 👁 Lucio: 💃💸😏👑

What panic at the disco songs describe each character best? Julian: Death of a Bachelor Asra: I Write Sins Not Tragedies Portia: She’s a Handsome Woman Nadia: Northern Downpour Lucio: Victorious Muriel: From a Mountain in the Middle of the Cabins

What stereotypes for a super cliché highschool do the characters fall into? Nadia: Valedictorian who has been doing independent study and hasn’t set foot in the building for the past two years Asra: Shows up late every class with loud ass Sunchips, does homework in glow in the dark gel pen Julian: Eats lunch with his teacher so they can keep talking about mitochondria Portia: Gets really hype about dances, always ends up fighting at dances Muriel: Puts away all the folding chairs that everyone left behind Lucio: Gets on the intercom to talk shit about the teacher who gave him a D+ on his plagiarized essay

What sports would the characters play? And would they be any good at those sports? Muriel: Any solitary sport. He likes track and shotput. Nadia: Swimming. She isn’t on a team, she just likes the water. Portia: Wrestling. She’s got a few championship belts. Julian: Grandma Devorak forced him to take One Sport in high school, and he chose long-distance running. Asra: Beach volleyball and snowboarding. He’s just there to have a good time. Lucio: Ice hockey, but he spends it mostly punching other players.

what dragons from books/movies/games match each character best, would you say? As for dragons, one of our writers plays Flight Rising obsessively so here’s every character as a Flight Rising breed. Asra: Fae Nadia: Imperial Lucio: Wildclaw Muriel: Guardian Julian: Skydancer Portia: Snapper

What is each character most likely to do with the mc when they're feeling 'unusually affectionate'? Nadia: feed them champagne grapes and engage them in conversation so she can watch them try to talk with their mouth full Asra: stare at them and stop acknowledging anyone or anything else Julian: preen and spoil them to the point of being a public embarrassment Portia: constant cuddly contact Muriel: follow them at a respectable distance Lucio: belt out an aria at the sight of them

What's everyone favorite manga if they read any in this world? Nadia: Rose of Versailles Asra: Yugioh Julian: Blackjack Portia: Ranma ½ Muriel: Hunter x Hunter Lucio: Berserk

how much does faust like all the characters? like, who does she like the most/least? does she like the main character at all? Faust adores the main character almost as much as she loves Asra. But if she had to choose from the rest: Most good smelling: Nadia Most fun to squeeze: Julian Most too big to eat: Muriel Most hard to hide from: Portia Most attackable: Lucio

what kind of drunk is everybody? Nadia: capable, professional drunk on the move. Never in the same room twice Asra: touchy-feely but won’t leave the couch, still somehow manages to catch on fire Julian: morphs into The Storyteller, everyone in earshot ends up caught in a dramatic reenactment of his life story waiting for him to take a breath but he never does Portia: makes 6 new friends in the bathroom line Muriel: moody, talks to no one, keeps taking everybody’s empty bottles out to the trash Lucio: the loudest, the drama, the legend, the first to dip out when the cops show up

Of the Characters: Who tells a dirty joke? Who doesn't understand it? Who is disgusted? Who laughs? Who hides a smile? Who gets annoyed? Lucio: tells a dirty joke Muriel: doesn’t understand it Julian: is disgusted Asra: laughs Portia: hides a smile Nadia: gets annoyed

What are the characters usual reactions when subbing their toes? Nadia: It Does Not Happen Asra: hops it off Julian: hissing, closes his eyes while he savors the pain Portia: (string of curses) “ok………. i’m fine” Muriel: doesn’t notice because his toes are too far away Lucio: shrieks, revenge kicks the wall, shrieks harder

what you think everyones deadly sin would be? the deadly cliches: Nadia - Pride Asra - Lust Julian - Wrath Portia - Envy Muriel - Sloth Lucio - Gluttony

On a scale of good to bad, who sings karaoke? Nadia has a silky voice with impeccable vibrato. But she only sings karaoke alone in the bath. Asra has an airy, intimate voice. He’s the worst at karaoke because he doesn’t even get up off the couch. Julian has very limited singing ability, but he will talk sing the whole way through if he has to. He’s great at duets, somehow. Portia has a throaty, powerful voice. She brings the house down with Heart and Bonnie Tyler ballads, even if she squeaks on the high notes. Muriel has a gravelly grumble that he is convinced is useless for singing and if you hand him the microphone he’ll drop it and go stand in the corner. Lucio has an overdone musical theater voice but he is tone deaf. He will shout out the high notes and power through the rest and if you try to skip his song there will be hell to pay

which social media platform which each character Prefer™ ? Asra - twitter (RTs a lot of memes and shitposts, posts incomprehensible dril-like tweets at 3am) Nadia - instagram (flawless makeup and aesthetic™) Julian - yahoo answers Portia - snapchat Muriel - what is social media Lucio - LinkedIn (you will NEVER stop getting email notifications from him)

what dnd classes would the cast be (like mage, assassin, cleric etc)? Nadia: Paladin Asra: Warlock Julian: Rogue Portia: Bard Muriel: Fighter Lucio: Barbarian

what would each characters spice girl name be Asra: Mystery Spice Nadia: Boss Spice Julian: Suffering Spice Portia: Sassy Spice Muriel: Surly Spice Lucio: Spicy Spice

how complicated is each character's personal hygiene routine? Nadia’s personal hygiene routine: an exact science and takes a practiced team of servants to execute. Julian’s personal hygiene routine: splashing his face 5-7 times and gargling with his famous mint vodka peroxide formula Asra’s personal hygiene routine: sticking his head underwater until he’s awake Portia’s personal hygiene routine: putting her hair in a bun and scrubbing herself with a cloth and bucket down by the frog pond Lucio’s personal hygiene routine: milk and caviar bath every 13 hours Muriel’s personal hygiene routine: standing in the pouring rain

What's everyone's favorite alcoholic drinks? Asra - St Germain, tequila, blue curaçao,  lime juice, hibiscus syrup (serve in a champagne flute or martini glass, garnished with a wildflower or tiny umbrella) Julian - whiskey, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, lemon juice (serve in a highball glass) Nadia - Chambord, white wine, seltzer (serve in a wine glass, chilled or on the rocks) Portia - beer & apple cider with a shot of rum (serve in a lowball glass) Muriel - Baileys, butterscotch schnapps, hot chocolate (serve warm, in your coziest mug) Lucio - Jägermeister & Goldschläger topped with overproof rum (serve as a flaming shot)

what would be each of the characters' favorite genre of music? Asra: Bossa Nova and EDM Nadia: Obscure Opera and Calming beach sounds Julian: 20 minute tracks of Quality Jazz Portia: Reggae and dad rock Muriel: New wave and white noise Lucio: Top 40 and Dark Funky Disco

who would the arcana characters be from mean girls?? Asra: the guy who asked what day it was Nadia: cady Julian: gretchen weiners Portia: janis Lucio: regina george Muriel: damian

Which Hogwarts house would each of the Main Cast belong in? Asra & Julian - Ravenclaw Nadia - Slytherin Portia & Muriel - Hufflepuff Lucio - Gryffindor

What would the characters modern!au job/career of choice be? Lucio owns and manages several nightclubs and has a trashy daytime talk show Asra does really low-budget magic shows at kids’ birthday parties by day, and DJs at one of Lucio’s clubs at night Nadia is the city mayor, an international chess champion, and concert pianist Portia works at Home Depot (used to be a waitress at Red Lobster but the tips were terrible), but she wants to be a zookeeper Julian is a doctor at an underfunded hospital with lots of drama Muriel lives off the grid in a broken-down van in the woods

Just due to mild curiosity what would be the casts favorite musicals? Asra - Legally Blonde: The Musical Nadia - Chicago Julian - Les Mis Muriel - Wicked Portia - Cats! Lucio - Phantom of the Opera / Kinky Boots (it’s a tie)

what cryptid is every character Asra = Chupacabra Julian = Mothman Nadia = Nessie Portia = Loveland Frog Muriel = Bigfoot Lucio = Jersey Devil

how would the game's characters celebrate the MC's birthday with them?? Asra would take them on a long journey without telling them where they were going (but would keep them entertained with riddles) to a scenic oasis, where he would pretend to drown so MC has to dive into the water and at the bottom is a magic flute that can summon a swarm of bees (their favorite!) Nadia would throw a tastefully brief festival in their honor. MC would be lavished with pampering (by professional pamperers) from dawn to dusk and when the clock struck midnight, they would be presented with seven bejeweled eagles (one for every day of the week) Julian would meet them for dinner in a shady tavern, bring them heaping plates of food and offer unsolicited advice for the coming year. About halfway through the meal he would have to scramble out the back door because law enforcement arrived on the scene but he’d put it an order in the kitchen to bring them something for dessert Lucio would declare the day a holiday and call it Day of the Beloved One of Lucio. They would have to sit uncomfortably still while a master artiste painted their portrait and a mile-long line of peasants laid gifts at their feet. Muriel doesn’t celebrate birthdays because time is a human construct Portia would throw a big loud party with a barbecue :D

Since it is soon, what would the characters do for Valentines day with us (the MC)? Nadia would take you on an elegant river cruise stocked with 130 varieties of tiny cake and a private crooner hired to serenade you but she would end up throwing them overboard for not hitting the high notes Asra would take you to the mall and splurge on all the stuff you both can’t afford but wait way too long to get lunch so you get into a fight and he proposes in the food court Julian would show up on the 15th after with all the candy he scored at 75% off, pretend it was on purpose that he got the day wrong, and wake you up at 3 am to come clean because the guilt was eating him alive Muriel would light some scented candles, cook up a sensual meal and throw a bearskin rug in front of the fireplace for you to enjoy alone while he escapes into the woods Portia would pack a picnic of chicken and tortilla chips, take you to the beach where you could splash around until the sun goes down and lull you to sleep on the sandy blanket with her acoustic guitar Lucio would have servants fill your room with floor to ceiling flowers while you sleep and wait impatiently for you to wake up like

Would you roommate with any of the characters? it’s hard to decide, so here are some pros and cons Asra - pro: never home / con: leaves dishes in the sink for weeks Nadia - pro: your home will be spotless / con: it’s spotless because she orders you to clean it for her Julian - pro: medical professional / con: half of your apartment is now this

rate the characters on how #extra they are Muriel: 4/10 Lucio: 13/10 Everyone else: 10/10

Which character could be best described as "tender"?? "Spicy"??? “tender”: Muriel “tender”/“Spicy”: Asra, Portia “Spicy”/”tender”: Julian, Nadia “Spicy”: Lucio

what the favorite Pokemon of all the characters were. Asra - Ekans, Delphox, Espeon Nadia - Noctowl, Gardevoir, Musharna Julian - Absol, Bisharp, Murkrow Portia - Chansey, Politoed, Hoothoot Muriel - Pangoro, Aggron, Wigglytuff Lucio - Houndoom, Pyroar, Skarmory

[fluffypeachwriting]

Here's a crack request...

POV: Ramuda's new gf and he invited you over Friday night. However when you get there...

...all of FP's members are there doing face masks, watching chick flicks and doing each other's nails? Apparently this is their routine

i love this idea  (☆ω☆)

Getting a message from Ramuda saying he was free for the day made your heart skip a beat. It was his roundabout way of asking you to come over. However, what had you a little more than worried was the fact that he gave no detail as to what you’d actually be doing. And the sounds coming from his front door only confused you more.

From the mild arguing and high-pitched giggling, you knew that the rest of the posse were there too. There was something else in the background, like other people talking, but not in a million years would they invite anyone else (except you, of course) into their shenanigans. You wanted to catch this scene without interruption, so you carefully unlocked the door – Ramuda had entrusted you with a key to his place, that moment being one of his genuinely heartfelt confessions – and tiptoed inside.

The arguing continued:

“What in the actual fuck is this? Everyone’s so dramatic all the time it’s pissing me off! Like, I dance in my underwear too but this is all weird, it’s not realistic at all!”

“Sweet Dice, this film is hardly an – sit still, I can’t brush near under your eyes like this – accurate representation of romance. Surely you – tell me if this irritates your skin at all – don’t think that?”

“Tch! I’d never – pbthbthbptpbhtpbh!”

“Ahahahahaha! Silly Dice almost ate the mask! It’s not for eating!”

“Oh goodness, this application is abysmal. Just like this plotline. Even the nudity is boring.”

“Gen? That kinda thing – ”

“Shhhhhhhh! My favourite cutie is here! Don’t ignore them!”

You gasped in surprise, not realising that you had been standing in the entrance for a few minutes. How could you forget that Ramuda’s radar never missed a thing? Your boyfriend leapt into view and almost dive-bombed into your side, barely letting you catch your breath.

“Ack – Ramuda?!”

“Welcome home!” He had no time for questions. When he was satisfied hug-wise, he pitter-pattered on the spot, right by your side, until you were ready to be dragged into fray.

“Hey guys,” you tried to act nonchalant while your sleeve was being tugged on, “so what’s… Gentaro?”

The person on Ramuda’s couch looked like Gentaro at least, if he wore a fluffy bathrobe with matching slippers, and a glittery face mask. He was carefully inspecting the fingertips of the person sitting next to him, who turned out to be Dice, wearing an equally fluffy bathrobe-and-slippers combo. You couldn’t decide who was more out of character.

“That is my name. I would hope that my dear friend hasn’t forgotten my appearance despite this unusual situation. Ah, I do suppose that I look somewhat peculiar.” Gentaro then peered over his shoulder, “Ramuda?”

Ramuda peeked his head around the doorframe, “That’s-a me!”

“Did you just happen to forget to tell your partner about this evening’s plans?”

Ramuda stuck out his tongue and rubbed the back of his neck, as he always did whenever someone called him out, “Eheh… maybe! It was a surprise!” He spun to face you and waited for your response, “You’re gonna join in, right?”

You looked back at him, and how happy he seemed to be, his partner and friends all having fun together. How could you say no to that?

“Yeah, I’ll stay!”

“Yaaaaaay! I already bought stuff just for you, kay?” Ramuda stuck his tongue out and fixed his headband into place before taking you by the hand and leading you to where everyone was sitting.

There was an assortment of beauty products and snacks on the coffee table, separated by a line of Ramuda’s favourite little plushies, all neatly set in a row down the middle. A fancy and floral smell was in the air, like every flower under the sun was right here in the room – though, in actuality, Ramuda couldn’t even remember to care for even a cactus. Most of the snacks had already been eaten, and before you could think that you had made it to the party too late, Dice proudly informed you that the snack-ravishing was done entirely by him in the first ten minutes of him being there. You weren’t disappointed about it though, since you knew better than anyone that Ramuda had several secret food stashes around his home that were always stocked with your favourite goodies.

“Ten minutes? That pretty slow for you, Dice.”

“Right? Gen was trying to put this on me,” He gestured to his face, which was covered in a pink face mask. It was a messy job to say the least, and as Dice wiped away some mask from his eyelashes, the smile told you he was having fun with it, “Ramuda really wanted to do this, especially with you, y’know? He was sad when you came kinda late.”

“He was?”

Right on cue, the pink blur bounced into the room and wrapped one arm around you, “Waaaaaiiiii! Let’s get this party started, hm?” From behind his back yet another fluffy bathrobe and pair of slippers was introduced into the room.

Ramuda insisted that all four of you match, to Gentaro and Dice’s amusement. When you changed into something more relaxed, as Ramuda always kept pyjamas for you, just in case, he was practically glowing with excitement.

“Uwaaaaa! This is so fun, ahaha! C’mon c’mon c’mon!” He flopped back onto the couch and adamantly patted the seat next to him, “You gotta do the same as the rest of us, okay?”

Dice snorted, “Yeah right, like they’re gonna wanna watch this shitshow of a film. Can’t even remember the name… it’s like… love, for real?”

Gentaro almost spat out the bubble tea he was sipping, “D-Dice, it’s Love, Actually. We really cannot trust you to retain a single fact, can we?”

“Nah, I can remember when Ramuda was close to blowing our ears out when he saw (y/n) through the window.”

“Dice…” Ramuda covered his cheeks, “Stahhpppp!”

It was going to be a fun night.