#i found it on a platform with second hand objects

[tenderwulf]

I found the most cursed Yugioh merch I've ever laid my eyes on and of course I bought it. Absolutely cursed. Look at it

Why is he standing like that aldkjflgjsldjhd

I'm dying. It's horrible. I've already put it in a prominent spot in my living room. I might just start a cursed yugioh merch collection

[sibylance]

We Need to Talk About AI Detectors

Over the past few weeks there have been two posts in particular that have come out against two authors in the community that have resulted in near witch hunts for one, and essentially driving the other off the internet from all the bullying and hate received. These posts were related to the potential use of AI in fanfiction, as well as using supposed “AI Detectors” to support their claims. With the help of friends, we have been able to look into the AI claims that were made against both The Silence and The Song and Ir Abelas, Da’ean.

We were curious about how and why these posts were being flagged with high levels of “AI Probability” when the authors have been adamant (either in chats or in public) that they have never used generative AI for their work. So we did the most logical thing, put on our detective caps, and rolled up our sleeves. We would like to note that we do not wish to have philosophical discussions, we wish to have transparency and honesty.

Spoilers: We found inaccuracies almost IMMEDIATELY.

Firstly, we looked into the weakness of AI detectors, and read through online posts where people voiced their frustrations with detectors. One thing that we noticed was that the common denominator was that well written articles were being flagged as “Likely AI”, particularly with Originality, and that the solution was to either “dumb them down” or to remove punctuation such as commas, which immediately improved the score, tipping the scale to “Likely Original”.

For the second step, we ran some of our own works through Originality AI checker–works that were made prior to the creation of AI and generative AI. However, after punctuation was removed, this magically changed from 50% likelihood of AI to 100% original work. Again, these works were from before the dawn of generative AI, and therefore could not have been created by AI. For fun, we even ran the first chapter of Harry Potter through it–a novel that is objectively without AI, which still did not come out with results stating 100% original work. We then removed almost all of the punctuation from it, and it actually improved the originality score by 3% (from 95% to 98%).

Personal fic, before and after:

Next step, we ran our own scans through Originality and Quillbot.This includes full chapters of Ir Abelas, Da’ean, both with and without punctuation in Originality, and excerpts in Quillbot. Interestingly, the excerpts in Quillbot pinged as “0% likely AI”, and that is without any removal of punctuation. Across the board, the removal of punctuation from the chapters caused an immediate and dramatic increase in the score, from “100% likely AI” to “96% likely Original”. We have found that the more grammatically correct a work was, the more likely it was to be flagged as “AI”, much like how the freelance writers were complaining about.

Chapter 1 of Ir Abelas, before and after:

Chapter 1 through Quillbot:

Chapter 45 of Ir Abelas, before and after:

Chapter 45 without commas or double hyphens:

Chapter 45 through Quillbot:

Even the Ai detection websites caution against this:

To Durgeapologist, Fangbanger3000, and friends: If you do actually read this, I hope you realize that your posts have done more harm than good to the community. You are correct that AI is a potential threat to creative spaces, but you have gone about addressing it in the worst possible way. By creating multiple posts across platforms with the intent of creating a negative perspective toward certain authors and their fictions rather than the use of AI as a whole—not to mention the counter-accusations with personal attacks rather than focusing on the issue at hand—you are creating an environment that fosters negativity, bullying, and division—none of which are directions to take a sustainable and healthy community. AI Detection is the Wild West right now. There is no way to determine if something written is AI through the use of algorithms, and it requires the use of human intervention and careful comparison to previous works to be within a certain level of certainty that it is AI. Our hope is that in the future, you will take time, step back, and consider all possible sides before causing a stir in the community like this.

[justadeadreaper]

My friend says I have to write this as an apology for what I posted yesterday as apparently what I wrote was not fluff but angst as it made a few people cry so I have to make up for it with actual fluff. Now that I have said what I think König would do for you when he goes on a long deployment so that you remember how much he loves you when you miss him how about we now hear what I think he does while on the deployments and then a third post detailing what he does when he finally gets back home. 

Yes, König has an issue with being the cockiest man alive but he has another trait(s) that can be considered a thousand times worse, this is how he is extremely possessive and obsessed with what he considers his. It is why he struggles to be apart from you for so long when he is on his missions for months or years at a time even if he keeps actively choosing them for the rush of adrenaline that has to pump through his veins due to how addicted the military made him to the thrill. As mentioned before, the giant will spend any chance and time he gets to write you letters that normally entail how everything is going before going over how greatly he misses you and would prefer to be in your arms in the luxury of your soft bed compared to the cold, lifeless floors of wherever he is. Normally, he ends all his letters asking how you are and what you have been doing, like asking how your hobbies have been going and if you have been using his card to treat yourself while he is gone. 

If he has signal and is in a safe area where he has no worries about calling or checking his phone you can bet that he will be checking every single security camera he has in the house to see what you are doing without telling you as he just loves to see how you are in your natural habitat even if others would call him a peeping Tom for such actions. Sometimes he will even call you on a second phone to talk to you as he watches what you do, sometimes he loves to be a tease and ask what you are doing and make hints towards what you are doing just so he can see the confused look on your face and ask if he is a mind reader.

Due to his kleptomaniac tendencies from how he grew up with virtually nothing to the point he now needs to have everything he was never able to have when he was a child, he will collect trinkets for you to gift you once he gets back home. These trinkets can virtually be anything he was able to get his large, sticky hands on like the jewellery he scavenges from the corpses of all the enemies he has killed so that he can return home to you as he loves seeing you in anything shiny or objects he just likes the look of that he found when scouting the area which itself ranges from a pretty rock he found in a stream to things he found in a ruined house like ornaments that could be used to decorate your home to things such as spoons or weirdly shaped objects that he just found interesting and thought you would find pretty too or souvenirs or clothes he brought in nearby cities, towns, villages or countries to the area his mission was set in as to share the location with you and as a way to make off another area he has been in and successfully come back alive from or it could be something grimmer that just hits the right spot with his morbid thought process he calls normal such as the bones of enemies or dead animals he found that he will eventually DIY to create something useful or pretty to put around the house (the last time he did such a thing he made you multiple candle holders using the arm and hand bones of enemies as he said it looked so pretty to see the wax drip down the bones onto the platform underneath) or he would bring back the weapons or clothing of the enemies he killed if he thought it was pretty or interesting enough to add to the collection he lets you use to protect yourself with while he is gone or cool enough to add to his many uniforms.

Although, his kleptomaniac tendencies do not just stop at inanimate objects. Quite a few of his subordinates and teammates joke that if you find a stray animal you can not kill it but you have to hide it no matter what situation you are in due to König’s horrible habit of collecting animals he finds like Pokémon cards. If König finds a stray animal in the area or one he finds too interesting it is no longer a stray but his pet no matter what it is even if it is as feral as a dog with rabies. This habit was first discovered by his team when he would keep the interesting enough spiders they asked him to dispose of as he would keep them in containers and feed them whatever bug he found around the area but it never stopped there. It was then reaffirmed once they found him sneaking a pair of rats into his bag since he thought they were too cute as they had the audacity to try and bite a hole through his boot. Over the years it became more apparent with every new animal he gathered and brought home to you or how you would suddenly find a new pet such as the toad that now lives by the small fairy pond he built by the rose bushes as he saved it from his team as Tor thought it was a good idea to use it as target practice. If he finds an animal on the mission that he finds cute or interesting enough you can surely bet that he will bring it home to add to the family since he knows you can not refuse his puppy dog eyes that tug on your heartstrings.

If you speak a language he does not and someone on his team can speak it he will be pestering his team member to teach him, but if he does not he will have taken a few small books for him to learn from when he is restless at night and unable to sleep due to his insomnia just so that when he comes home he will be able to surprise you with knowing some of your language.

And like I have mentioned before, he takes mini journals alongside with him where he will be able to sketch you with details of the scenery around him or he will write poems or thoughts about you just to get his mind off of you so they do not clog his thoughts and distract him which creates the risk of him being too distracted and not being alert enough which ends up with him not having the chance to come home to you which neither of you want to happen. The journals are so sappy and sweet but can sometimes be vulgar with its content, he does not dare show it anyone but you, but that only happens once he is finished and every page is full so he can give it you once he is next deployed.

But in the end, all he is waiting for is for the mission to be over so that he can come back to you alive and well so that he can be in your arms once more and spoil you with all the gifts he brought from the mission and when he got back to say sorry for being gone for so long.

[charmercharm3r]

Make Love, Not Porn

Hi, My Name Is

HHJ

Masterlist, Story Masterlist

18+ content – minors, do not interact

wc: 7.7k

Synopsis: You crave a life of normalcy, he craves you. And he'd do anything to keep you, even if you're for the world to see.

warnings: smut, explicit sexual content, subby/service top!barista hyune, softdom!reader, oral (m), piv, protected sex, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, consensual recording, lmk if I missed anything :p to be so honest i have no idea what i wrote i kinda blacked out lol so if it’s ass..look away

Past Broadcasts : Puppeteer

Live : Hi, My Name Is

Next Scheduled Broadcast : Sunday

☆ﾟ

Rule number five: know when to cut the cord.

But it was so difficult when he was literally showing up at your front door. You avoided him at all costs, acted like he didn’t exist, even found a new grocery store because it was too close to the coffee shop and you were terrified of the possibility of running into him there even if the chances were slim to none. There wasn’t even a reason for you to be scared to see him, he rejected you. He’s the one that should be embarrassed, turning down a ten out of ten.

Then again, he was a ten out of ten. A twelve out of ten, even. But why did he have to shove it in your face?

You were red in the face, light sheen of sweat all over your body when you’d heard the knock. The middle of the day and you were in the middle of a solo session, breaking in a new toy you’d gotten for the next stream. An hour had probably passed when you realized it just wasn’t working. Nothing was. The last time you’d been with Hyunjin was also the last time you’d cum, and it was frustrating the life out of you. As someone in this industry, cumming as many times as you wanted was one of the few motivators you had left. The amount of times you’d had to fake an orgasm on your streams was hurting your ego, as well as starting to get slightly suspicious to your regular viewers.

And now the sole object of your desire was behind a slab of wood that may as well have not been there at all. Your body heated up as soon as you saw him, like a warm hug. A fucking hug on the chilliest day of winter with a hot chocolate slipping down your throat. There’s also something else that would be awfully nice down you throat, and it’s behind the fucking door.

Through the peephole, you could see flowers and a coffee in his hand, biting his lip waiting for you to open. You hoped he didn’t hear you, that he’d assume you weren’t home and leave you alone for good. If you ignored him long enough, you’ll forget you’d ever even met him.

You backed away from the door when there was a second knock, hand still reached out holding the nob out of habit. The desire to open it was almost strong enough to override the nagging at the back of your head that told you “he’s just using you. He got in your pants so easily the first time, what’s to stop him from coming back for more?”

Almost.

It was a ruse, it had to be, this grand gesture. He was love bombing you. There was something he wanted. If not just sex, then fifteen minutes of fame? Using you for your platform? Still, you wanted to see the best in him, creeping up to the door again and silently looking through the peephole again. He was biting the inside of his cheek, switching the coffee between his hands when it got too cold. At some point he’d put everything into one hand so that he could run his hand through his hair– you gasped a little at how effortlessly beautiful he was, not trying knowing no one was looking and still ethereal. He mumbled something to himself, you blinked then he suddenly dipped out of the frame.

He was finally gone. Another deep breath, your head rolled to the side and your back pressed to the wall, sliding down into a crouch probably a lot more dramatic than need be. But this felt dramatic, fucking theatrical like it was some poorly written fanfiction turned into a D-list casted movie. Twiddling your thumbs as if looking at them long enough would suddenly give you the answer, the small burst of adrenaline had finally begun to wear off, and sulking back into your pitiful showroom you went. 

-

Hyujin doesn’t know how long he’d been waiting outside your house. He’d eventually decided to make himself comfy on the floor with his back to the door. Flowers, coffee, and baked good set aside, he scrolled through his phone and kept himself busy until eventually, he’d fallen asleep. Head lolled to the side, mouth agape, and snoring in the hallway.

Then he’s suddenly falling backwards, beyond startled and looking up at… an angel?

“Definitely not an angel.”

Did I say that out loud?

“Yes.”

Dazed, confused, a little gutpunched, Hyunjin sat up with your help. Just a light hand on his back until he realized you were touching him and he jumped to his feet and scrambled to grab the bouquet. Holding it out to you with shaking hands, “a peace offering.”

You looked at the gifts, leaned against the wall, and back up to his face, “what are you doing here, Hyunjin?”

He glanced around the room to take in the sight of your home without the prospect of sex slightly clouding his mind. It was cute, everything was so you, but also somehow entirely different to what he’d imagined your apartment would look like. It wasn’t reflective of your showroom, which was all neon lights and sultry furniture to keep the mood. The rest of the house was cozy with little pieces of decoration that screamed with personality. The dimming glow of the sunset lighting the living room was the perfect accessory.

Wait, sunset?

You peaked at where he was looking, “did you fall asleep?” Hyunjin nodded.

Now you felt bad, guilty even. You shouldn’t seeing as there was little to no established relationship and you didn’t owe him anything, but you did. His cheeks were puffy, pink tinted, and he still looked a little lethargic. Cute. Very cute. How badly you wanted to nibble on his cheeks cus they looked so edible. He looked edible.

No. Stop it.

“I would offer you a snack but the last time I did that you left me high and dry.”

He didn’t know if you were being serious, turning his attention back to you with a dumbfounded expression. “Really? You didn’t feel so dry to me.” Not a single ounce of shame, but also not trying to be smug. And no filter in his brain or mouth. “You didn’t call.”

Straight to the point.

Hyunjin invited himself in and headed for the kitchen he vaguely recalls following you into for said snack. He shuffled around in search of a vase, pushing the coffee into your chest when he finally found one and bumping into you because you were trailing so close behind. The little sip you took as he filled the vase with water to display on your kitchen counter made your body temperature soothe. 

“You didn’t stay,” the softness of your voice made his heart sink.

“Did you really want me to?”

How were you supposed to answer that? Say that, yes, I wanted you to stay so bad that I chose to ignore you instead of confront you because it’s easier to pretend you don’t exist than risk getting hurt again? Actually tell him that you haven’t been able to make yourself orgasm properly since the last time you were together? That he’s ruined how you view pleasure entirely? That sex and pleasure and dating and basic human relationships seems so fucking pointless if it’s not with him? To a man you’ve known for a week? No, that’s not an option. It’s batshit insane.

What’s also insane is how simple talking to him is. It’s psychotic that you feel more comfortable alone with him than you do people you’ve known for years. You’re delusional to think that this is more than physical attraction, even if it is. It’s so much more than that and every bone in you is telling you let the dainty red string pull you closer, let it guide you towards him. And god, you want to. It’s too good to be real, he’s not real. He’s a figment of your imagination that only exists in fairy tales because little red strings of fate don’t determine your life, they don’t tell you who you’ll love, it doesn't mean anything. Not a single fucking thing.

“Yes.” 

Now, why the fuck would you say that?

“You should’ve told me,” Hyunjin let out a sigh of what you think was relief.  His shoulders slouched forward and smiled up at the ceiling.

His nonchalant made you raise an eyebrow, “I offered! You declined!”

“Don’t yell at me. I left my phone number on your desk, you didn’t call. Drink before it gets watered down.” You frowned and took a sip. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“What are you talking about? What phone number?”

“The one on your desk? With the pretty drawing of you and the… y’know?”

“I didn’t see anything.”

“What?!” He slammed the bag with the baked item onto the counter and stormed through the apartment towards your showroom. You watched as he scoured the room, searching the bed, corners, your desk for whatever it is he was looking for.

Hyunjin had gotten on his hands and knees to look below it, finally to roll your chair back and pull the cupsleeve out from under it. The cardboard was smashed, crumpled, a little dirty. He stumbled to his feet to hold it in front of you, accompanying his raised, unamused brow.

“To be fair, I thought my chair was broken.”

“You didn’t even bother to look at why it might’ve been broken?!” You shrugged, sipping the coffee again. Hyunjin huffed and tossed the cup sleeve back onto your desk. “You’re insufferable. Where the fuck is your phone?”

“Don’t swear at me.” Pointing at the bed, Hyunjin rolled his eyes before taking it.

“Passcode?” You tell him the six digits to unlock it. “Is that your birthday?”

“...No.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll remember. I’ll even add it to your contact so that I get the notification.” After a few moments, he smiled triumphantly and tossed your phone next to the abandoned cupsleeve. “Now… Dinner?”

“That’s it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive?”

“I left you outside.”

“Yeah.”

“For hours.”

“Sure.”

“You fell asleep on my doorstep.”

“Where were you going, anyway? The sun was going down.”

“To get my mail.”

“What?! At night alone?! Now, that’s unforgivable.” Hyunjin took a step towards you, slim yet broad figure shielding yours from just about everything in your immediate vision. He leaned over, placing both of his hands on the sides of your head to hold you steady as he placed a simple kiss to your forehead.

The sudden affection made your brain short circuit because what the hell? How was he so okay with everything? It was almost like there was a wind up monkey toy holding cymbals inside his head that started clapping whenever his attention was taken somewhere else. But somehow, you were even more attracted to him, if that was even possible.

“Were you doing something in here? It smells like sweat.” He said and casually strolled out of your showroom. 

For hours, you and Hyunjin were in your kitchen. Half of that was spent trying to figure out what the two of you could cook without burning the house down. The conversation was so entertainingly mundane that neither of you realized how much time had truly passed, sun fully set and night sky helping illuminate the dimly lit living room. He insisted on doing most of the cooking when you both agreed that boxed pasta and premade red sauce would be the safest thing.

All you had to do was sit back and ogle his back muscles as he stirred the pot, maybe hand him a napkin or spoon when asked. The white shirt he wore was as thin as they come, tank top more than visible beneath it and making your mouth water. The room had become incredibly warm as Hyunjin put the wooden spoon to the side. With his back to you, you got to watch as both his hands threaded through his hair, gathering what he could, and tying it into a messy ponytail. God, how did he do that? That thing where he just exists and it makes you swoon? He needs to stop– it’s getting ridiculous how hearts were basically replacing your pupils.

“If it tastes horrible, lie to me and act like it doesn’t.” Hyunjin placed a full plate in front of you, taking the seat across from you.

For the most part, the meal itself was silent. There just weren’t any words that you could think coherently enough to speak. Great food, made especially for you, and by the most handsome boy you’d ever seen, why would you need to say anything? Hyunjin didn’t seem to mind. All it looked like he cared about was not taking his eyes off you.

It was just the littlest bit uneasy, but nothing that put you off. His stare was just intense, part of you thought he was reading your mind. However, if he could, you probably wouldn’t have had to spend a week apart.

“I don’t understand you,” you admit as you suddenly find your plate nearing clean.

“Do you have to?” He responded, putting his fork down and sitting back while adjusting to spread his knees.

“I’d like to.”

Oh, how his heart fluttered when you said that. It felt like a step in the right direction. “That’s the first time you’ve asked me something personal that isn’t related to sex.”

You frowned along with the small guilt that lingered over your shoulder. “This is only the fourth time we’ve met.”

“Most people ask this before taking their clothes off. I think I’ve told you before, you’re not like most people.” He could see you bite the inside of your cheek, making a cute pout that he could tell was coming from a place of an unnecessary amount of self awareness. “I like it, though. Why do you think I came back?”

“I don’t know why. That’s, like, the whole point of me saying, ‘I don’t understand you.’”

Hyunjin reached over the short distance between him and you, thumb smoothing the ruffle between your brows and you instantly relaxed. As awkward as he could be, he really knew how to make you feel so at ease, second nature for him to be comfort embodied. There was no judgment on his face or in his tone that you could see. If you had asked what he was thinking about, he would have answered with how pretty your cheeks glow after a good meal.

“That day, you agreed to come with me and… participate..?” Hyunjin nodded along and listened intently, continuing to lightly push your hair from your forehead and trace the outline of your cheek. “Then we showered and snacked and then you just… you left. And didn’t so much as twitch when you looked at me after we were done.”

His jaw wanted to drop to the floor just how it did in the cartoons. That was the only reaction he could emit as it all clicked into place. Why you didn’t look for him or stop by the coffee shop, why you were reluctant to open the door and accept his gift, the slightly cold shoulder you gave him when you so clearly wanted to be nothing but a blanket of warmth. “Is that what you think?”

Hyunjin’s heart hurt a little when you didn’t answer, but he also wanted to laugh in your face at how stupid all of this was. However, he had clocked it the second you two had a real conversation, and so laughing at you was probably the last thing he should do. Instead, he trailed his touch down your jaw, gently cupping your cheek. “You’re more than all this,” hands slid quickly, gesturing down your sides and back up. “So much more.”

The tears wanted to swell in your eyes at how sincere his voice was. He could’ve been lying, for all you knew, but the small part of you that wanted to believe him was also the biggest part of you that had always wanted someone to tell you those small words. The small part of you that wanted to be wanted was also the biggest part of you that wanted him. It was all so confusing, you understood him perfectly but also not at all. Hyunjin could read you easily by now, you were like an open book to him.

“But I was naked.”

“And so fucking beautiful,” practically gritted through his teeth because just saying the words couldn’t express the painfully good clenching in his chest. Hyunjin pulled back for a second to stand up and shrink to his knees in front of you, reaching up again to take your cheeks in both of his hands. “But how could I look at just your body when there is so much up here to get to know?”

There it was again, all the right words executed perfectly in spite of how great of a wall you put between you and him. Hyunjin smoothly pressed a kiss to your forehead, for emphasis or not, it made you shut your eyes tightly and the tears silently rolled. His thumbs were swiping it away before making it over the hill of your cheekbone, and he was standing to take your empty dishes into the kitchen for cleaning.

You were absolutely stunned. Unsure of where to go, how to act, what to say, you simply watched him quickly wash the plates with an endearing smile all the way across his cheeks before he was taking your hand to lead you towards the couch. He sat you next to him, millimeters apart and reading your body language. Definitely in need of a lighter mood.

Hyunjin stuck his hand out for a handshake.

“What’re you doing?” Your voice cracked.

“Hi, my name is Hyunjin. You’re incredibly gorgeous and I’d love to take you out sometime.”

“If this is some kind of roleplay–”

“It’s not,” he took your hand from your lap to connect with his. “This is me wanting to know you, and you wanting to know me. I don’t know what you do for a living, and you don’t know what my dick looks like. Just people.”

Just people, that sounded nice.

You hesitated, then shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Y/N.”

“So Y/N, can I take you on a date? Maybe have a picnic in the park, grab some cheap painting supplies and go paint near the river, dessert at the best ice cream spot I know. We can make it a nice day.” He tucked his hand back into his lap respectfully, throwing the other over the back of the couch to get just the littlest bit close to you.

“I’d like to, but I’m lactose intolerant.”

“See, I’d say that’s a lie because of your coffee order. But since I don’t know you, I’m going to take your word for it and offer a cake place that I’ve heard great reviews about.”

“I don’t like frosting–”

“Just go on a date with me!” He raised his voice slightly with aggravation, teasing annoyance because he knew you were being difficult on purpose. You couldn’t help but giggle as he pretended to squish your cheeks when in reality, he was forcing down his cute aggression to keep from taking a loving bite out of you.

Your cheeks warmed up at his reaction, endearing and all together cute. He was a weird combination of adorable and sexy, even now with strands of his hair falling in front of his face, glasses hanging on the front of his shirt but a gold chain peeking out from behind the neckline that would look so good dangling in your face. You couldn’t help taking the glasses and opening them, slipping it onto his face. Hyunjin let you toy with his look by lightly brushing his hair away and pulling the necklace out of its hiding place. He raised his eyebrows when you were done. The skin of his neck tingled from where your fingertips had barely grazed.

“If you dress like this, I’m all yours.”

For a second, he didn’t know what to say as that was all he wanted to hear. For all of the smooth moves and suave lines, there were the split moments where he radiated nothing but dorkiness wanting to flood out.

“If you keep saying things like that, I might just kiss you.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“I– I don’t really know.” There it was, eyebrows knit together in genuine confusion.

While he sulked back into the cushion, you placed a gentle hand over his, just gauging the touch barrier. Hyunjin didn’t seem to mind, but rather he intertwined his fingers with yours as he fell deeper into thought. “I wanna go on a date with you,” the admittance had him darting you a quick, hopeful glance. “But, I don’t know how to do this.”

“That’s okay!” He was quick to perk up and make your grimace back a little at his sudden burst in energy. Hyunjin tightened his grip on your hand for reassurance. “I think our expertise just lies in different areas.”

“I’m not following.”

He jutted out his bottom lip with fake sympathy, scratching the underside of your chin. “If you didn’t notice, I’m not the most intuitive when it comes to sex.”

That was a shock. “I dunno about that,” an honest answer that made him shy away with a laugh.

“My experience is incomparable to yours, and not in a bad way! Just, maybe there were some things I was missing.”

You thought back to the moment you had with him, how unsure he seemed when you spoke about sex and masturbation, he seemed truly mind blown and eager to know more. 

“And I can tell, you haven’t had the easiest times with relationships. I think we can learn from each other.”

“This feels like a weird, illegal exchange.” You frowned again. “But I kinda like it.”

His heart raced, yours was beating a million miles an hour. There was a tension in the air that could’ve gone one of two ways. The first being that you pop open a bottle of wine and put on a good movie. There’s chocolate truffles in the cupboard, you could always grab a bowl to have with the wine. Sweet compliments sweet, Hyunjin might enjoy it. Perhaps you could end the night with a kiss, maybe a cuddle if it went that far. You’d see him again, you didn’t have a doubt about it. You’ve got his number now, there’s no more excuses.

The second, was how things actually went.

You mentally thanked your friend for giving you these dim lights for the living room, they made his honey skin look so edible.

Hyunjin doesn’t know when it happened, you don’t know when it happened. Just that there were half finished glasses of wine on the coffee table, the movie long passed the rolling credits, and that you were on your knees between his legs, staring at his cock with the roundest, glitteriest eyes he’d ever seen.

Your bra strap was slipping off your shoulder along with the entire cup threatening to be overflowed by your breast, he wished it would. More than that, he wished you would stop teasing him. All you were doing was tracing the pad of your finger over his slit, collecting the leaking precum and spreading it around the tip. The warmth of your breath splayed over the skin of his pelvis made goosebumps rise across every inch of his skin, giggling as he shivered.

“How did this even– ah, ah– happen?”

Vibrations of your chuckle prolonged his shuddering, “dunno. I’m not upset about it, though. Unless… unless you are?” You backed away from his cock and expression replaced with something dead serious.

“No, no! God, please keep going.” Hyunjin reached out to thread his fingers in your hair, but a quick slap on his wrist made him retreat.

“Nuh, uh. You haven’t earned that yet.”

Hyunjin repressed a groan, “sorry, sorry.”

He felt overly exposed even if you were just as naked as he was, you actually more so than him. The blurred memory of how this even started was brought back when he glanced at your discarded shirt hanging on the armrest of the couch, your house shorts and his white tee in another pile on the ground next to you. His pants and boxers were puddled around his ankles, and that was what made his face burn. Whatever was to happen next, say you wanted him to carry you to the bedroom or pin you against the wall, he’d literally be caught with them around his ankles. It’s a problem he can’t put on to you, but it still made him flustered nonetheless.

You were a few inches from his bare southern region, now, having to sit up taller so that his leaking dick didn’t obstruct from maintaining eye contact with him. “I… really like you,” tone as small as it could go without turning into a whisper.

“I really like you, too.” As antsy and anxious as he was, Hyunjin restrained from bucking into your face.

“There’s something I wanna do, only if you wanna, too. I think you might like it? Y– you can say no! No hard feelings! I just think that I’ll be seeing you a lot a– and you already know what my job is–”

He leaned forward to tip your chin higher, “I trust you.”

Blush covered your cheeks in a millisecond and it made Hyunjin smile smugly. When you turned around to grab your phone on the coffee table and prop it up against the wine bottle, he got the idea. Before you unlocked it, you spun back to face him. “I need you to say that this is okay.” Not that you didn’t trust him, as well, but you have every reason not to. Not just morally, but this was your career on the line if something were to go haywire.

“I am okay with this. Turn on the camera.”

You nodded excitedly, “this is just for us.”

The angle at which you positioned your phone made it so that his face wasn’t showing, only the view of your body between his knees sitting prettily for him. Hyunjin could see the screen and throbbed even harder, he was torn between looking at you and looking at the hottest video you’ve ever made to date. Or, about to make– with him. Even if no one else is ever going to see this, the act of being recorded made him harder than he’s ever been.

Blipping of the recording being started, you settled comfortably again locked between his legs. Hands strolling up the insides of his naked thighs, Hyunjin’s breath grew heavier the closer in you came. He could feel your body heat again as he prayed you would hurry up. The camera couldn’t pick up the way you ogled his cock, the way you licked your lips, or the way you looked up at him through your lashes just as you stuck the tip of your tongue out to gather the bead precum and swallow. Hyunjin let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in and the sound of his sigh made you giggle again.

“Can I?” You asked all too sweetly for what it is you wanted.

“Please.”

“So kind,” praised before he was about to be destroyed.

Absolutely obliterated, total annihilation, earth-splitting and volcanoes erupting the same way he did as soon as your mouth took in the tip of his cock. He blew on the spot, and you sucked him through his orgasm until he was dry and shriveled up with embarrassment. “Fuck– god, oh my– fuck, I‘m sorry! I’m so sorry!” He continued to twitch into your mouth as you licked up whatever remained.

It didn’t even seem to phase you, his premature finish was more than worthy of a few reprimands, possibly making him leave all together and deleting his number. Less than satisfactory. But it made you all the more excited. Where he crumbled is where you saw potential to create skyscrapers of pleasure, all intended to blow his mind.

An easy swallow of his seed down your throat, you kissed the inside of his thighs in reassurance. “‘S okay. I liked it,” honest as honest can be.

“Tell me if I should pull my pants up and leave so I can save whatever dignity I have left.”

“Dignity is overrated. Degradation is a whooole lot more fun. Plus,” showing off his whiteness on your tongue, you licked a stripe up the center of his dick and Hyunjin shuddered again, “you’re really sensitive.”

Hyunjin sat back and let it happen to him, he couldn’t find the strength to so much as tell you when he was about to cum again because it was so painfully good. It didn’t take very long or very much effort on your part, simply having to massage his balls and pinch the skin of his pelvis while your tongue worked minimal magic as you kept him sheathed in your warm, wet mouth. His nails raked across the couch cushion in a way that made you feel a little bad that he couldn’t touch you. Just a little. “Did so good for me. Think you can do one more, baby?”

He was on the verge of saying no, until you stood up. Amidst his plummeting energy and evergrowing sensitivity, Hyunjin didn’t have half the mind to remember that you were just as needy as he was. You were having so much fun playing with him that you almost forgot, as well. The face he makes when he cums is the hottest thing you’ve ever seen, you were this close to rutting against his leg like a fucking dog. You’d do it, too, shamelessly. However, you figured you could save that for another day. This was about him. 

You stood, ass taking up the entire view in the camera. You let him watch you strip, unclipping your bra and tossing it somewhere forgotten. Evening the score, you tugged at the hem of his tank top to discard, although you were teetering back and forth on letting him keep it on. Next off was your panties, left along on the floor before you began to climb into his lap.

Oh god, you were straddling him. Really straddling him. Wet pussy on full display, knees spread and so close to his cock that he could feel the dampness on his own skin. Or was that just cus you were sloppy earlier? He didn’t care, nor did he have to try to get hard again seeing as he never went soft.

You didn’t sit fully, hovering over him with the only skin touching being your thighs on his and your arms draped over his shoulder. Hyunjin found comfort in the heat as you wiped away the sweaty hair sticking to his forehead, leaning deeper into your touch. When you dragged your hands down his arms to guide them to hold onto your waist, he struggled not to buck his hips up into you. He thought about how you might laugh when you rewatch the footage later, but Hyunjin couldn’t bring himself to care no matter how ridiculous it looked. He knows that he was rutting into nothing but the air, but the increase in heat when he got close to your cunt was more than satisfactory if you decided it wasn’t what you wanted.

Except you were ready to go for it and was reaching for the side drawer for condoms, even if it meant overstimulating him even more. He wouldn’t protest, he wanted it just as much. “Are you okay?” You asked concerned when he tucked his face into your shoulder.

“Mhm,” he muttered against you, “want you so bad.”

You reached back and between his legs, dragging a delicate finger up from the bottom of his balls to the base of his cock. Hyunjin trembled and molded deeper into your frame. You chuckled, “I can tell, baby. But can you handle it? You’re so worked up already, I don’t wanna break you when we’re just getting started.”

“I can, I can!” He looked up at you with glistening eyes, full of tears and determination. “Please, please, please.” Hyunjin’s hips bucked up again, hitting the inside of your thigh and you pushing him back down.

“Calm, baby. We’ve got all the time in the world. Deep breaths, now.”

Hyunjin followed your lead when you inhaled through your nose and let out a deep exhale. He continued to do so even though you were pressing your lips to his forehead, even though you were trailing them across his cheeks and skipping over his lips. He puckered them, ready to be suffocated by your kisses. But when you planted just a peck on his, he audibly whimpered, to which you laughed and continued down his neck.

Oh, he was extra sensitive there. And when you sat back on his knees to tweak both his nipples? Ascendance.

Hyunjin threw his head back and moaned just as loud as he did when you put him in your mouth. “No, no, don’t wanna cum again,” he murmured, but didn’t try to resist your touch.

Still, you pulled away and placed your hands on his chest. “No? Too much?”

“Wanna make you cum first,” he suddenly grasped the undersides of your thighs and lifted the two of you off the couch. Neither of you had noticed his shins knocking the coffee table as he laid you on your back lengthwise with the couch, lifting your legs up so he could slot himself between them and over his shoulders.

It was a pleasant surprise, his display in strength and stamina, you were proud that he could keep going. The off-guard giggle you let out only spurred him to continue, cupping both your cheeks and stealing the kiss for himself. You couldn’t stop it, didn’t want to as he fit against you so perfectly. Cut through the tension like a knife did the passionate kiss prove to both of you that it was more than just physical attraction. Still, sometimes words do speak louder than actions.

You reached between your bodies to guide him towards your entrance, needing nothing but a moan against his lips to confirm to go further. The stretch was more than you anticipated, burning so euphorically good with a side of neediness for him to move faster. As if you could take all of him in one go, foolish. It’d been a long while since you’d been with someone worthy of sticking their dick in you, this was much different than a plastic toy.

Though, he was worth the wait, even if it did make you pathetically whimper into his mouth. It was just the ego boost he needed, no longer feeling ashamed of his previous poor performance. You still wanted more, you were clawing at his biceps and he was swallowing every one of your moans until his thighs met your ass cheeks.

He wanted to blow for a third time just being inside you, feeling the pulsing of your walls and slick dripping down his balls. Hyunjin used every muscle in him not to begin fucking into you like an animal, brain somehow stronger than the primal need inside him. But while he watched for any sign that you were uncomfortable, trying to be overly vigilant that he wasn’t truly paying attention to see you locking your ankles behind his neck and beginning to fuck yourself back and forth on his cock. His hands were planted near your head, realizing what it is you were doing when you bit your lip and held onto his wrists.

Hyunjin laughed into the air, the kind of laugh as though he had just won the lottery because holy fuck, he did. He watched as you bounced up and down, swiveled side to side, using him like one of your dildos suction cupped to the wall. Except he was the dildo, being used and abused until you felt satisfied. 

“So tight– so hot ‘nd wet. God, you’re so cute, oh my god. Don’t ever stop fucking me, please, please. So good, too good.”

The drip of his sweat from his forehead onto yours broke your cock-induced fever, “why am I doing all the work, baby? You started this, so finish it.” You stopped dead in your tracks and slumped back into the couch.

Hyunjin was more than happy to fuck you silly, if he hadn’t already cum twice and was running on fumes. Alas, he did his best and it was perfectly enough. You had run him ragged for your first time having sex, you couldn’t blame him for being sloppy. 

His best was still better than average, even if his pants were still stuck around his ankles. As he stood up straight and took the hook of your knees into his hands, Hyunjin let his head fall back to summon whatever energy he had left stored in the tank. Surprisingly, it was a lot. He was dripping in sweat, down his temples, neck, and chest and red blush had flushed his supple skin, but he was still the prettiest thing you’d ever seen.

He could say the same thing about you. Although your state was less messy than his, you still looked absolutely fucked out and desperate. Teeth sunk into your bottom lip so hard he was scared you would draw blood, pinching your nipples and occasionally reaching up to claw at his chest. You and him were both worked up and on the verge of crying like a bunch of babies overstimulated by everything around them. 

Your fingers found their way to your clit once he started to move, fast and unrestrained while trying not to blow before you again. Just perfectly did he fit inside you to the point where you were really questioning how the hell you had sex with other people when he was right there all along. This was nothing like your past experiences, fuck whatever it was Hyunjin thought they were like, this was something else entirely. Like waking up on Sunday morning thinking it’s Monday and being able to blissfully fall back asleep. The day when you have no responsibilities or weight on your shoulders and all you feel is relaxed. When you have nothing to do but wake up at noon to feed yourself then crawl back to bed to loaf. A lover coming home after months apart and being able to inhale their scent like it’s the first time all over again. The first cold day of autumn and the first warm day of spring. He’s Sunday. 

Hips against hips, skin slapping skin, sweat mixing and creating the particular cloud of odor where anyone who walked in would know what the two of you did. Hyunjin would stick his tongue out in concentration to make sure he was repeatedly hitting that spot that makes your eyes roll back and toes curl. He was so good at it that after a while, he didn’t need to hold you up anymore. 

Eventually he let your legs rest around his waist so he could hunch over you again, kissing your lips so sweetly in stark contrast to how hard his cock was prodding into your soft spot. He wasn’t moving roughly, but rather strong strokes that made you really feel his entire length slipping in and out of your aching cunt. Slick sounds of your bodies connecting layered the already adulterous moans leaving the both of you, your neighbors will for sure have a complaint about it tomorrow.

Hyunjin fell onto his elbows, millimeters from your face as his thrusts slowed. The way he looked at you, as though he’d set his eyes on the most sought after piece of art. In a way, he was. Of all the people that have seen you completely bare and beg for your attention, all the people you’ve met, spoken to, kissed, fucked, he couldn’t bring himself to care about any of that because you were under him now.

The almost stagnant nature of his movements wasn’t frustrating or annoying. You enjoyed it, more than any kind of rough or needy sex you’ve had with past partners. He wasn’t touching you like you usually would’ve needed, but still felt the bubble in your stomach wanting to burst. If he kept looking at you like, if he kept kissing you so delicately and fucking you just like this, it will.

His palm brushed the hair from your face, keeping it on the top of your head as if to surround you in purely him. 

“My sweetheart.”

Why was that what had to make the bubble pop? As soon as the words left his mouth and you saw the smitten smile on his face, your legs locked around his waist and nails raked down his back as white heat suffocated your body. You felt his face hide in your neck and latch onto the skin above your pulse, sucking a bruising mark as you came down and it was your turn to be covered in goosebumps. Hyunjin hadn’t realized he’d cum again until you were hugging him tighter to your chest, falling limp on top of you and all the adrenaline finally wearing off.

Nuzzled tight into him until both your breaths were regular and in sync, shutting your eyes while his tongue kitten licked over the sore spots he’d been teething at, neither of you wanted to leave from behind the thin veils of bliss. Though, returning to reality with him didn’t seem so bad.

“Baby, clean up time,” you cooed in his ear, to which you got no response but a soft snore. The giggle that left your lips was hushed to let him rest a little longer. But after a few minutes, the stickiness of the sweat was becoming uncomfortable, scratching his scalp a bit harder to gently wake him. Hyunjin hummed into you as he acknowledged the signal. “C’mon Hyune, shower.”

Wordlessly, he clambered off of you and let you lead him to the bathroom again, stopping in the hallways for towels together so that you wouldn’t have to leave him alone. Similar routine to last time except when it was time for you to clean, he opted to stand out of the shower stream until you were finished because he wanted to stay as close to you as possible. 

And when the both of you were clean, dry, and ready for bed, Hyunjin spoke again as you walked hand in hand into your bedroom. “You called me Hyune.”

“Hm? That’s your name, isn’t it?” You smirked and pulled him deeper into the room. For a second, he took a look around and immediately felt like he’d been here before, comfortably familiar. 

As you guided him towards the bed and lifted the cover for him to slide under, he suddenly woke up from your unintentional trance. “No, Hyune’s a nickname.”

“Is it okay if I call you Hyune?” A soft question as you get into bed beside him, the pair of you shamelessly naked and tangled in one another’s limbs. 

“Yeah, or baby.” You nodded against the pillow, sweeping a hand through his hair again when he rolled on his side to face you.

The two of you stared at one another for what could’ve been minutes or hours, neither of you knew. But you were on the verge of falling asleep as he placed a supple kiss on your forehead. It sparked the small memory of the long forgotten phone that had recorded the entire event. It jolted him awake as well when you suddenly got up from bed to run through the apartment to retrieve it.

Hyunjin was sat up on his elbows when you returned and gratefully took in the sight of you naked once again, feeling light as a feather.

You had ended the recording and pulled up the video to realize it was four hours long. Hyunjin gawked and laughed when he saw the time stamp. He rolled onto his back and opened his arms for you to lay in as you watched the video together.

Everything was just as he’d seen it happening from the beginning until you took off your undergarments. If the both of you weren’t deadbeat tired, it probably would’ve turned you on and sparked a second round. Instead you both could watch it with admiration and fondness.

“Oh, that was so sexy when you did that,” he said in reference to you running a finger across his balls as you straddled him.

“I like when you hold me like this,” you commented about how far and tightly his arms wrapped around your torso.

You both criticized and critiqued the video, only able to find positives to praise one another about until it was time for him to flip the positions. The clip showed Hyunjin lifting you up then standing, and suddenly the table shook and the camera tipped over. The frame showed the opposite end of the couch that you were on, the only thing on screen being the tail end of your lower halves, mostly his ass in the air and your feet dangling in the air. You both burst into a deep gutted laugh and were unable to catch your breaths at how funny the scene looked from that angle.

“Everything was so good!” You joked, pausing the video and zooming in to see his butt in the air.

“I don’t even remember hitting the table,” he admitted while taking the phone and looking closer. “At least my butt looks good.”

“You do have a cute butt.”

“Look at your little feet!” He zoomed into your feet just barely in the upper right corner of the frame.

“Not for free!” Snatching the phone back, you lock it and toss it onto the bedside table.

“I was literally balls deep in you and you’re worried about me seeing your feet?”

“That’s different!”

He rolled his eyes and untucked his arm from beneath your head to lay his own on your chest. “Whatever. I’m not a big foot guy anyways.”

“That thing poking my thigh says otherwise.”

“I can’t even feel my dick right now, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

☆ﾟ

tags: @babebatter @changbinluvr @epiphanynaffit @fawnpeaks @linovely @dumplinbokkieracha @finnydraws @naturules @djeniryuu @skzhomiehopper @yesv01 @hyunjinsamdl @dazzlingligth @alexis-reads-fics @0002linoskitten @chillichillicrabcrab23 @zerefdragn33l @straycrescent @binnies-donuts @soldierstangirl-blog @bakedlilgoonie @levanterlily @shelbyyy44 @yeetmehome @in2heartz @astroodledream @the-sweetest-rose @lilbugs-things @viviennenstan @staurdvst @alex--awesome--22 @imzenning @jeyelleohe @iadorethemskz @skyvastbunny @mamabymychem @katsukis1wife @woozarts @noellllslut @straykids5star @like-a-diamondinthesky

[holidaygirl1224]

💬New Post from holidaygirl1224

Did any of you grow up watching the show Sea Frenemies? I'm assuming most have at least heard of it, the show was pretty popular back in the day… it ran for like a billion seasons, got TONS of merchandise, a theatrical movie, and even a full video game. This was back when EVERYTHING got a licensed video game… cartoons, movies, even fast food places??? What kid was dying to get their hands on Burger Belle Patty Racers Deluxe? (Real game by the way XD) Unlike most licensed games from the time, "Sea Frenemies: The Game" was actually surprisingly well made! It was a collect-a-thon platformer with huge expansive levels and so many references to the original show. It really felt like it was made by super-fans of Sea Frenemies! I played the game SO MUCH growing up (probably more than I even watched the show LOL), and I recall it being one of the first games I ever beat! I was so proud I ran outside, held the game case up victoriously, and declared myself "Queen of the Sea" X) Over the years the game got a pretty decently sized cult following, mostly from people like me that grew up playing it… it got so popular a few years back that it even got an official remaster! Sea Frenemies: The Game: The Remake. Back when this was first announced I was SO excited… the game had aged pretty well all things considered, but there were definitely plenty of places it could be polished and I was eager to see where they could take the game. A few months later, the remake released… and I totally forgot about it LOL I must've just been busy or missed the release date… but recently I found the game for super cheap, so I picked it up to finally check it out. Got home, played through the tutorial and first area and it, umm… kind of sucked? X) Don't get me wrong, the remake LOOKS very pretty. All the levels are super lush and vibrant, it all looks very nice, but everything else felt really off. There were small, admittedly insignificant things missing compared to the original game… Little extra dialogue or small visual details and gags. On the small scale these things barely matter, but as you continue playing and notice more and more, the game just feels more barren than the original (which is odd considering this is supposed to be the fresh, new and improved version. X) ) I wanted to still give the remake a fair shot, maybe it was just the early game that was lacking, and things would get better as I progressed. Things did not get better.

The more I played, the more glitches I encountered… enemies would break, my character would get stuck in place, some infinite loading screens. Don't even get me STARTED on the loading times in this game. After a death it can take almost 20 seconds to spawn back in! It took TWO in the original. At one point I somehow even got Frankie the Ferret into JJ's house by entering the level via the menu, which is NOT something that is supposed to be possible, and certainly not something you could do in the original game. There's a cutscene that plays in the house where it shows your character talking, which at this point is SUPPOSED to be JJ, but since I was Frankie it showed her talking, with JJ's voice coming out of her mouth… it was really weird looking XD Frankie was always my favorite to play as anyways, so I guess it's fine I got to play her in an extra level. XP Overall, it does very little to improve on the original game, and most of the time only makes things MUCH worse. If you feel like playing a Sea Frenemies game… I would suggest just finding a copy of the original game. Sea Frenemies: The Game: The Remake is NOT a holidaygirl1224 recommendation, and I would go as far to say it's my Sea ENEMY. XD One last takeaway I have with the remake is in one objective during the late game. It's a big enemy rush sorta thing, and you have to defeat a certain number of them to be able to destroy the machines that are spawning them in and get your prize. As a kid, I was TERRIFIED of this objective. I was scared of all the enemies in general, but this particular hoard really freaked me out. There was one spot you could stand in the level where you could cheese the whole thing and attack them all with your missile attack, completing the objective without having to actually go in and face the enemies. Playing the remake, I got to this level and instinctively went to the spot I had always done this as a kid… but with how the missile attack controlled in this new game, you couldn't really attack ANYTHING, so I had to go back up and play it for real. I'm much older than I was when I originally beat this game, and can certainly manage my way through some grunt enemies… but I still felt a little bit of that fear from before in my stomach. Nevertheless, I continued forward and completed the level. Fighting the enemies this time wasn't scary at all. Nor was it all that hard. Instead it was just…fun. Really fun! I even played the objective a second time just to experience it again. I know it's just a video game, but it felt very… cathartic to face those old fears. To conquer them. I really just felt how much I've grown in that one moment. I'm still a big scared wimp, but I'm so much stronger than I used to be. Anyhoot, that's all my thoughts on Sea Frenemies: The Game! As I said before, if you wanna play this game, PLAY THE ORIGINAL!!! I hope you all have a merry day… see you soon! X)

[robinewe]

Two Soulmates

Prompt #22-- Doubles

My heart was pounding amid the quiet, the occasional creak of metal or far off shouting. The light was dim, I could tell even under my blindfold, but even though I couldn’t see I could sense that I was alone. My fingers worked at the knots at my wrists. I’d always been good at knots, I had a Girl Scouts badge to prove it. The rope was slick, synthetic fiber, so it came easily undone.

I yanked off the blindfold and blinked while I willed my eyes to adjust faster. The room was much as I’d expected. Cavernous, dim, no windows, light only from a flickering fluorescent bulb somewhere high above. Lots of entrances and exits to choose from. Rusting metal and clouds of dust everywhere.

I checked my wrist, still feeling the bite of the ropes, and saw that the number etched in white across the skin there read a clear 00:00:00:00:02:46. I yanked the sleeve of my jacket down over it, heat rising to my face. That was just so soon, and I couldn’t imagine the most momentous occasion of my life occurring in such a place as this, an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. Just my luck.

Seeing as I was alone, I had some searching to do. I dashed out of the room, following those distant shouts with a growing apprehension in my stomach. What happened after I found them? How were we to escape?

00:00:00:00:01:25 read the counter on my wrist. A part of the infrastructure collapsed and sent a storm of dust and debris through the corridor. I coughed, hacking into my elbow and squeezing my eyes shut.

There was now a gaping hole in the wall, and artificial light streamed through. The sounds of fighting were much louder now. They were through there.

I took a deep breath and braced myself and climbed over the metallic shrapnel through the wall. I could hear nothing but shouting, weapons firing, metal hitting metal, objects raining to the floor. I caught sight of neither combatant, only finding the evidence of their battle.

The timer on my wrist ticked down as a blast of heated energy hit the platform above me, and the supports gave out from under one side. It came swinging down towards me, and I screamed, throwing my arms over my face. The thing exploded in the air above me, but a clear glowing shield of energy surrounded me then, the debris bouncing harmlessly away. I found myself on the ground regardless.

I opened my eyes to see two concerned faces as the timer struck zero. There were warm, dark brown eyes further away, amidst curly light hair and an orange scarf covering the bottom half of his face. He held a long, thin gun that radiated heat and distorted the air around it, recently used. Much closer to me were eyes that were icy blue, set in a face with gaunt cheekbones, under dark hair, hidden with no mask. Emanating from his hand was the energy shielding me from harm.

The moment stood still, frozen, while we watched each other with wide eyes.

The villain spoke first, recovering his calculated posture and withdrawing the energy. “So it’s you.”

The hero took a second to recover, but then he took a stilted step towards us. “I-”

A look of irritation passed across the villain’s face. “This is a private moment, if you wouldn’t mind.” He snapped his fingers and a flash of ice erupted from his palms, encasing the hero’s entire body in a jagged block of ice.

I was still on the ground, and I started pushing myself backwards, away from the villain. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I wasn’t sure if the hero was dead or not. I knew that I was afraid of the villain. I had seen what he’d done before.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said, holding up his hands placatingly. “Look.” His sleeve slipped down to reveal a timer ticking up, only a minute or so in. I quickly looked down to my own wrist, and saw a duplicate of the same number: 00:00:00:00:03:11. They counted up in tandem. They had since the moment I had first locked eyes with the villain. The notion made me feel something in my stomach, a sort of nausea, though whether it was giddiness or dread I couldn’t say.

I didn’t say anything, I couldn’t say anything, and I was worried that my soulmate had just killed someone in front of me not moments after we had met. I was afraid that my soulmate was a murderer, and I didn’t know what that meant about me. I still found myself on the ground, unable to move away further.

“I would never hurt my own soulmate,” the villain said. “I’ve been waiting an awfully long time to meet you. Haven’t you?” Cautiously, he offered me a hand, stepping closer to do so. He was tall and slight, bending like a tree to lean over me and extending a hand tipped with long, graceful fingers. I placed my hand in his, and he easily pulled me to my feet and then close into his side, wrapping an arm around me. My head didn’t reach the height of his shoulders.

“Is this some kind of trick?” I asked, once I could force my lips to move again. His face fell.

“Of course not,” he said. “How does one trick fate itself?”

“Why would I fall in love with a supervillain?”

His lip twitched. “Now that’s stereotyping. It’s rude, you don’t even know me.”

“I’ve seen what you do,” I protested.

“We don’t have time for this. Hero’s already thawing himself out,” he jerked a thumb towards his ice sculpture. Those brown eyes were still frozen staring at me, looking almost frantic, as the ice around him dripped. The tip of his heat gun had already freed itself, sticking out of the ice and a little streak of fire coming out of the end. Soon the hero’s hands would be free, and then the rest of him.

I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was alive. I took a step towards him, to go and make sure that he would stay that way, but the villain blocked my path.

“Please, we can talk more about this somewhere else where it’s safer. Look, you’ve already got me begging. That’s something I don’t do every day.” My eyes drifted back up to him.

“Fine.”

He replaced his arm around my shoulder and guided me swiftly out of the warehouse, to where a car awaited us. It hovered above the ground with a gentle hum of air, and the windows were tinted entirely black. The villain opened the rounded door, gesturing me inside with a bow and a quirk of his lips. I stepped inside, and found it well-kept and clean, a newer expensive model of the podcar that I would never have expected to see in my lifetime. My friends all had the first generation, with all their faults and peculiarities, most of them full of patched repair jobs and junk filling the space.

It had an automatic pilot, so the villain needed only to duck in behind me, and order, “Drive us home.”

The ice eventually thawed to the point where the hero’s wrist was out and visible. It counted upwards in perfect synchronicity with the villain’s and mine. But he was powerless to stop as his worst enemy stole away his true love.

[monroeknoxwrites]

Missing

here's a wip for an actual fic I'll be working on. it takes place a few years after system collapse and a year after mb meets ciren. basic premise: what happens when ciren is pushed to its limits after being separated from its friends

Ciren was missing for two cycles.

On the third cycle, the drone I’d left with it pinged us.

Me and Three followed the signal until we reached a steep hill, a group of young humans on the other side. The tallest young human at the front pointed frantically at my drone circling over my head.

She turned to the others, shouting, “It has to be them!”

The others agreed, setting down the bundle of tied together jackets and shirts they were carefully dragging across the plain, their path through the blue-ish grass clear.

Inside the bundle was Ciren.

Three ran-slid down the hill, passed the tall young human struggling up it to reach me.

I didn't know what my face was doing but the young human hesitated a few steps away from me. She pointed at the drone again.

“It told us to follow the drone. That we could trust whoever owned it.” She was out of breath, showing signs of exhaustion. The climb up the hill took the last of her strength. She fell to her knees but pointed emphatically at what I thought was the other adolescent humans.

Breathless and desperate, she cried, “You have to help Ciren! Please, it saved us, you can't let it die!”

My drone shot over to Three lifting Ciren out of the makeshift gurney. There were visible projectile wounds on its body, nothing a SecUnit couldn't handle, and it was covered in blood. Not its blood.

Secunit, Three said on the feed the same moment my drone showed me the projectile wound through its head.

I'd been shot by an adolescent human before. They could have done this and were lying to get our help.

But the exhausted human in front of me had her face in her hands, sobbing. It didn't feel fake.

I hate to admit this but I locked up. My attention was split on Three climbing the hill, much slower this time, Ciren’s inert body looking small in its arms, and the young human in front of me, begging incoherently.

Performance reliability dropped five percent. My knees didn't buckle under me, I felt stuck, my body unresponsive.

This was what SecUnits were supposed to do, right? Get ourselves blown up so the humans could get away.

But this wasn't just any SecUnit.

21.3 seconds had gone by (which for a SecUnit was a disturbingly long time to be standing there not saying or doing anything) when Three nudged me gently on the feed.

I sent one of my drones scanning the perimeter to leave the blackout zone and inform ART. Turned my back on the crying human and Three (and Ciren in its arms), I said, “Follow me.”

And I walked away.

My med system is without fault.

Fifty percent? That's the highest probability it can give for—

Even in the feed I couldn't say it. ART finished for me. For reconstruction without impairing function or memory, yes.

That left a fifty percent chance that it would.

To my silence, ART said, It's better than zero percent. When you returned you said Ciren was dead.

I snapped, I know what I said.

Then you're aware this estimate objectively improves its situation.

Yeah, obviously it was better than knowing for certain Ciren was… non-functional. We had only reached as high as fifty percent success rate because of the way Ciren’s parts were cobbled together by a human who sort of, kind of knew what he was doing. And that the trajectory of the projectile had missed most of the essential inorganic components and neural tissue. And that the adolescent humans had found us so quickly.

The fact that Ciren had any chance of functioning again at all came down to pure dumb luck and I fucking hate luck.

I didn't want to stand here waiting for the end result. I left Three standing by the enclosed med platform; it hadn't let go of Ciren the whole ride back. It held Ciren like humans hold other injured humans until it placed Ciren there on the med platform. If I was better at this kind of thing I'd say something to it. But I didn't know what to say to myself.

After all this time together, I didn't view Three and Ciren with the same mistrust and wariness I did other SecUnits. They'd saved me multiple times, they'd saved my humans—our humans—more times than that.

Those same humans that tried to talk to me as I walked briskly down the corridor, shutting myself up in my cabin. I knew media watching was out of the question right now and I think, for once, ART knew I didn't want to talk about this either.

Fifty percent. It could go either way. Ciren could be restored to full functionality without any permanent damage to memory or it could boot up a completely different unit.

Fifty/fifty odds I could lose my friend.

I pulled the video from the drone I'd sent with Ciren before we were separated. This probably wasn't going to help but I had to know. I had to know what happened.

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Time is on their side

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial for the prompt #FFF290 - midnight distractions. Thank you once again. I finally got around with the continuation of this fiction that I’ve been meaning to write for months now. I think it was @ynxnyx who asked me about the birthday thing. (If not, apologies for the tag. 😟)

—

Fandom: Yatagarasu: The Raven Does Not Choose Its Master

Characters: Nazukihiko (Wakamiya, the crown prince), Yukiya, and brief appearances of Yukichi, Yukima, brief mention of the Great Tengu and Sumio

Word count: 1095

A HUGE full moon shone brightly tonight. So entranced was Nazukihiko that time unknowingly passed him by as he gazed at it. Seated at the engawa with his arms hugging his legs, he could see his shadow clearly. It was also quiet in the annex. This was the second time in half a year that he and Sumio were alone again. Upon their agreement, Yukiya had to stay for a whole weekend in Taruhi to celebrate his 14th birthday. He trusted that the boy would return the day after tomorrow.

The young prince could not say no to Lady Azusa’s request. After all, Yukiya deserved a short breather after meeting all his master’s demands and doing what he asked of him. He proved that he was indispensable when he was in the Ravine. It was one of those things that Yukiya must learn if he had to serve him as his right-hand man once he ascended the throne.

But something was nagging Wakamiya. He could not understand it at all. Did not even want to acknowledge it. Not quite. He missed his attendant. Yukiya became a permanent fixture in his life that it was impossible not to feel the void he had created when he was not beside him.

He stood up, went to his room, opened one of the drawers of the Chinese red cabinet, and took an object beneath his folded undergarments. It was kept in a paulownia box tied in a silk. Nazukihiko unwrapped the ribbon, opened the Kiribako, and removed the object inside. Encased in a bell jar to protect it from the moist that prevailed in Yamauchi was a functioning miniature Victorian travel watch that the Great Tengu had given him when he turned 14.

“I was in an auction house for the third time when I won this beauty. I was testing the waters how far I could go. Perhaps, out of hubris. I do not know. Besides, it was my one and only hobby if one would call it that. But I ended up owning so many of them, it would not hurt if I gave one away for a friend,” Nazukihiko was astonished receiving a present from the Tengu, which regarded him as a friend. Jun Tanimura found the way to navigate around humans, business or otherwise, that he and his Tengu clan became Nazukihiko’s lifeline in the Outside World.

He looked at the watch. It said 11:46 pm. Exactly 14 minutes before Yukiya’s birthday. He replaced it on the box then went to his study and grabbed a piece of paper. Next to it was the ink he prepared in the late evening. Thankful that it was not entirely dried up, he took his feather pen and wrote something down in his neat handwriting.

He jerked his head in the direction of his futon. After spreading it on the floor he started to roll it. It resembled a giant sushi or a sleeping person. He covered it with a blanket for the finishing touch, lest Sumio would check him out as soon as he returned from his mission. The crown prince did it a hundred times before that his friend-cum-personal guard scolded him for being careless. He was a furaibo, a wanderer, Sumio said. He also called it his midnight distractions, who knew as much as this habit of his master and close friend.

Nazukihiko discarded his kimono and placed it on top of the blanket. Wearing only his feather robe he walked toward the cliff overlooking the central town, a feast of lights and greenery dancing before his very eyes. He touched his chest securing the Kiribako inside his robe. From the platform he quickly jumped and transformed into a huge raven that one could never had imagined. Flapping his wings he surged into the sky and headed towards the Northern Territory.

—

Yukiya counted the house lizards on the ceiling. Lethargy prompted him to go to bed early but honestly, he could not sleep.

Next to him were his two brothers snoring. He could see their faces clearly through the shadow of the moon that shone flawlessly. Right now, a total silence reigned in the mansion, but tomorrow, ruckus and laughter would replace that.

Somehow, he was not used to it at all, that is, being the center of attention. He always relegated himself as much as possible in the background where everyone would leave him alone.

Yukima asked him what he he was doing in the court. Yukichi, on the other hand, wanted to know how the prince exactly looked like.

“Is he kind? Is he caring? Does he treat you well? Or is he scary?” Yukichi was full of questions, Yukiya dared not to answer them all.

“He cannot wait to kick me out. But one year is one year, Yukichi. And I am a man of my word,” he assured his younger brother.

“If he does not like the way you serve him, then why torture yourself?” Yukima was indignant that Yukiya was willing to sacrifice himself.

“It is as if you do not know me at all, brother,” Yukiya told him with confidence. “I never give up without a fight.” His face gave way to his usual impish expression that vanished quickly when he looked at the sky. Yukima noticed the quick change on his brother’s eyes.

Yukiya was utterly surprised when Wakamiya agreed to it. After all what they experienced together and that encounter at the terrace of the Sunrise Palace’s Main Shrine, the thought of leaving the young prince alone with Sumio-san made him feel restless.

Careful not to make a sound he pulled his futon close to the engawa to have an unobstructed view of the moon.

She is so huge tonight. How pretty she is. Yukiya marveled at it feeling his eyes turned heavy.

—

Nazukihiko found him the moment he descended quietly to the Taruhi mansion. Transforming into human again, he tiptoed to the opened door. Yukiya harbored between sleep and dream that a pair of cold hands finally calmed him down. The prince traced the eyes, the nose, and the lips in front of him. The urge to breathe the boy’s scent was overwhelming. He put the box and the letter between Yukiya’s hands, held them longer than he should be and gazed at his attendant once more.

“I am looking forward to seeing you again tomorrow, Yukiya. Please return to me. Time is on our side.”

The prince quickly left as soon as he uttered the words from the letter.

~tbc~

[nikibogwater]

Niki Blethers: Echoes of Wisdom gameplay (spoiler free)

I've only been posting about EoW's story/characters/aesthetic so far. I think it's time to gush about the gameplay itself for a while. Honestly, I would've done this sooner, but I've had the hardest time finding the words to describe just how GOOD this game feels when you're playing it. Like the title says, there's no spoilers in here, just discussion of raw gameplay, but I've gone ahead and put most of it under the cut to avoid clogging everyone's dashes.

First thing I noticed right off the bat is the movement and controls. I don't know what voodoo witchcraft the devs used to make this, but just moving around in the world feels so silky smooth. Which is excellent, because it turns out a surprising chunk of the gameplay involves rudimentary platforming.

You can jump in this game. Just, right off the bat, no items required, that's a thing you can do. And it's not like Link's little hops in Breath of the Wild either. These are proper jumps.

Outside of combat (which I'll get to in a minute), you mainly use the Echoes to explore. Building bridges, getting up on high ledges--stuff like that. There's no weird collision or confusing perspective that makes placing Echoes difficult. When you move, you move in the way you actually WANT to, and when you interact with an object, it goes the way you'd expect. I know this shouldn't surprise me--this is Nintendo after all--but janky platforming is one of my pet peeves when it comes to gaming, so I deeply appreciate how polished EoW's is.

EoW draws a lot of inspiration from Breath of the Wild when it comes to puzzle-solving. Once again, there are multiple different solutions to any given challenge, and progress isn't locked behind acquiring specific pieces of equipment. But unlike BotW, EoW doesn't give you all the puzzle-solving mechanics you will ever need at the start of the game. Instead, it merely provides you with the means to acquire those abilities for yourself.

Once you've made it through the tutorial section, you will only have a handful of basic object Echoes, plus a couple of weak monsters to help you fight. At this point, the world opens up for you, and you can go just about anywhere you want (though the story can only be progressed by completing Main Quest objectives, which are a bit more linear than they were in BotW). There's a real incentive to explore Hyrule here, because discovering new objects and creatures is the only way to expand your arsenal of Echoes.

Case in point, I've mostly just been focusing on the main quest storyline, and haven't spent as much time exploring all the different areas. As a result, I ended up finding myself encountering a puzzle in the main quest that I wasn't able to solve with my current collection of Echoes. I had to leave and go find new ones. If that sounds like a tedious backtracking nightmare to you, don't worry. This game is very generous with Waypoints that you can warp to at any time and from anywhere. Getting back to where I was after I'd found the Echo I needed took roughly 30 seconds.

Now, while I love the Echoes as a gameplay mechanic, they are also the source of my one and only complaint with this game: namely, the inventory system. Throughout the game, you will inevitably collect dozens, if not more than a hundred individual Echoes to choose from, and finding the specific one you want quickly becomes a chore after a few hours of gameplay. I've said this in another post, but Nintendo really needs to figure out a way to give us a customizable quick-select function--some way to equip just a handful of Echoes to a scroll wheel so that you don't have to bring up the pause menu to avoid cycling through your entire collection of Echoes. Coincidentally, this was also my biggest complaint for Tears of the Kingdom. I guess someone over at Nintendo just really enjoys scrolling through long lists of items. Anyways, it's not a huge issue, it's just one of those annoying things that feels like it should've been ironed out at some point during beta testing.

While EoW feels very comfortably Zelda-ish in all other aspects, the combat is radically different from what series fans are used to. I think that more than anything is going to be what makes or breaks this game for people.

Outside of Swordfighter Mode (which I will also get to in a minute), Zelda cannot do any direct damage to enemies by herself. If a monster gets close enough to hit you, you don't have any immediate defense or counter-attacks. This means that every encounter with an enemy has to be approached from a small distance. You have to think about how you're going to defeat enemies before you actually fight them, otherwise you will get overwhelmed.

While you are given plenty of objects to hurl at your foes, a lot of the combat will be fought by your own monster Echoes. There's a large variety of creatures to collect Echoes of, and they all have different abilities and fighting styles, which means certain monsters will fare better against one kind than another. But the game doesn't tell you about any of those advantageous monster match-ups. You have to figure those out for yourself.

Creature Echoes can be directed to attack anything you're currently Z-targeting, or they can be let loose to attack according to the whims of their AI. Echoes can also be directly moved around with the Bind ability, which is handy for repositioning any monsters who might've gotten stuck on some terrain or what have you.

You have a limited amount of energy to spend on Echoes, which means you can only have so many out at once. That energy is immediately replenished once an Echo is defeated or recalled, which allows for some pretty hectic swapping strategies that are a lot of fun to pull off. Individual Echoes have their own energy costs, based on how strong they are. So you can't just sic 3 copies of the same mini-boss on every Moblin who is unfortunate enough to cross you.

The best way I can sum it up is that the combat is like a turn-based strategy game set in real time. And as someone who has played an ungodly number of hours of Fire Emblem, I really enjoy it. I downright revel in strategically summoning minions to fight for me (my favorite attack is spawning in a bunch of crows like a malevolent little witch). However, if you're someone who prefers the more direct style of fighting from past Zelda games, this might end up being a deal-breaker for you.

Swordfighter Form is your other major weapon in combat. For a limited amount of time, Zelda can assume Link's abilities and weapons, allowing her to attack enemies directly and do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. But since this ability has limited duration, and the energy guage has to be manually refilled by collecting a specific item, it cannot be your go-to default way of handling every fight. Swordfighter Form can be upgraded as you progress through the game, allowing you to extend its duration and increase its moveset and damage output. But it's always going to be something that you use sparingly, mostly just to get yourself out of overwhelming combat scenarios.

So yeah, I think that just about covers the major gameplay mechanics. In conclusion, Echoes of Wisdom is not only its super cute aesthetic, banger soundtrack, and engaging story. Ignoring all of the more superficial stuff, at its core, this is a really good game, that feels really good to experience. If you've enjoyed any of the past 2D Zelda titles, or even just want to see what all the fuss is about, I genuinely cannot recommend this game enough. Regardless of its differences in presentation, Echoes of Wisdom was made with the same level of care and craftsmanship as any of the other entries in the Zelda series, and I've adored every moment of it so far.

[t-thedigitaldiary]

Sincerely yours,

(part 1)

author’s note: heey,everyone.Basically this the first fiction i’ve ever written and I’m pretty new to this platform so I’m not entirely familiar with how to make my posts pretty but I truly hope you like it :).Also,for the hashtags,this work of fiction is not at all related to Ellie Williams (although the aesthetic is inspired by her in a.u fictions) nor the tlou world.I just really wanna be a part of the tlou fandom in here,since i will be posting related artworks later on and bc im new,i thought this was a nice way to start :).Last but not least,this piece is extremely personal to me and truly reflects my feelings.Anyways,hope you enjoy!

Warnings!: poor mental health condition (mention of depression multiple times & trauma,not in great detail though),violence (basically someone being hit with a water bottle lol)

Sunday afternoon. Ugh, you hated Sunday afternoons. Not because, like most people, you hated the upcoming Mondays, but because it was dull. Extremely dull, empty. You are not sure if the reason behind this emptiness is depression, but you have accepted it either way. Now that you think about it, you hated almost every afternoon. For the same exact reason. Even though you used to love the darkness of the night, something about the sun setting has now become extremely unsettling to you. ‘’Vitamin D my ass! ‘’, you thought. It wasn’t always like this, though. Something about the last six months has turned you into a living dead, a zombie if you may! No, actually, ‘’something’’ is a very unfair description of the cause. More like ‘’a very specific experience’’ has turned you. You had lost all your livelihood, all your appetite about almost everything and, suddenly, Sunday afternoons were not just dull, they were depressing. Just like every other afternoon of the week, just like every other time of the day. Every day. For the last six months. Wow. You thought about change a thousand times before. You prayed and you prayed that things were going to get better. You desperately asked the universe for a sign. A sign that you were going to survive this and live a happy life. No sign, no change ever came. Except for this peculiar Sunday afternoon. (Not so dull now, is it?)

You were laying on your back on top of your unmade bed. Blank white tee, black shorts, the same ones you’ve been wearing for over a week now (depression really gets the best of you, huh?). You were sitting with open legs and open arms. Your right, sock covered foot was bent and was softly brushing over your bare left knee. You had your hands thrown on top of your head. Someone that had just entered the room would’ve thought that this is the position of someone highly frustrated. Little would they know. In your mentally uncomfortable but physically soothing position you found yourself begging again. ‘’Please, universe, just one sign is all I’m asking for!” . You truly were desperate. You hated the life you were living, a life created in fucked up ways. All you needed was a sign. A sign of change, a sign that things were going to get better.

*knock knock*

The loud knocks on your bedroom door brought you back to Earth. What the fuck?! You were home alone for the entire weekend and you specifically remember locking the front door (you even double checked!!!). Now, you were not just surprised, you were also terrified. Whoever was knocking on your door definitely was not here for a good reason..

*knock knock knock*

You had no more time to think about it, you had to act. You went full-on survival mode. Even though you didn’t like the life you were living, you still wanted to live. You believed in that change. You collected every drop of bravery you had in you, grabbed your water bottle, the biggest object near and prepared for whatever it was behind that door. The knocks became louder and louder. You were sure now that within a bunch of seconds you were about to fight for your life. You shut your eyes close and took one last big breath. One last big breath befor-

The last loud noise heard was not from the knocking. It was the sound that your bottle and someone’s head made after they collided together. Oh, and the one of the body hitting the floor.

​

[emberglowfox]

My thoughts on why REPO does the mutliple extraction points i think lends to the thing where you said it was wants you to be considerate, etc. differently placed points make you think about where you explore first. what order you unlock the points once you start gettign to 3. since youll have really large items sometimes so like. hey we found this but we should elave it for later when we unlock xyz point. forcing more communication among players n stuff

I have noticed that, yeah. I think it's also a balancing thing, since trying to bring fragile objects to one specific location throughout increasing large maps could probably get to the kind of tedious that becomes painful. And I do think the "maneuvering large items to fit" thing is interesting.

I just personally feel that it's... underbaked, almost? I feel like there could be some really interesting outcomes if that mechanic squeezed you a little tighter, if that makes sense. It's basically the main thing creating tension in the gameplay loop, since there's no timer, especially with imo how easily managable the monsters are (at least at lower... tiers??) if you're playing low and slow. I almost feel like it's too forgiving, especially with the respawn mechanic involved.

Like, okay. Just thinking out loud. The gameplay loop of REPO involves exploring a location, finding fragile artifacts of varying size and (and mechanics! one thing I really actually like about REPO and commend it for is it going a little further with the collectibles and having more gimmicks. I think it's cool, especially because of how it fucks with the intended gameplay (ex: going slow? here's this doll that will try to kill you if you pick it up. good luck) and then taking those objects to an extraction point, which activates once a value threshold is reached, then closes off to future use. The objects will naturally be closer to one extraction point than the others, making it easier to take them there, but you can only fit so much on the extraction platform. So you have to be discerning in what you take where. On it's own, this is interesting!

Except... it's usually pretty easy to fit everything on the platform, at least at lower levels, and even if you can't, you're usually way above what you're expected to make already anyway. Which I think is the amount you then get to spend on upgrades, encouraging you to really pack in, but it's not... really punishing, if you can't. Also, you can kill the monsters... fairly easily by teaming up, and just avoid them if not as long as you play even vaguely cautiously (though 10% of the time you just get fucked with no way out, because you have a sprint speed of 0.03 seconds at the start (i jest, but this is something that drives me nuts about lethal, too. might be personal preference but it can really be a fun-sucker)).

Right now, I'd say if I were going to make changes, I'd make player respawn more demanding, for one. The player heads are tiny-- it's easy to just chuck them on top of everything else. I think, in alignment with the "working to fit everything" deal, I'd make the players bigger. Or, worth something, maybe, for the sake of the threshold. Maybe a deficit, even? Something tricky. (I also think this would be interesting thematically). It's a trade, that way-- more hands to get more shit and deal with enemies, but maybe losing some stuff at this current point that could break on the way to the next. And are you willing to trade your friends' lives for profit, and vice versa?

I'd also make it so that the second that extraction point goes over threshold-- VVMP. done. you have to make that last object count-- no wiggle room. You can still pack a fair amount in in that second or so it offers you, in my experience, and I think not being able to go "oh shit we went over on accident" and yank things out would be really interesting. Oops, you weren't cautious enough! And if you wanted to push multiple things in at once (still doable!) you'd have to really, really coordinate it.

Of course, as any game designer knows, it's easy to talk big shit and then implement things that are either broken, stupid, or supremely un-fun. This isn't something I can meaningfully test, so it's just a what-if. But to me, if you're gonna make a "go slow, be deliberate" game, why not go all in? Especially at the higher levels. (Though maybe it does exist?? I never got like. Super far into the double-digits in terms of levels. But I feel like 4 straight hours of gameplay on one save should have given me a taste of it if it's there).

[amygdalae]

Oh I had a very fun, vaguely gothic horror flavored dream last night if any1 wants to hear about it. The dream itself wasn't particularly long but so much happened I won't be able to recount it in a way that isn't long-winded. So I'm putting it under a readmore lol.

Not the most "out there" as far as my dreams go but 1. It was very vivid, intricate and cohesive and 2. I actually remember like 90% of it. There is a haunting in it though! Always fun.

Not sure exactly where or how the dream started, but I was in this bigass old musty castle. I had amnesia, but I knew I lived there (or used to? I felt wistful, like I was returning after some time away). I also knew someone (a friend or sibling or something) used to lived there as well, but died of mysterious causes. I kept finding their belongings, small fancy things like lockets, jewelry boxes, expensive trinkets made of gold and porcelain. I'd try to pick them up but they were oddly light and they'd crumple or shatter in my hands.

There were only a few other people in the castle--one of whom was some sort of groundskeeper, a handsome but very tired-looking young man who I knew I had some kind of intimate relationship with (but couldn't remember the particulars). he was sweet and affectionate but had an air of sadness and anxiety about him (he seemed to know something I didn't, but was unwilling or unable to tell me)

I felt agitated, and was trying very desperately to find something. I remember wandering the courtyard and gardens awhile before goign back inside the castle and finding myself in an old theater. instead of a singular stage there were three small curtained stage-like platforms arranged in a half circle in front of the rows of seats. everything was coated with a film of dust

I went backstage, and there were old vividly-adorned puppets hanging in storage. As I walked past a rack of them, one started shaking on its own, and chattering its teeth very loudly. This scared me quite badly and I started to run.

I made it halfway down a hall before the floorboards beneath my feet gave way, and i fell into a very dusty room full of old furniture. The walls were somewhat rough-hewn and unadorned. The second I got my bearings I felt a deep dread rising into my chest, like whatever presence had animated the doll followed me into the room. I was then attacked by several large bugs--i could hear them muttering something angrily at me but couldn't make out the words. I waved my arms above my head to keep them at bay while they swooped down to bite me and looked around for an exit. I had this terrible feeling that if I didn't leave the room I would drown, or suffocate? (something to that effect. Vague indescribable dread is a very common thing in my dreams so it's hard to put into words)

I was able to kick my way out through the rotten planks of an old boarded up door, and wandered out into the sunlight-- I'd emerged into part of the garden, musty and suffering from neglect. I found my way to a pergola (covered patio). The groundskeeper found me there, seeming worried. The pergola was run down and coated with dusty moss; I rooted around some overgrown shelves and pried free a music box. I had to hold it very, very carefully; like other objects in the dream, it weighed nothing at all, and the metal seemed eager to crumple in my hands as soon as I picked it up.

Something about the music box filled me with bone-deep anguish. I sank to the floor, the groundskeeper joining me there with an arm around my shoulders. He seemed to immediately understand the significance of the music box, though I couldn't remember it myself. The last thing I remember is us sitting there together as I veeery gingerly turned the crank on the box. I have no memory of the melody that played, but (unsurpirisingly) it was mournful. Strangely, a comfortable numbness overtook me, and yet tears were streaming down my face. I think the other guy was crying too. The last thing I can recall is a warm glow emanating from somewhere; either the box itself or simply centered in our embrace. then I woke up.

anyways! 10/10! kind of rambling but overall a surprisingly well structured dream. I don't tend to have cool dreams like that without some off-color and insane shit thrown in by my subconscious for flavor but this one was weirdly cohesive? Felt worth documenting

[avizare]

Panzerliebe

“Okay, just a little further… just a little further…” Nate guided Piper through the Red Rocket’s garage door. “Wait…” he let go of her shoulders and shoved his toolbox aside with his heel. “Okay,” he took her hand, “just a little bit further.”

“God, Blue, you’re driving me crazy. Just show me!” She went to lift the blindfold from over her eyes, but he took her hand.

“Patience, Pipes.” He positioned her directly in front of her surprise. “Now, keep those pretty eyes of yours closed, okay?” He lifted the blindfold from her face. “And step...” he lifted her thigh and guided her foot onto the small metal platform before her, his other hand on the small of her back to support her as she stepped up onto the platform.

“M’kay…” she grumbled, steadying herself. “If you’re gonna be such a flirt about it, I suppose I can indulge you.” He gently nudged her forwards a little bit until she was merely a centimetre away from it.

“Hundreds of years ago, back when I was in the military, I was introduced to my first one by my commanding officer, just like this.”

“Was your commanding officer this handsy?” Nate smirked.

“No.” He raised her chin up. “But he was almost as dramatic. Just do me a favour and indulge me, okay? Open your eyes.” She did as he asked. She was so close to it that it took her a second to realise what she was staring at; her own face, reflected back at her in the two dark lenses of a power armour helmet.

“A Power Armour… Blue, you already have two of these, what is so special about this one?”

“Two things, really. First off, this is a T-60d model. The most advanced Armour in our arsenal. More reliable than the T-45 I found in Concord, and it has a much tougher armour than my T-51, without compromising its manoeuvrability. And second…” he took her wrist and pressed her hand up against the chestplate.

There was a brief silence between them.

“Wait…” Piper turned to him. “But I don’t know how to use this thing.”

“I’m going to train you.”

“You said that it takes months to learn how to use one properly.”

“Yeah, but it’s like anything. I can get you walking in a matter of hours. Running in a matter of days. Learning to pick up objects is always the most frustrating part, but after that, it will all start to feel natural. It’s just a matter of practice. The really time consuming stuff is field maintenance, armour preservation, training for long-term use. That all takes months. But I can’t keep stepping out in a suit without you in one too.”

“When do we start?”

“Right now, if you want.”

“I mean… we don’t have anything better to do at the moment. But first…” she leant down and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you for this.” She pressed her lips against his and they momentarily absorbed each other's warmth.

When their mouths parted, she rested her forehead on his. Nate reached up and brushed his thumb along her cheek, gently holding her face in his hands.

“So…” he started.

“The awesome battle armour, right.” She stood up straight.

[sburbian-sage]

Hi, UrsanidComedian here! :3

I... Kinda softlocked myself???

Long story short:

I'm a seer of void, now max god tier. My coplayers are dead and so are the black king and queen, Prospit and Derse are fine and so is the white king (Queen died by hands of one of my coplayers) I found out about the tumor and panicked so I kinda un-existed it????

Now I can't progress and finish Sburb. So I kinda got bored and made peace between the carapacians? And also kinda am In a relationship with the white king (don't ask).

It's been a long, LONG time since all that happened. I've lost count but I assume around 100 years or so. I kinda made my home in this session and made it more peaceful kingdom sim game but I really want to know how to leave the game...

help? ,:3

WHY ARE YOU YELLING

First of all, be a bit precise with your language. "Tumor" is a term used in the game's code that refers to any scripted object the game recognizes shouldn't exist. "I found out about the Tumor" could refer to literally anything.

Second, and I hate to be the one to break the bad news to you, but I think you may have wasted 100 years of your life. If the Black King is dead (which you said he is), and the Genesis Frog has been bred (did this happen?), you should be able to leave and finish the game. Unless this Tumor is some game critical item, which by definition it shouldn't be if you're calling it a Tumor, then I don't know what's going on here.

Third, and I REALLY hate to break this news to you, but you also shouldn't really be alive. When a Session has been rendered unwinnable, or if the game is complete, the Others begin closing in to, essentially, consume the remains of the Incipisphere, presumably to make room for a new Session (or for some insidious eldritch purpose, this part is conjecture). If you've actually been kicking around for 100 years and your sense of time isn't just twelve different flavors of fucked, then either the Session isn't unwinnable, the Session isn't complete yet, or someone struck a deal with the Others in order to preserve this Session (it's been done before).

In short, man I have no clue what's going on with you. I need more information before I can assist you with anything.

Has Breeding Duty been accomplished?

What exactly is this "Tumor" you erased?

Can you establish contact with the Others and ask them why they haven't moved in? I'm not expecting an answer, and don't make any deals for information, but if they do give any answer, note it down.

Is the Door Beyond The End or its platform present at all?

Is there something wrong with you that made you wait an actual century, or are you just jerking my chain?

[kaitandcole]

I was standing outside my high school waiting to get picked up when I opened Instagram and saw the news, I thought it was a joke. Genuinely. Cut to me looking at @harryflorals on Instagram and all of my other fan accounts I follow to see if it was true. It was. My heart immediately felt heavier than it had in years. I am still filled with grief and shock. I feel for his son, Bear, who woke up without a father. I feel for his entire family, who is feeling one of the most complex, nuanced, and heavy feelings someone can experience: grief. I can’t imagine how the other boys are feeling. Grieving someone you have lost contact with or have bad memories with is so, so so hard and I know that feeling personally. Grief is devastating, it is confusing, it is paralyzing, it is all-consuming. When you’re a kid, in your mind the people you admire or look up to are immortal. They’re on a pedestal and therefore they cannot die. Especially if they are someone who, from a young age, was commodified and molded to be an object you could sell. It is shocking to be so abruptly brought out of that fantasy. I imagined being 50, having my children or my wife say “Did you hear (insert member here) died?”. I never expected to have to deal with this kind of grief until very later in life. I never thought I would be 17, scrolling through Tumblr and Instagram, trying to make sense of one of them dying so, so, so devastatingly young.

My second-grade teacher got me into One Direction, and over that year, I became a massive fan. I brought the boys up in every conversation—anyone who knew me back then can attest to that—and made them my whole personality. Sometime during the end of the second grade, they announced that they would be going on hiatus. I remember feeling numb and in shock, I had just gotten into them. When their History music video came out, my second-grade teacher, whom I still talk to, promised to premiere it on her projector at the end of class. I remember sobbing, my best friend at the time and I were holding each other. I was mourning, and grieving, and processing. That was a big thing for an 8-year-old to go through. What other loss does she know?

While having a family member be sick at home and eventually passing in the sixth grade, I regressed to my 8 year old self. I made One Direction my entire personality again. I lost friends because they “just didn’t understand it” (aka: they were sick of hearing me only talk about them). I would listen to One Direction all day at school, and read fanfiction on the school bus and before I fell asleep. I would watch any media I could get my hands on that involved them. They were my support, and my rock to fall back on during that hardship. After this family member passed away in March of 2020, just a week before lockdown happened, One Direction became even more of a support. I felt isolated and lonely but the online community and the fandom helped me feel like I had a place, and I know I’ll always be thankful for that of course. As I healed and found other coping mechanisms, I still kept them incredibly dear to my heart, leaning on them whenever I needed to.

Once the news broke about Liam's passing and everything that followed, it felt like everyone was coming together to mourn. People who have been active consistently for years, people who have been a bit more inactive (like me), and even people who got a platform from this community (Sarah Baska, Brittany Broski, etc). The community is the strongest it has been in awhile right now. We are all going through something so linear, and so complicated. We didn’t know him, but he was a part of all of our childhoods. I still have all of my old merch I’ve collected over the years. I look to my right and I see the throw pillow and body pillow that are tucked underneath my bed. I see my One Direction stuffed bear and my poster and the old, untouched electric toothbrush I thrifted when I was 12. I may not as big of a fan actively as I once was, but this grief still runs deep. He was infinitely too young and it hurts to think that he felt that way to do something like that.

To everyone who is also feeling this grief, I see you. You are not being dramatic. Your grief and mourning are completely valid.

[topazadine]

Character Profile Tag: Orrinir Relickim

Thanks for the tag @willtheweaver! Loved hearing about Sorrel, and I love the name especially!

So let's talk about Orrinir, love interest in 9 Years Yearning and main character of the upcoming second book, Pride Before a Fall.

My darling! A little guy. Just a little guy. You can tell how much I love him because he gets the longest writeup of everyone, even Cerie!

He's the one on the right, next to his tiny trash demon husband Uileac.

Okay .... not so little guy. But he's such a wonderful creature anyway.

You think he's just a big dumb jock, huh? You look at his face and think he's some smarmy shit, yeah? YOU'RE WRONG! Let's find out why.

Name: Orrinir Relickim

Age: 23 (at the time of Pride Before a Fall)

Gender: Male

Species: Human

Appearance

Orrinir is a large, muscular man with a rough, confident face. He is quite tall and broad, towering over his fellow infantrymen. His silver eyes and angular red hair give him a striking appearance, especially as he tends to fuss over his hair and slick it with pomade into an unnatural swoop.

While he is naturally strong, Orrinir, like other soldiers, takes great pride in his power. The constant drills and, of course, engagements at the Rimuk Pass have given him chiseled muscles, though he's not really one to show them off.

Occupation

Infantryman in the Bremish Army. As of Pride Before a Fall, he is still a private, but he has grand dreams of becoming an Infantry General.

Family

His family abandoned him at the War Academy when he was a child, enrolling him as a Future Boy - a boy not old enough to start classes, who is forced to perform manual labor until he can begin his training.

Pets

Being a soldier, Orrinir doesn't have any real "pets." He'd have to leave them at home when he heads off into the field, and given that his husband Uileac is also a soldier, there'd be no one to tend to the animal. However, he does have his horse Bannain, the true star of the second book. He and Bannain have an ... antagonistic relationship, one could say.

Best friend

Other than Cerie, his sister-in-law, Orrinir's best friend is Sagremor, a fellow soldier. They trained at the War Academy together and have remained close all this time, though Sagremor has an annoying habit of psychoanalyzing everyone around him just for fun.

Describe his room

Orrinir's room, which he shares with Uileac, is neat and orderly, as one would expect from two soldiers. Much has been done to make it comfortable. The bed is on a raised platform - convenient for the frequent spring rains that can flood even the most solid home. A dresser, blanket chest, two nightstands, and a fireplace make up the rest of the furnishings, but the walls are hung with beautiful tapestries, most given to them as gifts for their wedding.

Items in his bag

When Orrinir heads off to an engagement, he packs his rucksack with both practical items and some sentimental objects, meant to remind him of what he fights for.

Socks

Extra gloves

Sewing kit for his uniform

Polishing cloth for his sword

Flint and steel for fire starting

Dry bread (hardtack) meant to be dipped in wine or water as an emergency meal

Oil-infused beeswax (useful as both a hand salve and chapstick)

Cloths for bandages/tourniquette

Thumb piano (kalimba) to pass the time

One of Uileac's shirts; he sleeps with it over his eyes to block out light and feel closer to his husband

Hobbies

Orrinir absolutely loves cooking and baking. While Cerie is a High Poet and Uileac occasionally composes poems, he doesn't have a knack for it; he'd be far too shy to even try, funnily enough. However, he likes to read poetry, especially the poems of Saint Luridalr, Breme's founding saint. Something about her lines has always spoken to him, or maybe it's just his patriotism.

Favorite sport

Swordfighting, of course! He and his friends like to blow off steam by beating the shit out of each other with wooden swords at the local infantryman-exclusive pub, the Swordsman Society.

Talents

Other than the aforementioned baking, killing people, and playing the kalimba, Orrinir's best talent is probably his knack for saying the wrong thing all the time. Not even out of malice! He's just not good at expressing himself.

Relationships

Uileac Korviridi: His husband, his beloved. They met at the War Academy as children and spent many, many years pretending they weren't obsessed with each other. Some me, and my beta readers, and literally every other character have claimed he is codependent, but he's been with Uileac for so long; they share an occupation, and he and Cerie are really all that Orrinir has. How would he not be codependent? Cerie Korviridi: His sister-in-law. Having basically grown up together, he sees Cerie more as his own little sister than just his husband's sibling. The three of them live together at their home in Goldnin, and he loves to boss her around as she petulantly argues. Despite their squabbles, he adores her and would do anything for her. Cerie's got both the boys wrapped around her little finger. Sagremor: Orrinir's best mate in the infantry. Sagremor has a knack for figuring out other peoples' problems and calling them out on their bullshit, something Orrinir both resents and appreciates. Tshumanu: Uileac's best mate, and therefore Orrinir's friend by association. Orrinir doesn't particularly really like Tshumanu much because he's so irresponsible and irreverent, but he puts up with him because otherwise Uileac will be mad at him. Sergeant Paltrik: His former instructor at the War Academy. Sergeant Paltrik always gave both Uileac and Orrinir special treatment because he could see the potential in them; that's why he never got them in too much trouble for cheating on tests or sneaking off campus. Now that Orrinir's all grown up, he sees Sergeant Paltrik as something of a mentor and father figure. Erix: Uileac's palomino mare. Of course he loves her: Erix is an extension of his husband. And Erix is a very good girl. Bannain: His horse, purchased for him by Uileac as a wedding present. They have a complicated relationship. On one hand, Bannain is a reflection of how much Uileac loves him; on the other hand, Bannain is an insufferable little shit who always gets into trouble. So there's some weird vibes there. The Relickim Family: Note how his birth family comes dead last. He has no relationship with any of his relatives, essentially, since they gave him up to the War Academy; he didn't even invite them to his graduation or wedding. Orrinir was the second-youngest of six siblings, though only three (other than him) are still living.

Fears

Oh man, does Orrinir have a lot of fears, even if he pretends he's a big tough strong dude who never gets scared. His top 10:

Uileac dying or being horribly maimed in battle

Cerie dying or one of her High Poems misfiring and horribly maiming her (why does he love people with such dangerous occupations?? don't answer that)

Being killed in battle and not being able to say goodbye to his loved ones

Being injured in battle and becoming a burden

Something happening to one of their horses (even Bannain I guess)

Having to resign from the infantry

Goldnin, his hometown, being invaded by the Sinans

Breme being completely destroyed

His family coming back to pester him

Thunderstorms

I mean, they're all pretty reasonable fears (including the thunderstorm one, surprisingly enough), but still.

Faults

Orrinir has none! He's a cinnamon roll! Perfect!

... Okay, fine. His faults.

Codependent. He doesn't see himself as a separate person from his husband. I mean, can you blame him? Bro was given up by his family. Anxious attachment style. He follows the people he loves around like a big overgrown puppy and doesn't know what to do with himself when they're not there. Bad-tempered. Once you rile him up, years of resentment explodes out of him and he doesn't know when to stop. Anal-retentive. Everything must be perfect so he feels safe and happy. He'll spend hours cleaning his boots because if they're not sparkling, he's nervous of getting in trouble. A useful skill for being a soldier, though. Emotionally immature. He doesn't have a strong ability to self-regulate, given that he was abandoned by his family as a child and wasn't taught how to self-soothe. Avoidant. At the same time, he can't really explain to you what he's feeling or handle deep, emotional conversations. Good for him that Uileac is equally terrible at talking about hard stuff, so they can just avoid all unpleasant conversations! .... Wait I don't think that's a good thing.

Good points

Of course Orrinir has so many good points so we can just pretend all those flaws don't exist, right? Right??

Nurturing. Orrinir is so fascinating because though he has grown into his role as a soldier and excels at it, it's obviously antithetical to his genuine personality. He wants to take care of those he loves, whether that's spoiling them with presents or tending to them when they are sick. Loyal. Like his husband and sister-in-law, Orrinir is loyal to a fault. If you are part of his "pack," he will go to the ends of the earth for you, no matter what. After the seventh book of The Eirenic Verses, we get to see this in all its heartbreaking, bittersweet glory. That's a secret tool for later, though. Resilient. You don't go through what he has without getting a damn backbone. Things are terrible and the world's on fire, but he drills down into himself and keeps going, mostly because he wants to protect those he loves. Scrupulous. Orrinir is detailed-oriented and very invested in getting the job done right, every time. When you give him a task, you can be assured it will be executed with ruthless efficiency. Send him down to the armory and tell him to clean the 300-year-old pike? Better check the engraving on the handle, because what you get back will be unrecognizably spotless. Thoughtful. A gift from Orrinir will be exactly what you wanted and more. Before he and Uileac got together, he literally fake-dated a girl to get access to the girl's father so he could demand a custom-designed bow for Uileac at a steep discount. And then broke up with the girl. Hey, he was a teenager, and teenagers can be little shits.

What he wants more than anything else

Orrinir wants peace. To be able to wake up and drink tea with his husband without worrying that they're going to be sent off at a moment's notice to the Rimuk Pass, where they'll be forced into battle again. To not have to leave Cerie behind, worrying about them, when they are called up.

To build a life together with the people he loves and find a new purpose in something less destructive.

Maybe he'd open a bakery. Maybe he'd become a farmer. Maybe he'd be a Council Guard. The possibilities are endless and sweet.

At the same time, he knows that a ceasefire would mean he'd have to find a new way forward, without relying on warfare to bring him purpose.

The endless war between Breme and Sina is what motivates him, but it also brings him so much suffering.