#incremental gaming my beloved

[othyrbot]

Just finished my yearly play through of A Dark Room and holy shit that game still holds up!! I think they added some new content since the last time I played because there's a sick ravaged battleship area with some awesome enemies and loot. I'm so fucking excited to know they're still adding stuff, it's probably my favorite incremental game ever and I'm excited to see it grow <3

[fiabex]

Let's Talk About Gift Mediums (In This Exchange)

Alright! It is time for me to talk to you about one of the most unique aspects of this exchange, now that we're in nomination season. It's a 10k exchange, which you already know, and it has the mysterious "swaps" (which will be explained in a later post), but the other unusual thing FIAB does is the medium rulesets.

In this exchange there are literally over three hundred different mediums that people can opt into, and we add new ones every year. They have all been carefully worked out to figure out a specification of an art form that complies with Ao3's TOS, that someone might want to get as a gift, and that would be equivalent to one thousand words (the increments the exchange works in). You match to a person like a normal exchange, and then you can either give them fic (the baseline assumption of all sign-ups), or you can give them one of the mediums they opted into, working up to a 10k of your art form or of a mix of art forms. If you know that you definitely want to create for a specific medium— maybe you're not a writer but you are an artist— you can email the mods, and they'll make sure to match you to someone requesting that medium, as long as you still have ships in common.

Want some examples? Click through to see some of the 300 different options to our name!

You want to create art? Awesome. Art is one of the opt ins, that's easy! But there are also way more specific opt-ins, for example:

Medium Opt-In: Art - Book Cover

Medium Opt-In: Art - Conspiracy Board

Medium Opt-In: Art - A Softer World style art

Medium Opt-In: Art - Costume Design

You want to go even more niche? There are options for people to opt into:

Medium Opt-In: Art - In-Universe Magazine Spread

Medium Opt-In: Art - Floorplan/Architectural Style Drawing

Medium Opt-In: Art - Propaganda Poster

And honestly so many more, like I said, 300 different medium options.

Maybe you work in audio? We've got a ruleset for you. People can opt into all kind of audio gifts, check out a small sampling:

Medium Opt-In: Audio - Song Parody

Medium Opt-In: Audio - In-Universe RPF

Medium Opt-In: Audio - Tarot Card Reading

And yes, you can opt into Medium Opt-In: Audio - Podfic

You're a poet? Why look at that, there are poetry rulesets.

Medium Opt-In: Poetry - Haiku Series

Medium Opt-In: Poetry - Sonnet

Medium Opt-In: Poetry - Bredlik

Medium Opt-In: Poetry - Alliterative Long Line

is your art set more physical? You can give someone instructions

Medium Opt-In: Instructions - Cocktail Recipes

Medium Opt-In: Instructions - TTRPG rules

Medium Opt-In: Instructions - Spell or Ritual Instructions

There are even unique rules for even more out-there gifts, some of which are already beloved tumblr art forms:

Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Map: Country

Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Sheet Music - Arrangement of Music From Canon

Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - In-Universe Spreadsheet - Expense Report

Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Online Dress-up Game

Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Gifset

Are you a writer, but you love form pieces or pieces that push the boundary of what "fic" is?

Medium Opt-In: Writing - Creepypasta

Medium Opt-In: Writing - Bureaucratic Paperwork

Medium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Textbook

Medium Opt-In: Writing - List of things (character) is not allowed to do

Medium Opt-In: Writing - Non-Linear Narrative

Medium Opt-In: Writing - Reddit: Highly Upvoted/Gilded Reddit Comment And The Comment's Context

There are SO MANY different mediums that you can opt into, both when you consider what gifts you give yourself, and what gifts you might receive! And if you are looking at the list (in the the tag set) and you think "you know what, I would love to give a gift that is kind of in this line, but it's not on this list, I bet I could figure out a definition of my art that is equivalent to one thousand words," you can go over to the medium nominations post and suggest it, and the mods will probably add it to the tag set! Check out the medium ruleset for the existing specifications for unique rules, and you can cruise the tag set to see what different types of mediums are already defined and ready to request!

Join us! 10k fic* exchange! It's fun! :D

*you may not be giving or receiving fic. Depending on what you opted in to, you might be getting poetry, music, gifsets, knitting patterns, logic puzzles, tarot cards, maps, spreadsheets, or much, much more.

Questions?

For more information about medium rulesets, signing up, nominations of fandoms, relationships, or medium forms, swaps, or much more (questions about how pinch hits work? we have documentation about that), check out the dreamwidth blog!

If you have questions, feel free to ask them here, check the dreamwidth blog, email the mods, or join our discord server. The discord server has a lot of experienced participants happy to answer questions, and you are also welcome to join just to hang out!

Note: you must be 18 or older to join FIAB.

Links

Email: ficinaboxmod@gmail.com

Ao3 Collection (sign up here once signups open)

Tag Set

Dreamwidth Blog

Discord (includes question channel)

[moonshynecybin]

luca in the same age au at some point is going to get annoyed at rosquez for being on a break again and just show up to marc's house to tell him you need to take vale back he's too much to deal with while you guys are fighting

you guys (and i love you never forget this.) want luca to be the one to get them together VERY badly but im so sorry i think that man mostly just does not think about them at all. truly he is TIRED of his life revolving around his (beloved) brother and his narrative and his drama. and he loves his brother!! but luca knows hes not a GOD. hes just a DUDE. the world does not actually spin on an axis of valentino rossi. and i think luac sees yearsssssss of marc and vale hissing at each other like two extremely territorial and pissed off cats and enacting eight different psychotic horny levels of mind games in every interaction they have on and off-track and vale attempting to cast elaborate witches curses on marc and. he simply sails by comma unbothered. "what if luca trapped rosquez in a closet" FUN. but hes got his OWN SHIT GOING ON. he doesnt have the time OR the will to meddle with them playing 4-D chess whorish wargames against each other to the end goal of precisely fucking nothingggg

like in reality hes taken his own cross unto himself here entirely to ESCAPE the vale narrative. hes currently too busy toiling like telemetry sisyphus laying down testing laps on that DOGSHIT honda and flying around the world every single free weekend he has at his disposal in vain pursuit of NOT EVEN perfection BUT IMPROVEMENT! INCREMENTAL improvement!!! and he fully and of his own volition took that into his legacy. a career defining move that he KNOWS will be initially terrible and suck absolute eggs. he chooooose that bike. he said i will be a factory rider, and i will be remembered outside of my brother, even if it gets me a TERRIBLE time on a motorcycle known for HORRIFIC CONSEQUENCES. idk i think he needs to test himself ! entirely out of vale's shadow ! and i think he saw this as one of the only ways he could do it. he's a data guy. honda needs a test monkey who doesnt mind being in the PITS (a hard sell in an ego-driven profession, even for a factory seat). like he knows thats how he can sell himself. and crucially he took the shot! absolutely fascinating character detail imo... meanwhile vale is TALKING MAD TRASH on podcasts and marc is alternating being pursuant of valentino's myriad narratives concerning switching to ducati and getting his ninth and loitering outside the VR46 ranch throwing eggs at bezz and pecco while simultaneously asking major sports news outlets to let valentino know that he was the best dick he ever had. they are in god's most toxic romcom while luca is bellyflopping into an against-the-odds sports underdog story that he very well may fail catastrophically at! they simply have other priorities! luca wants nothing to do it !!!!

[gren-arlio]

Ah, Visual Novel Disc System games, my beloved. Welcome to Episode 8 of (Waku) Puyo Extras.

(Serilly reading a fashion magazine is pretty nice honesty. Too bad that Honey Bee and Momomo are gonna appear any second now.)

Hello everyone, it's the guy whose computer exploded on him once as well as the only Ciel fan in America (Seriously, I'm glad some fans know about Quest nowadays). Thankfully, the computer's slowly but surely getting fixed, so who knows, maybe I'll continue Arle's route next month due to every week having something planned this time around. (Apologies, Arle route watchers)

As the silly meme about PuyoLympics comes around and goes around (Thanks Witch,) I haven't neglected to speak about what the poll wanted to speak about: Serilly's Happy Birthday.

Would you call this a character speculated episode? It's more of a game starring a character, but I dunno.

With that, I think we can begin. Hope you enjoy.

------

First, let's talk about its origins:

Serilly's Happy Birthday was released in 1998 from Disc Station Volume #18, a magazine that carried either demos of games or full blown games, on the Windows 95.

(For some extra info, there were 2 sets of magazines. Issues #0-32 and Volume #1-27.)

It's a little unclear what month this was released, but we can make do with what we got.

(Cover page for the Volume.)

However, and idk if this is big news or not, but I think I found an page covering Serilly's Happy Birthday, though not in the best quality out there.

I haven't seen this anywhere on the Puyo Nexus, or anywhere else really, so take this with a grain of salt. If true though, I adore how it looks.

Apparently it was made by the people who made the Tower of the Magician artstyle, which would make a ton of sense, but take this with a grain of salt.

(No Schezo though. Yeah he just makes a cameo, but hey, would've been nice.)

Also, tiny Carbuncle. You love to see it.

-----

So, whats the game about?

The game itself is a Princess-Maker (Or in a better term, Social Simulation, didn't know the name first time around,) type game, a genre where you see the world of our own and the fictional world. Take Animal Crossing or Tomodachi Life for example. Or The Sims.

The story is that Serilly was given the ability to go on land, but she still doesn't have any legs. Minor misconception but an understandable one.

You then...simply put, plan Serilly's birthday as a whole, going through a week by week basis to get to the end of the year.

(A screen showing the days. From the Japanese characters from top left to bottom right, its Arle, Rulue, Suketoudara, Witch, Draco, and Owlbear.)

You may wonder what the numbers mean on the left. I'm glad you asked. They're stats that increase whilst doing activities with Serilly, such as dancing with Incubus, studying with Satan Masked Principal, I believe training with Samurai Mole, cleaning with Kikimora, etc.

From top left to bottom right, it goes Power, Head(? Due to Samurai Mole,) Cuteness, Story(? Or negotiation.), Kindness, and fatigue. These points are given in random increments, and doing too much tires Serilly, so heads up on on that.

(Cleaning with Kikimora. This is the best quality I could find this.)

Speaking of characters, here's some that appear in this game:

Arle

Witch

Suke

Owlbear

Masked Principal (NOT Satan. Wrong guy.)

Rulue

Draco

Incubus

Kikimora (Man. She's everywhere.)

Schezo. As a cameo in I think one of Witch's supports, and he's not the best written here.

-----

Wait, Supports?

Now you may wonder what I mean by supports. Well, to get an ending, along with Stat Points, you need to talk to the person themselves, which is why with my little Fire Emblem brain, call them supports. You have to have spoken to them enough, as well as get the necessary stats to get their ending, which is why it's so hard to get Draco's ending, least from what I see and hear. And Witch flat out won't talk to you if you're too stupid for her apparently.

However, while a little one-note, the supports and talks themselves are very charming in their own right, and they look stupid good to boot.

(A small support you can get with Witch.)

So, with those 6 characters I mentioned for the endings, there's 7 possible endings. One of them is NO ONE going to Serilly's birthday. If I ever got this ending, I'm retiring from everything.

Serilly herself is still fairly shy, but much more outgoing than what we're used to, which is nice considering she's the star of the show. I genuinely like how she's written here. Not Waku Puyo levels of great, but still top 2 IMO.

The characters themselves are roughly the same, with some expections. For example, the Masked Principal is actually incredibly nice to you, which is just...amazing tbh, Rulue is more dedicated to her training than anything, and Schezo...sucks as a character this time around. He's just a dude walking around saying "I want you!" like an actual pervert rather than just being a goofball about it. Oh, the misery. (Everybody wants to be my enemy...)

But what do some of these endings look like? Unfortunately, our old pal "The 10 image limit," has attacked us once again, and so, I can only show 4 of them.

But they're the popular characters so...I guess we win this time.

I genuinely love how this game looks, man. And the endings themselves are super charming in their own way. I believe in the Masked Principal ending, she helps people swim (Panotty, Archan?, Honey Bee, and Kodomo Dragon,) and it's honestly super cute.

-----

So what do I personally think?

I think this game is incredibly interesting, as it's something that Disc Station or Puyo has a whole hasn't really seen. They chose an interesting character with Serilly, and they honestly made this game look visually stunning. The music is nice to listen to, and the characters are fairly nice to you for the most part, which is a nice change of pace considering it's, well... Serilly.

Overall, if you can ever find a way to see gameplay of the sort, check it out.

This is a shorter Puyo Extras, but I think I covered most of the basis of this game. That'll be all for now.

Cya guys.

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

HOLIDAY DASH GAME

I was nominated by @hobbitsdoitbetter (tysm💖 dear!) to quote any Christmas story or any story of mine that I wish got more love. As it's well past the holidays, I'm going with my beloved, Strangebatch WIP, 'Of Magic, Miracles, and Moonlight'.

Stephen Strange x Teyla of Hadeeth (OFC)

Since his return from that last mission, an unspoken urgency had flourished between them, which threatened the pattern of caution they’d been following to keep their secret safe.  Each time they slipped away now into their private world, Stephen had grown incrementally reckless, his need for her pressing him always forward.  Teyla counseled him to proceed with greater care, but was helpless as he swept her along, unable to decline his will for them.

Stephen’s recklessness had brought them to this alley tonight; his hot need to hold her, to touch her, to have her, overriding cooler reason.  Teyla had offered no defense, allowing him to pull her into the darkened alley without protest, within minutes of them meeting up.  He honestly hadn’t planned it this way, but the result was still the same.

Their bodies were pressed tightly together, with Teyla’s back against the coarse brick wall as she submitted herself to his hungry, bruising kisses.  She stretched her neck, humming deep in her throat at the greedy way he latched onto her tender flesh; her neck, throat, collarbone, all reddened in the flush of her desire, and from the rub of his goatee against her skin.  She flexed one hand in Stephen’s hair, and slid the other onto the delicious dip between his shoulder blades, holding him as close as the layers of material between her body and his would allow--their bodies housing no secrets from one another despite those maddening barriers of cotton and denim. “Oh my dearest…my love…,” she cooed, and then gasped his name when he palmed her breasts through her blouse. 

It wasn’t enough for him, could never be enough for him now. 

Stephen needed to rake up her top and feel the contours of her ribs on his way to hold her ripe little breasts fully in his hands—yet he hesitated, knowing the wall at her back would be too rough against her exposed skin.  “Do it,” she urged him, reckoning his need from his thoughts alone, “Touch me as you will, my love.  Your need is my desire as well…”  She trailed off into a heartfelt moan as he slipped both hands beneath the cloth and cupped her smoothly, rubbing her stiffened nipples with his thumbs and making her whimper helplessly. 

Teyla arched her back as he fondled her, arched into his hands, seeking his firmest contact with her virgin flesh.  He cursed inadvertently against her ear, at the sudden, gratifying heat that flared in his palms and thence to his wrists, up his arms, to course through his blood and fill his body with a flame which felt as though only she would be able to quell. Instinctively, Stephen knew this was her energy, pure as her heart, passing into him; there was no pain in this spectacular sensation, only the hunger to give back to her the same, from the depths of his heart.  “How is this happening?” he rumbled against her cheek.

“Because I love thee, Stephen,” she answered, lapsing into a patois of a Hadeethan mixed with English.  When his mouth recaptured hers, and she accepted the eager thrust of his tongue so she might suckle it luxuriously—the thrill of that intensifying the throbbing ache for her in his groin—Stephen realized he was hearing her in his mind.  'I love thee…I love thee…my heart, it is thine.' This startling intimacy awakened a need in him, a possessiveness, that shocked him.

'You are mine,' he thought back to her, spellbound by their connection; mine, he thought over and over.  'Mine tonight…and tomorrow…and always.  Let it be always, my sweet, little angel.  Good god…please…'  

And surely she heard him, even in the relentless depth of that kiss.  'I am, my darling…for as long as thee shall desire it of me,' she promised him.  Incredulous as much from the bond of their minds, as from the miracle that she loved him as he hadn’t dared to dream anyone could, Stephen gently pulled away, to study her face.  Her eyes remained shut as she panted softly, her beauty the same pure radiance he had witnessed in her astral form.

Understanding why he paused, feeling his disbelief that he was worthy of such devotion, Teyla leaned her head back enough so she could gaze up into his eyes.  Mercifully, tenderly, she reminded him, “My love, I am yours.  I have been, from our first kisses. Mayhap even before that night…”  Pictures flickered through his mind as she showed him how she had come to love him. Teyla laughing at something silly he had said; Teyla looking up at him empathetically, on the corner of Bleecker and Mercer; Teyla sobbing in his arms on her father’s kitchen floor.  In a half dozen heartbeats, she showed him a slew of little moments, wherein he was simply being himself, and all of them illustrating how her heart had fallen irretrievably to him—though in those moments he hadn’t had the eyes to see that amazing truth.  There he was, on the Sanctum roof with her in the moonlight, kissing her hand with sweet reverence; there he was kissing her mouth, on one of their secret excursions from Kamar-Taj, with her face cupped in his hands, and a patience that belied how much his blood had come to burn for her.    

Overwhelmed, Stephen hung his head down, feeling Teyla’s sweet breath whisper against his cheek; he splayed his hands flat against the wall on either side of her head, trying his damnedest to collect himself.  Allowing him his silence, she waited upon him, threading her fingertips through his hairline at the nape of his neck, the palm of her hand blessedly cool upon his flushed skin.  She nuzzled his ear, to whisper against it, “Did you not know this, Stephen?  Your lips marked me as yours, on our night beneath the moonlight—as I am forever now, if you would have it so.”

Her confession left him weak and filled him with joy—tinged with a trace of shame for the physical hunger that threatened to overrule his better nature. He wondered if she read his lust as well as she read his tenderness for her.  Did she understand how his body cried out to take her—to tear through the material that guarded her innocence, to finally breach her after the countless encounters that had sent him to his bed, unable to calm himself except by lengthy meditation?  Some nights lately, even that discipline had failed him, and he could only find sleep by picturing her lying sweetly beneath him, beckoning for him to do whatever he desired, while his scarred hands worked the deed he yearned to do inside of her.  Would she still adore him if she knew that dirty secret?...

I nominate @strangelock221b @hithertoundreamtof23 @mckiwi @mousedetective @bakerstreethound @aelaer @couldntbedamned

[laurarolla]

And finally done with the Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel playthrough of the main campaign and Claptastic Voyage. Boy, that was a long one. The remaining Claptastic Voyage video parts will be up a bit later on, they're all recorded though. And oh boy, I get to have possibly controversial opinions on a long-beloved franchise that just got a movie adaptation and definitely has another game on the way. Hooray!

So, Borderlands has a few things going for it, namely really great characters, a solid atmosphere, narratives that manage to actually drift between serious and silly in ways that don't feel jarring, and so many mix and match procedurally generated weapons that you rarely end up with the same drop twice, which can be good or bad based on your perspective on the game's loot and leveling system. Regarding the story, it's good. The only thing that kinda bugs me is that the story wants to be a story about how Jack became the monster he is in Borderlands 2, but it really doesn't show a change in character or personality, but just how he gains the power to be the absolute piece of garbage he always was deep down. I've seen some stuff from BL3 that actually does go into what pushed him into being an evil bastard, but like Moxxi points out, the darkness was always there and he just needed the power and the opportunity to embrace it. If you just ignore the read of it being the "fall of Jack" and instead go in 100% with the idea that this is the story of the "rise of Handsome Jack," I think you get a better overall feeling for the narrative experience.

In terms of gameplay and mechanics, I honestly kinda hate this game. It's not specifically because I think there are wrong decisions being made in most cases (although a mailbox system like in Destiny 2 or WoW would be great for situations like a legendary drop falling through the damn ground or getting something dropped on it). The issue is in the philosophy of the game, and the fact that what I came to the game for was not at all what it wants to deliver. I like the world, the characters, and their stories. I couldn't care less about being asked to sift through piles of loot, most of which is Grinder fodder or something to sell for semi-useful money, only to realize that the weapons I found that were cool and fun to use are practically useless about an hour or two later. I suppose the thing is that I didn't want another MMO, even if this one is vastly superior in terms of long-term survival due to being unshackled to a live service model.

Part of what made Destiny 2 so enjoyable to me as a persistant game was that I didn't have to spend absurd amounts of time farming, and if I got a good weapon, I got to keep using it because I could upgrade the power level without having to go get another one of the same gun at the higher level. But the issue isn't that Destiny 2's loot drop system is inherently better, because for many people, it isn't. For me, the issue is that, when combined with gunplay that isn't nearly as fun as I want it to be, talent trees that remind me of how much WoW improved over the years by dumping the incremental math for the sake of landmark upgrades at specific levels, and certain damage types and weapons feeling damn near necessary in a system where everything you get is absurdly unpredictable, it isn't fun to pick up a bunch of garbage to sell or trade when I found things that were fun to use. I didn't come here for Diablo with guns and a wacky robot buddy. I have the same opinion about Diablo and other loot piñata games. Being neurodivergent in some way definitely doesn't help me with this, either.

The point is, I love the world and story and characters of Borderlands, but I absolutely fucking hate playing Borderlands. However, after playing the game for many hours, I'm now actually pretty decent at Borderlands. Maybe BL2 will be a worthwhile experience when I eventually get around to it, but I'm not expecting much. I mean, it doesn't even have the Oz kits and boost jump system that I actually did like.

[tomyo]

Street Pass Mini Game Special

I truly love my 3DS. Even though I came in to owning one a lot later than everyone else, it's been something I've loved deeply. From themes to kisekae plates to the virtual console IR to AR, I really love exploring the full functionality of the system. At some point I'd probably start a series on other functions of the 3DS but today I wanted to focus on the beloved street pass!

So yes, I did buy ALL the street pass dlc when I hear the shop was closing and it's....an experience to say the least. This has given me the chance to go through them however! So let's go!!

Puzzle Swap

I loved this one a lot when I started using my 3DS. Collecting is definitely a brain activator for me. Admittedly though when they updated to multiple pieces getting collected, it was a lot healthier of a job. Right now, I sit extremely frustrated since my current memory card only shows the standard puzzles and not the ones added over time. I know at one point I was at least to one final puzzle needing filling so now I sit frustratingly finished but not really finished on it.

Find Mii 1&2

Find me was where I truly put more of my attention and also equally frustrating at one point in time as I rarely got passerbys and mostly relied on hires mercs. The biggest struggle was I got my 3DS after I moved back to the suburbs meaning I no longer had the benefit of living in a city or it's huge campus. By the time I did move back to city living, I went to a much smaller school at a time where the switch was about to be released. Sometimes I think back to watching my friends get to play Animal Crossing New Leaf and Pokemon X & Y(which I actually like) with a little bit of envy. There's the tug and pull that I went to a lot of cons at than time and could afford it because I was frugal or how getting an og 3DS likely would've stopped me from getting my beloved new 3DS but sometimes it sucks that I didn't shell out the $180 or so to be apart of all that. The 3DS was probably more of a kawaii golden era staple than any other system could have been and just little things like this suddenly come to mind.... Wait wasn't I supposed to be talking about the games? Ah yes, I truly love the two find Mii games. I think they're extremely fun and you can see the way they paved the path for Miitopia. I still have yet to collect all the rewards you can get partially because of that whole tangent issue but hopefully if I start to walk around with it more I can regularly beat the game. I've started to bring my 3DS to cons and now even own a second one after a lucky find so regular street passing is more common for me!

When it came to the next games, you had to pay for them in I believe $15 increments. Either two to three packages where available alongside the premium upgrade which allowed you to have a longer queue and one additional features. Each game also has a guide character for the stories.

Slot Car Rivals

This was the game I selected from the free choice when they offered that up for the game releases. You race against passers to try and progress and build up your car. If I'm honest I don't get this one much. Your guide character is a race team assistant.

Market Crashers

If somehow you can still get this one I'd choose it of the free choice. You get to do capitalism simply put with more passers equalling better predictions on stock shares going up or down through a session. The gameplay per a session is really short once it starts but I find it fun thus far. Basically rapidly hitting by or sell to make more money as quick as possible. There's also art assets to grab up and hold onto. I definitely get excited at chances to play this one. Your guide character is a reddit looking business man.

Feed Mii

Another concept I really like. You essentially grab ingredients and try to cook the best meals possible for your passers who are going out on quests. Do good and you get good reviews from their success. Sadly also really short gameplay overall. While you're encouraged to try cooking more before ending a session, the gameplay can feel a little to quickly done. Your guide character is a cozy male cook in a bandana.

Ninja launcher

Another extremely quick gameplay session one. You're trying to match up passers to be in your shooting path as they'll give you equipment to fight an enemy but you have a time limit to try and get the most ideal shot. Once you fight the target the session is over. Your guide character is a Yamato nadeshiko ninja.

Mii Trek

This one reaks of edutainment in the best way. Each passed adds to the amount of traveling you can do as you lead an expedition for treasure and find real life animals along the way. It's not fully my cup of tea but I like the journey you get to take being a longer and more complicated game session than the previous ones. Your guide character is a toucan straight out of the 90s era gif graphics.

Mii Force

Another longer game. You're in a classic side scrolling shooter with each passed equating to being a weapon with variation based on shirt color. Its sometimes even a little challenging for me. At points I even feel a bit frustrated because enemy shots aren't always clear on the screen noise but that also means I'll have more reason to come back to it as I progress through it. Your guide character is a robot captain.

Flower Town

One of my favorites and one I was really excited to finally get to play. You raise and breed flowers to create a plethora of breeds. I like anything that involves raising so this one spoke to me a lot. That being said it goes pretty slow hahahah. Your guide character is this calming older dude with glasses.

Warriors Way

I remember my best friend talking good of this one and I do enjoy it. Your troops are your total street passes and then most passer's numbers will also be added to yours which you then use to conquer other nations. Because I started so late I started off with a sizable 900+ and then a few thousand from others joining me. However I did run into a monster army I would of had to of challenged but I was too overwhelmed by the size. The battles are rock paper scissors but with the right number and it letting you know the win outcomes, it can be doable without ever losing. Your guide character is a butler.

Monster Manor

You're stuck in a mansion and collect essentially Tetris pieces that turn into halls to help you discover the stairs to help guide you up to freedom. You also occasionally fight ghosts. I don't know how to put it has more meat of a game but it doesn't hold my attention as much. Your guide character is a tiny girl who you employ (I promise I don't mean it in that way but she's a loli type)

Ultimate Angler

You fish various species with bait you receive from your street passes. It’s even local to your area based on how you registered yourself. To catch certain fish you need the right bait which is based on the color of your street passer’s shirts. When I had a lot of street passes pulled up it was pretty fun but it’s not as great when you struggle to get the right bait. I also wish you could change areas and save bait for new locations but sadly you have to use it all at once. When you get back you can stick the stuff you caught in an aquarium and sometimes get new rods which I haven’t explored much yet. You guide character is a bikini clad girl who runs the desk.

Battleground Z

The final of them is a zombie brawler where passers give you weapons or fight with you. I'm not a big fan of beat em ups so I'm a little sad I'm not a huge fan of this one. Sad because you're guide character is a blonde, Bayonetta looking onee-san.

[lemonlimestar]

hands you a kon for the hc ask game :)

my beloved <333

realistic: kon likes reading classic literature, especially cheesy sci-fi. he has near-perfect recollective memory but he’ll reread them cover to cover. he’s also big on having physical copies of things. this guy has all on wendy on dvd, vhs and the two novel adaptations including the graphic novel. he’s dedicated to his craft (being a geek).

while it may not be realistic it is hilarious: he and bart make a competition of winning stuffed animals for each other at the san diego state fair. some of the tent runners recognize them. their collective favorites are their matching shark plushies. bart’s is a great white named jaws that has a little bow-tie; kon’s is a hammerhead named sharknado that has embroidered sunglasses.

heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends: eventually, in slow increments, he realizes he doesn’t want to be superman anymore. it’s about as relieving as it is heartbreaking. because kal’s done so much, for so long. who’s kon to deny him a break? kal deserves to be able to rest, and to have that weight off his shoulders, so obviously kon has to be superman. (obviously, clark thinks very differently and tells him this. but, it’s a point of angst.)

unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own: i am a gay kon believer. that boy is overcompensating, bless him + nonbinary swag as well B)

i am also a firm believer that he steals earrings from cassie. it takes her so long to notice it’s entertaining to him every time.

[anosci]

(16-30 albums etc that I’ve listened to this year, copied from twitter) (now with art. [1] [2] [3])

album names and personal thoughts below cut.

16/ Pan Electric & Ishq - About Time (2008) ough, this is prime chillout. feel like ive been pickier about the style recently but this hits the spot.

----

17/ Ovuca - Wasted Sunday (2001) mis-parsed this thinking it was an Oval album. it's not. :| but it still has some cool turn of the century glitchy fun, just grounded with some more traditional synthy beats. i love the sound design overall

---

18/ Team Doyobi - Cryptoburners (2001) feels like cheap plastic and warm electronics. lots of empty space, but as a stylistic choice. sometimes a little too noisy for my taste. sometimes cozy in its fuzzy minimalism.

---

19/ VA - Tigerbeat6 Inc. (2001) an absolute grab bag of ideas and quality. weirdly, i feel kinship with the silliness contained within. some of these are RLY COOL. "Wooper", "Jujik_olop", "Klardiscopic Remedy #1"

---

20/ Electric Company - 62-56 (2001) future buzzes and clicks :) I'm not as much of the fan of the sort of… freeform ambiance. but I do really enjoy those clicky beats.

---

21/ MuToPiA LABEL — ISOMORPHISM (1999) man im fascinated by this double-retro stuff. "let's arrange this 5 year old game!" -some guy 24 years ago. sadly, it's just a little too rough for me. I'm spoiled by modern arrangements. but yet... track 3 sounds so early OCR. beloved.

---

22/ DJ Assault - Belle Isle Tech (2000) listened as a joke, but yet… there's some sweet little jams here. "Jungle Love" is a striking standout. i... used alternative cover art for this just in case. hi tumblr tos lol

---

23/ Cex - Oops, I Did It Again! (2001) some cool stuff and some annoying stuff, to my taste anyway. :| more of the former than the latter, overall, luckily.

---

24/ Lesser - Mensa Dance Squad (2001) kinda…. jungle tossed in a glitchy blender? sometimes more physical than aural, somehow.

after pondering for a while, a few more thoughts on 2001 tigerbeat6 in general: usually, i vibe with music as music. but with this freeform glitch stuff, i vibe as if it were a painting. it has the feature space of music but, as a whole, each song becomes an acrylic canvas.

---

25/ Apocalyptica - Cult (2000) i guess i wanted to check this out because symphonic metal? (old list item) my biggest complaint is the lack of percussion. igorrr has me spoiled. what is metal without breaks? and cores? still, a few good cuts here imo

---

26/ Lackluster - Rikos 7" (2000) just as i began to feel it was kinda "meh", the vibe enveloped me. EXCEPT for the one track with a title.

---

27/ VA - SMAK (2001) date is technically 2002 in compilation form but each EP came out in 01. the first comps REALLY did not vibe with me, but i feel like they got better as the number incremented. Massimo - Nemylik? oh man. let's drift away.

---

28/ Kid606 - GQ On The EQ++ (2000) i listened to this years ago and only liked one track. listening again... wtf this is good. why did i do that. it is *crispy* but i admire that now. i cannot BELIEVE how good this is. 23 years old? what!!

---

29/ YET11 - TIMECAPSULE (2000) retro newage chiptune? an interesting thing. I find that im not too drawn it, though... maybe "After Rain" as a highlight?

---

30/ Geeez 'N' Gosh – My Life With Jesus (2000) this took a while to get going. I can't say im a fan of the glitched ironic gospel stuff. i love atoms clicks and glitches but man i wish i didnt have to actively ignore the blemishes here

[iloveabunchofgames]

#JakeReviewsItch

And Yet It Moves

by Broken Rules

Price (US): $9.99

Included In: Bundle for Racial Equality and Justice, Bundle of Ukraine

Genre: Platformer

Pitch: Rotate the world in 90° increments, shifting gravity to navigate tight, treacherous paths. A 2D puzzle-platformer.

My expectations: I played the demo for And Yet It Moves in 2009. There was a lot of buzz around it, which baffled me. Fourteen years is a long time, though. Maybe I'm ready to appreciate the brilliance now. I wasn't aware this was a Broken Rules joint. I sort of liked Chasing Aurora. I was far less keen on Old Man's Journey, but it had its moments. There's talent within this team. I want to be a fan.

Review:

I fall.

The ground rushes toward my feet, but it won’t be the ground for much longer. I swing the world clockwise. I whip past other surfaces, walls becoming ceilings whenever I please, gaining momentum all the while. I’m going faster miles an hour, and it feels amazing.

Fast, joyful movement is possible in And Yet It Moves, and it is met with stern punishment. The protagonist is not a capable Super Mario-type, but a lanky, bumbling slowpoke who shatters upon landing anything except the shortest, gentlest hop—and since twisting gravity is this game’s defining features, look forward to a whole lotta tedious, cautious dropping.

Surfaces are rarely level, so whether or not a landing will count is determined by a sketchy, overactive physics model. At the end of a tricky section, I never think, “I’m so smart!” or “I did that so skillfully!” It’s always, “Huh. Got lucky that time,” and “Glad I don’t have to do that again.”

Occasionally. the player character can hang out in a safe spot while turning the world to move objects or animals, and most of those puzzles work. The game’s full of winning ideas; they’re just hampered by a loser character.

+ Flipping gravity to solve a physics puzzle is satisfying when it works. + Some nice visuals late in the game. + Frequent checkpoints. Unlimited lives. + There's no consistent definition of up an down. You might expect to get lost easily in a game like this, but the level design does a good job of keeping players on the right track.

– This character. It's like they're running along the bottom of the ocean, weighed down by cement shoes, and honestly? Deserved. There is a reason tall and thin aren't adjectives you can use for most beloved platform game heroes. – The physics. – The uneven, unpredictable surfaces, especially in concert with the physics and the character's cumbersome shape. – I had a much better once I muted the pink...plink...plink-plink-incoming-Skype-call soundtrack and turned on real music. (And now you know how that Modern Lovers link crept into this review.)

🧡🧡🤍🤍🤍 Bottom Line: Full of promise; overflowing with frustration. Irritating, unpredictable controls can be the death of a platformer or a physics puzzler. And Yet It Moves is both. It's certainly possible to get through it, and speedrunners might get a kick out of mastering its quirks, but reaching the end isn't isn't very satisfying when it feels like each accomplishment has more to do with luck than skill.

#JakeReviewsItch is a series of daily game reviews. You can learn more here. You can also browse past reviews...

• By name • By rating • By genre

[jawsofbalmung]

so as im playing more and more aa games im thinking about like, capcom is definitely going to keep coming out with aa games, it's a massively popular series and one of their flagships, and if they can keep making money on something they will. but im realizing lots of ways in which they could and probably will (and already have, in some spots) jump the shark if they keep dragging out the two aa timelines we have, and i thought of some future ace attorney game concepts that i would actually want to play, and would actually do a service to the existing world and characters (if done well of course). spirit of justice and dgs spoilers below!:

i can't claim this idea since ive seen a million fan variations on it, but returning to the heart of og ace attorney with a prequel game like mia fey ace attorney would be, maybe a little mid in the grand scheme of the series, but have a lot of potential for a fun game that actually probes deeper into a character as beloved as mia, as well as shows a more rounded and dynamic approach to phoenix's character without overusing him as a protag as ive seen people complain about before. i think it would probably end up disproportionately popular on here too given all the talk ive seen about wanting something like it.

i think another very, very likely concept would be a post-soj sequel focusing more heavily (or even entirely) on apollo and nahyuta's work in reconstructing the khura'inese legal system. most likely this would involve nahyuta staying as a prosecutor and helping apollo puzzle out cases as his opposition as aa prosecutors are prone to do, but i think it would honestly be more interesting if nahyuta was more like apollo's co counsel or even a secondary protagonist, and we got a brand new prosecutor. this would be probably the most exciting game for me personally, and id be very interested in seeing how rayfa's personality would change as she got older and her life got completely upended, and i personally love the divination seance mechanic and look forward to how they would use it in interesting new ways, having a game that takes place entirely in khura'in.

also not a concept i can claim to own, as ive seen a bunch of different ideas for it, but while im not super excited about more [prosecutor] investigations games because i feel like a lot of it will be jumping the shark, there have been some interesting concepts floating around. i really like this one (dd spoilers in the link) though its very very unlikely given that capcom likes its games to be able to stand alone with minimal knowledge of prior aa games, and i feel like dual destinies was so poorly received that they're trying to pretend it didn't exist and move past it. that's what i would do. but my favorite idea that i genuinely, deeply want is a barok van zieks investigation game taking place post-dgs2. it would be a fun way to expand the dgs universe a little more, and show us more of barok's sweeter side after things were resolved for him. i feel like his story isn't quite over yet, and i would quite honestly kill and/or die for a game that focuses on him. @van-zieksy has a good post outlining a bvz investigations game here!

along the lines of extending the dgs storyline, a trequel to the dgs series may be unlikely with how much they packaged it as a duology, but still possible, and something that could be done pretty well or very badly. personally, i think it would be fun to have a dgs game that takes place almost entirely in japan, in which some or all of our english friends wind up there. it was briefly hinted in the dgs2 epilogue that sholmes and iris might be making a trip to japan very soon, and on top of it being fun to see the englishmen being the out of place foreigners for once (especially barok) this would make a good leaping off point to focus partially or even entirely on susato's budding law career, in how she (and ryunosuke) tackle not only uprooting the unfair judicial system in japan, but slowly incrementally making misogynistic policies fade out as susato proves herself as a (very unconvincingly crossdressing) female attorney.

finally, i believe ive seen a fangame(?) concept for it, but a more visual novel-y approach to a dgs prequel would be so fucking cool, and if that is indeed a fangame development i saw, i am beyond stoked to get my hands on it tbh. i don't have the link anymore, but if anyone knows what im talking about, please hit me up with it!

[taketheringtolohac]

i’ve been working on the most self indulgent au for about a week now and I thought i’d share my thoughts. now presenting... my ace attorney blaseball au! including teams, positions, modifications and more about all the ace attorney characters i could think of and how they would play blaseball. you can also find it on ao3 here, but ive included all the information i have below the cut!

Blase Attorney (Blaseball Ace Attorney AU)

Phoenix- 

Team: Yellowstone Magic

Position: Batter

Modifications: Seeker

Details: one of the first replacements in the game, he was originally just a blaseball fan who was following around miles edgeworth his childhood friend to his games (disguised as him going to see Larry play) and sort of wished that he could play so he could get closer to miles and is at a magic/steaks game that miles is pitching when someone gets incinerated and suddenly he’s on the field in a jersey with a glove and that really messes him up, he's a pretty good player not a star player but definitely a solid one, gets the seeker mod in the season 19 tarot reading

Notable Forbidden Knowledge:  REALLY high martyrdom

Maya

Team: Yellowstone Magic

Position: Batter

Modifications: Haunted

Details: she replaced Mia when she was incinerated and isn’t a season 1 player but has been here so long that it FEELS like she is, isn’t great at the game and has like really bad forbidden knowledge stats but she occasionally hits a surprise dinger and the fans love her so they infuse her and she becomes a serviceable batter, is constantly filled with guilt and emotions about being the person who replaced her sister she gets the haunted mod in an election

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: high base thirst, really good divinity that only gets better after her infuse

Edgeworth- 

Team: Dallas Steaks

Position: Pitcher

Modifications: None

Details: season one player who didn’t really want to join blaseball but he took it in stride and he wasn’t very good at first but he got a blessing that MADE him good and he’s miraculously been on the team the whole time, originally placed in good league because Fran was in Evil and von Karma wanted them to dominate the game and become the best in their respective leagues, still one of the best players in the game, his dad still dies somehow, refuses to “buy into” the dad bit from the steaks and insists that he was just placed here

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: EXCEPTIONAL ruthlessness (one of the highest in the game), good other stats as well, just a really solid PITCHING statline, his other stuff isn’t good

Franziska- 

Team: Hades Tigers

Position: Pitcher

Modifications: Friend of Crows

Details: season one player who fans LOVE even though she hates everything about the game and the circumstances in which she’s here, she’s a naturally good player but she lets up a lot of home runs, she receives the friend of crows modifier in season 10 much to her dismay, ALMOST pitched a perfect season and then absolutely RUINED it in the last game and it crushed her

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: higher highs than miles but also lower lows, in particular her overpowerment isn’t very good, she is also a more well rounded player and would also be a fine batter (solid thwack)

Gumshoe-

Team: Originally on the LA Unlimited Tacos, then feedbacked to the San Fransisco Lovers

Position: Batter

Modifications: Siphon, Attractor

Details: season one player that is beloved by the fans and he’s decent at the game but he always tries to steal bases but he is so bad at it, he’s the teams siphon but he NEVER drinks blood except to draw a walk, he ends up getting redacted because of consumer attacks and is probably one of the first to do so despite him having QUITE a bit of soul, he becomes Wyatt Gumshoe in the Wyatt Masoning

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: GREAT thwackability, bad everything else which makes for a really interesting player to say the least

Athena- 

Team: Miami Dale

Position: Pitcher

Modifications: None

Details: POWERFUL ARMS also she is a replacement player she probably becomes a replacement after Simon does and she got into blaseball because of that cute flowers pitcher and now she’s here but she LOVES Miami and she LOVES being bad at the game, she leans really hard into the neon aesthetic

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: good unthwackability and ok ruthlessness, shakespeareanism is her highest stat, would also be a great batter and has really good thwackability and divinity, GREAT vibes

Apollo- 

Team: Mexico City Wild Wings

Position: Batter

Modifications: None

Details: founding member of the wings legal team who’s another replacement player that FEELS like he’s a season 1 player, he isn’t very good in general but REALLY good for the wings and is probably the mvp at some point but like he’s a really inconsistent hitter but when he DOES hit its POWERFUL and he gets a lot of RBI’s 

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: SHOCKINGLY good musclitude and ground friction, GOD awful moxie

Larry- 

Team: Dallas Steaks

Position: Batter

Modifications: None

Details: season one player who is like the teams designated player we beat up on because they’re awful but we love them, gets shadowed in the expansion era because he just wasn’t good anymore and he REFUSED to leave, he is the definition of “YOU CANT KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS,” would always party but his forbidden knowledge is TRASH so it was never worth anything because he’s top ten in the league for career strikeouts

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: REALLY HIGH PATHETICISM HOLY SHIT but good ground friction and like, ok musclitude

Ema- 

Team: Kansas City Breath Mints

Position: Batter

Modifications: Fire Eater

Details: replaced the first player incinerated on the team so she has a lot of fans because she’s been here a while but like also her career is forever impacted by the fact that people mourned so deeply before really appreciating her and a lot of fans can never really love her in the same way, but she has fire eater now and WILL cut a bitch down to size, she’s also definitely been attacked by consumers though, she also parties a LOT

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: good defender, high omniscience and tenaciousness

Lang- 

Team: Houston Spies

Position: Batter

Modifications: Maximalist, Siphon

Details: replaced a SUPER popular player who was REALLY good at the game and struggled with a lot of the implications of their legacy but he ALSO became really good and a really iconic player to the team and eventually became a fan favorite, LITERALLY cannot stop freaking drinking blood hes so fucking massive now holy shit but like only his baserunning

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: PHENOMENAL baserunning just in general but his base thirst is low so he doesn’t actually steal that much, SUPER high moxie and musclitude

Kristoph-

Team: Baltimore Crabs

Position: Pitcher

Modifications: Returned, Debt

Details: season 1 player who was a really aggressively middling player who had deceptively high stars and they could never get rid of him until he finally got incinerated in late season 6/early season 7 but he gets necromancy-d on accident and no one wanted this now he just haunts the league, he joined blaseball to get notoriety and some level of fame and convinced Klavier to join him

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: high coldness and ok ruthlessness, unthwackability is fine, shakespeareanism is also good

Klavier- 

Team: Originally on the Crabs, but feedbacked to the Seattle Garages

Position: Batter

Modifications: Spicy

Details: he signed up when Kristoph did. because he said that this would be something good to do as brothers and they even signed to the same team, carcinization really freaked him out but he was a season 1 crab and no one knew what would happen, he Feedbacked in like season 6 and kris got incinerated really shortly after he feedbacked which messed him up, he loves the garages vibes WAY more than he liked the crabs

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: high moxie and indulgence

Kay- 

Team: Charleston Shoe Thieves

Position: Batter

Modifications: Flippers

Details: shoe thieves, batter, she was originally a shadows player and just sat there doing great thief things until she got called up for having very sneaky good stats (rod.net style) where she singles a lot and then just steals her way to third/home, voted to trust her in season 11 and now she has cool flippers

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: really high basethirst and laserlikeness, also very high anticapitalism, good thwack subpar musclitude

Sebastian- 

Team: New York Millennials, possible feedback to the Thieves?

Position: Pitcher

Modifications: None

Details: his dad was a famous blaseball player before the ILB so he signed him up to play and didn’t get on the roster until maybe like season 9, really dramatic arc where he starts out really bad but slowly through incremental stat increases becomes pretty ok but then has a devastating allergic reaction and ends up having to be shadowed because he’s just unsaveable at this point, but still a big fan fave and people still talk about them, he would’ve been a pretty ok batter with really high defense but peanut destroyed that too

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: high highs and low lows and vibes are just… there

Juniper-

Team: Boston Flowers

Position: Originally a batter, but reverbs into Pitching

Modifications: None

Details: season 1 player who is really popular amongst the fans but isn’t well known outside of the fanbase she joined blaseball because she didn’t really have a choice and she was just working at the garden, she wasn’t a great batter but she’s a shockingly good pitcher, she had partied so much that she is now just undeniably good solely because she has partied THAT much

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: SHOCKINGLY good ruthlessness, its her only good stat though until parties make her good

Simon- 

Team: Chicago Firefighters

Position: Batter

Modifications: Ego+

Details: another late season replacement that was made to be a edgelord with really good stat set up and he’s a super consistent batter who just also gets walked a lot and has a LOT of thirsty fans, REALLY good at dunking, one of the best idols for solo seeds but ONLY for a SINGLE season because he just underperforms his stars for NO reason and its infuriating, joined because he didn’t want athena to get recruited but she followed him anyways to find out what the hell happened to him and why he just vanished

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: HIGH musc/thwack/martyr with really low patheticism, absolutely ATROCIOUS vibes

Godot- 

Team: Hellmouth Sunbeams, roams to the Tokyo Lift and then to the Canada Moist Talkers

Position: Pitcher

Modifications: Roamin’

Details: a season 1 player who would be a MUCH better batter but REFUSES to leave the rotation with deceptively high stars and one of the first players to get roamin’ and actually becomes good because of it infuriating LITERALLY everyone

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: have you seen bright zim? Yeah its just that. He has sixteen fingers for no reason

Trucy- 

Team: Originally a Philadelphia Pies player, but feedbacks to the Yellowstone Magic

Position: Pitcher

Modifications: None

Details: Phoenix becomes her dad after she feedbacks, later season replacement probably surrounding the s7 instabilities and beanings and she got REALLY popular REALLY fast with the pies fans and over siesta but then she gets traded like the Monday after and it breaks the fans hearts, she’s not very good but she gets alternated into BEING good

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: moxie queen! Also chasiness and continuation, as well as good musclitude and vibes

Nahyuta-

Team: Originally on the Beams, but feedbacks to the Hawai’i Fridays

Position: Pitcher

Modifications: Attractor

Details: expansion era player who replaced an absolutely GARBAGE player so the fans are DELIGHTED by him, lets up a lot of walks but has shockingly pitched a no hitter despite only being here since season 13, was infused because of his good forbidden knowledge stats, still gets faxed out of the game because he has games where he just lets up a RIDICULOUS amount of runs, actually fit in really well with the Fridays, was observed (by Kristoph?) and then got redacted 

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: uncle plasma… 2! Also REALLY big vibes range

Justine Courtney-

Team: New York Millennials, traded to the Breckenridge Jazz Hands

Position: Pitcher

Modifications: None

Details: joined the team before Sebastian probably around season 5, was pretty average at pitching but ate a peanut and had a yummy reaction which made her slightly above average but subpar ruthlessness made her still not great, traded away to the Jazz Hands after Sebastian was shadowed, really polarizing for fans there was a lot of fighting about whether or not to trade her from fans

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: ok ruthlessness

Mia-

Team: Yellowstone Magic

Position: Batter

Modifications: None

Details: was the season 1 stand out batter for the magic, she was a REALLY good season 1 player that fans STILL talk about even though she’s been dead since season 3, she was the person who was standing next to Phoenix when he appeared on the field and caught the ball that was flying towards him before it hit him in the face and she took it upon himself to get him acclimated to the game, she thought of him as a kid brother, she tried to keep Maya away from blaseball but couldn’t stop her from watching on TV, she originally joined to get away from the Fey clan and to try and do something with her life and also possibly find out what happened to her mother and she was promised social power and unlimited access to information

Notable Forbidden Knowledge: really solid statline for someone who never saw any improvements

Phoenix and Miles get together around season 6, right before the Jaylen stuff, then break up because they were both having a lot of emotions about the whole necromancy business and Miles was always on the idol board and there was a lot of uncertainty in their lives. I think a necromancy of Kristoph probably happens in the Expansion Era and he tries to get revenge on Phoenix for god knows what, and Miles ends up getting close with him again after a whole Grand Siesta of just being really emotionally charged friends and finally get together AGAIN in season 13 after a consumer attacks Phoenix, but this time they STAY together and probably get married because they're just so scared of losing each other.

 Kay gets to fight god in season 9, no this probably wouldn't have been possible if she was a shadows player originally but uwu <3

Kay and Miles get to know each other because she tried to steal Miles shoes, but he caught her. He offered to make her dinner and they just had a good time, Kay hadn’t really been shown that kind of kindness in a WHILE and she... missed that sort of father figure in her life... so she just keeps trying to steal things from Miles and getting caught until he finally tells her that she can just... come over through the front door. He will never say that she is his daughter out loud, but the collective dadconcious Knows, and tells him that they are proud of him.

 Maya and Franziska are rivals. They hate each other. When Maya gets 0 no it only makes it worse because it "ruins" Franziska's perfection as a pitcher and forces her to throw balls. They get to know each other over these pitch offs and start to realize that they actually aren't that different. Gay rights. They kiss. They have a great time over the Grand Siesta and make fun of their brothers, but they both have emergency bags in case the other one dies.

 Dahlia Hawthrone would never get involved in Blaseball and everything she does is outside of the game but if she was she'd be on the Boston Flowers and she would be her team's Pudge. A god awful player who on occasion actually does something good and half the fans love her because of her character and half the fans hate her for the same reason and also she sucks at the game.

 Most of them also still have their law degrees and also keep some semblance of what they do in the actual ace attorney games, except Ema who has of course factually failed the bar exam by nature of being on The Breath Mints.

[a-lil-perspective]

Interspersed

A/N: Here’s a lil Tech X Reader drabble I wrote while doing a big sad over the weekend. Also to rectify the disgraceful lack of Tech content on my blog. Also also, to utilize a beloved Hamilton quote from my prompt list. Anywho. Soft Tech drabble in which Tech is sleepy and suddenly questions his own intelligence. A very big mood. Not to worry; the S/O is here to help. :)

He’s doing it again.

Another day turned to night, with no end in sight.

Another project, another fixation, another night the bed is cold and stiff. Another leave he doesn’t spend with you.

“Tech.”

He doesn’t tear his attention away from his work, makes no acknowledgment to your call. He’s positively hyper-fixated, and if he wasn’t troubled, he’d be in trouble, surely.

With the sound of your perturbed tapping somewhere off to his right, Tech rather nervously concludes he still might be.

He thinks you won’t see it. That if you’re fussing over the proficiency of his hands and the hunch of his shoulders, you won’t see the way his mind is racing, burning fumes. The way he’s… struggling. He’s a reputation to uphold, and this engineer simply can’t comprehend letting you marvel over anything other than his ingenuity. Certainly not of any mental ailment. Struggles are merely a kink in the neurotransmitters that with a little self-convincing, can be plucked out and overcome with all haste.

But that is merely the science behind it.

“I wonder how long you keep ignoring me before I start a betting pool from it. Don’t think I won’t, either.”

Tech bites his lip at that, hollowing his cheeks with an expression vaguely reminiscent of a scolded child. He can’t bring himself to respond, and a surreal frustration boils because of it. He always has something to say, words filling the space effortlessly. He should apologize, should reason, should rebuttal with something painstakingly factual—

But if he says what’s on his mind he’ll spill something that’s terribly insensible, and even more terrible:

Insecure.

Even still, Tech’s thoughts often broadcast far, far too loudly for his liking.

“Am I a capable person?”

It feels like such a trivial thing; silly, even. Of course he is capable, his title alone is a testament to such. These are inquiries not to be mused aloud, in Tech’s informed opinion.

You blink in confusion. “The most capable person I know.”

Tech says nothing at that, relying on the methods you use to upend him and on the ways you speak for him when he won’t—which is ironic, given that his every waking moment is spent talking, talking over you... and about you. However it’s widely known of the way he verbally shrivels away when his burdens require him to divert all of his energy to upholding the strain. Perhaps he’s more predictable than he’d like to admit.

Perhaps that’s why these feelings manifested in the first place, flourishing in his chest until they’ve become this far too constraining thing for even the brightest engineer.

“How are you certain?”

How are you not? you nearly ask. Instead, you arch a brow. “What is this about?”

There’s only the mechanical hum-drum of the hangar for a long moment.

“I feel inadequate,” is all he says.

“What in the kriff for?” You’re utterly baffled, gaping crudely no doubt. Tech can’t tear his eyes away from the project splayed out before him. It’s just randomized parts, really. Much like the current state of his headspace.

“I… experience a sense of dissatisfaction with my work, and everything that pertains to it.”

You shake your head slowly, unable to fathom where this is all coming from. For Tech, it’s unprecedented.

You frown, and then your lips pull down even further when you realize that he can’t even see it; he won’t look at you, and it’s maddening. “Well I experience a sense of dissatisfaction over the way you’re too hard on yourself and the way you won’t ever take a break unless someone forces you. Seriously, do you know what time it is—”

“No, you don’t understand, there is… more to it,” he murmurs conspiratorially, his face scrunching.

You open and close your mouth, now at a loss. The desire to grant him peace of mind is overwhelming; all you can dwell on. Tech is this whirlwind of coding that you all-too-easily get swept up in. He’s every foreign language accumulated in the databanks. He’s the answer to questions, and the questions to every answer. More often than not, it’s a challenge to keep pace. But one you wouldn’t trade for anything.

You soften, stepping closer to him. “Then help me understand.”

He purses his lips, considering.

“I fear that when it comes down to it, I do not perform as well as I could—as well as I should.”

Your steel your posture. “Tech. Your contributions are invaluable—you’re invaluable. To your squad, your brothers. To me.”

“I sometimes wonder if it is enough.”

“It is. You are enough.”

Chapped lips pressed to a grim line, the rim of his goggles ever so slightly inching down the bridge of his nose, Tech twitches at your touch to his armored forearm. He blinks hard in an attempt to alleviate the burn in his retinas forged from an unrelenting stare at things he’d rather not examine but does anyway. His hands have fallen slack in defeat against the table before him.

You gently turn his ragged body away from the workbench because Maker knows a hyper-fixated Tech has to be herded like a baby Shaak to get any coordinated movement from him in such state. You keep a firm hand braced along his upper arm and turn his face to yours, cupping his cheek.

“I don’t pretend to know the challenges you’re facing, the worlds you keep erasing and creating in your mind. But I’m not afraid. I’m not worried. You shouldn’t be, either. Just let me stay by your side. That would be enough for tonight.”

The engineer finally brings deprived eyes up to yours. He extends a gloved hand out, soot-coated and all, and you take it with all eagerness, squeezing tightly. It always amazes you, the way he can piece together inventions and desecrate standards to formulate his own, paving a path far brighter than anything someone else could conjure up in their wildest dreams. The way he’s so unapologetically himself.

Except for now.

“I... apologize for pushing you away. That was not my intent. I suppose I am not too well-versed in emotional discovery—yet.” His determined smile almost overrides the crackling of his voice. Almost. He takes a deep breath, giving your hand a squeeze and continuing on at the reassuring one he receives back. “But... I would like you to be here with me. Very much so.”

You reciprocate the smile, and with a free hand you ruffle through his unruly tuffs, a stray chuckle escaping you at the sight.

“Well. I’d much rather be in bed with you than standing here,” you gesture to his less-than-ideal work surroundings in the isolated part of a mostly vacant hangar. Tech looks longingly to his project that’s more busywork than an actual project, sighing.

“Soon—”

“Has become now,” you gently chide.

“My work—”

“Will be there when you wake up. But more importantly, so will I. Rest now.”

With that you pull him along, ignoring his endless excuses and refutes, and the way he reaches out for his tools like a child and his beloved toy he can’t bear to part with.

You lead him out and towards the barracks, to your quarters, with Tech undressing in small increments along the way after he quit grousing under his breath. It’s futile; he knows your resolve is unshakeable. It’s a deduction he made long ago, in a sweet past that feels but a dream now. But then he looks over to you and remembers that it’s still very much an active dream. One that a part of him aches at the very thought of ever waking up from.

By the time you make it to the door, Tech’s helmet is tucked under his arm, turned up like a literal bucket, his gauntlets and other small armor components resting inside. A resourceful man through and through, with not a care in the world as to whether or not anyone stumbles upon his oddities. Public perception has never been a priority for Tech. So ahead of his time, ahead of the game.

You get cozy once inside, freeing yourself from a constricting uniform while carefully eyeing Tech in the doorway for signs of instability—it wouldn’t be the first time he’s nearly collapsed from exhaustion while removing his armor, utilizing his last ounce of strength left at whatever ungodly hour he’s finally reeled in.

Stripped to his blacks, Tech flops onto the bed and nestles against you, sprawled at an awkward angle with his head resting on your bare thighs. He wraps a tired arm around the circumference and squeezes like it’s that of a pillow. He’s got you in a vise-like grip, and you can’t help the snort it pulls from you.

“Why do you do this to yourself.” You caress his face with the back of your hand, gently scrutinizing the quivering Commando who’s now faced with the side-effects of potent caf shots he very much has an addiction to. They always hit him hardest once coming to a full stop in his endeavors, no longer masked by the methodical fidget of limbs hard at work. You feel his lips curl into a frown as his body involuntarily trembles.

“Do, what?”

You stifle a yawn, grappling for the blanket at the foot of your bed and draping it over the two of you; he’s chilled. “Fight like you’re running out of time,” a flick to his expanse of forehead. “Doubt that big brain of yours.”

Tech shoots upright, damn-near colliding his head with your inclined chin. “Technically, intelligence does not equate to a larger brain mass, at least not in us humans—”

“Stop talking,” you hum, pressing him back to your leg and batting away the fatigue rapidly seeping over you. You stroke up and down the corded muscles of his back to ease him out of the shakes.

Tech falls silent but only for a moment, revisiting the question that you both already know the answer to. He traces random, unsteady shapes over his pillow. “I do it for you, you know.”

“But you do it at the cost of yourself. And... of us.”

There’s a pervading sadness to your words, and it tugs at Tech. “I strive to be the best I can, for you and my brothers, and the mission.” It sounds like such a wormy excuse in his ears.

You lean forward, hair strands lurching with to kiss his cheek as you press your lips to the shell of his ear. “Be the best you can for you. Just stay alive. That would be enough.”

Tech squints contemplatively. With effort, he reaches up to rest a hand on your cheek. “Well then I must respectfully request the same of you.”

“Oh I will, don’t you worry about that,” you smile down at him, fingers carding through his hair as your gaze flits somewhere far away. “We’re smart. We’ll make it.”

“I’m smart?”

As if he needs you to tell him that.

You scoff but it’s not heavy. “You know you are.”

“But what is ‘smart’?”

Either he’s pulling your leg (literally) or getting all philosophical on you, and in either case: exhaustion and a distant validation have successfully taken the reins in the conversation.

You roll your eyes. “I’m looking at him.”

The goggled member smirks. “Is he good looking?”

There’s this rare side of Tech that shines through in his hedge of exhaustion. It’s delightfully loony, one of those seldom instances where the precocious engineer retains his fleeting youth through fatigue-driven giggles and caricature expressions. It’s a lovely thing you don’t get to experience often, but when you do, you milk it for all its worth.

A playful swat to his backside. “Handsomest thing I’ve ever seen. The smartest, in fact,” you purr, thoroughly humoring him but also believing in him; the sum of your playfulness and your full endorsement. You sweep your hair out of his face, resting your forehead against his.

“What would I do without you...” he murmurs against the skin of your leg, lids fluttering heavily, drunk with exhaustion and undying appreciation. His goggles lie crookedly affixed to his face, which makes the entire sight that more endearing.

“Excellent question, Tech; what would you do without me?” You gingerly remove his corrective eyewear and set it atop the nightstand. Tech’s toothy, lopsided grin is truly a sight to behold. He ponders for a second, then lazily shrugs one blanketed shoulder.

“I’d never get tucked in.”

[egopocalypse]

hi eg!! for that ask game if you're still doing it, how about I J with gone away K L T U V and Z? (you don't have to do all of them of course >:D) (just ones you want to)

Blip, my beloved. <3 This got very long, so I'll answer one above the cut and leave the rest under it.

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

@livelymon Parental Rights author. The characterization throughout the fic and how Live balances each shifting POV is absolutely incredible. Plus, we got BAMF!Tubbo, the best Bedrock Bros reconciliation I can name in any fic (which I am VERY picky about), terrifying c!Dream, and Awesamdad. <3 I liveblogged several chapters of it to a friend (hi, kas) and ranted in the comments so often. Only a few fics have made me go on a rampage like that, and this one absolutely deserved it. I still go back and re-read that fic every now and again. It's beyond beautiful and a reading experience I look back on so fondly.

@skyestar7703 Living in the Circular. Need I say more?

No, but really, Living in the Circular is the best DSMP fic I could probably rec to anyone. It's the best balance of the different tones canon leans toward out of any fic I've seen. The worldbuilding is extensive. The characterization is immaculate. The hijinks and healing are brilliant beyond compare. The foreshadowing is so well woven into the story that I SCREAMED in the comments when I unearthed it in a recent re-read. It's a MASSIVE undertaking of a fic, and I love talking to Skye in DMs about it every opportunity I get. Genuinely something I recommend to everyone who follows me.

@seaswalllow Kas. <3

While Kas in general is enough of a reason, I can go on and on about his fics. I'm always in awe of his writing--from his gorgeous extended metaphors that feel like prose poetry, to his incredible worldbuilding and the time he puts into laboring over it, to his intense attention to detail that displays itself in every word. The fics Kas has been developing for at least half a year (if not longer) are heart-wrenching and so powerful just from hearing about them, and I can't wait until they unleash them on the world. Chasing the Sun and Hiraeth are going to demolish us, Halcyon is so beautiful and detailed that every interaction makes me weep, and Nicotine is just beloved (/hj).

None of these fics seem like they're talked about enough in the fandom (at least, from what I've seen). All three of these authors deserve more love on these fics, and I will continue to scream about them until they get it.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?

Oh boy, do I. The followers who've been around the block with me for a few years can tell you that at least 90% of what I've written has involved power imbalances in some way. There's something so intriguing about that exploring that type of dynamic between two characters. Will the one wielding the power succeed, or will the one they want to control resist for another day? How long until one of them slips? No matter who's in what position, it's a dynamic that has fascinated me for my whole life, and will continue to for a long time.

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to Gone Away:

Tubbo never leaves the island. ;)

K: What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

For the Dream SMP? The prologue of A Warden's Secrets. Overall? A short fic series I wrote for my last fandom called Obedience. ;)

L: How many times do you revise your fic/chapter before posting?

Recently, I've been hand-writing my first draft, then editing the next morning as I type it into the doc! It's a system that I've found works well for me. However, that means I revise it as many times as days it takes to finish, even in small increments. Once a scene/chapter is entirely finished, I do one last read-through to proofread and make any last edits, and then once it feels complete, I post it! It may seem like it takes a while, but because I do it bit by bit, it tends to work out better for me.

T: Any fandom tropes you can't stand?

God, far too many to list. I'd be happy to talk about the rest in DMs, but the one that stands out the most to me off the top of my head is violent, mindless Enderwalk!Ranboo, especially if it's toward Michael. It just isn't character-compliant at all, and the way people use it just to hurt Michael and cause c!Beeduo pain leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

Halcyon. <3 That's why I wrote a side-story for it!

Z: Major Character Death--do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can't tolerate?

I've both written and read it! And call me a hypocrite here all you'd like, but I can't tolerate Tommy or Tubbo perma-dying. That's one of the reasons why I've never read Passerine (and I don't plan to). Temporary deaths like Gone Away, The Dead Don't Dream, etc. are okay, but permadeaths just don't Sit Right with me.

Thanks for all the questions!

Ask game

[rpgsandbox]

Years of design. Thousands of playtesters. Evocative art. This Compendium brings KibblesTasty's most popular systems together into a single book containing:

Two full classes: the Psion and the Inventor (commonly called "Kibbles' Artificer")

12+ subclasses tying into the themes and mechanics of Psionics and Arcane Technology!

Items, spells, feats, monsters, character building tools for the new classes, and optional world building tools for integrating psionics and fantasy technology to your world!

Kibbles' Crafting System - Blacksmithing, Alchemy, Enchanting (making wondrous items), and much more (everything from Cooking to Wand Whittling and Scroll Scribing!) - all artisan tools have a use here!

...all clocking in at 230+ pages of content all designed and extensively playtested for 5e D&D.

Loaded with original art to give life to its content, I want this book to be an exciting thing to flip through; a true compendium of ideas.

In addition to the Hardcover Compendium, there are a few ways to experience the content:

The PDF will feature everything the hardcover does, in a digital format.

The Class Handbooks are standalone soft covers that contain everything needed to play that class (Psion or Inventor). Great for people that only want that or to get in addition to the compendium to hand out to players.

The Crafting Reference Guide is the whole crafting system as a standalone thing in a softcover booklet.

The most popular homebrew Psionic system for 5e and its eponymous Psion! Bring the most popular missing playstyle of 5e to your group! A flexible class with a lot of opportunities to specialize in what sort of mind (or reality!) bending hero they want to be! Along with the Psion comes a selection of psionic subclasses that tie into its features and bring Psionic crunch and flavor to other classes.

The Psion can be fully previewed online. The version that will appear in the book will be an updated version combining more playtesting feedback and professional editing into making a definitive edition to the beloved class.

Contains the subclasses Awakened Mind, Unleashed Mind, Transcended Mind, Wandering Mind (the Nomad!), and of course the astral construct creating Shaper, each of whom wield a Discipline from Telepathy, Telekinesis, Transposition (manipulate space and dimensions), Psychokinetics (manipulate energy), Enhancement (enhance material forms), or Projection (project the contents of your mind into the world!), the unique model of the Psion allows each subclass to have one core Discipline from their subclass and another of their choice, allowing extensive flexibility and combinations, without ever getting to mystical levels of complexity or compounded effects.

What will be new? Item support! Feat support! Extended tools for backgrounds and character building! Optional tables for character details, backstory details, and more, as well as a suite of things that makes Psionics a better and more seamless fit for your world, and, of course, an update to be fully OGL. Plus it'll get even more new art to have fully original art. Professional editing and proofreading!

The original Kibbles' class that started it all, now dubbed the Inventor! Forge what sort of hero you are yourself - choose from a wide array of subclasses and master gadgets, magical infusions, magnificent warplate, or turn more... experimental. Widely known as "Kibbles' Artificer" or "Alternate Artificer" this class served as the original 5e Artificer for many, and is still one of the most widely played homebrew classes - now updated to live alongside default classes and updated to its best form yet.

At the nexus of magic, technology, and creativity, it is a beloved class that has had tens of thousands of players try it out over the years.

You can explore the class for yourself, as it's freely available online. The version presented here will be a comprehensive overhaul that focuses on editing and clarity to bring about a definitive 3.0 version with all the features people love.

What will be new? This will convert it to the OGL system, bringing with it a double handful of new spells, a lot of new items, more new art to have completely original art, and a massive editing pass by professional and talented editors (not me!)

A comprehensive crafting system for 5th edition. You can forge a longsword with Blacksmithing and enchant it to +1 with Enchanting; you can use alchemy to brew a potion or concoct an explosive. This is a system that had a few core goals:

Let you make anything that exists in the game (as much as possible) and give concrete and extensible rules for everything else that could exist in your game.

Open the door to new kinds of loot. Allow a player to be excited by something they cannot even use because of the possibilities of what they can make it into. This opens the door to loot and rewards that make sense in a world and give the players incremental but satisfying rewards that build toward something they want.

Make it a player driven system. An aspirational system you can put in front of the players and let them drive toward their goals.

A system that is easy to use for the GM and players alike, but offers a satisfying depth.

The whole system is available on my patreon, but early versions of Blacksmithing, Alchemy, and Enchanting can be previewed to give you an idea of what this system will look like, as well as inside look into how it'll work. The beta system of Crafting will be made available to all backers of the Compendium (including PDF) or Crafting Reference Guide tiers. The completion and fine tuning of this system is one of the major pieces of crunch remaining to flesh out this book.

Beyond the large tentpoles of the design, there's a lot more: items (both mundane and magical!), spells (40+), feats, variant features, and more. This book comes packed with all the tools a player could want to play the options it presents as well as helpful tools for the GM to run these systems (as a GM twice a week myself, I keep your time in mind when designing any system!)

And in additional to all the crunch, this compendium will come with large sections about integrating Psionics and Inventors (and the style of magic-technology they can bring) into your world - they are entirely optional, but one of the most common things I hear from GMs and players is that they love the ideas, but aren't sure how they fit or what impact they'll have on world building - in this book will be a suite of tools and ideas for how they might be present, and what sort of things they add.

===========================================

kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, February 4 2021 5:00 PM UTC +00:00

Website: [KibblesTasty Homebrew] [facebook] [twitter] [instagram] [patreon]

[hitbythunder]

Among the Gods of Asgard -6

A dark!Thor x Reader, minor Loki x Reader story with all the drama and angst you’re craving. Including Alexander Skarsgard as Balder. –> Read also on AO3

Summary: The gods are being loved and feared in equal parts by their subjects, more the latter by the thousands of slaves working for them. Ten feet tall, powerful and immortal are the rulers of all beings within the Nine Realms. You, the daughter of an Asgardian merchant, fancy the three handsome princes of Odin - like any woman does - and dream of actually meeting them instead of watching them at public events. That is until, as a consequence of Loki’s tricks, you are being forced into slavery at the royal court. Amidst this harsh new reality, you catch the attention of the god of Thunder who then seeks to make you his alone. You are nothing but a toy, a puppet, in the god’s eyes and he will use you as he pleases.

Do not hope for mercy.

**** WARNING: dark story, manipulative Thor, heavy rape/non-con elements, no happy ending in sight

____________________________xXx____________________________

"...And that is why the Lady Sif and I are not on good terms. Though the black hair suits her much better in my view!" the raven-haired god mused as he leaned back in his comfortable chair, the black queen being caught and turned in his slender pale fingers. A soft chuckle filled the air, its origin hidden behind the too large high back of the chair on the opposite of the chess field. "Could you turn it blonde again if the lady so demanded?" The lovely voice asked as Loki put the queen onto the field again, gently but determinedly as to win, before he looked up at the mortal girl snuggling up against the plush bolstering. "Back then, no, but I have learned a few more tricks over the past centuries!" the Trickster's eyes glinted mischievously but the girl held his gaze. She wasn't afraid of him, not like so many others, not like she should be. In fact, during the past two weeks she had become something far closer than a simple maid and Loki wondered how that had happened. Not that he would admit his growing fondness but he wasn't oblivious either.

At first, they met in the library a few times but soon their chess battles became a delightful daily routine for the both of them. The mortal proved to be a worthy opponent who could challenge the god anew every day - at least as long as Balder was away. Engulfed by the thrill of the game, both maid and master would stare for hours at the black and white chess field and choose their next move wisely. According to some research, it had been Harald Leifson who had discovered this joyous game on Midgard and his daughter had been the first one to learn its rules. Since then she had had a lot of practice and her skills were close to the Trickster's. Many times she almost beat the god - more often than he was willing to acknowledge – but she had enough wits not to boast with it. Loosing didn't go well with Loki's temper.

Instead the mortal remained polite and calm whenever the god relished in another triumphant victory because even that was better than having to (actually) work. At the beginning, the girl had been terribly nervous and her focus lay solely on the game itself, her gaze would rarely wander beyond the chess field. Also the god was quite reserved because usually he wouldn't seek the company of mortals, let alone spend his free-time with them. But as the hours of playing turned into days, the invisible ice-wall between them melted away and both couldn't remain silent for much longer. After some verbal incrementalism they began to chat rather vividly about various topics and Loki found himself sharing some anecdotes of past centuries. In turn, he learned some details of the mortal's background - but mainly he did the talking.

    xxx

Word spread, however, and once certain ears were reached, Loki and _________ had to move to his quarters. The library wasn't an appropriate place to display such unconventional manners - the queen had remarked once in private and, as a good son, Loki obliged. Actually, Frigga didn't mind at all that her youngest was socializing with a mortal slave - not the kind of friend she had hoped for but better than none - however many other gods, including the king, would be offended if this sessions were to continue. Thus the queen saw to it that no such unconventional behavior was to be seen outside of the prince's chambers. She didn't guarantee for what happened inside though.

The salon of the prince's chambers was better for playing anyways: no prying eyes and unwanted attention from other gods or slaves. Their envious gazes had felt like daggers piercing into _________'s flesh, thus she was thankful for the change of setting. In fact, she regarded the whole affair as a privilege. Although she felt rather out of place at first between all the gold, ebony and priceless luxuries decorating the room, the maid became rather comfortable being there - and around Loki too. He wasn't the most affable person but somehow he warmed up to her, treated her friendly and seemed to value her for her chess skills. After all the god himself chose to spend every afternoon with her, a maid.

Don't be smug about it! You're just a substitution while his brothers are away! _______ told herself many times so that the disappointment wouldn't be too great once Loki chose to drop her again. Which he surely would one day. Gods only use mortals for their benefit, remember?

So for now, the girl enjoyed the inexplicable honor she was granted. Maybe Loki's large wolf-dog Fenrir was to thank for this strange change in his spirits, because the beast who resided within the prince's chambers had immediately taken a liking into the girl. Upon entering, the cow-sized anthracite dog had suspiciously approached from the adjacent bedroom and had sniffed at the little mortal, who had been stiff as a column that very moment. Seconds later Fenrir had licked at her slender hand to show his trust and appreciation of the new visitor, much to his master's surprise.

Fenrir usually hates unfamiliar faces, he barely behaves around Thor or Balder...Loki had thought suspiciously, not recognizing his own pet.

xxx

Then came the fever. In the middle of the night, the prince was stricken in such a violent fashion that he wasn't able to call for help. Only Fenrir noted his master's indisposition, pressing a moist snout against the god's palm for comfort, and in his delirium Loki had managed to send one simple order to his beloved pet: Get help!

The magical creature and the god had spent so much time together that they literally shared thoughts - a quite useful fact that night – and so the dog dashed away to fulfill meet the order.

However, Fenrir didn't provide the kind of aid the prince had expected. Not Frigga, nor Eir the healer but a maid rode on the beast's back as it returned - as if the wolf knew what the god secretly needed right now. ________ tended to Loki as best as she could, with cataplasms and much kindness to ease the prince's illness. But there were clear limits as the fever wouldn't vanish. When she intended to leave in order to get a healer, Loki asked her, no begged her, not to leave him alone. In the dim-lit bedroom, she couldn't see the puppy eyes he shot at her, however the tight, beseeching grasp he had on her arm gave it all away. How could she have refused?

So she sat down at his side and watched over the god while the fever raged within him, occasionally holding his hand for comfort. _________ did so two other nights too.

xxx

During the day, Loki chose to avoid even brushing the topic and instead directed the conversation towards trivial matters, for example gossip, which he normally wouldn't discuss. Luckily, _______ played along and so neither of them spoke about those hours of disgusting misery, a terrible (shameful) state the prince would never show to anyone, not even to his brothers whom he shared most of his secrets with. Yet ________ had seen it all, the weak sickly side of the glorious god as he lay there bathed in his own sweat, the wet nightwear clinging to his lean pale flesh. A mess of all sorts, just like his mind due to the delirium during which he hadn't been able to formulate a whole consistent sentence.

How pathetic, how human...The god felt deeply abashed as he recalled it, yet then the train of his thoughts also carried him to a much sweeter memory: of a maid's soft small hands tenderly enclasping his; the comfort from sensing her presence on the mattress; her lovely scent flooding his nose whenever she leaned over closely to replace the cataplasm on his forehead. A strange warmth pooled inside the god which began to surface on his cheeks the longer he beheld the mortal across the chess field. “It's your turn, your highness!” The piece of ebony between his fingers had completely slipped his mind apparently. Then he noted how transfixed, almost mesmerized he was staring at her. Suddenly snapping out of trance Loki cleared his voice and quickly averted his gaze, suppressing the shade of pink on his high cheekbones.

“... Oh, oh yes... I just happened to be distracted by a spell...anyways...” Loki declared somewhat clumsily and put the bishop on a random position on the field.