#inside out in seconds because you are a character in the sims and the only thing deadlier to you than a gods disinterest is the unexplained

[thebirdmanhewatches]

Me casually creating my third set of sims featuring a god figure self insert, the central focus of its torment, those complicit, and a child chosen: sure hope I don’t accidentally make a story more beautiful than any I try to construct with thought

[httpiastri]

PERFECTLY FINE – CHAPTER ONE (BAHRAIN)

genre: fluff, angst, etc.

warnings: hmmm nothing i think

word count: 5.3k

author's note: aaaa first chapter !! i don't rlly like it but still !!!! a very much opener/get-to-know-the-characters/intro chapter, so maybe boring at times idk. still so excited, thanks to everyone who's contributed. love u all <333

author's note pt2: when i write about the different drivers and their living situations, i know it's not all accurate to how they actually live irl. ik i wrote modena instead of maranello here for ollie although idk exactly when he moved, but there are mentions of milton keynes for the rbj drivers bcs it made it easier for me. anyways, just go with whatever i say about how they live lol. also !!!! i changed yn's team from mp to campos hehe. okay now let's start :)

series masterlist

the winter break coming to an end is always a bittersweet feeling.

having a lot of free time to catch up with friends and family is always greatly appreciated, but at the same time, it doesn't take many days before you miss racing after the last race of the season. especially when the season is as short as the f3 season is, and especially when you don't partake in any of the winter-season races.

this year, though, coming back to the paddock doesn't feel as complicated as it most often does. your heart is light and your smile is big as you enter through the gates after the long taxi ride from your hotel, and you already can't wait to get started.

as you make your way toward the campos truck, you greet a few people you meet here and there, but it's the sight of a head full of dark, curly hair that makes you stop in your tracks. "jak!"

the american turns around when he hears your voice, grin taking over his face already. you strut all the way over to him, practically throwing yourself into his arms. "hey there," he chuckles, giving you a big hug.

"oh, i've missed you so much!" you exclaim, giving him one last squeeze before pulling away. "it feels like i haven't seen you in ages."

"right? the break was way too long."

juan pokes his head through the door to the truck when he hears your voices, making some kind of comment about all of these loud teenagers always causing a commotion, before coming down to greet you with a hug as well. "how was your break?" he asks.

"wonderful, really. i spent most of it at home, catching up with family and friends. then me and ollie-" your eyes widen at your own words. you clear your throat, looking away from both of the boys for a second. "well, i went to italy."

your relationship with ollie isn't exactly a secret around the paddock, but it's a bit of an unspoken rule not to mention it too much. both because you all want to separate your personal lives from your racing ones – you don't wish to crash into a close friend like jak any more than you'd like to crash into ollie, after all – and because a certain other driver might be around to hear.

someone who's quite the conflict of interest in this specific topic.

your break truly was wonderful. it felt like the only things on your schedule were skiing in the italian mountains, gym-and sim-training, and just relaxing at home in england to recharge for the next season. you had spent a lot of it with ollie, getting to know both him and his family better. it hadn't taken you long before you were best friends with his little sister, sharing little inside jokes and spending time cheering her on at the stable. and you'd even grown surprisingly close with ollie's younger brother, and you loved seeing the three siblings interact.

they all made you feel truly at home with them, like an extended family. you couldn't have asked for anything more.

ollie was well-known in your family even before the break, especially considering how he was one of the first drivers your father picked out for the academy. and during the break, he only further impressed them; he always helped out with household tasks, he did his best to create connections to every relative of yours that he met, and he even bought the sweetest little christmas presents for your parents and grandparents. however, just the mention of italy in your current conversation is enough to make the dams drivers understand. no other detail is necessary.

when you're done talking about your break, it's juan's turn, and then jak's. during the catchup, more and more people drop by to say hello, and it doesn't take long before there's a full-on gathering outside the dams truck. dennis, another one of your former academy members, and pepe, your new teammate and newly found platonic soulmate, both listen in as jak tells you all about how jetlagged he is after coming back from the states just two days ago. "have you gotten properly settled in with aston?" you ask with a smile.

"totally. it's been great, honestly. even the apartment they found for me is top-notch."

"oh? better than milton keynes?"

jak raises his eyebrows at you, and then he bursts out laughing. "duh." throughout the many years of living next-door from each other, there wasn't a single day when the two of you didn't complain about something the apartment complex. the smell, the noise, the trails of blood in the staircase; not exactly things you'll miss when you move out one day.

"i still can't really believe we're not neighbors anymore," you complain, jutting out your bottom lip as you speak. "i've been so close to knocking on your old door so many times, but now some other freak lives there-"

"hey!" pepe shoves your shoulder, and the whole group laughs. "you're much worse than i am!"

"i'm so glad i finally moved out of there," dennis chimes in. "if i had been neighbors with y/n and pepe at the same time… i don't think i would've gotten any sleep at all, man."

"i didn't get any sleep for four years when i lived there..." jak groans.

"is this your first time in a series together?" juan jumps in, looking between you and jak, but seems surprised when you both nod. "best friends but you've never raced each other? maybe this season is what forces you apart."

"yeah, what will you do if i crash into you when you're in the lead?" jak teases, pressing an elbow into your side.

"then i think a few compromising pictures of you might make their way to the aston martin headquarters..."

when it's like this, being on the same grid with all of these people is so easy. you're all friends, not opponents. all in the same boat with the same excitement and expectations for the season. unfortunately, you know it won't stay this uncomplicated for long. when you're actually out on track in a few weeks, forcing each other into the walls and swearing at each other over the team radios, there won't be any more happy faces.

but for now, you enjoy smiling with the people who are just as much your friends as they are your enemies. that is, until you spot someone else joining your little group.

paul.

suddenly, the smile feels much more forced; the air is thicker and harder to breathe in. and when he makes his way over to you, a lump forms in your throat.

a lump you understand probably won't disappear all season.

the second you're back in your hotel room, you reach for the little dark blue book you've hidden in your bedside drawer. the pen in your hand is one you've had for years, one you always bring with you to every race weekend. the ink has been refilled possibly hundreds of times, but the plastic body has remained the same ever since you bought it.

the journal itself is torn; it's been used and loved for many years, too. it's like an extra best friend, a second home. when you're writing in it, it's one of the few times you feel like you can actually be your true, authentic self – it's one of the few times when you're not afraid that someone will judge your emotions or thoughts.

today, you know what you want to write about instantly.

i saw paul for the first time since abu dhabi.

i haven't been able to stop thinking about him. no matter how hard, i couldn't get him out of my mind. i've been wondering what he looks like now, how his voice has changed, if his smile is still as bright. and suddenly, he was there and i saw him.

the answer? he's just as he always was. and i can't tell if that makes me feel alright or awful.

you're pulled out of your head by the sound of a knock on your door, and you instantly scramble to hide your journal in the drawer again. the second you pull the door open and ollie's gaze meets yours, it's like all of your previous thoughts disappear. it's just you and him again; no one else even exists.

especially not paul.

"are you ready to go?" ollie asks, hands finding your sides as he leans in to press a quick kiss to your cheek. "i found the address of some good pasta place, it's just a few blocks from here."

you nod, your hands landing on top of his and giving them a quick squeeze before pulling away. "i just need to put on some earrings," you start, backing into the room. "will you help me choose?"

"of course."

"carlos set a stunning lap today. did you see it?"

the question makes you roll your eyes, letting out a sigh as you bring out three plates from the cupboard above the stove. your dad has always been quick to comment on anything good regarding ferrari; to anyone living in the max verstappen era, even a sliver of a good result is enough to spark some hope, so you aren't exactly surprised. "yes, dad. of course i saw it."

"i reckon this will be our year," your dad continues as you walk past him cooking by the stove, carrying the plates to the dinner table. "carlos will make them regret getting lewis instead of him."

you can't help the chuckle that leaves your mouth. your mom gives you a knowing glare over her newspaper – don't start anything. you choose to ignore it. "you really think this is how it's going to look next week during the actual race?" you ask. "you don't think max is sandbagging the slightest?"

"i'm just telling you," your dad starts, giving his stew a good stir. the snarky tone in his voice is unmistakable. "don't come home crying to me when you realize red bull isn't going to cut it anymore. if you regret your choices, go somewhere else."

even like this, when you're back home for a few days to catch up with your family, neither of you can stay away from this bickering. your dad is always pestering you about sticking with the red bull junior team, and you never can back down from a fight. you're way too stubborn.

"are you saying that i wouldn't have a place in ferrari if i wanted to?" you set the plates down with a thud, the sound making your mother flinch in her seat by the table. "you would say no to your only daughter, huh?"

"i'm just saying that you'd need to prove yourself to get into the academy."

despite your harsh tones, most people around you think you're just joking around when you act like this; some family-mockery can never hurt, right? however, there's always a hint of seriousness behind it. it's been like this between the two of you forever, and especially ever since your dad became the head of the ferrari driver academy – the rivalry between you two is stronger than ever.

you've always been sure of your choice; you've always felt like the red bull family is perfect for you. but recently, you've started to wonder if staying with the team actually was the right thing for you. what really is your future in the team? it's not like you haven't got great drivers ahead of you, drivers who will be called in for a possible f1 seat before you.

and it's not like red bull has a stellar record of keeping all of their drivers. they only have four seats in formula one, after all.

your dad wants you in ferrari, that much is clear. you may have joined the red bull junior team because of his past with the team; he did win their first ever championship, after all. accepting was the only option when you got the offer to join. however... your dad really wants you in ferrari. there's just something about the brand, the colors and the history that obviously is intriguing for everyone. even lewis hamilton couldn't stay away, for god's sake.

you can't admit it, though. not here, not right now.

so instead, you choose to fight fire with fire. "bullshit," you mumble under your breath before speaking clearly again. "second in the championship last year wasn't proof enough?"

"stop this," your mom says, folding up her newspaper and placing it on the table. you roll your eyes yet again but look back at her when she speaks again. "new subject: how is our dear ollie doing?"

you visibly relax at the question, your heart softening in your chest. "he's good. he's back in modena now, so..."

if it had been your dad asking about ollie, you know it would've been because he's interested in how the academy is doing. but since your mom is the one asking, you know it's real concern and curiosity. "how did he find the new car? did he enjoy testing?"

"not really," you say, slipping into the seat opposite your mum as your dad places the pot of stew in front of you on the table. "though, you know, the prema cars are never that good in bahrain. but he assumes they'll bounce back."

there's something in your dad's tone when he speaks again that makes you stop in the middle of your reach for the ladle. "yeah, so i've heard..." it's almost sarcastic, maybe a bit... irritated?

you turn towards him, a frown on your face. "what?"

"william," your mom says with a shake of her head. she knows something. "let's not go there." but just as you're about to call them out on how strange they're acting, she speaks again: "what do your upcoming weeks look like? for how long will you be back in england?"

anyone with eyes – or even without, to be fair – can tell that they're hiding something. and while your curiosity is killing you, you're not in the mood for a full-fledged fight at this time. you take the high road, which isn't your most familiar way of handling things like this, and try your best to push away any wishes to question your parents. you answer, engage in polite conversations and chat about your upcoming season. then, you thank them for dinner and leave the house after giving them their respective kisses on their cheeks.

but all evening, your mind is on something else. and when you get back home to your apartment, your fingers itch to send ollie a text asking if he knows anything. but instead, you go to bed with a knot in your stomach. maybe it's a topic for another day.

being back in the car for testing was great, but it was nothing compared to being back on the track for an actual race weekend. the first round of the championship was something you'd looked forward to for what felt like years, and now it was finally time. you've never been more excited, or nervous, for any race weekend.

you weren't off to the best of starts, though. qualifying has always been one of your stronger suits, so coming 13th was not a result you had anticipated. thankfully, it meant you had time to practice overtaking and had a good chance of improving your place. having to start right behind pepe and paul in both races was an interesting coincidence, but you were obviously not going to let any of it affect your racing.

though p8 is not the best place to finish, you are actually quite pleased with having gained several positions in the sprint race and taking your first point of the year. the car was, as you knew it would be, very different from the f3 car, although you were surprisingly confident and managed it well despite the circumstances.

paul, too, handled it all very well – p12 to p5 is a great record. and when he sees the timing board and realizes that you also did well considering the circumstances, he's overjoyed. he's practically bouncing down the paddock when he finally gets out of his car, accepting the fans' cheers and the handshakes from his engineers with a big grin. and when he sees you further down the paddock, his mind is filled with memories of the two of you celebrating your good placements in all other categories.

just because you aren't a couple now doesn't mean you can't honor these results together, right?

but just a second later, he realizes that you're surrounded by the familiar red-clad staff members instead of your own campos staff, and you're standing right by that red prema car he knows so well. and, sure enough, soon the person he'd forgotten about steps up to you.

paul watches as you wrap your arms around ollie's shoulders, and his heart sinks in his chest. your boyfriend hides his face in your shoulder and your hand comes up to stroke the skin on the back of his neck. paul can tell how your lips are moving, and the pout you're showing off tells him enough about what's going on even though he can't actually hear what you're saying. you aren't prioritizing being happy about your own race – it's more important to comfort ollie.

to paul, there's something so unsettling about the sight. he's seen the two of you together many times before – besides, he gets tagged in pretty much every picture a fan takes of you with your boyfriend – but it isn't your proximity that he has issues with.

the thing that upsets him is the fact that there's a frown stretched across your features; one that doesn't leave even when you part from ollie, or when you're cheered on by your mechanics, or when you leave for your post-race interviews. a frown that any other time would be replaced with a big, proud smile because of your accomplishments.

the music blasting into your ears from your airpods cuts out the rest of the world, the usually so busy and loud paddock all gone the second you pressed the play button on your phone. it's been your favorite way of getting in the race mood for years; you're not superstitious in many other ways, but your playlist has stayed the same since your first season in f4. walking around the garage, doing your warmups, or even just sitting around and waiting to get in the car like you are right now, you listen to the exact same songs on repeat. it's one of the few things that makes you truly focus on the race ahead of you.

so when you feel two hands on your shoulders from behind, you jump in your seat. turning your head, you're relieved to see the big smile of pepe shining down at you. "did i scare you?" he asks loudly enough to cut through the music, and you barely have time to nod and take one airpod out before he speaks again. "good, that was my intention."

you slide your airpods into their case as pepe plops into the seat next to you, eyes zoning in on the f3 feature race on the screen in front of you. "i'm so upset," you huff, shaking your head. "did you see the start?"

"i heard," he answers just as dino's red car appears on the screen, and he crosses his arms over his chest. "but he's made up ten places already, right?"

"yeah..." you lean your head onto his shoulder with a sigh. "we should focus on the positives. like chris!"

"and like our upcoming race." you can practically hear his grin when he speaks. "i have a good feeling about it."

when you found out that jak was leaving the red bull junior academy last fall, you were heartbroken. he's been one of your closest friends ever since you first met; the two of you have always been joined by the hip, despite how you've never raced in the same series before, and you spent most of your free time either training together or just hanging out. how would you ever get over him leaving you all alone in the academy?

thankfully, pepe joined in the late summer. at first, you were just acquaintances, but something about his personality was too good not to fall for. it didn't take long for him to become one of your closest friends, too. another boy your age, another boy with crazy energy and amazing potential – he filled the void in your heart quite well.

as well as jak's old apartment.

you'd raced each other in f3 last season, though barely ever crossed paths or talked. but living next to each other, doing all of your sim work together, and now even being on the same team meant that your relationship went from zero to one hundred in just days.

this season is your first with campos, while he's been with the team for several years already, and so far he's been very good at helping you get used to everything off track. they took a big chance choosing two rookies for their lineup, and the two of you promised each other to do your best to make them satisfied with their choice. so far, you've gotten one third and eight place in your first-ever f2 race – and you're just getting started.

"i do, too," you hum. "let's go out there and show them today."

paul is beaming when you see him stroll back to the paddock after his media duties. his cap is perched on top of his head – the right cap, finally – and his fingers are still tightly wrapped around the neck of his champagne bottle. when he notices you leaning against the doorframe leading into the f2 hospitality, his smile grows even bigger.

you meet him halfway, arms wrapping around his shoulders easily, just like they have so many times before. one of his arms drapes around your waist and he holds you close, a hum vibrating from his chest. finally, he thinks to himself; this definitely makes up for all of the things he felt yesterday.

"congrats, paul," you tell him. "that was amazing. you were amazing."

"thank you," he says before pausing. then, he lets out a chuckle. "to be honest, i wasn't sure if you would care."

you frown at him when you pull slightly away from him, just enough to look into his eyes. is that what he really thought? that you wouldn't care about his driving? "oh, please. you still mean a lot to me, okay?" your hand moves down to his upper arm, giving it a soft squeeze. "i still consider you to be one of my closest friends."

friends. the word stings like a knife in his heart. it's been months since you broke up, and yet, it still feels like a raw wound.

paul forces a smile. he understands that despite how painful it is, there's something good in it. there's still a place for him in your heart, even if he's forced to share it with someone else.

he pulls you in again, and the hug is even tighter now than before. it's a comforting feeling; you're both at peace, with a good weekend behind you, in the arms of someone so close to you. after everything you've gone through together, but especially everything he has gone through these last few months with the mercedes academy and prema, you're finally through to the other side. "it all worked out in the end, huh?" you ask after a few moments of silence.

"i guess it did." you part from each other to leave that oh-so-familiar gap between you yet again. "will you be celebrating with us tonight? i think pepe had something planned. you know how he is."

you snort. "yeah, i do know. maybe i will." you shift uncomfortably, crossing your arms over your chest as your eyes dart to the ground. "but, um... i'll have to check with..."

you don't even say his name – you don't have to. ollie's entire weekend has been so far from everyone's expectations, and if you know him correctly, he will not be in the mood for celebrations tonight.

paul nods slowly, pressing his lips into a thin line. "right."

the silence that follows is so awkward you can't help but chew on your bottom lip, a tiny sigh escaping through your mouth. he must be hating this, you think – today is supposed to be only a good day for him, he shouldn't have his ex's new relationship pushed up in his face.

"well, i have a debrief to get to," you make up, flashing him a quick smile. "congrats again, paul."

"thank you." he gives you another nod, before turning away and making his way towards the paddock. "pepe will text you!"

and just like that, he's off, and your mind wanders to the thought of actually going out to celebrate. ollie will definitely not join you, though you're not sure why you don't want to go without him. is it because you'd rather stay and comfort him?

or is it because you're scared of what you'll do, or feel, when you're alone with paul for the first time since you broke up?

"p5 is still good, my dear." your mom's voice booms out from the speakers of your phone as you drop it onto the desk, and you can't help but let out a sigh, taking a step back.

"of course, but... i feel like i could've done more." it was both true and not; with paul's five-second penalty, you definitely could've gained at least one more position if only you had stayed within that gap. but then again, a fifth position and ten more points was a great result for a rookie.

"but you'll still be going out to celebrate with your friends, right?"

you ended up telling pepe you weren't in the mood to party, despite his persistent complaints, and decided to instead use the evening for relaxation and recovery. your entire body, especially your neck, has really suffered this weekend – you were already sore after the shakedown, but this is on another level – so a bubble bath and a good night's sleep in your hotel room seemed like a much better choice.

"no, i'm just going to rest a little..." you hum, flopping down on the chair by the desk. "maybe grab something to eat with ollie."

weirdly enough, you haven't been able to get in contact with him all evening. you were told that he hurried back to his hotel room right after the race, not in the mood to talk to anyone on the team at all, so you chose to give him some time alone to cool down before you'll eventually go over there. still, you thought he would've answered at least one of your many texts by now.

thinking about your boyfriend, you suddenly remember something. "hey, mum?" she lets out an affirmative sound. "you remember when i was home last time, and dad said something about ollie and the car? and he acted all weird?" you pause for a moment, but when she doesn't say anything, you keep going. "what was that all about?"

"well darling, we..." you take the sudden silence as a sign that she might not be sure how honest she wants to be right now, and it makes you frown instinctively. she sighs. "we're just a little worried about him, that's all."

your confusion only grows. "what's that supposed to mean?"

"we're worried he's feeling too pressured to impress us." you hear her take a deep breath. "of course, your father is his boss, so it is natural in that way. but we wish he would just see us as any regular parents. he's always talking about racing like there's nothing else in the world, and..."

"that's not fair." you shake your head despite the fact that she can't see it. "that isn't him. he isn't all racing and no fun."

"oh love, i'm sure he is loads of fun, but-"

"i really have to go," you cut her off, standing from your seat. "talk to you later."

you hang up before she can even answer, the guilt in your head from treating your mother like that already pushed away by the anger growing inside of you.

you always assumed your parents loved ollie. sure, you knew they adored having paul over when you were still a couple, too, but ollie is every mother-in-law's dream son. he's from your country, he's a pure sweetheart, he's even in the fda for god's sake. how could they not love him?

and so what if he tries to impress them? who wouldn't do the same?

when ollie opens his door for you, he looks like he's just woken up from a bad night's sleep. bed head, bags under his eyes, and just a general aura of tiredness. if you didn't know better, you'd think he was an insomniac. but thinking back to how badly his race went, the sight of him just makes your stomach churn.

your arms wrap around his neck in an instant, pulling him into your warm embrace. you feel the tension in his upper back release right away, and ollie's hands find your sides, giving you a light squeeze. you refrain the urge to pull away when he nuzzles his nose into your neck, standing strong against your usual ticklishness, and your heart softens slightly when he lets out a deep sigh into your skin.

"you okay?" you finally manage to get out, and his answer comes in the form of a nod against your shoulder. "is there anything i can do for you?"

he pulls away but stays so close that you feel his breath against your face; so close that you're both slightly cross-eyed when your gazes meet. "stay with me?"

your answer is expressed through the fleeting kiss you press to his lips, your way of saying of course. ollie doesn't waste any time pulling you into his hotel room, and you flop down onto the bed with him. he sits up and watches you lie down against the covers, your head nestling into the pillow. "tell me about your race," he says as he reaches down to take your hand, his fingers slipping in between yours. "eight positions gained, huh?"

of course he doesn't want to talk about his own race. but the fact that he's willing to think about racing at all, just to let you have a chance to talk about how well you did and boast a little; it all makes your heart flutter.

and you're sure, you're so sure that he is so much more than just a racing driver. he's not what your parents think he is. he's an incredible racer, sure, but he's also the sweetest man you've ever met. the perfect boyfriend.

even when he's feeling like this, he takes his time to still pay attention to you and ask questions. and then he listens, he really listens, because he wants to understand every inch of your mind just as well as he geeks out about every detail of apexes and tyre degradation. and then he says just the right things, the things to sweep you off your feet yet again.

he's so perfect that he's incredibly easy to love.

so why is there a knot in your stomach at the thought of the race – and more specifically, the person on the last step of the podium?

why does your mind keep running back to how he's celebrating, and what it would be like if you'd been there with him?

yourusername just posted!

yourusername double pookie podiums & good points in the bag! thanks camposracing for a great car ❤️ we go again in a week!

show all 81 comments

user top job this weekend!!

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

user i will stop hating on red bull if either of these get into f1

→ user red bull juniors >>> anyone else

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

user what happened to ollie though 😭

→ user it's just the first round, calm your horses

→ user why always bring up ollie on her posts... is that all she is, ollie's gf? 😐

→ user forreeaaalll

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

redbulljuniorteam y/n and pepe making us proud 🥺

→ user pls admin you're making me cry

→ yourusername me too 😭

[ashleyeveerson]

CANARIES, NIGHT SHIFT AND THE MAGNUS PROTOCOL (tma/tmagp/arg spoilers)

Along with everyone else in the fandom, I'm also going FERAL after these new ep so excuse this RANT (this is my way of coping with the brain worms, enjoy ;).

Statement begins.

So what's special about the RedCanary story?

Well, apart from it being a direct reference to the original Magnus Institute (at least the one in this new universe), it's also incredibly fascinating as a narrative tool.

For those who are unaware of their history, miners used to employ canaries in cages while they worked as safety systems. The bird's complexion made them specially sensible to gas leaks which killed them instantly. When a canary stoped singing in the middle of the shift, the workers knew that toxic gas was leaking and had enough time to get out of the mines alive before it got to them.

Now why is that relavant to us? Well, the theme of canaries in cages inside mines could be easily applied to the og tma characters. All of them were contained in cages (that is the Magnus Institute) and placed close enough to danger (in their case the paranormal) that only they were aware of its existence while the rest of humanity remained ignorant. That is until the events of the apocalypse when the gas metaphorically leaks everywhere and all humanity is doomed.

However, this proximity to the fears ALWAYS results in the death of the canaries that stayed inside the mines (no i will never get over my blorbos being killed). Everyone involved with the institution dies EXCEPT from Melanie, Georgie and Basira. That is, the only three canaries that actively escaped their cages before the toxic gas got to them.

Therefore, the use of this metaphor at the start of the ep (especially from none other than the voice of Jon Sims, the character who has walked down the path of learning about the entities) is a warning to Sam against investigating the paranormal.

The statement is encountered by Sam because he, above all other characters, is the one who is most likely to end up like Jon and the others. The species of Red Canaries is human breed, therefore Sam being a result of experimentation within The Magnus Institute means he was RAISED to be a canary. Thus, there is an inherent irony on the warning, for it is what PUSHES him to develop an interest on the statements and leads him closer to his tragic destiny.

Another proof that links canaries and the workers at O.I.A.R. is the nature of their habitat. I haven't seen a lot of people talking about it, but there are multiple references in the first and second ep of them working the nightshift. Now, why would a filing job be carried out exclusively at night? (THERE ARE SO MANY REFERENCES TO IT BEING A NIGHTSHIFT I AM NOT KIDDING)

This one is specially interesting because it's the first thing we hear in the podcast. Also Teddy metaphorically being the canary that leaves the mines and the darkness to escape into the outside world and the sun.

Multiple references to it being just the FIRST night of an eternity of nights. (cosmic horror much?)

In any case, there is a parallel between darkness of night and the darkness inside the mines. (or even the entity of the dark, one of the oldest alongside the hunt and the end). I see what you're doing Jonny Sims....

SO YEAH IN CONCLUSION

canaries = characters close to danger (AWARE OF THE ENTITIES)

the miners = the rest of humanity (UNAWARE OF THE ENTITIES)

cages = The Magnus institute/O.I.A.R (TRAPS the canaries)

the fears = toxic gas (HARMS the canaries and miners)

darkness in the mines = the night shift

Statement ends.

*stands in front of a white board with red string linking everything, and the dark scribbled in black marker in the center* I HOPED YOU ENJOYED THIS RANT *tries to fix my disheveled hair that i messed up during the presentation* I AM SO NORMAL ABOUT TMA AND TMAGP Please feel free to discuss in the comments, I NEED THEORIES, I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH SOMEONE!!!

[graywritesoccasionally42]

So I wrote an entire essay comparing Loki from The Bifrost Incident to Loki from the Prose Edda for my Medieval Literature Class, and I figured I'd post it here in case anyone wanted to read my analysis on her character

Essay Under Cut--(my formatting got fucked up by the hellsite but what can you do?)

“Is this truly me? What have I left behind?”

A look into how The Bifrost Incident interacts with its source material

Title from “Losing Track” by The Mechanisms

In the early 1200s, Snorri Sturlson wrote his famous collection of Norse mythology called The Prose Edda. In this compilation, we met many gods, goddesses, and creatures, including one who is arguably the most popular Norse deity--Loki, the god of mischief and general shenanigans. The Prose Edda presents Loki as dishonest, violent, at times incompetent. Recently though, about 800 years later, Loki has attracted the interest of many modern writers who have adapted Loki’s story to explore contemporary problems. One particular adaptation, The Bifrost Incident by English steampunk band The Mechanisms, imagines her to be just,  intelligent, and loving. There are many striking differences between these two versions of Loki, the most significant being gender, mortality, and how their stories end. This is important because this album re-examines and redefines Loki’s identity, and how we view this Norse deity in a modern context.

To fully delve into how The Mechanisms’ adaptation works, I think some context for the band is necessary. The Mechanisms were an English steampunk band, self-described as “Storytelling Musical Cabaret'' that operated from 2010 until 2020. The Band members themselves were in character at all times as the immortal pirate crew of the Starship Aurora. They also took on the roles in the tales they told. So for example, Tim Ledsam was the guitarist for The Mechanisms, but when he was onstage he played Gunpowder Tim, Master at Arms on the Aurora, and when the band performed The Bifrost Incident, he voiced the character of Loki. The Mechanisms were best known for their clever reworking of mythologies, creating queer narratives and telling queer stories, and their love of tragedies. In their last concert (recorded as a live album), Death to The Mechanisms, Jonny D’ville--the band’s first mate/lead vocalist. played by Jonny Sims--and Ashes O'Reilly--the band’s quartermaster/bassist, played by Frank Voss--had a conversation that encapsulates the crew's relationship with unhappy endings: 

[Jonny]

"We happen to stumble across tragic situations where everyone dies. I mean, obviously there are stories where people live but we just choose not to tell them."

[Ashes]

"Yeah, 'cause they're boring."

[Jonny]

"Yeah…”

The fact that this conversation happened during some technical difficulties in the song “Terminus”, the finale of The Bifrost Incident where the entire star system is consumed by a Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror, only adds credence to their claims. 

With that bit of explanation out of the way, let’s discuss the similarities between Sturlson’s work and The Mechanisms’ adaptation of it. Loki from The Prose Edda and Loki from The Bifrost Incident share many important similarities. These similarities are important because they make the character recognizable, giving us a reference point and allowing the audience to connect the new version to the original. The Mechanisms play on the audience’s knowledge of Norse Mythology, creating an insider audience. Listeners feel like they are in on the joke, as they understand what myths or details are being referenced. The Mechanisms also use these similarities to create puns, as they often do in their albums. For example, in The Prose Edda Baldur is killed by Mistletoe, and in The Bifrost Incident Loki kills Baldur with Missile 2 (the second missile).  

Another thing The Mechanisms’ adaptation has in common with Sturlson’s work is how they develop ideas through music. The Bifrost Incident is a musical album, with each song continuing the story, much like the soundtrack to a musical. It alternates between spoken narration and songs, weaving music into the fabric of the tale. The Prose Edda does this as well! We have evidence that the original myths were probably put to music, connecting this modern work to its source. 

This being said, there are significant differences between the Loki of The Prose Edda and the Loki from The Bifrost Incident. I’ve selected just three to discuss at this time, the ones I think are the most important. The first is gender. In The Prose Edda Loki and Odin are firmly male, using exclusively male pronouns. There is a specific instance in the text where Loki turns into a mare and gives birth to Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged steed. This is seen in a negative context, as a way to shame or punish Loki. In The Bifrost Incident, however, Loki and Odin are gender-bent, using exclusively female pronouns. Loki’s gender expression in the album is further complicated by how her character is voiced. Gunpowder Tim, who as far as I can tell is a cisgender man, voices this specifically female character. The use of a more masculine-sounding voice actor for a character that not only uses feminine terms and pronouns but also is married to another woman in the album introduces a new, interesting layer of queerness to the narrative. Because of this casting decision, it’s a commonly held belief among fans that Loki is a trans woman in the album. These choices help the audience explore modern queer themes through the lens of Norse mythology. And it creates a contrast to how gender, sexuality, and queerness in general, were talked about in Snorri Sturlson’s time. 

The second difference I’d like to discuss is Loki’s mortality (or lack thereof). In The Prose Edda Loki is a god, an immortal being that could affect the world around him and cause problems on large scales. This allows many myths to happen, most strikingly the ones where Loki transforms into an animal to either cause problems or fix a problem he caused. Now this is complicated by the fact that Snorri Sturlson did not believe the characters in the myths he was compiling were gods. He lived in a Christianized world, trying to compile stories to save them for poets. Either way, Prose Edda Loki is an immortal deity. But in The Bifrost Incident, it is important that all our characters are mortal. It intensifies the tragedy of Loki and Sigyn, their sacrifice and Odin’s demise. It helps us relate to the characters in a way that we don’t get if they’re immortal. In the narration “Cold Case”, we learn that Loki was thought to be dead, and in the song “Sigyn” we get the heartbreaking reunion between Loki and her wife, Sigyn. But the reason I cry every time I listen to “Sigyn” is because of how heartrendingly happy Sigyn is to see her wife, alive and in front of her, and then see that relief ripped away as she realizes that Loki doesn’t recognize her. The humanity, the fear and permanence of death, of losing those you love, is one that we as an audience can easily relate to. 

My final difference, and possibly the most important difference, is the ending to Loki’s story. After killing Baldur in The Prose Edda, Loki is chased down by the Aesir and eternally punished: He is imprisoned below the earth, tied down with the entrails of his sons, and has a snake set above him to drip poison into his eyes. His wife, Sigyn, stays with him by choice, holding a cup above him to catch the venom, but the vessel can only hold so much before it must be emptied. So when Sigyn has to empty the cup the venom gets into his eyes, and his thrashing is the etiological myth for why earthquakes happen. Eventually, Loki is destined to escape and kick off Ragnarok (the end of the world), where he fights against the Aesir--sailing in on Naglfar and fatally injuring Heimdall before dying himself. These all add up to an ultimately evil view of Loki, even if he is a bit sympathetic. He turns against the gods and his children are the cause of much destruction. However, the Loki of The Bifrost Incident has a completely different characterization. After her memories are returned to her, she leaves Odin to her madness and goes to find Sigyn. She tells Sigyn what they must do to delay the eldritch train as long as possible, keeping the end of the world from happening for 80 years-- 

“They uncouple the [train] carriages behind [them] and Loki lays upon the altar. Sigyn pushes a single line into her wife's heart and holds it tight. All she lets through is a drip drip drip, flowing through the glyphs and gears. When Loki's heartsblood is gone, the train will arrive, but until then, they are together.”

Loki chooses to sacrifice herself to stop the end of all life in her star system. This is almost directly opposite of how Loki acts in The Prose Edda. She is noble, in contrast to his cowardice. 

I think it’s important to consider why these changes were made. Some are more obvious--The Mechanisms always committed to the bit at full throttle. It’s evident from their stage presences that they cared about the storytelling more than anything else. So many of the more minor changes are to keep to the aesthetic choices the band made--setting it in space, steampunk and cyberpunk imagery, and the puns we talked about earlier. Some choices were made to turn the original myths into queer stories. Making Loki and Sigyn a lesbian couple, as well as having Loki use feminine terms and pronouns while being voiced by a traditionally masculine voice actor, fall into The Mechanisms’ commitment to telling queer stories. Many of the band members themselves are queer, and the vast majority of their fanbase identifies as LGBTQ+. And finally, The Mechanisms only tell tragedies. We discussed this at a few earlier points, how the change from god to mortal fed into the tragedy of the story they were trying to tell. 

So why does this matter? Why should we care about a Steampunk concept album written in 2017 that no one has ever heard of? The Prose Edda was written to preserve poetry, religion, mythology, and meaning post-Christianization. Why was The Bifrost Incident written? I believe that it’s a commentary on corrupt government systems, as seen with Odin, as well as a cautionary tale about the dangers of pushing too far without the proper safety precautions. It’s also just a fun retelling of myths that most are fairly familiar with in a fun, new setting we never would have expected. The Bifrost Incident takes stories written hundreds of years ago and creates a modern narrative that is as enjoyable as it is thought-provoking. And I hope this paper, if nothing else, convinces you to listen to the Album.

[theresattrpgforthat]

THEME: Teenage Hijinx. 

This weeks’ games are all about the transformative period of adolescence: from first crushes, to the new weight of responsibility, to the feeling that you have no idea (or control over) what’s going on. 

Monsterhearts 2, by Avery Alder.

By the time they hit adolescence, most people have gotten over their fear of the dark. They spend their midnight hour on gushy phone calls, diary ramblings, and wet dreams. They fall asleep peacefully, assured that the shadows hold no monsters.

But the shadows do hold monsters. You know because you’re one of them. Wickedness dwells within your heart, hunger courses through your veins. High school weighs on you and teen drama puts you on edge, but you have power. What do you do next?

Monsterhearts 2 lets you and your friends create stories about sexy monsters, teenage angst, personal horror, and secret love triangles. When you play, you explore the terror and confusion of having a body that is changing without your permission.

With a second edition to update some of the rules and mechanics, Monsterhearts 2 has received a lot of love from players and creators alike. You are playing teenagers who feel the deep-seated discomfort of a changing body, sometimes against your own will. Adolescence can be ugly, and this game helps you embrace that. There are a number of playbooks, called skins, that have been created by the community, including a supplement called Acehearts, for asexual characters who may not want to play with the sex moves with the rules-as-written.

Kids on Bikes, by Hunters Entertainment.

The door to the old house creaks open, the rust on the hinges groaning as you see the dust floating like spores in the air inside. By the faint light of your cheap flash- lights, you see the stairs to the upper floor, its railings gnarled and broken like crooked teeth. Their curve makes the stairs seem almost like a hungry grin, and you wonder if their age will support your weight. Still, you must go in. 

The only question is who will go first? 

Kids on Bikes is a Collaborative World Building RPG set in small towns with big mysteries. It is a rules-light storytelling system that gets players into the action fast. The Adventures of Kids on Bikes take place in small towns at any point in history before everyone had a camera phone that could catch video of a Ghost, use a GPS to track a Homicidal Maniac roaming around town, or research an old creaky house in seconds using Google. Kids on Bikes takes place in a more mysterious time, where anything and everything *could* happen. 

This is a game with plenty of tools to help you built a setting similar to your favourite piece of media, whether that be Stranger Things, The Goonies, or a similar piece of nostalgia. The group will work collaboratively to create the town you live in, local rumours, and a powered character. This power character its collectively controlled, rather than played by one single person. When it comes to the dice used in this game, you’ll likely be using everything from a d4 to a d20, which can make it a bit difficult to determine how often a character may obtain success, but is a good representation of how good your character is at certain things. If you like this style of gaming, you can also check out Teens in Space and Kids on Brooms, which use the same rules for different genres of kids on various adventures.

Visigoths vs. Mall Goths, by Lucian Kahn.

Visigoths vs. Mall Goths is a tabletop roleplaying game and dating sim about the conflicts and romances among the warriors who sacked ancient Rome and 20th century spooky teens, set in a suburban Los Angeles shopping mall during 1996. There are a lot of bisexuals.

The plot structure of Visigoths vs. Mall Goths resembles an open-world videogame RPG. Designed for either one-shot or campaign play, each adventure episode offers several quests that you may choose to pursue (or ignore), and the mall setting is packed with many strange retro marvels to discover. Or you can just replay the game over and over to kiss all the kissable clerks.

If you like the idea of teenage grudges and crushes all pooling together into one hot mess of overblown competition and wild chases across a 90’s mall, this game is for you. With 6 character options and two factions: Mall Goths and Visigoths, this game uses Powered by the Apocalypse mechanics to pit your players against each-other, encourage the characters to embarrass themselves for the good of their friends, and perhaps even kiss a cute shop clerk along the way. This game comes with 6 pre-built adventures for GMs that want an easy-to-run experience, as well as well-designed map of the mall and a list of clerks and local teenagers. It’s perfect for first-time GMs or folks who want an easy-to-start introduction to roleplaying.

Breakfast Cult, by Weird Age Games.

In the Weird Age of the late 21st century, the newly-discovered occult sciences are changing the world. If you want to learn them, Occultar Academy is the place to go. In this secluded island school, talented students from all over the world can learn sorcery and occultech under the Foundation's watchful eye.

...But they won't tell you everything.

Breakfast Cult is a Fate Accelerated TTRPG about cosmic horror mysteries and high school drama. Play students at the world's best occult school as they solve mysteries, uncover the terrible secrets of the Ancient Ones, and try to find which of their classmates is conspiring against them before it's too late!

The game starts when a normal, ordinary day at Occultar academy goes horribly wrong. In this anime-style, high-school-horror game, you and your classmates will work to uncover a conspiracy that is both awakening an Ancient One and sending you to detention - and you don’t deserve to go to detention! With inspirations such as Persona, Soul Eater, and Danganronpa, you can expect many hi-jinx to ensue as your characters desperately try to continue your studies.

Girl Underground, by Hedgemaze Press.

Inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Labyrinth, The Wizard of Oz, Spirited Away and similar tales, Girl Underground is a tabletop roleplaying game about a curious girl and her strange companions as they travel through a wondrous world, complete a quest, and find the way back home.

The world the Girl finds herself in is equal parts fantastic and perplexing, full of characters who operate using strange logic and speak in riddles. Thankfully, she has found friends who she can rely on, and who rely on her in turn. These friends represent the archetypes found in these kinds of stories: talking animals, living dolls, friendly giants and other quirky companions. Girl Underground is designed to tell a satisfying story in just one session, making it perfect for convention games or for game nights when you don’t have a full table. The game comes with a variety of locations to explore, making Girl Underground great for short campaigns of 2–4 sessions.

Each playbook for this game comes with beats that your character can hit, which is not surprising for a game that is Powered by the Apocalypse. With the 2d6 and staggered levels of success that are iconic of the PbtA system, Girl Underground makes these rules work for a game that is much shorter than other games that use the same mechanics. While Girl Underground is still in play-testing, there are 4 playbooks ready-to-use, with 3 more on the way. If you like Alice in Wonderland, or stories about children finding solace in magical worlds, this might be the game for you.

Slugblaster, by Mikey Hamm. 

In the small town of Hillview, teenage hoverboarders sneak into other dimensions to explore, film tricks, go viral, and get away from the problems at home. It’s dangerous. It’s stupid. It’s got parent groups in a panic. And it’s the coolest thing ever.

This is Slugblaster. A table-top rpg about teenagehood, giant bugs, circuit-bent rayguns, and trying to be cool.

Slugblaster is a wild child of a game, with an abundance of evocative set-pieces, lists of interesting obstacles, and NPC factions that are sure to provide your group with compelling rivals, overbearing adults, and devoted fans. If you don’t want to play in the sleepy town of Hillview, there are a number of other hometowns written by a cornucopia of contributors for your group to call home base. The game is built off of Forged in the Dark mechanics, with slimmed-down stats and a Turbo option for a faster setup. 

What I especially love about Slugblaster is the vibe. It’s easy to get folks on board when you can drop hints about mathpanthers, logic binders, and the concerned parent group that Stacy’s Mom runs. This is a game with bright colours and teenage nostalgia, and I heavily suggest you check this one out.

[gascon-en-exil]

(Further) Beyond Dream Daddy: A Year of More Gay Dating Sims

Last year for Pride I made a video sharing my thoughts on a selection of gay dating sims, among them Dream Daddy - by far the most well-known title in that genre. My opinion of that game was rather unfavorable, to say the least, but nonetheless I had a lot of fun discussing the topic. Dating sims rarely get any significant analysis or consideration, so it was a novel experience on that basis alone.

Recently, a patron of mine expressed a desire to see me talk about dating sims again. To save myself some work on a project when I've already got so many others going on at the moment, I've opted to do so here on my blog rather than on my channel this time. This also has the added benefit of giving me more latitude to discuss the NSFW qualities of these games without needing to censor myself. When the majority of the titles in this space are explicitly erotic, that's kind of a big deal.

Anyway! Here's a selection of games that I've played in the past year that I thought were worth looking at in some more detail.

Dear Monster

As the title suggests, this one is for the monsterfuckers out there.

This is, sort of, the second time I'm discussing a project by Y Press Games. I've touched on an earlier game of theirs, To Trust an Incubus...but I found it so unimpressive that I never bothered to review it in-depth. In several ways you can tell that Dear Monster comes from the same creative team: there's a similarly large focus on plot with a bunch of variable endings including some very dark ones, all the characters are vers despite many of them playing into familiar top or bottom archetypes, and most obviously the main theme is monsterfucking.

In this case the selection is much broader, as instead of a single species of pheromone-emitting aliens you get your pick from a variety of fantasy creatures. I say "creatures" because Dear Monster isn't afraid to shy away from furry/scalie erotic content for certain scenes, although most of the time the love interests stick to their humanoid forms. There's

a Western dragon as the violent bad boy love interest;

an Egyptian-flavored god of the dead, whose alternate form resembles Anubis and who plays the standoffish tsundere role;

a kitsune for the mischievous and overtly sexual option;

a unicorn who comes off as the caring submissive choice...mostly;

and an orc, who's had a route announced as free DLC later this year but who currently exists only as a recurring NPC

As I said, like To Trust an Incubus there's a noticeable focus on plot here, with the protagonist being a young man newly introduced to the world of the supernatural and trying to locate his mysteriously vanished grandfather inside an obviously magical mansion. Also like their earlier game, there are some unexpected plot twists that I won't spoil here, and overall I'd say this game pulls them off more effectively even if the ending feels a bit unfinished currently. Maybe they're waiting for the orc character's route to properly tie off the story? In any case, Dear Monster is better written than its predecessor and comes with an appreciable variety of kinky scenarios, and despite the lack of voice acting (a very hit-or-miss topic when it comes to dating sims, as I've discussed) the production values are overall quite good. The animated character portraits have been advertised as a highlight but frankly don't contribute to much, and they have a tendency to slow down my computer. Luckily though, they're easily turned off.

Favorite route: A hard call. They all have their highlights, and I'll probably enjoy Slagathor (the orc) when his route comes out. Hikmat (the god of the dead) probably comes out a bit ahead of the others both for his story and for some unexpectedly adventurous sex scenes, like one that incorporates a variant of tentacle porn - points for creativity there. Faeryn (the unicorn) is the one I find least appealing sexually, but on the flip side his route has some of the most unexpected twists and is probably the most helpful for understanding the game's premise as a whole. There's not really a bad option here.

UPDATE: Now that the final route has been released, I can talk about it. It's fine enough, following similar tracks for its good, neutral, and bad endings. Slagathor is vers, just like every other guy in the game. As for the main plot, it does have a resolution once you've gotten satisfactory endings with all five characters, but because it has to be integrated into all of those route endings and doesn't actually impact any of them it feels rather inconsequential as a result. A bit of a shame, really, but I do respect the boldness of some of this game's narrative chioces.

Camp Buddy

Oh, dear. There are some things I need to make clear with this one from the start...stuff I definitely couldn't talk about on YouTube.

To state the obvious first: yes, the characters are all 18+. It's in their in-game profiles, on promotional material online, and on the disclaimer you have to click on whenever you boot up the game. The main character and all his love interests are specifically stated to be 18-20 years old. However...that doesn't always bear out in the writing. The premise is that they're all campers at a scout-themed summer camp, i.e. not something you'd expect of legal adults, and more than half the time these characters are written with the emotional maturity of boys in their mid-teens. That doesn't extend to the sex scenes, beyond most of them being virginal and clueless but somehow still capable of having mind-blowing sex with no lube and simultaneous orgasms and so forth - all of which is pretty standard for these sorts of games. It doesn't consistently affect their storylines either, as they range from adolescent issues like anxiety over losing a close friend to more young adult material like deciding on career paths and moving on from a bad breakup. Having spent a good bit of my own adolescence in an all-male environment, I found most of the character behavior relatable for that demographic. Outside the sex scenes, Camp Buddy is a sweet and sometimes heartwarming story about friendship and making good memories...but the sex stuff is still there, and I can understand why this game isn't listed on Steam based on the premise alone. It is not, as some online have hyperbolically dubbed it, a "child porn" game, but it can be awkward all the same, and if you, like me, are not into twinks/twunks those scenes aren't going to do much for you.

Leaving that aside, it still took me a while to get into Camp Buddy. I was mostly interested in its sequel, which I'll talk about later in this post, but I wanted to play CB in case I missed out on any context with the second game. This one does feel like a first project; the artwork isn't as clean or varied, the voice acting has some standouts but is overall just average, and the script occasionally reads like it was written by someone whose first language isn't English - where the writing isn't incorrect, exactly, but rather worded in ways that don't sound natural. Not all of the scenes are fully voiced, but I really have to wonder how some of those that are got through all those people without anyone realizing how inorganic the dialogue sounded. The humor at least is pretty consistently good, with a highlight being the one major female character who is an affectionate parody of yaoi fangirls leading to a lot of fourth-wall-breaking jokes. As I said some of the storylines work well, even if the main plot is a clichéd and sometimes treacly "save the camp" routine for most of its run. If you can accept the handwave on the characters' ages for the sexual content, it's not a bad time. Given my familiarity with Fire Emblem and its love of underaged-looking dragon girls, and knowing that there are surely far more dating/porn games that use a similar handwave for female characters, I can give CB a pass. I've never cared for how media directed at straight men never warrants more than a moment's worth of moral outrage while everything else gets endlessly scrutinized.

Favorite route: Yoichi is the twunk-iest of the love interests, and his route is easily the darkest as well. Surprisingly he's not the sole total top option...but the guy who is barely grasps of the concept of masturbation and needs to "research" sex after he fools around for the first time. I suppose someone must be into that. Taiga has the most distinctive route as it was added last and has the largest amount of story variance as well as both topping and bottoming variations, but I find the emotional beats of his story (both in and out of his route) to be paced a bit too oddly for me to give him first prize.

Camp Buddy: Scoutmaster Season

This is why I played Camp Buddy, because I saw its follow-up advertised on Steam and was impressed enough by the production values to check it out. I still bought it from developer BLits's website though because certain scenes are removed in the Steam version (for reasons similar to why Camp Buddy isn't there at all). Anyway, Scoutmaster Season is in just about every way a vast improvement over its predecessor:

Most obviously, the characters here look and act unambiguously like adults. Their storylines are also more mature, as is that of the main plot which concerns the camp expanding after it received a new wealthy investor at the end of CB. This maturity extends to the sex as well. These characters aren't experimenting adolescents but rather men who've been casually involved with one another for some time already (heavily implied in the first game) and whose romantic development thus concerns their relationships becoming grounded in emotional support instead of only hot NSA sex.

Camp Buddy is a decently kinky game in its own right, but the sequel takes advantage of its older characters and really runs with the concept. There's bondage, leather, voyeurism, softcore daddy kink, public sex, several varieties of costume role play including two that verge on pony play, threesomes, and a few types of size kink thanks in *ahem* large part to one of the love interests having such a comically oversized cock that in some encounters it can be seen distending the main character's stomach during penetration. I'm...pretty sure that's not physically possible, but I know it's a fantasy that exists. SS is just as unrealistic when it comes to things like (lack of) lube and refractory periods, but that's to be expected at this point.

I didn't talk about CB's minigames because they're frankly not that impressive, but SS's are both a bit more challenging and, in the case of the foreplay minigame, hotter and more interactive.

The writing is much improved, and flows more naturally. The voicework is overall of a higher quality as well, even with many in the cast reprising their roles. Particularly, the same voice actor plays the main characters of both games, but he sounds much more natural as the deeper-voiced lead here, in contrast to CB where he has to work to sound like a teen. The comic relief is about on par, so it's as entertaining as usual. There's even a yaoi fanboy in this one...who funnily enough never actually gets laid during the story, although the artists threw him a bone or six with a bukkake party crack scene in the extras.

SS's antagonist is both more compelling and more entertaining even though she never becomes a romance option - as should be evident from the pronoun alone. I predicted where the story was going to take her arc the first time I played, and while I was proven right the game didn't follow that thread to its logical conclusion. A bit disappointing, but I imagine that that would have obliterated the tone for the rest of the game and prevented it from ending with fluffy romance or celebratory sex.

There are enough small callbacks to CB that I'm glad I played the first game, but not so many that a newcomer would feel completely lost. As this is the only gay dating sim sequel that I can even think of, I appreciate the attention to continuity.

BLits is currently working on a third game called Jock Studio, unrelated to Camp Buddy but already looking to be an evolution of what they've learned from their first two games. The athletic university premise appears to be a self-indulgent excuse for porn - but I'm more than okay with that seeing how much the quality of their work has improved.

Favorite route: There's only two here, so naming one would be suggesting I dislike the other. In fact, both routes are really solid. I would say that Aiden's story hangs together a little better and feels stronger in its emotional moments (helped greatly by the best vocal performance in either of these games), whereas Goro's route appeals to me more based on raw sex appeal. He's a kinky daddy, what's not to love? Either way, SS is a ton of fun, and of the games in this post it's the one I recommend the most strongly.

Errant Kingdom

I'm of two minds about including this game. I really wanted to have one that would be drastically different from the others I've selected, but at time of writing I haven't done everything there is to do in Errant Kingdom. That's not for lack of time, as it's been released in chapter increments ever since last autumn or thereabouts and finally finished up in February. I've currently completed two of its stories so I feel like I have a solid grasp of what's on offer, but I realize that I haven't seen everything yet.

However, I had to keep pushing myself to play this one. It just doesn't have a very strong hook, in my opinion, but let's talk about the positives. If your main complaint about Dream Daddy is not the lack of hardcore gay sex but rather the inauthenticity of its representation then Errant Kingdom will be more your speed. Your character can be male, female, or nonbinary, and there are two love interests of each designation available. (That both nonbinary options are supernatural non-humans might arguably be a bit of a copout...but I'm not really in a position to judge.) There are also two options for poly relationships, as well as asexual dialogue options although the way the story is set up does still lend itself toward monogamous romance with occasional, vaguely-described (and never visualized) sex scenes. I'd also note that unlike every other visual novel with romantic elements I've ever played, dialogue options are explicitly marked as being romantic, asexual, or poly when applicable. This does make it much easier to get a specific outcome if you're looking for one, but in my view takes away some of the fun of these sorts of games.

Errant Kingdom's story is quite linear regardless of which if any romantic relationship(s) you choose to pursue, with the largest variance coming not from your choice of love interest but from your choice of one of three origins when you're creating your character: an ambassador, a knight, or a nomad. Having played through two of these, this decision greatly impacts the game's opening chapters but ultimately leads into the player characters being three different points of view on the same story, with all the same major set pieces. Errant Kingdom is occasionally clever about this, with the other two PCs popping up in each other's paths every now and then...unseen of course, because this is a game where the main character's physical presence is left entirely up to the imagination. On the other hand though, the different perspectives converging toward a single climax has the clunky side effect of dropping certain NPCs into the story lategame and acting as if you know who they are even if you've never met them in that playthrough.

The story itself isn't terribly fascinating, being a medieval fantasy conspiracy plot involving gods and magical weapons and an 11th hour Chosen One reveal (that isn't the player character, shockingly). If we're talking pseudo-medieval/early modern romantic visual novels, I find I prefer the Chess of Blades approach where each love interest gets his own storyline and so there's more overall variety and less tangled continuity. I've read in places that the later chapters suffered from deadline and creator burnout issues during development, which wouldn't surprise me with how much the pacing speeds up after a certain point.

Favorite route: For origins the ambassador angle suited me better and would probably be my pick overall. The choice of love interest is, as mentioned, actually not all that important, but disgraced former knight Erik hits most of my buttons. It's a shame his poly option is with a woman, because while Maja is my preference of the two female options I wouldn't be invested in her like that. This is the trouble for me with stepping outside the bounds of strictly M/M games.

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Hi, I wanted to let you know that I've been following your Cabin in The Woods fanfiction since the first chapter came out and I'm totally blown away by how well you wrote it and that the snippets already show that the sequel will be absolutely wonderful ♥️

I also love all the original characters (Hunter, Gunner, Ada) and I totally don't understand how you managed to write them all so differently and creatively.

I s wanted to ask two questions: 1. Can you post a new snippet from Cabin?

2. Do you know when you will add your Cabin work to the Sims gallery? Some time ago I sent you my version of Hunter and Spider and I really need Quaritch, Paz and a house because I absolutely can't make them and it frustrates me so much haha

Have a lovely day/night ♥️

You are so sweet! your message was the first thing I saw this morning and it made my whole day 💞

To answer your questions I finally got around to making that cc list for the sims! Here is the link to that post and I hope you have fun! Let me know if you want/need anything for your game.

And of course you can have a snippet. I'm always happy to share💙

******************************************************************

 He glanced at Junior again, snuggled in his bed on the very edge of sleep, and smiled. “Good night son. Sweet dreams.” Miles Sr went to bed not long after, enjoyed a dreamless sleep, then woke at his usual four am. The first thing he did was check on his son. Only for his heart to freeze in his chest when he found him gone. Escaped through his window. 

    Rage immediately consumed him, making the man see red, as he dressed and grabbed his tracker. How could Junior have left me, just like that. After everythin’ I’ve done for him. Saved him, cared for him, loved him. Ungrateful brat. I’ll set him straight, that's for sure. Sadness complemented his anger, twisting his insides to a pulp. We’ve been so happy. Why would he still want to run? Then the fury returned, reminding him, they poisoned his mind. It’s not my fault and it’s not his either. I’ll fix him. Everythin’ is going to be alright. 

    He found his son easily enough. Junior was walking around the perimeter searching for a weak point. The father scoffed at the sight. The sensors for his ankle monitor were buried underground. There was no way his son would ever find them unless he knew exactly where to look. 

    Rage still fueled him as he shouted, “The hell you think you’re doing boy!” Junior froze like a deer in headlights. Their eyes met for just a moment, his son’s filling with fear before he darted to the closet tree, shimmying up to its lower branches in seconds. Miles Sr would have been proud if he wasn’t extremely pissed off. “Boy you have ten seconds to put your feet on the ground before things get even worse for you. One…two…three….four….,” Junior wisely jumped down, slumping in defeat, head hung low. The father reached out, scruffed him by the neck, then began the walk back home.     

Junior, in the first act of common sense he’d show all day, stayed silent as they traversed the forest. Now that he had his son back, Miles Sr had to think up a fitting punishment. Something that would knock some real sense into his boy. But what? His last punishment had clearly been a temporary fix to the problem. Maybe a more old school approach would do the trick.

[bobapplesimblr]

So I made this animatic yesterday, and it kinda flopped, so here you so simblr: the characters in that video, but as sims. I couldn't find the right horns for Zeus cause I didn't have the patience to look so sadly he does have a broken horn in this, but it's fine. Also Melody's arm warmers were meant to be a teddy jacket off the shoulders, but I could not find the cc for it. I kept getting Second Life links >:(

These characters are all little parts of me. They represent not only the genders I experience as a genderfluid person, but they also embody different parts of my mind, Inside Out style.

Melody represents my sense to duty and responsibility, but to a detrimental degree. She's the part of my brain that wants to be an overachiever, but is still too self assured/overestimates my abilities and ends up not doing any real work. Also mostly in charge of how to handle my romantic feelings, but she still does a shit job at it!!! She's my femininity and my mask when I have to present cis in public, being the public face of this whole operation.

Anthony/Tony is the voice in my head that tells me I'm not good enough. He's my ego, my hatred (including self hatred), my impulsiveness. He is my desire to fuck shit up and be mean!!!! And he also represents my masculinity. He's the one that made me realize I was genderluid, after feeling extremely masculine too many times to dismiss it as a passing thought. He's really mean in my head sometimes :( and him and Melody dislike each other quite a lot, because I've battled many days with feeling both femme and masc at the same time with no way to appease either feeling.

The idea of Zeus came to me a few days ago, in the height of my distress over the breakup I asked for. I felt horrible, in so many ways, and so I wanted to make a (not so) little guy to hug me and tell me everything is okay, and a character I could channel my distressing self-oversexualization thoughts onto. He was made as somewhat of a vent character, a persona I could channel my distress into, and someone that I felt comfortable imagining taking care of me and telling my intrusive thoughts to shut up <3 I adore him and he is the most caring of them all, now representing my self love and willingness to stand up for myself and deffend myself, even if the only poses I had on hand were scary vampire poses.

[sunny6677]

Spooky Month: The Dating Sim

Part 6

(I'm mainly just doing this because it's fun to watch, but this is basically a spooky month interactive thing/poll which is kinda like a dating sim. Of course, only the adult characters can be your love interests. So do take that in mind.)

(Also I'm kind of struggling on whether or not Radford should be a love interest? I'm mainly saying this just because he hasn't shown up that much and I have no actual idea of what his personality might be like. And I'll also feel embarrassed if I end up being completely wrong about his personality if he appears in later episodes. /lh)

————

You decided you'd go and check out The Theater.

You went back inside of your car, and you revved the engines. Once the car had started, you began to drive over to where you remembered The Theater being. As you did, you saw plenty of sights outside of your window. Sights of children playing with one another, people walking down the street and minding their own business. This really did seem like a charming little suburban town.

You thought of Kevin again. Even if you had just met him, he seemed like a really nice guy. You wouldn't mind coming back or swinging by to help him with whatever troubled him.

As you drove along the street, you spotted The Theater in the distance. It was there, looming slightly with its glowing yellow lights. Yet it looked like any other movie theater. Strangely, it was beautiful in its own way. There were posters of upcoming movies on the outside walls, though none of them were ones you were particularly interested in.

And yet, you decided that since you came to check it out despite not going to see any actual movie, you would at least take a look at the main area and then leave. So, you parked your car in an empty spot. Once you stopped your car, you got out of it, and locked it tightly to ensure that no one would attempt any sort of break in.

Once you had done so, you endured the cold air of the outside and began to walk toward the entrance. The entrance was hard to peer into, so you couldn't exactly tell what was behind it or not. As you inched closer to the door, you could feel your heart pounding, as if it were telling you to take a step back. You didn't listen, confused as to why you felt the way you did.

You reached out your hand to clench around the handle once you took a step closer to the door, but then, the door opened.

Upon instinct, you practically flew back. Your legs wobbled from the sudden sheer force of gravity, but it was already too patr to stop yourself from falling. You began to feel your body slowly dipping downwards onto the ground, and you were ready to brace for the fall completely and look like a complete idiot in front of whoever had opened the door.

"Wh—Whoah!" A feminine voice uttered in a panicked tone. And before you knew it.. you suddenly stopped falling. You still had your eyes tightly clenched shut, but it only took a few seconds for you to realize that you felt something. Two sensations around your waist.

Someone had stopped you from falling, and obviously, that had been whoever had opened the door.

You slowly opened your eyes, your vision seeming a little blurry due to the lights. But among those lights, you made out a figure. A feminine figure in fact. Long purple hair, a beautiful face, a dark purple dress with an even darker purple v neck line. The dresses waist part was an even darker purple as well. And even their leggings had been a shade of purple. They even seemed to be wearing boots as well.

It was only now that you realized that.. it had been a woman who saved you. A very beautiful woman in fact. You could make out a smaller figure who.. seemed to be in a skeleton costume staring up in awe from beside her, most likely her kid or some other relative.

Even so.. you weren't exactly sure what to say.

The woman then widened her eyes, seemingly noticing the somewhat awkward position you were both in. She stumbled to a straighter position, and she slowly lifted you up. "O—Oh! Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" She asked.

You had now been back on your feet, and her hands slowly slipped off of your waist.

[lilypadding]

Hii! I haven’t really been active here for some time sooo how are you? How have you been? :)

HIIII!!! honestly I haven't been very active here either, I just hop in every so often. I should go back to the time when this was my #1 social media cause that was a lot easier to digest than twitter LOL

(this ended up being longer than i thought so I added a read-more)

I've been okay generally, I feel like I'm in a bit of a transitory period in my life where I'm trying new things and attempting to get myself to chase dreams that feel very far away. I just recently got on my Summer break from school, so I'm grateful for that! I was planning on taking another summer course, but I dropped it last second because it's technically not a requirement

I posted a random scene that I've been wanting to post on AO3 because I wrote it a while ago, it's basically an AU where Nagito is a fem musician and the whole premise is that she's popular (and so is the rest of the DR cast and some others, like just generally a fame AU cause I dig the idea so much) but it hasn't gotten many interactions since it primarily involves a rare-pair. (I've been so into Taylor Swift's music and her rise to stardom, it's been a recent fixation for me so I completely blame that on that AU/snippet of a fic.)

I have SOOOO many fanfics sitting in my documents of this rare pair, like 99% of them have fem nagito, and it mainly stemmed as an "inside joke" between my partner and I but now it's like second language to us and it's this weird thing where this version of fem nagito feels more like an OC if anything, cause the more deviations you take from canon the more creative liberty you impose on them and all that. I always feel a little bit like I'm lying when I post that content, because I love writing canon Nagito and writing him as accurately as I can muster because I'd like to think I do a good job, but then I remind myself that fanfic is entirely optional and I may as well post things that feel completely unique to me and even "out of character" because what's the harm in it? most sensible people will just click off if they don't like it.

Like, I posted this fic titled "3 years different*" on AO3 which was ANOTHER rarepair AU fem-nagito thing (Like, a different AU to the musician AU one) which, again, stemmed between my partner and I and I didn't expect anyone to read it and enjoy it but I got a pretty nice comment on the second chapter that warmed my heart and made me feel like posting was slightly worth it.

and I just love the rare-pair and I love my version of fem nagito that has shifted and grown - and while it's SO much fun to kinda have a little fandom AU between my partner and i, it gets sooo lonely being the only 2 people who are a fan of this hyper specific fandom-amalgamation we created??? like I'm only touching on it lightly here but THE LORE we made runs ridiculously deep, I've considered what a video-essay on it would look like trying to cover EVERYTHING and it would be A MESSS but it's so fun

in my personal life I've just been filling my time with animal crossing, I don't know if you're anything like this but I swing between all of my previous fixations when I don't find a new one and I just ping-pong between getting really sucked into one thing to another. like, a few months ago I was OBSESSEDDD with the sims 2. before that I think it was stardew valley. Now I'm back on animal crossing. I finally have a Switch so I've been decorating my island from SCRATCH for the first time ever, it's fun but I also find myself running out of ideas so quickly so I end up running around my island aimlessly wondering what I should do. I love building on animal crossing with long-form youtube content in the back.

I also want to start doing fan edits again!! I used to be really into it in 2020 (I Wonder why with the state of the world then), but I'm trying really hard to dabble more because playing around in After Effects and making transitions is genuinely a lot of fun. I hope i get into it more consistently

I'm also looking forward to a concert that I'm going to with my partner soon! I've never been to a concert so it'll be my first! I'm excited to dress up and hopefully know the words to the band !!

IDK why I'm just rambling LOL I got so excited to see this question in my ask! You're so sweet for reaching out and asking!! How have you been?!?! I want to know!!

[hannahssimblr]

I keep seeing anons mention Doors and your screenshots from a Sims 3 story. What was it about?

omg! Doors was my second 'big' story written using sims, the first that I took to its own blog because I kept getting banned from the exchange. It was a wild ride. I wrote it when I was maybe seventeen and it's VERY silly and disjointed, I was not a girl with a plan, I just went with the flow of it and you could tell, but anyway, the synopsis is under the cut.

it's about a 17 year old girl called Kady Lawson whose parents recently got divorced. She and her mother move to the top floor an old Brownstone building in Bridgeport.

Kady immediately starts to experience strange happenings in the house, and wonders whether she and her mother are really alone... It begins with strange knocking on the wall of her bedroom that only gets worse and worse as time goes on. Then things start falling off the shelves in her bedroom and she becomes convinced that there's a poltergeist in her house.

She tries to explain this to her mother (an airhead) who obviously doesn't believe her.

Anyway, obviously things get way worse and the poltergeist kicks into high gear and starts throwing things at Kady and physically injuring her. She also notices a figure of a strange woman in the background of a family photo that definitely wasn't there before. Creep city, if you ask me.

Anyway, then one night Kady is trying to sleep when the lights of the city outside strangely dim and it goes deathly silent. The figure of a woman materialises in the corner of her bedroom and stares her. Kady is too afraid to move so she just stares back and prays that she will leave her alone. After several terrifying moments the woman floats towards the bookshelves in Kady's room, through them, and disappears into the wall. Kady, super smart gorl, pulls back the bookcases to revel *gasp!* a hidden door.

Kady goes through the door to find an array of desperately boring things, paintings, boxes, an easel, nothing of remote interest except for another door on the other side of this little crawl space. Brave girl, she steps through it to find...

The neighbour's apartment. It's a trendy loft that belongs to a guy called Tristan, who becomes Kady's sidekick in this mystery. This is pretty much when I decided to give up on the ghost thing and make it a love story instead, but I tried my best to keep the mystery going even though i no longer cared about it. Tristan is a former child actor who has escaped Lucky Palms for a secluded life in Bridgeport, away from his insane parents, his grief over his dead sister and his (obvious, but never explicitly stated) drug additions. "It's hell, like siberia except it's warmer" - he explained to her. He's way too old for her, but I guess when I was 17 I thought age gaps were hot and relationships between 17/18 year olds and 23 year olds were A-OK lmao.

Tristan is somehow okay with Kady busting into his private space, listens to her problems and quickly agrees to help her to solve the mystery, 'cause he's a kooky guy, he's seen crazier things, and he could use the entertainment. I was obsessed with him. He was the weirdest character I ever wrote, and I eventually got bullied by adult women on some writers forum because I made him too gross and weird and they didn't like it hahaha.

Kady and Tristan try to solve the mystery of the haunted house and come up against dead end after dead end. They find relatives of the former owners of the house, look through old photographs, do a ouija board and Kady has a series of prophetic dreams. Meanwhile she's like "This guy is the worst and also gross!! But he's kinda....??" and he's like "I'm disloyal and selfish and I don't believe in love so don't bother" They have a small falling out over things that go wrong on her 18th birthday and stop speaking.

Anyway then fucked up stuff starts happening in Tristan's apartment and he comes back to Kady to ask her for help. There are things moving around inside his mattress and writing appearing on his walls, including a message that seems to implicate a former owner of the brownstone for murder.

They eventually locate a musty old diary belonging to the woman of the house from the 1920s. She talks about how her husband has been eyeing up the hussy next door, and she is NOT happy about it. It details her discovery that her husband has built a passageway between their homes so he can sneak over in the night and cheat on her. (don't ask me how she never noticed him building the doors or not being in bed with her at night, I didn't think about these kinds of things. It was just the vibe.)

Tristan and Kady do more research (lots of research in this story, they're also aided by Kady being suddenly psychic for no reason) and uncover a death certificate for the hussy next door (Esther). Cause of death - blunt force trauma to the skull lmao.

Kady invites Tristan over for awkward coffee, and he comes in and steps on a creaky floorboard (the same floorboard that creaks in chapter one!! I was planning ahead a bit i guess) she has an idea. She grabs a hammer and yanks up the boards to uncover a mound of old dusty books. Boring! Except one of them *gasp* was in one of Kady's prophetic dreams!!

It is a journal belonging to the murdered woman (who is the ghost, btw) where she is documenting her pregnancy. As an aside, I'm cackling at this line from Tristan when he puts two and two together. “Didn’t Vera say something in her journal about Esther looking kinda fat?”

Thanks for that, insightful king .

They go back to the crawl space that divides their apartments and discover a box of baby things. Then they hear an unholy crash coming from Tristans room. They rush out to discover his things thrown about the place, wardrobe hanging open, clothes everywhere. The ghosts are at it again, boys. But Kady discovers a box at the bottom of his wardrobe. Because she's nosy and has to respect for privacy she opens it and discovers photos of his dead sister. Sad!

Kady and Tristan get another lead that the evil killer woman had ties to Appaloosa Plains. They take a fun road trip, get a motel, and obviously I decided to pull a 'there was only one bed' move because it was the style at the time.

Adorable, inappropriate age gap, power imbalance love <3

(actually there were two beds, but they end up using one to have a deep conversation and almost kiss!)

They talk about their lives but Tristan freezes up because he's deep and he's got wounds! He shuts her out and refuses to talk anymore.

They venture into the country bumpkin capital of the sims world and trace the murder's family home to a building in town that is now a saloon. They ask the owner for information about her, and he has none. Kady admits to Tristan that she was kinda hoping to find a confession to the murder (why would she leave that lying around though? Anyway...) They discover that the murderer (Vera) changed her name, married a wealthy man and scorned her working class country roots.

They go poking around in the backrooms of the saloon and discover stacks and stacks of old newspapers in a cellar, which they write off as useless trash until they discover that they're all the same copy of the same paper from the same day. Somebody bought up every copy in town and hid them away. The search through the papers to discover a report of a missing person in Bridgeport - not Esther, but Vera's husband Henry! Gasp! did she kill him too?

As soon as they mention the word murder Kady spirals into an intense psychic vision and see's a half decomposed, skeletal body emerge from the darkness. Freezing cold suddenly and unable to move or scream, she collapses to the floor in terror.

Anyway, Tristan takes the opportunity to almost kiss her but doesn't because I was building suspense.

Then they randomly find a hole in the floor lol!

Tell me how nobody has seen this in like 80 years!! nobody like, swept the floor? Anyway. Roll with it.

There's a human skeleton hanging out down there and Kady vomits on Tristan's designer sneakers.

Weeks later, long after returning from Appaloosa Plains, Kady sulks in her window and wonders what the fuck she's meant to do about a crusty old murder that happened in like, the 20s. Who is she to solve it? Even Vera is dead so like, what's the point (I'm also wondering this Kady, so hopefully one of us can figure it out) I think she's also not talking to Tristan although this is not clear. She sees him walking across the street and gets sad because he's so sexy and yet so unavailable to her. *sigh*

All of a sudden Kady has ANOTHER psychic vision omg. She sees a little girl ghost appear in her room, a girl who introduces herself as the Esther's daughter! She says she died of the flu or some shit when she was ten and she holds all the answers. "Take my hand' she tells Kady. "I'll show you." Kady does, and they embark...

The ghost girl - Rebecca brings Kady down a mysterious corridor lined with doors, each one of which holds a piece of the puzzle.

Behind one door is Esther's murdered body, and the murder weapon, a humble hammer, lies on the floor next to her feet (look at my editing skills! amaze) she then witnesses Vera coming into the room and cleaning up the crime scene, removing evidence that she did it, hiding the hammer.

Then Kady goes into another room and sees Vera poisoning poor sickly Rebecca's soup for no reason other than she is evil. Kady blacks out AGAIN because apparently she literally cannot stop doing this and I didn't know how else to transition to another scene.

Kady comes to in time to see Tristan coming home from wherever he was (likely spreading STDs around the place tbh) she tries to tell him what she's seen but he doesn't care, he's too busy being damaged and interesting. Oh, he's also drunk. Okay.

He actually does tell her that he's a drug addict here. Okay. He got hooked on cocaine when he was an actor and now he's clean. Not relevant at all to the story I think I'd just found out about cocaine at this point in my life and i wanted to include it.

Kady visits Esther's and Rebecca's graves. She awkwardly speaks to Rebecca and says that she's sorry for what happened to her, but she's figured it all out now. She says that she hopes she can rest in peace now (even though you did nothing, babe, honestly.) She explains that Rebecca's father was murdered in Appaloosa Plains and left to rot in a cellar. She also DIDN'T CALL THE POLICE? Like she found a body and did nothing about it and now the mystery is over. Okay whatever.

Anyway, Tristan is moving back to Lucky Palms to be with his family because he has realised that he mustn't run away from his problems. He waits for Kady in her room (breaking and entering) and she comes home from the graveyard to find him there.

they finally have a big dirty smooch but don't do anything else I swear!!!!

I actually remember readers being annoyed that they didn't fuck, but like, I was a teenage girl who hadn't done anything but kiss yet! There was no way I was going to write about something like that, and I felt guilty for not trying to because so many readers were like "aw! what?? after all that and they're not going to bang??" Like sorry, no. I'm 17 and a virgin you're going to have to go somewhere else, queens xx

Kady and Tristan say goodbye in an airport and he says "I've fallen in love with you, I guess." Nice!

Then she has to leave, but he loudly sings love songs to her until he gets tackled to the floor by security (and possibly arrested? It's not clear)

Kady looks at him and laughs cos he's so wild and crazy. Whadda guy, am I right?

That's it lol. It was actually really really fun to read this story again and relay it, because I don't remember any of it. It was like reading it for the first time with totally fresh eyes. I had so many readers on this thing, like at least 500 which is INSANE to me now. The community was much more alive back then and more people were writing and reading, and like in a way I'm proud of it for what it is. It was a valiant attempt at a novella, and people really did connect with it, so as much as I'm kind of sneering at it (kindly - because it's myself) I have to stand behind it and say yeah! I finished it! And people showed up week after week and read it so that's really cool!

Thanks for sending this question - I don't know if an entire synopsis is what you were asking for, but there it is!

[the-sinners-paradise]

hiii i love your hcs so much 🥺 can i request platonic hcs of nazuna, nagisa, ibara & mitsuru playing around with a younger sibling reader? thank you in advance! 🥺❤️

» helloooo!! tysm, anon, im glad to hear that! also wow-za, what's with all the sibling hcs these days, huh? /nm ☆

prompt: playing around with your older sibling

character(s): nazuna nito, nagisa ran, ibara saegusa, mitsuru tenma

pairing(s): N/A, platonic w/ gn!reader

warnings: N/A, fluff

☆ — NAZUNA NiTO !!

nazuna's idea of 'playing around' centers mostly around playing video games with him. one that he has really been into ever since you two were little is the sims and he hasn't stopped playing it ever since. you always get to watch in amazement as he creates perfect replicas of you and himself and then does all kinds of crazy shenanigans with those little characters.

if you're going out somewhere, though, nazuna also has a lot of activities you two could do! he keeps a lot of the toys from your childhood, so stuff like frisbees, various sports balls and even hula hoops are practically on hand at any given moment. it's like a kindergarten gym closet inside your house.

nazuna may not look like it, but he can definitely be aggressive when he's playing competitively. this is especially proven true when he nearly tackled you down a hill when you two were playing some makeshift version of football. in the end, you ended up with a bruise or two, but he swore he would make up for it. (he bought you ice cream everyday for a week)

he doesn't really play any kind of rpg or competitive games by himself, but you should know sitting down with him and battling it out in a pvp game will end in your total demise. he isn't exactly a gamer by any means, so it's almost impressive how you can hand him any game and he'll learn it almost immediately.

also, he's known to give in almost instantly if he notices you're sad about losing. sometimes he'll even mess up on purpose, even if he knows you'll notice, just so you can win.

☆ — NAGiSA RAN !!

nagisa is a strange case when it comes to playing around with you, because he's so invested in his own thing that it's pretty much impossible to tear him away from it. he'll continue to tell you “i'll be there in a second” and then continue his own hobby for another hour.

if you really insist on hanging out with him, you'll probably end up watching some kind of documentary related to gemstones or rocks, or he's going to sit you down just to talk about the things he likes. of course, you get a turn too! that new show you watched last week? he's all ears, tell him about it!

okay, you're really pushing your luck when you're making him go outside, but since he's your brother, he doesn't complain too much. actually, he ends up quite enjoying your trips to shopping centers, even though he doesn't seem thrilled about it any time you bring it up. he always finds something of interest, though, and one time he bought a bunch of little crystals and made you a bracelet out of them. “they remind me of you” or something of the sort.

actually, on that note, while he would rather not be known for it, nagisa is pretty good at making little jewelry items like that. you and hiyori are the only ones that get to own them, but he's made some for other people too, just refuses to gift them. sometimes, if you somehow manage to catch him when he's making them, you two do it together. in the end, there's probably ten bracelets on each of your arms.

☆ — iBARA SAEGUSA !!

ibara "i don't have time for games" saegusa.

well, until you start getting annoying, that is. ibara never lashes out at you, but it's very clear when he reaches a limit with being asked to "hang out". getting him to abandon whatever he's doing is difficult, but he's more likely to agree if he's already having a bad day. for you, it's easy to tell, because he starts groaning a lot and is significantly slower whenever doing anything. it's almost as if he's half asleep..

you usually take him out to a café or maybe even a diner whenever you notice he's stressing out. it's not so much playing around, but his snarky personality immediately returns when he's finally relaxed. he enjoys picking on you and, don't tell anyone, but he often ruffles up your hair and pinches your cheek if he thinks your reactions to his teasing are 'cute'. again, you can't tell anyone, remember?

the only way to get ibara involved in games that involve him moving around a lot is if you steal his glasses. yes, he knows you'll just give them back if he doesn't engage, but it seems as though every time you do it, his first instinct is to get up and start chasing you. it's difficult to see, you know? just give them back!

honestly, he's willing to do anything you ask for if it entertains you, especially whenever you catch him in one of those moods where he doesn't feel like working. even if you want to do something outlandish like going to disneyland, he's still more likely to agree than the average person.

☆ — MiTSURU TENMA !!

if you want misturu's attention, you have to get it his way or you won't be able to get it at all.

as a hyperactive guy, he's always finding new ways to entertain himself with “only the things nature has provided him”.. and you find out what that means when you two end up going to a forest and he catches a fish with his bare hands, before releasing it into the water after showing off his catch to you. “pretty cool, right?”

he's the type of person who would run around, jump on rocks and climb on trees, so make sure to keep up! oh well, but if you can't, he'll always stop to help you. mitsuru loves helping you, and especially loves the feeling of being the older brother! he wants to protect you and take care of you, so make sure you tell him whenever you're in need of anything.

if you really insist on doing something inside rather than outside, then you'll probably either be making a mess out of the kitchen or playing sports indoors. you can't get mitsuru to sit down for a second, so stuff like puzzles are completely off the table. but at least you always have fun baking with him! although everything ends up a mess, at least you can forget your worries for a little while.

if you're really lucky you might be able to play video games or board games with him. it's super rare for him to finish the game with you, but he's actually pretty good when he gets invested in it. the problem? he often finds it boring if there's very little happening, so you have to keep his attention on the game the whole time.

[ladylussh]

THE AGORAPHOBE CHALLENGE*⁕⁎

Created By lady lussh

This challenge can be played on short or normal depending on how hard or quickly you want to play it. No cheats allowed, No money tree!!

Your Sims has experienced a high level of anxiety in life and one day after a huge fall out with a loved one they had a massive panic attack while out shopping, they couldn't breath and everything went blurry and they passed out. Waking up in a hospital in a daze. They were so scared and anxious that they didn't know what to do. Now for fear of that happening again they stopped going outside completely and kept socializing to a minimal. which has caused them to not want to leave there home as it is there safe space. The fear was so intense they didn't want any thing in there home at all, until One day they decide they need to make steps to change this. They will only step outside if its on there tiles.

The Aim*⁕⁎

To get better and conquer their fear, through self healing.

Set Up *⁕⁎

1.You may build a 3x3 tile home to start with, you may decorate with walls and floor covering of your choice. your garden is included in these tiles, so even if you don't have flooring the tiles /squares are still counted. No other extra decorations are allowed on the inside. just painted walls when you start out. You may also decorate the outside. A mail box should also be on your tiles and you cannot use the roof as extra space to build.

2.Your only items are a bed no more than $500 and a Packet of starter seeds for $35. You can plant only one to start with and eat the rest if you choose food. you can choose, flowers, fruit, veg or herbs This will be your source of income to start.

3. Set money to 0 once you have made your 3x3(9 squares)

4You cannot leave your tiles.....Yet(must build up to it and a bigger home)

Character Traits*⁕⁎

Cheerful (as you are at ease in your own space)

Geek (your very clever)

Loner (love own company)

Aspiration*⁕⁎

If you have spa day wellness-Inner peace (want to over comer fear)

or Base game Nerd Brain (can over come fear, by keeping the mind busy)

You can add the gardening aspiration freelance botanist if you can handle more (optional)

Skills*⁕⁎

Skills you need to max out in order to travel around. Once all 3 below are maxed out you are on the mend and feeling a lot better and ready to step out into the world.

Fitness Level 5 you can stand on your lot that's not in the tiles, get to level 10 in all three then you can around. the 1st maxed level you can travel in your world, 2nd maxed choose a second world and 3rd maxed you can pick a 3rd world.

2. Handiness 10

3. Logic 10

4. Gardening, but just because you enjoy it. You cannot use the garden to place household items like beds sinks etc. No using the garden to cheat items.

5.If you choose to take pictures you can sell poor quality from your inventory to get rid of them, and when you max out photography you can sell to publication. Do not SPAM taking picture to make fast money at the start.

6. Wellness 10, as part of your journey

Rules*⁕⁎

Start with 0 simoleons

Home is 3x3 to start with

Start with a bed and a seed (plant one)

Don't leave your tiles until your better(see below)

Complete your aspiration (have a moment of clarity travel to a spa)

Complete your set skills (you can do more)

Have a family (they can leave, but only your skills build the home)

Build up your home and Garden

Make money selling your crops, then upgrade to whatever you like without leaving your tiles. i.e. (art, writing, music etc.)

you may have guest, but lock the door when your alone and make sure you don't leave when guest are there.

Have a home worth $150,000

Throw a massive party to celebrate your recovery at the end.

How to Get more tiles*⁕⁎

With every skill you level up you get 3 more tiles added to your home, with the skills you must do, you get 30 tiles each skill. you can knock down the walls and build as you go, just don't step outside of your tiles. Your garden is included in these tiles.

*⁕⁎ You get Five tiles with every step of an aspiration checked off.

*⁕⁎ Complete your aspiration to get 15 tiles

The Ending*⁕⁎

*⁕⁎ once your aspiration and skills are complete you are cured enough to travel anywhere. (you still work from home)

*⁕⁎ Throw a party to celebrate your achievement of completing your skills and aspirations and earn gold

*⁕⁎ keep going till your home is worth $150,000 (make it more if you like)

Challenge complete

[msbarrows]

I posted 3,032 times in 2022

That's 378 more posts than 2021!

347 posts created (11%)

2,685 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@katschy

@iapetusneume

@ltleflrt

@gingersnapwolves

@sarasa-cat

I tagged 3,024 of my posts in 2022

#tumblr - 250 posts

#no man's sky - 240 posts

#lol - 143 posts

#starships - 140 posts

#euclid galaxy - 133 posts

#the untamed - 117 posts

#this! - 115 posts

#also - 89 posts

#writing - 89 posts

#fanfiction - 82 posts

Longest Tag: 132 characters

#be very sad when i go to eat lunch and discovered what happens to a soft banana inside a lunch box that was used to bludgeon a bully

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

See the full post

38 notes - Posted July 21, 2022

#4

See the full post

39 notes - Posted October 22, 2022

#3

See the full post

50 notes - Posted June 13, 2022

#2

My latest gaming addiction - No Man’s Sky. Bought it on Steam in sales last week and after an initial “not sure if like or dislike” I’ve spent a disturbing number of hours running around and finding stuff and building mini-bases all over my starting solar system. This particular one is at the site of a crashed space freighter I’m salvaging stuff from (my only base so far in a second solar system is positioned at same). I have several sites I’ve named “Drydock” that were claimed just for the purpose of salvaging a wrecked ship and warping it to the space station to melt down for scrap (best haul so far netted me > 5 million units plus a storage upgrade for my own tiny ship). At some point when I have a lot more in the way of resources and technology, I might try actually repairing one of the crashed ships. Because why not.

I also like having bases handy to specific material types - like the one super-weird planet covered in coral-like desiccated creatures that are formed of both carbon and ferrite (two of the three main building materials, the other being silicate sand you can dig up anywhere), making it an awesome place to farm for more building materials any time I start running low. So much easier and faster than running around mining them from random plants and rocks on other planets, and I can just use my teleporter to step to there from any of my other bases if I need to gather more

So far if I had to describe my character I’d say they’re conflict-avoidant. Happy enough to just ignore the battles occurring around them, scavenge for salvageable crap, and build micro-bases. I am looking forward to unlocking more of the decor items so I can make bases that look comfortable, not just functional (I blame many years of playing The Sims for that interest...).

I’ve barely set foot outside my starting system yet, and don’t really have any interest so far in following the main storyline assignments or getting into any fights. I’ve only killed one pirate so far - mostly I just scram away from them as fast as my tiny ship can go - but I may beef up my weapons and shields a little, because being randomly attacked when I’m just minding my own business mining asteroids (for gold so I can build more solar panels) is getting old.

50 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Been wanting this print from @theshitpostcalligrapher‘s Etsy shop for most of a year now; finally picked up a copy this month as a birthday present to myself.

I’ve put it in sight of my bed, so I’ll see it first and last thing every day, and some day (hopefully soonish) when I get my shit together enough to move out into my own place again, I will probably make a point of it being the first decorative item I set out.

(Also I love the pretty tiled frame I bought to put it in)

222 notes - Posted August 15, 2022

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[ladyjaja]

entry 6 ... my house is beautiful

i own a lot of conejo but its a community space for anyone to be in .. i do have a space tht is like my "house" w a lot of artifacts inside, its locate in a corner of the maiden garden

a big open space is so appealing but its easier for things to feel homey and cluttered for less Li in a small house like this.. i think it was actually a freebie prefab from a sim i visited.. all i did to modify it was add a prim w/ a Source engine tile as well as a red curtain to simulate a more ornate entrance..nyways..LETS actually talk about my house

this area is where i have "home" set so i always log on ontop of this bed.. portraits of hlpt characters done by cpu sister & flowers from her vn .. and a inspirational image on the ceiling

this is one of those futons that lifts a blanket when you sit on it, so your avatar is actually tucked in.. its sooo cute, i think it was very cheap too

directly out of the bed room theres a living room area .. i dont know what else to say other than its very cozy.. and i have my own paintings framed on the wall.. because i like them.. that tv is from MARUSHIN.. its one of the best items i have, its just so detail it really outstands me.. if you sit on it it gives u options to eat potato chips or play console among other things.. i always appreciate when furniture has really unique features like that rlly enhance feeling of a virtual world rther thn purely use for a static photoshoot set

then theres the office area..

framed is a blobfish wafa made by my girlfriend(i love this picture SO much!) and a picture drawn by fabric of mel,tan,mellie & me in our lucky conejobeat outfits (i love this picture SO much!)

and ofc what a second life personal home without like a super decked out computer desk for no reason because you could have anything else but we second life players just love the computer so much so always a YES to the computer shrine!

ive had a setup adjacent to thsi in almost every place i lived in in sl, the bunny monitor, bunny chair, old school tablet and old school pc have been present in almost every "house" i made.. only recently is this monitor red, the picture on that monitor is a real pic of me on my desktop w a recolored miku model (my own recolor) loaded up on mmd.. the other computer monitor has a fake desktop that was created for hlpt in place

on the left,theres the quadrupedal wafa plush and a plush vampirebunny rein made for newyears a couple years ago.. & on the right is another one of the plushies i made with a chaos emerald.. covering slightly a farojacube.. behind a 3d recreation of a real life paper craft bunny i made (out of breath..)

my house is tiny so thts it.. obviously a lot of "personal" stuff in it but thts w any sl home, people are oging to put personal memories around.. one of my fav things abt exploring and entering empty house is seeing if theres any pics of the avatars.. if u go sailing ull see a lot of those houses have trophies for sailing or trophies for fishing.. things like tht.. im not the only one like this~

[snowinthe-south]

I posted 2,372 times in 2022

26 posts created (1%)

2,346 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@poisonouswritings

@funnytwittertweets

@beetle-swarm

@jtownraindancer

@italoniponic

I tagged 154 of my posts in 2022

#twisted wonderland - 9 posts

#im dying - 4 posts

#last legacy - 3 posts

#i'm dying - 3 posts

#oh good lord i am loving this - 3 posts

#last legacy felix - 3 posts

#i love this - 2 posts

#*this - 2 posts

#oh good lord i love this - 2 posts

#youtube - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#i love how none of the brothers questioned your sobriety in their version but in this one you got dia and sim asking if you're drunk again

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Imagine Felix falling for a bookworm-MC. However, Felix is being all difficult and in denial and stuff.

"I'm NOT in love with MC!!!"

"Me, in love with MC??? HA!"

"You must have hit your head, you are talking nonsense..."

"Hey look- a bird!!!" *disappears*

MC loves books. Felix loans MC as many of his books as they want to read. But it doesn't stop their desire to have books of their own in Astraea. Their room at the Starsworn's castle (anyone wanna help a girl out and remind me of the name of this place?) is practically empty. But MC has no money... so no they have no way to buy any books.

Afew weeks later, MC ends up winning some sort of bet with Sage, and wins some money from him. They beg Felix to take them to the market.

"Please, Felix! This money is burning a hole in my pocket!"

"MC, your pocket is not on fire."

Felix finally agrees and plans a day at the market so MC can get whatever they want. Anisa and Sage decide to tag along, and the group arrives at the market. It's a beautiful day, and they soon come upon several stalls selling books. Felix takes his eyes off of MC for two seconds to admire a beautiful cover at a nearby stall.

MC is now gone.

Way to go, Felix. You took your eyes off of the bookworm.

After (not frantically) searching for MC for what feels like forever, Felix is beginning to get worried. Anisa assures him that everything is okay and the trio continue to search. Felix can't stop worrying, however, he was broken from his thoughts when he smacked right into a moving stack of books.

Wait, what?"

Oh, it's MC... carrying 20 books.

MC is just happy to have found their friends and begins a ramble about all of the book they've found. They haven't stopped talking about their hoard for several minutes and Felix is wondering how they're still carrying that many books and how aren't their arms falling off yet?

But Felix feels something deep inside of him.

He's watching MC closely, taking in every word they say. They've got a huge smile on their face, they are absolutely beaming. Their eyes are practically twinkling. And if the books weren't so heavy, one would imagine that they'd be jumping up and down, excitedly.

Anisa doesn't miss the way Felix staring at MC. However, Sage is the one to snicker and make a teasing comment.

"Felix, I saw a jeweler around the corner there. You gonna go pick out a ring, or what?"

Felix doesn't even respond to Sage's comment (though for a split second he actually considers the ring) and turns his focus back onto MC, who hasn't even stopped to take a breath. They've now placed their stack of books on the ground next to them and proceed to go through each book and talk about the synopsis and plot line and that's when Felix realizes he's in huge trouble.

And also that he's very much in love with MC.

*my very first imagine/headcanon EVER and may just very well be my only.

*written at 2:18am after two panic attacks so forgive how rushed it is, please. And any grammar mistakes.

*heavily inspired by my 5'7 weak, noodle armed self literally carrying a stack of 17 books through the bookstore this weekend because I refused to get a basket. getting a basket means I can carry more books and I was already over budget. yes, my arms still hurt very badly. and yes, it was worth it. 100% believe this kind of behavior would cause Felix to propose to me.

53 notes - Posted May 3, 2022

#4

I'm rewatching Encanto, and my favorite song is Waiting On a Miracle. I'm also playing Twisted Wonderland while watching, and I thought of something...

MC/Yuu singing this song to themselves (like Mirabel is doing) after a big, magical ceremony. Seeing all of their friends- even Grim -in their ceremonial robes, casting spells and being praised for their unique magic. MC finally has a breaking point, not understanding *why* they were brought to Twisted Wonderland and Night Raven College, why they don't have magic and their struggle with it.

58 notes - Posted July 5, 2022

#3

Okay, I had the DUMBEST dream, but it was also kind of funny. Granted, I don't remember a whole lot of the dream and my dreams get weird, so things may not make sense. I'll try to leave out most of the non-TWST related stuff.

My dream closely followed the plot of the Ghost Bride story, with a few variances such as;

I was in place of the MC (I know because at one point I was referred to as the Ramshackle Prefect and Grim stayed with me). However you could totally read some parts of this and replace "I" with yourself/your OC like a first-person POV if you want to laugh (or cringe)

None of the boys came even close to successfully wooing Eliza... not even MR. FREAKIN' DARCY who appeared to tell Eliza how she bewitched him body and soul 💀

Puffy never showed up and won Eliza's heart (or lack thereof?)

The ceremony had actual guests outside of the ghost court, and a lot of the guests were other students who were there for entertainment

Crowley simply gave up at some point and he and the other faculty members attended the wedding (aka Idia's funeral)

Jamil, Kalim, and Malleus were frozen because they stepped in to try and help- if I recall, they never showed up for Ghost Bride because Jamil couldn't risk Kalim's safety and Malleus couldn't cause a controversy?

I'll begin where the chaos started.

So I (Yuu), Grim, and Ortho were the only ones who hadn't been frozen by Eliza out of the students who were actively trying to help. We were reaching the point of desperation- Grim however made a comment that we reached desperation when we decided to send in ACE. 💀

The three of us were trying to figure out what to do, and Ortho made another threat about simply blowing up the school (damn Ortho, chill) and I said something along the lines of, "calm down kid. I know you're scared to lose your family member but you are being really dramatic right now" And that's when I solved the problem. Like... "kid... family member... THAT'S IT! I know what to do!"

I made Grim and Ortho follow me, and we ran to the Cinema Club's room and got a few things. There was a whole bunch of junk but I remember a ring, a baby blanket and bonnet, and a pillow. I changed out of my uniform into casual clothes and shoved the pillow in my shirt to resemble a pregnant lady... Ortho put on some childish clothes- think propeller hat and a dinosaur shirt. I put on the ring, shoved Grim into the bonnet and swaddled him, and we then rushed back to the "wedding".

We ran right past the ghost guards and anytime they tried to stop us I just yelled "UNLESS YOU WANT TO PAY IDIA'S CHILD SUPPORT I SUGGEST YOU GET OUT OF MY WAY" and the ghosts just faded away each time, saying "I'm so sorry ma'am". 💀

We burst through the doors and before anyone had a chance to react I yelled "IDIA HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

I was sobbing and had mascara running down my cheeks, so at some point I must've applied a ton of it...

Eliza was not amused... she was very irritated and asked "who are you?!" and yelled that I was interrupting her wedding. I replied "I'm not here for you! I'll deal with you in a moment you homewrecker" and marched closer to Idia with Ortho holding my hand and Grim being cradled in my other arm. I yelled at Idia through my (fake) sobs, "WE HAVE TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN A BLESSING ON THE WAY AND A LIFE TOGETHER HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

I distinctly remember Ruggie being the one to yell "WHAT THE F***?" at my proclamation

Idia was so freakin' stunned he couldn't form coherent sentences. And when Ortho looked at Eliza and said "why are you taking my daddy away from us" Idia just started bawling.

Eliza gasped and looked between Idia and the three of us, and she said "you have kids?!"

I held up my hand with the ring and said "AND A WIFE."

"B-but he isn't wearing a wedding band!"

"That's because he never wears it! He's ashamed of us."

I don't remember all of the dialog around this part, but I said something about Idia trying to claim that the kids weren't his, before pointing at Ortho and going "YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT THIS CHILD DOESN'T LOOK LIKE HIM. "

Cue Idia mumbling "well *that* thing definitely isn't mine" in reference to Grim, who chose that moment to start WAILING. I gelled back something along the lines of "Deuce and I only had an emotional affair"

To which Deuce choked upon hearing.

Eliza started crying and apologizing to me, stating that she couldn't possibly take love away from someone else. If anyone has ever seen The Corspe Bride, it was very reminiscent of Emily's ending lines.

I replied back with "it isn't your fault... he goes after anything that's willing to give him the time of day. I'd let you have him if he didn't owe me money for the kids, but you don't want to end up with a cheater like I did."

Cater shouted "YOU DESERVE BETTER GIRL!"

I somehow convinced Eliza to leave Night Raven College and she unfroze everyone before doing so. After she and her court left, the room stayed silent for a few minutes because everyone was busy trying to process what the hell just happened. Floyd was the first to break the silence, absolutely dying laughing and trying to congratulate Idia on his marriage and children. Some of the other students were snickering too. Some were just plain in shock.

Idia just kind of crumpled to the floor. I took the pillow out from underneath my shirt and threw it at him, laughing and stating "I'm never doing that ever again, so you need to be careful not to attract anymore ghosts, okay?"

See the full post

60 notes - Posted September 18, 2022

#2

This is only my second attempt at writing an imagine/headcanons.

Also, I can concur with what I see a lot of people complaining about: writing on mobile, sucks.

***Spoilers mainly for Felix's route, just for Rime's part of the post. Small spoilers though, nothing crazy.

Life is great. The LoS has been defeated and Astraea is safe. MC has decided to stay in Astraea to be with their LI of choice and not return to earth. They've officially been in Astraea for over a year. Life is good.

Until MC gets amnesia. Either from an accidental spell or a blow to the head. They've lost all of their memories of Astraea, their adventures, and their loved ones. The last thing they remember is the convention before they were ripped from away from earth, and even then the details are foggy.

Felix is a total wreck. He and MC were practically inseparable. If you saw Felix somewhere, MC was probably just a few feet away, and vice versa. They were never apart, and they liked it that way. So for Felix, to go from always having MC at his side to them being strangers... it was very hard for him.

It was almost like the whole Rime situation again, just in a different manner. It takes a toll on his mental health.

Felix works nonstop, searching for a spell to recover MC's memories, and even begs his father for help. But to no avail, MC's memories are gone. They don't even remember their first time meeting Felix.

Felix soon accepts that his only option is to take care of MC and let their relationship come again naturally. They were rather close, after all. It will happen... it has to.

But Felix cannot silence the nagging thought in the back of his head, his insecurities telling him "it was a miracle that they fell for you the first time..."

Felix doesn't try to force the memories, nor does he let them affect the current dynamic between him and MC. But one day they were in the study, reading together on the couch, and MC drifted off to sleep on Felix's shoulder. It took everything in him not cry, because they used to do that all the time. The faint familiarity of it hurt Felix, because it only reminded him of the memories lost.

Despite the trauma and turmoil Felix had to face regarding MC's amnesiac state, he never gave up on them. Not once. And every tear, every sleepless night, every struggle was worth it when MC shyly took hold of Felix's hand during a walk. In that moment, he knew everything was going to be okay.

Anisa tries to put on a brave face. Of course on the inside she feels like her heart has been torn out. She and MC were about as a close as two people can get, they were friends, and then partners. Now they're strangers- at least, they are to MC.

After being advised to not try and force memories back, Anisa does her best to keep things as casual as possible. But it's so hard for her to not take MC's hand when they're walking through the town. And she catches herself staring off at MC with a lovesick expression more often than she'd care to admit.

Despite the internal struggles, Anisa is probably the one who would handle the situation the best. Don't get me wrong, she struggles immensely, and there are definitely tears. But she keeps a positive attitude, knowing that MC is still the same person that fell in love with her, and she still loves them immensely.

Her mother does her best to help. And by that, I mean she subtly tries to play matchmaker in an attempt to set MC and Anisa up (again). It's quite comedic, MC walking into a definitely not romantic dinner with candles and a violinist and flowers and Anisa standing there like "I didn't do this I swear."

It was hard for Anisa to open up to MC the first time, she's got demons she feels like she needs to hide. But she feels relief when she remembers that MC never judged her before, so they wouldn't judge her now.

It takes time, but they grow to be quite close again. Anisa's patience pays off the day MC turns to her and says, "I think I'm in love with you."

Sage takes it the the worst, no doubt there. He stayed closed off for years, fighting to keep every little skeleton in his closet hidden. Never opening up, never revealing his secrets or speaking of his past. MC fought so hard to gain Sage's trust, to get him to let them in. And all for nothing... they're gone now.

Sage is fully aware it's still the MC he fell for. It's them... but it's also not.

He will never forget the pain he felt when he went to embrace MC that horrid day and they looked at him with a confused expression before asking who he was.

He spent the next few days under the impression this was just a cruel, cruel joke being played on him. After he realized it wasn't a joke, he convinced himself it was a nightmare. A horrible nightmare.

He avoids MC. It hurts far too much. Sage makes an excuse to leave the room every time they come in, and he stays out on missions for longer periods of time.

Tulsa, Anisa, Felix, even Rime all have to keep Sage from drinking himself to death.

Sage comes to his senses one day when MC grabs his wrist to stop him from leaving the room, asking "why do you hate me so much?"

After that, Sage sticks around and basically becomes MC's bodyguard. He doesn't leave their side and becomes very protective over them. He doesn't try and force memories back, but unlike Anisa and Felix he does spend a lot of time telling MC about the time they spent together with him- just leaving out any romantic aspects (and also overhyping himself in the stories).

He finally works up the courage to ask MC out one night. "Like on an actual date?... you, Sage, wanna go out with me???"

See the full post

132 notes - Posted May 3, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Professor Laveton is basically Akari and Rei's dad. Sorry, I don't make the rules. imagine him being like, "hmm... I wonder where the kids are."

Cue Akari dropping 100ft after diving out of Braviary's basket thing. Cue the Professor screaming. Akari calls Braviary again once she's a few feet away from the ground. Just barely saving herself from, you know, dying. Professor Laventon is white as a ghost and on the verge of a heart attack. He glances over to Akari's Typhlosion, who is standing next to him, and it looks incredibly proud of it's human.

Not giving poor Laventon any time to recover, Rei runs past the camp, and he's getting chased by an Alpha Parasect and a bunch of Paras. His starter pokemon is nowhere to be found, having fled, leaving it's trainer to his fate. Because Parasect and Paras are scary.

Imagine Professor Laventon's horror. Imagine Professor Laventon's face as he cries out "MY BABIES! THEY'RE GONNA DIE!" before passing out.

He has to be carried back to Jubilife City. Cyllene doesn't speak to him for a week. But she does however, ground Rei and Akari for two weeks.

320 notes - Posted February 20, 2022

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