#it's hard for me without hotkeys

[tanadrin]

all of my complaints about dwarf fortress's interface now are of the "this is actually a problem interesting enough to be worth engaging with" variety rather than the "this is too terrible to even think about where to begin" kind. like i cannot stress enough how much new DF's interface is a 10,000% improvement over the old DF interface. in every conceivable way. just not having to run an external program just to manage your dwarfs' labors is huge.

but there are ways it could be better. clicking on a dwarf in one menu should be able to take you to that dwarf in-game. clicking on food categories at the top of the screen should take you to stocks. i hsould be able to see at a glance, like, how many empty bags there are in my stockpiles, without having to tally up each bag of every type. i don't need to have dingo leather and capybara leather and llama wool and rope reed bags sorted differently. every button in every screen should have a keyboard hotkey. stocks and trading menus and other screens should allow you to select all items by quality/material/type/etc., and make specific assignments like melt/trash/forbid/etc from there. if my planters stopped planting cave wheat because they ran out of seeds, i probably don't need a cancellation notice for that *every time*, and it doesn't need to hang around in the notification list for a year, and be shown to me every time i mouse over the little cancellation icon to see what *new* jobs have been cancelled. can make it hard to tell what's actually a new notification and what isn't at a glance.

there are inconsistencies too--"make iron bookcase" and "make zinc bookcase" are two different jobs so when making work orders i can just search for "make zinc bookcase" directly. but i can only search for "make rock bookcase," and then i have to manually specify the stone (i don't know why you can't make a stone object out of stone, the fact it uses "rock" only in the names of jobs is v silly). it's not a huge pain in the ass, but it doesn't make sense that you specify the material for some jobs in different ways. also you can make too many things out of rock. i'm sorry but you just cannot make a rock book binding! it would be too heavy, and it would break the instant you dropped it. books were usually historically bound in wood or metal or leather. you cannot bind a book in granite or glass.

[mister-julius]

I think I've really figured out one of the core issues that's affected my everything for so many years.

I don't have a frame of reference for what's "good enough"

Like, I took my driving test, and my instructor proudly says "You scored a 93!" and without missing a beat my knee-jerk response was "Is that good?" Of course it is! It's a solid A grade! But that didn't even go through my head, just "bet that's out of some weird scale that's different from the base 100 that regular school uses, better ask her how badly you failed"

Truth be told I feel embarrassed about most of the things I've posted here and on other social media sites. Be it my long blocks of text, most of which have been deleted, my game screenshots, my scans of things like the Galidor style guide and comics, all of it is embarrassing. Not because of some selfconscious bs regarding a 28 year old guy messing around with kids toys or anything like that, there's zero shame there. I just don't know if any of it is "good enough"

and that's just the stuff that I've bothered posting! The youtube videos I've been meaning to make for like 6 years? the like 6 projects I've dipped a toe into and seemingly abandoned? I'm at a roadblock because I don't know if any of my efforts are "good enough". Good enough for who? By what standard? Is anyone else judging your work the same as you? All questions unasked, just paralyzing fear.

I had told LDSO's TronFAQ, a dude I massively respect, that I'd get him some screenshots of Tron 2.0 textures that might benefit from AI upscaling. I went to go do that, and quickly froze. Did a ton of thinking, and preparation, and more thinking, and more prep, and more thinking, inadvertently ruined my install of the game a couple times, and it's been I don't even know how long and I don't even have one screenshot.

I feel really bad about this one especially. How hard is it to play through your favorite game and hit the screenshot hotkey a few times? Apparently really fucking hard when anxiety disorders play into an inferiority complex you didn't even fully realize you had until a few days ago!

It's so stupid.

I want to say "I'm so stupid" but no this isn't me. This is a product of a number of things that aren't me. It's like I'm stuck in an invisible prison preventing me from being me. I'm glad I have this much figured out now, just wish I didn't have to fight myself to be myself

[deusexlachina]

Antisocial DAO Part 4 (Tower of Ishal): Meet the first two party members I respect

In which I forge a friendship with the bravest humans I have known: Soldier and Tower Guard.

Me and Alistair are given one job: Go to the Tower of Ishal and light a fire to signal Loghain's loyal troops to heroically save us. Unfortunately, darkspawn start besieging the bridge to the Tower, much as I burn bridges with those around me.

At the tower, I find two young men named "Soldier" and "Tower Guard." These are curious names, but I'm glad to meet some new companions. I can't wait to bond with them at camp!

For the first time, I have a full party, and here I will note that there are two ways of playing Dragon Age. One possibility is just to control your character and let your party's AI handle everything else. This is relatively immersive, and it's viable because this game has an excellent AI-crafting mechanic that is refined in DA2 and...is completely dropped in Inquisition.

The other way is to play it as Real-Time Tactics, using hotkeys to switch around who you're controlling. You can even click and drag, or press ctrl-A, to select everyone, in case you really want this story-rich medieval fantasy to have that Starcraft feel to it. I started the game with the first style, but I've moved on to the second due to the difficulty spike.

The Tower of Ishal is one of the hardest levels of the game for a number of reasons. You have at most one mage (the best class by a large margin), and it's too early for any of the really good builds to come online. Soldier and Tower Guard are also quite weak people. Nonetheless, I respect them more than Alistair: they do not judge me for my foreign ways, frightening magic, or the Miasma which follows my body everywhere. I will have to find non-combat roles for them later in the game. I don't need social skills to impress them. They fight by my side without a word.

There's a room in the Tower where you can free several dogs to help in the fight. They don't follow you further into the Tower. But darkspawn do follow you, and they will follow you right into a room full of hungry dogs. I repeat this process of luring enemies into Dog Range, slowly advancing my menacing battle line of pets.

I then meet the dogs' one weakness: area transitions. I will have to leave these good boys behind. Which is a shame, because I'm about to meet the reason this Tower is so hard: the Ogre.

The Ogre can fatally grab any of you in melee range, which would be bad if three of your party members were melee fighters. It also has AOE attacks with knockdown and preposterously large hitboxes - with its sinister powers, it can ram you without being anywhere near you. I Paralyze it as much as possible, which is very little, since it usually resists.

I must use the elusive tactics of the Dalish. That is, I run away almost the entire fight and hope it doesn't ram me while my redshirts try to backstab it and hope it doesn't turn around and grab them.

After a long fight, the Ogre has nearly killed me, Alistair and Tower Guard, but Soldier charges forward and deals the killing blow, getting an amazing animation where he knocks down the Ogre, jumps on it and stabs it in the heart.

I like this animation better than his usual one where he flails with his sword and somehow misses a huge Ogre right in front of him. It's a much better trick, this one. I wish he'd led with it. Nonetheless, Soldier has earned my respect. He may be a human, but his bravery and loyalty have carried us to victory. I would be proud to have him join me in my quest, along with his brother-in-arms, Tower Guard.

Unfortunately, they both die in a cutscene immediately.

RIP Soldier and Tower Guard

[linuxgamenews]

Thronefall: Overwhelmingly Positive Reviews for this Indie Tower Defense

Thronefall tower defense strategy city builder game launches on Linux and Steam Deck via Windows PC. Thanks to the creative minds at GrizzlyGames for making it happen. Available on Steam with Overwhelmingly Positive reviews. Thronefall, the latest title from Grizzly Games (the team who brought us Islanders and Superflight), has left Early Access. If you haven't heard about it yet, it's a minimalist tower defense strategy where you defend your own little kingdom. Doing so without all the complicated stuff that usually comes with strategy titles. Plus, there's a good dose of hack and slay action to keep things exciting. It's also playable on Linux and Steam Deck (verified). This indie hit has been absolutely crushing it — just under a million copies sold and over 565,000 wishlists on Steam. While gaining nearly 15,000 reviews that are Overwhelmingly Positive (96%) since it first launched in Early Access back in August 2023. Seriously, it's one of the best performing indie game launches in the last year. Looking for a strategy game that doesn't give you a headache? Thronefall is what you should play.

Thronefall Full Release Trailer

Saddle up! You'll see your kingdom come to life, fight intense battles to defend it, and still be done in time for lunch. It's a classic strategy without unnecessary complexity, mixed with some solid hack-and-slay fun. Build up your base during the day, and defend it with everything you've got at night. Think you can find the right balance between boosting your economy and beefing up your defenses? Do you need more archers, thicker walls, or maybe an extra mill? Will you keep enemies at bay with your longbow, or charge into them on your horse? Nights are tough, but nothing beats watching the sun rise over your little kingdom after a hard-fought Thronefall battle.

Since Early Access started on Steam, they've added a ton of stuff:

3 new levels

Loads of new perks, mutators, enemies, and weapons

New hero units

A roguelike endless mode

Mini-modes like Throneball, where you defend as a massive snowball rolling over enemies

Various quality of life upgrades for Thronefall like better unit control hotkeys, and more

With the final release, there's even more:

3 additional levels, making it a full campaign with 10 levels now!

More perks, mutators, enemies, and weapons—so even more strategies to play around with

Extra quality of life tweaks, like being able to see future wave info in the pause menu, etc.

So if you're up for a tower defense strategy city builder that's easy to get into but still offers plenty of depth, you should definitely check out Thronefall. It's perfect for when you want some kingdom-building action without spending hours getting the hang of it. Available on Steam priced at $9.74 USD / £8.24 / 9,74€ with the 25% discount. Along with support for Linux and Steam Deck (verified) via Windows PC. Let me know if any of you grab it! We can swap strategies or just chat about how many enemies we've taken down.

[samueldays]

I already have War for the Overworld and I'm not happy with it.

It's slow-running bloatware that spends too much CPU on fine-grained 3D modeling of units that I don't even like to see in 3D because it reduces my ability to recognize units at a glance from their sprite.

Which is compounded by the lack of a Pause button, even in the single-player campaign. If you want me to appreciate the fancy 3D rendering and the rotatable camera, give me breathing space to look around, not realtime threats.

On the one hand, perhaps I shouldn't dunk too harshly on WFTO for this. The video game industry at large is prone to badly reinventing the wheel and developing games without UI conveniences that should have become standard 20 years ago.

On the other hand, WFTO reinvents a lot of square wheels. The lack of a Pause button. It's a RTS without control groups for units. It's got a bunch of spells and abilities that don't have hotkeys.

Players of DK1 and DK2 must have done very cheesy things with wall-based room layouts, I imagine, which seriously pissed off the WFTO devs. WFTO feels "No fun allowed" on its room designation rules. An individual tile can be marked as part of a Lair or Vault or Pigpen room or whatever, but several of the rooms look like they only work if you mark at least 3x3 tiles to create the functional room doodad on an inner tile. Edge tiles of many room designations do nothing.

So a 4x4 (16 tiles) is four times as good as a 3x3 (9 tiles) because it gets four inner tiles, while the skewed 16-tile layout on the right does nothing because it's not blocky enough. The incentive for big bulky blocks of open terrain saps some of the fun from dungeon design, and makes it hard to utilize terrain near water or unminable rock.

Dungeon Keeper had fantasy creatures ranging from the lowly Imp and Spider to Vampire and Dragon, and titled humanoids like Black Knight or Warlock. It was intuitive what they did and what sort of role they had.

War for the Overworld: Gnarling? Skarg? Crackpot? Cultist? Chunder? I feel this is not somewhere that originality was needed or desired.

I appreciate the attempt at producing more Dungeon Keeper, but I still want to rescue the franchise.

YOU! Are granted the power to suddenly own ONE video game franchise, and to hire the best people who have ever worked on it (and/or anyone else you want in on it).

What video game franchise are you rescuing--er, acquiring?

[purpleberrypunch]

[startistdoodles]

Yo, how can you draw so much beautiful stuff in one day? I'm still trying to get my drawings faster, but it's still too slow for the most part. Any tips that I could use?

Aww thank you, I’m flattered <3 Here’s a few tips for ya!

A lot of drawing tablets have buttons on them you can program as hotkeys without having to find the tool or command on the screen. I use Undo, Redo, X (switch between colors), C (select transparent brush), and Space (for panning around the canvas) programmed onto my tablet, and a few other buttons that i will change out as needed. You can also use these on your keyboard if your tablet doesn’t have hotkeys.

Another tip is to set a timer for yourself to get as much of a drawing done in a certain amount of time. I find it’s easier to focus hard on a piece and get more done when I close all distractions and put myself on a time crunch.

Listening to energetic music also helps me focus and work faster…though that might just be me, haha. Worth a shot though! Try listening to Coconut Mall and see if it helps you draw faster, it somehow works for me.

[yeojaa]

( SOMETHING COMFORTING. )

Jeon Jungkook loves Overwatch, drinking games, and Halloween.  What he loves more than that?  You.

pairing.  gamer!jjk x named f!reader.

genre + rating.   idol!au set in room filled with bunnies and a cotton candy machine that’s exploded.  it’s just that fluffy.  (but also explicit cause why not.)

tags / warnings.  established relationship, gaming (overwatch), dorky weeb references, mentions of drinking, yugyeom makes an appearance (!!), fingering, soft soft soft love making in the shower. 

wc.  9.7k

beta reader(s).  the lovely @kerikaaria​​​ read through this to make sure i didn’t get too nerdy.  tysm!  💛  i may like further changes once my beloved @hobi-gif​ gets her hands on it but i’m a potato who wanted to post this quickly.  oops... 

author note.  this fulfills the “jeon jungkook” square of @btsholidaybingo​‘s bts holiday bingo 2020 and this is the couple from angels & airwaves.  while this story isn’t super plot-driven, it’s meant to be a little peek into the lives of a couple that live in my mind rent-free and continue to make me soft and gooey inside.  i hope you enjoy it!   

You don’t know how he talked you into it or how it really happened.  You remember, faintly, the mention of a party.  Something about it being a small thing - just a few close friends, the members, etc.  He’d said it so offhand, like commenting on the sky or asking for another package of Choco Boys, so you hadn't given it a second thought.  If it was important, he’d bring it up again and if not, well, you hardly remembered it anyway.  Win-win or whatever.  

So you’d given up some intelligence points, traded them for space to fit more gaming knowledge.  Somewhere along the line went your memory too - the conversation wiped from your brain like Will Smith had lasered it clean. 

“Zarya’s one!  Zarya’s one—“  You’re not sure how many times you can repeat yourself, shrieking through comms to a team that doesn’t seem to want to listen.  You’re blasted into oblivion, Mercy’s prone body launched across the map as you watch your Rein fall too.  There’s an irritation bubbling in your stomach, fizzing uncomfortably like the Japanese honeydew soda you’d had at lunch.  “Zarya’s actually one!” 

No one cares.  She’s healed by the time you respawn and make it back across the map. 

“Jesus—“  Your push-to-talk remains off for that flippant comment, distaste colouring your words a bitter shade of blue.  You almost want to let your Ashe get headshot by the enemy Widow, only switching the stream from damage boosting to healing when your teammate starts spamming their hotkey.  

I need healing!  I need healing! 

What you need is a team that listens to your calls or at the very least communicates in some way.  Doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen though.  There’s near radio silence in the voice chat, the only other person remotely helpful being your bouncing booping Lucio that’s trying to keep a flanking Tracer off point.  Stupid.  You almost feel bad for him, Guardian Angeling to him when no one else seems to want to offer any support. 

Ah, the life of a support player in masters ranked.  So infuriating and yet— nope.  Just infuriating. 

You lose the first round with 1:56 to spare, to no one’s surprise.  Okay, maybe to your Reinhardt’s surprise.  He’s being surprisingly chipper in text chat, sending WP and a dorky smiley face.  You think he must volunteer at the local animal shelter and buy coffee for the people behind him in the drive-thru.  He’s far too well-adjusted, not shooting off a single accusation to anyone on the team.  A silver lining, you suppose.  

Your second round starts well enough.  Your comp is solid - as much as it can be in the current off-tank dominated meta.  Hog, Zarya, a private profiled GM Widowmaker, Tracer, Lucio, and you as Ana.  You’d prefer to play Mercy - find the most comfort in her skill set - but on an attack map, you’re not risking a headshot right out of spawn.  Broken maximum damage good stuff means healers are squishy and you don’t have your usual DPS to boost.  (He’s off doing god knows what - maybe filming an ad for Samsung or breaking the internet with his permed man bun.)

You make it through the choke without much ado.  The enemy Rein is wildly out of position, eager to make some big brained play that goes terribly wrong.  Your Lucio chuckles through voice and you join him, tossing a nade when your Zarya looks like she’s about to die to a poorly executed 360 shatter. 

“You winning?” 

It’s your boyfriend peeking over your shoulder, so close you nearly scream, mouse launched across your desk with the intensity of your reaction.  You hadn’t heard him come in, the stupid sneaky bastard as quiet as a mouse.  

(It’s not your own fault.  He knows you can’t hear anything when you’ve got your headphones on, the noise cancelling in your state of the art Sennheisers not something to scoff at.)

“Jeez, Kook!”  You want to be more mad.  Really, you do.  You’re scrambling across your desk to retrieve your mouse, squeaking a quick apology into team voice when your hero stays in one place for too long.  Luckily, Hog - previously sweet kind Rein - throws his big fat piggy self directly in front of you, effectively saving you from an otherwise miserable death at the hands of Torbjorn. 

“What?”  Jeon Jungkook has the audacity to look scandalised, shiny eyes so wide and innocent they feel more as if they belong in an early 2000s anime. 

You’re not even looking at him when you huff - too invested in your Overwatch game to give him the hell he deserves.  All you manage is a swift don’t scare me like that! as you pump your tanks back to full health.  

You notice Jungkook hasn’t moved away, still peering curiously over your shoulder.  You know he hasn’t had much time to play lately, too involved with appearances for their comeback, his schedule too packed even for you some days.  You don’t blame him when he pulls his chair up behind you, rolling into place so he’s just within your periphery. 

It’s a little distracting;  he smells good, like his - and by extension your - favourite laundry detergent and a fruity, nectarine-heavy shampoo you’d picked up for him when he’d run out of his usual.  You notice then that his hair is wet, just the wrong-side of too damp with droplets beading over his neck.  Moisture soaks into the top of his shirt and you think it might be more soaked than you can see;  it’s hard to tell when it’s a jet black shirt, one of the many he keeps in your closet for the nights he stays over.  You realise then that he must’ve been home far longer than you’d thought, if his freshly washed pink cheeks are any indication.  (Because he takes seriously long showers, nearly doubling your water bill in the year you’ve been together.) 

You want to ask what he’s doing here - you’d sworn he was busy for the next few days - but can’t find the adequate brain power to do so.  You’re playing an incredibly high skill character (your words) and if you don’t get this goddamn shot on your Lucio to keep him up, your team is going to die (your ego’s words). 

‘Ask Kook about his day’ gets scribbled on a paper on the desk in your head and filed away under To Do Later in your overflowing brainiac filing cabinet. 

“Can we pleaaaaase focus their Zarya?  She has grav.”  Though you offer the tidbit of information, you don’t assume it’s going to be relied upon.  Your team is well on their way to taking first point - surprisingly - and there’s still nearly three minutes left on the clock.  If the six of you idiots can keep it together and kill that goddamn Zarya, there’s no doubt in your mind you’ll win the game. 

Alas, fate is but a cruel mistress and said Zarya gets said grav off, sucking your own Russian tank and Tracer-turned-Soldier into her hell void.  Not even your well-timed nade can save them from the Genji that dragon blades directly into their faces.  Your poor Lucio dies to the same ult and you imagine you or your Widow are next.  Your Hog’s just respawning, his lumbering silhouette not even on screen.

“Rip,”  says your boyfriend - like the sound, not the letters - from beside you, a droplet of water splashing across your wrist when he shakes his head.  He looks disappointed - as if he’s the one that’s lost the match.  It makes you laugh, the sound tripping off your tongue despite the overwhelming rage you’re currently battling.  

“Rip is right,”  you mumble back, tossing yourself off the map.  If you’re gonna die, it'll be on your own terms.  Jungkook chuckles at that.  

By the time you respawn, both you and Widow are joining a fight that looks like it’s going surprisingly well.  There’s no one on point and you’re capping uncontested.  Widow even headshots a wayward Moira.

“You should go top left.”  

You don’t turn your head.  Jungkook’s always been a bit of a backseat gamer, whether he’s watching your stream while he’s out of town or sitting right beside you.  Sometimes, you love it;  other times, you hate it.  Most times, though, he’s right.  He has surprisingly good game sense, despite being lower ranked than you (something you remind him of constantly, without shame). 

“Can we go top left?”  You parrot into your speaker.

For once, your team listens, most of them running up the sidewall with Widow right down main.  Not for the first time you wish you were playing Mercy, if only to be able to damage boost your sniper while she distracts the enemy team.  Still, you make due, taking your boyfriend’s next piece of advice when it comes, unsolicited.  “You should be back right by the stairs.  You can see up the hall and still heal Widow on top.”

You’d kiss him if you weren’t so intently focused, unable to tear your gaze from the screen when the enemy team seems to pluck their strategy directly from Jungkook’s skull and hold conservatively on point.  Amazing.

“Your Zarya has grav.  She’ll probably throw it on point so you should nade as soon as you get in and Widow can pick them off without full charge.”

If he were anyone else, you’d probably be giving him hell for mansplaining your favourite game to you.  As it stands, you follow his instructions to the letter and the Team Kill marker flashes across your screen. 

“Told you,”  he quips, ever the snooty dork you adore. 

“I was going to say thank you.”  Just not right now.  You can’t multitask quite like he can. 

If you could look over, you think you’d see him grinning from ear to ear, buck teeth and dimples on full display.  “I know.”

As it stands, the other team has trouble getting on point fast enough and you’re left with a whopping 3:56 left on the clock.  Thank freaking god.  You can win this, you think.  Easy.  No problem. 

“Go Ana on defense.”  At some point, Jungkook had gotten up to find a snack and he returns now, bag of shrimp chips in his hand and packet of matcha Pocky held between his teeth.  You open your mouth for a stinky tasty treat and he shoves four crisps in, unceremoniously and with his signature dummy grin. 

You manage to crunch crunch crunch through it all but shoot him a glare the entire time.  He only smiles wider, all perfectly white enamel and enough cuteness to make your heart skip a beat. 

“Do you just want to play?”  You don’t mean it seriously.  You don’t mind him watching and you know he enjoys pretending like he’s better than you.  It’s a strange give and take but one that’s uniquely yours, built over nearly a year of online friendship and another year of a real-life relationship. 

“Nah, I’m snacking.”  He punctuates his response as a child would, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth.  You wonder, briefly, why you love him so much when he’s a certifiable goon. 

The third match begins and you’re not too proud to say you spend most of it following Jungkook’s directions.  He tells you to sleep the enemy Genji trying to scale the right wall - you do.  He tells you to nade once their Rein gets in because your own Rein is going to shatter - you do.  He tells you to do the macarena and— okay, that, you don’t. 

You sweep the match, leaving the other team without a single tick.  

When it comes to the final round, he seems to have lost interest in the game, instead rolling himself back to his computer with a parting, wayward ruffle of your hair.  You don’t blame him but you thank him nonetheless, blowing a kiss before he settles his headphones over his ears. 

You, of course and unsurprisingly, win the game.  There’s nothing like using a Sym portal onto point when they’ve got a Bastion set up off point and no shield to protect him from the back. 

Satisfied, you don’t bother requeueing and instead force yourself into your boyfriend’s personal space, draping your arms across the idol’s neck as he scrolls through YouTube like a zombie.  “We won,”  you sing-song into his ear, proud and a little smug. 

“Of course you did.”  He sounds equally smug and you suppose the win does belong to the both of you.  He’d been a great coach. 

“What’re you doing here?”  It’s pure curiosity offered in the form of a kiss to his cheek, fingers locked across the broad expanse of his chest.  He’s delightfully warm beneath you, familiar and unyielding as you sink over the back of his computer chair.  (You can feel the chair creaking as it reclines.  You don’t care.) 

“Whaddya mean?”

The look he levels you with makes you think you’ve grown a second head.  

“Your schedule said you had a thing tonight.”  You remember, because you’d been disappointed.  Halloween was one of your favourite holidays and all you’d wanted was to watch some campy horror movies and use him as a personal eye shield and security blanket combo.

“We have a thing,”  he states, like he’s talking to a moron.  You know it isn’t meant meanly, too emphatic and amused to hurt your feelings.  

When you echo his words (“We?”) you swear you see him roll his eyes in the reflection of his computer screen.  Luckily, he laughs, sweet and cracky, somewhere high in his throat - a barking hyena.  It’s so cute - your favourite thing in the world - that you don’t have it in you to shame him for it. 

“Yeah, we,”  Jungkook repeats around something close to a snicker.  “Halloween party, baby.  Seriously— you forgot?”

It’s then and there you have two crises:  (a) you don’t have a costume and (b) Halloween party?  You didn’t think idols had those.  Weren’t they all too hip and cool to get together to dress up and act stupid?

(You know the answer is no.  Exhibit A being the costume-wearing dance practices BTS put out.)

“I don’t have anything to wear.”  It’s truly the one thing holding you back, creasing the soft skin between your brows to resemble a peach.  It’s also nearing seven in the evening and you’re absolutely certain you’re not going to find something so late in the day. 

To your surprise. Jungkook looks flabbergasted, that same you-have-two-heads stare wrought across his face.  It’d be endearing if it were directed at anyone else but with it trained on you, it’s rubbing you and your confusion the wrong way.  Why’s he looking at you like that?  Why’s your memory so bad?  Why hasn’t he said anything to answer all of life’s questions? 

“You said you’d go as witch Mercy.”

All at once, you’re pulled back to the offhand conversation, the pleading in his eyes, your half-asleep acceptance.  It’s the memory you’d lost somewhere along the way in upgrading your in-brain video game storage.  A conversation had in bed, his cheeks so big and full of joy they’d waned his eyes into crescents, and your uncoordinated answer because you’d just wanted to go to sleep and not think about anything after indulging in a few too many mochi cream buns. 

“I— don’t remember that.”  You’re lying through your damn teeth.  Your parents would be devastated, all their hard earned money wasted on the braces-straightened enamel that was now letting lies pass. 

“But you did!”  He’s like a kid being denied candy, rounded bottom lip dropping into a pout that should, frankly, be illegal.  It’s far too powerful on him, paired with those Bambi eyes that scream don’t eat (hate/deny/etc.) me!  You can only scowl at him, because you know your own puppy dog eyes only work 100% of the time half of the time whereas his track record was immaculate. 

“Okay, but I forgot to get the—“

“I have it!”

Jeon Jungkook has an answer for everything, it seems.

“I picked it up on the way here.  It’s in your room along with my costume.”

The knowledge of his own intrigues you, squarely centring your curiosity on that and not the fact that you apparently need to get tested for early onset dementia.  “Who’re you going as?”

“You’ll see.”

Your costume is spectacular.  You can’t even find it in yourself to put up much of a fight when your boyfriend reveals it like you’ve won the lottery, throwing his arms wide in a flourish. 

It’s incredibly well made, intricately tailored in a way that makes you worry how much it costs.  (When you bring it up to him, Jungkook simply shrugs.  You think it’s as much a gift for you as it is for him.)  It’s witchy and eye-catching, the belt hung across your hips clipped with an actual book - hollowed out, thank god but also poor thing.  The hat that sits on your head is neatly crumpled, sitting at such an angle you worry whether you’ll need to avoid too-low door frames.  Your wings - well, you’re almost too afraid to touch them;  Jungkook has to help you pull them over your arms, falling into near hysterics when you twitch your elbow the wrong way and smack him right between the eyes.  

“I don’t think I can pull this off,”  you state, somberly, despite the fact that you’re not terribly self-conscious.  (You were, once.  Being in a relationship with someone that worships your body has helped with that.) 

The top of your outfit is fitted, boned and ribbed and snapped together in all the right places.  Leather stands in stark contrast to your skin - summer-soft and gently golden - and hugs curves that don’t quite exist, falling short in a way that has you glaring down at your own chest.  You’ve never wanted a Playboy body but in this sort of costume, it practically demands it.  (You try not to dwell on the fact that you’ve been conditioned to want to look like an impractically designed video game hero.)

From the foot of your bed comes a snort, a derisive sound that draws your attention.  Jungkook’s unabashed in how he admires you, stare roving over every inch like he’s about to devour you.  You’re not sure how you can feel so soft for him when he looks completely the opposite, jaw set and expression sharp.  A Greek god carved from hardened honey, dressed in Balenciaga blue.  “You look great, angel.”

Your heart skips a beat - plays a funny little game of tag with itself - and you can’t help the smile that comes, brought to life by his reassurance.  It isn’t necessary to rebuff him then - eyes rolling, laugh spilling - but you do it anyway.  “You have to say that.  You’re my boyfriend.” 

“I don’t have to say anything,”  he retorts, levelling you with a look that has your insides molten.  It’s the look that reads don’t test me but also I love you and you’re my idiot.  It’s your favourite look in the world, lending wings to your flimsy heart.  “You look great because you always look great, no matter what.”

“What about when you found me in the shower ?”

Jungkook hesitates then.  He’s no liar and he had almost had a heart attack the first time it’d happened.  He’d been minding his business, half-asleep and battling the need to piss, when he’d noticed you curled up in the bathroom.  How he hadn’t realised you were missing from bed, he’s not sure.  All he knew was that you’d terrified him, mentioning something about invading refrigerators when he was pulling his dick out of his boxers.

His scream was what had woken you up;  yours was what had him bashing his head into the wall, foot slipping on the soft pink bathroom rug.  You could laugh about it now but at the time, you’d thought he’d cracked his skull right open, shouting his name so loudly the neighbours had complained.  

(Lucky for you two, they were a nice elderly couple who sometimes had you babysit their grandson.  They’d laughed it off when you’d apologised with a loaf of fresh bread and a bandage wrapped around your boyfriend’s head.)

“Okay—  that was scary.  I thought you’d crawled out of the drain or something.”  A shudder rolls through Jungkook’s body, shaking him from his shoulders all the way down to his knees.  It’s a strangely adorable reaction from someone who looks like he could bench press you.

“You’re calling me the Grudge?”  You’re deeply offended, gloved hands clasping over your chest as if to pull out the treacherous dagger he’s just lodged there.  He only rolls his eyes, leaning forward to catch you in his arms;  he’s relentless as he drags you to him, side of his face pressed to the bare skin of your thigh.  His cheek’s searing but you’re not surprised;  Jungkook ran hot, keeping you warm in winter and sweltering in summer.  (Ah, the price you paid for love.)

“Yeah, you haunt me in my dreams.”

“That’s not the Grudge, Kook.”  Your scoff earns you a pinch, right where the top of your stockings end.  It blooms red beneath his fingers, a little reminder of his competitive I’m-never-wrong nature.  You swat his hand away, not too bothered when it only finds a home elsewhere, hooked behind your knee.  Jungkook had a habit of needing to be in constant contact.  A little quirk of his you adored.

“I’m serious.  You look—”  You should clock the look on his face, the wiggle of mischief up his nose.  A dead giveaway shining bright - a beacon.  “—bewitching.”

If the book weren’t attached to your hip, you’d be clobbering him with it.  Instead, you’re left to whack him with the equally intricate Caduceus staff, booping it over his shoulders.  You feel like a certain shamanic mandrill, Jungkook the idiotic lion that’s asking for an earful.

“Shut up!”  You’re laughing despite yourself and he is too, holding you so recklessly close it’s hard to hit him without hurting yourself.  All part of his plan, you suppose.  “You’re so freaking corny.”

“It’s because I’m a-maize-ing, ang—”

Another wap! to the head, shielded only by a tattooed hand that curls over his ear.  

“Okay!  Sorry!”  Except he doesn’t look very sorry.  More pleased that you’ve stopped the assault, dark hair pushed back from his forehead as he stares up at you.  You hate how he’s so handsome - how you forget yourself when he smiles that smile, nearly yeeting your whole heart directly into the sun.

“Are you going to put on yours yet?”  

It’s quarter past nine already and all you’ve done is rope him into eating some chapaguri - you’ve been obsessed with it since a few weeks ago - and play real life Witch Barbie.  You have a feeling if you don’t get him into his own costume soon, you’re never going to leave the apartment.  (Not that you really mind.)  

Your boyfriend - bless his heart - pretends not to hear you, suddenly intently focused on an indiscernible spot past your hip.  It’d be more believable if he was glued to his phone or doing anything remotely interesting.  Instead, you stare down at him and count the seconds until he realises just how silly he looks.  It usually comes around six, paired with a forced chuckle and that lisp you love. 

Today, it comes after the fourth count. 

“You’re gonna think it’s lame.”  Well, of course you will.  As his girlfriend - and one of his best friends, you’d like to think - it’s your relationship-given right to shame him for his more often than not absurd ideas.  It’s what you deserve for suffering through all his bad jokes and 3 AM Instagram spams. 

With a hand on his cheek, you squeeze the apple like you’ve seen a certain member do a million times.  “So?”

He’s not really sure how to respond to that, mouth drawn into a pout that reminds you of children’s television show about penguins.  It’s unfairly adorable.  Still, you push.  Jungkook’s bad at saying no to you - always has been, even before he really knew you.  From “one more game!” to “bring me bingsu”, you always got what you wanted. 

(Which wasn’t to say you asked for a lot.  You were happy - more than that, ecstatic and over the moon - with the bare minimum.  A selfie while on the plane, some shoddy cinematography during dance practice, a voicemail to wake up to.  You didn’t love Jungkook for all the things he gave you;  rather, you loved him for who he was, who he’d always been even before you knew who he really was.)

“Don’t laugh.”  By the look on his face, you’re worried it’s something awful.  The cheesiest thing in the world come to life to haunt you on your beloved spooky holiday. 

It turns out to be the opposite:  one of your favourite characters realised in the form of your achingly handsome boyfriend.  He looks so good you’re not certain whether it’s your attraction to him or him in that particular guise that’s stronger.  You figure it doesn’t matter one way or another.  For tonight, they’re one and the same. 

“Joker?  Seriously?”  You can’t hide the delight.  It colours every syllable, sets them glowing like a neon sign.

Your boyfriend only rolls his eyes, as if he’d predicted this reaction.  Dressed as he is, the movement is impossible to miss, brought into focus by the white domino mask.  “Don’t sound so excited.”  It’s an actual concern of his.  He’s seen you sink upwards of ninety hours on the video game, playing it in the early hours when he’s fast asleep and you’re battling another night of insomnia.  

Once, he’d asked whether you loved him or Joker more.  He hadn’t liked the answer (joking as it was) and had spent the better part of the evening pouting. 

This time, you’re sweet as pie, eyes so dark and twinkly he wonders whether he’s staring at the night sky.  You wonder the same yourself almost every night, lost in the constellations of his irises.  It’s the most intimate form of stargazing you can afford, a luxury you indulge in frequently.  You’ve mapped the different formations, named them in honour of all the special moments you’ve shared;  you think to label one for this night too.

“You look so good.”  You don’t hesitate to brush his hair from his eyes.  It’s still relaxing from the perm he’d gotten days ago, curling like classic calligraphy over his eyes.  It’s surprisingly soft between your fingers, silk despite the constant heat styling.  Bastard.  “I can’t believe you’re going as Joker.  You don’t even like Persona 5!”

By how Jungkook looks at you then - the same way he did the first time you met standing on the street corner in Dotonbori and a hundred more times since then - you realise it doesn’t matter.  He’s dressed this way because you like the character.  

“Oh,”  you say, because there’s not much more to say.  Nothing that needs to be said as he grins down at you, so heartbreakingly handsome you’ll never get used to it. 

“Yeah,”  he parrots back, a little smug.  

Bangtan’s golden maknae is having the time of his life.  He’s four cups deep into a game of beer pong that’s played like the Wimbledon classic, back hunched, jaw set.  You’d think he was battling it out for the title of God of Beer Pong if you didn’t know better.  (You suppose he is.)  

“Angel, come here!”  He’s giddy - slightly glazed in the eyes - as he waves you over, a red-gloved hand beckoning you to his side.  Despite how good he looks in the costume - every weakness of yours encapsulated by the intricate dress shirt that hugs him like a second skin - the gesture is decidedly adorable, an eager puppy seeking unconditional love.  There’s simply too much affection in his voice, so much sugar-spun love that you can’t deny him (even as you consider jumping his bones at a party full of people).   

He’s shining as bright as the sun and you want nothing more than to live within his warmth.  

With your fingers twined, he pulls you to him, drawing you tight against his side like he doesn’t need that same hand to throw another ball.  You don’t mind.  You know he’ll sink it even with his left hand.  

“I’m winning,”  he states, as if it weren’t wildly obvious by the fact all cups remain untouched on his side.  

Across the table, Yugyeom’s eyes roll so far back you want to laugh.  Jungkook’s competitive side is endearing at best and infuriating at worst.  Luckily, his competition is enjoying himself too much to give him shit.  

(He’s also probably too drunk to, given how badly he’s doing.)

“I see that.”  You’re not a big drinker yourself but you like seeing Jungkook in his element.  He thrives in this sort of setting, showing off all the talents he has and then some.  It’s just another stage to him, somewhere he can prove himself (even if it’s over something as small as how good his bounce-shot is).  “How many games have you won?”  Because he’s been at this table for the last hour, dropping his competition like flies.

“All of them.”  God, his ego.  You know you shouldn’t stroke it but you can’t help it, brushing a hand through his tousled hair in the way he likes best.  Fingers over his scalp, thumb rubbing soothing circles across the nape of his neck.  He nearly melts then, tilting his head into the gentle caress.

“Good job, Kook.”

You’re so lost in your own little world that poor Yugyeom has to pull you both from it, launching a poorly-aimed white ping pong ball at the two of you.  To no one’s surprise, it careens past your heads, hitting the wall behind you and disappearing off to god knows where.  

“Can we play?”  Again, that eye roll, visible just past the bandages that loosely wrap his cheeks.  You know he’s only teasing, that he’s actually quite a fan of your and Jungkook’s dumb coupling (he’s told you), but you return his mockery with a raised hand, thumb and forefinger waving in salute.  

“Losers don’t get to complain.”

The idol throws a hand to his chest, the gesture bordering on sloppy from the liquor that threads his limbs.  Still, it’s cute, earning a sweet laugh from you and a witch’s cackle from your boyfriend.  (How fitting.)  “I’m hurt, Yoojin-ssi.”

It’s Jungkook’s turn to tease, brattiness flipped on like a haywire lightswitch.  “No, you’re just bad at games!”  He’s a sniggering schoolgirl, lines wrapping the delicate skin of his nose, streaking joy into the wrinkles beneath his eyes.  Slightly-too-big front teeth are on full display, his expression the embodiment of an “uwu” emote.

That riles Yugyeom up, powder puff of hair bounding over to you before you have time to blink.  In the next moment, your boyfriend’s half-wrestling with him, their arms locked around each other like some sort of weird four-limbed octopus.  (Video game protagonist vs. hot mummy— who will win?)  You jump back just in time, avoiding a wayward fist and laughing merrily.  Idiots, the both of them.

“You guys have fun.”  And then you’re gone, off to busy yourself with people who won’t accidentally give you a black eye or knock over the nearest thing not bolted to the ground.  

You can still hear them tussling when you latch yourself to the back of a certain blond.  He’s dressed like one of your greatest nightmares - an actual clown, drawing inspiration from a certain 2017 blockbuster - and yet somehow still manages to look good. You don’t understand it and frankly, you’re a little envious, but such was life. 

“Jimin-ssiiiii.”  

“Ahhhhhh, stop!”  It’s the same reaction he always has, paired with wiggling shoulders and sweet laughter that bounces around the room and stirs to life your own.  Indisputable and lovely, the sound is brighter than the sun or the lights that currently swing through the chandelier lights above your heads.  “You two are ridiculous.”

“He’s ridiculous, not me!”  You know it isn’t true.  Separately, you and Jungkook were idiotic enough, finding humour in the silliest things (funny threads on r/Relationship_Advice and four year old Vines).  But together?  It was a two-person circus, graduate professors at clown college.  

You absolutely loved it. 

“Sure, sure,”  the dancer hums, delightfully disbelieving as he takes another shot.  One of three lined up across the counter, clear in little orange cups made to look like pumpkins.  A whiff tells you they’re strawberry soju - your least favourite flavour.  You decline with a wrinkled nose and waving hand when he offers you one.  Jimin shrugs and downs the next, delicately wiping the corner of his mouth when he misjudges the pour.  “Aren’t you drinking?”

You wiggle the half-empty Cass bottle in your hand in response and receive a scoff, different bottle - green, unopened - thrust into your other.  

“Drink this!”  

“You want me to drink an entire bottle?”  You’re incredulous.  Jimin’s seen you on the edge of intoxication and more than a little sloppy, giggling like a schoolgirl.  It’s not unbecoming - you know better than to get blackout - but laughable nonetheless.  Something to record and post on Snapchat with a voice-altering filter.

“It’s Halloween!”  The pumpkin shot glass makes you go cross-eyed before he’s knocking it back too.  “Live a little!”

Who are you to say no to the recent birthday boy?  It would simply be bad manners and you were nothing if polite (though, you’re sure some might beg to differ - Yoongi, maybe?). 

The remnants of your beer are swallowed down in the next moment, so quickly you almost choke on it.  Your life flashes before your eyes, Jimin’s hand on your shoulder as he beats breath into your body.  “Don’t die!”  He cries, despite the fact that it’s his fist that’s making it worse, doubling you over with hacking coughs.

“K-Kook’s g-going to kill you—”  

“No, you’re fine.”  He’s reassuring you just as much as himself, laughing too loudly as you straighten up.  You wonder how red your face is when he takes your place, slapping his own knee as he shakes with amusement.  “Your face, oh—  Your face.”

It’s not meant to be offensive but your buzzed brain demands payment for each giggle.

The base of the green bottle collides with the back of his knee - gentle, gentle - just hard enough to have him properly toppling over, collapsing onto the carpet like a frail old grandpa without his cane.  You can’t help the snicker that careens off your liquor-laden tongue.

That is, until he’s pulling you down with him and the two of you are a giggling, giddy mess, tucked beneath the edge of the bar as you laugh together.  It’s a chorus of sound, unrelenting and building the longer you both sit on the floor.  Jimin’s practically hunched over, head caught between his propped up arms.  You imagine it’s a funny sight - two people in their twenties acting like college freshmen.

“Baby?”  It’s your boyfriend, amused and confused as he stares down at your and Jimin’s prone bodies.  He’s got that dent between his brows, the colour of his eyes all but swallowed up by the way his cheeks press wide with his smile.  “What’re you doing down there?”  

“Just hanging out,”  you answer, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.  At your side, Jimin’s still trying to collect himself, parroting your words around his lungfuls of quieting laughter.

“Are you drunk?”

You’re not, but that doesn’t stop you from gasping, overdramatic and with your unopened bottle of soju held aloft.  A modern day olive branch.  “No?”

Jungkook snorts and then all at once, he’s close.  Too close - smelling of beer and your favourite cologne of his, citrusy and woodsy and every other nice thing you like.  It fills your senses just as his smile does, blindingly bright and bunny-like.  Even behind the mask, his good looks take your breath away.  You must be staring up at him idiotically, all one hundred and sixteen pounds of ooey gooey tenderness.  “You sound drunk, angel,”  he teases, warm red-covered palm coming to cradle your cheek.  It sears heat everywhere it touches, guiding the same hue over your skin.  It creeps up your chest and over your ears, standing in contrast to the material of his gloves.  “Pretty.”

(He really is, you think.)

“Get a room,”  comes Jimin from beside you.  There’s no malice in his voice - just soft affection for a couple of lovesick idiots.  

“That’s the plan,”  Jungkook replies, as if he’d been waiting for the moment.  It skips off his tongue and settles into your ears, tipping your head curiously as you stare at him.  He’s never been very shy about wanting you - at least, not since you’d made things official, so many months ago - but you’re surprised by the insinuation.  When he speaks again, you realise your brain has been rolling around in the gutter, fallen out of your ears like candy from a worn pillow case.  “Want to head home?”

You do.  You really, really do.   

When you stumble into your apartment - the same one with the polka-dot welcome rug and crisp white paint - you realise you were perhaps wrong about how drunk you are.  Everything’s coming at you quite quickly, the ground beneath your feet somehow suddenly rushing at you like Mach Five.

“Whoa—”  There’s an impossibly solid warmth against your back, fingers locked around your wrists that feel more like flimsy chicken feet.  “Careful.”

Your boyfriend’s keeping you upright while stepping out of his boots - impossibly expensive supple dark leather - and you’re giggling all the while, practically sinking against him as he does his best to shuffle his shoes away and get you further into the hallway.  “Sorry,”  you offer in a terrible stage whisper, smiling wide when you catch sight of his, small and endlessly amused.  It slips across his face even as he tries to bite it back, warring with the patience he holds in spades.

“Let’s just get these off.”  He means the boots - the intricate, vaguely absurd things that creep up almost the entirety of your leg, neatly wrapped and knotted midway up your thigh.  Dexterous as he is, it’s a task to unravel the strings and thread buttons when you’re weighing on him like a bag of bricks.

You’re fumbling for the tops, haphazardly smacking his hands away.  “Here, let me.”  

Somehow, you manage to get them off in what feels like record time.  (In reality, it takes a good five minutes of futility before they’re left on the ground and Jungkook’s swept you into his arms, seemingly over waiting for you to do much else.)

“Oh, my prince charming,”  you tease, clinging to him like a koala.  You’re locked around him, practically suffocating him, but he doesn’t seem to mind.  He’s used to it when you’re this way, just a little too much liquid courage turning your level of affection to eleven.  “Or are you the court jester?  That’s what Joker is, right?”  It’s a joke and a bad one at that.  Still, your boyfriend indulges you, depositing a forced laugh against your shoulder as he navigates to your bedroom.  

“You’re drunk.”  He says it more kindly than you expect.  Perhaps even more kindly than you deserve.  You know he’s not exactly sober himself, his gaze verging on heavy-lidded.  There’s sleepiness blending seamlessly with intoxication, softening the edge of his jaw, the narrow of his stare.  It’s terribly tender, skipping your heart when you look at him dead on.

It comes without thought.  You have to tell him.  Your drunk brain and your puppy dog heart demand it.  “I love you.”

Jungkook returns the confession with humour, eyes sparkling despite the haze of alcohol that dims them down.  As always, he indulges you, giving you support in the form of his heart and his hands.  (Literally, he’s still holding you even though you’ve reached your destination.)  “Love you too.”

“Is it time for bed?”  You’re surprisingly tired, despite the fact that you’d slept until late in the afternoon.  You certainly wouldn’t mind falling face first into your mattress.

“You need a shower first.”  It’s a simple statement of fact, you know that.  You’ve got at least ten pounds of makeup on and your hair’s the furthest thing from soft and silky, carefully coiffed to mimic Mercy’s signature style.  You still pretend like you’re just a bit offended, scowling into the face of your boyfriend even as he rolls his eyes, already somehow able to read the words written into your expression.  “I meant we and no, I’m not calling you stinky.”

He’s stolen your thunder, as he so often does.  You pout, as you so often do. 

“Okay,”  you relent, finally, moving to rest your head against his shoulder.  You could get down - walk on your own two tired feet - but you’re enjoying the closeness, how warm and real he feels in comparison to the swimming surroundings.  “Will you wash my hair?”  You don’t really need to ask but do anyway, because you like the sound of his voice when it’s so close.

“You know I will.”  Because he always does when you shower together (and it falls on a designated hair washing day - that was important).  

You offer your thanks with a kiss, laid right over the jumping pulse in his neck.  When Jungkook hums in acknowledgment, you feel the way the muscles constrict, his Adam’s apple jumping beneath your lips.  You zero in on it with laser precision, mouthing over his throat.  Somewhere above you - against the shell of your ear - he exhales a laugh, breath hot.

“We’re showering, baby.”  As if that’s meant to stop you.  He, more than anyone, should know how adamant you get, singularly focused on whatever’s got your attention.  He’s been on the receiving end of it more than enough times, strung into playing another one, two, ten matches of Overwatch or hunting down the limited edition Funko Pops that now sit proudly on your white shelf (and behind your plants and on the ledge by the front door).

“We can shower and have fun,”  you mumble into the expanse of his chest.  He’s so pleasantly warm, unyielding and firm and so, so comfortable.  You think you could live in the feeling of his arms.  (You’re lucky you get to.)  You don’t even mind the sudden cold of the counter or the space that forms between you when he sets you down, because he’s still caging you in where it matters most.  “Right, JK?”

It’s a nickname you rarely use now - one that only comes out in times of desperation.  You’ve never quite understood why it affects your boyfriend the way it does, stuttering the rhythmic beating of his heart, but you love it nonetheless.  It makes you grin, high on power and giddy with nothing but sweetness.  

He’d explained it to you once.  Jay was how you’d met him, the version of himself you’d loved first.  Jungkook was the side of himself he’d wanted to give you but couldn’t.  JK was the in-between - the chaos and the calm.  Hearing you say it brought back all the memories of year one and he liked that.  You could only laugh at his sentimentality and tuck the piece of knowledge somewhere deep, to be pulled out in instances like this.

“Right, angel.”  You don’t miss the colour on his cheeks - so pretty you reach your hands out to cup them, squishing them between your palms like an old grandmother testing a watermelon.  You continue to hold him until he pulls your hands from his face, guiding them to the edge of the counter with gentle pressure.  “Gotta get undressed to shower,”  he chides, that twinkle in his eye that makes it hard to look away.

Really, how can he expect you to do anything when he’s got an entire unexplored galaxy hidden in his irises?  It’s an absurd ask.

“Or I’ll help you.”  

Your clothes fall away while you’re still staring up at him.  

First, the gloves, peeled from your fingers with utmost care.  Kisses fill the spaces between each finger, passed from knuckles to wrist, all the way up to your elbow.  You squirm when his teeth graze the sensitive underside of your bicep.  He stifles a snicker into the skin.

Next goes your cape and wings, hung on the door handle.  His mouth warms the suddenly bare skin, pressing affection into the line of your shoulder, up over your neck.  You don’t squirm this time, instead humming a noise of delight.  You hardly notice when the corset goes next, undone by surprisingly nimble inked digits.  There’s hardly a moment to savour the freedom - you can finally breathe - when his hands replace the cups, palms eager over your chest.  He doesn’t hesitate to hold you, pinching your perked nipples with a sly grin.

“I thought we were going to shower.”  The words are barely out before turning breathless, stolen by the way he easily palms your breast, dropping his face into the crook of your neck. 

“We are, angel,”  Jungkook teases, rolling your bud between his thumb and forefinger, other hand moved to splay across the now-bare small of your back.  It’s almost embarrassing how easily you fall into him, drawn against him like a moth to a flame.  “Just need to get you warmed up first.”    

“The shower’ll be warm,”  you say - or think you say, anyway.  It isn’t quite articulated, half your brain left somewhere at the party (or maybe caught dead centre in the coil that’s tightening in your stomach).  

“Do you want me to stop?”  It’s so quiet you almost miss it, too distracted by how he slips the rest of your costume off.  Shorts, thong, stockings, silly witch’s hat.  “Tell me if you want me to stop, baby.”  Ever the gentleman, he’s patient, meeting your glazed stare with something close to concern.  You almost laugh in his face then - stopping short only when you note just how serious he is, the tell-tale set of his jaw shining like a familiar beacon.  

You return your hands to his face, palms cradling his chin like he might break otherwise.  “I never want you to stop.”  

That’s all Jungkook needs before he’s slotting himself between your legs, mirroring your motion with hands creeping up the side of your neck, fingers ascending into the roots of your hair.  He holds you close and kisses you like it’s all he’s ever wanted.  “I love you,”  he breathes, speaks against the corner of your mouth.  

You parrot the words back at him and he grins, stepping away in the next moment.  He laughs when you pout, offering a kiss in apology as he undoes the buttons of his dress shirt, slipping the soft cotton off.  You stop then, entranced by the revealed skin, how it shifts with each adjustment of muscle, sinew tight over his arms and shoulders.  You wonder, not for the first time, how you’d managed to luck out so spectacularly.  

“Start the shower.”  

You hop down with the direction, slipping past him to do exactly that.  You don’t miss the way he rotates, brings himself closer as you move away.  The magnetism is undeniable - always has been.

“I love you,”  he states, again, bare against your back as you hover by the edge of the glass door, one hand stuck past to test the slow-warming stream.  He’s solid, familiar and comfortable, as he slinks his arms back around you, heat burning the shape of his hands over your ribs, the shape of your hip.  You think he might mark himself there, just as neatly as the floral ink does.  You wouldn’t mind.

The water is welcome, bathing the both of you in steam when you step inside.  It’s an incredibly relaxing feeling, being caught between the spray and the hard body behind you.  You hum a noise of pure delight, turning your face toward the one that nuzzles itself into your neck, and bring your hands to rest over his, fingers slotting between ink.  

“Hair?”  You’re not in a terrible rush but you like redirecting his attention (pretending to, at least) - the teasing that formed the base of your relationship presenting itself in the quiet reminder.  It earns the laugh you expect, muffled into your hair, featherlight over the delicate shell of your jewelled ear.  

“Patience, baby.”  It’s something Jungkook tends to say a lot, whether waiting in queue in Overwatch or in bed, with you a complete mess.  He repeats it easily, like he’s the poster boy for the virtue.  (He isn’t.)

“What am I waiting—”  The question dies, swallowed whole by the gasp he draws from you with a wandering hand.  Fingers slip across your stomach, digits deftly seeking out warmth as if you weren’t already enveloped in it.  It’s a touch that’s tantalisingly slow, unfairly light, but it still makes you keen when it drags over your lips.  A single digit pushes past muscle - so shallow you’re not sure you’re not just imagining it - before retreating, dragging your slick back up to your clit.  The moment the pad of his finger makes contact with the sensitive bundle of nerves, you almost jump.  Would, if he weren’t caging you with his other arm.  

You feel the cold of his teeth bared against your neck then, the throaty laugh that pulls out of his chest and deposits itself into your hair.  “Patience,”  he repeats, swirling his fingers over your clit, his mouth moving in tandem with the twist of his wrist.  He peppers love and affection in the form of kisses, presses devotion with the edge of his teeth, soothes all your nerves with a sweep of his tongue. 

“Kook,”  you sigh, already well on your way to being a boneless mess.  There’s tingling in your toes, fizzing in your stomach, butterflies in your chest.  A whirlwind of emotion and sensation that he stirs to life effortlessly.  

“Relax for me.”  You do so because it’s easy, because he’s so devastatingly good to you.  

The figure eights skating over your clit cease, fingers dropping further down to nestle against your cunt. He pauses there, almost experimentally flexing against the muscle that aches and clenches around nothing, eager for more.  You think he’s smirking by the way his lips form with his kisses, a little lopsided and devilish.  (You wish you could see him.) 

A single digit enters you then, to the third knuckle as if your body was made for this, for him.  (It was.)  He coos against your neck when a garbled mess skips off your tongue and nearly laughs when another slips in alongside it, turning the mess into nonsense.  Despite how badly you want it - need it, really - it’s a sensation that’s too much and not enough all at once, toeing the line between pleasure and pain.  

It was how Jungkook loved you - recklessly, shamelessly, in no half measures.  With more love than you could ever hope for, giving you things you didn’t even know how to ask for.

“Relax, angel,”  comes as he begins scissoring both fingers inside you, stretching you out with an otherworldly amount of care.  Even your neglected clit is given some sort of relief - anything to ease the sting of two long fingers - his thumb gliding over it with each stretch of your walls.  He knows exactly where to touch you, how much pressure to apply, and you’re melting, lost in the feeling.  

When he’s had enough and he curls his fingers within you, seeking out that particular spot, you’re trembling, caught off guard.  Heat builds quickly with the precision of which he taps against that spot;  it starts low in your back, climbing each vertebrae of your spine until you’re quivering in his arms.  

“K-Kook.”  It’s both a plea and a demand, nonsensical as he guides you through your orgasm, keeping you upright against him when your knees feel like they might give out.  

“I’ve got you.”  And he does - hook, line, and sinker.  He holds you steady as the pleasure crashes over your head, keeps you anchored to the here and now and the pleasure that rolls through you like a relentless wave.  It sinks beneath your skin, settles heavy into every atom, and he never lets you go.  He’s got you.

When sensation returns - slowly, so slowly it feels like you’re stuck in the Twilight Zone - you only want to turn.  See him, hold him, whisper sweet nothings as you kiss him silly and thank him for his service.  Instead, you’re held in place, two hands firm upon your hips even as you crane your neck to look over your shoulder at him.  You should recognise the look on his face.  “Kook?”

“My turn.”  It’s a statement more than anything, a kind heads-up as he nudges you forward.  There’s that same twinkle in his eye, the only source of light around the pupil that’s blown out, otherwise engulfing the constellations he so normally offers you.  It’s a black hole and one you’d gladly get lost in.  “Hands on the wall, baby.”

You’d never been one for shower sex - it’s too small a space, too much happening at once, a guaranteed freak accident waiting to happen - but you can’t deny him when he asks so nicely.  (It really hadn’t been that nice but you were a certified sucker for one Jeon Jungkook.)

Hands find themselves on the wall, palms flat, fingers splayed.  In the same instance you wiggle your hips, there’s a ghosting touch over your spine.  It trails up and down, soothes the residual heat that lingers, and then slips higher, palm gentle over your throat.  His thumb rubs reassuring circles over the nape of your neck, pressing gently into the sensitive spot behind your ear.  It’s distracting and you realise much needed when he sinks into you with one fluid press of his hips, filling you so full you can’t help the gasp that bounds past your lips and bounces around the glass enclosure.  “Oh fuck,”  he sighs, his grip on your hip tightening incrementally.

He sounds like sin and feels like heaven.  

“Always so good for me.”  Another thing he says, often and without prompting.  It still feels just as good the umpteenth time, sparking pride deep in your chest as he pulls out and drives himself back in, staring in rapt fascination at where your bodies meet.  “Always so perfect for me.”  

“Because I love you,”  you quip, more than a little out of breath and jostled by the way he thrusts into you, measured and with enough force to shake your legs.  

“Love you too, angel.”  He doesn’t need to say it back - you know, can feel it by how he holds you, drives you to brink of insanity with his cock - but he does it anyway.  He always says it back, no matter what, even if he’s half-asleep or distracted.  He’ll never stop saying it.

The hand on your hip falls, slinks across your hip and between your legs, and you’re pushed further forward, his feet gently kicking yours further apart.  Jungkook assaults your clit then, timing each pass with each thrust.  An attempted glance back has fireworks going off before your eyes, specks of pleasure lighting up your vision;  it’s a technicolour lightshow, framing the way his face scrunches, brow set and jaw hard.  He’s determined, focused on bringing you to another orgasm before he hits his own high.  You assist him as best you can, swiveling your hips and grinding back against him even as the coil pulls impossibly tight in your stomach, barely held together by threadbare strings. 

“Kook,”  you whine when the tension becomes too much, hands scrabbling across the wall of the shower.  The same overwhelming tingle sparks beneath your skin, entire body trembling like a leaf when the head of his cock brushes that spot inside you at just the right angle.

He doesn’t relent, rhythm turning almost punishing as he drives you over the edge, launching you headlong into your second orgasm.  You’re not sure how you stay upright, near sobbing when you crash into euphoric bliss, neither his fingers nor his thrusts ceasing.  It’s almost too much and yet you know how close he is, so you push back, whimper words you know he wants to hear.  

“P-please, Kook.  Please.”  You’re reaching a hand back, desperate to interlace your fingers with his.  He gives in easily, catches your hand in his own and plants it on the swell of your hip as he chases his own release with desperation.  “Come for me, Kook.  Fill me up.”

Jungkook does just that, balls tight as he spills himself inside you, hand at your throat so tight you’re seeing stars.  Somehow - with the feeling of him grinding into you, overcome with so much sensitivity - you come for the third time, crying very real tears as the sensation washes over you.  It’s weaker than your first two but unravels you all the same, seeping the energy from your limbs.  You’re grateful for how well he knows you and the fact he catches you before your arms collapse, pulling you to him with gentle movements.  

“I love you,”  he whispers against your temple, out of breath and sweat-slick despite the water that rains down upon you.  

“I love you,”  you answer, pressing a kiss to the hand that still twines with yours.  “But I still need you to wash my hair.”  It’s cheeky and you know it so you don’t even mind when he bites into the meat of your shoulder, leaving a pretty red mark that’ll bloom for the next few days.  “Ow!”

“You’re a brat.”  Said even as he’s reaching for your shampoo bar, teasing it through your roots with practiced movements.  He’s careful despite his scathing tone, gentle despite how he glares at you from the corner of your periphery.  Each tangle is neatly undone and not a single bubble gets in your eye, much to your joy.  

“I thought I was an angel.”  You’re taking a page out of his book, speaking in fluent pout.

He catches your lips with his own, pushing your lathered up head beneath the steady stream when he withdraws and speaks.  Suds run across your cheeks, eyes shielded only by the hand he keeps steady along your hairline.  Even so mean, your boyfriend is still terribly nice.  “You’re my angel - but you’re still a brat.”  

You can’t argue with that. 

tag list.  @neverthefirstchoice​ @youwannabelostandnotbefound​ @snackhobi​

[thewinter22]

Yay! Okay so I haven't played it in a while, but have recently started playing again, and actually mostly play ascii simply because I am so overly used to the hotkeys that I can't go without them, and also my brain has an easier time processing ascii graphics than the actual graphical version. It has a beauty to it. A way to focus on important things more easily. Not saying I dislike the graphical version, I find it beautiful and it has a lot of effort, it just isn't for me.

Anyway, for an infodump, I could tell you about all the various stories about glitches like cats getting so drunk they die on the spot, or babies mindcontrolling their mothers to death, or things spawning in and immedistely dying due to missing a head, but there's enough explanations of that on the internet. I actually do love those stories, because they show how the game is really so deeply programmed. Like, all those glitches all occur because of certain game mechanics all working together in the INTENDED ways, but making an unintended outcome.

Like, I love how most things that happen aren't explicitly programmed, but instead happen because one thing leads to another. Like, cats still get drunk. Not because they are progranmed to drink, but because they are progeammed to lick themselves clean, and there happens to be alcohol spills in bars, and they tend to walk through that, which makea their paws soaked in it, so when they lick themselves clean, they get tipsy. WHICH MAKES SENSE! AND NONE OF THAT IS EXPLICITLY PROGRAMMED! GODDD I LOVE IT!

Ahem, anyway as I said that's sirta not what I wanna talk about that much, since it has been talked about at length by many others (yet I still rambled for half my post about it sry). So I'm gonna talk about some stories that happened to me specifically.

I have AuDHD, and I have a hard timefocussing on one thing for a long time, so I tend to play a fortress for several in game years, but eventuall, forget about them, even though I really do want to, and intend to, play them for longer, and actual get some sorta conclusion. I still have had plenty of intersting stories however!

One I especially love is that of a military commander. Early on, he lost his wife, who had been hospitalized due to a wound from falling wood logs, and rventually teagically dehydrated because we had no water source. I swear I laid her to rest but apparently I actually didn't, so her ghost would come to haunt him, further bringing down his mood.

The first breaking point was reached soon after this however... As the first threat to the fortress had arrived - a were lizard. Confidently, I sent out my military. They were well trained, after all.

I haven't given a lot of advice in gameplay stuff in this post, but one thing you ahould take away from this... Don't send your military out to fight if for years, they have done nothing but train deep within your fortress. There is a thing called cave sickness. If your dwarves stay inaide for a long time, then the first time they come in contacr with sunlight again, they will feel sick. The longer they have been isolated, the worse it is.

So my military went out, and started vomiting, falling over, and got destroyed by the werelizard. Also it was raining. The commander survived however, and worst if all, the ghost of his fucking wife was there too. So it was overall not a good day for him. Losing half his squad, being in the rain, vomiting and almost dying himself.

I had to spend some time isolating rhem all, putting them in rooms to test if they were werelizards now too. One of them was, and I put them below, deep down. By this point, the commander had become known for throwing many many tantrums, raging and starting fights. I saw him say "I'm at my limit", and so I drcidrd to take away his gear. Back to being a civilian. Funnily enough, taking someone out of the military also worsens their moods. So this was the final breaking point. Wearing his clothes, no weapon and only a rock crown as armor, he went about his day, lime a ti king time bomb.

It did not take long for him to go berserk, which happened in the dormrooms... The plave where all the kids lived. This guy was about to do an Anakin and kill the younglings. But there were many kids. And they all fought back. And one heroic dwarf child grabbed his crown, and as soon as that was goney they all started bashing his brains in.

So yeah. I dunno how to conclude this story other than it being fucking awesome. And it all happened in this funny ascii game.

Another fun occurance is when the villains update had just released. I would get lots of obvious spies in my fortress. One of them a mummy lord. Mummies actually function the same way as necromancers, only that in worldgen, they don't do much, while necromancers actively do evil deeds. But when on the field they will raise the dead, and stuff like that.

Basically, I was in the middle of a siege one time, where a necromancer had sent various zombies and intelligent undead to me. Zombies usually being mindless and just going to any life to kill it, and intelligent undesd more... Intelligent, sometimes with magical abilities (I am so excited for the magic update)

Anyway, the mummy lord who had been a long time pstron at my tavern came along, and he casually punched his way through, splattering the undrad all over the field, basically feeling like he wabted a drink so bad and he was NOT gonna wait in line. So he single handedly saved me from the siege just to get his drink. And even revived some of the undead he killed AGAIN, which now seemed to have broken AI, because now they just *stood* there, and literally would not move for anything.

I have plenty more stories, and stuff I found in legends mode too! If that was not the kinda infodump you wanted, I am gonna do an info dump about game mechanics, so just check the other notes, I should have time to write it today.

Anyone want questions/wanna just be infodumped on about dwarf firtress, Cataclysm dark days ahead, space station 13 or lethal company?

[legowerewolf]

List five things that make you happy, then put this in the ask box of the last ten people who reblogged something from you. Spread the positivity ✨

Fuck yeah. Let’s do this.

#1: my boyfriends

Do I need to explain? Cuddling and chilling out together are top tier. They make me feel better when things’ve gone to shit, or when I need to focus on something else or I’m gonna implode.

#2: narrative media

I fuckin love stories. I was one of those kids who would get a couple books from the school library in the morning and return them, finished, at the end of the day. As life’s happened, I’ve had less and less time to experience completely new properties, so I turn a lot to fanfic.

Either way, sci-fi, fantasy, and queer romance are my main genres. Stories about prevailing against the odds are a favorite at the moment - “ Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk “ is a favorited tag on AO3 for me. Found family stuff is also :chef’s kiss:.

(note that I specifically did not mention a media format - games, anime, books, webcomics, etc. are all fair game)

#3: co-op games

Often tied to #1 and occasionally to #2. I like games that I can play with other people, not against them. PvP combat isn’t enjoyable to me. Working together to solve puzzles or defeat a boss is more fun.

#4: programming

I just got my CS degree, and even though it was hell at the end, certain kinds of programming still make me really happy.

I like doing web stuff especially because it’s rarely hard, just time-consuming (in a good way) as you work through how something works and how you can hook into it or get it to do what you want.

For example, I set up hotkeys for AO3 so I can use my arrow keys to navigate chapters and work lists, use ‘l’ to send kudos, etc. It was a fun puzzle to solve and it makes reading more pleasant.

Typescript, Python, and Powershell are my favorite languages, probably because it’s pretty easy to introspect what’s happening in all of them.

#5: listening to music

I’m a fan of soundtrack music, mostly. Big, orchestral pieces that make you feel like you could fight God and win.

I have noticed that I prefer lower pitches and a driving baseline, too.

Not a fan of screamo. I like things I can sing along with without fucking up my throat more, thanks.

[thewakingcloak]

Spacefarer Newsletter: August 2020

I spent the first week of August cleaning up cliff and z-object stuff. Not very glamorous! I was definitely ready to move on, but it had to be done. Everything I mentioned at the end of the July newsletter? I tackled it.

Falling off ledges now works properly. This was surprisingly difficult.

Tile animations on z objects is now handled... 

Building cliffs is much less painstaking now. The objects automatically resize themselves for proper collision, and the sprites are all color- and number-coded.

And more: lots and lots of weird cases and stuff fixed. Cliffs at a “negative z” (below sea-level, essentially) were a whole ‘nother animal. They’re still a little janky, and I’ll have to do more manual intervention for these.

Also, area transitions were only based on x and y, so throwing z into the mix messed those up hardcore.

Once I got past all that, I decided to tackle swimming!

Talk about a switch. Cliffs took me a few months. Swimming took me, like, a couple days. Even the stuff I thought would be hard (falling off waterfalls, slippery momentum, etc.) ended up being more or less built in to the systems I have, lol, so I basically just wrote a line or two of new code for those. Diving took an extra few days on top of that, mostly just because I went back and forth on how to modify the z.

Next came rolling. (You might say we’re on a roll.) This was the first bit I’d copied over from The Waking Cloak project in ages. The Waking Cloak will eventually be built afresh on the ProtoDungeon foundation, but I guess the old code does still have some useful stuff in there!

I did spend an evening converting my mess of move speed/direction/vectors to create a Vector2 struct in 2.3. Structs are a nice breath of Object-Oriented Programming in GameMaker. :) Then I leveraged this so I could easily modify the direction of rolling, jumping, etc. I could have done all this without, but it makes it easier.

“Rolling” in the water will be a dash. Unfortunately, in doing all this, I broke the “slippery” friction on water, which for some reason took me a few days to fix.

Roll cleanup from there involved allowing jumping into a roll and rolling into a jump. For gameplay purposes, these don’t let you jump further or anything, but it adds some usability. Without this, if you press the “roll key” right before landing, nothing happens, and it feels clunky. With this, if you press the roll key while jumping, the character will roll immediately when they hit the ground. It feels really good!

I updated the controls to match the new rolling. Space and shift now both trigger rolls for keyboard, and the left face button does so on the gamepad. This also meant I had to update the control remapping settings (which needs a UX overhaul, I’m breaking a couple guidelines here, but no time for that now lol).

Next came the dash. This only took a few days, since it’s basically the same as a roll, just faster (not shown in the video, I sped it up after recording) and with a cool afterimage effect! I had to take a video instead of a gif to capture the full effect (gif framerate is too low, so it’s much more “blinky”). Anyway yeah, click this giant link to watch, lol.

And then I rounded out the month by updating various tiles and sprites. It was pretty tough to get back into the swing of things, art-wise. Thanks to the Studio Spacefarer Discord server, though, I’m pretty happy with the direction things went.

Check out the “before” in last month’s newsletter.

Oh, also, on the penultimate day of the month, I felt like taking a quick break from all of everything to install rt-shell, a plugin that lets you do debug commands. My previous debug method was a list of hotkeys. It was pretty limited! The new one is extensible (I can write my own scripts), so it’s gonna be really helpful.

[entropy-game-dev]

Hey all! Apologies for the >1 week absence! I’ve been working hard on the party selection screen, but didn’t really have any exciting progress to show until today, so I thought I’d spare you guys the filler episode and skip straight to the good stuff!

Anyway, so the ui is totally not final but the main goal of the party selection screen is 100% functional! You can see me choose the manage party option, select an empty slot, then select a core to insert into that slot, and boom, party member added!

So to get to this step I had to revamp quite a bit of code which, until now, has been placeholder. As this is the first time I’m dynamically adding party members (rather than hardcoded) I first needed to make my party manger object persistent across screens. Previously, it was only present in the exploration screen. Doing that was simple, but I also needed some functions to hide/show the window at will, and same with the individual party member panels.

Speaking of those, I extended my code to make those panels less dependent on the party manager object. This is because when you are selecting cores from your inventory, I wanted a pop-up of the core’s stats to appear, without, obviously linking it to the party manager. So I was able to do that too, although I don’t demo that here! The goal of getting a standalone party panel was so the relevant data could be pulled in by the large character stats window that I showed off last time.

I had an amazing bug where, when I’d add a party member, it’d spawn copies of all existing party members. This is because I never actually checked previously to make sure that a party member’s object wasn’t there before generating it, since those were hardcoded to run once and once only!

Anyway, there’s still a bit of work to go, including swapping party members around, putting them back into storage (probably assigned to the data crunching mines...), and de-equipping party members when going into storage, as well as setting up the hotkeys to look at a detailed version of the character stats, and of course, designing a proper UI that isn’t cobbled together from (literally) 3 other interfaces.

[gummybuddha]

Tooth and Tail

Spending 95 minutes with Pocketwatch Games animal-focused RTS Tooth and Tail, has made me realize how much I miss Brian Jacques, who passed in 2011. I mention this because Tooth and Tail has been like a mixture of Redwall and the Russian Revolution. Though, instead of furry animals fighting with swords and shields as Jacques might have told it, Tooth and Tail tells a tail...I mean tale...about the various animals caught in a Marxist cultural revolution, it’s a story about the haves and the have nots, though we are mostly speaking about food, which happens to be the other animals.

It does sound rather weird to say that the animals are fighting about who gets the right to decide who gets eaten or not, but strangely, that still feels on-brand with a game lightly inspired by the Russian Revolution.  

It's a game that at a glance, suggests a rather simplistic approach to an RTS. I definitely was expecting something more casual, as I probably remembered seeing light coverage of the game mentioning it was a game that could be played with a controller, and was encouraging for newer players of the genre.

But while the Redwall meets imperial guardsmen splash art might suggest a game that gets furries wet, the actual meat and potatoes of the gameplay loop highlight a game that understands the basics of the genre.

You will be building, you will be managing your economy, holding off harassment, building multiple troop producing structures, and if you're lucky, downright smashing the opposing players/AI's army.

This is all done without building units yourself, or by using hotkeys or control groups, which while refreshing, might have more veteran RTS players slightly disappointed (Don't worry, I assure you you're vast RTS knowledge and reflexes mean you will probably still smash. ). Instead, the game has you controlling the leader of your army, a furry hype man that tells your army what to buildings to build and where your units should to go by going to the place himself and issuing commands that tell the other unit in the game where to go and what to do.

But before you think that the game is a frantic race of getting your leader from point a to b, do keep in mind the game allows your rodent friend to dig through the ground between bases, which makes map control and resource control all the more important, and highlights the fact that this is still a strategy game that is still very much about resource acquisition and harassment of workers. Army units are built themselves automatically, and come out in waves, which means the best way to keep tabs on your units is to issue orders to your individual unit classes or by rallying the whole army. 

This means Tooth and Tail has a slight learning period for players used to the way games like Starcraft or Age of Empire do it, but it’s nothing so hard that you can’t figure it out in a play session. The unit roaster is not especially deep,with 15 units and 5 structures, Pocketwatch Games seem to keep to the simple to learn hard to master approach to RTS, which, for a game made in 2017, is somewhat refreshing.  I’m hoping there are more games like it moving past 2020, and if Tooth and Tail got additional content or a sequel, all the more better 

[captainallthingspurpleme]

All these Tumblr hotkeys are making it very hard for me to “like” and “comment” on things without something crazy happening.

[rinaris-skyrim]

2. Tweaks

I wish I had a better category name for these. These are small changes, some of them atmospheric, some of them just nice to have. They don’t change anything terribly significant about the game, just add some flavor here, an item there, a little immersive utility yonder.

---

A Matter of Time

In-game clock widget. Useful for checking to see when shops should be open, checking the phases of the moons if you’re a werewolf, figuring out if it’ll be dark soon. Just a gem. [link]

Aime’s Craftable Lockpicks

WISOTT - What it says on the tin. One iron ingot equals five lockpicks. No more complicated than that. [link]

Alchemist’s Journal

More for roleplaying purposes than anything. A simple book, craftable at a tanning rack, that lists ingredient effects as you discover them. [link]

Atlas Map Markers - Updated

The original Atlas Map Markers is brilliant, adding map markers for most things in Skyrim you might want on your map — the smaller camps, shops, shrines out in the wilderness, interesting spots, landmarks, whatnot. Kryptopyr updated it with an mod configuration menu. You’ll need the original [here], and then install Kryptopyr’s update [here] over it (”merge” option in Mod Organizer).

Better Stealing

A somewhat controversial tweak, one I’m not sure works well for balance, especially given various perk overhauls and other mods that allow multiple ways for you to offload stolen goods. However, I always found it stupid that shopkeepers would preternaturally “know” what was stolen and what wasn’t. This makes it simple: if it’s relatively inexpensive and no one sees you take it, it won’t be marked as “stolen” in your inventory (though the owners might still send some thugs after you after the fact, once they realize it’s missing!). Simple SKSE plugin. [link]

CS Soul Fragments to Soul Gems

Finally a use for all of those “Soul Gem Fragments” you find out in ruins or in random barrels! “Polish” the fragments with a linen rag at a forge, then combine them to make empty soul gems of the size you desire. You can also “smash” soul gems to reforge one large gem into several smaller ones, if you prefer, or combine smaller ones into larger gems. Why was this not in the base game? [link]

Dark Brotherhood for Good Guys

Why do I want this mod for a group that’s all about playing a murdering edgelord? Well, basically, because not all Brotherhood members are edgy dark edgelords, and usually when people want someone murdered, it’s for a reason. This gives you a somewhat different perspective on the Brotherhood and their victims: information, backstories, the philosophy of Sithis as morally neutral chaos instead of pure evil. I tend to play on the good-ish side of things, and I love reading and lore, so I like this. Add to taste. Be sure to merge the base mod with the provided hotfix. [link]

Dragon Wall Wisdom - Readable Dragon Walls

You’re the Dragonborn, right? Learning the dragon language, right? Gifted with an understanding of the dragon tongue and preternatural knowledge, right? Then you should really be able to read these dragon wall inscriptions in the game. This offers funny, quirky, and sometimes just downright mundane translations for these ancient arcane inscriptions. SHBITBG - Should have been in the base game. [link]

EK_RingLimiter

You have ten fingers. Why only one ring? This allows you to wear more — though for balance reasons I recommend sticking with the default of two, or perhaps four. Something something about magical auras interfering if the trinkets are worn too close to one another. ;) [link]

Even Better Quest Objectives

The default in-game journal is rather pathetic. It rarely gives you your motivations, or even a text version of where you’re supposed to go next. I very much miss Morrowind’s journal, where every conversation and relevant tidbit was recorded. This helps. [link]

Farmers Sell Produce

Seriously, again, why wasn’t this in the base game? It’s close to necessary if you’re going to use a needs mod, or something that uses produce to create medicines for diseases. Assuming, of course, you’re not inclined to go rampaging across farmers’ carefully-tended fields. [link]

Faster Transform - To Werewolf and VampireLord

Just a nice tweak. Again, time is valuable, it’s nice not to have quite such a large window in which I’m being wailed on by enemies, and I like the more monstrous touch. The middle option - only half the vanilla time to transform - is recommended for realism and balance reasons. [link]

Female Vampires Have Fangs

One of the very few purely aesthetic changes here. All vampires should have fangs. (I’m gay. Fangs hot.) [link]

Harvest Overhaul

Find it stupid you only get one flower from that whole patch of mountain flowers? Yeah, me too. This fixes that. [link]

iHUD - Immersive HUD

Neatly stows away the status bars when you don’t need them (when they’re full and you’re not in combat). Also hides the compass, because how does your character preternaturally know there’s this thing that way if they can’t see it? [link]

Immersive Dragons

Just gives dragons a larger wingspan so they can maybe actually lift themselves into the air. Another aesthetics tweak, with the goal of immersion. [link]

Jaxonz Lights Please

Incredibly useful for those using magical lighting. This maps both Candlelight and Magelight to hotkeys, removing the need to constantly switch spells. It also means you can easily toggle Candlelight on and off like a lantern or torch. Works well with mods that affect lighting and darkness, which I do. [link]

Jaxonz Map Markers

The best custom map marker mod I’ve found. Want to keep track of... well, anything? Ore deposits, NPCs, followers, your horse, that little camp... This is it! Uses the game’s built-in quest and quest objective system for map markers. Super easy to use. [link]

Kryptopyr’s Clothing and Clutter Fixes

This maybe should have gone in the “Fixes” post, but it’s... not quite “just” fixes. “Hooded robes” are separated into hoods and robes for mixing and matching, some NPCs clothing is changed to be more lore-friendly, alongside some behind-the-scenes fixes like weight adjustments. Optional, officially. [link]

Kryptopyr’s Weapon and Armor Fixes Remade

This also maybe should have gone in the “Fixes” post, but again, it’s a bit more of an overhaul, adjusting weights of things and armor scaling for consistency. Required for Kryptopyr’s great crafting overhaul, CCOR, so we definitely want this. [link]

Learn Alchemy From Recipes

WISOTT. Reading a recipe “discovers” those ingredient effects for you. Again, why was this not in the original game? [link]

Living Takes Time

I’ll be honest, I deactivate most of the features of this mod, except for “training takes time” and “reading takes time” (and increases speech skill). Crafting takes time just gets onerous, especially in the early game when you need all this gear and your bandoliers and you have needs you need to fill... And blocking the inventory or magic menu during combat is just... no. Still, the mod itself adds some nice functionality, and it can be fully tweaked to taste. If you’re using an alternate spell learning mod, be sure to set the “spell learning” time to zero. [link]

Mortal Enemies - De-Aimbot Your Foes

Once an enemy has started an attack, they’re locked into that direction and attack. This makes you able to dodge or move out of range of the attack, and they can no longer hit you anyways. They move slower when aiming or channeling as well. No instant pivots, and two-handed weapons feel heavier than one-handed ones. All in all, it makes combat feel more realistic, and allows them to miss you if you’re clever. But beware! These changes apply to you, too! [link]

No Psychic Lock Knowledge

WISOTT. You don’t somehow magically know how hard a lock is going to be just by looking at it. You just try to pick it, like... you actually would if you decide to pick a lock. [link]

No Silver at Jorrvaskr

Because a group of warriors whose upper echelons are all werewolves would totally be eating off silver. Not. [link] (in the optional files section)

Non-Exploitable Crossbow Reloading

Allows you to reload crossbows on your own time, by pressing the fire button, before firing again, without messing with your equipped ammunition. Simple and lovely. [link]

People Are Strangers

You don’t somehow magically know the names of people before you talk to them! I personally favor the “race” variant, just because... less generic, and I can usually see if someone is a Wood Elf or an Argonian anyways, but you can adjust the “stranger” label to taste. [link]

Point the Way

Roads actually have more signposts to direct people to the smaller towns as well as the large cities, and have them at more junctions. Signs also point the right way. Especially helpful along some of the more windy roads. No need to puzzle things out on your map quite so much. [link]

Realistic Capacity

Without a bag, you can only carry as much as you can feasibly wear, really. It’s that simple. This mod dynamically adjusts your capacity and allows for the armor you’re wearing and a few different weapons, e.g. a bow, a one-handed weapon, a shield, a knife or two, making those effectively weightless, and assume pockets for some meager supplies, but aside from that — backpacks and bags are mandatory. Makes things harder for a packrat like me, but it does make me think. [link]

Realistic Humanoid Movement Speed

This one takes a bit of the sting out of Realistic Capacity. Movement speed is adjusted to feel more realistic overall — you walk faster, jog more slowly (when sneaking, too), and don’t sprint like a gazelle. Take the optional horse speed modifier file to also add more value to horses: they walk and gallop faster as well now, in addition to their other benefits. [link]

Realistic Nights

Wondering why torches and night eye were even added to the game? Annoyed at how, well, bright the nights are? Put an end to that! Darker nights make light sources actually useful, and provides a good reason for sneaky types to actually consider the day/night cycle. Light adjusted based on the moons, snow reflecting night, and various other factors for an even better experience. [link]

Run For Your Lives

NPCs who are not guards or warriors run inside and hide from both dragons and vampire attacks. Like anyone with any sense of self-preservation would. I mean, I guess Nords don’t exactly revere self-preservation, but... this just seems more sensible to me, especially if we’re talking little old ladies armed with a steel dagger. [link]

SCRR - Skyrim Coin Replacer Redux

“Modern” Septims have no business deep in ancient Nordic burial mounds or Dwemer ruins. The Stormcloaks aren’t too ecstatic about Imperial money, either, and are creating their own silver currency, though gold is gold. Now silver Haralds are found in barrows, and ebony Dumacs in Dwemer ruins. All can be be melted down to ingots of their respective metals, or traded with merchants for “regular” currency. This adds massively to immersion, not to mention offering a supply of useful materials for smithing. [link]

Sleep Tight

Simple change that makes NPCs change into robes or clothes for sleeping, instead of going to bed in that hard iron armor (though for balance reasons, and modesty, people still wear chest armor). Accordingly, they’ll also take more damage if you can catch them unawares. [link]

Take Notes - Journal of the Dragonborn

I love this. I love this so so much. The ability to write a custom journal from in the game, and export it if I want to, adds so much to roleplaying. It means I can create a proper backstory, examine character motivations, process events of the game through my character’s lens, and record it all for myself later. Just, magnificent. Get it. You won’t regret it. [link]

The Choice is Yours - Fewer Forced Quests - Improved Dialogue Options

WISOTT. Just talking to someone doesn’t automatically add a quest to your inventory. You can turn an offer down or defer an errand until later. Some things a character just wouldn’t want to do. Now that’s not cluttering up your journal. Again, SHBITBG - should have been in the base game. [link]

Timing is Everything - Quest Delay and Timing Control

This allows you to space out the steps of the main quest as seems realistic (e.g. NPCs taking some time for research), as well as control when (at which level) various quests will start. There are also a few other tweaks to be found, such as Meridia’s Beacon not responding to vampires, werewolves randomly attacking, and Thalmor ignoring you unless certain quest conditions are fulfilled, instead of attack squads simply triggering at a certain level. [link]

TK Dodge

Gives you the ability to quickly sideroll and dodge a blow. Makes light armors a lot more viable in close combat, and plays nicely with Mortal Enemies. [link]

Trade and Barter

A fantastic mod that adjusts prices, merchant gold, and other parameters around trading based on race, faction alliance, personal relationships, location, and more. Highly customizable, highly compatible, brilliant. [link]

TravelMounts

You need to have a horse in order to be able to fast travel. Offers more of a reason to drop that 1000 gold, and this small tweak makes it feel much more immersive (after all, a rider can outrun and avoid many things someone on foot can’t). [link]

Truly Absorb Dragon Souls

For every dragon you kill and dragon soul you absorb, you get just that little bit stronger, gain a little more magicka, health, stamina, movement speed, carry weight, shout cooldown, armor, and magic resist. Set the amount gained for each dragon soul on install; I recommend medium to low values for each gain, just to offer longevity. [link]

Understandable Draugrs

In the vein of “Dragon Wall Wisdom,” you can now understand the draugr when they yell at you in a fight. Just adds the English translation in parentheses to the end of the subtitled Dragon language dialogue. Now your Dragonborn will be able to understand what’s being constantly shouted at them, even if it isn’t anything particularly nice or uplifting. [link]

Wearable Lanterns

No need to constantly toggle between a torch and a shield, or fight blind in a dark ruin. Just hook a lantern to your belt, that can easily be toggled on and off (and also automatically put out when you sneak, if you’re That Sort™). Incredibly nifty and useful. [link]

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...I’m sure I’ll be adding to this later. I’m sure, honestly. Maybe with an “optional tweaks” post, too, that are very much a preference thing. Or, y’know, just reblog myself. That might actually be the best option.

[neverwinterpinata]

Melusine - A Merfolk Race Mod 1.3 Beta Release

            Happy 31st of MerMay, everyone! Today I finally bring to you update 1.3 Beta of Melusine - A Merfolk Race Mod! Although admittedly a very small update, I believe the implementation of the new Sea Serpent mermaid tail, as well as the Coolsims hairstyles, bump the quality of this mod quite a bit. I hope y'all will enjoy them! You have my sincerest thanks for your patience, as I am fully aware I take a very long time to contribute to this mod. With summer arriving very soon, it is my hope that inspiration to create more content for this mod will flow through me. Please allow me to rant a bit about this update...             But first, I'd like to give a shout out to ZuTheSkunk! Not only is he a very talented modder, he is also very kind and helpful! It is thanks to ZuTheSkunk that the implementation of a Melusine potion is happening. Please take the time to look at his mods, as they bring many quality-of-life improvements to the game, among other things! (I personally cannot play Oblivion without his Pocket Dimension Player Home, as well as his Stop Combat Hotkey mods.)             Now, to explain the addition of "beta" into the version number, I finally came to the conclusion that it was most appropriate to do so, due to the incomplete-yet-fully-playable state of this mod. This is mostly due to the lack of battle animations. Once those have been implemented, and nothing else will be considered WIP, this mod will no longer be in beta.             Now, to acknowledge the troll in the dungeon... With 1.3 Beta, it was originally planned to implement a means of becoming a mermaid or merman without using the console. I apologize to say that this feature has been delayed indefinitely. It would have been easy enough to create a potion dispenser ready for anyone and everyone to consume, but I ultimately decided I want becoming a Melusine to be a rewarding experience. Unfortunately, I just don't yet have a clue how to make that possible with my limited Oblivion modding knowledge. If there is enough demand for it, I will indeed create that potion dispenser regardless. I thank you once again for your continued patience and understanding.             And now for the star of update 1.3 Beta: the Sea Serpent tail! As a commission, this tail was originally created for Second Life many years ago by a very talented 3D artist called CaptnPower Codesmith. Soon after the mesh was complete, it was textured by another very talented artist, Tithis String, whom is another artist whose passion then lied with merfolk-related content. The files were sitting in my hard drive and Second Life inventory for many years without much use, due to my being unable to decide how to release the tail to the public, and it was a couple months back when I finally got the idea of converting it to Oblivion for this mod. It fills me with great joy to see this piece of art given new life in Cyrodiil, and I personally think it looks stunning even with the graphical limitations of Oblivion's engine! Thank you to CaptnPower Codesmith and Tithis String for making this tail possible!

            Before I end this post, I would also like to thank mechatech, syrena922, and kynlesta for their personal support! Their continued interest in this mod is uplifting and inspiring, and I thank them for their contributions to the mod, rather they be in the form of criticism, bug reports or screenshots! (Seriously, please submit your screenshots! They will literally make me happy for weeks to come!) I'd also like to thank Asmith12 for her suggestion to add Coolsims hairstyles to the mod! They turned out to be wonderful hairstyles for mermaids, and I cannot believe it went this long without them! Thank you everyone, and good fortune to you in your current and future endeavors!