#its good for basing stuff on it !! i know its not the same ofc the facility is like way bigger

[ppenguinpperson]

tempalate by caninewhistles on devianart!! nothing in february:( little penguino so sad the ward take him away.. oh well! teehee.. thank you all for the good year!!! Mwah!!!

[mrsvalentinefucker1]

Support class dick hc, kinks + How they fuck

Cw: knives, rough sex, blood

Sniper

•Dick: I’d say about 6, 6 1/2 inches if I’m being generous here. Definitely not thin, it’s got some girth to it that’s for sure. He never ever clean shaves he thinks it looks weird (he’s not wrong) so he’ll definitely just trim up a little or maybe not at all. Wild man moment. Plus, he kinda loves the scruffy look he has going on. I know everyone says he’s uncircumcised and i definitely agree with that. Tip is not red but definitely a deep pink, it’s cute. Two visible veins, one on the top of his shaft and one underneath it. So he’s very very sensitive.

•How he fucks: Rough. He likes to be fucked hard and to fuck hard. His favorite position to see you in is definitely mating press or doggy style (with a knife to your throat) he loves to see your face contort with pleasure and fear. He’s very vocal i mean haven’t you heard his voice lines. Come on. He loves telling you how great of a fuck toy you can be when you aren’t being a cunt or a teasing slut. He doesn’t have a favorite place to cum really.. Whenever he gets his rocks off is where it stays so.

•Kinks

Praise: definitely, but backhanded praise “look at you, good little slut.” Stuff like that you know?

Predator vs prey play: I know this is so basic but oh my goodness he LOVE LOVE LOVEEEESSS to chase you down and just fuck your brains out if your skull. Like I said, he likes it rough. (Me next)

Knife play: Ofc this is one of them. That mf is a literal animal. He just likes the power trip tbh. Having your life in his very hands, though he’d never do anything to ever hurt it.. it’s hot to watch your fearful eyes and if you enjoy it just as much as he does, you’re in for a ride of dirty talk and rough hard sex.

Public sex: touching you while in public. Something about it. Maybe it’s bc he likes to tease and see how long you can last without gripping his arm while shaking and begging to cum or maybe it’s because nobody around you can (probably) tell how good he’s pleasing you, and how they’ll never get a chance to touch a wonderful lady like you the way he does. Who knows

BREEDING: Though he is scared to have kids and will take every procedure to make sure you won’t get pregnant, he still loves to just cum inside of you all day, everyday. (Same sniper.)

Stepping: he probably likes to be stepped on. He’ll buy you beautiful, expensive heels just so you can step on him or press against his hard cock. (Meow.)

Spy

•Dick: solid 5 1/2, it’s not too thin but not exactly thick.. it stretches you very very nicely that is for sure. He trims it constantly. He is never out of order, he takes too much pride in himself to let it grow out like that wretched bushman. Uncircumcised, his dick skin is like.. oddly soft and velvety. One small vein on the side of his cock, it’s nice. Tip, I’d say, is a light cute pink.

•How he fucks: He either makes love for a long time or he plows you hard. Usually both. He rides the fine line very well. While he goes at it soft and caring, he teases you a lot. Vibrators, toys, his finger, his mouth. He just likes to tease you a lot.. but once he slips in, its game over for him. He can’t help it. He has to fuck you like an animal in heat.

•Kinks

Lingerie for sure. He loves to either buy them for you to give you his card to buy yourself some and then surprise him with it! (Will probably write a fic based off this)

Spanking or brat taming: He will absolutely wreck your ass if you talk back to flirt with ANYONE. He will spank you so hard you’ll become a babbling mess.

Body worship: Giving or receiving, he loves to tease you by kissing down your gorgeous body and leave small bites all over you. Nipping, kissing, nipping, kissing. You know. Backhanded kisses

Medic

•Dick: He’s German and from my experience, they’re packing serious heat. 7 inches hard. Argue with the wall because I will not listen. Tummy bulge will happen so be prepared. Much like spy he keeps himself in check, trims every couple of days. Circumcised, dark pink with a red hue tip. It’s sensitive as hell. No visible veins until he gets to fucking, then they all start popping out. Thick. Hard stretch that’s for sure.

•How he fucks: They all fuck hard but him.. dear lord. Pray and buckle up because he will bruise your cervix. He pounds. He doesn’t even fuck, HE SLAMS. bed? broken, operating table? broken, desk? Broken twice. He loves to just fuck you into a mindless mess. That’s all

•Kinks

Roleplay: He loves to roleplay anything really. Nurse and doctor, doctor and patient, boss and intern, things like that.

Knife play: scalpels are going to be pressed against your skin.. which leads me to my next kink hc

Blood kink: Licks the blood off of your wounds or the small cuts he marks your body with. If you have a period, best believe he will be begging to fuck you on it

“Meine Liebe! It feels so much better when you’re on your period, it also relieves cramps too!”

[thatdeadaquarius]

Okay so-- i was reading some sagau posts and came across this one where the reader was an army vet and my brain just Did Its Thing--

So now I'm here to inflict this on to you--

Would guns be considered as catalysts. And would they only do Phys Damage.

Me reading this ask:

😶 😐 🤨 🧐 🧐 😰 🥲 😭😭😭 💀

STOP YOU'VE INFLICTED ME WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL DMG FROM THIS ASK 😭

(Also srry took so long to respond, when i didnt realize how short this was/was just sitting over here 😓)

^ For the sake of gun imagery being a lot/maybe staff might hate me for it,

we'll put this gay shit instead (i almost mispelled to "gay shot" lmao)

☆

Sun: Army Veteran Reader, Gender neutral Reader (you/they/them)

Orbit: SHORT Headcanons

Stars: everybody bc i think itd be funny

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: gun stuff, mild violence, mild cursing & Trigger Warnings: Gun fun everywhere

THIS ASK HAS ME GIGGLING TO MYSELF LIKE A MANIAC

You're out here having a whole gun they let you take for off-base

And u ofc have a license so u can conceal carry

(idk how non-american gun laws work, but tbh ours are so fucked idk how they work here either, just that an army guy i knew once could have his gun when he got back home)

And ofc ur just paranoid enough (more like it just makes u feel safe)

That when u get yoinked into a portal to a silly little brightly colored gacha game fantasy world, the gun comes with 💀

Id like to add in my silly little "ur in a video game, so video game rules" AU version of genshin so:

The only other gun (ish) wielder (Mika) has unlimited bolts

Sooo I'd think your gun would be the same jfc lol

NO BC YOUD SCARE THE ACTUAL SHIT OUT OF EVERYONE IN UR VICINITY IN A BATTLE

BC GUNSHOTS ARE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LOUD

When u first stumble into abyss monsters/hostile creatures of the realm, u nearly scare off a Lawlachurl bc every shot's like thunder to these bitches😭

So not only the monsters but the vision holders think u fucking summoned lightning

OMG THE BULLETS ARE SO FAST THEYD PROBABLY NOT SEE IT

ESP BC DISTRACTED BY GUNSHOT LOUDNESS

SO U AIM THIS LITTLE BLACK CROSSBOW (???) AND THINGS JUST DIE (OR GET RIDDLED WITH HOLES) WITH NO CLEAR ARROW STICKING OUT

STOPP- you're becoming a witchy god or smth to all of Teyvat bc it just looks like hella high level magic atp to them LMAOOO

Rumors of you get out of hand and say u just point or snap ur fingers and things get wounded/just die on the spot 💀

Oh another difference between Teyvatians seeing ur gun vs. crossbow (what they know)

Is that guns are wayyyy more destructive

Like an arrow would get shot but it'd bounce off of things like rock or wood or metal, maybe dent a little depending on how close

But a bullet goes thru that shit so easy, and leaves a whole little explosion behind, once again depending on range

(I once saw a Mythbusters episode? of them proving bullets would definitely go thru car doors, like movies lied to u, this is why drive-bys acc work like for gangs)

Lmao, the image of you in like full armor with a Teyvat made automatic gun after showing it to blacksmiths

Makes u just more convincing as a god, esp bc military training

(Ppl like Gorou and Kokomi begging for military tactics/training ur world has done)

...

....Ok.

I'll address it.

But only so u dont think im stupid later.

Yes, the Fatui have guns.

No, this not the same as having a glock LMAO

End of story.

(Also, urs runs on bullets, whereas the Fatui rely on magic/delusions to power theirs, plus they dont seem as fast or destructive as urs, more "explosions aimed at you" than real bullets)

Which,,, u leave the managing of ppl copying ur gun to ppl like the Qixing or smth, but make sure to give them advice on good gun laws if teyvat accidentally revolutionizes bc of ur advanced gun that anybody can wield (non-vision users)

Thats the best ive got abt that

Oh, also enjoy being praised as a War god now.

:)

☆

... dammit i had smth i was gonna tell u guys-

Uh what tf was it, it was important

OH

Next post is the Eldritch God Oneshot! Look out for it :) !!

☆

Safe Travels Kid,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

[breadandblankets]

how i hc duke's relationships with the other (main) bats

bruce: mentor/friend/weird HS teacher u bond with kinda thing, i think bruce on his end still feels simmering guilt for not being there for duke when he needed him, duke feel simmering resentment towards bruce for being another adult that left him, this will boil over at some point but then they'll get over it, they will never be that dumb nuclear found family thing, i think doug and elaine would like bruce tho so maybe one of those friend of the family situations where u call someone ur not related to aunt/uncle

cass: very very good friends, would probably consider her a sister from another mister if u will, i would hesitate to call her a best friend *gestures at all of war* but i think she's up there, i really love the headcanon that there is some tension on duke's end because cass has the ability to be more efficient but she actively chooses not to, i think for a long time duke is going to be holding some unhealthy and unrealistic standards both for himself and also people around him, like everything else this causes tension then erupts before it gets resolved, cass i think would know about said tension the whole time but have no idea how to bring up the issue or how to even think about resolving it so it drags on

dick: i think duke holds a grudge for the robin war thing, and i think he fucking should iykyk, (the way he just leaves duke on a roof??? with cops????, i was shouting at my fucking comic) idk i think dick would probably make light of it for a while but duke would be real fucking clear that he remembers and won't be forgiving and forgetting any time soon, i think they're acquaintances at best but realistically, coworkers

damian: like cass Extremely good friends, found family if you will, honestly i think they got a lot of their interpersonal issues out of the way before duke becomes signal, so really its a matter of time before they actually become friends and not just acquaintances, they're old man young to me, i think they do old man things like feed birds in the park and play Go together, i think damian is probably one of the only people duke doesn't hold to his standards, he thinks damian deserves to be a kid, making damian be a kid is probably some of the only time that duke is forced to relax by proxy, therefore duke and damian's friendship is strongly encouraged by bruce who is out of his depth for what to do with both of them and throwing them at each other seems to be working (👍 parenting)

tim: i honestly don't think they know each other well, like i think they may have talked once??? so i don't have shit to base their relationship off, generally i think they're amicable if distant, like a coworker you say hi to at the coffee machine

babs: i Need them to interact, honestly it would be really funny if duke meets babs for the first time as oracle and he's just like??? you're my favorite librarian? and babs is like !! we missed you when you stopped volunteering!!! and duke has to be like yeah that was the joker, i think they would have a good relationship, they don't work together all that much cause oracle doesn't run duke's ops and duke isn't usually on the night shift but they know they can call each other in if they need. one of duke's few trusted AdultsTM

jason: i think rocky at the start, duke would definitely have some Memories of the red hood, that would probably be a hill to overcome, but i generally think that jason will eventually move into a more positive position in the city even with the shadows of all that stuff following him ofc. they are absolute Assholes to each other in a way that is clearly affection, jason will let duke get away with anything up to and including murder, duke will never let jason get away with anything, its like a typo in the group chat

steph: re same as tim, and babs practically nothing to base the relationship on BUT i think they would get on like a house on fire, like cass: sister from another mister energy, steph is giving duke the "you just found out ur dad is a supervillain" support he needs, they are the only bats successfully going to college they probably go to events on campus together, idk they have so much potential as the forgotten robins and all that, i think they should bully bruce together that would be so fun.

[dollfaceirene]

irene's 101 guide on how to improve your self concept

hear ye, hear ye! I heard you're tryna improve your self concept but have absolutely no idea where to start so i've made this post to help aid you and hopefully answer your question on the 'how' of improving your self concept.

Firstly, what is your self concept? Your self concept is basically who you perceive youself to be.

For example, if i was to say "do you think you can manifest a sp?" and your response was "ofc not, im not worthy enough" ya da ya da ya, then you perceive yourself as someone who isn't worthy enough for a sp.

Here are some reasons why your self concept may be a lil shaky & how to fix it

You always seek validation from the 3D

As someone who's known about the loa for like 2 years now??, it's basically the unspoken rule to not seek validation from the 3D of your desires materialising because,

a) the 4D (your imagination & inner self) is the cause and the 3D (outer reality) is the effect

b) The 3D = neutral, it will only reflect whatever assumptions, desires, etc that you persist in.

How to fix it?: Become present in your 4D/imagination, thats only what matters. Affirm you only seek validation in your 4D, visualise, etc because at the end of the day, it will always be 4D ➨ 3D, not the other way round!

2 . You easily waver

Wavering = switching between states, Do you find yourself persist in one assumption (one thats the new story) but as soon as you see the opposite in the 3D, you find yourself re-affirming the old story again? Then you're wavering!

How to fix it?: Have some self discipline! Whenever you find yourself affirming the old story, clock it then affirm/visualise, etc whatever correlates to the new story. Remember, the more you repeat the new story, the more the old story becomes dead to you because you will be so used to being fulfilled in the new story, you wont even bat an eye at the old one.

3. You assume you can't manifest 'large' manifestations but others can

C'mon now, nobody is born with ultra special manifestation abilities that make them manifest better than other people, everyone has the same limitless abilities when it comes to the law of assumption, if one person can manifest a mansion, why can't you? You are as capable as manifesting anything as anyone else!

How to fix it?: Honestly just acknowledge that you are among everyone who is a master manifestor, its litch in your DNA to be a master manifestor! I suggest affirming master manifestor-related affirmations to help you be fulfilled in the state of being a master manifestor.

TIPS & ADVICE

You may feel like consuming LOA content is good for helping you and stuff and its honestly fine to read LOA content when you are feeling unsure but it gets overwhelming when you overconsume content since alot of LOA content may contradict each other, as people write their advice based on their on beliefs. This is why i recommend just consuming "back-to-the-basics" typa posts and when you feel content, apply it! (instead of constantly looking from post to post on "how to manifest" when you already know.

2. Affirmation tapes are a GAMEEE CHANGERRRRR! I really recommend Indigo Detry's ones and listen to them when you are doing activities that dont really require concentration (e.g art, reading, etc).

3. If you're looking for good loa youtubers i really recommend Indigio Detry and Manifest it, Finesse it (GOATS FRRR😩😩)

OUTRO

I hope you enjoyed this post and it helped you in any way; please let me know if you have any questions as i would be happy to answer them <3

[snaillock]

this fandom dry as shitttttt cause why am i barely seeing anyone talk about the new trailer? i know there are people talking about it if you scroll enough through the blue lock tag but for an animanga fan base that just had a season 2 of it’s anime drop? it’s a whole damn desert up in here.

anyways here are my thoughts on the trailer and the upcoming season:

good god blue lock deserved a better studio if i’m being completely honest here.

i really really don’t like the harsh look of the dominant and completely black shadows. i feel like it just does not at all fit with the art style and just clashes weirdly. it just gives off the vibe of them trying something and just going too far with it.

ofc a lot of stuff about the art direction is pretty subjective and everyone can have their own thoughts about it. personally, i don’t enjoy it that much and a lot of the screencaps are pretty unappealing to look at.

also not sure if this is just me but i have always hated is how absurdly lean the characters’ bodies looked in the anime. not completely sure if this is a thing unique to this anime or not. in the manga, they obviously looked fit and athletic but it was still believable that they were teenage athletes that have only really played on a high school/local level. meanwhile the adaptation made it appear like they have 0% body fat and are completely dehydrated. they looked like they were on steroids or some shit. is ego over there sneaking tren into their bloodstreams when they’re sleeping? and it certainly does not look this pet peeve of mine will get any better in season 2.

anyways onto the more positive stuff i’m looking forward to:

one thing i am excited for is isagis final goal in the u-20 match. i love that specific chapter in the series and i do feel like they’ll put a lot of effort into that part since it’s a pretty significant moment. so yeah i do have hopes for that. same with rin’s backstory. based on the little clip of it in the trailer, it does seem promising and i bet they’ll do a good job on that as well since it is a defining moment for his character.

another thing im quite happy about is my pookie sae’s new design. i’m so happy they changed his look to reflect the manga art style improve post-second selection arc. he looks soooo goodddd!

i’m also hella excited for the additional times. i really enjoyed those the first time i watched the anime and definitely was a little sad when i found out they weren’t canon in the actual manga. so i can’t wait to see what they’ll add to the characters this round.

even if the new season does inevitably its noticeable flaws, i bet i still will be extremely hyped when watching just like with season one. this series doesn’t fail to make me feel like a typical sports bro in a bar whenever someone makes a goal. and you bet my ass will be tuning in (🏴‍☠️) each and every week.

[madfantasy]

To fan art and fiction enjoyers:

Please excuse my rage slipping if it happened over having to address this literal mediocrity of a subject in comparison to endless things that actually matters in real life. Because this would be at the scrapping bottom of it, but since the occasion presented itself, here we are:

Do you know there are some, let's say, manners, being in fandoms, and/or in using social media in general? NOOO? 8U

Well, Lets start somewhere!

Like it or not, YOU NEED TO ACTUALLY READ STUFF PEOPLE WRITE. Before you follow, before you comment, before you interact, because if you come across something you don't like, or you started to assume things— that's a you problem and not the fault of the poster.

If you DO NOT enjoy a character, a pair of ship, or a certain head cannon, filter the tag it's used for, Google has free tutorials on how. Most social media have these settings and most decent posters tag their posts correctly. If you keep seeing that pair, you can block the people who create it. You are free to do so ofc but WHY WOULD U come on main and air that out? Personally I find it so bizarre and it could show the type of person you are to other people — a toxic company over fictional substance — and I'd say that is not a flex, more like showing your dirty nappy in public. Those characters you love are not real and so not effected by your high ground stance, but actual humans that share you that love notice and get that impression, and it's a weird one. You SHOULD, of course, set your boundaries, and usually where that is be in your profile, on your bio or a pinned post.

Loving bizarre, villainous, creepy concepts DOES NOT EQUAL morality, nor loving good sunshine and flowers does. It's what a person does in real life what counts, not what they consume in entertainment. In fact, it is not a sign of a good person those who be shaming humans who like different fictional concepts. Or when someone keeps using ai generators knowing full well it's based on constant data theft of all sort of human creators across generations and can not exist without the continuance of this theft. Or those supporting creators that they know did irl crimes. Or those who are Policing what's can and cannot go into fiction as if the fickleness of preference have never let alot of things survive its judgement. And I can go on with the miniature examples. You are forgiven if you did not know before, some people learn through experience, but not anymore when you continue this behaviour. And maybe if you can't differentiate between reality and fiction, and what's more important than what, maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't be consuming fiction.

DO NOT POST WHAT YOU DID NOT CREATE. Do you like it when people keep posting your selfies that you only ment to share for funsies and what not? Isn't worse if you did not post that selfie in the first place or never wanted it to be used like that? It's the SAME FOR ART. This is the artists work just as much as your face is yours. Social media at the baseline is about who ever the poster is, their posts are theirs. So you posting an artist's drawing, with no permission, no credit to them, no nothing, is not allowed and people can report that. Don't be an ignorant thick fig and play the victim when schooled like this precious dear\s .Reposters disconnect so many content from their creators and this is how alot of beautiful things in life die, by simply not knowing they are loved, shoved into the over consumption machine..

And lastly, You don't have anything nice to say to OP? Don't say anything! It's not your misguided duty to educate people on how embarrassingly self centered you are, it's okay to be a basic #&★— I promise. It okay to feel out of place in a niche that doesn't concern you. It's okay to realise other people have different perspectives of the fiction work you enjoy. You can sit down.

And I'd like to add, Mani is a safe space for au and ships even if I don't like em, cuz they are only FICTION and will remain FICTION no matter how much I loved them or hated them.

Good day, dears🍀

[dreamsy990]

so it all comes to this.

to say i was excited to play 3 would be wrong. actually i was sort of dreading the game. i went in with expectations for the worst and was pleasantly surprised. which is not to say that its good. but its certainly a game! that i played! and now you get my thoughts. unfortunately a lot of my thoughts about the end of the game are kind of hard to separate so. if youre wondering where my thoughts on endgame stuff is. its at the end.

(also i havent played remind so theres no remind thoughts here. its all just base game kh3)

combat (with some other gameplay notes)

so. im not a big fan of the combat. to preface, i played the rest of the series on standard, but with kh3 i was told it was easy so i did proud! and yet it was still the easiest kh game.

kh3 is the first game in the series where i feel as though 'mash x to win' is a valid criticism <- thats not entirely true at the start, but later in the game it does feel a lot like that. almost every fight is mindless because of how easy it is. you can see it in the enemy health bars, theyre absurdly large because of how easy it is to take them down. they need to have that high of health so the fight isnt over in under a minute.

i dont think the base combat is bad. unsatisfying, maybe. But not bad. except for attraction commands.

attraction commands feel like part of a pattern in kh3, where they try to recreate what made the other games so good without understanding WHY it was good. what theyre recreating ofc being reaction commands. technically its the same as some reaction commands, sure, being a giant dramatic attack, but it doesnt work because theres no situational awareness in them.

attraction commands dont feel cool because theres nothing in them that requires use of your surroundings or that is tailored to the enemies youre fighting, since theres only a couple that can be used at any time. there's nothing strategic about using them either- reaction commands normally would give you a specific advantage, or could be used to avoid attacks, only sometimes dealing damage on their own. in kh3, all attractions do is deal damage. they are impersonal and often obtrusive- if youre like me and hate attractions, youll still often accidentally use one, since theres no way to disable them.

this is more abstract than anything, but something about attacking feels unsatisfying. the combat feels like it lacks any real sense of impact or weight to me. but thats all personal and not exactly good criticism so. i digress

also the bosses in 3 suck. you know its bad when the most memorable boss fight in your game is the tutorial. most of the boss fights in this game are so unmemorable that ive literally forgotten them. except of course demon tide. i despise demon tide. it was fine in 0.2 but not here. every time you fight it feels like a missed opportunity for something cooler.

i think flowmotion is worse now. i get that it was a bit too overpowered, but with how much it was limited i ended up hardly using it. i didnt like flowmotion because of the attacks, i liked it because of the movement. so to me, it ended up being a reminder of how kh3 failed instead of a fun feature.

also i know a lot of people like being able to switch keyblades in fights, but honestly i feel like it removes an element of strategy the other games had

the ui (and other visual things)

this isnt something i talked about in my other reviews. but in kh3 i must bring it up. if you follow me you may know my hatred for kh3s ui. so im going to talk about it again! this is the abridged version though. heres my whole rant if you want my full thoughts on it. but the short version is that i dont like it. i am someone with terrible vision and i can play every single kh game without glasses because the ui is just big enough that i can read it. most of the time i can read subtitles too. but in 3? i struggle even WITH glasses to read anything. the ui is too small to make out anything almost all the time. its really only by muscle memory that im able to play. my glasses broke while i was playing, and i literally couldnt play until i got new ones because i couldnt make out a single word on screen. its bad design.

im also upset that there ui art has been replaced with renders. its just a shame honestly. i loved the art in the older games. the renders feel bland in comparison.

and thats generally my take on the look of modern kh. sure its pretty, but its bland. kh has always had a certain cartoonish vibe to it thats starting to die out, and i think the shift to unreal engine was the first marker of that change. i like the look of old kh. its not too technically impressive but its incredibly charming. kh3 is anything but. the characters feel far less expressive, the worlds are realistically rendered, it feels unfitting for a series like kh. its hard for me to find kh3 as charming as the other games. the only word i can think of to really describe it is corporate.

i dont know if this is a rare take, but i think technically impressive visuals are far worse than distinct ones. kh used to have a unique look! now it just looks like every other semi-realistically rendered rpg.

story (featuring: more gameplay notes)

my problem with kh3's story was unavoidable really. dream drop distance set this game up for failure and so im not going to complain about dream drop distance. ANOTHER TIME ill talk about dream drop distance. i dont have time to make a post that long. i do have a lot of problems with the story that werent a result of ddd being terrible so i guess ill just bring up those.

one of my biggest issues with the game is how unimportant the roxas plot is. youre led to believe the game will revolve around it but then sora does nothing to further it. at all. at the start he CONSIDERS doing something, and then hes told by ienzo "no its fine ive got it. go do something else" and its barely ever mentioned again until the end.

this relates to my overarching problem with the plot: it feels aimless. in every kh game theres a REASON theyre going on a journey. soras looking for his friends, roxas is working a 9 to 5, the wayfinders are all following each other, etc. but in kh3 sora is looking for "the power of waking". what is the power of waking? i literally have no clue. thats how poorly defined it is. its an abstract goal, its not tangible or even really achievable. its just a macguffin. when the plot suddenly decides to happen at the end the whole journey feels pointless. you could skip every disney world past twilight town and you would probably be fine. it's not a journey, you're not exploring for a purpose, you're just killing time until other people handle the plot.

i also really hate the new organization (i refuse to call them the real organization. theyll never be the org). theyre painfully boring and poorly put together. the old org had structure, they had very specific goals, every member had a purpose. you knew how they worked and why they did what they did. the new org is just completely lacking in that. calling it an 'organization' is stupid because there's nothing organized about it. and even disregarding all that, the new organization also lacks any real personality. the members feel so boring, which sucks, because almost all of them are returning characters who used to be really fun. and why are most of them even there? no one except maybe xigbar seems to actually care about their mission. the old organization had a common goal and a reason everyone was there. they were nobodies, they wanted their hearts back. there's no reason for any of the new members to stick with xehanort. and if you say "well they were norted!" i then must ask. what exactly is norting? like really. it hasnt been possession since birth by sleep. norting is whatever nomura needs it to be in the moment. its not clearly defined, its just another macguffin.

also because i dont know where to put it, the battle of 10,000 heartless is just a terrible successor to the original fight. there's no stakes, no buildup, no friends fighting by your side, no reason to care. they just throw thousands of heartless with no ai at you. literally no ai, if you stand still they wont attack you. its a drag if anything, an homage to a better game done absolutely no justice.

back to what i was saying about the roxas plot, roxas' return is just such a nothing scene. theres nothing about it thats cathartic, his lines are impersonal and bland, theres nothing 'roxas' about it. roxas' defining feature has always been how emotional he is, and there's none of that here. its nothing. and then he does nothing afterwords. he has seven whole lines in this entire game, six of them are in this scene, and the last one is an inconsequential jab at sora at the very end. and then he fades into the background.

the writing in this game in general is actually weirdly worse than normal. it feels a lot less, idk, human? the older games were weird and absurdly cheesy but this is just. strange. look at the scenes with riku and mickey in the realm of darkness and youll see what i mean.

WHILE IM ON THAT SUBJECT. RIKUS KEYBLADE BREAKING IS BULLSHIT. remind me to rant about that another time though im not gonna go on a tangent about that here

also i would give my thoughts on the ending but i literally couldnt care less about xehanort. so i dont really have any! the final boss was alright though

i have more specific thoughts, but generally, the game feels aimless and underwhelming.

positives

i love axel and kairi! theyre a fun duo and ill never shut up about their parallels so seeing them together is nice. i wish they did anything but thats BESIDES the point im being POSITIVE here

also. the music is great. i love the music sm. its nowhere near my favorite kh soundtrack, it feels a lot more grand which isnt my thing but its still some of yoko shimomuras best work. also hearts as one. its the PERFECT conclusion to roxas' theme and arc. the progression of it from melancholic (roxas) to desperate (the other promise) to triumphant (hearts as one) is just so good. i wish the rest of this scene was as good as the music so i could compliment it more wholeheartedly yknow?

its actually funny also! kh isnt the funniest series, most of the time when it IS funny its completely on accident. but kh3 is like days in the way that it just. actually has funny writing. the jokes intended DO land and its just a breath of fresh air.

oh also riku being well adjusted is the funniest possible conclusion to his character arc. 10/10 im so happy hes normal. never give that boy an emo arc again nomura

conclusion

over all, kh3 is exactly like how my teachers described me in elementary school: it has a lot of potential, but doesnt apply itself. this couldve been a decent game but it simply doesnt do most things very well. i give it a 5.2 / 10. its not an actively bad game but its a game i have trouble enjoying. sidenote im retconning my opinion on bbs to say its 4.7 / 10 because a: my opinions have changed and b: i think 3 is better but i dont want to give it a very high score.

[twistedastrology]

- let's talk about pop astrology. -

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

u can tell from the singular period in the title that this is not gonna be very positive So let's talk abt why i absolutely hate pop astrology!!!!!!!

and to be fair i will recognize what good pop astrology has done, it popularized the subject ofc and it is partially the reason i got into astrology, so while i cant be Too mad at it, i Did get into astrology thru pop astrology to essentially disprove pop astrology soo... 😵‍💫

real quick btw, and this does actually have significance in this post im not just promoting it to promote it, i have an ig now for my astrology stuff- @twistedastrology on ig go follow me there if u fuck with ig-

But if u saw my about me post on there, you'll have seen the slide where i talked abt why i actually got into astrology- to save you some time ill put it here, but please do go follow me on ig anyway if u like what i do and wanna support me 😵‍💫

like i said, when i got into astrology, i instantly noticed how many of the same keywords were regurgitated for everything.

that's what i notice most in pop astrology.

pop astrology is where everyone says cancers are crybabies, leos are narcissists, aries are hotheaded and impulsive, capricorns are cold and unemotional, geminis are two-faced, etc.

unfortunately and also fortunately at the same time, i have ungodly pattern recognition in just about everything, so of course i was gonna notice the same thing being said about the same sign and the same house and the same planet over and over again-

and to clarify before we continue (random disclaaaimeerrrrr- hey. dont do Anything that i say in this song-), this is what i personally have observed and experienced with pop astrology, im not sayin that it's All like this, but im talkin abt the very surface level, shallow kinda stuff.

that kinda stuff is what made me not resonate with my rising sign and be incredibly confused by my sun sign-

i would read "what ur like based on ur rising!!!! Cancer: U cry too much." and feel so shitty bro- id have to go look at every other sign to see which one i resonated with more and it was very rarely one of my big 3.

so naturally i was incredibly confused abt astrology but for me, that didnt deter me.

the stereotypes and stuff offered by pop astrology are incredibly harmful and play a huge part in making people not believe in astrology as a whole.

say someone's an aries sun and they read one of those posts for aries sun right- the post says something along the lines of "ur incredibly impulsive, ambitious and extroverted!!! u probably cant control ur anger" and it doesn't resonate whatsoever because guess what their rising sign is capricorn (side note: why do i always manage to default to aries/capricorn in my examples im gonna laugh 😭😭😭) and their saturn is in cap too-

but ofc they wouldnt know their rising or their saturn sign bc those aren't focused on in pop astrology- it's all sun, moon and rising-

the sun, in my opinion, is actually one of the least important placements in a natal chart- and i can do an entire post on my take on the sun dont worry i actually rly want to- but to explain why i think that real quick, the sun is the culmination of the chart, it's not its own placement.

so every other placement in your chart has influence over it, that's why i never related to taurus sun stuff because i dont have any other earth placements in my chart and mercury in gemini is my dominant planet- so i had to look at gemini sun stuff, but i didnt know that until i was like knee deep into astrology.

stereotypes are not only harmful, but also largely inaccurate.

and pop astrology also loves to convey the understanding that astrology can be segmented into little pieces, when it absolutely cannot.

"what drives u based on ur mars sign!! cancer mars: ur family :))))" Die.

BUT- say someone Does actually relate to that!!! there's 2 possibilities: they relate to it and they have mars in cancer OR they relate to it and they Don't have mars in cancer

in both of these scenarios, we are completely overlooking the rest of the chart-

you can't make astrology bite sized without also stripping it of all depth. but you can't deliver in depth astrology without it being overwhelming.

kind of a lose-lose, huh?

here's where we need to understand astrology as if it is a science.

astrology is literally an ecosystem, this is how ive always viewed it. you can't interpret one planet on it's own without taking into consideration the aspects it has to it, the degree it's in, the signs that the planets aspecting it are in.

this is scary, yes, and a great way to ward off beginners, absolutely. But if you think it's scary, then you're overlooking the beauty of learning about something that's an ecosystem.

the beauty is you can't interpret one thing on its own, because everything else will follow.

you cant sit down and learn one thing, because you'll learn a whole slew of things and feel like it's never ending- which can be overwhelming for some and satisfying for others.

imagine walking on a floor covered in wires that are tangled with each other. you kneel down and try to pick up one wire and while you can see part of it clearly, it also brings up like 500 other wires for you to untangle as well.

that's what learning astrology is like.

in my experience, i picked up mercury, and mercury brought with it gemini, saturn, what sextiles are, what conjunctions are, the sun, degree theory, aries, and it just kept going.

and the more wires you pick up, the more wires they bring with them.

this is why i hate pop astrology so much- they're picking up one wire, cutting both visible ends of it and ripping it out of tangled mess that is the floor we stand on.

now we don't know where the rest of that wire is because it was forcibly removed from the bunch.

SO! this is why i try so hard to make these posts and explain how literally Everything depends.

"what about mercury in this sign?"

"ya sure! so here's what i think it Could mean, but ultimately it depends."

"depends on..?"

"the entire rest of the chart."

"oh."

anyway i think im abt done yapping now but i hope this made sense- i think the next post i do will probably be the sun one so be on the lookout for that- and again i have an ig for astrology stuff now, link is at the top here- and i have plans to eventually probably make a tiktok as well for astrology but im still figuring that out so ill let you know what happens with that But!!!

thank u for reading i appreciate u and dont be afraid to think in depth abt vast concepts, that is where the mind is exalted 🙏🙏

[evablueblanket]

Will you tell me about an LU character you love and why you love them? Please please please ramble on and on! It's my favorite! I get so many fun ideas when people gush about their favorites.

I (think) I've said this before, but I am not the most analytical/observ person ever so most of what I say is probably kinda shallow :') BUT THIS IS MY RAMBLE SO OH WELL

Okay so recently, I've been on a Warriors kick. I just super love how like, everyone portrays him! Most see him as big brother shaped, which I super love. His background is just so vastly different than every other Link, which serves as a very cool contrast imo

The way @somer-writes makes Twi and Wars idiodic brothers is like, my favorite ever. I love love love LOVE how he writes Wars and Twi it's so insane the comedy that unfolds when they're just messing around xD

Warriors has this air, this *vibe* which I'm just super drawn too, I think it's just how my personality vs his works (you could theoretically draw *some* parallels with Sokka from ATLA, at least the way they each hold themselves I'd say. Also big bro stuff) (ALSO how both of them are portrayed as 'smart', which is a trait I typically relate too in characters)

When I like a character though, it's more based on the different types of relationships everyone writes them as though, I'd say. Wars and Time and Wind have this super intriguing bond that I think is cool to see how everyone interprets it! For the most part people write them as they're all aware of the War of Ages and whatnot, which lead to some nice fluff and/or angst. But when there's some time paradoxes, it makes it every so more tragic and it's really interesting to see how that can get written. I recall a fic (I FORGOT THE TITLE AND THE AUTHOR NOO) where Wars was teaching Wind medic stuff, but it was like a year before Wind meets Wars in the war. So Wars is all "sob this is why Wind is such a good medic? *Bc I taught him?*" THIS IS SO COOL AND INTERESTING

Also when there's War of Ages fics that have Time/Mask being a stupid child (/aff) they're just super hilarious. There's a series out there that has the Fierce Deity (sorry forgot the author again xD) act as Wars parent figure/older brother figure and it's just really funny to me bc ofc Wars would be a stupid overworking idiot. Loser smh

Four is also another one of the sillies that live in my brain, and I kinda wish there were more fics on how they interact. Though, if I'm being real idk how they really would cause they don't really have the same synergy as any other Links. I just like my favorites to interact, but I super understand how they wouldn't ^^

Small side bit on serious Wars (the biggest example is "Call Them Brothers" by wutheringmights which I'm almost 100% certain you've read that already cause it's soooo long and it's SO GOOD AHH) and ugh I wish I could pay attention more to get every complexity that this Wars has but the brain kinda hates me. I think it makes a lot of sense for Wars to have a grittier characterization, war does that to people. The entire fic is so visceral to me, I just vividly remember reading the flashback section about the long winter, and I don't even know how to really describe it xD

Wars has such a broad range of emotion, if one were to put him under and microscope and study him there would be SO MUCH.

HAVE I TALKED ABOUT THE AESTHETIC

HES THE FUCKING PRETTY BOY OF THE GROUP AND THAT'S SO VALUBLE TO ME FOR NO REAL REASON

Ik Wild is seen as the one with like, outfits and Legend has his jewlery, BUT WARS HAS HIS FUCKING SCARF. THERES SO MANY POSTS ABOUT WARS AND HIS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SCARF AND I AM SO FUCKING FOR IT YOU HAVE NO IDEA

THE SHADE OF BLUE IS AWESOME, ITS SO COOL, ITS SO COOL HES SO COOL RAHHHH

*oops tehe I rambled like a lot* ty for this opportunity :D I'm super glad I decided to type this on my laptop and not my phone xD

[courtivia-livia]

Been seeing some weird stuff in the tags lately so I feel I should make my position clear on shipping in the Smosh fandom, as I've seen other people do. I've recently started making more of my own posts on this blog so that's why it feels like a good idea to make this post. It might be kinda rambly and I'm sorry if my English is poor.

Idk really where to start but: 1. I think the shipping of real ppl belong in spaces where the people involved can't see it (unless they seek it out). Don't send ship-stuff to anyone who works at Smosh. 2. I think we should be respectful abt how we talk abt them in general but to be specific to this post, how we talk abt them in shipping-context. They are real ppl, with the right to privacy. 3. Speculation on ppls sexuality is not ok and its something that is very private. If they want to share it with us they will, but until then we don't know and we shouldn't assume things. 4. Shipping is meant to be fun, I don't view it as something serious. When I say I ship something I mean I like the dynamic and I think the idea of them being together as more than friends is fun but not something based in reality. 5. On that note, please be chill abt shipping! Don't send hate to ppl who ship stuff just bc you ship a different ship. If someone is being disrespectful ofc tell them, but don't be hateful for the sake of it.

I also quickly want to adress my own blog, considering I have a ship in the name of my blog. I made this blog a long time ago, and back then Courtivia was a bigger ship than it is now. I still ship it but I obviously don't think Courtney and Olivia are together in reality, nor have ever had any romantic feelings for each other. The same goes for Amangela, I don't think they are together or have any romantic feelings towards each other. I like the Courtivia and Amangela dynamics as friends and entertainers, and sometimes I engage in shipping content with them, but only in a fun fandom way.

Maybe I'm forgetting some points, might add them in later if that's the case but this my stance in general. This is probably the longest post I've ever made on this blog lmao, I hope what I've written makes sense. Feel free to ask questions abt it if it's unclear or to add points if I missed any!

[basslinegrave]

i was being a completely sane person today (/s) and was creating a timeline tree for snm would anyone even be interested in that. and collecting my shipping thoughts (or specifics about them being a couple etc). know that i still consider my knowledge of the franchise as poor. its just tidying it up in my head so when i talk about something i can pinpoint a specific thing (i was too deep in fnaf theorizing so now i have to suffer thru a franchise that doesnt even have a canon)

in short/tldr the comics are the base that happened in every possible timeline and everything else is derived from that, happening after, except the cartoon, which shows some events the same way so that would be more intertwined; not everything is connected/within one timeline. and the cartoon is my most fav and where i see them as a true couple.

long rant ahead

on one hand i really like the time travel theory where its like comics -> ttg -> cartoon etc by them travelling back in time for that, however there are many holes especially thinking about their families and stuff so

i like the idea of things branching off. one branch is comics - htr - cartoon, as something more intertwined

second is comics -> ttg -> poker night 2 (since it references ttg events) (idk bout 1 i havent played/seen that)

third would be comics -> ttiv (or comics -> htr -> ttiv, i have no idea atm if bosco's is mentioned in the comics but it is in htr and mentioned in ttiv. ttiv is also set in the year it came out, so theres a huge gap inbetween ttiv and htr but i wouldnt say its where the ttg games happened!)

and i dont mean this in like a multiverse way, since the creator seems to dislike that, its simply just a very loose canon that differs with each installment (simply due to different people working on these imo. nothing too deep imo)

but the juicy part!! i even made brackets that im too lazy to remake digitally so i will just write it out for each bigger installment. im excluding poker night 1 as i havent played it nor watched much gameplay

M = married, BF = best friends (in all technically)

comics: M - unlikely; BF - yes absolutely

htr: M - possible; BF - yes

cartoons: M - i take it as canon here. BF - yes million percent

ttg all seasons: M - no; BF - yes.

poker night 2: M - not sure, implied dating, i take that as good enough; BF - yes

ttiv: M - absolutely not. not a couple at all. BF - they seem too tense, yes, but from my experience playing, their interactions were imo the worst in all of their media, so i wasnt buying it at some points

note - ttiv has to be like the straightest they ever were and i also see it in S.P.'s more recent work. im looking too deep into that, perhaps, but im just thinking were never gonna get anything similar to what we got from back in the 90s again, if theres any future projects

people are also saying they got married like 4 times and its making me a bit confused here. do people mean cartoon, htr dress up card, cake topper and tdph ring scene or am i missing something big?? because to me that is married once, other ones being just for jokes (first one as well but its less vague), and in the ttg games its so extremely vague i cant count that (being realistic here) that said its still fun to joke about them getting married several times, but in this case wouldnt it be more of a marriage per timeline?

and to end this, a personal tierlist

my most fave obviously is the cartoon. not only is it the easiest to work with for me, with the fast pacing and short watch time (but ofc i wish it was longer) i absolutely love how their relationship is depicted there, even if a lot of stuff there is just jokes, but if everything is a joke then its also fine to take everything as canon within this media, to me! like when haters say that people only take the wedding scene out of the intro and ignore the rest - as if the other stuff couldnt happen (isnt one of the shots them fighting a giant octopus, which they end up having an episode about too. like cmon. anything goes here) even if it was contained within this specific part of the franchise, im ok with calling them a couple here. and its S tier overall

another S tier is the comics. nothing else to say

HTR is like A tier to me, only taking off points because its soooo sloooowwww and playing it after watching the series took 3 years off my life immediately. otherwise gud game.

ttg is like A to B tier for me, because of some specifics and preferences but thats just me being nitpicky so, the games overall are good. A- it is. thats all

poker night 2 is fun, i watch the gameplay a lot lately when im too tired at midnight to do anything else, A tier

ttiv. oh how mixed i am about you. gameplay by itself and my first experience with the game - S tier. it made me so giddy more than one time and i kept wanting to come back until i finished the game fully. i dont mind the bugs, its just what i expect in VR games and even tho it made me a bit frustrated at times it wasnt all that bad. its also the only vr game i played for over an hour once and didnt get motion sick - the exception was the level at the store which seemed too bright and actually made me nauseous. which is a feeling that somehow comes back whenever i think about this game. what i dislike was the dialogue, while most of it was fun and fine, i had moments where i just burst out laughing, they (or max especially) were way too mean towards the player. i know its a joke and you could chalk it up to max being unhappy with us/jealous, but it got like, generally unpleasant very quickly. with stuff like good throw - "nice!" bad throw - *neverending insults* and the second was how painfully straight it was and like. the vibes i got from them two was like, oh theyre fed up with each other and my shipping self was just left quite disappointed. i did not get all lines during my gameplay which made it great but upon going thru every line manually after, i was just more and more uncomfortable with what they said in their banter. this drops the game to like C for me? maybe B if i squint. being generous. i also got sick of their talking animations over time... the models are fine just got to be too much. bonus points for max ragdoll physics tho. coming up with a conclusion that this is a completely separate timeline and has nothing to do with anything other than the comics and perhaps HTR. i talked so long about this one cause its the one thing that prompted all of this lol.

but its not that serious! i just knew this franchise for ages as "oh its the two animal guys that are married and its funny" and now that i got into it fully, i see a lot of the shippers are obviously daydreaming and taking things out of context - which is fun, i agree!! i also do that. but it just painted a completely different picture for me. so no. theyre not married, theyre not a couple, except for the cartoon, where its implied, which stays on top for me. but in ttg at least, they love each other, its not as romantic, but i can ship them there (so i ship them in the context of the cartoon and ttg basically)

anyway. nothing is canon for them, everything is canon for them, and everything they say or do is a joke so. its not that deep at all. they gay tho

[no-shxme]

Question if you could rework Talon how would you do it? Like, if you have complete and total control of the character, can change things as far as the beginning or just progress his story. You can do whatever.

What would you do?

OKAY so i actually typed out a long ass response but then it got deleted so this makes me very sad faklsdjkljsfd but im gonna try and repeat myself. Disclaimer ofc this is going to be very long and its also just my personal opinion. No hate if anyone’s ideal talon is different.

So i can divide the changes i would make into like, 3 categories.

Core design

In game

Lore

I’ll go ahead and put it below the cut bc i know its gonna be so long (sob)

CORE DESIGN:

Okay im pretty sure i’ve said smth similar before but i cant remember. Basically i think talon’s core design fantasy conflicts with his design to an egregious degree. Riot’s goal is supposed to be to make the champ design fit the fantasy, but we’re supposed to believe he’s this cutthroat, efficient, STEALTHY assassin, who can kill with no mercy and climb all over the map and yet he’s got this jingle-jangle cape and also a hokey, non-retractable armblade. (this pisses me off bc zed has a retractable blade. So they DO exist.) also wild rift pissed me off bc when they redid their design of him they didn’t fix any of the issues and in fact made the armblade worse. How is he supposed to climb? It fundamentally conflicts with what he’s supposed to be. Get rid of both of them both. banished.

Granted, both of these things make his design more unique, but i dont think talon needs them. In fact their existence makes his own thematic design worse, as someone who’s supposed to blend in, supposed to hide in a crowd and be a nobody. He’s supposed to have a generic design. Maybe they can fuck with his cape a lil bit, but he doesn’t need to have this super notable look to him. Look at akshan. He’s just a shirtless dude (in a repurposed sol uniform) but he wears it well fr. 

As a side note: talon’s design in ‘the name of the blade’ is pretty good as a starting off point but it still has the stupid cape.

To be clear they will never change this i think. Talon’s armblade and cape are too ingrained in his old design so they’ll never be fixed, and this problem with it not matching his fantasy will only get worse over time.

Also i think base leblanc also looks ridiculous and is in the same boat.

IN GAME:

A new model + animations ofc! Hood toggle, + extra animation variants when vaulting over stuff. (over thin walls, thick walls, and side hops.) an idle knife flip. (oh and new splasharts ofc.) a new voice!! My current problem with the voice is that imo he sounds too old and deep, and also he suffers from being old (i hc him as between 23-25) and having few lines. Tbh i think talon would rock a raspy transmasc voice, or at least a raspy voice, prone to cracking bc he’s not super talkative.

random voice line ideas

New interactions with katarina, swain prolly, sett (as a treat) and ezreal. etc.

New joke response: “i dont get it” or “you talk too much.”

New taunt response: “be quiet.”

“Leave me alone” or “you’re annoying” after killing someone.

“I can climb that” when seeing sett or other eligible champs, both masc and fem. bisexual energy.

Lots of vocalizations. “Hah,” hrmphs, occasional “hm.”

A focus on shorter, more straightforward sentences as opposed to long wordy ones.

he will trigger more voicelines when by himself (for eg: in the jg) as opposed to around other champions. (yes im dreaming big.)

as an 'away from people or in the jg' voiceline: whistling. not like a tune or anything, just a few notes.

LORE:

Okay this is the really big one. I’m just gonna go all over the place.

Step 1: make him aro. MAKE HIM ARO. it doesn't need to be a big reveal or anything. Actually it’d be better if all of talon’s lore was lowkey. It can just be smth mentioned or implied on the side, but canon nonetheless. I hc him as bi too but the aro is way more important to me. WHILE WE'RE AT IT. riot please release an aromantic pride icon pls. every year i foolishly hope.

Step 2: i’d also make him trans. This isn’t a hard need for me but it makes his story/character stronger. Also i think its great to have open lgbt rep but i would like rep for people who are stealth too. Talon would be that. He likes to blend in, he likes to be unknown and invisible, he doesn’t want too much attention and he wants to be perfect. It’s pretty on the nose. I know people would be mad bc like, noo he wasn’t trans before, but i just dont care. My ideal talon is trans or at least gnc/nb-coded if amab. Also while we’re at it i’d also either give him autism with my autism ray-gun, or i’d just make him autism-coded. It just fits him. I think he realistically has anxiety and prolly some other personality disorder, if not a touch of tism.

Step 3: make the timeline of events around when he was adopted all the way to the kat comic more definite. Like how old was he when he was ‘adopted?’ (imo at least 13 but i can explain in a not already super long post pfpfpf). Retcon some of the kat comic. I think the most annoying part of it is how much he talks. I think riot thinks he’s like, a boring character, but he’s not. He’s just a NUANCED character. There are many different assassins in league that fit specific niches. (zed is evil shadow ninja assassin, akali is rogue wildcard assassin, pyke is the crazed executioner, yone is righteous, fizz is silly, katarina is proud and showy.) talon is already supposed to fit the most typical ‘assassin niche.’ like assassins creeds. Just let him be that. You don’t have to make him talk a ton, just amplify what’s already there. He’s a perfectionist, he does things in the most efficient way, he’s got layers and abandonment issues, and i think something that’s overlooked by riot is how he’s prolly a victim of manipulation and abuse. In fact i’d make that very clear, even by revealing that talon can’t read. That would already mean smth is up.

In terms of the kat comic: Cut out the whole part where talon monologues like an idiot at the end. While we’re at it, have kat kill the king, not that other guy. I think its a more interesting tie in and adds more character conflict. I actually hate how ‘good’ katarina was in the comic like she can afford to have more awfulness and then visibly grow out of it. Idc. continuing, i’d make it so that talon really thought marcus left, and then marcus returns just before the kat comic events and manipulates talon into trying to kill her. Idk this makes so much more sense to me i dont know why they had talon know about it the whole time, as if it didn’t kill his entire story that we’d been following for years. Like it was such an easy change to still respect what story he already had??? IT MAKES ME MAD. It also allows talon to have more obvious conflict with killing kat, bc their sibling connection improves in marcus' absence.

ALSO i like his scar in the kat comic but i’d like it differently instead of straight down. I feel like eye scars are pretty like, they all look the same yk. Can we vary it up or maybe give him a few more. He’s so pretty in the kat comic but he deserves more scars.

Also, in his high noon story i would not have fucking talon dish out the expository dialogue again. I love that story but it makes me mad how he just word vomits this whole story. Just put that shit at the beginning and leave him out of it. Or maybe find some way to explain that doesn’t involve clumsy paragraphs of expository dialogue. Sorry, no hate to the author but i think a character reciting a whole fable to someone is amateurish, lazy, and a disservice to his character. I would also make him and Yone the protagonists of high noon gothic as an au. Ive been meaning to make a post about it but they parallel each other very nicely. A demon going holy and a good man going hellish.

If i could i would legit canon-ship him with sett or with akshan. But thats ofc very indulgent and relies on setup.

uhhh extra bits that im thinking of:

retcon the going to shurima after failing to kill kat bit. i want him to fester. i would rather him be totally lost for a second and observe the wreckage of his lost family.

imo he never meets cass or soreana, because he enters the family in his teens when they're both already in shurima.

i think a really cool way to deliver talon's lore would be via other champ lore that happens to have him in it. with a consistent voice you'd be able to piece him together while still maintaining the theme of him being on the outside, lowkey.

OH I'D CHANGE HIS ICON BTW. his character icon doesn't look like him. dear god. dark brown hair pls, amber eyes. let it be so.

if i could i would strengthen the anarchistic themes he has going on in his skin lines. yeah let him go apeshit why not. let him be a thorn. let him break apart.

im pretty sure he's canonically short (looked the same size as kat in the comic) but if not. he is now. sorry bud.

oh as a final note. right now his parents are just Gone. but i would make sure that they abandoned him. its the strongest way to cause him to attach to marcus.

there's probably more but i really can't remember rn and its already so long. my god. thanks for this ask tho it was very fun to answer omg. if i ever become a famous author id beg riot to let me write smth for him. a novella or smth like garen first strike.

and ofc to reiterate, these are just my opinions. people can have their own versions of talon for sure, its all ok!

[writer-darling]

Are You Ever Dreaming of Me?

Chapter 1: Bad Blood

I NEVER USE Y/N OR ANYTHING LIKE IT THANK YOU SO MUCH :)

Rating: T - TEENS ((for now, but there WILL BE explicit stuff later sooo (18+ MINORS DNI)

Pairing: Ezra (Prospect, 2018) x F!Reader

Warnings: Good old enemies-to-lovers trope. age gap (10 years). Nothing super descriptive for Reader but they are described as having hair. Tension, ofc, especially sexual tension out the wahzoo. Adult language. Mentions of food and eating but nothing descriptive. Alotta feelings and things of that nature. Banter. Fighting. Insults, Flirting. It’s E-to-L, you know where this is going. Smoking (herbal cigarettes). A teensy bit of man-handling. Feral Ezra (he’s about at 68.9% in this chapter). If there are any that I missed, please inbox me to let me know and I will add them in :)

Word Count: 4k

Summary!: As I said in the warnings: It’s Enemies to Lovers, y’all. Reader’s joined Ezra’s crew on some forsaken planet as a prospector rookie fresh out of the academy, while he’s a seasoned veteran. She hates him, he hates her. And chaos ensues.

A/N: REWRITTEN & REFORMATTED ON: 12/24/23

******

“Remember when you tried to write me off? (Haha)

Remember when you thought I'd take a loss?”

“If we hold that equivalent exchange persists in this space then we must give something of ourselves in order to build something new, in order to purge the bowels of this fecund wood for treasures made our own. Some of us have the proclivity for greatness while most do not. And those ambitious masses are the sacrifice this forest demands so that the true diviners can stand atop the mountain of corpses and claim their riches.”

You roll your eyes at the prospector’s monologuing, even as the other prospectors on your crew talk with him animatedly in agreement with his words. This is the second time today Ezra’s simple talking has pissed you off. The first was in the dining tent during breakfast when he went on a whole spiel about how “mercoy berries are better than mugwort root for sedation because they are 20 times more potent when digested with a shot of cider due to a chemical compound mixture present in both!” for a whole 15 minutes. 

You two didn’t get along when he talked - which was basically every minute of the day - and even in his very rare moments of silence he managed to tick you off one way or another. Still, there was something truly remarkable about the way he spoke. An itch that constantly made you want to shove a fistful of dirt down his throat.

“What is it, rookie? Are you afraid of the work it will take? The risk that it will fail?” He asks, his voice dripping with disdain as he calls you a rookie. He knew your name, just as you knew his, but neither of you referred to each other directly other than ‘vet’ and ‘rookie’, both of those terms full of contempt.

You're no stranger to hard work - you grew up in a prospecting town, for Kevvasake - but it's just something about the way he speaks to you that gets under your skin. Like he thinks he can talk you around to doing what he wants. Like you're just some cog in his machine.

 Not to mention the fact that he’s just an overall cocky bastard. You scoff at him and meet his eyes with a narrowed gaze of your own. But you don’t let this back-and-forth make you stop as you carefully extract another gem from its sack, then carefully place it in the case along with your other earnings of the morning.

“How about you quit yammering and get back to work, vet?” You say with a hard stare as you continue working, prompting the other men around to refocus on the task at hand. Ezra glares back at you, his lips pressed together into an angry line.

“You will speak to your elders with the respect they deserve.” He speaks in a low tone of warning, his hand balling into a fist at his side.

“Hmm, you’re only - what - about 30 years my senior based on looks, and we’re the same rank so no, I don’t think I will.” He’s clearly not 30 years older than you, probably more like 10, but you can tell it irritates him when you directly call him ‘old.’

“Respect does not come with rank, and do not act otherwise,” He spits back. “I have learned more about this world than you will ever even see, rook. You are just an entitled child and your attitude will be the downfall of this operation. That I promise you.” He retorts back and you notice the other men taking interest in your exchange. You look at them, then at him, stopping your work fully now and crossing your arms over your chest, spurred on by both his response and the attention of the other workers around you.

“Oh, I’m the ‘entitled one’?” You scoff again. “Not you who goes around speaking like he knows more than any of us, who acts like he’s better just because he has experience?” You ask, unafraid of calling him out. It was true after all; he constantly paraded around like he was superior to all of you, even those who were just as skilled as him.

Ezra stares you down for a long moment, the two of you locked in a battle of wills. You can almost see the gears turning in his head as he calculates his next move. He's never been the type to back down from a fight and you know it's only a matter of time before he says something that escalates things further. But then there’s a shift in his eyes as he takes a breath.

“Are you finished?” He asks in a deadly calm voice. You can see the anger in his eyes, and it makes you smirk as you drop your arms from their defensive stance.

“No, but I’ll save my comments for the sake of work.” You respond with a small smile that clearly doesn’t reach your eyes as you glare at him right after.

“Wise,” he replies, his voice dripping with contempt. He takes a deep breath and turns away from you before beginning to speak to one of your crewmates.

He avoids looking at you directly for the remainder of the shift, but you can feel his gaze on you as he watches you from the corner of his eye. You know there will be consequences for this later. You’re not afraid of him though. You two tend to get into these petty arguments all the time, so much so that it’s part of your routine now. Just like prospecting, it’s something you’re used to, something you know the ins and outs of. If he was really interested in killing you for these petty squabbles, he would’ve done it a long time ago. No real rivals would stand for even an ounce of disrespect out here, especially in front of the other crew members. It was a sign of weakness, seen as pathetic. Which tells you that he must either be really forgiving or really into this. You’re not quite sure what to make of either one of those conclusions.

What happens next seems to follow your typical pattern. It’s all a cycle now: you and Ezra fight, both of you get increasingly bitter, and eventually, you call a temporary truce to get the work done. Your pride can't handle backing down from a fight, and his can't take the shame of losing. It's a routine you both have fallen into from the very beginning.  

At the end of the day, you head to your tent only to drop off your earnings and get out of your suit. After a good shower, you feel refreshed and cool. This leaves you in just your black longjohns before you head straight to the giant dining tent, your mind hyper-fixated on your hunger as you watch the suns begin to set.

The tents are the only shelter you’ve got. There are 40 square-foot ones for each prospector, though those who are friends or companions share if they don't mind the lack of space or privacy. Those 15 structures are packed relatively close together in a semi-circle amongst the trees. Then, there’s the dining tent on the other side of camp, a 200 square feet structure where everyone can dine comfortably enough, again if a bit cramped. At the heart of the camp is the watchtower you all built to keep guard night after night, one or two prospectors taking shifts. Other than that, it’s all trees and bushes and foliage. No buildings or manmade structures for yards, though you know there’s a system of caves a good 3 miles to the east.

Thankfully, though, none of it is a huge issue. This planet is relatively habitable, at least compared to other planets you’ve visited and studied. You all can actually roam around without the suits and helmets for a good while, though you still wear them out on the digs as protection against the elements and as armor against potential danger. 

Your eyes scan the dining tent as you enter. You see a total of 23 prospectors sitting together in small clusters throughout the space, exchanging stories and laughs. Some of them acknowledge your entrance with a smile or a nod your way, but most keep their attention on their conversations and their food. You’re civil with the men, and you know they mostly respect you now that you've proven yourself capable as a prospector, but you’ve made sure not to ‘make friends’, something relatively easy for you to do out here. You’re far older than most rookies, as most are between the ages of 20 to 25 fresh out of the Academy, so you know that gives some of them pause. But, they don’t need to know exactly what you know, given your advantages of growing up knowing the tricks of the trade.

You get into the serving line and grab your grub, piling plenty onto your tray before leaving the tent and sitting a few feet away, not wanting to go back to your own tent just yet. You’re about to eat when you spot Ezra stopping with his own tray a few yards farther away, also dressed down, though he’s in sweats and a t-shirt. His eyes meet yours and he smirks even as his eyes show clear resentment, nodding at you. You scowl and simply nod once, trying to direct your attention back to your meal. You both begin to eat precisely at the same time and even that small and organic coincidence irritates you.

All too soon, your eyes meet once more and there's just that same, hateful stare between you two. All still a part of your routine with him. You try to focus on your food, but the longer he stares, the more you feel your temper rising again. 

It’s been that way since you first joined their crew as a new rookie only four and a half months ago, so his request for you to respect him wasn’t completely unwarranted, even if it did bother you. He’s a skilled veteran, even when compared to you. If the crew’s talk is anything to go by, he had been advanced in his learning at the Academy, having graduated at just 18. And that just irritates you further. Because out here, that matters more than anything, and he’s treated with a certain superiority because of his skill level and experience by the other crew members. Aside from you, of course.

“What?” You snap at him as you eat, feeling hot under his stare, but you attribute that to your irritation.

“Oh, nothing. Just admirin’ the view, rookie,” he says plainly, his lips pursed into an insincere half-smile. He's trying to goad you into action again and he's doing a good job of hiding it. As the only woman on the crew, you're used to men making lewd comments. They're never as subtle as Ezra is though, and you can tell he's getting a kick out of ticking you off. You roll your eyes.

“How about you take a picture then, it’ll last longer?” You say, even as your cheeks go very slightly flustered at his words. Ezra breaks out into laughter, a deep and belly-shaking sound that you've never heard from him before. He wipes his eyes and takes a sip of his canteen, his laughter finally dying down. 

"That actually got a laugh out of me, not gonna lie," He confesses. "I'll have to remember that one." His demeanor is almost different. He's more relaxed, his shoulders unhunched. He doesn’t say anything else and you eventually go back to your food, even as he continues to watch you, eating his own food across from you, silently. You’ve noticed that in him. When you two are around the men, he takes on a more hostile, macho bravado but in these rare moments when you two are alone, he lets that fall away. It’s almost as frustrating as the man himself.

You’re determined not to snap at him again. So you ignore him instead, watching the suns leave their final rays behind as they disappear into the horizon line to the west. But now you’re finishing up and you glance at him. The two of you exchange another long look, but this time it's not as hostile. It’s actually kind of… peaceful. Then you remember your place quickly and glare at him, scoffing under your breath.

"Ya know, you're not as bad as I give ya credit for, rook," Ezra says after a few more moments of silence. He pushes his plate to the side and pulls an herbal cigarette from the breast pocket of his shirt. You watch him with a puzzled look. Where in Kevva’s name did he get contraband from? You know your boss considers him a second-in-command, but would he really let him get away with contraband out here? You want to ask him but he speaks again, "Don't tell the crew, but I think there's still a chance for us to be friends." His face is a stark contrast compared to the scowls and glares he's often shot you in the past. He gives you a wry half-smile as he lights his cigarette with the lighter on his multitool.

You bark out a laugh. “Like I’d ever be friends with you.” You respond with another glare

"See? This is why we don't get along. You're stubborn to a fault and you'll be the death of us all," Ezra gestures to you with the cigarette held between his index and middle fingers, shaking his head. He takes a drag from it and blows a thick cloud of smoke out towards the horizon. You don’t respond. After all, he’s partially right. You are stubborn, but you’re not ashamed of that fact. It’s how you got here, and you’re proud of it. His features become unreadable as he continues, 

"And yet... I still see somethin’ in you, despite your numerous flaws...” He adds, his expression suddenly pensive. He shrugs lightly with a small smile. “Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment." There’s a sudden shift when he says that last bit that makes you pause. His tone was almost… flirtatious? But it was incredibly subtle. You almost missed it. Still, it’s not enough to deter you. 

“Well, at least I’m not a prideful pompous ass who can’t get a grip on reality and blames others instead of his own ego on his lack of ‘friends’.” You retort and stand up to leave, leaving your food tray. Ezra looks taken aback by your statement at first, but he quickly recovers and stands to his feet as well, leaving his too. He takes another long drag from his cigarette before tossing it out onto the forest floor, crushing it under his boot. He starts to follow after you, saying something that you don't quite catch before he trails off into the distance. You're almost to your tent when you think you hear him mutter it again under his breath,

"Starflower..." You freeze. Your body pricks up at the name. You’ve heard it before but only once. It was a pet name you’ve heard used affectionately on the planet Ezra’s from. You turn slowly, your eyes narrowed again at him.

“What did you call me?” You ask. Ezra stops in his tracks and turns to face you. His hands are up, but only a little, as if to show you he’s not here to fight. His features are still relaxed, though there's a hint of something deeper, more serious behind his eyes.

"You heard me," he says calmly, taking a step towards you. "But if you need me to repeat it, I can." You narrow your eyes at him again and your own fingers brush your holster.

“Call me that again…” You start and take a step towards him, just one, in warning. “And you’ll lose your head, vet.” You say, your voice cold. A part of you isn’t entirely sure why you’re acting this way. You’ve been called way worse out here on expeditions. Other terms of endearment like ‘sweetheart’ and ‘princess’ from these other jagoffs don’t really bother you. But something about the way he says that… something about the way it rolls off of his tongue. It’s making your blood boil.

"Starflower..." Ezra repeats, taking another step towards you. He raises an eyebrow and gives you a cocky smile, daring you to do your worst. He reaches out and grabs your wrist, his grip impossibly firm but not enough to hurt you. He brings his face close to yours, close enough for you to feel his breath on your cheek. He speaks again. "Try me, rookie. I dare you." His voice is low and quiet.

You make a sound of surprise at his actions. Your eyes widen slightly as he leans in towards you and you don’t know how to feel at his sudden proximity. 

“Get your filthy hands off of me.” You warn.

“Make me." Ezra's voice is low. He brings his face even closer to yours, your lips only inches apart. His grasp on your wrist tightens only slightly as if he’s making it clear his intention is not to actually harm you. You can feel his hot breath on your cheek, his gaze unwavering. There’s a sudden shift in the air. And there’s something in his eyes that you notice, something you don’t think you’ve seen before. It’s an intensity in his gaze that you’re now positive you’ve never seen before. And for the first time since you’ve met him, you feel a slight flutter in your stomach as your eyes search his.

The silence between you two stretches on as neither one of you dares to move or speak or even breathe it seems. The longer he holds you like this, the longer you become aware of various things about him you had never bothered to notice before. Like the amber flecks in his deep brown eyes, the way his bottom lip is so much fuller than his top lip. The faded moon-shaped scar that curves down his cheek towards his jawline, just under his right eye. The way his facial hair has a heart-shaped patch on that same side of his jaw, right next to his chin. Things you’ve only noticed now that he’s here up close. You can also smell the herbal cigarette on his breath. A heady mix of juniper, lavender, and peppermint. You’re surprised that it’s not a totally unappealing smell. It’s actually… kind of nice.

You’re only partially aware of his eyes scanning your face as if doing the same to you. He now notices the exact color of your own eyes. The exact outline of your mouth, the furrow between your brows. His gaze seems to soften as he looks at you. 

And just as he seems to let his guard down, you move. 

You react fast, pushing him off of you, the suddenness and forcefulness with which you move causing him to release you, and he further moves back a couple of feet. You grab your thrower and aim it, panting. You’re not sure if it’s from the panic of earlier or his actions. Ezra steps back and holds his hands up in surrender, though his eyes remain locked onto yours. He seems strangely unconcerned about the fact that you're pointing a weapon at him. A slight grin plays at the corner of his lips and you swear he's enjoying this. You've seen him calm in tense situations before, but never quite like this. It almost seems like he's savoring the moment. He takes another slow step back, his hands still raised. He doesn't say anything, but his smile grows broader as he meets your gaze.

“This is your last warning, vet. Back. Off.” You say, your face red. Kevvasake, why can’t you stop thinking about what just happened? This is the clearest warning yet. You don’t actually want to hurt him, but you won’t hesitate if you have to.

Ezra remains silent, his eyes boring into yours as you keep your weapon trained on him. He takes a final step backward, his face still calm and relaxed. He shows you the back of his hands as if to say, "See? No weapons." But you know it's all an act, he's got multiple throwing knives concealed about his person, just like any good prospector should. He's enjoying the tension, he's living for it. The look in his eye is one of pure thrill. You would never say it out loud, but you feel the same. The tension, the thrill, the spontaneity of it all. It’s addicting. And you hate it. You scoff and holster your thrower. You know he’d never hurt you. You roll your eyes at him again. 

“Right.” Ezra nods in approval, the corner of his mouth curling just enough to show a hint of a playful smirk. A brief thought crosses your mind, a thought you know you shouldn't allow to take root, but that somehow manages to anyway. Why do you not hate him? He's arrogant, he's egotistical, he goes out of his way to be insufferably rude. And yet, you can't help but be drawn in by his charm and confidence. Why do you let him get to you? What is it about him that makes you want to come back? You feel a shiver go down your spine at that but don’t let it get to you.

“Are you done?” You ask, stealing his own line from earlier to once again call up that temporary truce between you two. Your voice is less hostile than it was moments ago, but still not anywhere near friendly.

“For now,” he says with a smirk. The way his voice holds the same playful tone as before makes your blood heat and your face go flush. He takes a step closer again, closing the distance between the two of you. His face is inches from yours, his eyes trained on yours as he reaches up one hand, hesitating. Your eyes zero in on his hand in mid-air, a mixture of conflicting emotions running through you. You can’t help but feel your heart flutter at the almost touch. His hand falls away and you suddenly become aware that your breath is now shallow. Did he want to touch you? An even more important question follows: did you want him to touch you? You shake it off, doing your best to ignore your racing heart. You step away from him, feeling suddenly breathless.

“Well, fine, good night, Ezra.” You say pointedly and quickly scan the area, wondering if anyone out here saw. However, you two are still thankfully alone. You turn to head into your tent. Ezra gives you one last smile before his features return to their customary scowl as he heads toward his tent. Once you make it inside, you wait a few moments with bated breath, as if he will come back. But the only remainder of him is the scent of juniper, lavender, and mint in the night air.

You toss and turn on your cot for several hours as you ponder what happened tonight. You've had your fair share of run-ins with the prospector, but none of them have ever ended with such an intensity of emotion. Something's different this time, you just don't know what it is quite yet.

Sudden realization strikes you like a bolt of lightning from the clear night sky.

You don't hate Ezra.

You like him.

Kevvasake.

******

Wake up, I had another idea when I was very sleep deprived! So, this is probably gonna be a series (don’t ask me how long, you all know I never plan ahead) BUT, I’ve got about 3 chapters written out already and I’ll probably update within the next week/week and a half. Let me know what you all think of this, I realize now this is my first time doing E-to-L and so I might totally suck at this haha. Anyway, that’s it, thanks a million, hope you all enjoyed, and see you in the next one!

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Read Chapter 2: Clean!

[juni-ravenhall]

sso vs the concept of good gameplay. yeah its another fucking book length post >:3

thoughts from someone with a brain full of what good game design means and tons of years of studying and analysing that topic etc, bc of game design being one of my main interests.

basically the major thing i want to say about the hollow woods update aside from "yay forest kinda pretty :)" is that most of it doesn't really consist of what i would call gameplay. this is ofc something u can argue back and forth that im also open to, bc respectful analytical discussion is healthy.

the firefly stuff id personally call something more like "satisfaction play" than gameplay (idk if there's a widespread term that anyone else made up already). there is zero challenge to gathering fireflies - it's on the level of poking a glitter slime simulation app. it might feel satisfying to collect them, but there is no practised skill needed, no thinking or planning or anything. so i don't consider this "gameplay", but "satisfaction play" in itself isn't a bad thing, either. it's not that "gameplay" would be inherently better than "satisfaction play" in every case.

the puzzles are gameplay, i think - not very challenging gameplay (the answers are right there as soon as the puzzle is presented), but it *is* arguably gameplay, since we do call puzzle-solving "gameplay" in general. there is some argument there to be made about what a "puzzle" really means, and what is a simple "request and task" rather than a "puzzle", or what "knowing a real life fact" (what is 180 degrees?) versus "having to figure something out using information available inside the game" might mean for how we view what is or isn't a puzzle. but that's not specific to sso at all (a question for tons of various "puzzles" as seen in tons of various games).

there's nothing wrong in itself with satisfaction play, or with easy puzzles. sometimes that's exactly what an audience wants. but sso has a bigger issue, in that the main gameplay until now has been races (or courses, tracks, but let's say races) and that those races are not especially well designed. that there is very little of really challenging, fun, satisfying, rewarding gameplay in sso - in the terms of what people usually expect from videogames (of the gameplay-based type, not satisfaction play-based).

don't jump to conclusions here, but: i often make a comparison to mariokart, a game with a primary race mechanic. i used to play mariokart a lot because it was just really fun. it was fun alone or with friends or strangers, and it was fun to try to beat my best score, and it was fun to explore different ways of beating the same track. when you design a game, you have to think really heavily about: is the core gameplay loop fun? what makes people want to play this? to *re*play this? does it feel satisfying and exciting? is it better or at the same level as its competitors? what kind of things appeal to the target audience? and so on.

somehow sso has never felt like mariokart (except that one rainbow race, obvs), and i don't mean that sso could just "copy mariokart", this isnt the point. what i do mean is that there has to be a way to make your racing mechanic (if it is a primary mechanic of your game!) actually fun, engaging and challenging in the right way - the good game design way, not the clunky, frustrating and broken way. (yes, i know the engine is spaghetti garbage. no, i don't think that's a get-out-of-jail-free card for every problem that sse has.)

they made some progress with this when they added a completely out-of-place, more challenging race in one of the more recent story quests (i forget exactly when that was, but the race was in hollow woods). the problem then was that within the context of sso and what they have taught the players about their game, this race was thrown at us with no preparation for its challenges, which is bad game design. you want to introduce your player to different challenges and allow them to practice and learn, which didn't happen when we jump from "races with basically no skill needed to pass" to "a race with new things happening everywhere you need to react to while also successfully following a new path" out of nowhere. the intent was good - more challenging and exciting, dramatic races - the execution wasn't great.

they also made some progress with this when they revamped a few of the champs. the revamps aren't perfect, but they're good, and it was a good step towards improving core gameplay mechanics, that not only are genuinely enjoyable to many players but also *fit into the theme of the game* (as in, beating others at horse sports is a common theme within the equestrian theme). (i'm personally in shock that we don't have more champs across the map since all of these years, and that they aren't better already, since it's one of the most "regular videogame quality" content this game has and it shouldve been relatively easy to add more as well as maintaining and improving what was there).

so, back to the new valedale stuff.... sort of. there have been some puzzles in sso before, and some random gameplay (the click timing of searching for gold). the stuff we've had before: it's usually very basic puzzles and random gameplay, partially on behalf of that - for a long time - there doesn't seem to have been that much resources put into fighting with the engine to create new things that weren't in the code before, and partially because of a view held by some people at the company that games for young girls don't need to have any actual well-designed challenging gameplay, and that it's better to make it ridiculously easy so that nobody ever really loses or gets stuck on anything. you don't have to practice to beat any of the races - you might have to practice to get a top score or win a champ, but none of those are required for progress. similarly, there wasn't any real challenge that i remember to the absolute majority of non-racing quests, either. you might have to hit a thing with the right timing once in a while, but it's always easy (other games do this too - see QTE in certain AAA games!), or you might have to remember a number or a word for a minute and answer a question or type in a code correctly.

more or less everytime that there were puzzles in sso, they held your hand through it - whether you wanted to or not. the same is true for the rune puzzles, which have their solution blatantly in front of you as soon as they load. there is no changing actual difficulty level to make it more fitting to the player (which doesn't necessarily have to be a literal level setting - it can come organically, such as giving extra explanations, or slowing a timer down, after a player has failed a task 3 times, etc). yes, you can make the rune puzzles more complex in some sense - a bigger grid, or choosing the type of moves you are worse at - but the solution is always right in front of you, regardless. they hold your hand whether you like it or not, by the type of puzzle that they introduced.

races in sso have a "gold, silver or bronze" system, but we don't actually see that the races have been correctly playtested to properly reflect what a time worthy of each medal should be, and we also don't really gain anything from reaching any medal. i never feel a thing about getting this or that medal, because they mean nothing. it might be a good thing that we're never asked in a quest to "complete this race with a gold medal" or "complete this race under a certain time" or "complete this jumping course with no faults", since that could lock some players out of completing quests (while this is the case for most other games, there is also an important discussion happening around accessibility in game completion).

there are ways to make the medals in races matter, feel accurate, and feel rewarding. there are ways to make races more challenging or more interesting without just being more clunky or frustrating. there are ways to do that while keeping them more or less grounded in reality, and ways to do that while incorporating non-realistic elements that are fun and feel fitting (remembering that this is a game with magic and fantasy from the start). they could have added faults to jumping courses forever ago, they could have added dressage forever ago, and improved on gameplay like pole bending and barrel racing, and so on, and all while allowing players at all skill levels to still complete tasks and complete races, but also allowing players to challenge themselves for rewards.

if the core gameplay - around races and championships, around horse care, horse bonding and horse training - or around magic and protecting what's dear, or around rescue missions with the rangers, or tons of other stuff i can think up that would fit this game - if that stuff felt like actually well designed gameplay, something fun, not frustrating and buggy, challenging in the right ways and rewarding. if all that was done well, then adding some "satisfaction play" with fireflies or some simple puzzles with blatant solutions wouldn't be as easy to criticise.

the closest thing we got to challenging gameplay that you can really clearly *lose* at - that there is a risk and a skill involved - were some of the druid training missions. they still suffered from some clunky frustrations and non-ideal design decisions, but it was an attempt at more regular gameplay (among the non-racing gameplay). comparing the new gameplay in valedale to the druid training, you can see that the risk of failure has gone down a lot or been removed completely, rather than being built upon any more. they also didn't continue to update druid training in any way afaik or to build upon that foundation for other gameplay. (i'm open to that druid training may have been too difficult for a small subset of players, and that's a valid discussion. but i also think it was optional?)

i don't have a really nice tidy thought to end this with, and im really sleepy rn and going to bed. but the overall point is that if sso had other, well-designed and well-functioning gameplay that felt satisfying and rewarding for players, the flaws of the new valedale stuff would be less glaring. as things are, the lack of challenge and the lack of fun gameplay are really glaring problems with it, as well as the lack of reasonable rewards. (it makes very little sense that you have to purchase the items you unlock, but this is the same company that charged whatever x starcoins it was for those recoloured balloon pets, so.)

[shiftingtomydrs]

OMG OMG OMG YOU HAVE A FS DR??? I SAW I COULD ASK U SOME QUESTIONS SO I RAN TO YOUR INBOX

who are you?? when is it??? any particular competition it is based on (I often see people do it with 22 beijing)?? what jumps do you have??? any ultra c elements (3A, quads)??? if you have one, who's your s/o??? what why who where when aaaa another fs shifter!!

xx kat (@xelsmultiverse)

hiii omg thanks so much for asking this <3

okk so just quick disclaimer beforehand, i dont know shit about figure skating except the very very basics (like what type of jumps and stuff) so if smth is incorrect or doesnt make sense its bcs of that haha also as always im hopelessly overpowered :D

In my dr im a figure skater from Germany, i was born in early 2007 and did ballet from when i was like 3 (thats canon btw i did that in my cr too haha) but then quickly got impatient and kinda bored with it (also canon, i regret stopping tho) and my parents put me into figure skating and gymnastics instead. since in my hometown there isnt really a big figure skating team (there is one but its not good ngl) i scripted that my now coach saw me by coincidence and decided i had talent and she wanted to coach me. I can do more on my coach if you guys want to btw its kinda a whole (unfinished) story (shes an oc).

So then she started coaching me in 2014, after a lot of convincing from me towards my parents cos they didnt actually want me to become a professional skater cos its obviously not the healthiest thing to do but after I saw Yulia at the 2014 Olympics I begged my parents to let me get private lessons until they gave in (yulia is kinda my role model and i wanna be like her)

I have an unfinished list of my senior competitions here (for the sake of plot i kinda made it so the covid restrictions on the 2020/21 season didnt happen for the junior competitions, only seniors, also kamila and i dont compete together before the olympic season) and yes ofc i win everything bcs as i said op af (also i know some of the competitions overlap so idk how im gonna do that yet, if anyone has an idea pls feel free to tell me haha)

for jumps i have all quads (yes including 4A cos im just that good lmao) and im playing with the idea (actually i put it already but its prolly impossible so im unsure if i should put it) of scripting i have a quintuple jump as well at some point.

Im really not knowledgeable on different spins i just scripted theyre centered and i dont have a lot of movement on the ice during them idk if thats how you say it but like i spin in one place and dont move to the left or right a ton

Then like some stuff that goes without saying, i have good technique, i dont get hurt badly, i dont have any long term problems from professional skating, stuff like that

My s/o is ilia malinin but since hes born in 2004 we dont get together for a while. We meet either at a competition or during my exchange year in the us in 2024 (my host family lives in the same state he does and we train at the same rink while im there) and then like slowburn friends to lovers pining everyone-knows-except-them kinda stuff (i really do love torturing myself in that aspect apparently)

Some other stuff i can think of rn is that my nickname is 'golden girl' or 'germanys golden girl' idk just smth i came up with (if you have any other ideas pls tell me haha unfortunately im uncreative af when it comes to stuff like that)

also you mightve noticed im technically too young to do senior competitions in time for beijing but i just decided to script that they make an exception for me for some reason haha

I can speak 4 languages, German, English, Russian (bcs of my coach) and Spanish

I get along kinda good (as well as you can as competitiors) with the Eteri Girls bcs we're similar age and my coach gets on kinda well with Eteri (they used to compete together except my coach is actually nice) and also i yk speak russian

oh also when i first get there its january 2022 so right before the olympics cos i wanna experience that not just in memory

soo yeah thats all i can think of for now again sorry for any inaccuracies or anything (wont apologize for op-ing myself cos thats what shifting is for after all ;) )