#one of my favorite games but i kept forgetting to watch the anime because i kept getting distracted by other things 😅

[kotaki]

"Of course, you'll trust me... won't you, Neku?"

[coffeegnomee]

An analysis of having a rigid character in mcrp vs being swept up into playing a character in mcrp.

I was reflecting on dreamsmp and qsmp the other day and realized they both lost me when the lore shifted to a rigid character of the streamer.

Quackity approached the late-game lore as a cold, calm, businessman, completely devoid of the goofy, unserious charm that is Quackity. And in qsmp he was the alcoholic father. 

I didn’t watch much of qsmp, but I got similar vibes from Celbit and… heck I forget his name. The one who became president. 

Like they approached every stream from a very serious point of view, getting into character before the serious moment happened, not chatting with chat in the lulls between yapping as they journey from one destination to another. 

And they lost me. 

That’s not what the medium of streamed Minecraft rp is about.

What it is about is logging on, bantering with chat, walking around the server, and then other members approach, they take the lore seriously, and subtly change it from a normal interaction with another streamer into something that is moving the plot forward.

There’s two examples from the dsmp era.

Tommy is the obvious one, and doesn’t need much explanation. Especially in the exile arc he would be fine and happy and bantering with chat until Dream showed up. Then the tone shifted. He always had moments where he was his annoying happy self before being drawn into the serious character he was developing. All of it was an act, but he planned to let his character be moved from one emotion to another through the conversations that happened.

But the same happened with Foolish, which I find fascinating since it was widely acclaimed that Foolish doesn’t really lore. Not on purpose at least. He’ll never be the one to overtly plan something, but he’s one of my favorites to follow because he will always get swept up into it.

I followed the Foolish/Leo lore through clips and tiktok, and it was the only aspect of qsmp lore that could draw me in. 

And in the dsmp, the L’sandburg arc and everything that happened at the summer home never had server-wide implications, and yet it captured the charm of the early months of the dreamsmp.

There was a day when Sam joined vc but shifted into the SamNook character and stopped actually talking in vc, just playing the animal crossing noises while writing in chat.

Foolish played along for a bit, and then they both returned to building in the hanging gardens, Sam making a tree while Foolish was doing like material collection I think, talking to chat.

Sam continued only communicating in chat until one moment when it was more helpful if he began actually speaking about the tree instead of being in character.

And I, and Foolish, literally jumped, forgetting that Sam was there and we weren’t talking to SamNook as a real npc.

It was so bizarre. 

We were swept up into the lore of the moment, and kept there through the efforts of the other streamer. 

And again, this happened one day when Bad and Foolish were arguing and Dream showed up in vc as Dreamxd, talking just to Foolish as if he was in his head and Bad couldn’t hear him. The conversation that followed was so hilarious as Foolish had to manage two streamers who refused to acknowledge that they could hear each other.

Without realizing it he was swept up into the lore. And he took us along with him. 

The reason this matters to me is the Lifesteal smp.

In Lifesteal, Zam takes this concept of casual banter with chat and moves it, when the moment arises, into something that is suddenly extremely RP.

In an instant it can go from random conversation into something that is moving his character forward and changing the fabric of the server.

I think we saw it best with the Joker arc. 

Every Joker day began with a threat given to either Minute or Jumper. Something to goad them into lore. 

He had no real plans, just a threat that he would do, a base he would blow up, if Minute or Jumper didn’t do anything to stop him. And he let them do anything they wanted to stop him. 

It was completely unplanned.

And you could hear in his voice the changes from, here’s my silly plan for the day, to, you just unlocked the Joker.

Changing it from a casual stream to something overly lore. Not going into it with a perfect character but using the encounter itself to bring out the character.

Interestingly enough, we all know that the Joker arc landed weirdly in relation to pb&j and how they were swept up into the lore.

And I think, in part, it had to do with the a flipping of roles compared to my above analysis about Foolish.

Zam was, more often than not, the one who was live AND the one who was going to take lore seriously and bring others into it. 

Vs Foolish being live and Dream/Bad/Sam being the one to take it seriously.

It broached a new style of mcrp, one that created streamers/characters who were resistant to doing lore, I think because they didn’t have the stakes behind it of being live. They were there for their recording, but they always knew they could cut it out of their YouTube video and it wouldn’t matter to their characters.

You only have to look at the difference between the Jumper/Zam yap session and Minute confronting Clown and Leo to see the difference going live had on them being wrapped up into the lore. 

Lore they did not expect to be doing when they first went live. 

As opposed to Jumper’s stream where she killed Mappic - she went into that with a plan and a character to play.

As opposed to Ash’s streams when he had a character and plan to execute.

They lost me on those streams because it was obviously so planned out and they entered the moment completely in character and resisted changing in response to anything that was said to them. 

Why does it matter? 

Because a character’s 3dimentionality comes from being fully fledged out. 

And you can make an extremely complex and compelling character when you draw on aspects of yourself. It doesn’t (and probs shouldn’t) just literally be you, but if you willingly draw on who you are as a person, the character comes alive. 

And the medium is Minecraft live streaming. It’s long winded. Time in the story passes by similarly to how real life time passes - day to day something new happens unlike a book or movie where they have to cut things out.

And the stories you create when you approach the medium of live mcrp is substantially different than any book, movie, or video. 

The method of storytelling allows you to explore a character over 100s of hours of content rather than a couple hours. 

And for my money, boiling that character down to something you put on for an hour or two at a time around completely unrelated grind streams, is so much less compelling than if both merged together and you never knew when a moment would turn from casual banter as a streamer into a character moment. 

[blues824]

🎮You know the perfect match for Idia Shroud leviathan aka levi.

🎮They are both otoku shutin's who call other people normies. Both ar envious about people.

🎮Them doing online classes and doing anime matrons and taking about on of their animes that have a essay as a title.

Them talking about their brothers. Idia whoud not have to worry about them not liking his brothers because they are both obesed with technology.

🎮(Imagen his levi s/o sumenig lothan the giant Sea serpent and them going full on demon form for the first on elizia because she took there Henry from the 3rd strongest demon Lord ).

don't forget about Henry the fish.

🎮 (Idia calling them his player 2 and Idia is his Henry )

Oh, my- How chaotic! I love it!

Also, I kept reader gender-neutral.

Idia Shroud

Y’all met online. Idia was scrolling through Magicam and one of your videos popped up on his feed. He clicked on it since it was a game he heard about, and he enjoyed it. He went to your account and watched through all of your videos.

He then summoned up the courage to DM you and he was super relieved when you responded. He asked if you wanted to do a collab and that video blew up. Cater was outside of the Ignihyde dorm within seconds.

Many calls were exchanged between you two, and he was glad he finally found someone that was exactly like himself! You both trash talk others and call everyone else “normies”. Ortho is glad he found a friend. It was looking rough for a while-

Many many many watch-parties during online classes. You both are pretty smart, so there wouldn’t be any true consequences. One of your favorites is Help! Rip-off Michael Jackson killed my family and turned my younger sister into a demon, and now I’m trying to find a cure for her!

You and Ortho get along great. Idia usually asks you to help with upgrading Ortho, so that just proves how close you are. On the other hand, you don’t think he would get along with your brothers. They’re rude, annoying, etc.

Now, when I say the Ghost Bride Event was a mess, I mean it. You, being the Avatar of Envy, summoned Lotan to help out with your problem. You showed up with your horns and tails out, and even Sebek and Jack were scared. Eliza was quick to evacuate.

Of course, your pet fish. Idia becomes his second parent. You both talk to him like he’s your actual child, and in a way he is. When you have to go with Crowley somewhere, Idia will gladly take care of Henry for you. 

Lastly, the nicknames. You both would have a lot of gamer nicknames for each other. Idia would totally call you his Player 2. You call him your Henry. It’s an inside thing between you two, furthering your relationship with each other.

[greentrickster]

So something good that started in my life last December was that I stumbled into a bit of luck and now have a deal with a nearby geek culture shop to sell plush mages I make. This was extremely fortuitous, because I created the design and concept back in 2017, had made about ten before forcing myself to stop, and, other than gifting one to a friend, still had them all, and was planning to find a holiday donation bin for a charity that accepted handmade stuff, because I was tired of them taking up space in my room. Like literally the only reason I still had them was because life was hectic and I kept forgetting to go check for where any local donation bins were.

This is very exciting, the owner's super nice and helped me set some stuff up so I'm selling on consignment, which means I only get paid when someone actually buys one, but I get a bigger cut of the money when they do.

My dudes, I have an income again.

It's teeny-weeny and irregular, but I have one, and, almost more importantly, a bunch of them sold during and right after the holiday rush, so I get to make more, and it's giving me something to actually do besides working on my mental issues and trying to fill my time while I gain the mental health and stability to get, you know. An actual job. I'm currently making a few more to put in the store, then I'm going to focus on making extra stock to have available for when the local anime convention (and it's stale, stale vendor's hall) arrives this spring.

Not only that, it means that I can make as many of these things as I want for now! And while it takes about a day to make one mage, I'm flexing hard on my status as a professional ADHD haver by having three or four on the go at once, but in different stages of completion. So if I feel like sewing I can one on this one, but if I want to do some pinning I can work on that one, and the third one's ready to finish stuffing and assembling whenever I feel like it, now I want to take a break to watch anime, oooo~ sewing mood again-!

Like, this is in no way I can turn this into an actual career, just because, like I said, it takes about a day to make one from scratch, going at a pace that's both productive and physically healthy for me and also, given that they're about twenty inches tall, made of primarily minky fabric, and being done by hand, that means that I am selling them for nowhere near what they're worth, because people wouldn't be willing to pay that much. Like, the minimum wage where I currently live is (a ridiculous) $7.50 an hour. If I made one of these guys in six hours, that would mean they'd need to cost $45 just to cover my time, never mind materials and the fact that this is skilled labour, and that is not the price on the tag, let alone my cut. They look deceptively simple for all the tricks and techniques that go into one (never mind the fact that minky is expensive fabric, the craft safety eyes I use are special-ordered and very good quality, and, oh yes, these little fellows are machine washable). I literally cannot make a livelihood doing this.

But, like I also said, it's giving me something creative to do that isn't just more reading, writing, and gaming. I love doing all those things, but this is a kind of physical activity that I've needed in my life, and making something physical is so different than writing, with the wonderful bonus that minky fabric is one of my favorite textures! As long as I'm strategic about my acquisition of materials, I'm not going to be losing money on this, and while it's something I think is going to end up paying dividends more in my mental health than in my wallet, I will be earning money for this. I'm getting paid to make plushies to my heart's content (or until I run out of materials for the moment) while watching anime/youtube and working on my mental health, and, for now, that's not only enough, it feels really good!

[cevansbrat0007]

*clears throat and offers double chocolate chip cookies to GP Reader* Hello Mrs. Barber, I hope I am not being too forward in asking you these questions like I asked your dear husband last week. What are your favorite parts of your smokeshow husband's body and personality? And do you have any dating & relationship advice for this very introverted but very romance obsessed woman? Thank you so much for your time, you are like the cool aunties I've missed hanging out with.

Summary: It's Baby Girl's turn (also known as Mrs. Barber) to answer a few burning questions about her relationship with her husband, the infamous Andrew Barber. Written from Reader's POV.

Warnings: Mature Themes, Girl!Dad Andy Barber, Discussions of Fatherhood, Mentions of Oral Sex (Man Rec), Fingering (mentioned), Lloyd Evans-Drysdale, Punishments (mentioned), Spanking (mentioned), Fluff, Cursing, Minors DNI.

A/N: This installment of the A Growing Pains Interview Series also contains a brief reference to my fic, Handsy, where I first introduce Mr. Lloyd Evans-Drysdale. For more insight into Andrew Barber and his Baby Girl, please check out my ongoing Growing Pains Series. All mistakes are my own. Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated. ___

Hello! Finally, a question for me! I’m super excited, let me tell you. I believe we already know the ground rules with this…and I’ve sent Mr. Barber out of the room so we can all chat freely. I’ll show him this later. Maybe it’ll even earn me a reward. This girl right here has been on her best behavior this past week, which means no punishments!

You even have my promise to keep the hot streak going. Scouts honor, folks.

Let me start by saying that I love my sweet Andy Bear, and I am so unbelievably proud to call him my husband. He is by far the most amazing and brilliant man I’ve ever met. He’s also quite the menace, and I say that with all of the love. Whether we’re talking about his body or his mind, Andrew Barber is a fucking force, you guys. 

But at the end of the day, my man is foine as hell. Andrew is a luscious piece of ass wrapped in one big, well-proportioned package. And speaking of asses, have you seen his? You could bounce a quarter off that butt.

Quick fun fact: I tried it. It worked. So then I kept doing it. I even made a game of it which actually took up the entire day.

Although, the kids kept asking why Mama was “throwing money” at Daddy. So, I just made up some story about Daddy being forgetful and leaving his coins around the house, which meant that I had to try to put it back in his pocket for him.

But I had to be careful, because I didn’t want him to feel bad about being so darn forgetful. Worked like a dream. I mean, our beautiful Barber Babies bought that tale hook, line, and sinker. Even BiBi! She seemed suspicious, but then I caught her offering Andy one of her little wallets just in case he needed it. 

He was so touched by her gesture that he did eventually accept it. And then went out and bought her another one, complete with a matching piggy bank. Well, it was more of a llama bank – which also happens to be her favorite animal. Where he found it, I have no idea.  

Can I just deviate from the physical for a second to talk about what a wonderful father this man is? It’s not always about the big, grand gestures with us. In reality, it’s about the small, more intimate moments. Yes, our house is chaotic at times. We have four children under nine-years-old, so chaos kind of comes with the territory. 

And he handles it spectacularly – even when he fucks up. Now that might sound a bit harsh, but if I’ve learned anything from this whole parenting gig, it’s that you will fuck up sometimes. And we both do it, but he’s a wonderful partner who strives to be the best Dad he can possibly be. 

I love watching him with our children. He’s so protective and encouraging. He reads to them every night, takes them on “camping trips” in the backyard, and coaches pretty much every sport they’re involved in. I don’t quite get the whole camping business – I don’t do nature, or bugs – but apparently the kids do.

And they love that stuff. We don’t stay out all night, but we set up tents and tell stories and enjoy campfire snacks. Everyone stays up well past bedtime and my sweet little A.J., who takes after his father in so many ways, keeps me safe from “dah buggies” by sitting in my lap. See, Andy told him that bugs scared me, so it was up to them to keep me safe. Which is exactly what he does. 

Lord, help me when he grows up. I don’t know if I have it in me to live with two Andrew Barbers. But I guess I’ll just have to keep them, won’t I?

Oh! And in case you didn’t already know, Andy is also amazing company at tea parties. Katrina and Rory threw one the other day. They had me deliver a special, handmade invitation and everything. He picked out a suit, brought cookies from the local bakery, and even sat in a chair that was much too small for his bulky frame to be comfortable. 

But he did it all for his girls without so much as a fuss. 

I snuck a peek and nearly melted on the spot. And when we finally got a moment to ourselves, you can be damn sure that I got down on my knees with the quickness and sucked the soul out of my Big Man’s body. 

He didn’t fully understand why until I explained it to him later, but he also wasn’t complaining either. That man is the most delicious mouthful you could ever imagine. Mr. Barber is, eh, very well endowed. But I’ve also had ages to refine my technique. 

And he is always more than willing to let me practice. It’s actually very kind of him. That man has the patience of a saint – unless I’m deepthroating him. But otherwise his stamina is pretty top notch.

That aside, Andrew Barber is so completely and utterly devoted to me and this amazing little family we’ve built together that sometimes I get overwhelmed just thinking about it. I’ve never been loved so thoroughly or so deeply before. 

If I’m being honest, and I am, it actually used to scare me. And sometimes it still does if I let it. But I also accept my handsome ogre for who he is – the same way he accepts me for who and what I am.

Meaning that I’m a fucking brat, which I am through and through. It’s not my fault. My husband brings it out of me even when I least expect it. It might have something to do with that cocky grin of his, or that arrogant swagger he walks around with from time to time.

It makes me want to wreak havoc in new and inventive ways on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Andy knows this, of course. He claims he knew I was a brat from our very first date. I still have no idea what he means by that, so whatever. I just let him think what he wants. 

But we have fun together. And the things we do, the games we play…

It keeps things spicy. I guess you could say that it’s really Andy’s mind that turns me on. Couple that with his dominant and possessive nature and hot damn! Sometimes it can be a bit much to manage, but this girl doesn’t mind being slung over an impressive man’s broad shoulder every now and again.

I enjoy being manhandled. If it’s with the right man, that is. And Andrew Barber is definitely more than enough man for me. 

Anyway, I think that’s all I’ve got for now. As for your question about advice…hm. I would encourage you to just be yourself. 

But also, and I know this is much easier said than done, try to make yourself step outside your comfort zone. I’m saying go crazy or anything, but it might be worth taking a small risk here and there. Occasionally it’s okay to make the first move – even if you find that idea terrifying. 

With Andrew…I made the first move. Of course he tells it differently, and yes he may have seen me first, but I made the first move. Which was something that I had never done before. And I was so unbelievably nervous. At the time I found it so strange to be drawn to a person like that, especially with someone who possesses such an intimidating aura. 

But being just a little brave is ultimately what led me to the love of my life. Don’t get me wrong. My palms were sweaty and my legs felt kind of like jello, but I just felt like I had to try. 

And to this day, I’m so glad that I did. Because it means that I get to live my own love story. And while it’s not all a bed of roses, because we do have our problems, I do firmly believe that I’ve found my other half. And it’s because we continue to take a chance on one another and the bond that we’ve built every single day. 

Whatever you believe in, things happen for a reason. And when you find your person, you’ll know. They will accept you for who you are and will work hard to love you the way you need to be loved.

Just take a deep breath and have a little faith. Take a chance. Take a risk. But don’t settle for anybody, man or woman, who refuses to see your worth, girlfriend. You’re much too special for that. 

Signing off with love – Mrs. Barber 

P.S. I’ll be your cool Aunty all day long, boo! I’m always here if you need something or if you have more questions. Andy Bear and I screen these things together, but nothing is really off limits with us. And I will always happily take advantage of any opportunity to gush about the love of my life. Even if he is a menace. 

P.S.S. I also forgot to mention that I love Andy’s hands. You know in romance novels where they write about the hero having perfect hands with long, nimble fingers sporting just the right amount of callousness? That’s him. And not only that, but my Big Man’s fingers are absolute magic. Or instruments of torture. Depends on the day, really. 

By the way, my husband has the most delightfully one-sided rivalry with my favorite Hollywood actor, Lloyd Evans-Drysdale. It’s so funny! But the other day, I pulled up this interview where Lloyd cracked this eyebrow-raising joke about “all of his fingering being accurate” and watched it in bed right next to Andy. And then I may or may not have made some comment about how some men ought to be more like him [Lloyd Evans-Drysdale] and maybe take some notes. 

My husband didn’t like that. I got in sooo much trouble for it too. I mean, if you consider being held down, spanked, and then fucked within an inch of my life trouble. 

Completely worth it.

And in case you’re wondering, the answer is yes. All of Andy’s fingering is incredibly accurate in its own right. Even more so than Lloyd’s. And this girl has had more than enough orgasms to back him up. 

Also, Andy would probably also like me to mention that he is, in fact, taller than my movie star crush. And that he’s never had to wear a lace-front wig because his hairline isn’t receding. My sweet man can be a bit of a mental patient, but I do love him...

So, I guess I'll just have to put up with it. For now. Thank goodness he's cute.

___

[bubblewonderabyss]

When/if the tADC cast is shown in human form, I really hope they don't visually resemble their avatars, for a few reasons -The program forces them to forget their own names, clearly anonymity was a priority here -The avatars are clearly reflecting their personalities, not their physical bodies -It's such an overdone and frankly kind of lazy trope in the trapped-in-a-video-game genre, I'm tired of it

(Nothing against those who do draw them that way of course, it's just not my preference)

And since I hate complaining without offering an alternative, here's my (PROBABLY WILDLY INCORRECT) speculation on what they might have been like when they were human under the cut

(cw: self harm, animal death)

Pomni -Had long blonde hair which she wore down, she would have preferred it short but [insert loved one here] loved it, so long it was. Also doubled as a convenient curtain when she was outwardly freaking out -On the skinny side, flat as a board even, strong legs though -Well dressed in an understated way, she didn't like to stand out -Was really into gymnastics as a kid, moved onto jogging once she got older and busier -Ate a lot of neon colored tv dinners/poptarts/fast food as a kid, avoided it like the plague in her teen years and beyond because "it's gross" -Had a rabbit once, but it escaped and what was left of it was found in her back yard a week later, she never had the heart to get another pet after that -Part of a friend group, but didn't hang out with most of them individually -Watched American Idol religiously

Gangle -Chubby and really tall, yet always felt small, so her posture was really bad -Either lived with her parents or spent most of her time holed up in her apartment, didn't get much sunlight either way -Dressed modestly to cover up some self inflicted scars -Anime was not really part of the western cultural consciousness in the late 90's, most people assumed it was either just kid stuff or just porn, so she probably didn't have many friends outside of a few fellow anime fans -Very quiet and withdrawn but could talk for hours about her new favorite anime (and yes, she preferred subs to dubs) -Loved trying different kinds of snacks -Her keys had a shit ton of keychains and charms attached -Drew a lot and kept it all in a big binder

Zooble -Kinda short -Exceptionally good posture -Moved around a lot as a kid, their favorite place was an apartment one block off from a park where they met their best friend -Alt fashion sense (mostly hand me down clothes so they had to get creative anyway) with a preference for button up shirts -Socks MUST match, down to the brand -Mall crawler, but rarely bought anything -Bead collection -Read so many sci fi books

Kinger -Dad bod -Could see fine but kept his reading glasses in the front pocket of his (usually hawaiian, sometimes plaid) shirt at all times -Was something of a chess and checkers legend at his local library, the "I bet you can't beat that guy" guy. Would let his opponent win if they seemed like they were really stressing about it though -Big nature guy, went hiking or camping once every couple weeks at least -Had a pottery kiln in his garage -Met his wife at a movie theater and movies were the go-to date night ever since

Ragatha -Average proportions, other than being slightly 'blessed in the chest' -Her least favorite season was summer, because she couldn't wear her sweaters then -Her parents loved her but were on the strict side -Most of her disposable income went to her porcelain doll collection, which she hid from friends and family because "it's creepy" -Didn't realize wanting to kiss girls wasn't a universal experience for the longest time -Had a busy social life, was rarely home because she always had someone to see and somewhere to be -Dated around a lot but never settled down with anybody -Was big into fantasy stuff, especially the renaissance faire

Jax -Average proportions, like imagine a Normal Guy (non-hollywood version) he looked like that -Dyed his hair an unnatural color like green or pink -Struggled with an eating disorder, less because he hated how he looked (though he might have) and more to assert control in a life where he had very little -Wore band shirts of bands he didn't listen to as a little private joke. His actual music taste leaned more classical but he wouldn't tell a soul about that -Quite friendly and social, but couldn't maintain more than a couple close friendships at a time -Loved baseball -Watched every horror movie he could get his hands on

[withahappyrefrain]

Abby I hope you're ok with me popping in, I don't wanna be a pest, I just have alot to share.

I kept thinking about the Rhett x Cottagecore!Reader thoughts last night and had some more this morning on the way down to an appointment (lol).

-Yours and Rhett's shared home is literally like Beorn's home from "The Hobbit", gorgeous little cottage with all sorts of critters that love to come and hang out. The birdfeeder in spring and summer has become the local avian diner (lol).

-Which is funny because you guys have four little kitties that love to watch them in the window. Their kittens have been known to watch the birds early in the morning.

-You and Rhett helped nurse a baby crow who had fallen out of his nest. His parents had been killed by a bobcat and after you guys had him checked over at one of the local wildlife facilities, you were given the go-ahead to keep him in your animal nursery (Rhett being a movie nerd, named him "Jake" after Brooks's pet crow in The Shawshank Redemption). Jake ended up becoming one of your familiars and an excellent messenger thereafter. He even found himself a mate and had seven little babies who he would always bring for a visit.

-You guys built a gigantic pollinator garden on the sunniest side of the house. Royal and Cecelia keep a few beehives for both honeybees and bumbles who are always looking for flowers. You two have no shortage of honey either.

-You two have been known to sneak off to the North Pasture for a little bit of fun. Rhett absolutely fucked you senseless in that wildflower field one gorgeously hot summer day. However, when you went over to his parents for Sunday dinner, you heard it from both of them that not only was Rhett himself conceived in that field, but that it had been the favorite Abbott fuck spot for generations and was known as "The Fertility Field." Rhett was gagging the whole time but his parents were laughing their asses off.

-Chewbacca was one of your first rescue dogs. He was in really rough shape when he first came, but after two surgeries and plenty of food, he managed to get his strength back. He's everybody's favorite and when he howls, he literally sounds like a wookiee (lol). Pinky and Alberto were much of the same, but as yappy as the two little chihuahua dogs are, you're more than happy to have Alberto herding the chickens in at sunset. He can almost always be found near your father-in-law when he's watching a sports game or under the dinner table begging for everyone's leftovers (lol).

-When you and Rhett got married, you had been caring for twin baby chipmunks, both boys that you had named Chip and Dale. The day of your wedding, they both popped out of the breastpocket on Rhett's suit with a little sprig of forget-me-nots in their mouths.

Sorry if this is a little long Abby, I've had way too much on my mind lately.

Omg I love all of this!!!!!!!

This is pretty similar to how I imagine Rhett's life with his Bambi/cottage core wife. Full of animals and flowers ♥️

[vals-cd]

Little texts.

after you died hinata has been texting you everyday. Telling you how his day went, how Natsu was doing, and so much more

Warnings: Major character death, angst, my first attempt at agnst, not proofread

8:35 pm. Was the time that Hinata Shoyo has found out that you had died. You had terminally ill for years now and it finally caught up to you. You died right next to him while holding his hand and telling him how you promise to watch over him and to never forget you.

And when you finally passed he did nothing for the next month and even then it took his teammates pushing to get him out of his home to come to practice. He didnt take care of himself anymore and you could tell, but could you blame him you where his everything. His world. His first love

and ever since hes sent you little messages talking in to you like you had never passed on, and the times he talked to you like you passed on he put everything into the message. He knew you were never going to see it but he didnt care, he wanted to feel like he still could talk you.

"hey baby i miss you so much. Today at practice noya started throwing volleyballs at tsukishima and he was pissed. I wish you were there to see it, it was so funny"

Sent 5:24 pm

"Honey why did you leave me. I dont know what to do without you i miss you so much and i dont understan why the couldn't save you"

Sent 2:43 am

He kept all the things you had left in his room and didnt move them. Your mom had given him his volleyball jacket back and your favorite stuffed animal and he slept with it everynight. Holding it like he would hold you in his sleep. He even gave it forehead kisses and acted like it was you.

Your mother often invited him for dinner he was part of the family he had known you for ten years and had been dating you for four of those ten years. And your parents love hom, they wish you had lives long enough for you to marry him one day.

Hinata had been to all your doctors appointments. He didnt want to think that you would have to leave him at some point. The days that it was especially bad he'd come and visit you at the hospital spending every moment with you because as much as he didnt want to think about it he knew you would have to end up leaving him. And you both knew thats why you would be together all the time. You'd come and watch his practices and games the days you weren't in the hospital and the days you were he would go to the hospital as quick as he could.

"Hey sweetheart, today was hard mr.asagiri made us do a super hard exam. Wish you could've helped me study because i definitely failed lol. Goodnight i love you"

Sent 10:57 pm

When he wasnt doing anything he would be texting you.

"Lunch was really good today"

Sent 12:45 pm

" natsu did my hair"

*hinata sent a photo*

Sent 5:23 pm

He cried himself to sleep most nights. Wishing you were next to him holding him

As much as he hated you were gone

And he couldn't do anything about it.

[snowflake-of-destruction]

sk8 + anyone from the dk trio for the character ask game ?

Any of the dk3? ALL THE DK3!

1: sexuality headcanon

Ainosuke– Panromatic/Homosexual

Kojiro–Panromantic on a surface level where he romanticizes people and falls quickly but also everything fizzles quickly, so perhaps actually closer to demiromantic if he examines himself and his eternal devotion to one or two people more closely/Pansexual

Kaoru–Demiromantic/Homosexual

2: otp

Lovematchablossom?

But besides that

Ainsouke–loveblossom

Kojiro–matchablossom

Kaoru–loveblossom over matchablossom, sorry

OTP that doesn't involve either of the other two (whyyy?)

Ainosuke–Eden

Kojiro–Nothing really unless you count the cracky crossover ship of Kojiro/Kazuki Kurusu that lives in my brain

Kaoru–Mayhaps a small soft spot for Kaoru/Oka in my head

3: brotp

Stomps my feet in Lovematchablossom, but if we do not involve the other two

Ainosuke–Oka. Tadashi depending on my mood

Kojiro–Reki

Kaoru–Kaoru would count Carla, so I will too

4: notp

Tadaai. I love you Tadaai shippers, and I'll smooch you on the forehead and probably even write more Tadaai into things one day both for you and because I acknowledge the *everything* in canon but NOTP TADAAI

I can't think of notps for the other two

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

Ainosuke–I know I've shared this a hundred times, but I'll share it a hundred more: the mask he wears as Adam was a gift Kojiro sent him while he was in Italy

Kojiro–Former smoker. The only secret he kept (poorly) from Kaoru

Kaoru–Even though the more popular fanon, and one I've incorporated at times, is Kaoru with distant parents who are always gone, I really believe he had doting parents who were interested in everything he did while giving him "room to grow" and even championing his rebellions. His piercings when he was a teen? Parents supported him and went to bat for him when the school complained. That type of thing. Carla? If they couldn't help with the prototype, then they listened to all his ideas. His "clinginess" comes from having this constant influx of attention and support his whole young life and so not knowing what to do in moments he is alone now.

6: favorite line from this character

I'll come back to this later (unless I forget) because I know for Adam I want to do a whole monologue and I want to make sure I get it right. Same with Kaoru. I'm just not at home right now and so typing this in notes when I can and not looking things up. Kojiro I'll probably just go with "Right, Kaoru?" even though it's not so impressive out of context.

7: one way in which I relate to this character

Ainosuke–I too bounce between obvious former theater kid dramatic and reserved

Kojiro--All-loving chef

Kaoru–Desire for constant affection but nit wanting to ask for it and doubting it when it is given

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Ainosuke-I love Adam, love him, and I wouldn't change a thing…but a good few of his over the top moments, especially in the first race against Langa

Kojiro–Again criticizing the things I love most, but how obviously he pines, mostly for Kaoru, but also for Ainosuke as well as Kaoru. Watch episode 4 I think it was where he first talks about Adam. Obvious sad pining there too.

Kaoru–How easily he loses it to even a little goading

This question is always a bit difficult as I don't have a strong "secondhand embarrassment" reaction with fictional people, especially anime ones because they are supposed to be dramatized.

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

All are problematic in their own way

[poppyseedmuffiin]

Hey there! For the weirdly specific ask game: 4, 11, and 20 :)

:0 hi!!

4) hmm a mythical creature I think/believe is real... definitely during my wings of fire phase I used to believe/hope that there were dragons out there somewhere and I was gonna turn into one eventually 😂 now im not sure if I fully like believe in anything but I wouldn't be surprised if there's giant sea monsters and maybe even mermaids and stuff out there, basically anything in the ocean I think is fair game considering how much of it is unexplored and how much we don't know 👀 omg sorry that was long 💀

11) something I held onto from my childhood- I definitely still have a lot of my stuffed animals and toys! I have a hard time getting rid of stuff and I get very attached to things and sentimental, so I've kept a lot of toys in the attic in case I ever needed them (and my mom works with kids so she takes some to her work) and same with the stuffies, though my favorites are still in my room on a chair. may I never not feel the urge to buy plushies 🥰

20) favorite Disney princess movie- sad that I can't say hunchback of notre dame because Esmeralda isn't a princess 😭 she always will be to me, that movie is what i call my Feral Favorite ❤️❤️❤️🥰

ok for actual princess movie... oh wow theres a lot, I went to look to see if I was forgetting some and I definitely did 💀 not sure I can pick just one but I'd say Mulan and Aladdin are tied for first place, with Princess and the Frog as a runner up. I love lots of the others of course and definitely see how they're not perfect movies now that im older but ever since I was a kid I always loved the vibrant colors and worlds, Mulan and Jasmine and Tiana's badassery and sassery (? is that a word), and of course the happy endings where everything turned out good bc im a sap and a half <3 I still love watching these today

Tysm for the ask!!! 🥰

[snailfen]

fave starter from each region GO :)

FUUUUCK this is so harddd

kanto: bulbbasau r.... i love it so much i have the build-a-bear bulbasaur and its literally the ideal plushie shape i can hug it in so many ways and its not too small for me and i love sleeping with it every night. i named him bloom and hes got a scarf. my specialest little boy :)

johto: cyndaquil! such a funky little hedgehog thing.... idk why people think its a bear/ferret/rat or whatever

hoenn: fun fact i have alpha sapphire but i dont have space to download it (yet) so hoenn is the one region i havent seen yet! im planning on getting mudkip bc i love that water beast

sinnoh: i used to think all three sinnoh starters were ugly as a kid but tbh.... theyve all grown on me. but if i had to pick a favorite!! Chimchar

unova: now THIS is the region i grew up on. i loved watching the anime as a kid and i have fond memories of all the starters. so like i hate having to pick a favorite bc theyre all my beloved.... maaaybe oshawott????

kalos: pokemon x was my first ever game but despite that i dont remember too much about it.... ill have to say chespin :)

alola: popplio! gen 7 is pretty special to me because this is the first time i was able to follow the release of a game in real time (i had a hard time following the release of oras cus i kept forgetting abt it i think). as a wc kid litten was my number 1 choice the second i laid my eyes on it. i was a popplio defender though! but then. Incineroar dropped and 11 y/o me had never been more disappointed and i was filled with a rage never seen before. but!!! then Primarina was revealed after it and its design.... its cry mesmerized me and my angry spirit was calmed. plus it had the same typing as my number 1 buddy!! (azumarill)

galar: scorbunny. i actually dont have anything to say about this one sorry scorbunny

paldea: sprigatito because again. warrior cats kid but also mad scientist catgirl ceo! i need minions. im prolly still gonna go with this one once i get scvi lole

[protokirby]

Okay so the really cool dream I had. It involved the pokemon characters from the scarlet and violet dlc :D

It was one of those dreams where I was nothing but a spectator. I love those kinds of dreams because it's like I'm watching an anime instead of being involved in anything. But this one randomly swapped back and forth between looking like an anime and being as if I were playing a video game. Specifically like pokemon heart gold or soul silver styled during moments it looked like a video game.

The setting of this dream was like blueberry academy but instead of being in the ocean, it was on an island. And there wasn't only pokemon, but also digimon. How fun. It's good when everyone gets along. There were pokemon trainers also training digimon at the same time. That's cool as flip imo. I specifically recall some rando background character in a blueberry academy uniform with a gabumon and two kogamon as well as a pokemon I don't remember the identity of.

That wasn't the main focus of the dream though. Some anthropomorphic hairless cat with a human-like face kidnapped Lacey. The rest of the elite four were trying to rescue her. Drayton was trying to think of a way to fight as if none of these people had access to their pokemon (or their digimon).

Crispin was away somewhere trying to get help. (Not from any pokemon or digimon. Which seems like it should have been the smart thing to do but dreams forget things I guess?) Crispin somehow found a slumbering levitating creature that was said to be "one of the four great ones". What are the four great ones? Apparently like- deities in that universe according to the dream. It looked like a combination of this and this. It was small-ish maybe about the size of a gible but like - probably a teensy bit bigger. Crispin pleaded with the creature to help and it agreed to. (With how au-able this dream was, I think I would design the rest of "the four great ones" and imagine scenarios where the other elite four members find one individually too. Because 4 characters and 4 creatures. Why not? But that might be favoritism rjsfgjyfjg)

Meanwhile, in another place, Drayton learned how to shapeshift into a really huge very long centipede. Like gigantamax centiscorch shaped in length vs width but overall small enough it would be able to fit in a closet. Very long critter. Many legs. The centipede was solid black in color except its legs were all purple. Unexpected of Drayton but I think that looked epic. Very au-able dream. Might add this dream as an au in my multiverse specifically because of how cool it was.

Then the dream went back to where Crispin was. That's when the dream went from looking like an anime to like playing a video game. It looked like the overworld in pokemon heart gold and soul silver and Crispin looked like a little sprite with the floating creature also a sprite following him the way pokemon follow people in those games. They were walking in what was like a small city, which is what blueberry academy kind of was in the dream. Crispin kept trying to get to where Lacey was but there was a primeape blocking every path except for one that was difficult to find.

It was really like a video game the way the primeapes jumped up twice when spoken to with the sound that happens when leaping off of ledges happening in both jumps. Then a dialogue box that says "Looks like we need to take another path." Of course this was again ridiculous like- why couldn't the floating creature with Crispin called one of the "four great ones" move the primeapes if it's supposedly some deity-like cosmic entity? (It feels blasphemous to the real God to treat a fictional or false god as if it's all powerful but the thing should at least be able to deal with an angry primeape??) Just another case of dreams not making sense. Ran into like 3 different primeape blockades before finding a hidden path through some grove of trees.

After that, the dream went back to looking like it was an anime I was watching. Crispin got there just in time to see the centipede wrap around the evil anthropomorphic hairless cat. Wrapping around it while making sure the cat thing's claws are tightly restrained because its claws appeared to be its main weapon. This was to prevent it from attacking to give Amarys a chance to run go rescue Lacey. But oh no. The cat thing has teeth. It bit into the centipede. Its fangs sunk into the centipede like butter and it started drinking blood. The centipede screamed like a squeaking silk moth caterpillar as if it had a megaphone and unwrapped the cat thing to turn back into Drayton, who was then laying on the ground very pale and not awake. Alive, but Wow that's intense. The creature that Crispin brought was able to kill the anthropomorphic cat thing. But I woke up soon after that. Wasn't able to see any of the drama that would have followed from people seeing that Crispin made friends with what was basically a deity to that universe. I think that would have been funny to see. With it being a dream though it probably wouldn't have really been acknowledged.

Anyhoo

Making an entire au based on this dream might be fun.

It's not as if I haven't based an entire au on dreams before. (For example, one of my aus was based on a dream where Ball Guy was secretly an alien princess. Nobody would know under that costume. I combined that concept with a non-pokemon fantasy world I had in like- high school. Things spiraled into different directions while maintaining all the original ideas from the dream. And then it became one of my 3 main alternate universes)

[xoteajays]

Now I'm curious to know if you have the same thoughts as me.. When you envision Rocky's dynamic ship (any ship) with a black widow type woman. What's the dynamic you think of. Because black widow types of archetype is a very interesting archetype to me. Most of the time.

Yes! Obviously he would buy her any of the favorite flowers she likes if he can buy those flowers. But he does seem like the classic roses guy to me. And like you mentioned, Rocky does have roses designed on a lot of his clothes too (like his clothes in End Of Sky, especially the red gloves). He's definitely the most traditional romantic of the H&L men.

~

Yes! Grungy. So of the tomboy and punk styles have a grungy style to their fashion.. Like grunge, punk, grungy punk. Those styles would be some of the styles I imagine for some of them anyway. So lots of their styles are definitely eclectic. They were what they are in the mood for.

And I knew about the skirts and shorts for Hinami because of her leg, since I think it would be difficult for her to walk around with any pants over her leg. Did you figure out how she got her injures? Or not yet?

If I'm rating my color coded characters on a scale to girly to tomboy... I would say Red and White/Green (don't know who of those two could be the girliest one), then Orange, then Blue. Blue is the most tomboy.

Despite Blue being the most tomboy one of these characters, I would have to say that Orange's actually the most physically active one with sports. She's definitely someone who would try anything once in life.

~

I have a vulgar thought. Which is no surprise to anyone. We've already established that if Rocky (or Koo) was romantically involved with girls - if they are really roommates in our stories, the other would probably leave to building for some time. Or just never leave their rooms until a lot of that was done. Or whatever they would do. Whatever happens... Anyway. What do you think would have if Rocky's girlfriend even tried to initiate sex with him while they were watching tv in the living room.

Obviously he would probably drag her to their room before actions do get too steamy between them. But I do also think it would be funny if the girlfriend kept trying to initiate sex with Rocky in public places. In the sense of public place areas being like those living room or kitchen areas instead of their bedroom, or in a backroom of Club Heaven. Not exactly in front of other people. But it's an interesting thought to me.

~

I keep forgetting that every country uses either °C and °F, so that just keeps throwing me off a bit. I don't know why. But I should be used to this by now. Anyway. 80°F is usually just spring and summer weather here (for the most part), sometimes on warmer autumn days but that doesn't happen that often though. You basically have summer season all year around. Basically like Florida, they always have warm weather.

~

Wait... Seriously? The new season that they keep promoting for Squid Games isn't actually a continuation to the original series like everyone thinks. But a reality game show of the series. Basically like the spinoff that no one wanted. Looking at the DTC spinoffs whenever I say that.

Then why promote the show like it's a second season then. Just say it was a spinoff show, not another season. I don't even watch the show.. But this is annoying me. That's just false advertisement in my opinion too. So why promote one thing it that thing is something else entirely different than what you're promoting. This annoys me way too much.

Maybe because I hate reality shows, and hate reality game shows like you wouldn't believe. I never had any interest in those type of shows.

Yes! Definitely give Red Garden a chance. I'd have recommendations.. But I should let you finish some other shows and movies before I may end up mentioning any more series. You'd already have a lot to watch.

There was a lot of anime cartoons that I watched as a child, like those 'cartoons' that were actually considered anime. Those cartoons.. But I don't remember every show I watched though so I can't remember if I might have watched Digimon. But I'd remember how the animation is to the show. Animation for anime and cartoons has improved greatly, at least when it comes to that specific series anyway. In my opinion.

At least now I know why you might need therapy then. Even that was the most bizarre animation, acting, dialogue.. You need therapy now.

So far enough. Both guys are attractive in their own way. So I may not blame the women if they have sex with either of those guys but then I would feel bad if the husband and wife cheated on each other though so I'm torn on that thought. Because I'm very strict about loyalty with the people who matter the most to you. So I'm very split on this topic.

But the mafia boss is stupid though. Vincenzo's not like that. Like the moment he feel in love with someone, he didn't act like an irrationally stupid person. He was still really intelligent about how he would have conducted his job as a mafia man and a lawyer. This guy's too stupid.

I feel like mafia men are actually attractive, besides their appearances I mean, is when they're actually intelligent. And he's not so intelligent.

Well.. If he's going to be thrown in prison, maybe even killed, then just have sex with the man once. Because events are just going to happen to him in some way. You'll probably never even actually see him again.

- 💋

i don’t have a full idea in mind, but i’m imagining like. a business rival type relationship. like a hostess club owner who manipulates the men that come into her business. she also takes in girls from bad situations, but as opposed to rocky’s protection of women, the black widow raises and trains up these girls in self defence ….. and also perhaps killing bad men. rocky treats the girls he takes in so carefully and protects them and kind of treats them like they’re fragile, but the black widow is like ‘women can kill. and they should.’ and probably does, admittedly, get her girls into some dangerous situations.

due to that difference, her and rocky butt heads over how they view and treat women. rocky’s ‘women need protecting’ vs the widow’s ‘women can protect themselves’.

also. the opposite colour dichotomy … but they both accent with red.

~

i haven’t fully decided on hinami’s accident yet. i still like the idea of her getting injured and then a bad infection while living in one of the crappy complexes from the worst spinoff. but i’m still trying to decide.

~

koo is just locking himself in his room whenever the gf comes around. like a polite ‘hello’ and then gone for the rest of the night because he doesn’t want to see something inappropriate.

i think, depending on the situation and/or location, that rocky might be into it. i could see him maybe being fine with making out. like pda type stuff. but not actual sex. if it’s somewhere a lot more private, then maybe. or maybe just heavy (heavier) petting.

~

celsius and fahrenheit is so confusing and i have to keep googling a converter so i can figure out what’s what. like if i’d just put ‘27°’ you’d probably have thought i was freezing to death ahdjdl. but yea, it’s like mid-to-late-20s celsius year round in australia.

~

yea it’s the dumb reality show based on the show. i’m not a huge fan of reality competition shows. i watch a couple cooking ones just for fun and background noise, and i watched ‘physical:100’ which was a korean competition show pitting people from different sports backgrounds against each other (which was pretty good actually, very interesting to see how different sports develop peoples’ bodies, lotta v pretty and fit people in it).

but nah. not a huge fan of reality shows and probably won’t be watching the squid game one. it’s not even a korean production, it’s fucking british.

digimon adventures is great! it’s so good and i’m nostalgic and i’ll take no criticism! it’s excellent!!

another anime i watched a lot as a kid - because my grandma had it on vhs - was orphen. we only had like 2 or 3 tapes tho, so i didn’t watch a whole lot of it but i remember it being pretty cool. and the main character was a pretty boy.

both guys are very hot. and i would like to see Stuff Happening. but also ….. i don’t really enjoy a cheating plot. like it’s uncomfortable.

the boss is smart when it comes to business most of the time! but he’s dumb with his heart and he’s pretty clear on the fact that he wanted to be so successful to eventually end up with the wife. he’s just dumb with his heart!! but he has a pretty decent business mind, i mean, he’s been very successful up to this point in linking up china, japan and korea for the drug trade and has a lot of companies under his control. he’s got a lot of money and control.

if only he could fucking focus on his gang and not his love-life. loverboy p l e a s e!

[smokeybrandreviews]

Belay That Order

Fate/Grand Order just dropped a brand new Saber Medusa and i feel nothing. Utter indifference. That sh*t is huge because Medusa is my favorite Servant, after Mordred. If this was, say, five years ago, I'd be mad hype. Type-Moon would be getting so much of my money off that Banner, it’s be disgusting. But now? Now this ridiculously awesome situation gets a resounding “Meh” out of me. How the f*ck did FGO fumble the bag so hard that i, as a Nasu Apologist, flat-out do not care that there is a new Medusaface, in my favorite Servant Class? Seriously, every Medusaface released, so far, has been fantastic. The art is dope, the skills are perfect for attacking, and all of the Noble Phantasm animations get the juices flowing. Saber Medusa continues that level of excellence AND she’s a goddamn Five-star! Not even Gorgon is Five-star, re you kidding me? I should be falling all over myself to get this card, when it releases over here in two years, but i can’t be bothered. Why? What the f*ck happened that made me lose so much interest in a game based on one of my all-time favorite franchises? Just SO much, actually.

The biggest issue that made me fall off was when i lost my original account. That was on me, sure, but recovery was stupid. That sh*t is a joke among the fan base. Once you lock yourself out of your account, it’s basically gone forever unless you’ve kept track of literally every metric you have, and it has to be identical or your sh*t is in the wind. The reason for this, is the fact that Fate/Grand Order doesn’t bind your accounts. When you transfer your game from one device to another, you need a goddamn transfer code. Who still does this? I get that was the way to go when FGO was first launched and, even then, maybe not, but benefit of the doubt. After all of these updates and revisions, these motherf*ckers STILL haven’t added the option to bind your account to an outside source. Azur Lane does. That sh*t is tagged to my Facebook account. BLEACH: Brave Souls does. Facebook account. DBZ: Dokkan Battle? Google Account. I was five years into my Grand Order journey when i swapped Bluestacks versions, didn’t get that code, and fought these motherf*ckers for my sh*t over the course of a full month, only to be told “yeah, nah. None f that lines up.” Just f*ck me then, because you assholes refuse to modernize your systems. You are living on that razor’s edge playing FGO for longer than a week because, at any time, everything you’re earned, invested into, and paid money for, can be gone in a goddamn instant; All because you didn’t get a Transfer Code and don’t know what your seventeenth Rider is. That’s juts the biggest issue. There are others. So very many others...

One of the which, and probably more egregious than the aforementioned Account Binding if you look at it objectively, is the fact that the game is f*cking boring. You don’t “play” Fate/Grand Order, it plays itself. I mean, there is this weirdly passive action selection but, after that, it’s just you, watching a bunch of sprites do said actions. If you happen to trigger a Noble Phantasm, you get a cute little movie deal but that’s it. There really isn’t a whole ton of strategy involved. You can’t really delve deeply into a game plan. It’s just set it and forget it. There are mobile games which autoplay. There is an entire f*cking genre of these things. FGO ain’t that. it forces you to be present, while passively watching it play. How is that a game? For years, Fate/Grand Order was the only mobile game i played and it it left a horrid impression of the entire goddamn industry because of how bogus the game play loop was. And then i downloaded Azur Lane on a whim. Imagine how goddamn frustrated i was when i found out there were actual games that could be played on mobile. FGO’s game play loop is so bad, it made me dismiss and entire section of the gaming industry, for years. o be honest, i think that was by design. The reason the actual game play is so bad, is because the Fate franchise is, ostensibly, a visual novel. They’ve diversified into other things but, at it’s core, Fate started as an adult Visual Novel out of Comiket. FGO is a visual Novel before it’s a game but, even in that, it sucks.

There is a grand total of twenty-seven available Quests on the Japanese version of the game. That is twenty-seven visual novels to explore. Some of them are pretty good. I personally enjoyed Camelot and Babylonia. The rest? I literally couldn’t care less. I’ve been a fan of Fate for years. I own a fan translation of that OG Adult Visual Novel and it’s sequel, Fate/Hollow Ataraxia. Ataraxia sucks but Fate/Stay Night does not. Heaven’s Feel is my favorite of the routes available, Stay Night, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel, but i simp hard for Sakura so that goes without saying. There are no narratives which com anywhere near the quality of those first first three stories, in Fate/Grand Order and, more to the point, there are SEVERAL, that fall short of even the meager standard Babylonia set. Seriously, London was the worst and i had to play through that sh*t, twice, to unlock the ability o pull Mordred out of the goddamn Gacha! That’s right, i played through London, again, years after i did the first time, because i opted to start a new account just for that. Mordred is my favorite character in the entire goddamn franchise and my original one, was perfected. axed out on all levels, lost to the winds because of f*ckery. I opted to go through that grind one more time, as a fresh brand new player, and actually paid attention this time around. That’s how  know the writing is bunk. Starting a new game, years into this sh*t’s lifespan, as a player who was there in the beginning but lost all of that work, was a whole as experience. And a bad one to boot.

I periodically take time away from these mobile games because i tend to get bored of them. Not Azur Lane. That one’s my baby. I love them Kraut Girls. Generally speaking, when you return after a while, you get bonuses because, you know, you need them. Just because you were gone, doesn’t mean the game stopped progressing. FGO kind of does this but not in any real impactful way or, at least, not when i came back to it after a few months n my old account. After i lost that account, i went through the seven stages of grief and signed up for another one. Imagine my horror when, as a brand new player signing up for a game which, by then, had been active for six goddamn years, i got nothing. Like, they let me roll one Five-star character and basically told me to fend for myself. I couldn’t skip the original Mission Quests even though, by that point FGO was rounding out the Lost Belt narratives. Cats didn’t even f*cking give you the option of an abridged version of these Quests, you have to play through the entire goddamn thing! Which i did because Mordred. Once i finished the slog that is London, i quit. I abandoned all the work to even have the opportunity to make a run FOR Mordred; The entire point of me opening up a second account, because that grind was f*cking absurd. Now imagine how disillusioning it would be for a fresh player wanting to get into this game because they saw the Babylon anime or those Camelot films? Imagine going into that thinking you get to make a run at Tiamat or Lancer Arturia, only to be forced into playing through goddamn Fuuyuki. And then Orleans. And then Septem. And then Okeanos. And then London. And then you’d still have E Pluribus Unum before you even sniff Camelot.

In this, the year of our lord 2023, Fate/Grand Order is a relic of the past. It’s everything that was wrong with the Mobile Game industry way back when. There have been so many innovation, so many improvements, but FGO refuses to change. It’s that lack of growth, that apathetic refusal to adapt with the ever changing market, which has the once dominate Fate/Grand Order on life support. It just such a bad time and the player base knows that. They’re leaving in droves due to the poor writing, lack of actual playability, and the overall, real world, cash cost. I didn’t even touch on how expensive this game is to play. You have to be LUCKY to roll Five-star servants, man, even if they have a Banner. And you straight up never earn enough Saint Quartz to roll anything grand. Sh*t doesn’t even have a Pity System, you just get to throw money at a broken and predatory system until you get what you want. Th wild thing is, Fate/Grand Order has always been this way. It’s designed this way. It was never a good game. It was never going to be a good game. It was designed to be a money pit so Nasu could get off all of his pet projects, which is fair. I get it. FGO hit four billion in lifetime profits way back in 2019. That’s a lot of duckets that can be spent of spiffy UFOtable animation. I only which that some of it went to improving the goddamn game which gilded your pockets in the first place. All that said, the free Five-star I got was Mordred so I take back everything I said. 10/10, perfect game!

[snowywrites]

Monika x Fem!reader

summary: fluffy fic of Monika and the reader on the reader's birthday.

word count: 2.4k

As far as birthdays go, this one wasn't really anything too special. Well, maybe you're being a little too cynical. After all, last year you hadn't really gotten to spend your birthday with any friends- you'd been preoccupied with getting home to watch the newest season of your favorite anime.

This year, however, Sayori had managed to get you into the Literature Club, and it had, not to be dramatic, changed your life. For better or worse, that was yet to be seen.

"Y/N, is everything okay?" Sayori asks expectantly, bright blue eyes examining you with bewilderment.

You focus back on the present, giving your friend a reassuring smile. "Yeah, sorry! Everything's great." And you aren't lying; today for the club meeting, Natsuki had brought cupcakes for everyone to share, Sayori had actually not realized what day it was and so gave you a 'birthday hug,' Yuri had given you a copy of one of her favorite horror novels as a gift, even signed by the author, and yet...

You can't help but give a very small sigh. "I just kind of miss Monika, I guess."

Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri all exchange glances in their respective chairs at one of the club tables. They then all focus on you with varying expressions: Sayori with mischief, Natsuki with exasperation, and Yuri with knowing amusement.

"What? Don't look at me like that!" You squeak defensively, feeling your face begin to heat up at what they were implying. "I only meant that it's- it's weird being at a meeting without our club president! T-That's all." Not that this could be called a meeting per se- more like a celebration between friends.

Sayori giggles at your reaction, and you hear Yuri whisper to Natsuki, "The lady doth protest too much," which elicits a snort of laughter from the pink-haired tsundere.

You groan, standing up abruptly from your seat and smoothing down your school uniform a bit, self-conscious all of a sudden. As your embarrassment dies down though, you feel a wave of affection for your fellow club members. As much as they tend to tease you about your little crush on Monika, they had made your birthday really special this year, and you were grateful. "Anyway, thank you guys again for everything! I had a lot of fun," you say earnestly, deciding it was probably time to wrap up and head home.

Sayori bounces up to join you, and you bid your farewells to Natsuki and Yuri, gathering up your things and heading out of the classroom.

Sayori glances back to make sure that Natsuki and Yuri are in fact walking away, and then she reaches out to stop you. "Uhm, Y/N...?"

You pause to look at her expectantly, unsure of why she's much less energetic now than she was a few minutes ago. "Yes?"

"I-I was actually supposed to tell you something," your best friend begins, uncharacteristically quiet. You wonder briefly why she hadn't mentioned this before... maybe she had been debating on whether or not she actually wanted to tell you whatever it is, considering how the words are practically being dragged from her at this point. "Ah, well, Monika asked me to, that is. The reason she couldn't come to the Literature Club today was because she was stuck at a meeting with the student council, but..." Sayori exhales in what could be a sigh. "She did still wanna see you for your birthday, so she hoped you could stop by there and wait for her."

You stand there in the mostly empty hall of the school, puzzled at why this news would bring such a reaction from your friend- especially when it makes you feel so fluttery inside. "Oh!" You try not to let it show, but you're fairly certain you're lighting up like a Christmas tree. "I see. Thank you for telling me, Sayori!"

As you turn to leave, you feel Sayori reach out to touch your shoulder, but she retracts her hand quickly. When you look back at her, she's her old self, giving you a big smile. "Yeah, I guess you're gonna go see her, huh? Well, I'll catch you later, Y/N!"

Before you can respond, Sayori dashes off, forgetting to wish you a happy birthday.

Well, that was weird. Then again, Sayori's been pretty off lately whenever you and Monika are involved.

The thought of the brunette is enough to make you forget all about whatever might be troubling your best friend, and you make your way through the school to the student council room with a giddy spring in your step. They must not be out yet since the halls are pretty deserted still.

You risk taking a peek through the little glass window on the door, and your hunch is confirmed. Students belonging to the council are all sitting in a circle of chairs, discussing... well, school-related business stuff. You aren't really sure what they do, exactly.

You catch sight of Monika at the head of them, naturally because she is the president, but you aren't expecting to see her with such an expression.

Usually, Monika seems to you warm, open, patient, and friendly... but here, she looks... not even bored, but more like she's utterly apathetic towards all the conversations going on around her. You've never seen her so uncaring, to the point where she seems almost irritated by the presence of everyone in the room with her.

Maybe she's having a bad day? The thought makes you a bit sad, and you find yourself wondering if she would even want to see you. Do the others in the council even realize she's so unlike herself?

As if to answer your silent question, one of the other students turns to Monika to say something, and when they do, the familiar expression you're used to your club president wearing slips back with ease onto her face. She listens attentively to whatever it is she's being told, and then she smiles and nods, commenting something you can't hear in return.

You watch the exchange, too fascinated to stop watching even if you do worry someone might notice you peeking inside for such a long minute. As soon as the student turns away from her, Monika is once again the picture of discontentment; you even notice her tapping her nails listlessly against the surface of the table they're all seated at.

The sound of the doorknob rattling causes you to leap backwards in shock, stumbling slightly over your own two feet. The meeting must be over, because someone is stepping out, and then another, and then you're hurriedly dodging out of the path of the entire student body as they file out, talking and laughing with one another as they head down the hall, eventually leaving you alone.

"Y/N?"

Looking away from their retreating figures, you face Monika and find her as she always is with you- curious emerald eyes and a friendly air about her. "Ah- hello," you greet her, trying not to sound as awkward as you feel about your... let's be honest, spying.

"I wasn't really sure that you'd show!" She exclaims, startling you with a sudden hug.

You've actually never gotten a hug from Monika, although you have a ton of hugs to compare hers to- Sayori throws herself at you pretty much daily, and hers tend to be suffocating, always too tight and lasting a bit too long.

From Monika, though? Her hug, despite making your head spin and your heart skip a beat, makes you feel so safe, secure... she's so warm and you can't help but be enamored with whatever perfume she uses.

Unfortunately, you're too stunned to return the embrace in time before Monika pulls back from you, and you could swear she has a faint blush on her cheeks. She doesn't apologize for her impromptu action, though, and you're glad for that.

"Why wouldn't I?" You ask, dumbstruck.

She studies you for a few seconds, and you get the idea that she's trying to detect if you're being serious or not. Eventually she says, "Oh, nevermind that! I am glad to see you, though. I have something I wanted to give you."

'Please refrain from saying something really stupid and cheesy like, 'the best gift you could give me is just getting to see you on my birthday,' you think to yourself. "A gift? You really didn't have to- or, I mean, you shouldn't have-! Not that I don't appreciate it, though...!" You don't typically struggle so much with your words, but you're still a little off your game after the lovely hug. It's like your mind is foggy, your tongue is twisted, and you simply can't think straight. Which isn't really new when you're around Monika, but today it's impacting you even more than normal. Maybe because you two are all alone for once, not surrounded by Sayori, Yuri, or Natsuki, or even any other students for that matter.

Monika gives a soft laugh. "I wanted to. Technically it's two somethings rather than one," she admits.

You find your mind racing as it tries to go over the potential possibilities. A book like Yuri? That would be very fitting, since you'd befriended Monika through the Literature Club.

You watch as she takes a gift box out of her bookbag, offering it to you with a sweet, "Happy birthday, Y/N."

God, you're definitely blushing. Like, fierce blushing. Either that or the school suddenly decided to turn fifty heaters on all at once. 'Geez, pull yourself together!! Act normal!' You internally berate yourself. If there had been any doubt before, it was all erased in this one instant- you were head over heels for your club president.

"Awh, thank you! It's nice of you." You accept the gift, examining it momentarily. As expected of the class star Monika, the box itself is wrapped perfectly. It's even your favorite color, with a matching ribbon tying it shut. Whether or not you're a sentimental person, you recognize that this is the sort of memento that could easily be kept for a long, long time. You glance back to your friend. "May I open it now?"

Monika nods. "Please do!"

You feel her gaze on you as you carefully untie the ribbon and open up the gift box to see what's inside.

She was right, it is more than one thing. They sort of go together though, you realize as you lift one of the presents up to admire it.

In your hand is a necklace. The chain is a light silver, and the pendant contains a pretty stone in the shape of a heart. The stone shimmers slightly as it reflects the light of the school hall.

"It's so pretty...!" You breathe.

"I'm glad, I thought it was pretty too," Monika says. She sounds calm, but when you glance at her you think she's ecstatic, but the expression is gone as soon as you blink, leaving you to wonder if it had been your imagination playing tricks on you. "It's your birthstone, did you notice?"

You hadn't noticed until she'd pointed it out, but it was indeed your birthstone. Monika is just... so very thoughtful. It's really no wonder she's so popular. "Thank you so much!!" You chirp, still somewhat surprised that she would go so far just for a birthday gift for you. You hadn't known her personally for very long, after all.

You set the necklace back down inside the box to bring out the other gift, another accessory- it's the same color as your birthstone necklace, but it actually reminds you of something else.

Yes, it's a big bow similar to Monika's own. If you were to wear it, it could even look like she and you were matching. You could just be reading too much into things, though...

"I.. love them. So much." You have an overwhelming urge to put your thoughts onto paper in order to give Monika the proper thanks that she deserves for being possibly the most generous person in existence, and because you feel like you're failing miserably at voicing just how touched you really are by these gifts. "I almost want to get you something in return...!"

Monika shakes her head in amusement. "It's your birthday, not mine." A contemplative finger rests on her chin as she adds, "Although... there is something you could do for me. If you wouldn't mind, of course."

Perplexed, you respond without giving yourself a chance to think about it. "Anything!"

You're rewarded with an affectionate smile from Monika, but it seems as though she was expecting that to be your answer.

She extends a hand for the gift box that you've already set both the bow and necklace back in, inquiring, "May I?"

Wordlessly, your intrigue piqued, you hand it back to her. She takes the bow out first, stepping closer to you.

It's not foolish of you to have been anticipating a kiss- even now you could very easily initiate one if you so chose, because of how terrifyingly close Monika is to you as she gently pulls your hair back for you, tying it back with the Y/FC bow and even brushing a stray lock of hair from your face after she does so.

While you're struggling to recover from your short-circuiting, Monika takes the necklace and places it around your neck. The brush of her fingers sends sparks of static against your skin, and you feel as if time is standing completely still, and it's just you and her in this world.

The faint click of the necklace as it clasps shut is what brings you back to reality, and all too soon Monika is stepping away from you again, still close but at a much more reasonable distance away.

She appraises your appearance and then smiles softly. "As I thought."

Is she being mysterious on purpose or does being around her just happen to kill your brain cells? "E-Eh?"

"You look lovely, Y/N."

The compliment makes you want to bury your face in your hands in the futile hopes of hiding your blush, but by now it's probably too late for that.

You stutter out your thanks, desperately trying to mend your scattered thoughts, and she once again wishes you a happy birthday, reminding you as well to bring your poetry assignment to the club meeting tomorrow.

As she's leaving, you realize you never got the chance to ask about the strange behavior she'd exhibited during the meeting with the other students.

[ontheblock]

nsfw is good and all but i am honest to god curious as to what your general sfw hcs of oro are ?? If you're not too busy, of course :v

i do have a few fics in the works but this was too good to pass on lol. talking about my favorite naruto character?? and someone asked me to?? i‘m literally in heaven lol. orochimaru is a major obsession of mine and if anyone wants to share their hc with me, don‘t be shy. :))))) these are some small detail hc but those are literally my favorite. just the minor characteristics that flesh a character out

much like other characters i really like that have something to do with animals, i hc orochimaru to be a lot more snake-like than he‘s portrayed to be. like, when i think about how he would look, i see his skin as very smooth and textureless. if you‘ve held a snake before, you‘ll know what i mean lol. just dry and smooth. pretty much no actual body hair. barely any natural scent. his skin looks thin because he has no melanin so you‘d see his veins shimmer through. his hands probably look like voldemort‘s but much more bony and slim. basically, i think he‘d have slightly outgrown nails. that‘s it about physical appearance i think..

he smokes pipe. kiseru to be exact, which is just a japanese smoking pipe.

back when the sannin were still a team, orochimaru would talk to tsunade about their believes and speculations for the future but rarely found common ground. they still kept it up during sleepless nights.

orochimaru never says no to abstract strategy games. he probably taught sasuke a few old games from his youth. once sasuke got better and even managed to win a game, orochimaru was a sore loser but congratulated sasuke anyway

sore loser in general. he will be like “you caught me off guard, congratulations.“ while he has the most stiff, fake smile on his face and completely blank eyes.

book smart and street smart but severely lacks in interpersonal skills. he knows how to fool the mind and manipulate but genuine emotions aren‘t his forte.

orochimaru knows how to do make up and he does it well. he learned it through tsunade who was interested in the markings around his eyes. being a fast learner, he watched tsunade applying make up and emulated it by burrowing (without permission) jiraiya‘s face paint. tsunade loved it and eventually got him to sit down for her to do his make up. but only once lol.

orochimaru would‘ve asked hidan a little too enthusiastically about jashinism if they were at akatsuki during the same time. he would deem the method of needing constant time consuming rituals too flaky (since being unable to perform said rituals would undo the immortality) so he never bothered with the concept. hidan would take it personally and keep a one sided hatred going.

orochimaru has the eating habits of a snake which is pretty gross to watch. he likes warm blooded prey ever since he experimented a little too much with forbidden techniques on himself. so yeah, he can choke down a rabbit if he wants but that also means he can go longer without food.

i don’t see him sleeping like a snake. they sleep like 16+ hours, he is way too busy for that lol. he already doesn‘t sleep a lot which kind of goes against his snakey nature but on top of that, he briefly experimented with a drug that would make him survive on no sleep at all. basically just experienced all the bad side effects of sleep deprivation and settled on his usual few hours.

he‘s cold to the touch. still being somewhat human, orochimaru doesn‘t strictly have to stay in warm weather but he‘s still cold like a snake and enjoys warmth, including warm showers.

he grew up in a traditional family and was taught religious values until his parents died. he left his religion and family name behind to detach himself from their death.

nobody knows his exact birthday. i know, he has a canon birthday but i hc him to just borderline forget about it himself. what‘s a birthday good for when his ultimate goal is immortality anyway? even as a child he was uncomfortable with it. hiruzen might‘ve known about it but respected his pupil‘s wish and kept it to himself.

he has an old style of handwriting, if that makes sense. you‘ll look at it and think a granny wrote it.

orochimaru doesn‘t like being drunk, it makes him feel less in control. he somewhat respects tsunade‘s ability to absolutely outdrink jiraiya every single time tho.

before the whole unethical human experiment thing, orochimaru caught and experimented on animals. yknow what they say about kids who kill animals… creepy lil bastards.

while orochimaru‘s arms were sealed, kabuto took care of him in the ways orochimaru couldn’t. i.e personal hygiene, including washing his hair. this is entirely self indulgent lol, i enjoy making their relationship complicated with weird tension.

horrible teacher, especially for sasuke. don‘t get me wrong, in theory he would be a fantastic teacher because he has the knowledge and the ambition to produce perfect students. but he uses cruel methods to make students learn. he‘s the type of teacher to throw a scenario at you and go “do it right or die“. adding onto this, i think sasuke came back from his time with orochimaru even colder because his dear sensei is always ready to traumatize a student to bring his points across. borderline torture but it works. i guess-

since he wants to know EVERYTHING there is to know, he unintentionally has a whole lot of cultural knowledge. actually, he has so much unnecessary knowledge. you could say he is cultured :) probably knows how to dress real well but just doesn’t bother with vanity.

young orochimaru put his hair up with traditional hair pins. tsunade tried it but never got it right. (she still has the hair pin she “borrowed“ and never returned but refuses to use it or throw it away)

bonus because i have too many of these: in a modern setting, orochimaru would casually enjoy some depeche mode :)