#recent android game

[writingwiring]

19? :p

yay yippee ask game here

19: the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic? off the top of my head: gothic horror narrative conventions i really love horror and would love to successfully manage to write some one day! i started looking into it both as part of A Concept (as one does), but also because i find that a lot of people use "gothic horror" very loosely and wanted to ground my own understanding of the genre in context this would have been back in high school where i was trying my hand at mystery-drama, though the idea never really panned out

there are a few things i find particularly compelling about the genre that i want to someday include in a coherent concept: themes of mortality/unlife, use of dreams/visions, overlap of past and present, and distorted/dysfunctional family dynamics...

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Apple faces criminal sanctions for defying App Store antitrust order

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me at NEW ZEALAND'S UNITY BOOKS in AUCKLAND TODAY (May 2), and in WELLINGTON TOMORROW (May 3). More tour dates (Pittsburgh, PDX, London, Manchester) here.

Epic, makers of the wildly popular Fortnite video-game, have waged a one-company war against the "app tax" – the 15-30% rake that the mobile duopoly of Apple/Google take out of every penny we spend inside of apps.

Epic's own digital practices are hardly spotless: just this year, the company was caught cheating players – many of them children – with deceptive practices and had to refund over $72m:

https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/refunds/fortnite-refunds

But in this fight, Epic is on the side of the angels. The 30% that Apple/Google sucks out of the mobile economy is a brutal tax, and not just on app makers. Patreon performers recently raised a stink when the company announced that it would be clawing back 30% of the money pledged by their supporters – that 30% surcharge is passed straight through to Apple/Google:

https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/12/24218629/patreon-membership-ios-30-percent-apple-tax

From independent news outlets to crafters selling their work out of small storefronts, all the way up to massive entertainment services like Disney Plus and Fortnite, the mobile cartel takes 30% out of every dollar, a racket they maintain with onerous rules that ban apps from using their own payment processors, or even from encouraging users to click a link that brings them to a web-based payment screen.

30% is a gigantic markup on payment processing. It's ten times the going rate for payments in the USA, already one of the most expensive places in the world to transfer money from one party to another. In the EU, payment processing typically runs 1%…or less.

But crafters, Patreon podcasters and small-town newspapers are in no position to fight Google and Apple. Instead, we get Epic, a multi-billion-dollar company that's gone to the mattresses to fight these multi-trillion-dollar companies. Personally, I dote on billionaire-on-trillionaire violence.

Epic was wildly successful. It mopped up the floor with Google, securing an especially punitive award from a judge who was furious that Google had destroyed evidence:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/12/im-feeling-lucky/#hugger-mugger

Epic also won against Apple, though not as thoroughly as it had with Google, because Apple had the commonsense not to get up to the kind of shenanigans that make federal judges very, very mad. In the Google case, the court found that Google had acted as a monopolist and ordered it to open up the payment system in Google Play, a direct blow to the Android app tax.

In the Apple case, the judge did not find that Google had acted as a monopolist, but did rule that the App Store's payment processing racket violated the law, and ordered Apple to end its own app tax:

https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/30/epic-games-just-scored-a-major-win-against-apple/

That's where things get gnarly. Apple is addicted to corrupt sources of income – like the tens of billions it illegally receives every year in bribes from Google make it the default search:

https://apnews.com/article/google-antitrust-search-engine-verdict-apple-319a61f20fb11510097845a30abaefd8

And it really, really loves the app tax. When the EU ordered Apple to allow third-party app stores (as a way of killing the app tax), the company cooked up a malicious compliance plan that was comically corrupt:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/06/spoil-the-bunch/#dma

So, the mere fact that a federal judge had ordered Apple to open up its app store to competing payment processors was not going convince Apple to actually do it. Instead, Apple cooked up a set of rules for third-party payment processing that would make it more costly to use someone else's payments, piling up a mountain of junk fees and using scare screens and other deceptive warnings to discourage users from making payments through a rival system:

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/judge-rules-apple-executive-lied

That's the kind of thing that is apt to make a federal judge angry – and, as noted, angry federal judges can make life very hard for tech monopolists, a lesson Google learned when it destroyed key evidence in its Epic case. But Apple didn't just flout the court order – they lied about it to cover it up, and Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is furious. She held that Alex Roman, Apple's Vice-President of Finance, "outright lied under oath," and she has raised the possibility of criminal contempt penalties for Apple:

https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/05/01/pacer_epic_vs_apple_injunction_judgement.pdf

The judge further wrote:

This is an injunction, not a negotiation. There are no do-overs once a party willfully disregards a court order. Time is of the essence. The Court will not tolerate further delays. As previously ordered, Apple will not impede competition. The Court enjoins Apple from implementing its new anticompetitive acts to avoid compliance with the Injunction. Effective immediately Apple will no longer impede developers’ ability to communicate with users nor will they levy or impose a new commission on off-app purchases

In other words, any junk fees, any impediments to opening up third party payments, will be switfly and harshly dealt with. As of right now developers can start to build third-party payments into their apps and Apple cannot block them. It's the end of the app tax, a source of about $100b/year for Apple:

https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/01/apple_epic_lies_possible_crime/

The world is on fire and everything is terrible, but we are also living through the most consequential season in the history of the war on corporate tech power. Google has been convicted three times of being a monopolist and is almost certainly going to have to sell off Chrome, most of its ad-tech stack, and possibly Android. Meta just put up a pathetic showing in an equally serious antitrust case that could see it forced to sell off Instagram and Whatsapp:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/04/11/it-is-better-to-buy/#than-to-compete

Countries around the world have passed big, sweeping, muscular antitrust laws specifically aimed at smashing corporate tech power, like the EU's Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act:

https://www.eff.org/pages/adoption-dsadma-notre-analyse

Most importantly, all of this is happening from the bottom up. There is no dark money campaign to fuck up the tech companies. The politicians and enforcers who are taking on Big Tech are being shoved from behind by billions of everyday people who are furious and refuse to take it any longer:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/04/10/solidarity-forever-2/#oligarchism

I am deeply grateful for the public servants who have championed this cause, but I also know that these people are the effect of our movement, not the cause. When Kier Starmer fires Britain's brilliant and effective top competition enforcer and replaces him with the former head of Amazon UK, that does nothing to tamp down the political outrage that Britons feel towards America's tech giants:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/22/autocrats-of-trade/#dingo-babysitter

All over the world, countries that passed IP laws to protect US tech interests in exchange for tariff-free access to US markets are grappling with the end of free trade with America. This represents a generational opportunity to pass laws that enable local technologists to jailbreak US tech exports and liberate their people from the extractive practices of Big Tech forever:

https://archive.is/CiBIz

There is nothing harder to stop than an idea whose time has come to pass.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/05/01/its-not-the-crime/#its-the-coverup

Image: Alex Popovkin, Bahia, Brazil from Brazil (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Annelid_worm,_Atlantic_forest,_northern_littoral_of_Bahia,_Brazil_%2816107326533%29.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

--

Hubertl (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2015-03-04_Elstar_%28apple%29_starting_putrefying_IMG_9761_bis_9772.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[ozzgin]

Some more dick-related brain rot…😘

We take the self serve dick bar and use monsters for the monster hotel. We are going to have that full “continental breakfast.” So we have a forest entity cumming maple syrup, a Minotaur cumming milk/creme, a yeti who cums slushies, a slime who cums various jams depending on whatever fruit we feed it, and any more monsters who we can utilize ☺️

When you were talking about your rats, it made me think of some rat-hybrid monster where reader can steer him via. his dick, like a reverse Ratatouille scenario 🐀

Having a robot/android partner, I could use his dick as a literal joy stick when playing video games. Also, if I have to charge robot/android, do you think his dick acts like a giant extension cord I could just plug into the outlet in the wall? Also does that mean he technically “eats” with his dick? I assume when traveling with him internationally, I gotta get a lot of compatible adapters so he can get plugged in successfully🕹️

A Hydra monster would be kinda funny to have sex with, cause maybe if you cut its “head” down south, two more will grow back 🤔

I think that’s all for now. Tell your man that he is very much appreciated, and it’s nice he’s in this club of debauchery 😉

-👘

This amount of thirst and depravity is exactly what the monster guests would come up with just to have Reader employee touch them. 😭 Content: gender neutral reader, rancid NSFW!!! (more white sauce I’m afraid), monster smut

The latest fad your centaur manager has been into is food cooked with bodily fluids. This has had several implications, all of them regrettably involving you.

While the idea has been gripping at his mind like a great plague, he can't possibly ask you to just...let go over his breakfast toast. He can already see how exhausted you return after being used by the starved guests. They stuff you just enough for you to wonder if you'll survive it, then make sure to clean up their mess, politely aiding your speedy recovery, almost as if they weren't the cause of destruction to begin with. The manager has heard it one too many times that your nether regions are numb from all the monstrous tongues and appendages.

Maybe a change of scenery will help.

"Kitchen staff? I thought I'm supposed to clean the rooms", you inquire, somewhat confused by the sudden proposal.

"It's not quite...kitchen duties, per se. We need someone to help with the hotel's breakfast. We have a new experimental menu, though not enough...hands."

You should've expected it. How bad could it possibly be, you told yourself, pouring some orange juice for the seated guests? You had your first suspicions from the big, flashy sign now propped outside the room: service provided by our esteemed and loved human employee. You didn't need to ponder much on its meaning. Once inside, your task became painfully clear. You were to milk the guests for the required ingredients.

Having their way with you is a treat in itself, but seeing you struggle with your small, human hands, trying to figure them out? Priceless. Well, for them, anyways. Despite your protests, you have left your morning shifts with a ridiculous number of tips. Maybe it's the way you look up through your lashes as you explain: "Of course I know your weak spot. You're one of my- our regulars." Or maybe it's the way you tease your favorites, wondering out loud, with a grin, if you should have some of the generous release for your own lunch later.

Your hard work has not gone unnoticed. The centaur head manager recently made the sheepish suggestion of having you at the receiving end of this new service, trying his best to sound convincing, and hiding the fact it’s been his most ardent wish for the past couple of weeks. Maybe he will get his breakfast topping, after all.

[Monster Hotel] | [More Monsters]

[cleo-fox]

Unraveled

Summary: It was all fun and games until Loki started wearing that goddamn sweater.

Pairing: Loki x Female Reader

Warnings: Smut, 18+, Minors DNI, dirty talk, praise kink, teasing, orgasm delay, sex, vaginal fingering, godly refractory periods, kitchen sex, semi public sex, Loki in a sweater.

A/N: My explanation for this one is that I saw too many pictures of Tom Hiddleston in a sweater and it gave me thoughts.

Being an Avenger has made you pretty good at rolling with the punches. After your third or fourth encounter with some alien/wizard/android bullshit, your perspective is fundamentally altered and real life seems manageable in a way that it didn’t before. You have to call your insurance company to dispute a claim? Big deal, you’ve negotiated with terrorists; you can handle Garth from Member Services.

The thing is, having that kind of perspective means that the things that do get to you can rattle you a lot more than they should. Natasha had warned you about that, but you were riding high on the thrill of successfully conquering Blue Cross Blue Shield and you kind of got to thinking she was exaggerating.

And then the seasons started to turn and Loki started wearing that goddamn sweater.

You can recognize when someone is out of your league. When you first moved into the Tower, it had been relatively easy for you to assign Loki to that category: he was a god. He’d been featured in last month’s GQ. You were mortal and your most recent press had been a TMZ story featuring unflattering paparazzi photos of you leaving a bodega in your pajamas at seven o’clock in the morning, a bagel halfway into your mouth. You were clearly not the same.

Up until the sweater, you’d managed to keep your cool around Loki and keep your attraction confined to daydreams and the occasional surreptitious lustful glance. Hell, you’d even had the nerve to be proud of yourself for keeping your shit together in front of him.

The sweater lays waste to all of that.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like a sweater that is capable of completely destroying your carefully constructed composure. It’s a fairly standard crew neck in a deep green so dark it almost looks black at a first glance. But on Loki it just…does things to you. The fabric is well fitted, clinging to his biceps, pulling taut across his chest, emphasizing the line of his pectorals. It somehow accentuates how muscular he is while also still making him look lean and lithe.

The first time he wears it, you find your eyes just trail to him of their own volition, like an incredibly horny moth to the flame. It’s a day of catching yourself staring, panicking, pretending that you were actually looking at something else, and then repeating the process five minutes later when your gaze inevitably wandered again. It almost would have been funny if it didn’t put your blood pressure into the stratosphere.

To make matters worse, at the end of that day’s debriefing, he rises from his chair and raises his arms to the ceiling in a long stretch. The hem of the sweater creeps up, exposing the firm, flat muscles of his stomach, lightly dusted with a trail of hair that meanders in a tantalizing path down to his belt buckle.

You promptly choke on your own spit. Clint claps you hard on the back and asks if you’re okay, which is a question you don’t know how to answer (ultimately, you stick to a thumbs up and mumble something about dust getting caught in your throat). Loki is too preoccupied complaining about the entire concept of office furniture to notice. Or at least you’re pretty sure he doesn’t notice.

You might have been okay if that had been the only incident, but the sweater makes a repeat appearance on Friday. The following Tuesday features the deadly combination of the sweater with a pair of tight, dark wash jeans that nearly send you into cardiac arrest. Your fantasies suddenly become much more frequent and detailed.

You are not really sure what to do about this—it’s not like you can talk to anyone about it, nor can you ask him to stop wearing it without prompting some very uncomfortable questions. The idea that you’ll get used to it is laughable. 

You look at your calendar and note that spring is six months away. At least.

Fucking hell.

*

It’s a Saturday afternoon and in a strange quirk of scheduling, almost everyone is out of town for a mission or a personal obligation, leaving the Tower unusually quiet. As much as you enjoy the daily clatter and chaos that comes with living here, you find a lot of comfort in these moments of quiet, however infrequent they may be.

You intended to make yourself a late afternoon snack. That was the plan, anyway. But as you’re standing at the kitchen counter and cutting up the fruit you just washed, you realize that you’re not entirely alone. From this vantage point, you can see Loki lounging on the couch in the next room and reading.

He’s wearing the sweater. Of course he’s wearing the sweater. And the so-tight-they-should-be-illegal dark wash jeans.

Goddammit.

You have the sense to set the knife down at least. The last thing you need is a trip to the hospital because you got too distracted by your hot colleague while handling a knife.

You let your gaze travel along the firm muscles of his chest. It’s just a sweater. It shouldn’t look this good. It shouldn’t prompt these kinds of thoughts. And yet…

He shifts on the couch and the hem of the sweater creeps up. His hand drops to his belt buckle. It’s entirely appropriate, but the way his long, long fingers are splayed against his stomach makes your mind drop straight to the gutter and wonder what they’d look like wrapped around his rock hard co—

“You know, it’s rude to stare.”

His voice comes from behind you and adrenaline surges through you like an electric shock. The Loki on the couch looks up at you and smirks before disappearing in a shimmer of green.

You wonder if it’s possible to die of embarrassment and a heart attack all at the same time. It certainly feels like you’re about to.

You take a deep breath and try to collect yourself, which feels largely futile. Come on, get it together. You’ve negotiated with terrorists and insurance companies. Shake it off.

You slowly turn around, cheeks burning. Loki is standing right behind you, arms folded across his chest. You swallow.

“I um. I was—I was just…” Words escape you as your brain fires in every direction except a helpful one.

“You were just what?” His expression is intense, but you’re not sure that he’s angry.

“Spacing out,” you say, trying to infuse your voice with confidence that you absolutely do not feel.

He places his hands on the counter behind you, intentionally caging you in with his body. You are overwhelmed by the scent of him—a masculine, wintery musk that makes you want to bury your face against his chest.

“Try again,” he says. His voice is deep enough to rattle your bones.

You swallow. Everything you could possibly say seems wildly inadequate.

Loki has never been one to be at a loss for words, though, and after a moment of terrified silence from you, he continues speaking.

“I’ve noticed something curious over these past few weeks,” he says. “When I wear this sweater, you can’t seem to take your eyes off of me.”

Your heart is pounding. Fucking hell. Have you really been that obvious?

“Now why is that?” he asks, his voice a low purr.

You briefly consider trying to lie again, but the piercing green of his eyes instantly makes you rethink it. “I um…” You swallow hard. “It’s just…it suits you. You…you look good.”

He raises an eyebrow. “I look good?”

You nod.

“Interesting.” His lips twitch in a slight smirk as he looks you up and down. “And how does that make you feel?”

Your heart thuds in your chest, your stomach contorting with a strange combination of fear and desire. You’re still humiliated, but the sound of his voice and the dark intensity of his gaze is intoxicating and incredibly arousing.

“I don’t—I don’t know how to answer that question.”

“Oh, I think you do.” There’s a rawness in his voice that makes your cunt clench.

You shake your head, eyes wide. You’re pretty sure he’s not really mad, but you also don't know where this is going. Surely he’s not making a pass at you…right?

“How does it make you feel to see me in this sweater?” he continues, his voice a low whisper. He pauses for a moment and when you don’t answer, he continues. “Does it…arouse you, perhaps?”

Holy fuck.

This can’t be happening.

You try to think of something clever or sexy, but the bluntness of the question and the fire in his eyes kills whatever remaining brain cells you have left. Mutely, you nod.

There’s that smirk again as he licks his lips. “Are you wet right now?”

Your cheeks burn. You give the tiniest nod possible.

“Hmm.” His hand alights on the button of your jeans. “I believe you Midgardians have a saying that is appropriate here: trust, but verify.” He slips the button free and your heart pounds like a war drum in your chest. 

You cannot believe this is happening.

“You haven’t been entirely truthful in this conversation.” His palm presses flat against your stomach, the tips of his fingers slipping under the waistband of your underwear. “So I’m afraid I’m going to have to see for myself.”

His hand is achingly slow, creeping lower and lower. He watches you intently as his hand cups your sex, seemingly cataloging the way your breath hitches and all the little shivers that run through you.

His middle finger finally slides between your folds and you can’t help but moan.

“Oh, you did lie to me,” he growls, his index finger joining his middle, both sliding up to circle your clit. “You’re not wet, you’re soaked.”

Your legs are already starting to tremble and you grab on to his shoulders to try and steady yourself. The fabric of the sweater is softer than a cloud against your hands.

“Sopping wet,” he continues, trapping your right leg between his thighs and the counter, the heavy weight of his erection pressing eagerly against your hip. “And this is all for me?”

Wordlessly, you nod. There’s no point in denying it—and you don’t think he wants you to, either.

“What am I going to do about this?” he muses. His index and middle fingers lightly circle your clit again and you whimper.

“Don’t stop,” you gasp. “Please don’t stop.”

“Don’t stop?” he says. His tone is one of light curiosity, like you’re just chatting casually about the weather. “But if I continue, you’re almost certainly going to come.”

“Yes,” you gasp. “Please.”

“Oh, you want me to make you come?” You can hear the smirk in his voice. “Right here in the middle of the kitchen?”

You nod.

“Anyone could walk in, though,” he purrs. “Anyone could come in and see me with my fingers buried in your dripping cunt. What would they think if they saw you so utterly debauched and at my mercy, begging for me to make you come?”

“Don’t care…” you gasp. How are you already so close?

He raises an eyebrow. “You don’t care what they’d think if they saw us like this?”

You shake your head.

“Oh, you must be desperate.” He adjusts his hand, his thumb taking up the rhythm on your clit while his index finger sinks into your slick channel, making you gasp.

“Loki, please—”

“Begging already,” he says, not letting up in his rhythm. “Has it been a long time, sweetheart? When did you last feel this good?”

It’s not a question you can answer. You don’t know that anyone ever has made you feel like this. You moan, your hips bucking hard against his hand.

“Poor thing,” he tuts. “You’re clearly desperate for it. What kinds of filthy thoughts have you had about me?” he purrs. “I’ve seen you staring, I’ve heard your breath hitch. Have you touched yourself while thinking of me?”

You manage a nod and his smile turns feral. “When was the last time?”

“Last…last night,” you gasp.

“How many times did you come?”

“F-Four.”

“Filthy girl.” His free hand slides up to cradle the back of your head, his fingers tangling in your hair as he tips your head back. “Next time, all you have to do is ask.”

His mouth covers yours, his tongue pushing past your lips as he slides a second finger into you. You moan into his mouth as the pressure in your hips increases.

“Oh yes, let me hear all of those pretty noises,” he murmurs. “Are you going to let me fuck you against the counter after I make you come?”

You nod, whimpering.

“Good girl,” he purrs. “I think you need to be fucked properly and hard. Is that what you need?”

“Yes,” you gasp.

“Mmm, that’s what I thought. This cunt is just too wet and needy for any other treatment.” He draws back to look at you more fully, giving you a lazy, hungry smile. “You’re about to lose it all over my fingers, aren’t you?”

Your orgasm is cresting, the tingling pressure in your hips becoming unbearable. You nod, lost for words.

With one more smirk, he curls his fingers inside of you. “Come for me, pretty girl, let me see you.”

Your cunt spasms around his thrusting fingers and your whole body shudders as your orgasm overtakes you, your head tipping back as you cry out.

“Oh, that’s it,” he murmurs, “there’s my good girl.”

A shiver runs through you at his words, your hips still moving against his hand, trying to draw out every last ripple of pleasure.

He kisses you as you come down from your high, and you take the opportunity to run your hands over his chest and tentatively feel the hard planes of muscle that you’ve been staring at these last few weeks. But after a few moments, he takes your hand and guides it to his cock.

His preference for leather pants or those sinfully tight dark wash jeans made you suspect that the size of his ego might actually be proportionate to the size of his cock and your initial assessment seems to confirm that theory. You rub your fingers over the denim that covers his thick shaft, feeling yourself grow even wetter at the low groan he makes in the back of his throat.

“Take my cock out.” His voice is so deep and his eyes are so smoldering, it feels like the command goes straight to your cunt. You are practically trembling with anticipation as your shaking hands  make quick work of the button, buckle, and zipper.

You can’t help but suck in a breath when his cock comes into view. He’s long and deliciously thick—big enough to be a little intimidating, but not overwhelmingly so.

He guides your hand to wrap around his shaft. He barely fits in your hand. “Look at what you’ve done to me,” he says, his voice raspy as he guides your hand to stroke his cock. “Feel how hard I am for you, feel how much I want you.”

His cock practically pulses with need, the tip slick with pre-come and you grasp him more firmly, your cunt pulsing as he gives a deeply satisfying groan.

You stroke him from base to tip, squeezing lightly. He groans again. “They told me to stay away from you, you know,” he says.

You aren’t so far gone that you can let this information slip by. “What? Who?”

“Stark. Rogers. Romanoff. My brother.” He reaches behind you and shoves the fruit and cutting board into the side, the knife clattering into the sink. “They saw how I looked at you,” he says. “They saw that I wanted you. They told me you were too good for me. Too sweet.”

You feel your jeans and underwear melt away in a shimmer of green and he lifts you easily onto the counter.

His eyes flash with desire. “I wonder what they’d say if they knew you’d let me fuck you raw in the middle of the kitchen?”

For a brief moment, frustration almost wins out over your lust. “We could have done this sooner?”

His gaze turns serious. “Darling, we could have done this the moment we met, but I’m told a handshake is more appropriate.”

You take a breath, about to embark on a rant about the individuals he’d named and how they hadn’t even asked, they’d just assumed, but Loki puts a hand up against your mouth.

“Don’t make me wait any longer,” he says. There’s a sincerity and a need in his gaze that you’ve never seen before and it’s enough to calm your anger for just a moment.

“Okay,” you say, wrapping your legs around his waist and angling your hips toward his, “but clear your schedule because I’m gonna need you to fuck me a lot to make up for all that time.”

His grin is feral as he pushes into you.

You shiver at the blunt stretch of his cock, your hands gripping his broad shoulders. He indulges in a low groan as his hips press flush against yours.

“If I’d known they were keeping me from this tight cunt, I would’ve done something sooner,” he rasps. “You feel absolutely perfect.”

“Please,” you breathe, “I need—please.”

His hips snap hard against yours and you moan, your head tipping back.

His eyes glitter as he pulls you close, pressing his mouth against your ear. “The next time I have you, I will be sweet and soft.”

“And this time?” you ask, though you think you already know the answer.

“This time—” His mouth presses against the curve of your neck, teeth scraping just this side of too hard against the tender skin. “—I’m going to utterly ruin you.”

His pace is fast and rough—the word possessive comes to mind. You twist the luxurious fabric of his sweater in your hands as his cock hits that sweet, aching spot inside of you, pressing against your sensitive cunt in a way that makes your muscles spasm and clench around him. You moan, a shiver rolling through you as you inch closer to release.

“I’m…fuck, I’m getting close,” you gasp.

His pace abruptly slows and his grin is wide and his eyes are dancing with mirth when he raises his head from your shoulder.

“That was unnecessary,” you say with a scowl.

“Oh, I just want to savor you for a little longer, my love,” he purrs as he settles into an easy and slow pace that still makes your toes curl. “You’re going to take me right over the edge with you and I’ve waited so terribly long to have you.”

“I feel like you’re probably omitting the fact that you like being a tease,” you say.

He grins again, increasing his pace ever so slightly. “Both things can be true.”

He does this a few times—taking up a wicked pace that almost sends you hurtling over the edge, only to slow at the last possible moment, silencing your whimpering protests with a deep and slow kiss that is good enough to make you forgive him until a few minutes later when he does it all over again.

You hold out for as long as you can, but eventually, the ache in your hips overwhelms you.

“Loki,” you breathe when his pace again begins to increase. “Please don’t stop.”

“Don’t stop?” he rasps, somehow finding the concentration to raise an eyebrow. “You’re quite sure?”

You nod.

“You want to come all over my cock?”

Speech is slightly beyond you at this point, but you manage to gasp a desperate plea as you hurtle into the final plateau, right before the fall.

Loki regards you with that same playful look as he fucks you. You wait, unsure of what he’s going to do, your body desperately crying out for your release.

His lips curl into a smile. “Come for me, sweet thing.”

At the sound of his voice, every one of your muscles is tensing and releasing, the slick walls of your cunt clamping down hard on the thick girth of his cock as you shudder and moan.

The remnants of Loki’s composure are fraying, his eyes closed and his jaw slack as he chases his own end. His brow furrows and he throws his head back, letting out a low groan as he comes and you think it might be the best sound you’ve ever heard.

You sag against him as you both come down from your respective highs, his heart beating hard under the soft fabric of his sweater. He reaches for your face, tilting your head back so he can kiss you, impossibly slow and soft.

You’re in the middle of the kitchen. You understand this. In a wholly rational world, you would be quick to hop off the counter, quick to try and negotiate the return of your jeans from whatever pocket dimension he’s sent them to.

Instead, you find yourself wanting to stay in this moment, with his arms wrapped around you, his cock still pulsing inside you as he kisses you breathless.

You count to ten, then twenty. At forty, you draw back slightly, only to have him pull you back into the kiss.

It’s somewhere after one hundred when he trails his lips to your neck and you manage to say what you intended: “We should probably…” you trail off as he sucks at your pulse point, sending a shiver down your spine.

“We should probably what?” he murmurs against your neck, before tracing a lazy figure eight with the tip of his tongue.

It takes you a moment to find that sentence. “Get dressed and such.”

You feel the sharp press of his smile against your skin. “I think not.”

Before you can open your mouth to say anything, the kitchen is fading in a shimmer of green to an unfamiliar bedroom and the two of you tumble into a bed draped in green silk.

“I’d like to stay like this for a while,” he says, a smile playing at his lips as he slowly rolls his hips against you, somehow still impossibly hard. “In fact, I think I need to have you again.”

“I can live with that,” you say. You tug at the fabric of his sweater. “But this is going to have to go.”

His gaze is smoldering and his bare skin is suddenly pressed against yours as the sweater and the rest of your clothes disappear in that familiar shimmer of green.

“Will you like me as much without it?” he asks, rolling his hips against you.

You drag your fingernails up along the firm muscles of his back. “I think I’ll manage.”

“Good,” he says, leaning in to kiss you, “because as I understand it, we have quite a lot of time to make up for.”

[callmearcturus]

Polygon, The Verge’s sister site dedicated to gaming and entertainment, has been sold by Vox Media to Valnet, a company that owns brands like ScreenRant, GameRant, and Android Police. Some Polygon staffers will continue with the publication under its new owner, while others have been laid off, according to posts online and an internal message sent to Vox Media employees. Valnet owns more than 27 different brands that cover areas like entertainment, gaming, sports, and travel. A recent report from TheWrap includes one former contributor to a site under Valnet’s purview describing conditions as “almost sweatshop-level.”

even the fucking Verge, also owned by Vox Media, going off

“I’m no longer with Polygon,” says former editor-in-chief Chris Plante. “If you’re hiring, please consider the many talented writers and editors now on the market. Every one of them deserves a spot on your staff. I won’t be talking more about the sale because I wasn’t involved.”

oh fuck, chris.

.... a-and Giant Bomb? Giant Bomb's staff is gone?

i mean that's p much it, isn't it? all of the major outlets have jettisoned their staff and are shells of their former selves. all of the places people go to get started in games journalism have been stripped by venture capitalists for every fucking penny.

holy shit i'm tearing up? i.

[beaniebabyidiot]

i always have a minimum of like 5 AU ideas rattling around in my head, but this is the first time I have really drawn those ideas

So, here it is!

I call it the Children in Black AU, where Webby got tired of her brothers’ crap, and decided to learn empathy, they would be sent down to earth as children

Here they are, they have no memory of their pasts as dark gods, they are just human children!

More info below the cut!

So the whole premise is that Webby sent them down to PEIP to be put with families, and they are still all brothers, they just live with different families and have different adopted parents. PEIP knows about their alternate timeline shenanigans so they put them with people who are most connected with them in those alternate universes.

Some bits about their personalities and lives

Blake Woodward/Blinky: Very, very shy, mostly just stares at people. He is taken care of by Bill and his wife, so he and Alice are adopted siblings! Once Bill got divorced when Blake was in middle school, Alice went to live in Clivesdale with her Mom and Blake stayed with Bill. He is a chill kid who love cartoons and tv dramas, like medical, cop, or reality shows. Though, he has always been drawn to the more gruesome and mean spirited sides of these shows. Hopefully the Woodwards can change that.

Theo Spankoffski/Tinky: He is being raised by Ted Spankoffski, so Peter is technically his uncle, but they are the same age (Ted and Pete have a big age gap). Theo is full of energy, always bouncing off the walls and wanting to play games. He loves all kinds of games and playing with other kids, though he gets too rough in these games often. The only thing that will make him sit down for even a second is puzzles, he specifically has a rubix cube that he adores.

Neil Monroe/Nibbly: He was taken in by Gerald and Linda Monroe, and is the oldest of their beautiful blonde boys. He has an insatiable hunger for everything and anything, the least picky eater you will ever meet. He is also quite the biter, often saying that he just “wanted to know what they tasted like”. His parents are working on remedying this, so got him a chewy necklace he can munch on. He is considered the nicest of his siblings.

Patrick Perkins-Matthews/Pokey: He has been taken in by Paul and Emma, just after their marriage (and no, there are no clones or androids in this timeline, just normal human Paul and Emma). He has a constant need to be in the spotlight, and can be a bit of a brat. He loves to sing and act more than anything, and will include other kids in his plays (granted he gets to be the lead). As much as he loves the spotlight, nothing is better than when people work together to make his final musicals beautiful, and as much as Paul hates musicals, he will endure them for Patrick.

Will MacNamara/Wiggly: PEIP knew that Will would be the most difficult, so a recently reformed Wilbur Cross and his partner John MacNamara (they do eventually get married in this AU and Wilbur becomes Wilbur MacNamara) took him in. There is something incredibly creepy about Will, he just never looks or acts quite right. He can be a brat for sure, but Wilbur and John are trying to teach him right. He has a Wiggly doll Wilbur got him as a present (one that doesn’t make people go insane of course) and he clings on to that thing like a lifeline, he won’t go anywhere without it. He has a darkness about him, an anger, a need to control others, but he is still a child, he can learn.

That’s pretty much what it’s all about! Just the hijinks these families get into and the Lords in Black learning how to be good people! I have teenage designs of them too which i’ll post soon.

[posh--bee]

beneath the sleeping stars || Spencer Reid

pairing → Spencer Reid x Reader

summary → On the way home from yet another case on the jet, you and your boyfriend Spencer take advantage that your coworkers are all peacefully sleeping to have a little bit of sweet and innocent alone time, taking chances and talking about both of you getting hurt during the case.

warnings → early seasons!spencer, shy!reader, bau!reader, established relationship but it’s all very new still, they’re just little anxious beans, just pure tooth-rotting fluff, they’re so adorable your honor, minor injuries, no descriptions or pronouns used for the reader, no y/n used

author’s note → This whole thing was inspired by this post from @multifandomangel. I started writing this story immediately after I saw the post but it took me a while to come back around to it and finish it. But now it’s done and I’m very happy with how cute and fluffy it turned out :3 Let me know what you think about it <3 (If you saw this fic before just ignore it, tumblr just likes to put a content label on it only on the android app and it drives me crazy! Hopfully this post doesn't get flagged AGAIN.)

word count → 3.2k

masterlist(s)

You sit next to Spencer on what the team has dubbed “his” couch on the BAU’s jet, currently on the way home to the FBI’s headquarters after having solved yet another case on the other side of the country, absentmindedly staring at the book in your hands you act like you’re reading.

The words on the page you haven’t turned in over five minutes stare back at you unblinkingly, but you pay them no mind, instead peeking over the edge of your book to inconspicuously observe the rest of your teammates relaxing in their seats. Hotch is at the front of the jet in a single seat with his arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed while Morgan, Emily and JJ sit around the table across from you. JJ’s head rests on Emily’s shoulder who in turn has her cheek squished to the top of the blonde’s hair, soft breaths leaving her parted lips. Morgan on the other hand rests against a pillow pressed to the wall of the jet, his headphones still on and Rossi, who sits behind him, has his legs stretched out over two seats with his eyes closed as well.

It's perfectly quiet on the jet except for the subtle hum of the aircraft’s engines paired with what little you can hear of Morgan’s music and the occasional soft snore coming from one or another person sitting around you.

With bated breath you wait for another minute or two to be absolutely certain about what you’re eagerly hoping for—

They’re all fast asleep.

A smile tugs at your lips and you slowly close your book and let it glide to the floor soundlessly before gently nudging Spencer’s leg with your foot.

The lanky genius next to you stirs and you immediately feel bad for rousing him from his slumber so rudely, but the feeling abruptly dissipates and is replaced by a flutter of butterfly wings in your belly when he gives you a sleepy smile, one hand coming up to rub his tired eyes.

“Hi,” he greets you quietly, his voice a little deeper than it normally is and it embarrassingly takes you a second to answer him.

“Hi yourself,” you manage, matching his soft tone to not disturb the quiet of the jet as it takes you closer to your home through the night sky.

You smile at each other shyly, starting a new round of your regular game of Who will break eye contact first? that you both lose at the same time. An amused huff escapes you at your own antics and you look back to Spencer who is already grinning at you, his cheeks glowing with an adorable blush even in the dimmed lights of the cabin.

He’s so beautiful, you think, and you want to tell him as much, but the words get stuck in your throat like you already knew they would.

Instead you ask him, “How’s your head?”

Your eyes dart to the white butterfly stitch on his temple that a paramedic has competently placed there only a few hours before because of the scuffle your recent unsub had caused before his eventual arrest.

Spencer shrugs but the smile on his lips gets a little brighter, his fingers shy of touching his wound before lowering his hand and placing it on the down on the couch, right next to where your own hand is resting on the cushion.

“It doesn’t hurt,” he tells you, his hand inching closer to yours. “It’s just a small wound, don’t worry.”

“That's good. I’m glad.”

You watch his pinky reaching out for yours and with your heart beating excitedly in your chest you meet him halfway, your fingers sweetly wrapping around each other. Your cheeks burn from the innocent touch while Spencer quietly clears his throat, trying to hide the lovestruck grin on his lips but failing adorably at it—much like yourself, you imagine.

“What about your finger?” he wants to know then and you look down to your other hand resting in your lap, one finger taped to the one beside to keep it still and in a natural position while healing, also a courtesy of the unsub’s messy arrest.

“All good,” you tell him truthfully, after carefully testing your hand’s remaining mobility. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. And luckily, it’s not even my dominant hand.”

Spencer, of course, already knows this but nods in understanding anyway.

“I’m glad,” he repeats back at you and the look in his brown eyes is nothing short of adoring. You have the urge to hide from his gaze, it’s that overwhelming, and eventually you need to avert your eyes to regain even a semblance of composure before you can face him again.

He gives your pinky a quick squeeze when you do and you feel the smile on your face grow even bigger. You let yourself sink further into the comfortable cushions of the couch then, enjoying the quiet and content atmosphere of the jet, the rare opportunity of being close to Spencer like this, openly showing affection like this, as small as it may seem, when the two of you are at work, all thanks to your softly snoring colleagues.

But you can’t fully relax, even though the exhaustion of the case is rapidly catching up with you, making your limbs feel heavy and your movements slow and sluggish. Right underneath your tiredness is an undercurrent feeling of nervousness and excitement that you can’t ignore, that keeps reminding you that you woke Spencer up for something more than a few whispered words between the two of you and pinkie-holding.

Slowly, you straighten up again, squaring your shoulders and ready to seize this opportunity the rest of the BAU agents have so graciously presented you with. Your heart instantly picks up speed and you pause for a moment, mentally hyping yourself up to just ask your literal boyfriend this simple question, but the tiny bit of confidence you could scrape together instantly evaporates the moment your eyes meet his.

“Do you maybe—want to lie down, Spence?” you ask quietly, your heart in your throat making it difficult to form the words around. “It’s probably more—more comfortable than sitting the whole flight...”

Your voice trails off at the end and you mentally scold yourself for it, having gone over your words a hundred times in your head before you even woke Spencer up but still you couldn’t get it right when it mattered. Spencer just looks at you for a moment before shaking his head, his eyes showing nothing but kindness and you try your hardest not to let your disappointment show at his easy rejection, your ears burning in embarrassment.

“I’m comfortable like this, don’t worry.” He gives your pinky another squeeze that you can’t quite appreciate at the moment, but nod to show that you’re listening. You’re always listening to him. “I like being next to you like this and anyway, we will land in about an hour and eight minutes. So you really don’t have to get up from the couch for my sake.”

When you don’t answer him after his words hung in the space between you for a few moments too long, his shoulders tense and his face falls just enough for you to notice, a tight-lipped smile replacing the soft and relaxed one from just seconds ago.

“That’s okay… right?”

He sounds heartbreakingly unsure of himself now, afraid to have somehow said the wrong thing and ruin this moment between the two of you and you pull yourself together to quickly reassure him, your heart rate spiking in alarm.

“Of course that’s okay Spence! Absolutely okay! I like being next to you like this as well.”

Your voice is a little too loud and too shrill in your need to rectify your words so you force yourself to take a deep breath, not wanting to wake up your peacefully sleeping colleagues by any means.

“It’s just not what I meant,” you continue, your voice softening. You give him an encouraging smile and don’t shy away from the intense eye contact when Spencer cautiously searches your face, honest and unguarded. He finds the reassurance he’s looking for there and after a few short moments he relaxes again, a hesitant smile pulling at his lips.

“What did you mean then?”

Your gaze falls to the worn sneakers on your feet at his question and your thumb begins to absentmindedly fiddle with medical tape on your injured hand, fighting against an overwhelming wave of anxiety that crashes into you but after a few calming deep breaths you force your way through it.

“Because the others are all asleep, I thought—I meant that you could lie down, with your head… on my lap, if you want to.”

Now that the words are out in the open your idea doesn’t sound as brilliant and cute as it was in your head—actually, it sounds absolutely stupid, and oh no, why would you say something like that?!

You fight the urge to just jump up and run for the plane’s toilet to hide in there until you have landed safely at Quantico and instead risk a glance at Spencer out of the corner of your eye, your heart jackhammering away in your chest.

Spencer stares at you with such an adorably befuddled expression that would have soothed your anxiety all at once any other time, but now it just makes you curl into yourself even more, almost missing how the blush on his cheeks gets deeper in real time, spreading to his ears and even his neck.

“Or don’t!” you immediately backpedal, mortified and panicking, mentally screaming at yourself for ever thinking this would be a good idea. “You absolutely don’t have to! I just thought—”

“No, I’d like to!” Spencer suddenly squeaks, effectively cutting you off. The two of you stare at each other for a few seconds following his words, neither of you knowing what to do now that your little misunderstanding is resolved.

“Okay. Good,” you eventually say just to have something to fill the stubborn silence that settled between the two of you. “That’s—yeah.”

You clear your throat and press your lips together as your brain is apparently having difficulties providing your mouth with something resembling full sentences and give Spencer a tight smile before reluctantly letting go of his pinkie. You move closer to the armrest by your side to give him enough room to lie down at least somewhat comfortably, and after it’s clear that you are both at a loss for what to do again, you awkwardly pat your thighs, hoping that it’s enough encouragement for Spencer.

He looks at you with comical deer-caught-in-the-headlights eyes but after taking a deep and seemingly calming breath he starts to lie down hesitantly. It takes the two of you a few uncoordinated and clumsy moments to sort yourselves out on the small couch, but eventually, between whispered apologies and pointedly avoiding each other’s eyes, you manage.

Now you stiffly sit on the jet’s couch with Spencer’s head resting lightly on your thighs like he is afraid of putting too much of his weight on you, while he is taking up the rest of the space, his back facing the cabin and your still slumbering teammates. He is also far from relaxed, you can feel how tense his whole body is and you notice that his eyes are shut tightly too when you glance down at him.

Despite dating for a few months already and being best friends before that the awkwardness and tentativeness between you and Spencer persists stubbornly. Unfortunately—sometimes frustratingly—that’s neither surprising nor unusual. Both you and Spencer are naturally shy and introverted, anxious even, and not at all confident in your social skills and interpersonal relationships. The fact that neither of you was in a serious relationship before and is more than a little inexperienced when it comes to intimacy doesn’t really help either. You can easily count on your own ten fingers how often you actually held Spencer’s hand, much less cuddled with him or kissed him. You want to be closer to him, at least in the privacy of your home or away from prying eyes (most likely belonging to nosy but well-meaning coworkers), want to create and share special memories and him, and you know that Spencer feels the same way. The two of you just need more time to get comfortable and confident with this new chapter of your relationship. But that’s okay, you know that. Eventually, you will get there, at a pace you both are comfortable with.

But until then you’ll have to deal with your heart almost beating out of your chest while Spencer is trying to relax on your lap, a dizzying mix of happiness and anxiety and every emotion in between swirling in your chest. It makes your hands shake and hard to focus on anything else than the euphoric but frightening feeling of having your boyfriend—somewhat comfortably—cuddling up to you. You still feel a little silly about how clumsy you asked him for this but you were rewarded for your uncharacteristic bravery by the comforting weight of Spencer leaning against you, his warmth seeping into your skin, a pleasant and blissful shiver running down your spine.

You love Spencer, it’s the only thing on your mind when you look down to him lying on your lap, and surprisingly the thought doesn’t terrify you. It’s the easiest truth you ever accepted and the sense of calmness that follows has everything to do with the fact that you’re in a relationship with someone as kind and considerate as Spencer.

But you won’t be able to admit this to him anytime soon, you know that, so instead you say something easier, something lighter, but equally as true.

“I don’t like seeing you hurt, Spence. I’m so happy you’re okay.”

He blinks up at you when your whispered words register in his mind, his brown eyes impossible soft, impossible adoring. You let the gentle caress of butterfly wings fluttering in your chest and belly wash over you, your world narrowing down to this moment between Spencer and you. Everything else vanished into the background, the jet, the team, even your anxious and overthinking mind quieting enough for you to be completely present in this precious moment with your favorite person in the world.

As if moving on its own your hand finds its way into Spencer’s hair, fingers carefully, experimentally carding through his silky curls that you’re delighted to find are exactly as soft as you always thought they were.

Spencer jumps at the unexpected touch but not even a second later he’s completely relaxed against you, looking like an extremely content and comically overgrown cat, happily purring in your lap.

With a sigh, his eyes fall closed in pure bliss, murmuring into the comfortable and peaceful quietness between you, “This feels nice.”

“I’m glad,” you answer in a whisper, dutifully continuing with your ministrations, burning this moment into your mind, forever.

Without opening his eyes Spencer goes on, your name on his lips, “I was really scared for a moment during the arrest. When the unsub lashed out at you, I think my heart almost stopped in my chest.”

With a sympathetic smile and nod that Spencer can’t see you bring your hand to his face, caressing his warm and soft cheek with one only slightly shaking finger.

“I know what you mean. I felt the same when you came to help me and the unsub hit you,” you admit, the shameful guilt welling up inside you leaving a bitter taste on your tongue all of a sudden. Because that’s how Spencer got hurt, rushing to your side to assist you.

But before you can even begin to spiral, Spencer’s eyes fly open, his gaze fierce when you lock downcast eyes with him.

“It wasn’t your fault, please don’t think that. I’m always going to look out for you, you know that, right? You’re important to me.”

His voice is firm, insistent, leaving no room for arguments, no room for doubts or guilt. A shaky exhale pushes past your lips and you give him a grateful smile, having no choice but to believe his words. Not when he’s looking at you with complete and utter conviction, not letting your mind torment you for even a second because of what happened during the arrest.

“Of course I know that, Spence,” you assure him, cupping his jaw. “And I hope you know that I’ll always come to your rescue too.”

His face softens immediately, subconsciously nuzzling into your hand, his lips unintentionally brushing against your palm when he says, “I do.”

Your breathing hitches noticeably at the faint touch and Spencer himself turns to stone on top of you, his large, panicked eyes darting over your face. He’s just about to launch into a distressed apology that is really not necessary when you lean down to stop him by pressing a featherlight kiss to his temple, just shy of his wound.

You surprise yourself with your action and now can do nothing but stare helplessly down at your boyfriend who only mirrors your expression back at you, his cheeks turning cherry red in an instant. But before you can now stumble your way through an apology, Spencer takes your injured hand in his without meeting your eyes and brings it to his lips, softly kissing the tips of your fingers.

He quickly hides his face in your stomach after letting go of your hand, leaving you perplexed and speechless, the tips of your ears and the apples of your cheeks burning. And just like that neither of you is able to speak up or look at the other again, both of you left to battle with their own bashfulness for the rest of the flight.

It’s probably for the best that in your painfully adorable awkwardness, you and Spencer fail to notice how your supposedly sleeping teammates are in fact very much not asleep at the moment, shamelessly enjoying their favorite workplace romance unfolding before them live and in color, their reactions to it varying from person to person.

JJ hides her tickled grin in the crook of Emily’s neck who in turn has to fight hard for her composure as to not reveal all of their sneaky nosiness, her whole body shaking with the effort of it. Morgan groans fondly, the noise muffled by his pillow, wondering if his eardrums will survive Garcia’s screeching when he tells her about how sickly adorable Spencer and you acted on the flight back to Quantico. Rossi on the other hand rolls his eyes hard enough to see the back of his own skull but the smile on his lips betrays him, muttering an amused “amore giovane” under his breath.

And even Hotch has an almost noticeable proud smile on his face—but Spencer and you still won’t get around the little talk your supervisor has planned for you about your relationship next thing tomorrow morning.

But all of this is lost on you and Spencer, tucked away in your own little world of adorably awkward puppy love which is for the best. Because neither of you would be able to handle the embarrassment from the realization that you weren’t as unobserved as you thought you were.

Thank you so much for reading <3 Likes, reblogs and comments are highly appreciated!

Feel free to hop into my inbox and talk to me ✨

dividers by @/cafekitsune

[ohandcounting]

Getting The Most Out Of Deltarune Chapters 1+2+3+4: A Guided Experience.

Experience Deltarune the same way we did as it was releasing

Want to read this as a google doc instead?

If you are the rare person who heard about Deltarune (the parallel story to Undertale, by Toby Fox!) through the recent Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, this is for you. This is also a good resource for anyone that's just been out of the loop, or wants to make sure they've "seen it all" before getting to the next chapter.

It details not just what to play before Deltarune's new release content, but also has tips to make sure you don't miss anything important while getting through it without wasting time and detailing what happened between releases so you can go in with the same full experience I've had waiting for it to release for the past 7 years. The best time to get started was 2015, the second best time is now. All of it is below this read more, and it comes with only the necessary spoilers to save you some time. You can read it all in one go before starting any of the games, if you want. It's like, 10 years of stuff in here though. Take your time. If I missed anything, tell me and I'll edit it in. The best way to read this post is on my blog so you can see any of these edits. Feel free to share this around, make a video essay where you just read this off word for word, and/or repost it in any other fashion. I just want people enjoying the games! Credit is appreciated of course.

The Undertale Essentials

1

Go play Undertale! (you can skip any steps you've done before) It's on Steam, Xbox, Playstation, Switch. You can find android mobile ports of it pretty easily too, apparently. You can find a way to play it, I promise.

Just get to the end however you want, it largely doesn't matter what you do since a large appeal of the game is it reacting to your decisions. But if you get an encounter with no enemies, that means you've killed enough of them to activate an optional mode that skips a lot of the normal stuff in the game. So I would quit out to reload your save in that instance. You absolutely need to experience the game that started it all because a lot of Deltarune's enjoyment comes from the knowledge you'd have after playing this game first! Including the music! Don't mute the game just because you think the Ruins music is kinda mid!

2

Play Undertale...Again! This time, you need to be going for the True Pacifist Ending. Which just means you do all the important side quests, and don't kill anyone at all.* Don't worry about this being boring, there's actually plenty of unique dialog for a second playthrough.** If you don't super-kill The Flower™ from the trailer and all the marketing during a playthrough, he'll give you tips and hints on how to do it without having to look up a guide after the normal final boss. But really just try and maximize the dialog you see in this playthrough and you should get it. Just make sure you pour water on the blue lady after she passes out in the lava area, if you leave the screen on accident before pouring the water on her it locks you out of a side quest and you'll have to load a save from before the boss fight. If you save after this, that means you have to start all the way over...again again! *If you never killed anyone in your first playthrough and didn't lock yourself out of any important side quests, you can just hit continue to load into the room before the finale, and go back to do the side stuff you missed. **If you can't tell that the dialog is new, that means you can't complain about it being boring since you didn't remember the original dialog anyways! (This is a spiteful remark towards my biological older sister)

3

Play Undertale...Again Again Again! In step 1, I mentioned an optional mode that skipped a lot of the normal parts of the game. Well now you're going to do that on purpose, by not fighting an area's boss until you've exhausted the encounter limit. It's one of my favorite parts of the game to play. This can only be done by Fighting enemies until they fall to ashes before you, and stop showing up entirely. After the first area, save points start giving you an enemy count so you can't miss them on accident. Do this for the whole game, and you'll be able to reach The Final Conclusion to Undertale.

...Or...

You could watch someone else do it. (Don't click that out of curiosity if you're not at this step yet, it starts with super spoilers for the True Pacifist Ending!) This video playthrough features no commentary and uses YouTube's chapters feature, allowing you to skip through the monotonous enemy grinding if you just want to see what's new. Not everyone wants to do this playthrough, for obvious reasons.

This step might feel optional, but it's so important that I would highly recommend watching the video if you don't want to play it yourself. (You can check the end of this video yourself even if you played it, as this ending does change some things in other parts of the game!)

Congratulations! You've now finished The Undertale Essentials! (or you already did all of this like 10 years ago) Time to move on to...

The Extracurriculars!: Part 1

I don't believe any of this section is skippable if you want to really get the most out of Deltarune, despite the name. Feel free to use this time to think about Undertale even more, on a deeper level. These are events that happened between Undertale and the surprise release of Deltarune Chapter 1. Starting with...

The UNDERTALE Anniversary Q&A

Just make sure you read those instructions! It's not very long, so you could read it all in a single bathroom break.

The UNDERTALE 2nd Anniversary Alarm Clock announcement

This has since been cancelled, but it has some unique dialog for the characters found nowhere else. Again, very short.

The trailer for UNDERTALE's Switch release I guess?

This one is just funny, I really like this trailer. It didn't even release for the third anniversary on time outside of Japan. However, there is a fan favorite Exclusive Boss Fight and also Whatever This Is (<- 1/100 chance) that you'll miss if you didn't play the game on Switch! These are essential to know about going forward, as it's effectively two entirely new characters.

Here's the Exclusive Dog Shrine for the Playstation release, which is...Not Important...I'm watching this just now for the first time and it kind of sucks...badly. Okay just this one is skippable.

The Deltarune Essentials: Chapter 1

0

I want to take a moment to set the mood here for you. We just had the Switch release for Undertale, for the third anniversary. Nobody is expecting anything from Toby, who's now a multi-millionaire off of game sales alone (official merch comes from Fangamer, I wouldn't look at it yet though as you might run into spoilers) and if he does release anything else, we expect it to be just his "next project."

Then, the morning of October 30th, the day before Halloween, the official Undertale account tweets this and this. (<- start that one at the bottom I formatted it wrong) Then, after waiting a full 24 hours and finally downloading the new thing it greets you with THIS terrifying premise. We were terrified!

Now, after reading that, it is finally time for...

1

Playing Deltarune! But just chapter 1. It's free! After installing it, if it's the steam version, right click it and open up the "properties..." menu. Then go down to Betas and set it to "chapter1.2.lts.test - 11-25-24" to make sure you're playing the latest version, if you can't it's not a big deal but this does make some changes that will be in the final game. Meaning it's just a way to play the final-ish version of chapter 1+2 a bit early!

It's your first playthrough, just do whatever you like. It's only a single chapter rather than an entire game, so replaying it won't take nearly as long even if you mess something up. I will warn you though, you will need at least 90 minutes in a row after fighting the final boss of Card Castle to complete the next section that has no save points. This is, technically, for the best. You'll see. But please, for your own sake, do not start Chapter 2 yet. I promise, it's worth it.

2

Playing Deltarune But Just Chapter 1...Again! Or don't. While I do personally recommend playing through it again and doing the opposite of what you did the first time, that's not really important. At least not that we can tell yet. What you will want to do is load your first save file, and then making sure you have the White Ribbon armor item and watching the chapter 1 portion of this guide (it starts in partway through the video to avoid spoilers, make sure you stop the video before he starts talking about Chapter 2) to make sure you didn't miss anything important for Chapter 2! You will need to get to the ending cutscene again to make sure any changes to your file transfer to Chapter 2 properly.

This is just a general playthrough tip: When you're in town, you can just go all the way down to the bunker at the south-most area first thing. This will let you explore through the town in "layers", making it hard to miss anything that isn't hidden (the guide does mention the hidden part of the town!) Really, the most important part is just talking to sinks before anyone else in the room though.

Now that you've finished Chapter 1, it's time for...

The Extracurriculars!: Part 2

At this point, you're probably thinking to yourself "Why should I wait? Why would I not just go into the next part of the game now? Why do all these extra parts?" The simple answer is, Deltarune uses its Chapter releases to give you time to think about it. Probably, too much time, given the way some of us react to it. But this does play into its strengths as a series, giving us tidbits and mysteries to dive into. Trying to predict and figure out what's being foreshadowed and find the characters hidden and all the little interactions you could of missed. This really is the true strength of the series, and why people love talking about it. There's so much to find, there's almost always more you haven't seen.

This section covers the events that happened between chapters 1 and 2 of Deltarune. It's honestly quite a doozy, but less of it as vital as last time. Starting with:

Toby Fox talking about his thoughts on the game he's been working on since 2012.

Yeah, it turns out Deltarune started development before he even started working on Undertale. This is more or less unimportant if you don't care about Toby Fox or the creation of the game.

Honestly a lot of what's here and between the 5th Anniversary is mostly little tweets here and there. If you DO care about a little behind the scenes stuff, you'll just have to open the Toby Fox's twitter account and scroll down until you see the big blue "Windows protected your PC" images because everyone's PC's thought he was releasing a virus because he called the game "SURVEY_PROGRAM" lol. (then you can start scrolling up to see the stuff!)

Also the Chapter 1 Demo released on Switch with a very funny trailer

Seriously though, it's all just other stuff he's worked on, jokes, behind the scenes/scrapped content, or previews for chapter 2 which you're about to play anyways.

This all changed on the 5th anniversary however...

THE UNDERTALE 5th Anniversary Orchestra Concert

This doesn't have much exclusive in it (excluding the music itself, of course) other than a commercial for some merchandise that was released on the 5th anniversary. There are also some piano covers from Toby Fox himself at the 3:03:00 mark, including a song you might not have heard yet. It's a very fun listen and watch, but it isn't vital if you just care about the story and characters instead of the music. Somehow. (If you played through the game muted you're doing it wrong [Unless you're deaf. Sorry.])

The UNDERTALE 5th Anniversary Alarm Clock Dialog

Unlike the other alarm clock dialog, this is actually very entwined with the characters, to the point where despite it being their Undertale versions, it actually gives insight for their Deltarune versions as well. A very important read, if you ask me, and very enjoyable if you just like the characters. Not nearly as short as last time, but it's sectioned so you can come back to your spot easily if you get interrupted.

The UNDERTALE 5th Anniversary Deltarune Status Update

This is more or less just talking about how far along chapter 2 was, and why it's been taking so long! Non-vital if none of that interests you, but there are some cool screenshots of Chapter 2.

Microsoft (probably) paid Toby a ton of money to release the game on Xbox for some reason lol

Again: really funny trailer. Here's most of the Exclusive Xbox Stuff (the rest can be found here, thanks @undertale-encyclopedia for having such a good pinned post) which doesn't sucks and gives more information on a few characters, even some we only meet in Deltarune!

Now for the 6th anniversary we have something very special.

The UNDERTALE 6th Anniversary SO WE PLAY deltarune CHAPTER 1 FOR SOME REASON live stream featuring 3 dads

This is really cool and important to the experience if you ask me! I genuinely recommend watching it, beginning to end, skipping nothing and keeping your eyes peeled throughout. It's not a very "normal" playthrough, and the waiting periods have exclusive songs & information.

You'll see why at the end of it, but now that you've definitely watched that entire video (it's okay if you did it at 2x speed) it's time for...

The Deltarune Essentials: Chapter 2

0

More spooky tweets...So Spooky... (again, bottom to top. Just like manga!)

1

Playing Deltarune Chapter 2! Your first playthrough, do whatever you want. There aren't any long stretches without save points this time either. I highly recommend getting at least 1 of everything you come across and keeping it safe, with your new storage ability this shouldn't be too hard. There's plenty of secrets to find too, so keep an eye out!

This will save you a lot of time though: There is a part in Chapter 2 where the party changes in some meaningful way I'm being intentionally vague about. As SOON as this happens, use the new Chapter 2 save menu to copy your save into an unused save slot (I recommend the bottom slot) and don't touch it or save over it for the rest of this playthrough.

There is a hidden B-side route, requiring either a guide to go through it or someone behind your shoulder telling you what to do. Saving at this moment will allow you to do this B-side route, without having to start the chapter over from the beginning. Having someone telling you what to do is the recommended way to do it.

2

Do the hidden B-side route, which is significantly shorter than a normal playthrough. If you saved in the correct spot, you should have a save file ready to go right before the branching point. Again, someone else telling you what to do is recommended. But if you need a guide for it, there's one on the wiki in the "Method" section near the top. Try not to read anything outside of it.

I recommend to stop reading the guide as soon as possible, as once the route is initiated a low-pitched sound will play whenever you successfully keep the route going. If a different sound plays, you have aborted this B-side route, meaning you need to reload your last save. If you get stuck, you can go back to the guide as necessary. Do note that you WILL need to find The Dumpster and buy from it.

After you Do-The-Thing with the Dumpster-Thing-You-Need-To-Remember-To-Equip, you'll be locked in, so you won't need to consult the guide anymore for the rest of the playthrough.

3

You can now watch the entire "Making PERFECT Deltarune Save files..." video beginning to end.* I originally linked it at the 6:40 mark, so you can watch what was before that to see what spoilers I skipped. If you just want the Chapter 2 guide portion, it starts at 13:30. This step of "making perfect save files" is technically skippable, but there are some REALLY good items in Chapter 2 that are VERY missable! This will make sure you get them all, maximizing your Chapters 3 & 4 experience. But this one really isn't vital if you're enough of a gamer to not need strong items for "optional" hidden bosses. Oh, and make sure you talk to sinks before people whenever possible. *if you’d rather just read a checklist, here’s one by @brixbraxium. It covers both chapters 1 & 2, so I couldn’t link it earlier. It doesn’t cover absolutely everything like the video guide, but if you just want the big points this is perfect.

The Extracurriculars!: Finale

The Finale. All the extra bits and pieces that have been dropped for us here and there as we've been waiting for the past 3 and a half years for that Trailer. You may not want to read this section until after you're done with Chapter 2! It's easily the longest section to get through. But I'm sure you've been wondering...

Who the hell is that guy from the intro that's been making those spooky tweets before chapter releases? and Part 2 of it. These videos are, of course, not gospel (something like this really can't have one) But it's a very good summary of the information we have and what the common consensus was/is for some things.

Also there's been this unused code that has a person talking the entire time lol. This actually changed between the chapter 1 and chapter 2 release. This is probably Dess? Who you may or may not even know exists at all. Hope you've been paying attention!

The UNDERTALE 7th Anniversary Deltarune Status Update

This one has content you, someone who just played Chapter 2, will actually care about! It previews content and music for chapters 3 & 4, but still effectively tells us nothing! It's awesome! More importantly though it tells you about

THE SPAMTON SWEEPSTAKES

Don't watch the video at the top. This is for your own safety. You can't handle it. Not Yet. This features tons of exclusive music, previews of stuff you already saw and other stuff that wasn't featured in the Switch 2 direct trailer, and ads that you actually SHOULD click on. Can you find all 40 hidden pages? No? Are you sure you checked the product descriptions really thoroughly? Both homepages? Okay here's the wiki page that lists them all. Really do go through them all though, there's a lot of character building that just won't happen in the game here! Also, here's a live Spamton FAQ that got buried in Fangamer's twitter for some reason. Very funny and informative.

Successfully managing to get through all 40 hidden pages, and reading all of the text on the normal pages, and the FAQ, should inoculate you to [Spamton's Essense] allowing you to now watch the video at the top of the sweepstakes page. I am not liable for any [injures] you suffer.

THE NEWSLETTERS

After this, everything became consolidated into Seasonal Newsletters (sign up here, I recommend truck freak) that are archived here on Toby Fox's website. Just click into the Newsletter archive, and scroll down to the bottom first and work your way up. Seriously, just go up through them and enjoy what we've been waiting for months apart.

These talk about everything Toby Fox has been working on and have cool stuff like interviews with the characters and also real people who work on the games! It'll cover a couple things that happened before this section too, so don't worry about me missing anything if you think I haven't mentioned it here. However, there are some Famitsu articles linked, and you may notice that when you try to read them...that you do not speak Japanese...

Here's translations by @chartcarr of pretty much every Toby Fox Japanese only interview! You can find the one's mentioned in the newsletters under the "Toby Fox's Secret Base" link if they're not on the front page. (Chartcarr is going to re-do most of these at some point. That might have already happened, check’em out again if you’ve already read them!)

Newsletter Issue #5 Has 3 Random Valentine's Day Cards. Here's All Of Them In One Page. We had to hunt these down as a community, together! It was brutal! A lot of them only went to a few people, and if those people weren't online or aware we didn't have theirs yet, we just didn't have it! It was great.

All that's left for you now is to remember to click the snowman at the bottom of Issue 8.

Don't want to miss anything once Chapters 3&4 come out? Here's a speculative checklist by @brixbraxium (again!) that predicts everything we'll need to do based on the previous chapters. If I never update this, it can't ever be spoilers! Woohoo!

Big Questions FAQ:

This Series Has Irrevocably Rewired My Brain How Do I Cope With This

Watch this. It's a great video, even if you don't have this problem. It's basically what happened to me.

How Do I Become A Theory Lord With All Of This In My Brain Now?

Here's Device Theory, by @m0llystars, it should get your gears turning just watching it. Yes all 3 parts are out. It's especially worth your time if you like thinking about this game perhaps a bit too much really.

I Really Need Specifically More Undertale Not Deltarune Right NOW!!!...Please?

Here's an Undertale exhibition by Shayy on the show "That's Never Happened Before." You can probably just google "Undertale Theory" or something though if this isn't enough.

I Need To Give This Man More Than The $1-$35 I Have Already Given Him For His Game(s), How?

Official Merch can be found here, there are also EU and JPN sites linked at the bottom of the page. Here is the Bandcamp page to Buy the digital versions of the soundtracks (also on most streaming platforms)

I Like Music Theories

Here you go!

All Of This Happened So Fast I Need Something To Help Analyze The Characters In This Largely Character Driven Series! Help?!

Here's Dorked's Undertale & Deltarune Analysis playlist who you can also find on this website running the blog @megaderping

I've Managed To Consume All Of This Before Deltarune Chapters 3 + 4 Released, Or Came Back After They Released, And I Crave More. Now What?

The biggest inspirations for Undertale and Deltarune are Earthbound, Mother 3, Live A Live, OFF, Yume Nikki, MOON: Remix RPG, Brandish, Cave Story, and the TouHou series. (and a few more not mentioned here!)

OFF The RPG is getting a re-release on Switch & Steam soon with new music (some is by Toby Fox!) and revamped combat, so look forward to that. Or you can play the original OFF for free.

Earthbound is on every Nintendo console ever. Here's an excellent Let's Play of Earthbound you can watch if you don't want to play it yourself. It will show you more than you could possibly find on your own. A great series just in general, if you need something to watch.

Here's a video on how to play Mother 3.

Live A Live can be purchased on Steam or Nintendo Switch, and is excellent. Each campaign is relatively bite sized so you'll never be stuck on anything for long. I recommend disabling tutorials and starting with Imperial China, it's very linear and simple so it's perfect to learn with. Looking up guides to make sure you don't miss anything is fine though!

Cave Story is just free.

Yume Nikke is just free.

MOON: Remix RPG is on steam and Nintendo Switch. If you're a theory head, I highly recommend playing this one through to the end.

TouHou has a very dedicated unofficial translation scene, as there is no official translation for most of the games, so you'll need to go through them to play the games unless you can read Japanese.

I don't really have anything for the Brandish series, I just absorbed information about it from a blog that's no longer active. If anyone knows a truly exceptional let's play of it or the best way to play it, I'll edit it in here!

Stuff from other people who worked with Toby Fox

Temmie Chang has made a couple short games that Toby Fox has helped with

Splendidland (Mickey’s Dicksmasher Person) has done several things, including making Franken RPG. Which is fantastic.

Space Funeral isn’t really related at all but if you liked Franken it’s an obligatory recommendation. A friend of mine played it because they just got into Deltarune and didn't want to burn out replaying it before release, then immediately recommended it to me.  

Toby Fox helped with the music for Soul Of Sovereignty, by ggdg, who did some art for Undertale and got interviewed in one of the newsletters.

Fred Wood has his own website, definitely check out LOVE 3.

Taxiderby, creator of UNDERTALE RED, has their own itch page also.

I can also strongly recommend ZeroRanger & Void Stranger if you just want that feeling of digging deeper. Finding obscure interactions and details buried deep within the game, challenging but deeply rewarding in gameplay and lore discovery...Also play them both if you want to hear the music do that thing where the motif is established in the first game to give hints towards stuff in the second game in action. It's very cool.

Wait that's really how you're ending it? A random game rec where all you say is they're very cool without explaining anything about them? One of these wasn't even a question!

[kifflepiffles]

In light of the recent Nintendo boycotts, I come bearing a gift

I'll copy/paste a message I've been sharing in discord servers

If you like Nintendo games but hate the company, today's your lucky day

This is totally illegal and you absolutely shouldn't do it because its wrong, so I'm gonna tell you exactly what to do so that you guys know not to do it!

You guys absolutely should not download Azahar Nintendo 3DS emulator and then go onto Citra-emulator.com to find old Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS games and then open the games through Azahar for to play free, including Tomodachi life, ACNH, The Sims 3, Nintendogs + Cats and Flipnote Studio.

You really shouldn't do this stuff its its illegal but if you did it, it would totally work and no one could stop you. Also I work in tech and virus scanned random files and they all came up clean so its safe but its still illegal don't do it................. (But you totally could and no one would stop you)

The Citra emulator doesn't work because the dev got hit with a lawsuit. He went on to work on Azahar. They say not to do this for legal protection, but it fully works.

As far as I know, these games do not have piracy barriers EXCEPT Tomodachi Life (A large red cross over the character faces). I have a debug file that fixes this. If you guys come across another game that has a barrier let me know and I'll search for a debug

Tutorial

Use this link to download the emulator

https://azahar-emu.org/ scroll all the way up to "Download". Download the version that corresponds with your system (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android)

And this link to download the game files

https://citra-emulator.com/ Scroll all the way up to "3DS ROMS". There is an incomplete but still extensive collection of games, both Japanese and English titles as well as Pokemon ROM hacks

On Windows, place the game files on your desktop and open them. It will ask you what app you want to open the file with. Choose "Select app on PC", search for Azahar and select it then press "okay"

(I'm not 100% on the process for Linux and Mac but I'm sure they're similar. On Android I know for certain they are)

You'll know if it works because the game icons will switch from a paper file to the Azahar flower

Once you see these flowers, you are all set and ready to play!

And here is the error fix for Tomodachi life. Download this file and open it like normal. It will ask you what app you wish to open it with. Open it with Azahar.

Don't panic! A lowkey scary looking dialogue box will pop up for a moment and text will very quickly load onto it. This is Azahar reading the file and saving the commands. It will very quickly close itself. Once that window closes itself, you're all set to open Tomodachi Life and play like normal!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_BQfoGycmpaaOvBEm29LU1FKqy7cgG6j/view?usp=drive_link

(This is an upload from my own personal google drive account. I pinkie promise there's no virus on this. and if there is you have full permission to yell at me and put me on blast)

and that's everything I got! Feel free to reblog with other sites or tips you have! <3 Have fun lovelies!

[romanceclubofficial]

Dear Friends,

As you know, we always strive to be transparent with you about everything happening with Romance Club.

We want to inform you about two security issues recently discovered, one of which has already been resolved.

Issue #1: It was discovered that account data could be at risk if your UID is shared publicly. While the risk is very low, we recommend keeping your UID private and sharing it only through personal messages, not on public forums. This vulnerability has been addressed in version 1.0.38100 (which should be already available on the App/Play Store or coming very soon). Please note that after updating to version 1.0.38100, your account will no longer work on earlier versions of the game.

Issue #2: We are investigating a Windows/Steam issue that could allow access to some existing profiles on these platforms. This issue does not affect iOS or Android users. We take this matter very seriously and are committed to further enhancing the security of Windows/Steam accounts in future updates.

If you have any additional concerns about your account, feel free to contact us at support@yourstoryinteractive.com, and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Thank you for trusting us and for playing Romance Club!

[skarsjoy]

This is a cute interview I missed with Alexander Skarsgård talking to Yahoo! Entertainment about Murderbot and a fabulous lightning round Q&A at the end.

Alexander Skarsgård wants to be left alone to watch TV, just like Murderbot

We may not have killing cyborg security units (yet), but we have ChatGPT. The "Murderbot" star braved an AI-generated portion of this interview.

Taryn Ryder; Fri, May 16, 2025 at 7:00 AM EDT

excerpts:

Murderbot is a genderless cyborg in the books, with no physical human-looking attributes of note. So, how on earth did Alexander Skarsgård fit the bill to play the titular character?

The show’s creators, brothers Chris and Paul Weitz, knew it would be an impossible task to cast someone who fit “everybody’s version of what they were thinking of.” They even considered a female lead. But when Skarsgård showed interest, they say, the casting choice was a no-brainer.

“Alexander’s a deeply eccentric person. He’s somebody who has this exterior that can be intimidating. He was in the Swedish special forces. He appears from characters he’s played like he could really kill somebody,” Paul tells Yahoo.

The Weitzes know fans of the books have “headcanon,” which, in fandom terms, refers to how people envision what a character is going to look or feel like. They say fans won’t be disappointed by Skarsgård. (Early reviews agree.)

“He has a really good sense of humor and he’s an oddball. Those characteristics were characteristics which one felt would suit Murderbot,” Paul adds. “We just wanted it to be an actor who was really specific.”

Skarsgård is happy to show off his eccentric side in the series.

“It’s such a weird, unique character that I definitely hadn’t played before, and I was also excited about doing something slightly more comedic compared to The Northman or Infinity Pool, other, slightly darker projects that I’ve done recently,” he tells Yahoo. “I was beyond excited when I came across this weird sci-fi action plot, but centered around a socially awkward android who loves soap operas.”

Skarsgård says he personally relates to Murderbot’s “procrastination.”

“I thought that was quite interesting how it calls itself Murderbot and it’s going to go on these epic adventures. And that’s kind of what you expect to see when you’re watching a sci-fi show — that it’s actually heroic and confident and goes out there and kicks ass. But instead ... Murderbot procrastinates and gets stuck just watching its favorite show, Sanctuary Moon,” he laughs. “I find it quite relatable that, you know, you’ve got these grand plans, but they can wait till tomorrow. You just got to watch a few more episodes of something.”

Since sci-fi always touches on real-world themes and the closest thing we have to a SecUnit is ChatGPT, I signed up for the AI chatbot to enlist its help for a lightning round of Murderbot and Skarsgård-themed questions. The 48-year-old Swedish star was excited to see how it did.

I’m going to fire them off. Are you ready?

Yeah.

Would you rather binge-watch a show or explore a new city?

Explore a new city.

Twenty-four-hour robot bodyguard or 24-hour robot personal chef?

Personal chef.

Be a brilliant villain or forgettable hero?

Forgettable hero. Forgettable hero is really nice. I like that.

Acting in a heavy costume or acting with heavy CGI?

I’m quite lazy. I like practical stuff that’s not CGI, but I’m also lazy. The thought of doing something in pajamas in front of a green screen? I’ll go for that one.

Skarsgård family game night. Is it board games or chaos?

I would say chaotic board games.

What would be a favorite recharge, sleeping in or an outdoor activity?

Outdoor activity.

Watch a bad movie with friends or a masterpiece alone?

Bad movie with friends.

Robots taking over or aliens invading?

Aliens invading.

Be famous in a tiny galaxy or totally anonymous on Earth?

I’d like to be famous in a tiny galaxy. I like that idea.

See, these weren’t too bad. I mean, I took out the really weird and creepy ones, so my job still needs to be here, but...

Give me one creepy [question].

OK, you asked. Would you rather keep taking your shirt off or only wear clothes in films?

Keep taking my shirt off.

full interview link:

Photos 1) my screen cap of Alex in Murderbot/AppleTV episode 1.07 "Complementary Species' and 2) Victoria Ellis for Yahoo News; 3) in link: Getty Images)

[qtea-69]

Tw: kinda nsfw topic about piercings. MINORS DNI

Ps. I also haven't played the game a whole lot. Just the demo. (Android 😭😭)

Okay. So sol would totally have a Jacobs ladder piercing. HEAR ME OUT. he'd probably overheard you and someone else talk about it. Like

Person: oh hey mc. How are you?

Mc: oh hey! Yeah I'm good. How are you? What about your boyfriend?

Person: oh I'm great! My boyfriend actually recently got a jacobs ladder piercing to make or intimate life a bit more interesting.

Mc: oh really how?

Person well it feels really good. Idk how to describe it other than their dick like becomes ribbed? Didn't change my boyfriends experience but it REALLY elevated mine.

Mc: oh cool! I wonder how good it felt.

And that's where sol immediately left from listening to the convo to go get a Jacobs ladder piercing. Because he wants to make mc feel as good as possible

[noxiatoxia]

Recently, I found a very strange Naegi sprite, and it's got me thinking a lot about the DR1 Sprite process.

It's from the promotional picture announcing Danganronpa Unlimited Battle, a now defunct iOS/Android game from 2015.

To some this sprite might look normal, but it is assuredly not. Also, Kirigiri's is off, too. But for the sake of the kind of discussion I'm heading, I'm only going to focus on Naegi for right now.

It's very difficult to navigate the game's files, but I *was* able to pull a clean version of the sprite.

This sprite is weird for so many reasons. I can't tell if it's even a beta sprite or not. If it is, it looks closer to an SDR2 beta.

To illustrate what I mean, please look at this infograph from a different post of mine, about the standard Naegi default sprite.

What sticks out to most people, I think, is how different each sprite is (with exception to the last two). The style itself seemed to change, and considering Danganronpa's history, this makes sense. DISTRUST, as it was once called, was going to look and play very differently. It is then no surprised the sprites went through a very different creative process than, say, the SDR2 sprites - when by that point, the team had a clear idea of what the Danganronpa art style was to look like.

For comparison, here's a linear look at how SDR2 sprites are largely created.

Please excuse the messiness of the chart.

What's notable is the most basic form of these sprites lack line weight. A pen with 0 pressure is used to draw the outline, then the illusion of pen pressure is added by erasing some of the ends. It's an incredibly interesting way to stylize the artwork.

Kuzuryuu is a great example as we have 3 main points in this specific graph: the "draft", the "beta" and the "final". But, as I've covered before, there is sometimes possible other sprites between these 3 points. Think of it like v.1.0, v.2.0, v.3.0 - while all the minor renditions (that, for some reason, Spike keeps around and keep accidentally misusing) are akin to v.1.1, v.2.1, v.2.2, etc...

And while I still believe my original theory I posed about SDR2 sprites being a 3-step-process is mostly true, I do think specific sprites or characters have more or less steps in between each "level".

For extra reference, here is some other sprite comparisons:

So, with all of these examples, I think you can see a clear process within SDR2's sprites.

Back to Naegi, and what confuses me...

I made a chart for this specific sprite.

This graph shows a clear, logical timeline from point A to B, to C.

Now, let me compare the Naegi from Unlimited Battle to the final, finished sprite.

It's very different, but in ways that don't make sense. His hand is completely different from all versions of the Naegi sprite we've seen. As well, why does this sprite have lower hair, when none of the Naegi sprites in that timeline do? His hoodie zipper, also, is different from all 3 sprites. If this was a beta of the v.2.0 sprite, why is the nose in the correct position as the 3.0 sprite? Or why is the right eyebrow cutting through the hair shading, like the 3.0 sprite? If this were earlier, should it not look closer to the 2.0 sprite?

So...I don't think it makes sense to be a beta sprite, despite the outlining looking like an SDR2 beta. Then what is it?

That, I have no clue. But I have some ideas.

Firstly, this may be a sprite made only for this game. I have 0 clue why this would be, or where it would be used in-game, as the game is unplayable these days. Why this sprite only, though? The SDR2 cast was featured prominently in this game, too, and Hinata did not get any re-drawn sprites. Why did Kirigiri randomly also have a redrawn sprite?

But, stuff like this has happened before. the Danganronpa LINE stickers have many redrawn sprites. Not all of them are weirdly, but that only makes it share more in common with this game which also has non-redrawn sprites.

But if not redrawn for this specific game, what else could it be?

Well...I only have 1 other theory.

1・2 Reload (the Vita remaster of DR1&SDR2) was released late 2013, while Unlimited Battle was released early 2015. The Vita version of DR1 did something interesting that the Vita version of SDR2 did not do: go back and touch up sprites.

I'm still in the midst of finding all the characters who were edited, but the most noticeable and abundant is Kuwata's.

I'll cover this more in-depth once I get to my "DR1 PSP -> PSVita Revisions" post, but the change is clear. They added much thicker outlines to Kuwata's sprites - almost all of them. This is clearly a purposeful change and not them reusing betas on accident, as Kuwata's actual beta sprites (observed in the DR1 Demo version) lack these bold outlines.

So...what if everyone was going to get this treatment? It may be a stretch, but it's the only thing that makes sense to me. Perhaps everyone's sprites were going to be heavily edited to look more like SDR2 sprites, and perhaps this process was even started before they gave up for one reason or another. So, we only have a few characters who ever got this treatment...and then some of those sprites were accidentally used in this iOS game.

Of course, that's only my theory. There could be a million other reasons for why this Naegi sprite exists - along with Kirigiri's and...Oogami.

Yes, in the files, I also found an odd Oogami sprite with the same quirks to it as Naegi's and Kirigiri's. I'll make gifs for them both now.

All I can say is this is really strange. I wish I had a more definitive answer for what's going on here.

[ckret2]

What are some of your favorite books?

This is not an exhaustive list. I have read a fucking lot of books. I guarantee you I have forgotten 8 out of my top 10 favorites.

Here are the answers that would make my literature teachers proud:

Grendel; To The Lighthouse; Dracula but I was into Dracula before it was cool; Don Quixote; a moment ago I had two others but I forgor

Here are some other answers:

When I was a kid my mom said I was too young to read RL Stine's Goosebumps books so I was banned, so I picked up one of RL Stine's Fear Street books instead, because at age 7 I understood malicious compliance. The book was Revenge of the Shadow People. It was the first horror story I ever read. Because of that I've had a lifelong obsession with shadow people characters. (Heartless, Aku, Okage Evil King Stan...) It's a modest book, but it helped shape my personality, so it belongs on this list.

My middle school favorite books—because I read them 5,000 times and will never forget them—were How To Disappear Completely And Never Be Found; The Last Book In The Universe; Self-Portrait with Wings; and anything by Neal Shusterman. The Last Unicorn SHOULD have been one of my favorites except I only saw the movie and didn't learn about the book until I was an adult.

As a kid I was really into Lovecraft when I was still young & ignorant enough to be like "gee, the way he writes about other races sounds kinda racist, but I'm sure there's a good reason for that!" The reason was he's hella racist. On the bright side, there's now a bunch of very good Lovecraftian stories ABOUT racism. I liked Lovecraft Country (of course) and The Ballad of Black Tom.

Lovecraft was the biggest influence on how I think about horror and Hitchhiker's Guide was the biggest influence on how I think about comedy and idk what that combo says.

Adultier favorites: Wild Seed (anything by Octavia Butler tbh), Machineries of Empire trilogy, Sherlock Holmes Vs. Cthulhu and I shan't apologize for my terrible taste; The Android's Dream; NOS-4-A2 which I picked up because it had the same name as a Buzz Lightyear character even though the Buzz Lightyear character is a robot and the book is about a car; I'm gradually working my way through Poirot; Carnacki the Ghost-Finder. 

I read the Popol Vuh in college and was hypnotized by its poetry but that was an academic translation and more recently it's had a poetic translation that I've bought but I haven't read yet.

Here's some random recent books I enjoyed—not necessarily my "favorites," but they're in my recent library card history so it's easy for me to look them up rather than trying to pull titles of old out of my ADHD black hole. Beholder by Ryan La Sala was fantastic—fun cosmic horror (both the premise and the entity itself), fun mystery, and I like it when you can say "and it's a queer romance" as a bonus to what makes the story good as opposed to being its only selling point. Such a Bad Influence had such a perfect ending that I went to the writer's site to immediately email her about it but then my browser crashed so I went to sleep and I still need to email her about it. Darcy Coates is my current "pumps out a million haunted house mysteries" author whose books I'm working my way through. Zero Sum Game was good, I still need to read the sequels.

Separate from the above, I'm in the market for book recs that feature Death/the Reaper as a main character, because I just read one that was crap. (The book was fine; but Death was characterized boringly and didn't have any significant impact on the plot. Like he was the selling point of the book and they could have just left him out.) Bonus points if Death is depicted as an actual skeleton rather than just some guy. I'm flexible on genres, but if it's romance Death has GOTTA be a skeleton, I'm not interested in a monsterfucker bait-and-switch. I already know about Discworld and respect that Death, I just want something that isn't Discworld.

[dr-spectre]

I need to talk about this moment from Shadow Generations because this broke me beyond comprehension in the best way possible.

(SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!)

Shadow smiling, like giving an actual genuine smile and not a cocky smirk, got to me. This mother fucker has been through hell, he was so down on himself on the ark because he was made to cure Maria yet he couldn't. G.U.N came in and killed someone he loved and it drove his creator mad, making him alter his memories so that they would wake up angry and bitter… and i bet it didn't even take that much manipulation to piss off Shadow either… just a few tweaks to his memory… Shadow then finally remembered Maria's true wish thanks to the help of a pink hedgehog. He had to face his prototype, a ghost from the past... Shadow briefly died after saving the world with the help of Sonic, he then contemplated if he was an android or not, finds out he is part alien, spends 06 trying to prove that's he's gotten over Maria and stop Satan himself, and then finally... he got to the chance to see his family one more time and....

I think this game fully cemented that Shadow is my favourite character in the entire Sonic series. He always allured me as a kid, with his black and red colour scheme, his demeanour, his voice, the way he skated around and the way his quills looked...

He smiles. He smiles because he gets to see Maria and tell directly to her face, "I'm gonna keep fighting for you. I'm gonna protect the world you love." And he finally got the closure that he needed BADLY!

In Shadow 05, he wanted to say goodbye to his past self because thinking about the past and Maria probably gave him so much grief and pain... But now? He changes his mind, he wants to fight for the good that Maria stood for, instead of saying "naw fuck her." While also acknowledging that he can be more than just Maria's wish and fulfil his endless potential as said by his creator/father Gerald. Plus, growth is not linear, seeing Maria and Gerald must have been seriously shocking to him and revert some of that growth from Shadow 05 and Sonic 06…

Shadow has always interested me and it wasn't until recently where I not only replayed Sonic Adventure 2 with a retranslated mod but also Heroes, 06 and Shadow Generations that I've come to truly love and respect this character.

Shadow is surprisingly so fucking well written and the way his story and arc were explored in Sonic Adventure 2 was insanely well done. Even the music was muffled and confusing, just like his memory and his anger. THE MUSIC REFLECTED WHAT HE WAS FEELING AND THINKING!!! THEY PUT IN THAT EXTRA EFFORT IN HIS FIRST APPEARANCE!!!

Not everything they've done with this character after Sonic Adventure 2 was perfect, but some of the stuff they did felt like they gave the character justice.

I am so proud of Sonic Team and what they've done for Shadow Generations. Good on you guys... you've made a game that has emotionally affected a lot of people. I'm proud of you...

[avengersmansion-official]

I have heard conflicting points about The Vision's, uhh, patrimony? He was created by Ultron, but there are reports of him also being made from the Golden Age Human Torch? Or Wonder Man? Or Edwin Jarvis? Or Kang? And is he in anyway connected to the Golden Age Heroes of the same name?

I'll handle the easy part of your question first.

The Vision, our beloved artificial Avenger, bears no connection beyond the name and a few aesthetic similarities to the Golden Age crimefighter of the same name.

(1940s-era comic panel featuring the Golden Age Vision)

The Golden Age Vision was a being known as Aarkus, who hailed from a dimension known as Smokeworld, and had powers and abilities related to smoke and gas. He's about as connected to the modern-day Vision as the Golden Age Black Widow is to the modern-day Black Widow. That is to say, very little at all.

Now, as for the Vision's parentage and provenance, that's a surprisingly complicated subject. The quick answer is: yes.

(panel from Marvel's Avengers West Coast officially licensed comic depicting the return of the original Human Torch and his meeting with the Vision)

Vision's original body can be traced back to the late 1930s, when it was originally constructed by inventor Phineas T. Horton. Horton's artificial man debuted at a press conference in November 1939, where he showed off the android's one flaw, spun into a positive: it would burst into flame upon contact with oxygen.

Horton's artifical man became known as the Human Torch and began to take a life of his own, masquerading as police officer Jim Hammond while fighting crime in New York, and eventually joining other costumed adventurers in fighting for the Allies in World War II. Famously, the Torch was witness to Adolf Hitler's final moments, killing the dictator moments before he could take his own life at the war's end.

By the end of the decade, however, the Torch was rendered inert, buried underneath a desert in Nevada that would later become an atomic testing site. It was here that things started to get confusing, and all because of our old friend Immortus, the so-called Master of Time.

For reasons unclear to our team (but likely having to do with the Scarlet Witch as part of a long game), Immortus made a duplicate of the Human Torch. (He can just... do that, I guess.) One of the two Torches ended up in the hands of roboticist and Fantastic Four foe the Mad Thinker. This Torch was buried when the Thinker no longer had use of him, and remains the Human Torch to this day, reactivated some years later.

The other Torch came into the possession of Ultron, the metal monstrosity created by Hank Pym. Ultron encoded the Human Torch's body with brain scans taken from the then-deceased Wonder Man, just as he himself was made using Pym's brain patterns. This resulting being became the Vision, and turned on his creator, joining the Avengers.

(Daily Globe photo of the Vision in action, in one of his more recent appearances)

And that's more or less the same Vision we have today. His body has been destroyed and fully rebuilt a few times over, so it's difficult to tell how much of Horton's original construction remains, if any. But if you believe in souls (and there's good reason to, especially with the recent going-ons on Krakoa (RIP)), he's the same person.

As for the other individuals listed, there's good reason to believe one of those. Because, believe it or not, there was a second Vision, active during the time in which the more well-known one was thought dead.

And guess what! It all comes back to Kang again. Or in this case, Iron Lad.

(file photo of the second Vision, known as "Jonas")

When the young Nathaniel Richards, not yet Kang the Conqueror but operating as Iron Lad, left the 21st century, he downloaded the original Vision's operating system into his armor. This OS developed sentience and became another Vision, using the civilian name of "Jonas" until his untimely destruction at the hands of a returned Iron Lad.

As for rumors about the Vision being based on Edwin Jarvis, those are entirely unsubstantiated, and possibly derived from a confluence of two factors:

Jarvis was indeed an unwilling pawn of an early version of Ultron, posing as the "Crimson Cowl."

There are other androids similar to the Vision, such as Jocasta, constructed using the brain patterns of Avengers members.

I could see how one would come to that conclusion based on a twisting of the facts, but nothing we have supports it.