#there was some 2 of their friends in co op too and they all started hating on me 🧍

[fingertipsmp3]

Also I can’t figure out if my life genuinely does suck or I’m just having an existential crisis because my period starts in approximately 48 hours

[drysauce]

me, joining someone's world: hi could i take furina leveling materials from your world?

that person: what are you talking about you thief, why are you stealing other people's things

that's literally why i ASKED

[rey-129-fan]

Gotham-Amity Co-op AU

Part 1 | Next

Wow, okay, people seem to really like this. Awesome! Whelp, here's part 2!

“Alright, order.  Order.”

“Yeah, I’ll take a Triple Nasty with cheese, extra mustard and pickles.” Laughs rang out at Dash’s remark as everyone settled in to their seats.  Sam, who stood at the front of the room by a blackboard, just gave the quarterback a flat look while Danny and Tucker snickered at the teacher’s desk.  The group was meeting in an empty classroom at Casper since most were still Casper students, at least for another couple of months until graduation.  Jazz and Kyle, both of whom were attending school in Gotham, were dropping in to visit and attend the meeting.

“We are now beginning the first meeting for the Green Amity Co-o-”

“Oh, we are not calling it that!” Paulina cried out.  Sam’s eye twitched and started to glow slightly as those around the Latina nodded in agreement.

Jazz quickly stepped in.  “While naming something Green in a city that has a known meta Eco-terrorist might not be a good idea, we can discuss names later.  For now, let’s focus on more important matters for the co-op.”

“Right,” Sam sighed, releasing the tension in her shoulders.  “So has everyone had a chance to look over the info and pictures Jazz and Kyle were able to gather?”  Getting various conformations, the goth nodded. “Does anyone have any objections on using the building as a Gotham based co-op?”

“Not really.”

“Nope.” 

“None from me.”

“Okay, so we’ll put down an offer to buy the building,” Sam nodded before shuffling around some papers in her hands.  “Next on the agenda is rent.”

“Won’t we own the building?  Why would we need to pay rent?” Dash asked.  Kwan nodded while several others in the group just dropped their heads.

“Because we need to pay for things like utilities and taxes,” Valarie shot back, arms crossed as she stared down her former friend group.

“Not to mention that we should collect some money for potential repairs that will be needed in the future,” Wes added, nodding.  Dash turned and glared at both of them.

“As Val and Wes said, we may own the building, but we still need to gather money to pay for things like water, electricity, internet.  Things needed to make the building usable,” Jazz explained in a less condescending tone, mullifying the blond.

“So we need to figure out how much each utility is and split it between everyone, with a little extra on top to make a fund for repairs?” Danny clarified.

“That is a start, but some people will use more of some things than others.”

“Well, we can always start with it and adjust as we get a better idea of how much it costs and who uses up what amount,” Star said as she stood up and walked over to the board.  She picked up a piece of chalk and began writing down numbers.  “Do we know how much we have to pay for property tax?  From what I could find on the internet, the average cost of utilities in Gotham is about $118 a month, give or take.”

“That lines up with what I saw too, though that doesn’t include internet or phone plans,” Val nodded.

“Well, our phone plans aren’t likely to change, so we don’t need to worry about that.  Most internet plans start about $40 a month,” Tucker added.  Star nodded and added the 40.

“As for property taxes, given the building’s estimated amount, it would be about $15,900 a year, which is paid quarterly.”

Star continued writing.  “So 15,900 a year is 1325 a month.  We currently have 11 people, so that’d be 120.45 per person per month just in taxes.”

“So utilities plus internet and taxes would put us at about $242 a month.”

“Don’t forget insurance and repairs.  Gotham isn’t the safest place, what with all the supervillains,” Danny added.

“Never mind random ghosts dropping in just to fight Fenton.  We’re probably going to have to repair the place more often than the average,” Kwan nodded.

“Hey!  Don’t pin the property damage from ghost fights on me!  It’s mostly the GIW doing that!”

“We know, Danny, but you can’t deny that there are going to be at least a few ghosts that will come just to fight, and the GIW are likely to follow them.”  Danny crossed his arms and grumbled, but conceded.

“We should just double the amount we have for now.  That way we can cover the basics and have enough to cover anything that could come up, while most can afford it with a part-time job,” Tucker suggested.

“It’s a start,” Jazz agreed.

“And if we need to adjust it, we can always discuss it again,”Mikey pointed out.

“Alright, so all in favor of starting rent at $485 a month, raise your hand.” Sam counted the hands in the air.  Eleven.  “Very well.  Up Next: rules.”

“Oh come on!  We’re no longer kids and are going to college!  Why would you wanna create rules?!” Dash protested.

“Just because we’re adults now doesn’t mean that there aren’t still rules we have to follow,” Jazz responded.  “Pretty much any place you could live would have quiet hours and cleanliness requirements.  Plus I’m pretty sure there are places or things that you wouldn’t want others to mess with.” More grumbling was heard but no more protests.  “Now, from what I’ve observed and read on the internet, in general quiet hours are generally between 10-11 pm to about 8 am during the week, with it rolling back an hour on the weekends.  I don’t need it to be that strict, but I would like to have some quiet by the time I’m going to sleep.”

“What exactly do quiet hours entail?  Is it like a curfew?” Mikey asked, pushing up his glasses and looking at the two actual college students.

“Nah man, they’re just the hours you have to be quiet for.  Ya can do whatever ya want, so long as yer not disturbing anyone or keeping them up.  Just don’t do anything that’ll get the cops or Bats on ya, and yer good,” Kyle explained.

“Sweet!”

“So what should these quiet hours be?  Not going to lie, but midnight seems like a good start, especially if you have early morning classes,” Wes spoke up.

“Midnight is good for me.”

“Aw, but what if we want to have a party!”

“Well, if you start at 8, that gives you four hours,” Sam explained, raising her eyebrow.

“A 4 hour party seems to be enough, especially since not all of us would want to have a crazy party outside our door all night,” Val stated, glaring at Dash and Paulina.

“It seems common consensus is quiet by midnight.  What about when they end?”

“Well, most of us will likely have classes starting by 9.  Including travel time and getting ready, we’re likely to be up around 8 or so.  That’d give us 8 hours of quiet to study and fall asleep.”

“So midnight to 8 am for quiet hours?  Any objections?” None were made.

The meeting continued on in much the same way, with only a few protests to some rules, mostly related to shared chores and the creation of a chore schedule.  But these protests were quickly silenced by a glare from Valarie that slowly glowed a slight red the more protests were made.

“Alright, I think we’ve covered everything we set out for today’s meeting,” Jazz said, tapping some papers against the desk she sat at.  She took over the meeting as Sam grew more annoyed.  The goth was now sitting between Danny and Tucker, who were both offering small touches of comfort.  “Remember, if you have any questions, share them in the discord server.  And if you have any suggestions for a name, please feel free to send them to Wes, who will compile them into a poll so we can vote on them in a week.  Now, would anyone like to add anything else?”

A few mutters and shakes were the answer.

“Very well, that concludes this meeting.  Hope everyone has a good summer, and when we next meet, hopefully, it should be in our new building.”

***

Did I seriously just write 1363 more words of set up? Yes, yes I did. I have no regrets. We should be in Gotham starting next chapter and get up to the shenanigans then.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! I started writing this while I was baking a pie for my own mother.

I am going back and forth on whether Phantom Planet is canon or not, but either way, all of Amity Park knows about Danny in this, but not the outside world, and especially not the GIW. While I do read a lot of bad parent Maddie and Jack, I much prefer to have them as good parents that love and accept both Danny and his little clone/cousin/sister.

Sorry guys, but Bruce is not adopting either Phantom.

Again, feel free to leave suggestions for names for the Co-op, as well as for this little AU itself. Also, suggestions for shenanigans and powers our liminal teens might have outside just glowing eyes.

[growinguparo]

Thinking once again about the intersection of being aro / perpetually single and the Housing Issue. It is without a doubt the biggest issue I face as an aro person, particularly in fucking Canada.

In my province we have rent control on almost all rental units by default. Annual rent increases are capped at 2.5%, and though I have had landlords in the past try to break that law, they back down when you say "that's literally not legal lmao try again".

In my province we also have a type of lease called a group lease, where multiple people sign on as a group. This is the standard type of lease used in properties with more than one bedroom.

If one person wishes to remove themself from a group lease, that terminates the lease for all of the other tenants in the group. Therefore, in order to continue living in the unit they are already in and may have been in for years, the landlord can choose to force the remaining tenants to reapply, and upon signing a "new lease" they can increase the rent by however much they want. Forget 2.5%, they could double rent with no consequences and still get tenants because that's how desperate people are in Canada.

Seeing as that's fucking insane, I talked to multiple lawyers about it the last time this happened to me, and they all said yeah no, if someone wants to be removed from the lease then the landlord can choose to deny a takeover and force a new lease. You can prevent the issues that come with a new lease if everyone remains on the old lease even if they no longer live there, but that is rather precarious for everyone involved and also makes your landlord hate your guts.

Anytime a new lease is signed, landlords can increase by whatever they want, so renovictions are very common (I've been renovicted as well). With all these easy-to-access loopholes, "rent control" is a joke.

It is New Year's Day and I have received yet another email informing me that since one of my roommates decided to leave at the end of the lease period, our lease will be terminating and showings will begin next week. If any one of us wants to stay, we have to reapply at market rates with a replacement person already in the group ready to sign a new lease, or we have to all remain on the old lease.

I left my parents' home in 2016, and since then I have moved 15-17 times, depending what you count as a move, and lived in 12-13 different places. That's due to a bunch of forced circumstances, including co-op placements and illegal evictions, but many of those moves were because the roommates I was living with decided to move on with their lives, and I had no choice but to move as well.

When I tell people I've moved 15 times in 7 years, they are always shocked. I'm like, how have you NOT though? Having had this conversation many times, I start to ponder what makes me vulnerable to this type of exploitation, and what makes my friends able to avoid some of it.

#1. As a low-income disabled person, I am unable to afford "market rates". This means I'm always tryna get units that are below market rate, and those landlords are invariably very interested in removing their tenants to bring their busted-ass units up to market rate.

#2. I am SINGLE bro. No one is planning their life around living with me. Every time a roommate leaves, I get forced out too. I did have a long-term roommate for a couple years who bounced around 4 places with me, but eventually she moved city - as is her right - and I was forced out again.

Couples also have more options when it comes to affordable housing, particularly if they are willing to share a room. Sharing a room cuts your rent in half. It’s pretty rare to see just one person living in a 1bed because it’s just ludicrously expensive, but for couples it’s a decent option. During the searching stage as well, if you already have someone to live with it’s a lot easier to find places than if you also have to find new roommates (this part is especially brutal for me as a trans person). It is certainly still difficult for couples in the market, I know couples who have ended up homeless as well, but being alone makes you more vulnerable.

The housing crisis is a broad issue affecting literally everyone, but single people are one of the groups that is systematically disadvantaged, making it a significant issue for aros imo. It is the combination of being single and low-income that has made me so vulnerable to housing instability.

Edited with minor corrections

[yelenasdiary]

New Friend Request

Pairing: Gamer! Kate Bishop x Reader

Summary: After posting on a subreddit looking for people to play a new game with, you received a new friend request.  

| Comfort? | 0.8K | No Warnings | 

AC: Here is something a little different to my usual works! I hope you enjoy this, I found it pretty fun to write!

It was Friday night, you had a weekend off from work and had planned to sit down with plenty of snacks and binge play a new video game you just treated yourself too. The only downside was that all your friends that you played video games with were either busy this weekend or had no interest in playing the new game you'd been waiting so long to play.

With a sigh and nerves kicking around in your stomach you decide to post on a subreddit asking if anybody else would like somebody to play with over the weekend. It wasn't something you'd done before but you liked playing games with friends more than playing solo.

Hours had past and your phone was left dry, not a single notification from anybody reacting to your post. Another sigh left your body as you tossed your phone to the side and decided to turn your PS4 off.

*DING*

(LuckyArrow has sent a friend request)

The notification stared at you deeply as the feeling of excitement and relief soon filled you. You punched in your passcode and quickly accepted the strangers friend request.

LuckyArrow: Hey! are you still looking for somebody to play Dying Light 2 with? I saw your post on reddit! ☺️

yourusername: Hey, I am! I just thought the game and none of my friends want to play it with me 😩

LuckyArrow: agh! that sucks! I have a friend, Yelena, she doesn't play video games much and refuses to play with me! If you want, I'd love to play it with you. Have you played the first one?

yourusername: That would be great! Thanks! I'm assuming your user is LuckyArrow on PSN aswell? I have played the first, have you? Oh! btw, I'm Y/n!

LuckyArrow: Sure is! You have a cute name! I'm Kate, are you from New York?

yourusername: Oh wow! 😅 Don't take this the wrong way but I wasn't expecting you to be a girl! I actually just moved to NYC! Are you also from here?

LuckyArrow: You'd be surprised how many of us female gamers are out here ☺️ Where did you move from? if you don't mind me asking

yourusername: Just a small town that was hella boring! hence why I got into video games haha!

LuckyArrows: I hope you don't mind, I had a look at some of the game you play! You have good taste, how far are you into the story of Dying Light?

yourusername: Thanks! & not very far, I don't really like playing games solo most of the time. I've completed the first couple of missions though so I'm able to play co-op.

LuckyArrows: Awesome! Well, I have plenty of time tonight if you'd like to play now? If not, just let me know when you're free and we'll work something out ☺️

yourusername: Actually, I'm free all weekend so now would be great! Do you wanna play on my save or we can start one on your game? Whatever works ☺️

LuckyArrow: I've already completed it, let's just do a save on your game! Send me an invite x

LuckyArrow: Sorry about the x!!!! I'm just used to sending it to friends 😅😅

yourusername: Don't stress! it's okay ☺️ I'll send you an invite rn!

Friday night soon faded into the early hours of Saturday morning, plenty of laughs and jokes were made between you and your new friend, Kate. You learnt a lot about her, you felt comfortable with her even though she technically is still a stranger online, you both planned to meet for pizza for lunch.

Who knew that a simple post online would lead to you making a new friend.

2 months later

LuckyArrow: Hey! you free this weekend? sorry I couldn't play last weekend, I had a mission...I missed you though! 💜

yourusername: Hey!! Don't stress it, you get to actually kick some bad guys butts! it's pretty cool! I am free this weekend, I took work off, I need a break anyways. I missed you too, did your mission go well?

LuckyArrow: Meh, it was a pain (literally) but one less menace on the streets to deal with now! 💪🏼, I actually wanted to ask if you'd like to come over...I can order pizza and we can play video games or something, whatever you like! 😅

yourusername: Of course! it'll be so fun! Are you okay though? you seem a little off? x

LuckyArrow: I'm Fine ☺️ wanna come over Friday?

yourusername: Lock it in! Friday, date night haha!

LuckyArrow: Haha...😅

yourusername: Are you sure you're okay?

LuckyArrow: I'm not good this...but, I'm not asking you to just come over as a friend..😅

yourusername: Kate, are you asking me out on a date?

LuckyArrow: I am...we don't have to do something so causal, in fact I'd like to take you out on a real date but I don't want to scare you off or make things awkward between us..

yourusername: Oh thank god! Honeslty, I'm so glad you asked because I've really wanted to ask you out but I also didn't want to ruin anything

LuckyArrow: Well now that makes me feel a lot better! How about I pick you up at 6pm on Friday?

yourusername: it's a date! x

Taglist: @red1culous | @bentleywolf29 | @kiwiana145  | @lissaaaa145 | @high--power | @parkerdaramitzzzz | @mmmmokdok |  @wackymcstupid | @kiwiana145  | @valiantmugcowboyscissors | @shin-conan-kun | @nattyolw | @ripofflizzie | @goofy-goonie | @makegoodchoices | @musicinourlips | @apollo2907 | @marvelfan98 | @wandaroman0ff | @dumb-fawkin-bitch | @lovelyy-moonlight | @santana1437 | @fluffyblanketgecko | @inluvwithfictionalwomen | @jaymieflorissssssss | @tita001 | @youralphawolf72 | @natashamaximoff69 | @a-dorkier-book-keeper | @hehehehannahthings | @blue-serendipityy | @secrettoallofyou | @romantic-slaps-on-the-asss | @marvel-fan-2021 | @mmmmokdok | @riveramorylunar | @ripofflizzie | @scarsw1fe | @toldthatdevil | @itsmv3 | @katiemay-025 | 

[horrorvisuals]

Obscure (2004)

Obscure is a survival horror game emphasizing co-op gameplay with its wide range of characters. Taking place inside a massive school building, it lets you control five main characters and is still playable on modern PCs!

Obscure gives you the ability to control any of these five characters and what's better is, that they all have different features, personalities, and abilities.

There is technically a 6th playable character but I won't say more on that to not spoil things.

As I was saying, abilities. They are pretty interesting. For example, Josh lets you know if there is anything left to do in an area. Items to pick up or things to interact with, that kind of stuff. Pretty crucial for thorough exploration. It's important in a survival horror game.

Stan cracks locks easier due to his background, Kenny runs fast and packs a strong punch, Shannon gives tips when you're stuck on puzzles and heals other characters, and Ashley is better at using weapons.

They all have their own benefits!

Obscure plays pretty much like any other survival horror game from back in the day. It features semi-dynamic camera angles, with semi-tank controls. Exploration, item management, combat, navigation, everything is here.

As a somewhat unique feature though, Obscure also lets you combine some items with others and actively use them. For example, you can tape a flashlight to any firearm in the game if you can find adhesive tape.

Aside from firearms, the game also features melee weapons and they're pretty simple to use. There is a good "feeling" to them. They pack quite the punch.

In Obscure, darkness is your enemy. If you played Alan Wake, then you might recognize its flashlight mechanic. When focus your flashlight on dark areas, you banish the darkness around those areas. You also use it in the same way to weaken the monsters before attacking them.

The character change mechanic is pretty slick too. You just press a single button and change the characters. Obviously, you don't just run around with a party of 5 people all the time. You always play in pairs.

There are, however, meeting spots in the game and you are able to change to other characters in these spots. These also act as fast-travel points and help you navigate the environment more efficiently.

Story-wise, Obscure has some intriguing moments and an overall compelling narrative. The game starts with Kenny playing basketball by himself after school. His stuff gets stolen and he follows the thief to a suspicious-looking cellar inside the school grounds.

Later on, things happen, people disappear and you find yourself in a (mostly) abandoned school. It consists of massive corridors, classrooms, underground sections, and yards, it's a survival horror fanatic's dream.

Obscure has a perma-death mechanic. If any of the characters die at any point in the game, they are out for good. Obviously, you can go back to a previous save and get them back but if you are looking for a more hardcore challenge, it's there.

I keep emphasizing its co-op play feature but while Obscure is definitely more entertaining with a friend, it's completely playable solo as well. Whichever pair you choose, the other student is always controlled by AI and they're usually pretty decent.

The best thing about all this is that Obscure is still playable on Steam. It plays well, it's compatible with higher resolutions and you can actually play co-op using Steam's Remote Play feature. It's just like couch co-op.

Its sequel, Obscure 2 is also on Steam and it's also perfectly playable. I'll make another thread for it if you enjoy reading this one.

Seriously, if you haven't played these games before, I can't recommend them enough. They are great games AND they're playable in co-op. How many classic co-op survival horror games do we have these days? Not many, let me tell you that.

Let me know if you give it a shot. I'm curious if you're gonna like it. And if you have already played it, then tell other people why they shouldn't skip this one. Here is the Steam link for the game.

It's actually on sale right now along with its sequel.

[bluesylveon2]

for the 500 follower special, idia + 75?

I love how all of my gamer knowledge reappeared as I was writing this lol.

Prompt: 75. I’m an insomniac who calls my best friend at 3am except I misdial on my landline and I tell you all about my nightmare before letting you talk and now I’m mortified but you don’t hang up (I changed it a bit)

Note: Modern au. Fainaru Fantajī XV is Final Fantasy 15 but in Japanese. I was gonna use FFXVI but idk how the story goes and I might just watch it on Youtube lol. I DO know the story for FFXV and I love it so much

Word Count: 959

Warnings: not beta read and possible OOC characters

500 Follower Event

Idia's day typically goes as follows: 1. Wake up, 2. Collect his dailies, 3. Stream in his room for hours (while snacking during it). 4. Use the bathroom. 5. Eat sweets, 6. Stream again. 7. Stream. What's sleep anyway?

Idia sighed after setting his headphones down. He just finished playing the latest Fainaru Fantajī XV game since its release. His body ached from the long sitting position, but it was all worth it for him. The story was good, and the gameplay was phenomenal! Idia needed to tell someone about it!

Usually, he would rant about it to Ortho. Still, his little brother was currently out of town because he was starring in a movie with the Vil Schoenheit. Idia was proud of his brother and wanted to keep his much-needed rest. 

Idia grabbed his phone and sorted through his list of friends.

Azul? No, he would only talk about board games. 

Riddle? No, they both had a mutual dislike for one another. 

Cater? HECK NO! NO NORMIES! (Idia made a mental note to delete his number later. How his contact information got on his phone was a mystery.)

Lilia? Idia's eyes widen. Yes! Lilia was perfect! They both share a love of games and often play co-op together. Surely he would be awake at, Idia glanced at the time, 3 am! Idia quickly typed his number, too excited to click on Lilia's number, and brought the phone to his ear. 

"Hello?" A clearly feminine voice replied, but Idia had already started his passionate ranting.

"Lilia! Did you get to play the newest Fainaru Fantajī XV game?"

"Who is-"

"I love the open world concept, and did you see the Regalia? That car screams luxury, and it has to be my dream car. I need to get one ASAP. That would show those lame normies I deal with, ugh."

"Lilia" laughed but continued trying to speak, "That's nice, but-"

"And the chemistry between the main characters! Luna was pretty, I guess? Lowkey women still scar me after the whole Eliza incident." Idia shivered at the memory of his "self-proclaimed" (and crazy) girlfriend (it was one-sided, and Idia didn't consider her his girlfriend anyway) in high school. Never again. "But the bond between Noctis and the other guys was top-notch! It made the gameplay even better!" Idia sighed and leaned back in his chair. "If only Noctis survived to the end, ya know? I guess the developers loved angst. The song choice at the end was the cherry on top. I actually shed a tear."

"Uhh, that's very interesting, but who is this?" "Lilia," asked, and Idia frowned. Now that he was partially done with his rant, he noticed the strange pitch in his friend's voice.

"Lilia, it's me, Idia. You know? The super cool guy who you spend playing League with. Are you sick? Your voice sounds off."

"I don't know a Lilia. My name is Yuu, and no, I am not sick. I am very healthy." Yuu's voice replied, and Idia froze. OH NO, NO, NO

"YOU'RE A GIRL?"

He could imagine the stranger frowning and thinking he was some creep. "Yes?"

"Eep!" Idia squealed and immediately pressed the big red "end call" button. He threw his phone at his bed, jumped face down on his bed, and groaned loudly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! You just embarrassed yourself in front of a stranger! In front of a girl!" Idia was ready to bury himself in a hole.

Idia's phone rang just as he made the decision to do it. He groaned at the annoying ringtone, picked it up, and brought the phone to his ear without checking the caller ID. 

"Hello?"

A female voice laughed. "You hung up on me, Idia."

"Ah!" Idia screamed. He looked at his phone and raised his finger to hang up the call.

"Wait! Don't hang up!" Yuu exclaimed, causing Idia to freeze. He slowly brought his phone back to listen. The girl sighed after a minute passed. "Look, before you hang up again, I wanted to say that I love that game too."

Idia blinked, and his mouth opened in shock. "Y-you do?" he managed to say and wanted to facepalm.

Yuu laughed. "I'm not far into the game, though. I got distracted by fishing and playing with chocobos."

Idia felt himself relax, and he laughed with Yuu. "They are adorable. I liked racing them."

"Me too! Hey, Idia, can I ask you something?"

"Uhh, sure…What is it?"

Yuu sighed, and Idia could hear some shuffling on her end. She was probably adjusting herself to get comfortable. "Can you tell me more about the game? I need some help getting through it and would like some advice."

Idia felt a smirk grace his face. "Of course, you would need my help. I'll help you beat all the bosses with 0 deaths. You're good to talk for tonight?"

Yuu chuckled. "Yeah, I don't have anything planned. Oh great, Idia. Give me your wisdom." 

Idia ended up not sleeping that night but made a new friend instead. 

Bonus:

"I heard the Child of Man made a new friend." Malleus looked up from his Gao Gao Drakon-kun to speak to his father.

Lilia paused his game and turned to Malleus. "Oh? Did she say who?"

Malleus nodded. "It's actually your friend Idia. The one you often play games with." He said and gestured to the monitor that currently had Fainaru Fantajī XV. 

Lilia smiled, feeling happy for his friend. "What a coincidence. It is a small world, after all."

Malleus nodded and smiled, thinking about Yuu's happy rant that morning after staying up to talk to Idia before passing out from exhaustion. He was also delighted for her that she had met him. "Indeed it is."

Disclaimer: I do not own Twisted Wonderland and its characters. Those belong to Aniplex, Walt Disney Japan, and Yana Toboso.

©: This story belongs to bluesylveon2 2020-23. DO NOT modify, republish, or plagiarize my work.

[kittyt-hexxed]

Thank God You Introduced Me to Your Sister (Vi x Fem!Reader)

Part One - Heated Flirting

Part One | Final Part

Author Note: You're lying to yourself if you can listen to this song and not imagine Vi.

Word Count: 5061

Warnings: Dom Vi, smut, fingering, face-sitting, edging, non-exclusive dating, awkward conversations, The Last of Us 2 spoilers

Summary: You head to Mylo's house expecting to hang out alone for once, but that expectation is immediately crushed when you see his friends there. Things start taking a turn when his sister comes downstairs...

You sigh for what feels like the thousandth time as you approach Mylo’s house. This is the first time you’re going to be at his house since you started dating a month ago. Usually, you’d meet up at the roller rink with your friends, but he wanted to hang out at home today since it’s supposed to rain. How does that affect going out to a café or something, you don’t know. Truthfully, you think it’s because he wants to play that new video game he got for his birthday. It’s all he talked about for a week every time you saw him. 

You don’t mind hanging out at his place, but this will be the first time you meet his family. When you asked if it would be just the two of you, he said that his older sister would be home as well. That was almost enough to get you to say ”no” but he promised you’d get to hang out alone. So, here you are standing outside of his house filled with anxiety. You definitely weren’t at a point to meet his family, so if you decide to call this quits… it’ll be very awkward.

With a deep breath, you knock on the door before taking a few steps back. You nervously glance down at your outfit, a simple pair of jeans with your favorite flannel covering your top. ‘Should I have worn something fancier? Maybe I should have picked out my cleaner-looking converse? Fuck, it’s too late to go home and change anyway.’ You’re pulled out of your panic by the sound of the door opening and you snap your head up.

“You could have texted me that you’re here, Y/n.” Mylo sighs, “I would have met you at the door.” He opens the door wider for you to come inside. You roll your eyes as you take your shoes off.

“I did. You probably didn’t look at your phone after I told you I was on my way.” You raise an eyebrow at him as you tuck your keys into your pocket. You glance up at the stairs before turning back to him with your hands on your hips.

“Shit, sorry. I got caught up playing that new zombie survival game.” Mylo clears his throat awkwardly, and you have to stop yourself from smirking, “Anyway, come on, we’re hanging out in the living room.” He grabs your hand and pulls you to the room. When you get there you can’t help but feel a little angry seeing his friends sprawled around the floor. ‘There wasn’t any mention of his friends being here. He said that we’d be alone, not… this.’ You frown slightly.

“Hey, guys! Y/n’s here.” Mylo announces and his friends greet you before going back to their game. He tells you where the bathroom is and you nod. You take a seat on the couch next to him as he argues with one of the guys about something. Meanwhile, you were wondering why you’ve never had a single moment alone with him that was longer than five minutes.

“So what are you guys playing?” You ask Marc as he hands the controller over to Mylo.

“Just a regular co-op zombie shooter game. We wanted to play Smash Bros but Mylo’s sister won’t let him borrow her switch.” Marc shrugs, “Apparently she needs it for something.” You nod your head and watch your boyfriend yell at his friends. Your phone buzzes and you open the text from your friend - ‘Get any alone time with Mylo? ;)’ You scoff quietly and shake your head at the message. ‘I wasn’t planning on doing anything with him, but some quiet time together would’ve been nice.’ You tuck your phone into your pocket and turn your attention back to the group. They were still shouting at each other and panicking that the zombies were getting through.

“MYLO, FOR FUCKS SAKE, KEEP YOUR GRUBBY LITTLE HANDS OUT OF MY STUFF!” You hear someone scream, followed by footsteps pounding down the stairs. Curious, you turn your head to the sound and nearly choke on your own spit. A woman comes around the corner with an annoyed glare on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. ‘Fuck, she’s hot, even with a glare on her face.’ Your eyes widen at her large muscles and tatted arms. A definite weakness of yours. The guys pause the game in a hurry as Mylo practically jumps off of the couch.

“Vi!” Mylo hisses anxiously, “Not in front of the guys!” He motions to his friends on the floor. Oh, she’s his older sister… Wait. SHE’S his older sister?! Ah, shit, and she’s totally my type.’ You lower your head.

“Not in front of the guys!” Vi mocks him, “Where the fuck are my Docs, Mylo? I told you to stop taking my shoes. Aren’t they a little too big for your tiny feet?” She rolls her eyes. You raise an eyebrow in amusement as Mylo glances at you with a panicked look in his eyes. ‘I didn’t know he liked Docs. He never said anything when I talked about them.’

“They’re in Claggor’s room. I was going to give them back… eventually.” Mylo hesitates and glances at you again. ’Is he looking at me because he’s embarrassed?’ His sister follows his gaze and you make eye contact with her. ’She has beautiful eyes…’ Her eyebrows go up as she turns to him.

“Is she one of your friends?” Vi asks. Mylo suddenly seems to puff up at her question.

“No, actually, she’s my girlfriend.” Mylo says smugly and it has you raising your eyebrows. ‘Where the hell did that come from? We’re just dating.’ Vi’s eyebrows go up as well but her face brightens in amusement.

“Your… girlfriend.” Vi responds slowly, as if testing the words, “Why am I learning about her now?”

“Because you don’t always have to be in my business.” Mylo scoffs, but Vi ignores him and walks past her brother to approach you. ‘Wait. Wait. Wait, she’s coming to me?!’ You panic for a moment as she comes over and she stops in front of you, holding her hand out.

“I’m Vi.” Vi introduces herself, “That dweeb’s older sister. What’s your name?” You blink and shake her hand, idly noting that they’re soft yet calloused. ‘I wonder what she does for her hands to be like this.’

“I’m Y/n.” You smile, trying not to melt when she gives you one in return. You stare at each other for a moment, a smirk flashing onto Vi’s face before she lets go of your hand. 

“Okay, now you’ve met her. I told you where your boots are. Can my friends and I hang out in peace?” Mylo huffs and crosses his arms. ‘There he goes again with the friends thing.’ You roll your eyes, awkwardly glancing away when you notice that Vi saw you.

“Ah, I’ll hang around for a bit. I’ve got nowhere to be today, and I’ve got a new person to get to know.” Vi shrugs, plopping down next to you on the couch. You don’t miss the way your heart flutters by that action. Mylo throws his hands up in exasperation but doesn’t protest what his sister does. He takes his seat and gets back into the game without a word to either of you. You and Vi sit quietly next to each other and watch the guys play their games. You can’t help but feel a bit agitated, fidgeting in your seat, knowing that the woman is next to you. There was something about her that you couldn’t help but be very attracted to, so it wasn’t long before you caved into speaking to her.

“So, do you attend Piltover-Zaun University? Or do you go somewhere else?” You glance at her from the corner of your eye. 

“I go to the university, but I finished my classes early for this semester.” Vi turns to you and you follow her lead. You curl up on the couch, giving Vi all of your attention without much thought.

“Really?! I wish I could, but one of my professors has the courses locked.” You groan, feeling a little jealous, “I want to be done with my courses.”

“Ah, you could always do your work here. I can keep you company.” Your heart flutters a bit at the words. ‘I don’t know if that’s meant to be friendly or an invitation for sex… but that smile she’s giving me doesn’t help me figure it out.’

“I’ll have to think about it. I wouldn’t want to impose or anything.” You shake your head.

“I’m offering.” Vi chuckles, “It can get lonely when you’re doing things on your own.”

“Yeah, it can.” You nod, “...Do you do anything outside of college? Like a hobby or something?”

“I’m a boxer and I also do weightlifting. Those are my main things.”

“Really?” You gasp, “I’ve always wanted to weightlift but I’m way too shy to workout in a gym.” People always tell you that no one looks, but that didn’t help. You really were just too shy to work out in the gym. No one you asked would go with you so you stopped asking.

“Awe that’s cute, maybe you need someone to go with you. That should make it easier.”

“You’re not going to offer?” You playfully gasp, “I set it up so nicely too!”

“Maybe I just want you to ask me.” Vi shrugs playfully, flashing you a smile. You suck in a breath. ‘She’s definitely flirting. Fuck.’

“Hey, Y/n!” Mylo calls to you, “Come play!” He waves a controller at you and you hesitate. ‘I kind of want to talk to Vi more… and I really don’t want to play against him.’

“You’re playing against me, Harpy!” Marc motions you over, “It’s only a fair fight!”

“Hey!” Mylo cries out and you snort.

“Go play or we’ll never hear the end of it.” Vi nudges you. You bite your lip and nod at her.

“Alright, dumbass, I’m coming.” You stand up, “Talk to you later, Vi.” You wave at her before snatching the controller from Mylo. You sit down and end up going a few rounds with Marc as the others cheer you on. They crack some jokes that are not very funny but you fake-laugh with them. Sometime between matches, Vi disappears and you feel your mood drop a bit. Marc seems to be the only one who notices as he starts going easier on you. That drop in mood ends up making you lose the last match and you call it, handing the controller off to someone else.

“Hey, Mylo. I’m gonna grab a drink.” You say to him and he nods.

“There’s soda and stuff on the counter in the kitchen.” Mylo says without taking his eyes off of the screen, “Help yourself.” You shake your head as you walk into the kitchen. ‘I think I’m gonna leave soon. I don’t really feel any chemistry with Mylo and the only person I hang out with is Marc.’ You stop in the doorway and take a moment to scan the room. You find the drinks sitting on the center island and grab a cup. Now that there weren’t people shouting in your ears, you can hear the rain going on outside. You hum to yourself as you pour out some of the soda. You glance towards the living room and decide to stay in the kitchen until you finish your drink. Idly, you lean up against the sink casually sipping while you look around the area. A sound from the door makes you turn your attention to it and you see Vi walk into the kitchen. You pause mid-drink, eyes sliding up her body as you take in how she looks in workout clothes. ‘Holy shit, she has a body of a God.’ Your clit throbs at the thought of being underneath her.

“Are you okay there?” Vi’s voice snaps you out of your staring. You blink and blush when you realize that you’ve been caught staring. In the time you’ve been ogling her body, Vi had already poured herself a drink and leaned up against the center island. ‘Fuck, think of an excuse. Think of an excuse!’ You panic seeing her amused smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just- okay, this might be a stupid question… but, is that your natural hair color?” You ask sheepishly, hoping she doesn’t realize it's a deflection. Truthfully, you were a bit surprised by the shockingly pink hair she sports, but it didn’t seem like it is hair dye. If it was, it fits her very well. Your question earns you a chuckle that makes your pulse speed up.

“It’s natural.” Vi gives you a bright smile, “You’re not the first person to ask. My mom’s hair was purple and my little sister’s hair is blue.”

“Oh thank the Gods!” You sigh in relief, “It wasn’t a stupid question.”

“Eh, it was cute.” Vi chuckles, making you blush a little harder, “So, how the hell did a girl like you end up with my brother?”

“Ah, well… my friend group is kind of mixed in with his. He showed up at a get-together we had last month and he asked me out.” You swirl the soda around in your cup, “I didn’t have anyone I was interested in, so I saw no harm in it.”

“No harm?” Vi raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow, “You wouldn’t have said that if you were completely into him. Come on, you can tell me the truth.” She teases you, her eyes sparkling with mischief. You glance back at the guys, all of them sitting on the floor and shouting at each other. ‘I know she’ll listen to what I have to say…’

“There’s nothing to tell.” You say nonchalantly, turning your gaze back to her, “I’m not his girlfriend and we’re not even exclusive. We’ve only gone on a couple of dates.”

“I know.” Vi puts down her cup and approaches you, “You didn’t confirm what he said, and even looked a bit confused by his words.”

“Yeah, I didn’t have the chance to correct him.” You sigh and put your empty cup down, “I’m going to have to talk to him about it. I don’t understand why he’d lie about that.”

“I do.” Vi leans against the counter in front of you, “He didn’t want to be embarrassed. My brother isn’t really the kind of guy that girls are interested in. My other siblings and I have had our fair share of relationships and flings. Him, on the other hand? Not so much… He was trying to look cool.”

“That’s no excuse to lie.” You cross your arms, feeling annoyed, “In front of me, too.”

“You’re right.” Vi nods, moving closer to you, “It’s not an excuse and it wasn’t okay.” She puts her hand on your shoulder to comfort you.

“Honestly, today was my last chance to see if he cared enough.” You have to look away from her, feeling flustered at the closeness, “He ruined it the moment I showed up.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here… even if my brother messed up.” Vi smiles, “I wouldn’t have gotten to meet a cute girl like you.” You blush and this time you know she sees it.

“Thanks.” You clear your throat, “I’m gonna head back in there if you’d like to join?”

“Ah, sure. Let me shower and I’ll come back down.” You nod and head out of the kitchen. ‘So she’s definitely into women. And I’m definitely into her. I thought I was going to die when she was that close to me.’ You take your seat on the couch and blankly watch the guys. Leave it to you to be into someone’s sister. Your mind wanders to the thought of Vi in the shower and you snap yourself out of it. ‘That is not a thought to have. No. No, don’t think like that.’ You scold yourself.

It’s not long before Vi comes back and takes a seat next to you. A pleasant-smelling cologne comes from her direction and you have to stop yourself from commenting on it. Subconsciously, you move closer to Vi and nudge her, “What took you so long? I thought I was going to die of boredom!” You joke.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Vi chuckles, “I got a bit too deep in thought while I was in the shower.”

“That happens to me sometimes. I love being under the hot water but I also think a lot when I’m in the shower.” You catch Vi shamelessly eyeing you and she winks when your eyes meet.

“I can only imagine.” Vi says silkily and your body flushes with heat. You clear your throat and turn away to hide your blush.

“Anyway, I’m probably going to go home soon.”

“I think you should stay a little longer. I’m enjoying your company.” You feel Vi’s hand on your thigh and you swallow hard. ‘If I felt like I was going to die earlier, I’m dying right now.’ You glance at her but she’s looking somewhere else.

“I might… uh…” Your mind feels a bit fuzzy, too distracted by the heat of her hand, “Excuse me.” You squeak out and stand up.

“Where are you going?” Mylo glances at you curiously. ‘Oh, so now you’re paying attention to me?’

“The bathroom.” You quickly respond, feeling Vi’s eyes on you as you turn the corner. You hurry up the stairs, remembering the instructions Mylo gave you, and lock yourself in the bathroom. You exhale heavily, pressing your palms against the countertop as you try to steady yourself. You were really feeling Vi and it’s clear that she’s feeling you as well. You shake your head and turn the water on to splash your face. ‘I’ll just tell her that it’s too soon. That I don’t want to do anything with her...’ The wet feeling of your panties says otherwise and you sigh knowing that you’re in a tough situation.

“Why does his sister have to be so attractive and into me?” You pout before opening the door. You freeze when you see Vi leaning up against the wall across from you. 

“What took you so long? I thought I was going to die from boredom.” Vi says with a teasing smile. Any thoughts you had about telling her you weren’t interested vanish from your mind. Because, fuck, you’re very interested.

“I wanted to see if you’d come and get me.” You step in front of her, “And you did.”

“I think… you needed to get away from me.” Vi whispers, her face right in front of yours, “Or am I wrong?”

“Like I said… I wanted you to come and get me.” You whisper back. Vi smirks and grabs your hand, leading you down the hallway and into her bedroom. Her walls were covered in various things like anime fanart, boxing, and some band posters. There was also a collection of polaroids that you assume are of her and her friends. You hear the lock on the door click behind you and butterflies erupt in your stomach. ‘I’m alone with her now.’

“You can sit down.” Vi chuckles and pulls you over to the bed.

“Sorry, I was a bit distracted by your room. Is that a Last of Us poster?” You point out the poster on the wall as you sit next to her.

“Yup, it’s one of my favorite games. The second one fucked with me though.” Vi snorts, “Seeing Ellie spiral like that and then the switch that they pulled with Abby? Ugh, I genuinely thought I was going to cry in the final fight.”

“I did cry while playing the final fight.” You giggle, “I had such a crush on Abby and Ellie that it pained me. I think I was reading hurt/comfort fanfiction for a while after that.” You and Vi get comfortable on her bed as you converse. You two sit facing each other, knees touching without much thought. 

“Noo, not the fanfiction!” Vi snickers, “I managed to not fall down that rabbit hole… at least for that fandom.” You start laughing and Vi joins in. You slowly stop, staring into her eyes as you become entranced by the way they sparkle in the light.

“Can I kiss you?” Vi whispers, leaning into you.

“Please do.” You breathe out. Vi’s lips are on yours the moment you give her permission. You practically melt in her arms as you’re pulled onto her lap. The kiss is hot, needy, and you’re definitely turned on. Her hands are firmly grabbing your waist, keeping you in place so you’re where she wants you to be.

“Do you… want to take this further?” Vi gives you a sly smirk. You raise an eyebrow and push her down onto the bed.

“Of course I do.” You smirk back, “How can I pass you up?”

“Good, because I really want you to ride my face.” Vi confesses and your jaw drops.

“Vi!” You laugh, “Did you really just say that?”

“I’ll say it again if you want me to.” Vi grins at you, “I want to feel your thighs tremble around me when you orgasm.” You stare down at her with a pleasantly surprised grin.

“Alright then.” You smirk and strip in front of her, taking your time to give her a show. You had worn your favorite bra and pantie set, even though you had no intentions of having sex. Sometimes wearing it gave you the little confidence boost you needed. You hear Vi suck in a breath and you watch in amusement as she hurries to take off her clothes.

“Damn.” You breathe out, taking in her abs and the tattoo covering her back. You were definitely going to be sitting on that woman’s face. You push Vi back down and make out with her, letting her remove your bra and panties in the process. Vi flips you over so that you’re beneath her this time You were still in a bit of shock that you were up in her room, but you weren’t going to let that stop you. Especially not when Vi’s hand finds its way between your legs and she’s giving your clit the attention it was craving. You moan against her lips, her tongue stealing your breath away as she abuses your clit. It’s almost laughable how quickly your orgasm builds from that alone. 

“Vi, I’m gonna-” You whine when she moves her hand, denying you of your release.

“Not yet, princess.” Vi purrs, slipping her fingers into your soaked cunt.

“Fuck, Y/n.” Vi breathes out, “Did I make you that wet?”

“You were practically eye-fucking me earlier.” You pant, your breath hitching as Vi presses her fingers to your g-spot, “Yes, yes you-” You moan loudly as she fingers you faster, cutting off your sentence. You dig your nails into her shoulders, desperately needing something to steady yourself. Her fingers felt so good and the mixture of pleasure and her cologne makes your head spin. Once again, you feel your orgasm building and you practically fuck yourself on her fingers.

“Are you going to cum for me, darling?” Vi whispers in your ear.

“Yes, yes, I am!” You gasp as she thrusts her fingers into your g-spot.

“Well, I can’t have that, can I?” Vi chuckles.

“Vi, please!” You groan in aggravation as she removes her hand again, “Please make me cum.” You beg her.

“Oh, I will.” Vi smirks, sucking you off her fingers, “But, I did say I want you to ride my face.” You huff and grab her shoulders, turning so she’s the one with her back to the bed. You crawl up her body and Vi helps you position yourself over her mouth.

“You better let me cum or I’ll suffocate you.” You playfully threaten her.

“What a wonderful way to die.” Vi purrs and you can’t hold in your laugh. In the middle of your laughter, Vi brings your hips down and licks along your slit.

“Fuuck.” You groan in surprise, feeling her laughter against your cunt, “You’re such a fucking tease.” You huff and lower yourself the rest of the way. Vi doesn’t hesitate to slip her tongue into you with a moan leaving her lips at the taste of you. It’s seconds later that you’re scrambling to grip the headboard as she eats you out. You can’t even begin to describe how skillful Vi is with her tongue. The sounds coming from below you are fucking obscene with how greedily she laps at you. Through your moaning, you can hear and feel her muffled ones. Even though you’re the one on top, Vi is clearly the one in control as she fucks you on her tongue. Her grip on your hips is bruising but she has no issue keeping your body steady as your thighs start to tremble. ‘I guess those muscles aren’t for show.’ You moan, that knot in your abdomen getting tighter by the second.

“Don’t you dare stop this time.” You try to say firmly, but it comes out as a plea. You were right there and you didn’t know if you could handle being denied a third time. You were desperately grinding your pussy against her, one hand tangling in her hair as you do. You were chasing your orgasm at this point and Vi didn’t let up. If anything, she paid extra attention to that sweet spot of yours.

“Ahh, fuck, I’m gonna cum.” You whine, grinding down harder. The tension in your abdomen is at its peak and you’re throwing your head back with a loud moan as it snaps. Your hips lose all motion as your body stills, your orgasm tearing through you and making your thighs shake. You temporarily lose your senses as you squirt on Vi’s tongue, cumming harder than you have in a while. 

You pant as you try to catch your breath, shakily lifting yourself off of Vi and feeling a bit disoriented. You feel Vi’s hands back on your hips as she helps you sit on her bed. She wraps an arm around your shoulder and holds you as your mind clears from the fog it’s in.

“Shit.” You laugh incredulously, “If I knew you fucked like that I would’ve been in here a lot sooner.”

“If I knew you tasted that good, I would’ve asked you to come up a lot sooner.” Vi grins, your cum glistening on her lips. You sit there grinning at each other until you hear your phone ping from somewhere in the room. You slide off of the bed, wobbling slightly, and grab your phone from your pants pocket. ‘Five missed messages?’ You open the most recent one to see that they’re all from your friend. ‘Leaving me on read?! Damn, I guess you are fucking, huh? …Tell me all about it later!’ You snort, your eyes flicking to the time and you can't help but sigh. You’ve been gone for a lot longer than a bathroom break.

“Everything good?” Vi comes over to you, handing you your undergarments.

“Yeah.” You chuckle, putting them back on, “I’ve been gone a bit longer than a bathroom break. I doubt he noticed though.” You two get dressed while cracking jokes with each other. You found yourself really loving your time with Vi and you selfishly didn’t want it to end. After exchanging numbers, you feel a lot more confident in your decision.

“Ready to head back down?” Vi grabs the doorknob.

“Ready.” You grin. You take your time heading down the stairs, hearing the guys cursing each other with a new voice you didn’t recognize. You reach the bottom of the stairs to see them all in the same places from earlier, except for a new guy sitting with them. You share a glance with Vi before walking over to Mylo. You tap him on the shoulder and wait for the guys to pause the game. ‘It’s now or never.’

“I’m heading out. And, I don’t appreciate you telling your sister that I’m your girlfriend. We were only dating and I’m calling that off. You clearly rather date your friends, so I’m out of here.” You cross your arms, “Bye, Marc. I’ll see you in calculus.” You wave and walk away as the guys start to snicker.

“I told you he’d fumble her.” Marc snorts.

“Dude, what the fuck!” Mylo shouts.

“He’s right.” You hear that unknown voice again, “Face it, Mylo, you’re just not relationship material.” Vi walks you to the door and waits for you to put your shoes on. It’s not until you’re outside with the door shut that she says something. You’re relieved that the rain has stopped at this point.

“You should meet up with me on campus. I’d love to take you out on a proper date.” Vi says casually, leaning against the wall.

“I’m not a conflict of interest after being with your brother?” You raise an eyebrow.

“Nah.” Vi shakes her head, “You’re too cute to pass up. My brother can be angry all he wants.”

“Okay.” You nod, a grin making its way onto your face, “I’ll text you about it when I get home.”

“Drive safe, okay? I don’t want to lose you so soon.” Vi tosses you your keys and you catch them with a laugh.

“Thanks. I promise I’ll be safe. I can’t leave you alone so soon.” You wink at her. You head to your car and get in, watching Vi disappear inside. You exhale heavily before a giggle bubbles up in your throat. ‘Holy shit. Holy shit, I did that.’ You grab your phone, going to your friend’s contact as soon as it opens.

‘Okay, I totally fucked but it wasn’t him…’

‘Wtf? Who did you have sex with then?!’ Her response was instant.

‘His very attractive sister… who I have a date with.’

‘...Damn, so he’s out?’

‘Yeah, he’s out. Thank God he introduced me to his sister though. I have so much to tell you. Can I come by?’ You drum your fingers against your thigh as you wait. ‘Hell yes! Come right now!’ You laugh and put your phone down. This was a day you’d never forget.

[sangfielle]

Nadeem's Big Febuary 2024 Next Fest Roundup

I've done these little demo roundups for the past couple of nextfests in a more informal capacity, but I wanted to make this one more of an actual Thing and do something like this going forward, since I tend to play around 70-100 of the demos for each nextfest. This is going to be (hopefully) mostly a list of recommendations, but I also have some ones that I'm not strictly recommending that I think are still worth pointing out. I have over 20 games I wanted to point out from this round of demos, so the meat of this post will be below the cut.

The Best

Cryptmaster is a dungeon crawler typing game. It's genuinely laugh out loud funny, and it was a blast to play through with a person looking over my shoulder and commentating. There's not much to say about it that can't be figured out by picking up the game for a few minutes yourself, and there's no reason not to when it's got a free demo. I would recommend this game to basically anyone, and will be playing it as soon as it comes out. Probably the most across the board appealing game that I played from this collection.

Gatekeeper is just plain good. This was the most immediately fun game I played for this. I grow more and more irritated with rogue-lites every next fest, but Gatekeeper is fresh, fun, and fast-paced enough to get away from any distaste for the subgenre I have. Like basically all of the other optional multiplayer games on this list, GK seems to heavily benefit from a second player, but after my friend kept eating shit and dying I still had a fantastic time with this game by myself. Buy this game.

I don't play as many rhythm games as I do a lot of other genres, so if I'm totally wrong and this is just standard fare slop, you'll have to excuse me, but to my mind ADEN is a very unique and fun experience. A sidescroller rhythm/beat-em-up/bullet hell with charming art and fun music, it feels unlike basically anything I've played before, and it's wormed its way into my heart very quickly (even if I'm not quite as good at any of those types of games as I'd like to be).

The Pretty Good

Rotwood is a co-op roguelike game that's a lot of fun to play with friends. While technically 1-to-4 players, it feels like it's definitely meant to be played with at least a second party. If you do have that second party, the game goes by quickly and feels great to play - our 20 minute runs didn't feel like more than 5 minutes during our time with it. Pick it up if you want a non-PvP co-op game, but make sure at least one of your friends is picking it up too.

Cabernet is a narrative RPG set in eastern Europe in the late 1800s. You're Liza, a newly-turned vampire and a prospective doctor before your death. You don't actually get much more than that in the demo, but it gives you enough time to decide if you're interested in the full game or not. I am - it seems neat, and I'll likely be picking it up upon release, but it's not going to be for everyone. If you're into games where the meat of it is walking around and talking to people, it'll likely be a safe choice for you.

Vellum is a charming, if a little janky, co-op action roguelike where you play as fountain pens who are also wizards. As loathe as I am to compare games to others if they aren't ripoffs, it reminded me of playing Tiny Tina's, which I wasn't expecting, but made it more endearing to me. It seems like it would be less fun to play alone, but like Rotwood, just make sure you're making one of your friends grab it when you do, and it should be a lot of fun.

Dungeonborne is a game that speaks for itself very immediately when you start playing. PvPvE dungeon crawlers aren't the most popular genre, to my knowledge, but this game felt very oddly similar to another PvPvE dungeon crawler that was on display 1 or 2 next fests ago. If you and your friends want to dick around in a dungeon and kill skeletons, this is going to be a game that satisfies, and it's funny to play when you're getting yourself and your friends killed. I don't know how much long term value it'll manage to hold.

Children of the Sun is a very stylish puzzle-shooter that is not for me, but will probably be very good to whoever it is for. I would suggest trying out the demo and seeing how you feel about it. I don't have a lot to say about it beyond that, since it isn't a game I spent a lot of time with, beyond that it's very cool looking.

There is a notable absence of platformers & metroidvanias on my list of games that I played for this next fest, and it's not because there weren't any to play. I'm just very very bad at these games, moreso than any other type of game by a huge margin, and so I do not play them. Ever. There are ones I want to play quite badly, but I pick them up and put them down very quickly because I am worse at them than your average eight year old with an Xbox. I downloaded Tales of Kenzera: ZAU at the behest of a friend without knowing anything about it, and I'm glad I did. Even being as bad at this type of game as I am, I played this demo and had a lot of fun with it. I won't pick up the full game, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. If you're anyone who has a less tragic experience with the genres than I do, you should definitely try this game out.

Love In a Bottle is a refreshing change of pace as far as romance VNs go - there are vanishingly few of them for/about lesbians and bisexual women compared to games for & about straight women & games about gay men (though these are usually also for straight women... which is not the point of this, so I digress). It's very cute! LIaB follows an only-kind-of-succubus as she moves to a new town and flirts with attractive women. I'm not quite the target audience for this, but not every game needs to be for me, and I enjoyed poking around in it regardless.

Alcyone: The Last City is a game that's hard to get much of a handle on from the very short demo alone, but you get just enough to know it's interesting. What I can glean from the game that you get in the demo is about the same as the steam description: a sci-fi interactive novel set at the end of the universe. I love this kind of shit, so I'm pretty sure I'll like Alcyone.

Pacific Drive is a game about driving your car around while some weird shit happens. That's not a dismissive summary, I'm just not sure how else to categorize it. It seems cool if you like this type of game! Unfortunately my distaste for the wretched automobile extends to video games, so this is not quite my speed, but it seems very charming.

TRIBES 3: Rivals is a PvP FPS game that seems like a lot of fun! There's just one problem with it - this type of multiplayer game isn't in the limelight anymore, and won't attract a lot of players who aren't tryharding. I don't like tryharding in multiplayer games, but it felt good enough to play that I'm willing to give it a shot regardless. I'm worried about Tribes 3's ability to survive longterm in this era of gaming, but I'm holding out at least a little hope for it. I think you should help give it a better chance of survival.

TOUCHSTARVED is a "dark romance visual novel" with five romanceable characters that look like they've either come from Dragon Age concept art or from someone's D&D campaign. If you're not into romance VNs, this game will not be for you. If you are, and you're either attracted to men or like to play romance games with them, this one feels actually better than a lot of them. The worldbuilding, though somewhat sparse in the demo, seems interesting, and the game is weirdly actually gay for a VN where the protagonist doesn't have a set gender. There are no women who are characters in this game. That's not surprising, it's just worth noting. Its dialogue is corny and the way the romanceable characters act irritating, but that's par for the course for the genre, so it's probably not going to be a dealbreaker for you if you're already playing this type of game. I'd say give it a shot if that's already the kind of game you're into, otherwise it's really not worth looking at. I doubt this game is going to win over any new fans to the genre.

The Otherwise Noteworthy

Islands of Insight is... A puzzle MMO with very bad puzzles and similarly bad online play. I don't understand why it exists. I don't understand the type of person who they think will play this. I don't understand why it's a MMO? There's no aspect of the puzzles that I saw that would be served by multiplayer, and the multiplayer functionality is so limited as to be worthless anyway. The most possible interaction you can have with another person is following them around and emoting at them while they do their own set of puzzles. This game is obviously fated to die in obscurity. Why is it a Behaviour game?

Case Files: Behind Closed Doors was the only actual FMV game that this next fest had to offer. The FMV tag is the first section of any given next fest that I look at - I'm a big fan of them, and I think they're really underappreciated, especially in today's gaming world. As a consequence, I'm normally much nicer to them than I am to most video games, but this one fell flat on its face for me. There doesn't feel like there's anything there to actually grab the player or to keep their attention, and I found myself bored with it very quickly. It doesn't help that I get more irritated with the inundation of cop games as opposed to literally anything else in the world of FMV games as time goes on, but I think even if I wasn't sick and tired of them, this game wouldn't feel worth the time it asks you to invest. It's a damn shame.

#BLUD is a game that I wanted to check out, but didn't get to actually play, because I didn't realize this demo was going to shut down after nextfest! That's on me. It seems cool, and I'll be checking it out once it's properly available, but I can't say more than that because I missed the window to play it :(.

Longstory 2, similarly, is a VN I couldn't actually play during this fest, but this one isn't my fault - despite steam having a page for the demo, it wasn't ever actually available? This one is just going on the list because I loved the original Longstory when I was 15. I'm excited for the reminder that it exists, and I'll be going back to the original to see if it holds up to my nostalgia. If it does, I'll be picking up the sequel for sure.

Bewitching Sinners is a trashy romantasy VN. There's not that much else to it. If you like trashy romance VNs, it'll be for you, and if you're not, it won't be. It gets a place on this list because there were a lot of VN demos that I opened and then very quickly closed, and I actually played all the way through this one, so it's a cut above the rest in at least its ability to keep the player from immediately ducking out of due to the evidently garbage writing.

Diets & Deities is noteworthy only in that it's the most blatant ripoff of Everhood that I've seen. It's also a significant downgrade. I like the gameplay of Everhood a lot, and I was hoping that even if this game was a ripoff, it would give me more of the same. I wouldn't love it if it did that, but I would have had a little bit of fun with the demo. It's not more of the same. It feels way worse to play, and I don't know why, but I hate it.

Meta-Ghost: The Breaking Show is all style & no substance. It's very good looking, but it offers little beyond graphics that you couldn't get in a less tired package elsewhere (read: in Hades. This game wants to be Hades so bad it overwhelms any other personality it could possibly hope to have). Similarly to Diets & Deities, it fails to improve on the game it's aping's gameplay & feeling & instead makes it worse, though not to the extreme that D&D does. The only real value I can see in this game that you couldn't get with another game is the multiplayer gimmick, but as that wasn't available in the demo, I can't say whether that makes it worth even taking a second glance at.

Serum is a survival horror adventure game that seems really cool, except it's completely fucking unplayable from how shitty the framerate is. I'd love to recommend it, because I really am interested in this game, but it is in desperate need of some fixes before I can play it, much less tell you to buy it.

Mouthwashing is also a horror game that I hesitate to recommend, but it is at least playable. The demo just shows so little of its hand that I can't even tell if it's worth playing. It clocks in at about a 20 minute runtime, and in those 20 minutes, zero things that were scary or even mildly unsettling happened. It showed a little bit of gore at the end? But that's not really much of anything. I'll be keeping an eye on its development, but I have no idea whether it'll release as a gem of the indie horror scene or as a wet fart.

You can kill me for how many VNs I've put on this list and how many I've enjoyed. Beat me, take my blood, whatever. Glam Pursuit is a game about becoming a star in a not-Hollywood fake setting. The dialogue feels like it was ripped out of Life is Strange, it's corny beyond measure, and it's just all around not very good. However... Something about it captivates me. Sifting through the extreme amount of subtitle errors and typos in this game and the painfully awkward interactions with all the characters around you, I feel like there's something of worth to be found, even if I didn't stumble upon it in the demo. Is it going to be worth it for you to pick up this game? I don't know. Do you like eating garbage if it's shiny? I do. I'll play Glam Pursuit when it comes out. I don't know if you should unless there's something wrong with you.

[incorrecttowerofgodquotes]

Gundam: Witch From Mercury Season 2 Episode 1 Review

- The show immediately jumps back into the status quo, almost as if Plant Quetta was just a nightmare. However we can see all our characters reacting to the situation no matter what kind of facade they put up. Suletta is starting to doubt her actions, Nika is haunted by the fact her friends almost died, Shaddiq is already making plans to frame Jeturk, and Miorine is stuck watching over her father. There’s a nice dissonance between the Spacians having fun while our main characters have now experienced true terror, never being able to recover.

- The dueling committee has changed up due to the attack. Now that Shaddiq is getting more involved in his father’s business, Sabina and Renee are ready to take up the helm. Felsi is now the acting substitute since Guel’s MIA and Lauda became the new head of Jeturk Co. Fianlly, Secilia and Rouji are the same as ever (and Secilia adorably protects her boy from Renee’s advances)

- El5n is absolutely fabulous and I love every second he’s on screen. He’s serving cunt every single minute and everyone thinks it’s weird, but no one has directly called him out yet. Still, judging by the OP, there’s a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to our James Charles-wannabe. The writers also took time to link him to Norea, so perhaps there’ll be a relationship developing between those two in the coming future. People in forums have already stated that he’s the most terrifying character due to his manipulative personality and lack of clear goals, but I’m rooting for him. Nobody who becomes a replacement head to ride a death bot and seduce a tanuki has a happy backstory.

- Due to Jeturk suits being used in the attack, the companies are now starting to scapegoat them in order to gain more power. This is causing an immense amount of stress for poor Lauda, who’s lost both his brother and father. I guess taking L’s is hereditary. I’m absolutely expecting him to snap and try to murder everyone. And honestly, as long as he’s planning to murder Shaddiq, I’ll support him.

- Norea and Sophie both transferred into school but they’re so bad at hiding themselves that they caught in the span of less than an episode. Interestingly, Sophie isn’t the one who rushes things, but instead Norea. Sophie seems more interested in just playing around, eventually getting her work done but for now just enjoying the situation. Meanwhile, Norea is wholly devoted to the cause. She threatens Nika with death twice and has no problem attempting to murder Suletta the moment she thinks it’s appropriate.

- Sophie’s dolls are especially interesting. She has four of them, two are her parents and two are her little sisters, and all of them are worn as hell. However, despite saying she loves them, she replaces one with a stolen Halo almost immediately. Sophie probably has no idea of what a family really is, she’s just acting out the motions of it. She replaces her stuffed animal when she finds a “better” one, not realizing that true families don’t replace. There’s also something interesting going on with her calling Suletta “Big Sis.” If Suletta is a clone of Eri then that technically makes them sisters, and now Sophie, another Gundam pilot, is adding herself to that family dynamic. Maybe all Gundam pilots are linked, not by blood, but by situation.

- Prospera once again is manipulating the hell outta everyone. She says to Suletta that she didn’t do anything wrong when her daughter starts having doubts, but with Miorine she states that she believes Suletta went too far. She’s just telling both of them what they want to hear, and guiding each of them to her own desired goal. Also Suletta literally said her mom was a magician so the “Prospera is brainwashing Suletta” theory is also getting a lot of ground

- Quiet Zero is apparently a plan to end war throughout the galaxy, and I can already tell you, that the name makes it clear that it won’t be through some peaceful method. It’s either a weapon designed to destroy whole planets or it’s some Evangelion hive mind shit where everyone in the world will be linked through the GUND system. And if it’s the latter, that would make the connection between Gundam pilots we see even more important. Soon, everyone will be family

- Nika is stuck between a Gundam foot and hard place. Poor girl just wants to build up connections between Earthians and Spacians but the organization that sent her turned out to be a terrorist organization. She doesn’t want her friends to be put in danger, but she’s scared to come out and ruin her friendship. Her tendency to isolate herself is what got her almost squished, it was only Suletta looking out for her that saved her. I hope she can be honest with her friends in the future and achieve her goal of peace. One that isn’t organized from mass murder/brainwashing

- My boy Guel didn’t show up in the episode. He’s busy entering his depressive spiral. However from the OP, it looks like he’s on Earth. Give me vigilante Guel

- Finally, let’s talk about that gorgeous ending. The amount of symbolism in that minute and thirty seconds is off the wall. Watching Miorine’s ghost constantly pass through her, showing that the two want to be together but can’t connect. Then, Aerial fucking stabs her in the heart, awakening something, and suddenly Suletta is dancing, controlling the GUND bits in her possession. There’s multiple Suletta’s dancing, maybe hinting the clone theory. She also loses her headband, the one her mom gave her, showing that she’s gained her own autonomy. Finally, her and Miorine are in formal dresses, holding hands, probably at Miorine’s birthday. Suletta looks more mature, she’s shed her childhood innocence.

In short, I’m so fucking hyped to be back. My sons and daughters are really going through it and I hope they all get out with minor mental trauma. Except for you Shaddiq, you Sha-dick

[loveofdetail]

@sigilmint oh friend this comment made me so 😍

Short version: As far as in-game actions, really all you need to do is initiate his romance, betray the grove, roll to convince him to stay in the party, then continue his romance, roleplaying the situation however you want from there.

Long Version beneath the cut—this has a lot more to do with how my own out-of-game decisionmaking got me here, and how I interpret the macro-arc of my party/character.

My first bg3 campaign is a co-op game where we are mostly trying to do Good Route Things. Gale has been stuck in camp permanently because I was dead set on playing a wizard myself.

So I started my solo campaign with the vague notion of doing a Full On Evil Run. My character, Vuei, is a disillusioned and broken oathbreaker paladin. I was planning to romance Minthara because if she's only available in the evil route, might as well go all the way.

But I recruited Gale and immediately had a category 5 "Ohhh I can't not fuck him" moment.

Now, at the time I thought that betraying the grove would straight-up lock you out of his romance. Tbh I'm not sure why I thought this? But somehow that was the impression I'd gotten, so, I promptly jettisoned all my Evil Plans in favor under Get Under Gale's Robe ASAP.

I got all the way into Act 2 like this. Defeated and looted the whole goblin camp, made it to Last Light, all that.

Then one night I wanted to play but I was feeling too mentally wiped to make real progress and real decisions, so instead I loaded a save from right before saving the grove. I figured I would see what it was like, get to hear some Minthara dialogue, that would be that.

Instead I got one of the most immersive emotional rollercoasters a video game has ever given me.

I failed some rolls to deceive Minthara and started spinning a narrative where Vuei, who has recently lost everything and everyone they thought they valued, just... panics. Doesn't see a way out other than bending to Minthara's demands. Goes reflexively numb and nihilistic because apparently this is just the way the world works.

From there, the entire sequence from the combat itself, to Karlach (who was in my party) leaving me, to the reactions of various people at the party... it was just Moment after Heartwrenching Moment. I'm leaving some details out here because they really deserve to be experienced first-hand but at the end I was like. Staring at my ceiling processing all the implications for the characters.

Gale specifically delivers one of the Verbal Smackdowns of All Time to you afterward. You have to persuade him to stay.

But he does stay.

This was the point when I started getting the feeling that maybe his romance flag was still active? And the implications of THAT... my mind just ran wild with them. Who was this guy who would bitterly, righteously tell you that you're making him worse, then give you a second chance, secretly thinking maybe he's Not Actually So Different, then fall in love—ACTUAL love, not just 'I don't deserve better' resignation—with you despite it all?

I never reloaded my original save.

The game doesn't actually let you have any additional decompress-and-discuss dialogue after persuading him to stay, but in my imagination what I filled in was: a really painful heart to heart where Gale and Vuei agree Never Again. Where they are both at a loss as to how they can even go on from this. But they have to. So they will. At least they know the other feels just as guilty and ashamed as themself, and that counts for something.

It also made me think, why the pure black and white Evil Run/Good Run dichotomy? I really, REALLY latched on to the story structure of a party that makes One Huge Ruinous Fuckup at the very beginning that colors all their further attempts to Do Better, and that's how I RP'd going into act 2.

For instance: we couldn't rescue the tieflings but maybe we can extend the same grace to Minthara that we hope might be extended to ourselves.

In terms of game mechanics I actually took quite a hit here. Karlach took a bunch of great gear with her when she left (this may not happen in the current patch? unsure) and I decided my characters would not have it in them to go back to the goblin camp just to completionistly gobble up loot.

It felt like penance. The very beginning of the tangible consequences of the thing my character will regret most, for the rest of her life.

I felt closer to my remaining companions. Bound by atrocity. The last ones standing. By the gods it shouldn't have happened this way but after that we will NEVER doubt that we have each other's backs. I put Astarion in my party for the first time ever and this is when I began warming up to him as a character. Eventually when Shadowheart killed the Nightsong, it was like Vuei (and Gale) deeply disapproved but couldn't bear to cast judgement. The only thing to do is be there for her and hope she does better next time. We are all just hoping we'll do better next time.

The morning after our lowest point, we trudged resignedly to Rosymorn monastery. The stark, sublime grandeur of the landscape was a slap in the face. It was wrong that such beauty could still exist as though the world was indifferent to what we'd just done. It was wrong that we could literally climb above the ruins we made and in the distance they're just... another part of a breathtaking view. But here we are, standing on this cliff, somehow still able to feel wonder.

The new dawn imagery was both a lash and balm.

We carry on. We find a way.

OH ALSO I gave Gale Volo's eye and continued making Alterations to him as things progressed. Being vague because that's quite a bit further in but yeah, Gale Undergoing Changes is another big part of my vision here. It's All Connected.

[fonulyn]

20 Questions for Fic Authors

thanks for the tag @thebrandywine 💖

answers under the cut.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

268 works.

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

1,256,253 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

RE. and still have the urge to write Gears but lol if you thought nivannedy was a rare pair...

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

nobody's perfect (TOG, pretty gen)

now drunk on lust I drown in you (forever within I'm lost in you) (RE, Chreon)

and who's to find the way right through you (RE, Chreon)

scattered fragments of time (that's all we are) (RE, Chreon)

how to accidentally get adopted - a guide by Piers Nivans (RE, Piers-centric, also background Chreon)

5. Do you respond to comments?

always! i know i missed a couple, sometimes i take ages, but i do always try to respond bc i love and cherish nice comments.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

the bad endings on three words to last forever. i still like the angstiest one the most :'D

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

lmao like everything else idk i want them happy. i've written loads of fluff idk how to quantify which is the happiest.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

only ever got a few nasty comments thankfully, so no, not really.

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

yeppp. idk what does 'which kind' mean? anything that feels inspiring lol.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

not really. i did start a few back in the day but i didn't really finish them. i am not really into crossovers tbh i don't even read them 99% of the time.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yeah. someone was selling it on amazon pffth.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

a few. apparently five on ao3 lol but i think there was one or two back in the lj days too. might be wrong tho :'D

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

lol loads. at one point in life like... fifteen years ago, most things i wrote were co-written with a friend. and i've done it a couple of times after that too. i really like co-op stuff tbh but haven't found people to collab with lately.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

right now i would sell my soul for nivannedy. might already have.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

ehhhh at this moment i doubt i'll ever finish anything. maybe the lifeguard au? i was red-hot for the idea at first but then it kinda... fizzled out. kept changing. got ruined by pushy ppl lol. but maybe i'll get back to it one day bc i would love a nivannedy summer romance tbh.

16. What are your writing strengths?

uhm. characterization. dialogue. emotional shit? idk i think i do best when i have intimate moments with two people. tiny everyday moments and mundane shit. like that. if i get going writing sometimes flows super well and i think i can get consistently readable stuff done in one go. but that'd require getting going lol.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

action. i suck at action. i also suck at it in the way that i can't actually make myself start writing. i got way too co-dependent when i still had people excitedly participating in the process and now i sit here sad doing nothing :'D but anyway. writing action and having some self-discipline lol.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

depends very heavily on the context. in general i do think it should be all in one language for readability but there are exceptions. i've done it too lol but it was only like a line or two in finnish :'D

19. First fandom you wrote for?

diru, twenty years ago lmao, it's like a different lifetime. i only learned of the existence of fanfic at the ripe old age of nineteen lol but yeah it's still been so long now.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

asdjfngkn i can not choose between all of my children c'mon. uhm. am just gonna say the self-indulgent series bc it truly was so important to me for so long and i'm still devastated it ended. sigh. now i made myself sad again :'D

[brb-on-a-quest]

What's one of your favorite childhood memories?

Hello, friend, good to see you, even if you do hide in the shadows. Hope you are well. <3

Let me tell you about a time I fell in love with storytelling all over again. I grew up on stories; I loved having my dad read to me when I was little (we read Narnia books, the Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, Robin Hood, etc. I loved *all* of it). I loved the stories of found families and tight friendships like it was my bread and butter because I hadn't made any friends I could get closed to bc family moved around a lot (a decision I don't resent my family for now, but despised as a kid), and I wasn't really *that* close to my family either due to probably a variety of factors, not excluding mental health issues. I won't delve for the sake of length, you get the point. I was a sad and lonely child and my closest friends were imaginary. Anyway back to more concrete events:

We had just moved from Florida to Virginia, which is about 1000 miles away and over 13 hour drive (for context), and we had just started a new co-op (think like homeschool school, but it only met like once a week, it was one of the ways we'd start building up a new social circle or something). And one of the classes I took in was something music (more likely theater? related but that might have a different semester) and the first week of this co-op I remember they gave us a bingo card with a bunch of famous movie soundtracks and they told us we were going to identify the movie based on the song alone.

I got 2/20 or something bc I hadn't even heard of most of these movies bc i just hadn't been exposed to it. It was things like Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, maybe spongebob- pop culture stuff that I just hadn't seen. So everyone else was getting excited and I was feeling more and more out of the loop and alone.

I swear this turns happy at the end, bear with me, anon. They play the final music track and I don't recognize it at all but it fills me with such great joy and a call for a new adventure that I hadn't even realized music could do that before (we didn't listen to a lot of our own music growing up, it was mainly whatever my parents found appropriate or what my dad liked).

It was How To Train Your Dragon. Test Drive. John Powell. And then like the musical scores, they showed the scene it was from. A boy and his dragon racing, flying through the air. And I fell in love With the characters arcs per se, but I could tell there was a deep lore there and a story of friendship that I craved so much. It was also right up my alley with stories my Dad had read me so there was also that. But like the music was fantastic, I really liked the visuals at the time (i usually hate most 3D animation films, HTTYD is the exception), and I craved the story behind it.

I saved up money from Birthday and Christmas and ended up buying it. And I watched it. And I fell in love even harder. Cause, in some sense, I related to hiccup too much. I was a creative person, like he was, I had very little friends like he did at the beginning, we had similar senses of humor at some points, and he was fascinated with knowing and learning things. And he had a big dragon friend and i again craved that friendship deeply. So he added to the crew of imaginary friends and I went on many imaginary adventures with Hiccup and Toothless and told myself so many stories that I wish I could remember now for writing inspo.

I ended up moving from Virginia to middle of nowhere Midwest US (not saying where in case the Fey Find Out), and I did end up meeting my IRL Toothless. A little bit scary on the outside at firsts, but with an actual heart of a silly, goofy, dragon. (brb, im getting emotional just thinking about it. It'd be about 7 years now? Coming up? I may be bad at math. I feel old and happy and content.)

So yeh, in short it was a very much right place, right time kind of story and film. I still watch it a lot whenever I need a comfort film that's not as long as LOTR or something. I love the soundtrack and all of the things about it. Sorry, this was probably way longer than it should've been but IDK how to describe my love for this story without giving you some context.

[thychesters]

20 Questions for fic writers

@acewithapaintbrush posted and said "go for it" so here i am! putting this under a cut because it got long lmao

How many works do you have on Ao3?

33

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

303,124

3. What fandoms do you write for?

dc/batman/birds of prey, with some until dawn and uncharted thrown in there. right now it's mostly one piece though.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

ship to wreck. (one piece/zolu)

ocean breathes salty. (one piece/zolu)

ronald mcdonald eat your heart out. (dc/batman/bruce & dick)

the salt & the sea. (one piece/zolu/reincarnation au)

misery loves company. (dc/batman/jason & damian)

5. Do you respond to comments?

yes! i appreciate them a ton. sometimes it might take me a few days but i try to respond to every single one

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

ooh that's a tough one, because while i like to include a lot of notes of angst, most of the endings have been on decent notes. maybe if you go out in the woods today (until dawn) because it's a vanishing hitchhiker au.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

probably the salt & the sea. (one piece)! i'd like to think all of that build up to the end and the reunion was worth it. (and it was to me, at least!)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

luckily i have not!

9. Do you write smut?

hehe i have and i want to again!

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written?

nope! not really my thing.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

years ago i noticed some similarities in ideas, but nothing too major.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i haven't!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i have... considered doing so...

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

since i tend to bop between fandoms, i don't really have one! right now it's zolu, but i also really enjoy the dynamics of the straw hats as a whole. i'm rotating them in my mind like a rotisserie chicken.

15. What is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i think unfortunately the first op fic i started is going to end up being something the buzzards (me) pick at for lines and ideas. or maybe someday in the far future it will see the light of day. (i started it 70 episodes into my watch and stabbed zoro haha)

16. What are your writing strengths?

i like to think i can convey emotions and character interactions. i also enjoy some of the physicality between them, so i hope that shows as well!

17. What are you writing weaknesses?

balancing out dialogue between a large cast of characters and pacing in action sequences. want to keep enough happening to keep things moving, but not repeat myself four times.

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

why not, if it works?

19. First Fandom you wrote for?

honestly i think my friend and i wrote twilight parody fic when we were in middle school LMAO

20. Favorite fic you have written?

more recently i'm very proud of the zolu reincarnation au i've mentioned above, but i'm also really, really happy with the way the zoro pining fic ode to an ocean. turned out. that one has a few of my favorite lines in it! (also maybe my next wip ... or who knows)

thanks for the tag by proxy ace!

if they're interested in doing so, i'm tagging @lookforanewangle, @beck-a-leck, @sciencemyfiction, @ghostlandtoo, and @microcomets! (hi claire!)

[carry-on-my-wayward-butt]

Hey bestie I just saw your multiplayer post and 1: I totally get it. Multiplayer sucks so much ass because I’m an impatient motherfucker.

But I wanted to ask you something. I’m so sorry, I’m not trying to be rude or judgmental, just some food for thought (that you may not even need!) from a bestie who is rooting for you!!

Have you ever considered that FOR YOU playing multiplayer with someone might be less about your personal enjoyment and more about doing an activity with a loved one that THEY enjoy?

It sounds like you have people in your life who love something! And they also love you! And they want to share those things with you, even though they aren’t your favorite! Obviously you don’t need to let anyone pressure you into anything, but I think doing un-fun activities that someone else enjoys with them can be a very sweet way of engaging with them selflessly.

Like i fucking hate bowling. So fucking much. I can’t even explain it. But once recently I managed to put that aside because a friend wanted to bowl on her birthday and I didn’t want to rain on the parade.

And I was nervous, like I’m going to ruin this with my bad attitude because I hate bowling. But I decided to try a different mindset? I don’t care if I have fun doing this activity, the fun part is being with my bestie. Joking around, hanging out around her. And it actually made it so much more fun. I don’t know how to describe it but bowling with her was actually fun that day.

And cooperation is so difficult and different even than the bowling example, but I actually have one for that too! I recently tried Portal 2 with my dad (we famously struggle to cooperate and always end up arguing.) But he loves the game and wanted to spend time with me. So I resolved to do it well. Instead of playing the game the way I usually would, I was intentional about playing differently. Because this is a different activity entirely, I’m not playing a game, I’m hanging out with my dad.

I literally just stuck by him, let him tell me what to do, and was blown away when he started asking for my opinion. And since I’d faithfully followed orders, when I had an idea to try he would do the same. And eventually we entered a cooperative zone I’d never before have deemed possible with my father.

So anyway, like I said this may not be applicable for you! But I thought it might be decent food for thought, maybe there is a new way to approach that activity that could be less painful for you??

since you typed so much and put so much effort into saying this as kindly as possible to get it out to me i want to do you the same courtesy and say this with patience and grace.

i know they want to share something they love with me, and that doing something im not into so that my loved ones can have fun with me is just something humans in a community occasionally have to deal with. sometimes we just have to grin and bear it so our friends can enjoy our company, and in a community, everyone takes a turn grinning and bearing it.

but this is something i do for them with like... team shooters and realtime co-ops. not for turn based strategy where i'm forced to wait on them to read at the speed of smell or watch a cutscene they've seen six times so they can make different decisions or meticulously organize their inventory.

when i play fortnite with my boys, i dont need to wait on them except to regroup or discuss what to do next, and i'm happy to put my impulsive playstyle to the side and hold back instead of barging in guns blazing like i do solo. i grin and bear it.

but when i play bg3 or ffxiv or wow with my boys, i'm fucking miserable, impatient, and forced to adhere to their playstyles when theirs all mesh together and mine is the outlier.

i read at warp speed. i comprehend and strategize and improvise faster. slowing down is torture because the game itself is already working at the pace of a 600lb century tortoise and i'm already making concessions just to be able to play at all.

i dont want to work and try when i play games. i want to relax and turn my brain off. my friends all know this and they have for over a decade.

they have known for 15 years that i hate turnbased strategy games, and i hate playing multiplayer. i am able, with effort, do one or the other, but not both. they've known this for so long. and every like 8-15 months they seem to forget and something they all love comes out and they want me to be included and i get the game and have a good time by myself and im able to join in the conversation and the last six times this has happened evaporate from their memory and they insist it'll be differen because this one is "actually good" and i assure them it will not be different and they encourage me to try and i grow a fucking demoncore in my chest with the weight and pressure of not screaming HURRY THE FUCK UP IT'S BEEN 7 MINUTES THAT YOUVE BEEN ORGANIZING YOUR FUCKING CHEST THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A SILLY FUCK AROUND RUN NOT A SERIOUS ORGANIZED RUN THIS ISN'T "PLAYING A GAME" THIS IS "SCROLLING TIKTOK WHILE I WAIT FOR LITERALLY ANYTHING TO FUCKING HAPPEN AND THEN NOT GIVING A FUCK WHEN IT IS MY TURN BECAUSE THE EXPERIENCE IS RUINED BY FORCING ME TO PULL MY BRAIN OUT OF THE GAME!!!!!!!"

and all of that stays in my chest because obviously i'm not about to shout at my friends that theyre functionally illiterate and to just kill something already so it festers and rots between my ribs and i am having a noticeably bad time.

your friends cannot possibly enjoy something that makes you actively miserable. your friends want you to have a good time doing something they love, not to bottle your misery and fake it so they can have a fun time.

it isn't even about the game or my playstyle. it's about the fact that they learn this lesson CONSTANTLY and yet never seem to learn. it's about how i HATE the part of myself that keeps giving in just to get that little bit of revenge on them to really drive the point home this time.

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it is february. you are lactose intolerant. your friends KNOW this. they have for nearly 20 years. sometimes you have a small ice cream bar because theyre so good and worth the pain. your friends only bought cheese pizza for the party, and no other food. you sigh.

You're like "i'll join another time, i cant eat cheese pizza." they insist it'll be okay, they want you here so bad because they love spending time with you. they'll take care of you, the second bathroom will be free all night and they have plenty of pain killers and extra clothes. you tell them 'okay but take care of me for real this time'. they promise.

there are no pain killers, only iron suppliments. they used up the pain killers about a month ago and didnt notice, they didnt think theyd need any so soon. the second bathroom is immediately clogged because one friend flushed paper towels on accident, and the others are using the main bathroom very frequently because they all drank too much. they didnt realize they wouldnt be able to drink so much. how could they have know the toilet would clog? they're complaining about your gas because there's no febreeze, only lemon pledge. how could they have know they needed febreeze so soon? the guest bedroom is full of dusty storage and the bed smells like mothballs. how could they have known they'd need to use it so soon? the only extra clothes are too small for you and the shower is mildewy. later in the night you ask for them to get you some water and they're all too tired. you get yourself some water and groan in pain the whole way to the kitchen and back. "can you keep it down, we're trying to sleep!" "YOU LEAKED SHIT IN MY BED?!?!" "ughhhh the bathroom is acrid"

you burn the house down in your mind.

your friends party every other week, so the next time you gather, and every time after that, they have food you can eat. they learned their lesson! all is well, and you're able to make funny jokes about how much you wanted to kill them, and they make funny jokes about how stupid they were to forget something so important, and they suffered a lot from your gas and groaning and having to clean the sheets since it was their own fault after all, so they'll never forget now! you forgive them. friends fuck up sometimes. months and months of perfect parties. perfect friends.

it is november. it's party time. you arrive. there is only cheese pizza.

you sigh.

[greenteaanon]

Another DnD reader Brainrot in SAGAU

Dungeon Master

Reader

Summary: You get Somehow Isekaid with your player party of 3 to a game you also love playing Genshin Impact.

GN!reader, semi imposter AU, also Semi Self Aware AU.

Part 1 >Part 2

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"God I'm Beat!" One of your party members, Angel flopped down on the couch said pulling out her phone. "I mean to be fair....They Did add a lot of puzzles and mind fucking stuff, AGAIN" another one of your friends Ben, glared at you. "Oh come one, it wasn't that bad" you mused.

While Jake who was your rouge, slammed his can of soda down and pointed at you voice cracking like he's about to cry shouted "YOU MADE DO A MY LITTLE PONY PUZZLE A MY LITTLE PONY PUZZLE" Everyone bursted out laughing. After finishing up the left over chips you all decided to Co-op in Genshin. Getting super lucky pulling for artifacts and mob drops seem to multiply. "man I'm sleepy.." you said. "C'mon just a couple more domains just to finish up my transient resin" Ben said stretching.

"Alright fine... I'll carry your sad asses again" you breathed out. And some how after you all entered the domain you all got flash banged, not from your phones and devices but from the room. "JESUS CHRIST!" You guys all jump awake at that shout from Angel. "What the fuck angel!" Ben said hitting the back of her head.

"I'm...I'm touching Grass" Jake looked happy. "bro to would grass be doing in my apart...ment, Why the fuck is there Grass!? and Why are we outside!?" you got up quickly in confusion, you were in your apartment a while ago. "Man my back hurts what am I laying on." Jake said stretching his back till it pops. Under him was 4 binders, an oddly Bedazzled one, one covered in stickers, a simple plain binder, and a familiar binder with your name on it. All had the same thing on the side with your names on it. "Our DnD Binders..." you read and spoke in a whisper. Angel started picking hers up. "There's a new character page in mine" she said. All of them flipped through it. "Why do I have a new one as well....but a story" you said flipping your binder to show them. "DMPC maybe?" It was a logical possibility. "But I didn't write neither of these??" You were just as confused as your friends but neither did they.

After Discussing you all decided to play along as the characters. You started walking around high on guard for what ever may appear. When your Binder glowed. “What does it say?” Jake leaned on you trying to read it. “Beware the Glorious ones for something is wrong, for something has grown and took the throne, Oh Glorious ones restore the dream, Remove the fear from all the peoples hearts, and nature would be evergreen.” You read carefully. “Man I hate how you write cryptically” Ben who is apparently more horrible at puzzles and cryptic messages than you thought. “Well that explains the 8 at your intelligence...I’m starting to hate it too” whispering the last part.

When suddenly someone who bares a resemblance to a familiar character ran up to you. “HALT IMPOSTERS, YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR IMPERSONATING THE GLORIOUS ONES” You all looked at each other. “Man that’s Bullshit” Angel said, that’s the 1st time she cursed in person. Well I guess you guys don’t have much choices or do you?