#they set up a timer for equal play time

[sonicrainicorn]

Here's a fun, wholesome fact for the single dad au: Kevin and Dan always play the newest Zelda game together. It's tradition

[girlkisser13]

baking with the bau would include

aaron "hotch" hotchner

• aaron would insist on having all the ingredients and utensils ready before starting, ensuring an organized workspace.

• he’d follow the recipe to the tee, measuring ingredients precisely and setting timers for every step.

• his keen eye for detail means nothing gets overlooked, from ensuring the dough is mixed evenly to making sure the oven temperature is just right.

• aaron would make sure to taste the batter or dough, making sure everything is on track, and encouraging you to do the same.

• he’d be diligent about cleaning up as he goes, making sure the kitchen doesn’t turn into a disaster zone.

• throughout the process, he’d engage in meaningful conversation, making the experience not just about baking, but also about spending quality time together.

aaron finished mixing the brownie batter, setting the bowl aside with a satisfied smile. he handed you the spoon, his eyes twinkling. "here, lick the batter," he said, his voice warm and playful.

you eagerly took the spoon, savoring the rich chocolate taste. as you licked it clean, aaron watched you with an amused smile.

"you've got some on your face," he said, leaning in.

you looked at him, puzzled. "where?"

he didn't answer. instead, he closed the distance between the two of you and pressed his lips gently against yours. his kiss was tender, filled with affection.

when he finally pulled back, his eyes were filled with warmth. "got it," he whispered, a mischievous grin on his lips.

you laughed, your eyes meeting his. "you just wanted an excuse to kiss me."

he shrugged, his smile widening. "guilty as charged."

you grinned back, the kitchen filled with your shared laughter.

derek morgan

• expect a lot of teasing and playful banter. derek is known for his charming and humorous personality.

• the two of you would probably have some music playing in the background, and he might even bust out some dance moves while waiting for the items to bake.

• derek would do some research in preparation but much like driving, he likes to "vibe" baking. he doesn’t follow any specific recipe.

• he would enjoy working together, dividing tasks, and making sure you both contribute equally to the baking process.

• after the baking is done, he'd insist on cleaning up together, making sure everything is as spotless as when you started.

derek pulled you into the kitchen, laughter bubbling between the two of you as you slid the tray of cookies into the oven. the smell of chocolate chip cookies filled the air. as the oven door clicked shut, a catchy tune began playing on the radio.

derek’s eyes sparkled with mischief. "dance with me," he said, not waiting for a reply as he took your hand and pulled you close.

you laughed, letting him guide you around the kitchen. "here? now?"

"why not?" his grin was infectious, and soon you found yourself swaying to the music. his strong hands were warm and sure, one on your waist and the other holding yours firmly.

he twirled you around, making you giggle. the tension from the day melted away as you danced, your movements light and easy in his embrace. the radio played on, and derek’s smooth moves made you feel like you were the only two people in the world.

"not bad, morgan," you teased, breathless from the impromptu dance.

"just don’t tell the team," he winked, dipping you slightly, his gaze locked onto yours.

the timer beeped, signaling the cookies were done. reluctantly, you both let go, the moment fading as you turned to the oven.

"thanks for the dance," he murmured, his voice soft.

"anytime," you replied, a smile lingering on your lips as you pulled the tray of cookies out, the warmth from the oven mirroring the warmth in your chest.

elle greenaway

• elle might suggest trying out a classic recipe with a twist, perhaps a family favorite or something she’s been wanting to experiment with.

• there’d be a playlist of her favorite songs playing softly in the background to keep the atmosphere relaxed and enjoyable.

• elle would enjoy the creative aspect of decorating the baked goods, whether it’s piping intricate designs on cookies or adding elegant touches to a cake.

• ahe might introduce you to unique ingredients or healthier alternatives, explaining their benefits and how they can enhance the recipe.

• she’d likely have a collection of favorite recipes and would enjoy swapping them with you, maybe even writing down the one you just made together.

as you finish the last dish, your hands still damp from the soapy water, you glance at the tres leches cake the two of you just made, your excitement barely contained. "elle, will you feed me a piece? my hands are still kind of wet"

elle grins mischievously, cutting a generous slice. "sure thing," she says, but instead of gently offering it to you, she slams the piece into your mouth and bolts from the kitchen, laughter echoing behind her.

you quickly grab a piece and sprint after her, your footsteps thudding through the apartment. you catch up to her in the living room, tackling her to the ground in a playful heap. she squeals as you pin her down, smearing the cake across her face in retaliation.

you both burst into laughter, the sound filling the room. you’re straddling her now, her eyes sparkling with joy. "how does it taste?" she asks between giggles.

you take a moment to savor the flavor before responding, "it’s pretty good, but i think i might need another taste." leaning down, you kiss her, tasting the sweetness of the cake mixed with the warmth of her lips. you pull back slightly, grinning. "i stand corrected. it’s delicious."

emily prentiss

• emily would start by meticulously organizing all the ingredients and tools, ensuring everything is in place before beginning.

• there would be some classic rock or her favorite tunes playing softly in the background, setting a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

• emily would pay close attention to the recipe, following it precisely. she might have a few favorite recipes she's perfected over the years.

• she would insist on tasting the batter or dough at various stages, making sure it's perfect before moving on.

• if something goes wrong, she’d stay calm and patient, encouraging you and finding a solution together.

• when it comes to decorating, emily has an eye for detail, making sure everything looks just as good as it tastes.

as the oven timer beeped insistently, you and emily pulled away from each other, the mix of chocolate and laughter lingering in the air. the cookies you had been so excited to bake were now blackened discs of charcoal, but neither of you seemed particularly bothered.

"you know, prentiss," you said with a grin, "this is exactly what happens every time we try to cook together."

emily raised an eyebrow playfully, a smirk tugging at her lips. "and why is that?"

"well," you continued, pretending to be serious, "it’s because you keep trying to kiss me. the food always suffers."

emily laughed, her eyes twinkling. "you kissed me first!"

before you could say another word, emily closed the gap between you, her lips capturing yours in an intoxicating kiss that made your head spin. when she finally pulled away, her eyes sparkled with mischief. "i guess we’ll just have to rely on that bakery around the corner."

you laughed, your senses still reeling from her kiss. "lead the way," you said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the door.

jennifer "jj" jareau

• she would have a clear plan for what you’re baking, including a well-thought-out list of ingredients and steps.

• jj would likely start with a kitchen check, making sure all the utensils, mixing bowls, and ingredients are ready and within reach.

• as someone used to working under pressure, jj would likely keep things running smoothly, ensuring that everything is done in a timely manner.

• expect some unique twists on classic recipes, as jj would bring her creative side into the baking process.

• given her warm and approachable personality, there'd be plenty of light-hearted moments and encouragement throughout.

"alright, we need to make sure we have everything within reach before we start," jj says, scanning the kitchen with a critical eye. "can you grab that bowl for me? it’s a bit too high up."

"sure thing," you say, dragging over a small ladder. as you climb, you feel jj’s hands steadying you, her hands resting firmly on your ass.

you laugh, glancing down at her. "is this really necessary?"

"yes," she replies with a grin. "just grab the bowl."

you chuckle, reaching up and grabbing the bowl. as you step down, jj takes the bowl from you with a playful smile. "see? you can be helpful."

you roll your eyes, grinning. "glad i could assist, agent jareau."

jj laughs, setting the bowl on the counter. "let’s get baking, shall we?"

penelope garcia

• penelope would likely bring vibrant, playful recipes that reflect her quirky personality, perhaps including fun shapes, bright colors, and unique flavor combinations.

• expect upbeat music playing in the background, creating a lively, cheerful baking environment.

• penelope would add personal touches to the baking, like customized decorations or themed treats that reflect inside jokes or interests.

• the baking session would be filled with engaging stories, lots of laughter, and maybe even some spontaneous dance breaks.

• she’d be encouraging and enthusiastic, offering lots of positive reinforcement and making sure you’re having a good time.

you and penelope stood side by side in her kitchen, the aroma of sugar and butter filling the air. she was animatedly flipping through her phone, holding it up triumphantly. "trust me, this strawberry and vanilla swirl cake is going to be amazing. i saw this recipe on tiktok, and it’s supposed to be incredible."

you eyed the ingredients skeptically. "but we were planning on a classic marble cake. you know, chocolate and vanilla. it’s a safe bet."

penelope pouted playfully, her glasses sliding down her nose. "come on, just this once. i promise you’ll love it."

with a sigh, you finally relented. "alright, alright. let’s do the strawberry and vanilla."

an hour later, the cake was cooling on the counter, its swirls of pink and white creating a mesmerizing pattern. penelope handed you a fork with a grin. "time for the taste test."

you took a bite, and your eyes widened in surprise. the combination of sweet strawberry and creamy vanilla was unexpectedly delightful. "okay, i admit it. it’s really good."

penelope’s grin widened as she leaned in for a quick kiss. "i told you so."

spencer reid

• spencer would likely come prepared with research on baking techniques, ingredient substitutions, and even the history of certain recipes.

• he’d meticulously follow (or even improve) a recipe, explaining the science behind each step, from the role of baking powder to the importance of precise measurements.

• spencer might suggest experimenting with unusual ingredients or techniques, eager to test out new ideas and learn from the results.

• expect deep, engaging conversations on a variety of topics, from criminology to literature, as you bake together.

• he’d be attentive to every detail, ensuring that everything is measured accurately and timed perfectly.

as you and spencer knead dough together, his voice flows like a gentle stream. "did you know that flour has been used for thousands of years? the earliest evidence of flour comes from around 10,000 bc in the middle east. it was made from grinding grains between stones."

you watch him with a smile, his enthusiasm palpable. "really? i didn’t know that."

"yes! and the ancient egyptians were baking bread as early as 3000 bc. flour has been a staple for millennia. it's fascinating how something so simple can have such a rich history."

his excitement is endearing, and you can’t help but reach out with your flour-covered hand, patting him gently on the cheek. "you’re adorable when you get excited about these things."

spencer’s eyes widen in surprise, and he starts to laugh. "hey, wait a minute—"

before he can finish, you flick a bit of flour at him. his laughter turns into playful mock outrage, and he retaliates with a sprinkle of flour of his own. soon, the kitchen is filled with laughter and white dust as you both engage in a light-hearted food fight.

in the midst of the chaos, spencer grins at you, a streak of flour across his face. "well, at least we’ve added a new chapter to our flour history."

you laugh, catching a glint of his joy, and nod. "definitely a memorable one."

a/n: RAHH!!! thank you so much for 800 followers!!! i really appreciate all of the love and support. <33

[merbear25]

hey !! can i ask -12 "If you win, I'll kiss you." with Ace , fem or gn reader swf pls ?

congrats on your 200 followers 💋💋💋!

Hey, hey! Thank you for sending in a request! So happy to write this for you and hope you like it lovely 💜💜

CW: SFW, gn!reader, some fluff and humor, drinking, reciprocated feelings

Shooting your shot

There was hardly a moment you and Ace weren't sharing a laugh together. Perhaps the only time you weren't hanging around each other was when he'd have to go off on outings, leaving you behind; he always said that it was because it would be too dangerous for someone like you, "You are just a tad too soft for them", he'd tease.

But you'd been admiring Ace for quite some time now: from his strength to his laugh, he had stolen your heart and was holding it hostage, even without him knowing it. The two of you were good friends, but it was hard for you to ignore your pining for wanting more.

During one of the many parties that were always held after a successful mission, you couldn't help watching him partake in his usual activities: fluttering between different groups of people to share jokes and stories, often with a drink and food in hand.

Pausing to take a shot to boost your chances at maintaining your newfound bravery, you let the liquid luck work its magic and worked up the courage to approach him.

Stopping in front of him, your front was starting to faulter as he beamed at you and asked how you were enjoying the party. In hopes of shoving your nerves back down, you abruptly challenged him to the drinking game that'd been set up earlier: beer darts.

Chuckling at your sudden assertiveness, he started waving it off by saying you'd make yourself sick with how many beers you'd surely have to drink.

He was unintentionally making your foundations shake and sway, so you thought it'd be best to make a wager. "If I win, then you'll have to take me on your next outing! A-and, if you win...," you paused to ponder what he could possibly want from you.

"If you win, I'll kiss you."

You shot up from hearing his suggestion, your chest heaving at the mere thought of him placing his lips against yours. "Okay, then it's a deal." The fifteen minutes began its countdown.

Positioning yourselves behind the boards, you were the first to throw a dart. However, your hand was shaking from the possibility of him kissing you, which caused you to miss horribly―practically throwing it straight down into the dirt.

Unable to hold back his amusement, he went into a slight laughing fit asking what on earth happened. Just as the dart was passing through his fingers, he caught a glimps of your flustered, pouting face, causing him to lose focus.

Luckily for you, his dart just barely missed the beer. Taking a deep breath to help calm your nerves, you became lazer focused on the can infront of you―a direct hit!

Congratulating you on being able to hit it this time, he chugged his beer down.

As the timer you'd set earlier ticked the minutes away, the two of you shared in equal wins and loses. The score was tied and there was a little over a minute left on the clock, meaning this was your last chance at pulling ahead of him. Mustering all of the might you had been clinging to throughout, not only the game but your whole friendship with him, you threw your last dart. Any hope you'd been gathering to share your first kiss was shattered as the dart made contact with the wooden board standing behind it.

Ace let out no triumphent laugh as he threw his final dart, hitting your can with ease. As the taste of defeat wet your lips, you could only feel disappointment fill your stomach.

Not wanting to face Ace due to the embarrassement washing over you, you hadn't noticed him walking towards you.

"You know, I've never been one to play by the rules," soothing your heartache by placing a kiss laced with passion, he pulled you closer to fully embrace your form.

[xxsycamore]

A Soulmate That Wasn’t Meant to Be

╰┈➤ 🩷 While rare, there are some instances of a soulmate clock appearing to be broken, showing a negative countdown or one that you cannot outlive. Or both. You were just born under an unlucky star. One that destined you to not only fail to experience such a major event of your life as knowing when you've met your soulmate, but also for Arthur Conan Doyle to find out about it when you've successfully kept it a secret from almost everyone so far.

Arthur Conan Doyle x Gender Neutral Reader • rating: G • tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting; Alternate Universe - College/University; Alternate Universe - Reincarnation; Alternate Universe - Soulmates; Soulmate-Identifying Timers; Denial of Feelings; Feelings Realization; Fake/Pretend Relationship; Pet Names; Drinking; Time Travel; First Kiss • wordcount: 2,641 • masterlist

a/n: This is my gift for @oigimi, for the Secret Santa event hosted by @lemeowade ! I saw your preferences for AUs and I couldn't help myself searching for a connection...then I remembered soulmate clock AU is a thing, and then I remembered ikevamp deals with timetravel and I went "hmmm this can turn into something interesting!" and it spiraled out of control after that point 😭 i sincerely hope this isn't too big of a mess and that it's your type of fic! Hope you enjoy, I had a lot of fun!! 🥺🥺❤❤ Namesake song by Jess Benko. Take a look at the end notes for clarification on some parts of this fic!

"Remind me again why do I have to spend the whole day being your pretend partner. The party doesn't start until 10PM tonight!"

"Here you go, luv. Be careful, it's hot!" Arthur hands the freshly baked pastry to you, resuming your slow stroll in Jardin du Carrousel, the garden of the Louvre museum. You hurriedly take it from his hands if that would make him finally pay attention to your question. Of course it would be hot, he doesn't need to remind you - it only annoys you further, as he so obviously does it to look like a good boyfriend more than anything.

"Do you want to taste mine? I can taste yours too."

"No thank you."

You suppose it's partly your own fault finding yourself in your current situation, considering the recent events. In a world where everyone is busy chasing after time, enjoying the dating scene before their soulmate countdown turns to zero, or trying to rush in and see the countdown speeding up as they try to play with fate and meet with their designated soulmate faster, you're an outcast. An outcast with a broken soulmate clock on your wrist, condemning you to a lifetime of long sleeves and wide bracelets and false modesty to trick people's curiosity. You should be used to them by now, their comments about you not being interested in relationships. And even though you do feel fed up with it, the thought of lying about dating someone just so they can shut up never crossed your mind.

But it crossed that of Arthur Conan Doyle. The college's infamous frivolous playboy, a firm believer of the 'hook up as much as you can before you find your soulmate!' ideology. Now, you didn't want to have anything to do with a guy like him, but on one of those college parties you were dragged to, he decided to pick you for the lead role in his biggest, stupidest drunken decision yet. And you were equally as drunk to play along with it, nodding in the face of his ex-girlfriend as she looked at the both of you in disbelief. For a playboy like Arthur, you thought he was managing to control his dating life better than this. But you guess he just got bored of being surrounded by love.

Straightening the lapels of his grey coat, Arthur fetches the brochure handed earlier to him out of his inner pocket and takes a quick look at it to make sure you checked out everything of interest in the area before entering the museum itself.

The guy has a whole checklist of activities for the day. You've seen it. He purposely taped another page underneath just to scare you with its sheer length, but you're seeing right through his tricks, the page is full of gibberish written just to take space. You've got your best frown on to keep the illusion of ignorance, hoping that you'd get bonus points for agreeing to go through the full contents of the list, both the real and the fake ones.

But is it really an act? The occasional tidbits of satisfaction coming from beating Arthur's brilliant mind - not that you'd ever give him the credit for it - are hardly enough to keep you entertained throughout the day. When the activities you take on today are meant to be just that, entertaining. And romantic too.

Now, were you a normal couple, a true couple, then maybe you'd be having fun now.

"Arthur, I think partners are supposed to listen to each other and answer each other's questions. At the very least."

"But you see, dear…" Arthur wraps his arm over your shoulder, gently nudging you into taking a turn away from the crowded path ahead and into a more secluded walk. "By asking that question out loud with people around us, you've already answered yourself. We clearly have more training to do, or we won't appear as a genuine couple."

Ah. He's right, damn it.

"I only lowered my guard because these people don't know us, stupid… Let's get inside already!"

Getting ahead of him, you think that as long as you appear excited to see the exponates, you can get away with keeping a few steps distance from Arthur. Hearing his low, annoying chuckle triggers the sensory neurons in your brain until a neat little image of his smirk is produced with near-perfect accuracy. Have you simply seen it too many times? There's no escape even when you turn your back to him, great.

The Louvre is magnificent to explore with the many pieces of art it houses, instantly changing your infatuation with the slow passage of time into wishes it would stop altogether. There's so much to see that you'd frankly not mind getting lost in here just to have an excuse to spend more time surrounded by art.

You have to admit, Arthur chose the perfect dating spot. You're not sure if it was based on your own preferences - surely not - but you find yourself not minding it suddenly.

"Picture!"

Hearing the signal, you instantly turn in the direction of the raised-up phone, smiling for the camera as Arthur presses his face closer to yours.

"Oh, this is a good one, I'm definitely posting it. You look so inlove."

"I'm in love with Da Vinci's work, that's it."

"Uh-uh. That works for me too." Arthur replies while his fingers dance across the screen, likely typing some cheesy caption for the picture. A second later your own phone vibrates in your pocket, signaling that he posted the picture and tagged you in it, and you don't even bother looking.

"At least you're a natural, Arthur."

"What, in masking an expression? How are you so sure?"

You blink, meeting his gaze as some child holding a balloon separates the two of you for a mere second. Instinctively, you shorten the distance so you don't lose Arthur, looking for his hand to take hold of. You've already been through that today, linking hands in the crowds. And while there was no real need to do that right now, you just did that…

To the question in your eyes evoked from his last words, he smirks and adds, "There are pieces of art here that I look at with fondness just like you do."

Your heart sinks for a moment, only to create palpitations that mess with your head. You have no idea where they came from or what evoked this feeling in your chest, but while looking anywhere but at Arthur, your gaze falls on other couples passing by. It's because you were instructed to watch them if you're having trouble recreating the subtle romantic gestures that indicate dating. An advice from a writer no doubt, one that you wish you could forget because it's too late telling your brain to forget what it's been taught. But the question is, why the sudden turning of stomach at the sight of them?

While failing to watch your step, you lose your balance and stumble on your own feet, meeting the hard ground hands-first. You feel eyes on you for a short moment; just a mere second any stranger might spare to witness the unfortunate event before moving on with their tour.

That's it, except for Arthur - who is there to pull you up in a manner of utmost care, dusting off your clothes, taking you to a more secluded area with benches to rest on and asking you at least three times if you're alright before you can snap out of your surprised state and let out a murmur of affirmation.

In the whirlwind of emotions rushing through your slightly clouded mind, you put the embarrassment of your fall aside and realize you still feel hot. As Arthur turns your hand around to inspect it, you realize that no amount of hand-holding numbed your reaction to the touch of his warm hands.

And no amount of his exaggerated lovey-dovey gestures of affection could prepare you for the look of genuine worry over something so insignificant on his face.

"You fell on your hands, they must be scrapped… let's get them under cold water, it would wash away the dirt too."

"Wait, don't look!-"

With the distraction slowing down your reactions, you fail to stop Arthur on time before he can roll up your sleeve.

Your soulmate clock instantly makes him adopt an expression of perplexion, as the quick look he gave it was enough for him to notice the bizarre sight of one too many numbers aligned on the width of your wrist.

-46 750 days, 9 hours, 17 minutes, 35 seconds

"Your countdown is…"

"Screwed up. I'm one of those people."

While rare, there are some instances of a soulmate clock appearing to be broken, showing a negative countdown or one that you cannot outlive. Or both. You were just born under an unlucky star.

One that destined you to not only fail to experience such a major event of your life as knowing when you've met your soulmate, but also for Arthur Conan Doyle to find out about it when you've successfully kept it a secret from almost everyone so far.

It has to be some kind of irony, being here with him today for these reasons. He who made up this whole plan because he needs an escape from love, while you on the other hand-

"Now that I've seen yours, it would only be fair I showed you mine."

"It's nothing, you really don't have to-"

You try to avert your gaze as Arthur extends his hand and rolls up his sleeve, turning it so you can see the inside of his wrist.

-12 616 days, 9 hours, 16 minutes, 51 seconds

"Huh…" You freeze for a moment, not believing your eyes. The guy you secretly envied for having the privilege of being sure about meeting true love to the point he'd chase ephemeral trysts just to kill time. Turns out he also won't be able to…

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't think I'm all that sad, luv. I was never destined to have a soulmate, but that's fine by me. Maybe that's what I deserve."

Your head spins with emotion once more, and this time it's guilt. And it weighs down on you heavier than all else there is, and you suddenly want to disappear.

It's probably not wise to turn your back on Arthur without saying a word, but you'll be regretting this later. You start running, and he calls out your name but it never approaches you. He's not even chasing after you, but you're glad - you've already started thinking of the apology you're going to drop in his direct messages before blocking his number.

Just as you halt your step and check behind your back, you spot his tall frame amidst the crowd, trying to push his way toward you. Without much time to think, you open the nearest door and pray that he'll lose you from his sight and continue ahead on the corridor.

This section of the museum appears different somehow, ontop of being strangely devoid of visitors, with the exponates carrying an air of extra antiquity to them. The path ahead is quite narrower in contrast to the other hallways too, the lightning more sparse, and the feeling of unease tells you to wait out Arthur's chase attempt and then go back where you came from.

Except, he finds you.

You hate it that he read your mind about entering that door, and you hate that you're now practically given the privacy to talk. Not wanting to face him now, you simply continue ahead, hoping to blend with the crowd at the other side of that corridor and escape him then.

Arthur follows behind you, continuing to call out your name, and your mind becomes dizzy out of a sudden. You're ready to blame it on one too many things and you don't pay much attention, until something odd happens. A blinding light flashes before you, making you unable to advance further. Arthur catches up with you just in time to put his hand on your arm.

The light is gone in the next moment, and you slowly open your eyes to find yourself in a different hallway, together with Arthur.

Sinking to your knees, you try to make something out of the bizarre situation, and Arthur follows you on the ground to soothingly massage your back, simultaneously checking for injury. A tiny part of you remains sane and warm, and it's glad that he's here.

"A-Arthur! Look at my-"

Moving his gaze from your shocked expression to your outstretched hand, he gasps as he sees your soulmate clock suddenly speed up, losing years upon years, seemingly not planning on stopping anytime soon. Another portion of shock hits you as you notice his own clock doing the same, and you drag up his hand to get his attention to it.

At a pace slower than yours, Arthur's clock reduces its countdown. The two of you can only watch in alert silence, everything else becoming irrelevant in the face of the miracle happening to those who accepted their deprived-of-love fate long, long ago. In the lone hallway, two sets of eyes search for a third person who does not exist, as one might do when that moment approaches.

The days on the counters reduce to what at most adds up to a few years, then a few months, then finally they turn to zero; followed by the minutes, and at last, followed by the seconds as well.

The rows of zeros align on both of your wrists, signaling that…

"My soulmate is…"

"It's been you the whole time?"

***

After being found by the residents of what you came to know is the mansion of Comte de Saint-German, you were introduced to the lord of the house himself. His explanation eased some of your concerns while still being bizarre enough to be hardly believable.

Being trapped here for a month surely sounds like you'll have enough time on your hands to unpack everything that happened today. But you're glad you're not going through this on your own.

Once you find yourself alone in the company of Arthur again, the butterflies in your belly are revived, stubbornly refusing to let anything overshadow the realization you came to just awhile ago.

Arthur seems to be able to tell what's on your mind. His deep sea-blue eyes lock into yours, and you don't know what to say. Luckily, he takes the initiative.

"We traveled back in time. The clocks were never broken… we were meant to meet here."

An echo of his words reverberates in your head as you try and let them sink in, absurd as they sound…there's no other explanation.

He starts laughing, much to your dismay.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just…" He casually puts his hands in his pockets, admiring a painting hanging on the hallway's wall as he picks his words. "Seeing as we won't be showing up to that party… I guess we don't need the pretend couple lessons anymore."

It's a laugh you didn't know you needed. You aren't sure what is it about human nature that nudges you to seek the solace of a smile no matter how sobering and hostile a situation is, such as finding yourself in an unfamiliar place, in an unfamiliar age. But you're thankful.

"It's a shame." Arthur turns to you. "I was looking forward to kissing you as our grand final lesson."

Your eyes widen, and Arthur has that stupid smirk plastered on his face. Without taking his hands out of his pockets, he leans into your frame and shortens the distance.

"It's a shame indeed…" is all you can muster before sealing those damned alluring smiling lips of Arthur with your own.

a/n: The soulmate clock AU normally uses the countdown for the couple's meeting but here they've clearly met before, so I wondered if I could instead make it count down to their first meeting in the place they're destined to fall in love at, Comte's mansion in 19th century Paris.

Arthur's countdown differs from that of the reader because his clock is synced with the timeline of his previous life - practically, he was born in 1859, lived through the year 1895 when they were destined to meet with the reader - but because it wasn't the right timeline, his clock began to run backwards. Arthur then dies in 1930 and gets reborn into 21st century Arthur, with a clock that still counts down to the year 1895, but the countdown picks up from the moment he died in his previous life - july 7th 1930 (his death day). This is why his and the reader's clocks aren't synced and they can't see it coming that they're each other's soulmate LMAO get doomed by the narrative

"mo are you alright why is this a 4 different AUs at once, 2600 word fic without any planned squeals" yes I think it's perfect as it and I had fun!

Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @ale-teodora @kimi00twin @otomelady @privilegedpancake @g-kleran    @pumpumnnnp @thesirenwashere @ravenarld @kimmy-banana @devonares @galaxyprison @sadshaxk @starshards26 @thewitchofbooks @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @lordsister @ikemen-banshou   @themysticalbeing @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @coornn @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning @aquagirl1978 ​ @ikemenlover24 @mcofthemansion @joy-the-reader @katriniac @ikemen-writer @tele86 @lovely-bubb1es @aria-chikage @babyblue0t7 @rhodoliteschaos @shrimpy-kitsune @nightghoul381 @xbalayage @lucyw260 @kittygrimm88 @lokis-laugh Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!

[boozenboze]

Your a Spade

Chishiya x Male reader

Female,She/Her,and She/They/ dni

Type-Fluff

Warning-Blood,mentions of reader being taller,flirting

X

Everyone in the room seemed equally suspicious but a girl named Arumi made an idea to create a group.At first one person joined and then another turnt into another.Some people in the prison chose to just get a partner and stick to that since it seemed to be more risky to group with several other people.Although one person decided to stay by themselves while carefully playing with his nails.He listened to the girl as she walked over to everyone asking the same question.

“You wanna join our group?”She would ask every time to anyone who wasn’t in a group.She had asked him if he wanted to join them but he declined which made everyone suspicious of him.M/n knew that she was no good, no matter how kind she seemed, it was just something about her that set him off.That feeling probably comes from knowing your playing a game that toys with your emotions.That feeling caused him to keep to himself,and it only made the others suspicious of him.Despite their wariness of the man he only seemed to be minding his own business.But hey they don’t have to worry about him now since the girl and the group that she formed were all dead.Now this how we are where we are now,The Jack of Hearts game only had six people remaining.Chishiya was screwed,and he knew that himself.Why is that you may ask.Well since his partner didn’t give an answer in time before the timer went off,the collar on his neck went BOOM.

Well enough of that,we’ll now be talking about an e/c eyed male who is making his way to the cafeteria in hopes of getting a pack of strawberry cookies.As he made his way into the room,he approached the shelves with all the foods and was now scanning the variety of items to choose from.When his eyes finally landed on what he wanted,he picked up the pack of cookies that were contained in a pink packaging.He smirked before opening the packaging and was about to take a bite of one of them before a voice caught his attention.

“These taste better you know.”The male said while holding up a pack of cookies that were contained in yellow packaging.The e/c eyed male looked down at him with an eyebrow raised.

“And you know that how?”The male remarked as the other male smirked slyly.

“I know because I’ve had them several times already,you should try them.”He said while holding up one of his own cookies.The h/c haired male hummed in response before taking a bite of his strawberry cookies.

“Also would you mind telling me what my symbol is?I tried to ask the lady but she ignored me and I don’t have a partner to tell me what it is.”The shorter male added on while looking up at the e/c eyed male.The mentioned male hummed before approaching the blonde to tell him his symbol,but not before he stuck one his cookies into the other males mouth.

“Well you good sir are a diamond confirmed.”He said while moving the males hair back into its original position.Chishiya turnt around,now facing the male as he slowly chewed on the flavorful treat with a small blush on his cheeks.M/n eyed the shorter males bag of cookies before taking one for himself and tasting it.

“Hmm,I do gotta say you have taste but…I think mine may be a bit better.”The h/c haired said before patting the males head and walking away,although he didn’t get far before hearing the sound of the blondes voice.

“Your a spade by the way!”The male said,while continuing to chew the cookies with blush adorning his features.

[myriad-ofmuses]

Birthday Dinner

@thetraumazone @alilmusebundle

He paused in his finishing preparations to allow his hands to stop their shaking, exhaling a stressed breath and stalking back over to the sink to throw cold water on his sweaty face. Again.

Keeping his wet hands plastered to his face for a few beats longer, trying to calm his racing soul, frustrated at himself for letting himself get so worked up.

Fottutamente ridicolo. (Fucking ridiculous.) It was just a dinner. - It was just a culmination of all his impatient patience over the last several months, trying to pin down a time that he could catch his mother alone.

Which.. either fortunately, or unfortunately.. happened to be on her birthday. His father had been called away on some urgent Family business, along with most of their people. Pops had been apologetic and promised to make it up to her, but as ever, she'd been all cool grace about his absence, claiming she would rather have a quiet night in with her sons and grand-baby then to make a big deal of it, anyway.

He'd agonized on whether or not he should wait for another opportunity, but he'd been on pins and needles at home for too long already, and that ticking clock was ever looming over him. The longer they waited, the more risk of discovery - and they couldn't under any circumstance let Sir catch wind of their reunion.

Not until they had powerful backing to support them, anyway. They were in over their heads, they had to make some sort of play before the cards were further stacked against them.

And while it was a shrewdly selfish thought, perhaps his Pops could make it up to his Ma by taking her lead in acceptance of this twisted situation. They just.. had to get to that point, that was all.

Heh.. yep. That was all. Abbastanza facile, vero? (Pretty easy.. right..?)

With a shaky breath, he wiped his wet face with a dish towel and went back to the oven, checking on the garlic bread and the pre-sauced spaghetti simmering away on the stovetop.

It was a miracle in itself that he'd convinced his Ma to let him make dinner for them, but she'd softened up when he said that he wanted to give back even a fraction of what she did for their family on her special day - and then promptly put her grandchild in her arms. Whatever lingering resistance she had melted away, and she'd shooed him off to the kitchen while cradling an extra-snuggly Mia.

Plating up their first course, he took the opportunity to slide the sauce-laden, seasoned pork loin in the oven for secondi, setting a timer to let it slow cook while they enjoyed their first course (and talked.. of course..)

And while he was at it, he tapped the pager clipped at his belt, giving the signal that everything was prepared.

Gathering everything up on a tray, it took a few trips to transfer dinner to the dining table, his mother looking up from her squirmy granddaughter to watch him set up the table, even smile shifting to a perplexed expression at the extra place that was set.

It took all he had not to nervously tug at his collar when faced with that silent quirked brow, but he managed. He certainly wasn't going to start this off on a full-bodied lie, but wouldn't show his hand yet either.

"I invited someone that'd like ta celebrate yer day with us, hope ya don't mind, Ma.."

Puzzlement changed to an equal combination of suspicion and curiosity, and he quickly draped his apron on an empty chair to take his own seat, relieved that it had saved any staining on his sharp suit. No half-assed formal ware tonight, not if he was going to butter her up, anyway.

After an affectionate kiss to her cheekbone, he settled in his chair, and glanced expectantly toward the entryway of the dining room, hoping that Juke's nerves wouldn't get the better of him. It would be.. a much better introduction if he walked out of his own volition, rather than him having to go and fetch him.. but he was prepared to do so.

As the seconds ticked by, he sent out a silent plea to his anticipated partner.

Please.. just trust this, Vipera.. we're going ta be fine. We got this.. I promise..

[thetravelingtyper]

a supreme love (Spitfire! GN! Reader x Simon 'Ghost' Riley) Spitfire Pt 5

The team enjoys some late-night baking, and fluff ensues...

Deeply inspired by Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier!

Warnings: None :D

Part 4, Masterlist

“I came in from the outside

Burnt out from the joy ride

She likes to roll here in my ashes anyway

Played from the bedside

Is "Stella By Starlight"

"That Was My Heart"...

The drums that start off "Night And Day"

Hozier’s voice slipped into the air full and sweet. The base was quiet in the morning as your discarded phone scattered reflected light. Cookies baked in the meticulously cleaned oven and you swayed under warm lights. The holidays had passed easily, and for the first time in the year, you and the rest of the 141 were home for uninterrupted months. There was other work to be done, assessments, training, and assorted intelligence updates. But no killing, no smoke, and no blood. You close a drawer with your hip and grimace. Well, some blood.

A flash in the hall and you flip around spinning under engulfing arms. There is a deep grunt and your surprise greeter is on the ground under your knees in an instant.

“Sweet Jesus” Soap grunts, face pressed into the tile. You huff a laugh and easily pull him up. He then spins on you and lifts you by your hips. His strong arms sweep you up with a startled laugh that jumps out into the calm night. A light turns on down the hall as he spins you around, you have to duck your head to avoid hitting a hanging light as he sways you then in a dance.

“I wouldn't know where to start

"Sweet Music" playing "In The Dark"

Be still "My Foolish Heart,"

Don't ruin this on me”

The song continues as a shadow stalks silently into the hallway, form lithe and ready to fight. Simon reaches the arch into the kitchen and the sight makes him pause. Your head is knocked back in light and soft laughter, his wedding ring hanging simply on your tanktop as you’re spun like a top by an equally giggly Scotsman. Soap has a deep love in his eyes and a loopy grin on his lips. He then catches Simon watching and sends a wink, Simon glares under his mask, the balaclava crumped with haste.

Johnny lowers you to the floor, and you, a little dizzy, wrap your arms around his neck. You both stood eye to eye easily and you pressed a fond kiss to his cheek. The Scot had been Simon’s best man and your adoptive brother for these few long years. He spins you and dips you as Simon finally enters. 

The song repeats, it appeared multiple times in this baking playlist, and in the early wee hours of the morning, Fate played her fond strings for the forest god. 

“"The Very Thought Of You" and "Am I Blue"?

"A Love Supreme" seems far removed

"I Get Along Without You Very Well," some other nights

The radio news reader chimes

Reporting "Russian Lullabies"

She'll turn to me awake and ask, Is everything "Alright"

As you dip you catch Simon's eyes and he pauses, Soap holds you a moment and pulls you back up to his chest in a bear hug as the timer goes off. Simon’s heart swells with the smell of cookies, the comfort of his teammate, and the love of his partner. He signs and the balaclava slips off. Scars reflect in the light as he shifts. He gives Soap his moment as he performs the proper military husband duty. 

Simon pulls out a ridiculous corgi oven glove and pulls your famous cookies out of the oven. The smell immediately bounds out of the confines of the kitchen and another light turns on the other end of the hall. You all hear footsteps and you laugh into Soap’s chest as Simon sets the trays down on the over to set.

Kyle enters in workout gear and looks around.

“Double Chocolate Chunk?”

Your voice is muffled against Soap’s chest, your reply is lost to the comfort of familiarity, your heart warm and fuzzy. Simon decides that your sleepy mumbles mean time is up and Soap whines as you are pulled from him into sleeveless arms. Your husband wore one of your largest shirts. It was over-sized to make you feel small and fun but it fit him perfectly. A rumble of satisfaction left him as he saw you realize this. Your hands pull into yourself and you tuck into him effortlessly.

Price enters, his kids debating.

“No, Hozier means Double Chocolate with homemade Sea Salt Caramel.”

Simon hums in confirmation, and a hand reaches for a hot cookie. Soap shoves it into his mouth and gives a sinful moan, your head shoots up in disgust.

“Keep it in your pants, Johnny.”

Gaz snorts and pulls the parchment paper off the pan and onto a cooling rack. 

“It helps the cookies set better” Gaz mutters as you speak aloud from Simon’s chest.

“We know Kid.”

Price grabs a slightly cooler cookie and slides out of the room, dad tax paid and accepted. Gaz follows suit, wrapping three deluxe cookies in a paper towel and following his Captain.

Soap slightly scalded on the tongue mumbles a goodnight and pecks your cheek before Simon lightly shoves his face away.

“Night Spitz, L.T.”

“Night Soapy.

“Go to bed, Johnny.”

“Aye.”

The lights in the hallway shut off leaving the kitchen alone under one lonely bulb. Hozier sweetens the moment, fate singing her due.

“I wouldn't know where to start

"Sweet Music" playing "In The Dark"

Be still "My Foolish Heart,"

Don't ruin this on me”

The song softens into silence as you call for your phone to pause the music. You give a yawn, stepping back to stretch. Simon’s arms loosen but linger at your waist as his face firmly regards you. You make to pull away to clean but he holds you in place. His eyes smolder in the low-lit silence, not a soul aware but you two in the center of this peaceful universe. Your eyes question him with a smile as you raise a brow, grin spreading, but his mouth remains a solid pondering line.

You stand a moment, the cookies cooling now, and you run a hand to his cheek. He leans into it, a solid wraith materialized with love and your heart melts at the movement. He seeks your warmth like a moth. You run your other hand down his stubbled chin to the base of his neck. Your wedding band sat silver on top of your shirt. Your love swelled and his eyes closed and his head dipped onto yours. You stood vigil with his heart as the night melted away with warm chocolate and caramel.

“I wouldn't know where to start

"Sweet Music" playing "In The Dark"

Be still "My Foolish Heart,"

Don't ruin this on me”

[alvin-draper]

Alien: Romulus

spoilers!

let's chat. and also preface with the fact I've only seen alien and Aliens before, both of which I adore and rewatch endlessly.

I've seen some reviewers talk about this, but Andy carried that movie character wise. Everyone else was good - props to the weird cousin guy. He was a dick but he added some much needed internal group conflict.

Andy and Rain - she was weirdly cookie cutter in a very video game protagonist kinda way. She had a goal: get off planet. She had a brother who she viewed both as person and as pet. Something to be loved and coddled. At no point was she ready for him to have more agency. From the minute you knew she'd decided to leave him behind, you could plot the course of her entire arc. Andy was better. I was worried they were doing a weirdly placed take on adults with strong autism to start with, and was kinda relieved to find out he was artificial with a buggy system, and then realised that actually no the comparison still 100% works, but I like how they played it. He gets agency with intelligence, but it's at the cost of losing his human connections. His little sister, and the friends he's an outlier to. He never feels integrated into the group, always slightly on the outside. When he gets his new chip and directive, I read it as equal parts programming and rebellion. It took away some of his desire to do anything for Rain, and replaced it with pragmatism. But you can see its still him in there, and that he's mad about them leaving him behind. He keeps making decisions to keep Rain alive, but he focuses in on her life rather than her emotional needs, and lets other people die. It still reads as love, to me. But instead of her sacrificing him for her better life, he sacrificed her emotional wellbeing for both of them to live. Definitely the character with the most intricacy.

As said, everyone else and everything else felt kind of cookie cutter. The characters don't make interesting decisions. Its still well written and well done: you understand the how'd and whys of every decision they make. But none of them shine enough to keep up with Andy.

Okay, enough character stuff. Let's talk everything else.

The score and sound mixing: incredible. Loved that it started on that deep space silence. The music is good and more than functional, will probably listen to the soundtrack as a background for a while. The best choice sound wise in the whole movie is when she floats out the bottom of the cargo bay in the final act and the sound cuts almost completely. You could've heard a pin drop.

The look of the thing: impeccable. The minute they get onto those prowling H G Geiger ships I was sold on the whole thing. The wires and curves and me grin so hard. Less excellent alien hiding places than I would've liked, but they didn't use that trick too many times so it worked out. The red and orange lighting in the dark rooms gave the movie a very distinct aesthetic, separate from the other Alien movies that I've seen. And of course the shot composition was glorious. One of my favourite visuals was in the water filled cyro fuel room, when Andy freezes and reboots. Hi standing stock still as the camera pans up and we the audience understand: oh shit, that's a lot of facehuggers.

Things they set up and paid off: the pregnancy. Andy slipping a vial of the compound into his pocket. The X Ray scanner. The dropped key. The gravity timer. Just about the security cameras. Things they didn't quite pay off: the temperature sensing device. The facehuggers travelling through the vents. The sharp edges and quick mechanical closing of the vent covers they get into the ship through.

Shit that came out of nowhere: all the goddamn fully grown xenomorphs. That bit was pretty out of left field. I had anticipated there being more Aliens, but they fact they left it so late doesn't really make much internal sense. I guess because they were in the other half of the outpost?

Callbacks I loved: the Nostromo at the start and the vague references to Ripley. Rook being Ash. That was gooooood. Also shows that the companies whole thing in Aliens that synthetics aren't like that anymore is kind of bollocks.

That fucking thing: I'm calling it Romulus for obvious reasons. I thought the design was excellent. So fucking horrifying. I will be having nightmares. Its like they reached into my subconscious and designed it specifically to get to me. Incredible. Didn't like the fact it roared I think if it had made either an Alien hiss or a human noise it would've been way more compelling. Properly horrifying though. Really hit home that it's a horror movie more than anything else. Also. The death scenes in the movie? Incredible. It did those Well. My favourite was absolutely the acid blood literally burning a whole through that guys chest, because it was visceral and brutal and horrifying and so so hell done. You could really feel the panic and tension and still clock him scrabbling at his chest just to melt his fingers and feeling sick all over again. Just brilliant.

Overall: it was good! It sucks that I only really liked Andy, and he only really atarts coming into his own after Rain betrays him. Still fucked she took his autonomy away again at the end, even if their quipping was cute. Loved them raising the temperature of that room as a disguise that was inspired. Loved them turning off the Gravity to shoot the Aliens that also worked great. The elevator was also a good set piece. The biggest let down in this movie is the characters. Andy's great, Rain is alright, and sos the cousin who's only around for the firstish act. Bit the main side character guy, who's sisters pregnant? I don't even remember his name. They kept hinting at there being both backstories for him and for Rain that were more interesting than what he got. For him, some kind of genuine military past. For her: she'd been to Yvaga before. Maybe even grew up there as a little kid. It was an opportunity to add proper dimension to both characters that was squandered in favor of the crazier action scenes, which sucks. This movie was in dire need of clearer and deeper characters, particularly because in my eyes that'd what Alien does best, and Aliens takes a really good stab at considering the larger main cast.

Essentially. It's a good damn horror movie, but I'm not sure it's a great Alien movie, for all the incredible HR Giger and weird sexual violence undertones. I'm just not sure that plot wise it earned its Alien credentials. Like the last few lines. Rain leaves a log, as she's the last survivor of her ship. But there's no passenger log. It was never an authorised mission. Its a pointless message to leave. It gives the audience closure because it flashes us back to the end of Alien, but it makes no sense as closure for Rain. That's where I'm at.

[rachelbethhines]

Mobius Timeline (1st Era)

3232 CE

Antoine = 15

Bunnie = 13

Rotor = 13

Sally = 12

Sonic = 12

Tails = 5

Don’t Cry for me Mobius! - Sonic miniseries #0 (first adventure)

Sonic’s Six* Speed Settings -Sonic #0 (Sonic makes a vlog about his speed)

The Royal Family Tree of Mobius - Sonic #0 (Sally shows Sonic what's left of her family's tree since Robotnik cut it down)

Robotnik’s Badniks! - Sonic #0 (Robotnik make a propaganda video showing off his creations)

Oh No–Robo! No-Mo’ Mobo! - Sonic #0 (Sonic tells his version of Robotnik's takeover of Mobius...he's an unreliable narrator)

Sneaker Peek! - Sonic #0 (Sonic makes a vlog about his shoes)

Run, Sally, Run! - Sonic miniseries #1 (Sally lets herself get captured by Robotnik in order to spy on his bot-maker, only for the boys to rescue her before she can complete her mission)

Silent Running - Sonic #1 (Sonic and Rotor play baseball)

Something Fishy - Sonic #1 (Sonic gets captured by the badnik Jaws and Rotor uses his Bathysphere to go rescue him)

Equal Time -Sonic #1 (Rotor makes a vlog about things that aren't fast)

Ground Rule Double - Sonic #1 (Sonic plays tennis with himself)

Sonic's Baby Photographs - Sonic #1 (Sonic shows his fans his baby pictures)

A Crowning Achievement - Sonic miniseries #2 (Robotnik steals the magic emeralds that give the Crown of Acorns is protective powers and it's up to the FFs to get them back)

Top 10 Reasons why Sonic the Hedgehog is the Coolest Comic Book Around - Sonic #2 (Sonic tries to pitch his own comic)

Fin Fans - Sonic #2 (Sonic makes a vlog about his spines)

Photo Finish - Sonic #2 (the Freedom Fighters take a group photo)

Sonic Flashback! - Sonic miniseries #3 (Sonic gets a bump on the head and dreams that he and Robotnik were kids together on Uncle Chuck's farm)

Why Ask Spy? - Sonic #3 (Sonic disguises himself as a robot to sabotage Robotnik's plans)

Meet Me at the Corner of Hedgehog & Vine! - Sonic the Hedgehog #1 (Robotnik sends his latest badnik Krudzu to destroy the FFs)

You Bet My Life! - StH #1 (Sonic infiltrates Robotnik's casino to get info on his latest badnik Orbinaut)

I'd Like to Thank… - StH #1 (the Sally host an award show to honor the FFs)

Keep Looking Up! - StH #1 (Sonic answers some of his fan mail)

Chili Dog A La Sonic - StH #1 (Sonic makes a cooking vlog to share his favorite chilidog recipe)

Triple Trouble! - StH #2 (Robotnik sends three new badniks to capture sonic, Coconuts, Scratch, and Grounder)

In the Beginning! - StH #2 (Sonic makes a silly vlog about alternate versions of himself)

Vertigo A´ Go-Go! - StH #2 (Sonic falls into the Unknown Zone and meets Horizont-Al and Verti-Cal)

Foiled Again! - StH #2 (the FFs try out a new money making scheme)

Two-Timer! - StH #2 (unable to sit still, Sonic shows off his speed while Sally cooks him a boil egg for breakfast)

All the Mail's about Tails! - StH #2 (Tails gets his own fan mail)

The Bomb Bugs Me! - StH #3 (Rotor disguises himself as Robotnik in order to steal a bomb before Robotnik can use it)

Tails' Fairy Tales! - StH #3 (Tails and Sonic discusses the fable "The Tortoise and The Hare")

Double Speak! - StH #3 (A bored Sonic holds a telephone conversation with himself)

Paper Trail! - StH #3 (Sally gets angry at a gossip article in the newspaper that talks about her dying her hair)

Rabbot Deployment! - StH #3 (Bunnie's first appearance and origin)

Robotnik's Rules! - StH #3 (Robotnik makes propaganda listing his rules)

The Lizard of Odd! - StH #4 (Robotnik makes a giant badnik called Universalamander, who proves too strong to control. First appearance of Super Sonic)

Antoine's Van Refrain! - StH #4 (Antoine helps Sally assemble her new vanity)

Horizont-Al & Verti-Cal - StH #4 (Horizont-Al and Verti-Cal make a broadcast showing off their world and powers)

Badniks Bazaar - StH #4 (Coconuts, Scratch, and Grounder audition for a second shot at capturing Sonic)

Hare Styling - StH #4 (Bunnie opens up a hair salon part time)

Tails' Little Tale - StH #4 (Tails tries to prove himself a hero by taking on Robotnik by himself)

Olympic Trials and Errors - StH #5 (Robotnik challenges the FFs to Olympic style games. If they win he turns himself in, and if they lose he gets to robotize them. Sonic agrees not realizing that Robotnik has switched his sneakers causing him to lose his super speed)

Sonic's Ten Second Workout - StH #5 (Sonic makes a vlog showing off his usual workout routine)

Chomp on This, Chump! - StH #5 (Robotnik sends a robotic termite to the Great Forest to eat the FFs out of house and home)

Fast Food! - StH #5 (Sonic mistakes a bowl of wax fruit for his dinner)

The Spin Doctor! - StH #6 (adaptation of Sonic Spinball, first appearance of Hip and Hop)

Here Comes the Bribe! - StH #6 (Sonic gets a fan letter praising Antoine... that Antoine had paid the person to write)

Sonic's Christmas Carol! - StH #6 (Sonic has a dream where he, Robotnik, Snively, and the rest if the FFs are characters in A Christmas Carol... apparently Christmas is still celebrated on Mobius)

Uncle Chuck's Treasure! - StH #7 (Sonic finds a treasure map left by his uncle. Believing it might be the location of an important invention both the FFs and Robotnik race to the X that marks the spot)

The Shadow Nose! - StH #7 (Sonic practices shadow boxing)

Details Are Sketchy! - StH #7 (a badnik tries to describe who attacked him to Robotnik who is trying to draw the suspect based off the description)

Sorceress in Distress - StH #7 (on the Mobius's version of Halloween, called Fright Night [which takes place after Christmas apparently] Sally dresses as a witch, only for Robotnik to mistakenly believe her to be a real witch and offer that they team up together to take over Mobius)

Princess Cruises - StH #7 (Antoine tries to convince Sally to invest in a royal navy by naming a small boat after her)

Bot's All Folks! - StH #8 (Robotnik builds super powered robots inspired by comic books)

A Little Sonic Goes a Long Way - StH #8 (Robotnik builds a shrink ray)

Pseudo-Sonic! - StH #9 (Robotnik builds a robot duplicate of Sonic)

Tooth or Consequences! - StH #9 (Robotnik builds a dentist robot, and thinks even it is too cruel a monster to let loose on the world)

Quick Sketch - StH #9 (Sonic makes a vlog on how to draw himself)

What's the Point? - StH #9 (It's Sally birthday and Sonic tries to give her a pet Mobian Needle Bird as a gift. Only for the animal to prove more trouble than its worth)

Revenge of the Nerbs! - StH #10 (meet the Nerbs)

Twan With the Wind - StH #10 (Antoine builds a hot air balloon)

The Good, the Bad, and the Hedgehog! - StH #11 (Sonic gets lost on the Cosmic Interstate and winds up in Anti-Mobius where he meets his evil twin)

Beat The Clock - StH #11 (Coconuts has captured the FFs are using them as bait to lure Sonic into a trap)

Food for Thought or You Are What You Eat! - StH #11 (It's Sonic's birthday and he has a weird dream after eating too much)

3233 CE

Antoine = 16

Bunnie = 14

Rotor = 14

Sally = 13

Sonic = 13

Tails = 6

A Timely Arrival - StH #12 (Robotnik builds a time machine that sends Sonic back to the prehistoric era)

Bold-Headed Eagle - StH #12 (Sonic tries to help a depressed Cyril the Eagle to fly again before Robotnik captures them both)

This Island Hedgehog - Sth #13 (Meet Knuckles! A Sonic 3 adaptation)

Space in yo' Face! - StH #13 (Robotnik builds an orbital robotizer and so the FFs steal it, but Robotnik is hot on their tails)

Tails' Taste of Power - StH #14 (Tails gains super intelligence by eating a fruit from the tree of wisdom, but then proceeds to bite off more than he can chew when gets a swelled head over it)

Do-It-Yourself-Sonic - StH #14 (Sonic and Tails attempt to make a comic about their misadventures while fishing)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun! - StH #14 (When Robotnik tries to capture Sally and Bunnie he finds out just how tough women can be)

Ghost Busted - Sonic Super Special #8 (Sonic, Tails, and Antoine go on a camping trip and try to scare each other with ghost stories)

Rockin' the 'Bot! - StH #15 (Sonic saves a magical frog that gives him three power stones... only trouble is Sonic can't remember which stone grants which power)

What's the Big Idea? - StH #15 (The Freedom Fighters all try to guess what Rotor's newest invention will be)

Animal Magnetism - StH #15 (Robotnik tries to use a giant magnet to capture Bunnie)

Sonic Under Glass! - StH #16 (Robotnik traps the FFs in a virtual reality that grants their every wish)

The Man from H.E.D.G.E.H.O.G. - StH #16 (Upset that the FFs keep spoiling his plans, Robotnik decides to use a randomized wheel to decide his moves in the hopes that no one will be able to predict what he's up to. First Appearance of Harvey Who)

Gorilla Warfare/The Apes of Wrath - StH #17 (Robotnik travels to Skoal Island and finds one of his original bots: King Gong, a giant, 800 ton gorilla! He then sends the big ape to Mobotropolis to attack Sonic and the Freedom Fighters! But it seems that King Gong's interests lay instead with Sally…)

Wedding Bell Blues - StH #18 (Sonic and Sally are getting married! And Robotnik is here to crash the wedding, but not everything is as it seems...)

Princess Sally's Crusade - StH 17 & 18, & Sonic Special #1: In Your Face (When Sally's beloved teacher dies, she goes on a quest to find herself again. First Appearance of Nicole)

The Mirror Zone - SS #1 (Sonic and Tails get trapped in a zone where everything is backwards)

Tails' Tallest Tale - SS #1 (Tails is invited to a convention to give a speech. He brags about his exploits to the audience until the real Robotnik shows up and Tails has to fight him alone)

Everything Old is Newt Again - Sonic the Hedgehog Archives #5 (Universalamander returns!)

Night of 1,000 Sonics - StH #19 (All of the Sonics across the multiverse have to team up to stop Robo-Robotnik from conquering all universes)

That's the Spirit - StH #20 (Everyone believes that Sonic has died in an explosion inside Robotnik's lab, including Sonic himself!)

The Three Phases of E.V.E. - StH #21 (Robotnik builds an unbeatable robot that can think for itself and evolve)

The Return - StH #22 (Believing Robotnik to be dead, Snively accidentally sets off the self destruct protocols which orders all of his robots to rampage till nothing is left of Mobius... and the only person who can stop the end of the world is... Robotnik back from the dead)

Tails' Knighttime Story! - StH #22 (In an attempt to get Tails to sleep, Sally tells Tails the story of Sir Runalot and Mortail to convince Tails that Sonic’s life is filled with danger and hard work, not fun and excitement.)

Ivo Robotnik, Freedom Fighter! - StH #23 (When the FFs and Robotnik get kidnapped by an alien scientist, they have to team up together to get back home)

The Vol-Ant-Teer - StH #23 (Tails has left a power ring in Robotropolis without Sonic knowing. Antoine being the showoff he is decides to retrieve it, but Bunnie comes along to help. First Kiss)

Deadliest of the Species - StH 20 & Sally Miniseries: 1-3 (Sally is training new recruits when she meets master spy Geoffrey St. John and together they uncover Robotnik's plot to replace her with a robot duplicate)

When Hedgehogs Collide - StH 24 (Anti-Sonic and the Suppression Squad crossover into Mobius and pretend to be the real FFs in an effort to undermine they're good counterparts reputations)

Go Ahead... Mecha My Day - StH 25 Robotnik builds his deadliest creation yet, Metal Sonic! And he kidnaps Sonic's pen pal, Amy Rose, to use as bait to lure him into a trap)

[itsbenedict]

From the beginning | Previously | Coin standings | 5/18 | 2/7

Nice.

Thanks to the kindness of strangers, the butterflies deliver to the two of you some useful freebies from the Coin shop:

The MER-MYSTIC provides 7 orders of BEAT USER. The two of you divide them such that equally sated as possible- around 8/8. After filling up, neither of you seem too mentally impaired by the hunger, but you know it's only a matter of time before that changes. You still need to FULLY ROBE LILY FILL YOUR BELLY somewhere, though you've got a little wiggle room before it becomes necessary.

They also purchase PRINCE TONY, which... sure, it anagrams to ENCRYPTION, but that seems to be the actual name of the product- a little wind-up doll that acts a smoke bomb by temporarily encrypting everything around it on a timer. Looks like it can be used four times before its bar is depleted.

To that end, A DEMOCRAT purchases you A COUCH FÉVER a CAFÉ VOUCHER, which appears to be for the STACK OVÉRFLOW- a prestigious juice bar that advertises a recent relocation to a place called "the Siren's Arraignment". You're not sure where that is, but you can keep your eye out for it- the voucher is good for 20 hunger's worth of drinks and meals.

You also receive the OLD TROOP SLEEVE DEVELOPER TOOLS, a lightweight gauntlet that sometimes provides the wearer with a +1 HAK bonus. Huh? Or, no, it's... got a hidden needle that allows you to extract a data sample from something and peek at its properties under the hood, allowing you to find weaknesses in bugs and structures.

The BILATERAL SIZINGS SIGNAL STABILIZER is a consumable item that allows you to stabilize an anomaly and automatically DEFEAT THEIR UNTURN one time. A label on the back informs you that it can even be used on memories!

You don't have much time to consider what to do with all this- the monster is hot on your heels! According to the NO FEWER FARMERS FREEFORM ANSWER response, the play seems to be to loop around this thing through the fairy forest and get to the steampunk spires, so you hotfoot it out of there after chowing down on your rations.

Passing through the fairy forest, Walter notices it's changed somewhat since he was last there. The clouds from the cloudscape hills seem to have descended upon it, enshrouding it in fog. It's difficult to navigate, but luckily Adea knows the park's layout like the back of her hand, even in this fanciful and distorted form. She leads you through and up the stairs to the city heights, now a labyrinth of steampunk spires.

You survey the area, to see if there's anything useful here. As usual, it's a little hard to tell if any of this is of use:

There's a patch of soil with a sign declaring that beneath it is every mistake you've ever made, and offering a shovel for you to UNEARTH REGRETS. Is this really a good idea...?

The PURPOSEFUL YACHT is still here, if you want to set sail and scavenge the area for more spare parts to patch yourself up- you're pretty low on health, but there could be consequences.

The GAMED HOUSE-YARD still hasn't replaced its turf with real grass. Seems like they've been getting away with dodging HOA regs for a while.

The high-quality rips whose GRAND DAD THEME: FRISK is easy enough to figure out... still seem to be playing from who knows where.

The FILIAL TWINS have followed you once again, eager to dig up some more files for you to peruse for information and potentially decrypt to earn Coin.

There's a NETTLE SPECIMEN that seems to have grown somehow amidst the whirling machinery. It's got stinging barbs on its leaves, and might be painful to touch.

Continued

[hareofhrair]

Typed out a whole long post on reddit that it won’t let me post for no apparent reason, so y’all have to read it instead. It was a response to the question…

Imo, Dragon Age 2 was worse (because it just wasn’t *finished*) but DAI had some pretty glaring flaws. People have mentioned the gameplay issues with things getting annoyingly mmo-like, and the terrible war table timer, a lot of the fights being unnecessary slogs or just annoying to fight- the fear demons that teleport in front of you, knocking you over, then stun you while you’re still in the standing up animation comes to mind.

But for me the biggest problem was a culmination of writing problems that had always been present, but compounded as the series went on. It’s always been a bit… I don’t know if centrist or just contradictory is the better word.

The writing of inquisition is very concerned about *judging* or punishing the player’s negative moral choices and this has an impact on the consistency of the writing, even for people who aren’t interested in engaging with the ethical issues the game presents, because it’s afraid to give you consequences for your actions or allow them to make major impact and it goes out of its way to try and justify any choice you make as morally right or at least pragmatic in a very surface level way. This is consistently teeth grindingly annoying if you’re playing a “good” character/aligning yourself with the elves and mages, because the game is constantly finding an excuse to interrupt whatever you’re doing to say “but what about the Templar’s feelings??? QmQ” or “Did you consider… some elves are really rude???” or “This one mage did something Bad(tm) therefore it’s actually reasonable and right to want to murder all of them!” It also undermines player choice if they want to be evil or self serving, since it’s constantly bending over backwards to tell them how right and just and good their choices are. The writing itself won’t commit to a moral position because it’s too afraid of contradicting the player, and that makes it impossible for it to actually bring any of its themes to a satisfying conclusion.

(It makes this worse by choosing to really backseat the darkspawn storyline in favor of the templars vs mages conflict, which is annoying for multiple reasons, not the least of which is because they can’t bring it to a real resolution without drastically altering the worldstate and having to create two separate storylines- something inquisition is desperate not to do because of money and time restraints. You just can’t do meaningful branching narratives in a triple A setting as this whole series really illustrates- so they just pivot away from it into the *bullshit* with Tresspasser which I will get into in a minute…)

DAO handled the moral issue at least slightly better, I think. There were consequences for deciding to be an asshole at least. I was recently playing a Dalish elf and slogging through the Sacred Ashes questline getting more and more resentful as they essentially forced my character to Become Fantasy Catholic, so I dumped dragon blood in the ashes just to be spiteful… with Leiliana and Wynn in my party. Whoops. In case you haven’t played DAO, there are multiple big moral choices you can make- among them deciding to defile the mortal remains of Fantasy Jesus- which will cause your party members to leave permanently or straight up try to kill you! They have firm personal morals, and if your actions go against those morals they won’t just tolerate it.

Unfortunately, there’s a reason DAO connected such a major party breaking choice to the unavoidable-if-you-want-the-best-ending Player Has Become Catholic quest. These games have some issues with religion.

On the surface, it wants to pretend all the different religions are equally valid and it’s not taking a stance on which one is *real.* Wink wink nudge nudge. Then in practice it trips over itself to provide proof the Christian analogue is real. From finding Jesus’s ashes which have magic healing powers in DAO to Corypheus in Inquisition confirming the blight really was started by Tevinter mages desecrating heaven and pissing off the Maker, which up till then at least had a plausible deniability veneer of “this might be church propaganda, we don’t know what really happened.” And the games will *consistently* assume you are fantasy Catholic 90% of the time, *even if you’re a dwarf or an elf or FUCKING QUNARI*, the only concession being essentially flavor text dialogue where, if asked directly about religion, you can tell people their god is fake in the rudest manner possible. You are either catholic or an asshole, that’s it. Inquisition really knocks it out of the park though with making you *literally* the leader of the titular fantasy catholic inquisition. You can protest throughout the game that you’re not actually fantasy catholic, but this doesn’t have any meaningful effect on anything, and you obviously can’t just choose *not* to lead an explicitly religious order of a faith you don’t actually ascribe to.

This isn’t just me ranting about how much it sucks to be Assigned Catholic At Character Creation (though it is) it’s about how consistently the game renders player choice meaningless. And I fully believe it’s an extension of the already discussed issue with being terrified to contradict player choices or have to account for them in gameplay. It’s just that it treats believing in the Christian analogue as something *default,* standard and unobjectionable. “Of course our players will be Christian. Everyone believes in god! They’d only choose *not* to be as a fun wacky role playing experience! Which means acknowledging those other religions is optional and we can cut it for time.”

Which brings me to *fucking* Trespasser. First of all, and totally besides discussion of the writing, they released DAI without its actual ending, and then released the ending nearly a year later, as PAID DLC. That dick move alone engendered a Lot of negative feelings about the game, even from people who loved everything else. And then there’s the actual content…..

I actually just decided it’s too goddamn much to get into for a reddit post that probably no one will read. Short version- remember the religion problem? And also the bending over backwards to make the player feel morally justified for hating the elves and mages problem?

So it turns out not only is the elven religion *not* real, it was actually just a bunch of evil elven mages doing a slavery! You know, just like the empire of slave owning evil mages we already had? Remember Tevinter? Yeah, turns out that happened twice. Fuck mages, am I right? Also the racist egg you’ve been trying to make friends with all game has, apropos of absolutely nothing, decided actually Fantasy Islam is the biggest threat to the elven people right now (not the civil rights issues or the slow cultural genocide or anything) and he needs to blow up the world before the elves become muslim.

I don’t even know where to go from there frankly! What else can you say! His entire justification for turning against the player and wanting to tear down the veil is wanting to “save” his people (people he has spent the entire game calling inferior and not real elves) by…. Killing them all! Which will fix them, somehow? The specifics aren’t important. All that matters is it’s better they die now than join a different religion. As for everybody else on the planet? Well, we already established he’s racist, not giving a shit about destroying all the non elves is actually perfectly in character. No notes there.

Uhg. I’ve gotten very off track. Trying to bring it back in-

The dragon age series has always been over ambitious in trying to center player choice, stumbling into the same pits Mass Effect did when they simply didn’t have time or money to implement branching narratives, leading to games that talk a lot about how your choices matter while actually giving them very little impact. Origins came the closest to that goal, giving you more choices than most games of the time for how to approach problems. But as the games went on and the team was expected to continue accounting for those choices going forward, it became increasingly avoidant of giving the player choices that had any actual significant impact on the overall worldstate. Combined with a growing reluctance to be perceived as punishing players for in game moral choices (potentially alienating players when they needed to be as broadly appealing as possible because capitalism) and the writer’s centering an explicitly christian perspective as default, these problems snowballed and by Inquisition became very difficult not to notice, creating a choice driven rpg where you can’t make meaningful choices and can’t role play.

[findafight]

Hey, I saw your discussion about the Hellfire club conflict and thought I would give my take as someone who was in club for a RPG campaign and a friendship group DnD thing as well.

In club based RPG they tend to have a certain number of players who can play each week (basically how many the GM/DM can handle or difficulty based) and you sign up in advance of the session. I was a fairly regular player and still missed major lore events since only so many could play. I would assume Hellfire worked similarly to this based on the fact Hellfire had more members than we saw (in the photo) and that Erica was let in so easily. I think if I had signed up for a session then couldn't make it they would get a fill for me but if it was something where I needed to be there they might change things that would happen.

However in my friend group DnD they would only have someone else double and play my character on non major sessions.

The show weirdly frames it like the problem is doing sports and trying to be cool in a way that's kinda weird. It should be more of a conflict of them both having an important club based event on the same day and wanting the other to attend. That makes more sense. In being non neutral in the narrative they make Lucas look better and everyone else look worse (even though they are siding against Lucas, some of the audience won't see sports as a threat the way they want us to).

They make what should be a tragic conflict of interests into a Us versus Them rhetoric regarding nerds and jocks. Steve didn't quit sports for his redemption arc. They already established Jock not equal to bad. It doesn't work.

Oh interesting! Thank you for bringing that up. I still think that would be incredibly weird because wouldn't they have to explain what has happened to everyone who wasn't there at the last/last few sessions? But I guess my experience has been heavy rp fun time/dramas than fighting rp? So maybe it would work better if the kind of DM you have puts more emphasis on battle than protecting annoying Prince's or accidentally meeting ones estranged parents haha.

My uni dnd club just has multiple campaigns happening I think but I've never actually gotten a chance to join (busy with uni) so maybe that is how it goes! I appreciate this insight, that's really interesting.

Yeah I agree, by using the narrative to frame it as Lucas betraying the party or nerddom or whatever it just makes me think everyone is being a pretentious jerk to him for having a non dnd hobby. It could have been a sad thing where he's like oh guys... I wish I could come play DND and I wish you could come watch me play...it's the finale AND the championship game... This blows. and Dustin and Mike could have gone "okay man we'll take really good notes and find your sub for you! Get Steve or your parents to video tape the game, I'll set up my double cassette player to record the radio on a timer too. Oh! Maybe we could record the session? That way even if we can't all be there for both, we can still know what happens!" Just!! Show that they care about each other!

The show's insistence on nerd v jock dichotomy and of it being good v bad is frustrating. You're right Steve showed that! He changed in S1 and in S2 we see him playing basketball! He was captain of the swim team that year apparently too. And he has already changed to be better. But the show often forgets Steve is actually a complex character or can be more than comic relief or that he is also a human who needs medical assistance when hurt so maybe we shouldn't be surprised that they forget he disproves their own point of jocks=bad. Smh

[lullabyes22-blog]

Sevilco: this

Congratulations.

You get a reaction in real-time.

Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

A Silco & Sevika piece

His second-in-command is napping on the sofa.

She'd been charged with tonight's guard duty. But it's a slow evening, and it's rare that Sevika gets a lie-in before dawn. It's equally rare that she succumbs to exhaustion so readily; her body's timer must have reset itself without her consent. Or, more importantly, his orders.

Framed by the doorway, Silco cocks his head.

He could leave her be for an hour. He's a demanding taskmaster, not a slave-driver, and a yawning sentinel is hardly much use against a sneak-thief.

Instead, a way to wake her—a wicked way—takes shape in his mind.

He knows he shouldn't. He knows it will set her off. His decision to take Jinx in three years ago has already cut Sevika's famously short fuse in half, while quartering the life-expectancy of his entire crew. To say nothing of the effect the little imp has had on Silco's own temperament.

Despite creeping towards the threshold of forty, with a criminal empire at his fingertips, Silco finds himself, more often than not, succumbing to the pure drama of play.

One should never pass up on the opportunity for fun. Bad for one's health and all.

He's in the mood for healthy fun today. But he will give Sevika a chance—just one—to avoid what he is planning. Stepping into his office, he lets the door swing shut behind him with a decisive thud.

Sevika doesn't stir.

Her loss, his sizable gain.

From his mini-bar, Silco fetches an ice tray. Looming over her, he twists it to crack the cubes. The sound resembles a dozen brittle bones breaking.

One of Sevika's eyes snaps open.

"You sonofabi—"

Too late. He upends the ice tray, and the cubes fall, bouncing off Sevika's sprawled body and pinging off her face. One—cheeky thing!—slides down her blouse. Sevika's snarl holds all the charming billingsgate of the Lanes with a few ladylike Vakauran expletives thrown in for good measure. One means something like 'Get shanked in the eye.'

He's already had that pleasure.

Then her leg swings of its own accord. A knee connects with Silco's groin. With a grunt, he doubles over because—Sweet Kindred. Like one of Jinx's firecrackers exploding in the trousers. The motherloving pain! Bollocks soaked in gasoline and set alight. He'll spend the rest of his days pissing from a tube and speaking of his cockstands as if they were figures of myth.

Staggering, Silco collides with his desk. The ice tray clatters to the carpet.

At the door: two knocks, then a head popping in.

"Hey, Mister S?" Dustin says. "Everything oka—"

He falters as he takes in The Scene (!). Sevika doused in ice, blouse ripped half-off, her eyes practically spitting fire. Silco sagging against his desk: petard, hoist; brain, bust; bangers, mash.

Dustin isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. But he knows a disaster-zone when he sees one.

“Oh,” he says, then shuts the door.

[switchyd]

Hide-and-Seek with Tickles, Leveled Up!

Basic Hide-and-Seek already lends itself to tickling scenarios, but there are fun ways to level up the game to make it soooo much more fun!

(For simplicity sake, I will refer to the Ler with male pronouns and the Lee with female pronouns, always acknowledging that any arrangement or combination is possible and equally fun!)

1)  (Basic)  Lee hides, Ler seeks, Ler gets to tickle the Lee when he finds her.  Then, they switch places.  (easy alternative - Ler has a time limit with which to find the Lee.  If the Lee is not found within the time limit, there is no tickling penalty)

2)  (Basic)  Ler hides, Lee seeks.  When the Ler is found, he gets to tickle the Lee for the amount of time it took him to be found.  I love this variation because it adds an element of desperation to the Lee, who knows that every failed attempt to find her opponent means more time under the feather.

3)  (Leveled up)  Lee hides, but restrains herself using a self-bondage device on a timer.  If the Ler finds her before the timer expires, there is no escape! She has to take whatever he dishes out!

4)  (Leveled up)  Ler hides, but restrains himself in a self-bondage device on a timer.  The Lee's job is to find the Ler and stop the timer before the timer runs out and the Ler is released.  If the Ler is released before being found, he gets to tackle and tickle her.  (This one works best if he pretends to still be bound when the Lee shows up, only to pounce on her as she goes for the timer!)

5)  (Leveled up again)  Ler restrains himself, but before doing so, hides the timer for the self-restraint device.  This sets up some great potential interplay.. the lee knows where the ler is, but it won't matter if she can't find the timer.  He can tease her while she searches, and if the timer runs out before she finds it, she's done for! She can also try to turn the tables by tickling him to get him to reveal the information, but if he doesn't spill the beans, as soon as he's released he'll have that much more added motivation to wreck her!

6)  (Leveled up again)  Lee restrains herself, but before doing so, hides the timer for the self-restraint device.  The Ler then has a choice - tickle the Lee immediately until she is freed by the timer, or look for the timer, risk not getting to tickle her at all if the timer runs out, but if he can find and stop the timer, he can tickle her indefinitely!  (He might even try to tickle-interrogate her to find out the location of the timer.. placing her in a fun no-win situation.. endure the immediate onslaught knowing that she will be freed eventually, or cooperate with the realization that she might have to endure a much longer session!)

7)  (Top level and NSFW)  Lee restrains herself and hides the timer, and also hides duplicates of each item of clothing that she is wearing.  If the ler finds any of the hidden clothes before stopping the timer, he gets to remove those before tickling the lee.

Who wants to play?  

#ticklinggames #relationshipgoals

[chrollosnenfish]

Yuzugiri Fanfic

I started this like a year ago (wrote the first few paragraphs) and on a plane ride back from a trip, I wrote the first chapter. It’s most likely only going to be 2 chapters and I’ll upload them to AO3 and maybe Wattpad sometime this month. I hope you enjoy (and if you have any comments/criticism please leave it in the comments) :

Rate: Teen and Up (it’s definitely NSFW)

Me and My Girl, We’ve Got this Relationship

As the morning sun dripped through the clouds, Sagiri’s hand raised in an attempt to block her face, only for the action to be stopped by the weight of another person.

“Is it morning already?” Yuzuriha asked, stirring from her sleep

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Sagiri whispered, moving slightly so she could kiss Yuzuriha’s nose.

“Mmm… it’s fine,” Yuzuriha responded, leaning into Sagiri’s kiss, wrapping her arms around Sagiri’s waist. “You’re so warm.” 

Sagiri breathed in the flowery scent of Yuzuriha’s hair as she snuggled back in, running her hand along the small of Yuzuriha’s back while playing with her hair, lulling her back to sleep

Sagiri felt Yuzuriha’s breathing even out, and as she pulled back slightly, she realized that Yuzuriha had fallen back asleep. She looked down at her girlfriend with soft eyes.

Sagiri tried, as quietly and with as little movement as she could, to get out of bed, delicately separating Yuzuriha’s hands from her waist. As Sagiri motioned to get out of bed, she heard the mattress squeaking behind her. Holding her breath, Sagiri turned around to see Yuzuriha tossing around in bed. She sighed in relief as she finally made her way to the door.

“Sagirin, you’re cold,” Yuzuriha slurred in her sleep, hugging one of their many silk-covered pillows. Sagiri smiled to herself, reveling in the cuteness of her girlfriend. She walked as softly as she could out of their room, closing their door quietly as she left, and entered their guest bathroom to brush her teeth.

As soon as she was done, she walked to the kitchen to start preparing their breakfast, removing the leftover rice from last night’s dinner from the fridge, as well as a few eggs, some pork belly, chives and some sesame oil and soy sauce from the pantry. 

She started by putting the rice in the microwave, setting the timer for a little longer than usual to make sure it was still warm by the time all of the ingredients were ready, then started on the pork belly, frying the meat in the fat that was produced from cooking. Then using the leftover fat to cook the eggs, making sure that they were flavorful. As soon as those were done, she chopped the chives up in record speed and started the plating process, grabbing two bowls and scooping equal amounts of rice into both of them. Then delicately placing the fried eggs on top, making sure the yolks didn’t break before placing the pork around the whole bowl, again avoiding the fickle egg yolk. The last few touches were a sprinkle of chives, and a drizzle of both the sesame oil and the soy sauce. It was a minimal breakfast, but it was the type of thing that she knew her Yuzu would love.

Realizing that she didn’t have anything to help the food go down, she prepared a simple mimosa with the orange juice they had in the fridge and some of the expensive champagne they had stored away from Gabimaru and Yui’s last anniversary party. Champagne was given as a gift to all of the guests, but Yui had specially gifted this one to Sagiri knowing that an important day was coming up.

Carrying the tray of with the food and beverages of theirs precariously with one hand, she opened the door to their room and watched as her girlfriend stirred awake sleepily, rubbing her eyes slowly as the sound of footsteps approached. 

“What’s all of this?” Yuzuriha asked incredulously as she noticed the things in Sagiri’s hands.

“Happy birthday, Yuzu! I think it’s best to start off a good day with breakfast in bed, don’t you?” Sagiri said, smiling as she placed the tray in the middle of the bed.

“If I say ‘Oh no, you shouldn’t have!’ I would be lying, because this looks hella good,” Yuzuriha said, marveling at the food her girlfriend prepared for her. “I guess my baby Sagi can do anything, can’t she!? Thank you, Sagirin.”

“It was the least I could do for the best girlfriend in the entire world,” Sagiri said, and she could see Yuzuriha melt at the words “This is just the start of the festivities. We have a lot to do today, but my favorite surprise is going to be after dinner.”

“I can’t wait for that then,” Yuzuriha said, grinning from ear to ear as she pressed a kiss to Sagiri’s lips. Starting off as just one chaste kiss, it quickly turned into two, then three, then, as quickly as it started, they both started to deepen the kiss. Yuzuriha opened her mouth to let Sagiri’s tongue slide in, then tangled their tongues together. Stifled moans escaped both of their mouths as the kiss got more intense. It seemed like forever until Yuzuriha pulled back a little to nibble softly at Sagiri’s bottom lip, causing a sound akin to a whine to escape from Sagiri’s throat. By chance she looked over to her side and saw the food that she had made sitting in the middle of the bed, still uneaten.

“The food! God, I completely forgot! We need to eat it quick before it gets cold,” Sagiri said, passing Yuzuriha a pair of chopsticks and her bowl of food.

“Hahahaha!” Yuzuriha giggled, “You’re so cute, Sagirin.” Yuzuriha poked her nose before digging into her food.

———————————————————————

The day went by eventfully. First with a trip to the mall to indulge Yuzuriha in her horrible habit of overspending, except instead of spending her own money, she was now spending Sagiri’s (though Sagiri enjoyed seeing Yuzuriha’s eyes light up as she picked out different clothes).

Next was the amusement park. Sagiri was never too fond of roller coasters, but with Yuzuriha, even the most mundane activities were more than enjoyable.

Lastly was dinner with Gabimaru and Yui. Where Gabimaru personally cooked all of the dishes.

“I didn’t know you were such a good cook!” Sagiri had said during the dinner

“Well, he does cook most of the meals in this house,” Yui answered, smiling proudly, “I can’t cook to save my life, so I guess that’s just another thing that I’m grateful to my amazing husband for.” Out of the corner of her eye, Sagiri noticed Gabimaru blush a deep red, and she smiled to herself.

As they walked from Gabimaru and Yui’s house, feeling full as ever and verging on the cusp of feeling tired, Yuzuriha suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“I knew I was forgetting something! You said that there was a surprise after dinner, didn’t you?” She said, smiling mischievously

“That’s right, but you’re going to have to wait til we get home.” Sagiri said, bumping shoulders with Yuzuriha softly as she started running ahead of her.

“Hey, wait for me!” Yuzuriha said, running after her, giggling as she caught up.

In a few minutes, they were at their door, which Sagiri used the key in her hand to open. Pushing the door ajar, she turned on the lights in the hallway and turned to Yuzuriha.

“Sit on the couch, I’ll be back in a bit,” She said, placing a featherlight kiss on Yuzuriha’s cheek before entering their room and locking the door.

Yuzuriha sat down and smiled to herself, wondering what in the world her surprise could be.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Yuzuriha spoke from her place on the couch:

“Are you almost done in there?” 

“Yeah, I’m coming out now,” Sagiri replied, finally opening the door and stepping out, watching as Yuzuriha’s jaw dropped to the floor.

Sagiri was wearing a floor length black Chinese dress, patterned with beautifully sewn peonies, accompanied with heels that accentuated her already long legs, and a hip length slit that showed off the garter belt that hugged her toned thigh. Her hair that was usually tied up in a high ponytail was now falling down her shoulders in dark brown waves.

“Are you going to stop drooling anytime soon?” Sagiri teased as she walked closer to her girlfriend, a light pink dusting her cheeks as she was not used to being observed this thoroughly.

“You just look so… wow,” Yuzuriha said, looking Sagiri up and down as she sauntered her way over to where Yuzuriha was sitting, the sound of the heels clacking in the floor being partially muffled due to the thin carpet that sat in the middle of their living room. “This is honestly the best present you could have ever given me.”

When Sagiri got close enough, she positioned herself to where she was straddling both of Yuzuriha’s legs, the dress shifting over to one side. She ran her hands through Yuzuriha’s hair as she placed both of her hands around her neck.

“I’m all yours tonight,” Sagiri said, whispering in her ear, causing a shiver to roll down her spine. A quick glance and Yuzuriha could tell that Sagiri was completely naked beneath the dress, no undergarments. She smirked to herself.

“Well, I’ll make sure to make the best use of you,” Yuzuriha said. Although the statement was more that raunchy, the smile that she had on her face was one of comfort rather than a suggestive one.

Yuzuriha grabbed both of Sagiri’s pleasantly round ass cheeks in her hands and hoisted her up as she stood up herself, causing Sagiri to wrap her legs around Yuzuriha’s waist before her lips were enveloped in a hungry kiss. A clash of mostly tongues and teeth. It was a kiss that caused a heat to flow from her head to her groin as Yuzuriha walked her around, sometimes stopping at walls and windows to pin Sagiri up against and kiss her even harder raking a hand through Sagiri’s soft hair while Sagiri had her own hands firmly planted on Yuzuriha’s neck.

Sagiri barely registered the bedroom door opening before she was softly tossed onto the bed. She watched as Yuzuriha removed the blouse and pants that she had been sporting and stripped down to just her bra and underwear. She did it slow enough that every movement looked seductive, but it was also slow enough that Sagiri wanted to get up and rip the clothes off her by herself.

Crawling onto the bed with Sagiri, she looked positively ravenous, staring at her precious girlfriend whose lips were red and swollen, and cheeks seemed to be painted pink. Her once neat hair was now messy beyond belief. She looked completely debauched and it was definitely a sight to behold.

“Seeing you like this makes me want to devour you whole,” Yuzuriha said, her lips dangerously close to Sagiri’s neck, goosebumps raising on Sagiri’s skin.

“Well, as I said, I’m you- Ah!” Sagiri started before Yuzuriha softly bit her neck. The sentence devolving into moans of pleasure. She stayed in that position, licking and sucking at the sensitive spot before moving downwards in order to grope Sagiri’s breasts through the dress. The weight of them in her hands was more satisfying than any stress ball. Hearing Sagiri’s quiet whines, she moved to suck and bite on a perky nipple through the fabric of the beautiful dress. Sagiri’s body jolted at the sensation and she slightly arched her back, feeling a heat again pool around her lower half.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have amazing boobs?” Yuzuriha asked, looking up from the nipple she was working on with a suggestive smile on her face as Sagiri undid the strap for Yuzuriha’s bra and started palming as her breasts.

“You have… multiple times,” Sagiri struggled through labored breaths. Yuzuriha smiled knowingly as she moved down Sagiri’s body, making sure her hands wandered everywhere they could, memorizing the shape of Sagiri’s body. She tugged at the dress slightly as she spoke:

“It was fun while it lasted, but it seems like we have to part ways,” She said, a glint in her eyes as she hiked the dress up to Sagiri’s torso, exposing a harness that the garter belts were attached to, and, Yuzuriha noticed after she removed the dress fully, also seemed to be attached to a lace choker that Yuzuriha had somehow not taken note of before.

As she passed her eyes over the harness, she marveled at how the accessory hugged her curves perfectly and how the strap that passed in between her ‘carved by Michelangelo’-breasts made them seem all the more prominent.

“You’re packed with all kinds of surprises today,” Yuzuriha exclaimed, a look of wonderment remaining present on her face “You’re absolutely stunning.” She continued, before leaving a trail of kisses from the top of her neck, down to her abdomen, then positioning her face right between Sagiri’s thighs, placing a light kiss on the inside of one of them

“You’re so wet down here, I feel like I could drown,” She said, lightly blowing on Sagiri’s pussy. The slightly cool air causing Sagiri’s whole body to convulse due to it being the first bit of stimulation her lower body had gotten all day.

“Yuzu~,” Sagiri said, moaning her name rather than speaking it as Yuzuriha dove headfirst into her warmth. She started with light kitten licks then gradually grew to her flattening her tongue and licking a long stripe across her entire pussy. She bit her hand to make sure not to let the ungodly sound that was bubbling up in the back of her throat come spilling out as an intense tingling sensation was slowly rolling down her entire body, but mainly focusing on her groin.

Seeing her partner feeling such intense pleasure made Yuzuriha even more horny than she already was. She started sucking on Sagiri’s clit, wanting to wring out all of the noises that she had in her, as she placed her fingers inside her own hole. It started slow, then her fingers went frantically in and out, trying to catch the fleeting feeling of delicious pressure that concentrated down there when she hit that certain spot. Simultaneously riding her own fingers and eating Sagiri out was almost too much for her, she could feel herself getting ready to climax, and from the way that Sagiri’s toes were curling, her hole was clenching, and the way she was bucking into the friction of Yuzuriha’s mouth, she could tell that Sagiri was close too. Yuzuriha lifted her head for a second to speak:

“Let’s come together,” Her light breath against her pussy and the few sucks that came after that were enough for Sagiri as the heat that was pooling up in her came to a crescendo. She started shaking as Yuzuriha helped her ride out the orgasm, softly licking her and moaning Sagiri’s name, as her own orgasm spasmed around her fingers. Sagiri was surprised that she even had the consciousness to do so, since Yuzuriha’s orgasm, from what she could see at least, seemed to cause her entire body to convulse.

As Yuzuriha removed her face from where it was situated between Sagiri’s legs, panting as she licked the wetness from her lips, it prompted Sagiri to notice how damp Yuzuriha’s entire face was, the shade of red on her cheeks deepening and glowing from the aftershock.

Seeing Yuzuriha’s fingers still stuck knuckle-deep in her own hole, Sagiri remembered the second part of the after-dinner present. She quickly ran to their walk-in closer to grab something.

“Where are you going? Are you the fuck-and-run type?” Yuzuriha asked teasingly before being, once again, awestruck at what she saw before her.

Her girlfriend sported a hot pink strap-on, with lube in one hand.

“Don’t you think this will feel better than your fingers, Yuzu~?” Sagiri said, with the biggest smirk Yuzuriha has ever seen on her and Yuzuriha could swear that she felt her hole twitch.

[was-it-really-worth-it]

Game 245 - deskspace by npckc

I picked up this game through the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. I chose to donate 10 dollars, and I found about 153 games in the bundle that I was actually interested in. So, the consideration for this game will be if it was worth the 7 cents (rounded up) that I paid for it and the hours that I played it for. The bundle has since ended, but I still encourage you to make a donation to the organizations listed here.

What did I think it was at first? no idea!

How was the character creator? There isn't one! There isn't really a way to customize your experience either.

How was the game? This is a fun little self-care / time management app! You can log your mood, set timers, and take little breaks.

What did I not love? The UI is very minimal and the app is cute, but my cell phone does all of these things for me. Google can do most of these things. I don't necessarily need an app for this.

At 12 minutes and 7 cents, was it really worth it? It's a pretty cute little utility, and if you find that having your phone on you is a distraction when you study this could be helpful!