#things have honestly been really hard lately and we're just waiting

[echoingkarma]

Now that Celestial Syzygy is over I notice I'm getting more comments of people just saying they read the whole thing and enjoyed it and stuff, sometimes they have more depth to them too, describing what parts / themes they like

Makes us really happy. Thanks to everyone who reads our silly little writings and looks at our silly little drawings

[talaok]

Needy

Pairing: Joel Miller x reader

Summary: Joel needs his fix of you, and he doesn't care if it makes you late.

Warnings: smut| oral sex (f receiving) and coming untouched. Joel is a little more sub in this one and he's obsessed with eating you out.

a/n: guys, i have a confession to make, i do not know what this is, i wrote it tonight and boy i'm so tired that i'm honestly not really sure about what i typed, but i was in the mood and i like this thing of Joel tuesdays im doing so... hope you'll enjoy.

"you look gorgeous, baby"

It didn't take a genius.

The way he wrapped his arms around you, pressing his body to yours, the way he whispered in your ear, the way he didn't break eye contact, looking at you from the mirror as he kissed your neck...

Joel Miller might have been a hard man to understand many times, but not when it was about sex.

"Joel" you stopped him immediately, neglecting the shimmers of pleasure he had ignited inside of you from such a small gesture "We don't have time"

If he heard you, he didn't show it.

His kisses only grew hotter and lower down your neck.

"Baby I'm serious" you breathed, feeling one of his hands travel down your sides "We're gonna be late"

Even with a bad ear, he should have definitely heard that, but his only response was a low groan and an attempt to hike up your dress.

"Baby-"

"just a peek" he murmured, sending a shiver up your spine "Just wanna look at her"

Even if your natural response was to roll your eyes, hearing him so desperate was doing things to you.

"please" he breathed "I'll be quick"

And after a moment of silence, as you considered what he'd just said, you finally huffed out a "fine"

It's just one peek after all, what could go wrong?

He had turned you around and was on his knees before you had time to blink, and your dress was pulled up to your belly before you could take a breath.

You watched him as he held your waist like you were a long-lost treasure he'd just found, and as his eyes trained on your clothed core with so much hunger and lust to turn them completely black.

And then slowly, oh so slowly, his right hand came to help, removing that torturous piece of fabric obstructing his view of (as he referred to it) "the most perfect pussy on the planet" 

"fuck" he groaned, his pupils dilatating so much they were one with his iris.

You let out a small chuckle at his amazement

"There, you saw it, can we go no-" you tried to speak, but were quickly interrupted

"just a kiss" 

He didn't even sound like himself, but like he was in a trance.

"just one" he breathed, leaning closer

You sighed, before agreeing 

"one"

And he didn't even answer you, he just went straight to it, groaning loudly as he kissed you right on your clit.

"Joel..." your hand found his hair, as a shock of pleasure coursed through you.

"just another one" he murmured, not giving you time to protest before his lips were on your core again, this time forcing a whimper out of your mouth.

"baby-"

But another groan of his interrupted your train of thought

"fuck you taste so fucking good" his eyes glanced up at you "I could eat you for every meal"

"Joel we're gonna be la-"

"let me taste you a little better" he growled, "just a bit, ok?"

But again, before you had time to give him a half-hearted excuse, he'd dived in, taking your pussy in his mouth like it was his lifelong duty.

His tongue was now swirling over your bud, your hole, and along your slit, making you forget all about your plans and the people waiting for you at the restaurant.

"shit baby" you moaned "f-fuck"

His hold on your waist got tighter, and soon, you realized his definition of "a bit" was much different from yours, as he didn't look like he had any intention of stopping, and to be honest, you were more than happy about it.

His nose was rubbing against your mound, you could feel his mustache tickling your skin and the way his tongue was tasting and savoring all of you was making you ascend to another universe, one where you didn't fall for Joel Miller's stupid tricks every time for example.

"J-Joel" 

And usually, he was very talkative during sex, for being such a man of a few words he really loved to talk when he was inside of you, but not when his mouth was busy, never, when his mouth was busy.

Eating your pussy for him was like a drug, I’m not kidding, you'd never met any other man who loved giving head like Joel did, most mornings than not you'd wake with him between your legs and go to sleep the same way, and when he didn't get his fix... well, you ended up arriving late at the restaurant.

"oh my god" you moaned, gripping his locks with more strength as his lips closed on your clit, sucking it deliciously "Joel fuck I-"

And that's the other thing, not only was Joel obsessed with going down on you, he was also amazing at it. Sometimes you didn't even last a full minute.

"f-fuck baby I-"

And with one final stroke of his tongue, you were pushed over the edge and left wailing and crying as the orgasm took over your body.

He drank every single drop of your pleasure, not stopping to lick your pussy until you literally pulled him away by his head because you couldn't do it anymore.

"fuck" you exhaled, as your breathing tried to get back to normal.

He fixed your dress for you as he stood back up

"you're perfect" he murmured, a smile from ear to ear plastered on his face before he kissed you, letting you have a taste of yourself "fucking perfect"

You chuckled as you wrapped your arms behind his neck and kissed him again"We don't have time for me to take care of you too baby"

His lips pulled into a more shy smile now "yeah, that's not really necessary anyway"

You frowned, looking at him, before you let your eyes fall to his crotch.

A dark stain covered the front of his jeans.

"oh my god" you huffed out a laugh "go change"

"right away m'am" he nodded, giving you another quick kiss

"and wash your mouth a little bit"

And at that, he smirked 

"not a chance, sweetheart"

Your head tilted as you rolled your eyes at him.

"You, Joel Miller" you cocked an eyebrow as you looked into his hazel eyes"are a gross, gross perv"

A lazy smile pulled at his lips

"Only for you darlin'"

[nikibogwater]

Everybody sit down and strap in, 'cause I have a doozy of a tale to share.

I've had anxiety for literally as long as I can remember. I've had periods of my life where it was so intense it became legitimately life-threatening (don't worry I promise this is going somewhere funny). And this was really bizarre because I have zero childhood trauma. Like, my family life is so idyllic it's almost comical. Therapists would do abuse screenings on me and look utterly baffled when I told them everything was fine at home. They'd interrogate my parents just to make sure I wasn't lying. I have one friend who I'm fairly sure believed I was just severely gaslighting myself when I said my family was great, school wasn't too stressful, and I've never lived in a dangerous neighborhood or experienced poverty.

Anyways, despite no one being able to figure out where my disorder was coming from, my doctors were able to help me manage the symptoms so that I would like, not die, and actually be able to finish high school. Which was awesome. Now fast forward to late 2021. My big sister (who has also had intense anxiety her whole life which no one could figure out why) is finishing up her doctorate and getting her physical therapist's license. Somehow, during all her studying and schooling, she finds out about this thing called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which explains literally everything that was going on with us. EDS is a connective tissue disorder that kinda fudges up your body in a whole bunch of little ways, including dysautonomia (episodes of very fast heart-rate that kick your body into fight-or-flight mode), and hypermobility (unusual flexibility). It's a spectrum disorder, so the severity of symptoms vary from person to person, but we definitely checked almost every box on the diagnostic list. My sister went to see a specialist, and yep, she was diagnosed EDS positive. She immediately calls my mom and goes "I know what's wrong with Niki" (thanks, sis, that's real encouraging lol). Initially we're like "okay Katie, that's nice" because honestly this kind of sounds like jumping at shadows, but I go in to see the specialist anyways just to make sure.

One consultation and diagnosis later, and suddenly my entire life makes perfect sense.

Now we get to the funny part. See, the diagnosis stuff happened in early 2022. So by the time late 2023 comes around and we're looking for a new dog (I promise this is relevant), we've been riding that chronic illness diagnosis for a while. Once again, my sister, ever the proactive one, decides she's going to help us get a new dog. She scours the adoption website, sends us photos of the cutest dogs available, and helps us make a decision. This is how we got Beverly, who has been an unstoppable force of chaos in our lives ever since we signed the papers (but she's also really cute so she can get away with it). Now on top of being a very excitable and anxious pupper, Beverly's got a weird little gimp in her hindquarters, which makes her sit all splayed-out and funny-looking, and while it doesn't seem to be causing her pain, we take her to a vet to get it checked out. Vet finds absolutely nothing. X-rays are taken and examined. Still nothing. At this point, they go "well, we could try a CT scan of her brain, which would run about $5,000, and maybe we could find something--" but my parents are already packing this dog into the car like "well that is a HARD nope." So we decide, look, Beverly seems happy and healthy, and those gimpy legs don't seem to bother her, so we'll just leave it be until it becomes clearer what's wrong with her because we do NOT have a cool $5,000 to throw around here.

Readers more astute than my family and I will likely have already figured out where this is going.

This morning, my mom is looking at Beverly sitting in her funny sprawled-out way, and something in her brain goes "wait...weird physical symptoms with no tracible cause that vets can see..." She does a bit of googling. Can dogs have EDS/Hypermobility? Yes. Yes they can. And the listed symptoms describe Beverly to a T.

So not only is my sister the one to finally figure out what's wrong with me, she also unknowingly got us a dog who has the exact same chronic condition as us. Meanwhile my poor dad, who is the only Normal Person in our house, is coming to terms with the fact that he is apparently just fated to always love chronically ill people and animals, and there's absolutely nothing he can do about it.

[gremlinmodetweeker]

Hey there! I really enjoy your posts about our resistant big boy König. I was wondering if you could create some hcs for the reader pampering him and taking care of him. Like maybe he has a stomach ache, so the reader gives him an abdominal massage or something if you’re comfortable with writing something like that. <3

Okay so first, I'm so sorry for being late. I got super busy this week. I've gone on three 6 hour long drives in the past four days. Three!!! I've been travelling north and my lord I'm bouncing all over the place. But, you're not here for me whinging about driving, we're here for the 'RESIDENT BIG BOY'.

I'm taking notes on that one, btw. That one's too good not to use. Resident Big Boy is now the best way to describe him. But yes, I am more than glad to go over some headcannons! König is a very silly man when he gets a bit under the weather, so let's go over why below the cut.

To put it bluntly, König is a big suck. He really is. He's emotionally mature enough to know that he's overreacting, but he's trained to deal with the worst, not mild inconveniences. For him, having a full fever is easier than dealing with a small problem. The worst part of it all is that it's usually self inflicted.

König doesn't really get colds. He also doesn't really get hurt badly (unless he's come back from a mission, but that's another post entirely). He's careful, neat and considerate with his actions. That said, he has these moments where you really have to question how he's still alive.

You see, König has this little saying that he learned from his family. It's his catchphrase, at this point. Horangi groans whenever he hears it. Stilleto puts her head in her hands. Hutch's eyes glaze over as he looks far off into the distance and shakes his head, quietly muttering, "It's not right, man. It's not right." With all these reactions, you might be wondering what exactly is König's favourite catchphrase?

"It's not an expiry date, it's a best by date."

König has had food poisoning many times.

So when König goes on a whole rant about how 'it's not that moldy, just eat around it', the whole company knows to just wait. Almost like clockwork, the only thing König will be eating for the next 24 hours are his words.

When he's sick, he'll go home and he'll make it your problem. His stomach will be cramping, he'll be spewing vomit like a sprinkler, and he'll be stuck in the bathroom for hours at a time. When he crawls out, you'll be there for him.

You'll have to change his bedding religiously for him. He's sweating up a storm over here. Each time you do, he'll thank you profusely and then collapse into bed.

You'll have to change his bucket. He has a designated vomit bucket (he's gotten food poisoning enough to have one marked and ready for the occasion). He'll always thank you and hold your hand. Thankfully, the military forces him to keep short hair so you don't have to hold that back, but he does really appreciate you rubbing his back. Honestly, who doesn't? It's the least you can do for someone turning their stomach inside out.

With his cramps, he'll pretend he's fine but at this point, you probably know better than to believe him when he says it doesn't hurt that much. Instead, get him a nice supply of heat packs for the worst cramps. However, he much prefers you holding him or rubbing his stomach. It's much more comfortable. He's so happy to have someone care for him like this. He might not be able to give back while he's sick, but he won't forget your kindness to him. He'll pay it back three-fold soon enough.

Every time you make him a light soup, every time you carefully feed him a plain salad or some cut fruit, he's delighted. He knows it might be coming back up in less than an hour, but he's grateful for anything you provide him. As long as it's edible, he'll eat it. (Just please remember to stay away from foods that are hard to digest, like protein, dairy and carbs. Maybe some plain toast with his soup is alright, but it's a good idea to give sick people simple food. Just a pro tip.)

He will curl up to you and use you as a blanket when he gets cold. He will soak up your heat like he's in the ice age. He can't get enough of your gentle touches or soft words. He clings to them as he clings to you, a suffocating embrace.

When you are too hot, he'll begrudgingly roll away and kick off all his blankets and sheets. That's a good sign that maybe you can step away and do some household chores for him. The house doesn't clean itself, after all. When he can appreciate your hard work properly, he'll gladly kiss you and hold you close. However for now, he'll just curl up and lay perpendicular to you and lay his head on your abdomen when you get back. He may not be able to kiss you right now, but he'll gladly curl up on the mattress with you.

Sometimes, he might need help walking to and from the bathroom, and that's always an ordeal. Unless you're strong enough, he'll just have you both toppling over in a heap of sickness and sweat. It'll be miserable. Instead, he'll have to force himself to stand a bit so he won't have you losing your balance. When he collapses back in the bed, he'll huff and puff and grumble about the bathroom being too far, but he'll live. Maybe take the time to run your hands through his hair and scratch his scalp. He'd like that quite a bit.

Anyways, I hope these are some decent headcannons! I am most certainly comfortable writing things like this, and you've inspired a post about König getting fully sick, and how to deal with that! I also might make one about him dealing with minor injuries, like stubbing a toe or spraining a muscle while training. I imagine this guy is an amazing survivalist, but his civilian survival skills are akin to that of a lemming.

[ebonysplendor]

There's Something Wrong With Sunny Day Jack (Demo) Review🌤️

TL;DR: Sunny days, keeping the clouds awaaaaaay~! ... Okay, but like what if our cloud is the "sunny day", and it won't go away? Do we even want it to at this point...?

Game Link: https://snaccpop-studios.itch.io/sunny-day-jack

Game Link (classic): https://snaccpop-studios.itch.io/sdj-classic

Notable Features: Gender Neutral language, Self-Insert, Yandere LI, Voice Acting, Create a cup of froyo ... yo Spiciness: 5.5/5 -- Let me tell you! It's a whole scene going down in this thing, okay?! FULLY delivered. The literal only thing that would've made this any spicier is if you saw it. You kinda do, but it's just out of frame. LI Red Flags: 3/5 -- Manipulation, possessive, lowkey obsessive, implied violence and possession, but like, I'm pretty sure I can fix him, so whatever, ya know?

Wanna know more? Lmao naaah. Not if you aren't at least 18, and I mean that. There is a WHOLE spicy scene in here. This one's for the adulty adults. Anyways, if you don't care about my yapping and/or you're in the 18+ club, let's get into it!

Okay, okay, okay, I know, yeah, I know, but listen...I'm only getting around to making the review now.

Okay, okay, okay, wait, stop, listen. I know that this game is damn near two years old, but I didn't start getting into reading visual novels until last year, and I didn't start taking the plunge to make reviews until this year so... :P

ANYWAYS! I do have news that you may not know yet! When I was looking for exactly how old this game is, I stumbled upon a little news~

As of me typing this (which was on the 28 August at about 9:30pm, but who knows when I'll actually post this review lmao), the game was updated an hour ago. I'm talking this shit is fresh out of the box! So, naturally, I went scouring for a download button...but then it occurred to me that that message said that it was for the $12+ tier of their patreon supporters. Not gonna lie, the spicy scene in that damn game has got a girl tempted, okay? But the way my bills are set up...

Okay, anyways, getting back on track because I've started yappin'. I'm going to go ahead and jump into this thing because, let me tell you, if you're like me, and you're late to this game, you've gotta hear about it! Granted, the download to the version that I'm talking about isn't available anymore (at least for the public/non $12 patrons), but the classic version is! I don't know how different it is though ^^;

Admittedly, because this game is almost two years old and because there's not a download link available currently, I might spoil it just a little so that you're not left too much in the dark about the game, especially since, again, the download link isn't available. That being said, it may still be spoiler friendly because habit lol.

But you get it by this point. Let's stop talking and start summarizing. Let's get into it!

So boom.

Basically, we're being...haunted?, we guess?...by this very attractive, but frankly super cheesy, children's TV show host. How'd it happened? We aren't really sure. We just remembered that we got some weird tape and was like "Huh...okay", watched it, and boom, here he is. Speaking of "he" and "here he is", here he is!

Everyone, this is the bae, Sunny Day Jack, but he doesn't mind being called just "Jack", so refer to him as such.

Jack has kind've been rocking with us for a few months at this point, and admittedly, it was very poor but really great timing. The reason why that is the case is because we had experienced something pretty tragic, and we were having a really hard time getting over it, but honestly? Jack's child-like explanation of working through problems and explaining emotions actually came in clutch, because we were lowkey able to get this far because of him. That being said...our relationship with him is getting a little blurred -- more than a little.

Ya see, things kind've...escalated between us, and we honestly aren't sure if we're glad that we got called into work or if we're pissed about it. Like, the undertones have been there for a while, but it was only today that those undertones became more pronounced and obvious. I mean, the man had his tongue-- ANYWAYS!

So, we go into work where our asshole manager ditches us because apparently the things that he has to do is way more important than us having a day off from babysitting and picking up the slack of our lazy ass co-workers. The only upside to this is that the day is likely to be slow because of the rain and that we're alone, meaning that we can openly talk to Jack.

Oh, now that I think about it, I forgot something super crucial -- we can see and hear Jack. More specifically, we can touch him, feel him, smell him, fuck him, the works, but, for whatever reason, others can't do the same. I guess it's like...medium privileges or being a ghost's host perks or something? Anyways, I'm getting off track. Gonna stop it there before I start spouting some stupid shit.

We kind've flashback to what happened right before our boss called, and whoo boi, does that steamy feeling come back full force. It's weird, because it's like Jack can read our mind about how we felt so comfortable and so safe and so protected and, frankly, so curious about him and what all went down in that moment. Jack basically reassures us that the feelings that we have are okay, and what would be best described as "love". Oh...oh, haha, uh...

"Nah, dawg, it's not love."

"Well...do you love me?"

AYO? I beg your finest pardon, sir!? Like, he's just gonna come out the woodwork with that shit?!

Regardless, he's still reassuring us that, "It's okay if you see me as bae" and we're just "We're roommates, dude, and seeing someone as bae is way more complicated than you're making it sound!" He pretty much just laughs it off and is like "Well, either way, I'll be here. Always. I'm not going anywhere. Ever. I'll be anything and everything that you need". Oof, that is...a bold ass claim, and one that we're not so entirely sure we should trust...but damn does it feel good to hear those words and have some support...anyways.

Our work day continues, we run into this awkwardly cute guy (I'll explain more later), our whore of an ex-boyfriend called and ruined our fucking mood, Jack lays down some more heavy words of reassurance, and the day goes onto the next.

Unfortunately, we land ourselves back at work, but fortunately without the "un-", we are alone and can freely talk to Jack again. Like mentioned, the guy is a ghost, but he's so very real, just not to others, which can be super disorienting sometimes; this is one of those sometimes. Jack wanted us to make him a yogurt and...oof, his reaction was...

...less than thrilled. Disgusted, even. Horrified.

Now, this doesn't sound like a huge detail or issue, but he actually got a bit scary here because, what is this shit that he's spouting about us "not being that type of person anymore" and "being better than that, now"? Like, when I say that this man -- clown? ghost? -- had a full shift in personality, and it was just...fear in his eyes, desperation in his voice? Like, he looked and sounded absolutely haunted and terrified of something. Like, this was beyond the horror in a cup that we apparently made him experience; it only triggered it.

Thankfully, although awkward, he easily moves past this saying that the combination of flavors just threw him off, and a customer walks in to provide a diversion for an extra layer of safety.

Oh! It's that awkward but polite cutie from the other day!

When we see him, or rather when we hear the door, we say our awkward ass, lame ass greeting, and it's kind've an opener for him to start some super brief small talk. He eventually takes the plunge and shoots his shot. Now, personally, I think the guy is damned adorbs, but at the same time, it's just...it's too soon. That mixed with this whole thing we've got going on with Jack...

We're pretty conflicted on how to answer, un-- Wait, huh? What did...?

Did-- Wait, Jack wants us to tell him that we have a boyfriend? And what does he mean that "it doesn't even have to be a lie"? ... He said the thing again, too. That thing about being whatever he wants us to be.

This is so anxiety inducing, too, because it's like, first off, we weren't expecting to hear him talking to us, and second, we can't acknowledge him in any shape, way, or form. Jack is quite literally looming right behind us, whispering in our ear, and we cannot so much as look his way without the guy in front of us thinking that we've completely lost our shit. Even still, our feelings for Jack have been complicated lately. Should we even take that plunge? Something about doing that doesn't seem right, though...

...We tell the guy that we don't have a boyfriend. Before he gets his hopes up too much, though, we tell him that we aren't really looking for anything right now, either. The guy leaves. The store is quiet, and we're left with alone with Jack with that awkwardness from earlier back in the air at full force; he's the first one to speak.

He apologizes and starts asking if he's pushed anything onto us that we didn't want. Before we can really answer though, he apologizes again. He explains that he thought that he was speaking in terms of what we wanted, but he keeps going back and forth like he's trying to find the right words but also figure out where he misunderstood; better yet, and more accurately, he's trying to figure out why he misunderstood in the first place. The poor guy is honestly so pitiful at this point, and we try to stop him from rambling and reach out for him... but our hand falls right through him.

Obviously, we start panicking, and Jack explains to us that he doesn't want to do anything that we don't want him to do nor feel comfortable with, and if it's him that we don't feel comfortable with and it's him that we don't want...this is what happens.

Okay, now, we're past the point of panicking; we're on the verge of tears because had we known us saying "No, I don't have a boyfriend" meant that Jack would start questioning if we actually wanted him around and fading away, we would've never said it. True to his optimistic nature, Jack reassures us that he's not "fading away" or "disappearing", and we're just like "Dude, piss off with that. Now, is not the time" because it's like, bro, this isn't a joke or us not wanting to get up for work; this is serious.

Jack chills with the reassurance and explains that he understands that we're serious, but that this isn't an issue that he can fix himself. Jack basically said that our words -- better yet our acceptance or denial of him -- are very weighted and that the only way to fix what's going on right then and there is to reaffirm that we accept him being there and truly meaning it, and that's only because he doesn't want to do anything that we don't want or need from him.

Even still, do we really trust him fully enough to do this? He's not the kind of guy to hurt us, is he? I mean, it's Sunny Day Jack. Then again, we also thought the same about---

"Hey."

"Yeah, Jack?"

"I know it's scary, I honestly do, but you can trust me. All I want is to be with you, protect you, and make you happy; that's what I'm here for."

All of that sounds so nice, too nice, but...

Can we trust him so easily...?

We really shouldn't...

But that horrible, heartbreaking moment...

That pain that Jack somehow made bearable, took away even...

That companionship he gave us in the place of loneliness...

His comfort...

His gaze...

What's wrong with feeling good? Why doubt him, and why feel like this unique and irreplicable connection is a bad thing? It's like Jack said: these feelings are okay; it's normal. There's nothing wrong with this.

...Right?

Y'all. You all. Guys. Gays. Theys. People. Friends. MY friends. SQUAD. (all right, enough...)

Hot and bothered, bothered and hot. Like, please allow me like 3 - 5 sentences of degeneracy. Between Jack and Ren (iykyk) ... Ren still laid down the pipe better but Jack?? Jack was a damned close second. Like, did you see the way that man was looking in our eyes and holding us? Then he's so big and masculine looking and ahhhhh~! That is BAE right there!

Anyways, getting back on track, when I had to go back and get those screenshots, what should've taken me like 5 - 10 minutes took me like 30+ minutes because I had to relive these moments. I had to relive this story! Like I mentioned earlier, the game is damn near two years old, but it reads like new, you feel me? The story, the implications, the art style, the scenes, the drama -- ahhh! I LIVE. I ASCEND. Like, when these developers hit the mark, they hit the damned mark with such precision!

I'm pretty sure that it's been mentioned at this point, but do you know what I loved the most about this visual novel (degeneracy aside, of course lol)? The subtle but oddly specific ass details that you're sure to miss or gloss over if you're not paying attention. I'm talking those details that you probably wouldn't catch until you've already read it once, seen how things have panned out, and then read through it again. Like, how it described us feeling cold whenever we thought about Jack leaving or fading away from us, or how the air would feel like syrup or cotton candy whenever he spoke to us, or how we'd get all warm in the most literal sense whenever Jack was near, or feel full, or completed, or -- the list honestly goes on. Like, there's a lot of allusion to being slowly corrupted/possessed by Jack, because this guy is a ghost, remember? Yeah, I had lowkey forgot, too.

Those specifically subtle details really made the story come together, and once I caught onto what was going on, I was just like, bro, the signs were there! I'd have to say that my absolute favorite "subtle" sign was when Jack always seemed to know exactly what we were thinking, almost like he was able to read our thoughts, but as soon as we started to "reject" him, all of a sudden he wasn't exactly sure what we thought. He went from responding to our thoughts to questioning what we may have been thinking about. Like, what? Go the eff off SnaccPop!

I love this visual novel, I love this visual novel, I love this visual novel, I love this frickin visual novel. I could ramble and geek way more but I'm gonna start wrapping it up before I start yappin' too, too much. Just allow me a few more sentences, a paragraph or two, please.

I. Cannot. Wait! For the full and official release! I am so excited to see how the team is going to mold this story and how things are going to pan out. I'm excited to see how and if we're able to get away from Jack because, at this point, he has a damned strong hold on us, but I'm speculating that our horror movie fanatic and director friend is going to come in clutch for this one.

If it was not obvious (and honestly, if you were somehow later to this game than I was) 100/10 would recommend, and I am recommending. It is so good, and I really hope that I'm not over hyping it, because the foundation that has been built for this story is so damned solid. Like I mentioned way earlier, unfortunately, you can't play the (free) updated demo anymore, but you can still play the classic one; I just don't know how different it is compared to the new version. Either way, I'll give you the link to both just in case (Update | OG). If you're able, definitely give them that monetary support and play the updated version. Hell, tell ME how it is because...I really don't want to put off my bills but, at this point, Jack has me in a fucking chokehold all over again. What's an extra, unplanned $12 at this point? Also, if able, visit the game's page and give SnaccPop that ever so encouraging but thirsty "NEED. MOAR. I mean, you take your time because perfection can't be rushed, and I know you all are people with a life and other responsibilities and such, BUT I NEED. MOAR. IT'S SO GOOD. STAND AND DELIEVER. ...please UwU I beg OTL"

Meh, that was highkey three paragraphs, but I'm not gonna split it so it can still be the two paragraphs that I requested. Lol sorry for pushing it there, but I'm done now! Promise. No more yappin'. The yap has been concluded, and I'm gonna go ahead and head out.

Big preesh for getting this far, and please, remember to drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack (Updated; download not available to public)

Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack (Classic; download available)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Not bothering to send this on anon because I'm 75% sure no one in this story even has Tumblr, and I'm 100% sure the main person in the story hasn't used Tumblr since 2017.

AITA for not waking up my friend?

Asking this because a birthday of a deceased loved one is coming up soon and I would really feel like an asshole if I didn't text my friend, but we're not on speaking terms at the moment.

Okay, so story begins 5 days ago: me and some friends (all F between 22-24 years old) including me (24F) and B (23F) were going to hang out at a park near B's house. Everyone except B was ~1 hour drive away, but this park has a migrating species visiting this time of year, and this park was special because B's mom also took her there before she passed away when B was a teenager. So me and other friends drive up, and we are all in a group chat discussing what time we're leaving, so there are text records of when we left, but nobody texted an ETA to B until we got there. B's house is about 5 minutes away, so we figured it wasn't a big deal and she'd meet us soon, so we wait in the parking lot. An hour of us texting and calling her goes by with no responses from B, calls went straight to voicemail. Eventually, she texts back saying she just woke up (it was past noon at this point, and she had texted us ~10am) and that she was still in bed. We all decide to leave without her, and that's when she starts blowing up everyone's phones.

She eventually shows up and finds us, and she had clearly been crying. She started chewing us out on the walking path telling us we should have gone to her house to wake her up, or called her dad to wake her up. (She lives with her dad, but it was the middle of a work day, so I didn't even know he would be home.) She was very upset about us not waking her up and not telling her our exact ETA before we got there, but we were all kind of annoyed that we had waited so long for her too, so it was a very tense hang out.

I was willing to let it go, honestly, even though we've been fighting about a couple other things recently (that deserve their own post, but I know I'm not the AH in that one) and because I had a similar issue last year where I slept through a hang out, and I just ended up showing up late, no big deal. I actually apologized for sleeping through my alarms, which B has still not done. If she'd apologized and THEN said we should have told her our ETA, I would have apologized for that. I have not and do not plan to apologize for not waking her up or calling her dad, because I find that kind of thing childish, but if I'm ruled TAH, I will. I know one friend from the group is on ny side entirely, I don't know the opinion of the other.

We fought about the situation more that night, and after I said it was childish of me to call her dad to get her, she stopped responding. B did text me back the next day telling me she didn't have time to discuss then, but she'd text me back when she did, and now it's been radio silence for almost a week. Now B's mom's birthday is tomorrow, and I feel bad not saying anything to her. In past years we've always talked or hung out, because I know that day is especially hard for her. I definitely feel a little like TAH, but I'm also still mad. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[bygiornogiovanna]

Paralyzed (Josuke x GN! Reader)

heavily inspired by the Big Time Rush song "Paralyzed".

highschool reunion

It's been years since you graduated highschool. Five, to be exact. You were currently getting ready to go to the five year reunion.

It's been such a long time since you stepped out of the school's gates and you really missed that place. You missed your old friends.

You went no contact with most of your colleagues. The only one that stuck around was Koichi, but you were barely talking even with him.

The moment you put your shoes on, your phone started ringing. "Are you here?" you asked after you picked it up.

"Yes, me and Yukako are outside! Now, come on, we're gonna be late!" he answered and you hang up, gathering your things.

You were honestly nervous to meet up with your old classmates, but the one you were most excited to see again was Josuke. Even if he and Koichi were best friends, you refused to meet up with him, since you were afraid to see him.

You two weren't exactly close in highschool because then you weren't as talktive as you were now. Sighing, you checked yourself again and smiled.

You got out of the house, locking it and a honk could be heared. Yukako and Koichi were in their car. They hadn't aged a bit. And she was still taller than him.

You flashed a smile and picked up your pace to their car. "Thanks for picking me up!" you said entering the car.

"No problem. It's been so long since we've seen each other!" Yukako said from the driver's seat and you agreed with her. "You didn't change at all since I last saw you three years ago. How have you been?"

"Pretty good. College has been hard but I managed to graduate it." you answered simply.

You three talked on the way to the restaurant all of your colleagues agreed to meet at. The ride wasn't long, but you felt suffocated the entire time.

You three stepped out of the car and, within a few minutes, inside of the restaurant and you looked around for your ex-classmates.

The second you got inside, Okuyasu noticed you. He shook Josuke a little, diverting his attention from the small talk he made with Hara to you.

And nothing could describe the way he felt.

It felt like time stopped.

"Look! Koichi, Yukako and Y/N came!" The other boy said, but Josuke couldn't muster a word. His eyes were fixed on you, his mouth almost falling open.

You were even prettier than you were back in 2004, when you graduated. His heart sped up and he couldn't take his eyes off you.

Truth be told, he never got over his little crush he had on you. Sure, he did have significant others in the time that passed, but none compared to you.

You were one of a kind and he couldn't forget you at all.

"Hello." you spoke when you arrived at the table and everyone turned to you. Some of them got up and hugged you, talking to you, telling you how much they missed you, some were surprised you came and some ignored you.

You smiled at all and took one of the only seats avaliable, the one in front of Josuke and Okuyasu. The latter greeted you, making a small talk, asking how you were and how was your life while the first just sat and stared at you. Even if he wanted, he couldn't find the words. It's like his brain emptied.

"Come on, Josuke, say something!" Okuaysu pushed his shoulder and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when your eyes met his. His palms were sweating and his heart rate sped up even more.

"I..."

"Is everything alright, Josuke? You seem unwell." you said and he swallowed his own saliva. His name rolled off so prettily of your tounge and your voice remained the same as he remembered.

"I....I'm a-alright. I'll go to the bathroom." he said in a hurry and almost instantly got up, dragging Okuyasu after him.

"What was that?! Come on, Josuke, you've been waiting for this moment for years! It's time you make a move or else you will lose them! You heart them, they are single! It's your chance!" Okuyasu said, watching his bestfriend pacing around the bathroom.

"I...I can't speak! I can't do anything around them! It's like i'm paralyzed, bro!" he said and the other man laughed.

"You are redder than a tomato, come on now, Josuke. You've always been someone that can talk with the one he likes."

"It's not the same with them. I can't even breathe properly! I've always been like that around them!" Josuke sighed and his mate laughed.

"Come on, charmer, you can do it!"

part two? :)

[hachiibun]

A money and family-related vent kinda thing because I need to scream about it somewhere—

I'm just barely getting by money-wise rn. Like I had a little over 3 USD in my bank account and while I'm fortunate enough that I have an emergency set of vouchers for food if I really need to get it, it means I have to hold off on stuff like laundry for ages at a time — and makes traveling around the city almost impossible unless I prepare in advance.

And that's why it's so frustrating to me when my family pops in with a spontaneous "I'm visiting for a few days! Let's do something!" I love my family, but I have to try as hard as I can to conceal how bad my financial situation is so they don't— whatever. You know how families get.

And I thought that a couple weeks ago was the last of it. I had time to myself, no keeping schedules open for them, just time for me to catch up to my bills and commissions that have been waiting for so long and start earning properly again — I even paid the rent I've been missing for the past 2 months — but nope! Someone had to pop back in with a "Have an exhibit in 2 days! Hope to see you there!" It's so, so hard to say no because they have to fly here for a chance to say hello but holy shit does it take a toll on me.

And now I'm here over an hour late on the way to the event because I had a breakdown over having to scrounge around for loose change to be able to travel.

Anyway, if you've read all this — I don't really know what to say. If I owe you a drawing for a commission, I do have progress in all of them and will get to you hopefully sooner rather than later, and also thank you so very much for being patient with me.

I have a lot on my plate. I'm part of the staff for a zine too and we got caught up in a convention whose organizing team all but forced us to move our schedule up (honestly, they're making us look incompetent or worse like scammers) but hey, at least we're close to printing — which does mean more work for me. I'm a mess. Thanks for bearing with me and supporting me. Fuck, I hope I can get my shit together.

[writeforfandoms]

Warrior Song 12

Find the series masterlist

The plot comes out to play. Things go poorly.

Warnings: Violence, blood, mention of death, unnamed minor character death, Plot, we're going beyond canon now, playing fast and loose with the universe rules

Word count: 1.5k

Master Chief/John-117 x f!reader

Your thigh ached worse after your impromptu nap (more like passing out for hours), but you grimaced through it as you made your way to the mess. Food would help. 

The mess was almost eerily quiet. A few other people were there, despite the late hour, but nobody was talking. The soldiers all had their weapons with them, all of them visibly on alert. Far from making you feel better, it just wound your anxiety higher. 

You hadn’t realized how hard the waiting would be. 

You poked at your food, disinterested but knowing you needed it. Even though you couldn’t really do much to help. 

Because, really, what was there? You couldn’t get in contact with Fernando. You had no ride out to him. Medbay had been fine without you, and unless there was an actual battle you’d still be more of a hindrance than a help with your thigh.

So what could you do? 

Not much came to mind. You were an awful shot, and didn’t want to waste ammo by practicing. You couldn’t offer to run messages, for obvious reasons. You didn’t have the mechanical knowledge necessary to offer to help with repairs. 

In short, you were more or less useless.

Unbidden, the memory of John’s voice, calm and impeccable, came back to you. 

“You’re critical, as well. You’re not just a medic. You’re not replaceable.” 

Your breath caught in your throat, and you swallowed hard. It was impossible not to believe him. Even when you didn’t believe yourself, you believed him. 

“Dammit John,” you whispered, angrily brushing a couple tears from your cheeks. You stood unsteadily and scraped your leftover food off the tray before hobbling back outside. 

You just needed a minute. Just a minute.

Susurrations behind you made you stiffen, and you slowly turned around. Mess was near the center of camp, so everything in the immediate area was lit. 

But further back was open territory. Sure, there were guard posts between you and there, but. 

You couldn’t get over the feeling that you were being watched. 

Moving carefully, you started back towards your quarters. The camp suddenly felt too quiet, too empty. Where was everyone? 

More susurrations, to your left. The quiet portion of camp. Near medbay, actually. 

Only the thought of Lindsay and Carter potentially in trouble had you moving towards the sound. It was perhaps not a smart thing to do, but, well… If there was trouble, you’d start screaming. And if there wasn’t trouble, you’d be able to laugh it off as your nerves getting the better of you. 

There was still a light on inside. Just one. 

“Carter?” you called cautiously, stepping inside and looking around. “Lindsay?” It was probably long after their shifts, but you honestly couldn’t remember the names of the other techs. 

But all was silent inside. 

Using the wall to help you along, you moved slowly from the entry into the hallway, looking down towards the labs. Nothing. No lights. You swallowed, heart rabbiting in your chest, some long-dormant instinct screaming about danger. 

You looked the other way, towards the two treatment rooms. The one at the end of the hall had a light on, spilling out the open doorway into the hallway. But all was silent that way, too. 

Maybe someone had fallen asleep? Hadn’t heard you?

You took two steps forward. On the third, you very nearly slipped in something wet on the floor, grabbing the wall for support and clenching your teeth tight against the white-hot pain that lanced up from your thigh. Breathing out hard to get a grip on the pain, you looked down to see what the hell you’d slipped in.

And froze.

Red puddled against the floor, smeared now by your careless step. More red caught your eye closer to the open doorway and the light, a splatter of it on the floor. A bit on the doorframe. Now that you were looking, you could see drips of blood leading into the room. Your blood went cold, keeping you frozen and still, shocked. 

You sucked in a breath to start screaming, to summon aid, when something moved behind you. But you didn’t move in time, rough fabric going over your mouth while… something floated out of the lit room. One of the Endless, at a guess. It looked nothing like any alien species you recognized. 

It also didn’t say a word as it tied your wrists together. Whatever was behind you tied the gag sturdily, muffling your shouting enough to be as good as useless. 

One of them picked you up, its thrusters whining at the additional weight. When you started struggling, fighting, trying to kick, its companion grabbed you by the hair. 

“If you do not cooperate, we will simply find another.” Its voice was higher than you expected and odd, with a mechanical tint to it. 

But you did value your life. So you stopped struggling. Panic threatened to take your breath, but you had to stay aware. You had to stay sane. In case you could find a way to contact someone. 

You were under no illusions that you’d be able to get away from two Endless on your own. Especially in your current condition. You’d maybe been downgraded to the first most harmless person on the Halo, with your damn thigh. 

The Endless carried you out of medbay, going out through the lab and out the back. You spotted five dead soldiers on the way out and blinked tears out of your eyes. They hadn’t done anything to deserve this, hadn’t done anything wrong. 

And there was nothing you could do to help them. 

The Endless didn’t take you far. Just to a meeting point outside of base camp. The one dropped you, letting you crumple to the ground with a muffled squeak. 

“This is what you bring?” Two big feet stopped in front of your gaze. But not human feet. No, these were Sangheili. You swallowed hard, shaking a little. 

“He requires a human,” the Endless who had spoken before responded, sounding careless. “This one is live and unarmed.”

The Sangheili growled but a moment later picked you up, slinging you over his shoulder like a sack. The movement knocked most of the wind out of you, and you spent the next several seconds trying to breathe, not aided by the gag. 

But you did feel it when the Sangheili started to run. 

Well. This was it. You were going to die. 

Although maybe not immediately. Someone (and you had a terrible sinking feeling you knew who) needed a human. A live one. Unarmed, you suspected, was just a bonus. 

Alright. So you’d get to wherever these three were taking you, probably for some nefarious purpose. Then you’d be dead.

You closed your eyes, unable to entirely hold back the weight of your pain and despair at that. But you stayed absolutely silent, well aware that your three “escorts” likely had very, very short tempers. 

The discomfort of armor digging into your middle kept you from sleeping, but you did hit a sort of fugue state, not totally aware but not actually asleep. The running was jostling, yes, but also repetitive, and the group was silent. No banter. It barely seemed like they were even cooperating, which was… interesting.

Well. It would have been more interesting if you’d had any brain power leftover to consider the implications.

The Sangheili finally slowed, and you lifted your head a little to look around. The group was just entering a cave, another entrance to the inner workings of the Halo undoubtedly. The Sangheili went first, the two Endless following. 

That same blue light illuminated the way as the Sangheili traveled down and inside, following corridors. Whether there were signs that pointed the way or he just knew, you didn’t know. But you were certainly feeling turned around. (Although the amount of time you’d spend slung over the Sangheili’s shoulder certainly wasn’t helping you any.) 

You couldn’t help the low groan when you were dumped unceremoniously on the ground. Well. That hurt. But you were also kind of relieved to no longer be dangling off the shoulder of the Sangheili, so… 

“This is what you brought me?” 

You froze. You knew that voice. You swallowed hard, heart thudding against your chest. No no no. This wasn’t happening. There was no way your luck was so abysmal that you’d been grabbed and brought down here just to die at the hands of–

“Well. You’ll do.” One hand, much too large to be human, reached down and grabbed the front of your shirt, hauling you upright as easily as if you were an errant kitten. You didn’t even fight, too caught between shock and terror. 

Atriox sneered down at you. “I have work to do,” he growled, pulling you closer and closer until you could feel the heat of his breath against your cheeks, until your eyes watered, until everything else was eclipsed by the threat in front of you. “And you will help me.”

[stepmarchen]

okay i know that you said you're not the greatest history buff, but i realy wanted to know your take on the Safavid kingdom as a representation of a middle eastern community..? if you've read enough manhwas you probably have seen some stupid stereotypes and it realy sucks. god i feel like i'm bothering you asking this i mean we don't know much about safavid .. you don't have to answer this :D

of course! i'll try my best to speak about it! the floor is also open to anyone who has their own additions!

So. We all know that ASM borrows inspiration from existing territories and conflict from the 1700s all the way up to the late 1800s, right? Well get ready for this.

If we use this same research model, we'll come to find that the Safavid Dynasty also existed in Iran back in the 16th century. Which means we have a direct reference point we can compare the (manhwa) Safavid Kingdom to! (just remember to take it with a few grains of salt. We're dealing with 400+ years of history here!)

In my humble opinion (as someone who isn't part of the middle-eastern community btw), I feel like ASM does a pretty fair job at representing the middle east via Safavid/Pasha Family. The biggest hurdle just comes from the fact we haven't seen much of them yet.

The first thing I noticed was the architecture. During Halima's trip back home to Safavid we get to see ORKA's depiction of the Kingdom. As you can see below, the inspiration behind the Bahjat's Palace is pretty directly linked to the Meidan Emam in Isfahan, a royal mosque from the Safavid Era!

Unfortunately, the establishing shot of the city isn't as easy to compare, with the introduction of modern architecture. But if we look at Yazd, an untouched city in Iran, we can see the traces of inspiration with just a few minor discrepancies: minaret, domed mosques, earthen town houses.

We also get these small fleeting moments that really make the characters feel like they're from another country. For example, Nasir, Ali's escort can be seen wielding a curved sword as opposed to a European broadsword. Later, Nora mentions that it is a shamshir, a type of Persian scimitar.

even these small details really make for great world building. Honestly, I'd love to see these props make a comeback in future scenes. Like can you imagine seeing one of the rugs Ali brought in the Neuschwanstein Castle?

Now to finally get to the part you've probably been waiting for. The clothes.

Unfortunately, I'm not as well versed in royal fashion in the Middle East so I had a hard time identified the style of dress.

When we compare the real Shahs of the Safavid Dynasty, we'll see that their fashion of choice changed greatly over the course of the ruling. I couldn't pinpoint exactly who, when or which specific culture ORKA is referencing here. But we do see some elements from Tahmasp I (feathered turban, ornate belt, embroidered textiles). Please correct me if I've made any errors here. I'm totally not confident in my Middle Eastern fashion history.

But above all else, I really just enjoy how the Pasha family is written and designed. I think we've seen stereotypes in all forms of media where middle easterners are portrayed... not so well.

In ASM, they're just the Pashas. As a foreign kingdom, they pose a threat against the Empire, but they're not evil. The King seems to be as tired with Halima's bullshit as the Empress is with Theo. Even Nasir has his own occasional dialogue, exasperated by Ali's behavior. And if you've read the same comics I have, we're all too familiar with the "dangerous and stoic middle-easterner" stereotype.

IMO, we've seen "foreign" characters in manga/manhwa that are usually boiled down to one of three types: the socially insensitive clowns/perverts, the murderer, or the alien that somehow has white skin and hair. but I personally find it a breath of fresh air how ASM leans full into the concept of darker skinned characters with dark hair and actual rounded personalities.

This shouldn't be such a high bar to reach, but ORKA has one again reached it.

[spaceorphan18]

The Rogue and Gambit Project: The Basketball Game (X-Men #4)

Alright! Here we are! That pivotal moment we've all been waiting for! The introduction of Omega Red.... Wait, no, that's not why you guys are here? You don't want me to dissect another Wolverine story that digs into the seemingly never ending well of his past? You aren't really interested in the creepy twins that make up Fenris? And you don't really care all that much about what's going on with Moira?

I mean, fine, if you'd rather I get into all the other boring stuff going on in the issue... ;)

Today we're going to test the limits of how much of an issue Marvel will let me repost without getting in some kind of trouble....

X-Men #4 Ladies and Gentlemen....

I believe I said this previously, but one of the best parts of X-Men comics is really the soap opera shenanigans that go on in-between all the big villains. The inner personal relationships that happen among the X-Men are really the best, and often the most delicious part of the comics. I honestly think fans would be entirely happy if we got full issues of them just playing basketball, or baseball, or hanging out at Harry's Hideaway, or getting therapy.... Because these personalities are so much fun and play off each other so well that sometimes they are far better than the endless 'save the world' story lines we often get because - apparently - all published fiction needs a plot to hang on.

But I digress. It's a post-Claremont world now, and all bets are off. It's kind of interesting that - despite Gambit and Storm's initial friendship, the two X-Men Gambit has been spending the most time with lately are Wolverine and Jubilee. There's no surprise, really, that Wolverine and Gambit have an antagonistic relationship. Jubilee, however, due to her relationship with Wolverine, has been somewhat of a sass master towards Gambit as well. Except now we have Jubilee on the same team as Gambit, which, turns the dynamic a little on its head. And it's a delight.

And then we throw Rogue into the mix. How did this game even get started anyway? My guess - Jubilee wanted to play and taunting and teasing of some sort got the four of them paired off as they are. I kind of love that not only is Gambit goading Wolverine about relaxing, but Jubilee is, too.

Remember when I said Gambit spends most of his non-uniform time half naked? Continuity! ;)

Wolverine is not the only one who needs to relax. Rogue is wound tight - and I really doubt it's about wanting to adhere to a non-powered game of basketball.

All that skin and sweat? The girl's got some pent up needs that haven't been met during the entire previous decade. Probably time to rectify that.

I love Jubilee's commentary, she is so obnoxiously sassy, and I love it. Also, I kind of love that they are taking the time to set up Gambit's athletic skill.

Btw, I love the kind of smirk he gives Rogue as he easily tosses the ball over her head. He's having fun. Is she having fun? Hard to say - mostly she just wants to win. And Gambit is most definitely getting under her skin. The hilarity coming from Jubilee isn't helping.

Is this a good time to bring up the whole -- he's playing games and messing around with her and she takes things seriously part of their whole story? Is this entire game just a metaphor for the early part of their relationship?

I mean - you can read into it as deeply as you like! I have a feeling the writers didn't think think that hard about it - and this is merely just a way to show off all of their skills. But it definitely can be interpreted that way. I mean, what are we even doing here if we can't extrapolate intended and non-intended things from the text?

Of course, this is an X-Men story, so we can't go too long without the usage of powers. Everything is going to get thrown up a notch. Is Gambit using his powers of agility? Well, idk how he couldn't be using them since it's a natural thing.

But man, does Rogue hate losing or what? The escalation of this whole thing goes from 0 to 100 like that.

Jubilee lowering her glasses kills me every time.

I do think Gambit was just taking it easy and playing around at the beginning of this. I think he liked getting Jubilee on his side and cheering him on. He liked driving Wolverine crazy. And more than anything, getting under Rogue's skin is a challenge he really seems to take pleasure in.

But Rogue did take it up a notch, so Gambit does what he always does - and ups the ante.

It's interesting - I think if we hadn't had the little bit of flirting in X-Men #3, this whole thing may read a little differently (up until this point). But I think we're at the point where it's clear that they physical one-upmanship is masking the sexual tension.

I mean, their screwing around literally blows a hole through the mansion wall. Idk why, but this always has me dying, too. There's some very serious stuff going on with Moira - meanwhile Rogue and Gambit are at the playground throwing dirt at each other because they like each other.

No, but here's one of the things I like about them. It was all fun and games, and then Rogue did throw the first punch. And then Gambit pushed back. There's going to be a lot of shifts in power dynamics as we go through this, but the thing is, they don't really back down from each other. For better or for worse.

Ah, the infamous panel!

You saw how angry Rogue was just a second before, and then Gambit scoops her up in his arms and starts spouting all this romantic stuff she's longed to hear and for a moment, she's just kind of gone.

Btw, I love the details of this panel. The mansion is in ruins. Cyclops is like, uh, dude, you may want to throw some cold water on yourself. Jubilee, child that she still is, is like - ew bleck, they're gonna kiss now.

I love it!

I love that Gambit does not care that there is an audience (in fact - he may thrive on it), he's getting under Rogue's skin and it's worth all the fooling around. Meanwhile, Rogue maybe not really realize it yet - but she's getting someone who is not running the other direction due to her powers.

Plus, look, they're both just attracted to each other. And sometimes that fact is just fact.

I realize the above panel is the more famous one, but these ones. Man, they get me every time.

The first panel - Rogue just lets herself go with it. The second panel, though. That's a smirk. Rogue is 100% smirking because in that moment she is happy she is in the exact position she's in. And for that half second, she's enjoying it.

Which leads to an interesting thought experiment -- what if Rogue didn't have the powers she has. Would this whole thing end in a real kiss? (The answer is yes - some fucking around would have surely been had!) Would their relationship be as deep and real if they could act on their physical attraction? Would they have developed the good friendship they get over the years if there wasn't that initial barrier there?

Hard to say, but I think the story becomes richer having to work around her powers.

And.... we're back to the status quo as Rogue does have a skin condition that sucks the life out of everyone she touches. It's no longer a game, but the reality she has to face every day.

Also - I do kind of love she knocks him sideways. He does deserve being knocked down a peg every once and a while. Good for his humility.

The basketball game is now over, but I do think this is the real beginning of Gambit trying to win over Rogue's heart -- and yes, I think at first, it's merely for the sake of the challenge of it. I don't think he takes in account that he's going to change his own heart as we go along.

Just for completion's sake -- here's the last little bit of this part of the subplot. I do roll my eyes at the fact that Wolverine always has to come out looking the coolest. But it works for a nice tag to this particular scene.

So.... later...

Now, how did we get from the basketball game to what looks like a date? Especially since when last we saw Rogue was knocking him sideways? SHAMELESS PLUG TIME - I WROTE A FIC ABOUT IT. Or, you know, come up with your own headcanons. ;)

Of course Gambit rides a motorcycle - because this is the 90s, and this is the height of cool, lol.

I love Rogue in this moment. I love that she's owning him here. She knows she looks good. She knows she wants to go out and have a good time. She may even know she wants to have a good time with /him/ but won't think too much about that -- and instead enjoy the possibility of her own happiness first. Having an attractive man at her side is just a bonus. Go get it, girl!

This is why I love X-Men. Because they are such a family dynamic. Everyone is getting into everyone else's business. Jubilee is the younger sister just wanting to hang out with her ridiculous, cool older brother. Wolverine is that watchful, old uncle. Beast is the next door neighbor who doesn't care that he's butting in, he's just there for a good time. I love all of it! And I do love that there is a tad bit of protectiveness for Rogue. Gambit is still new to this dynamic (not that Rogue and Beast have spent any time together, lol).

The point is that they all love each other like family, and I adore that.

I love that Gambit just is not here for that family dynamic. This is almost a sitcommy moment, and it's delicious. I also love that Rogue is completely on board with this whole date aspect. Sure, her friends will be there, too. But she's not opposed to Gambit whisking her away for who knows what. Maybe she'll get that candlelight dinner and champagne and a little lite romance he's promised her.

I love Jubilee pouting! It also makes me wonder if he's already taken Jubilee out for a spin for the fun of it. He would.

So, her line is fascinating because there are different ways you can read it. Skeptical that he could actually out maneuver Beast. Or hopeful that he will. Read it any way you like! But the smile on her face says she won't be unhappy to lose her friends.

And BAM! Hit by the plot!

Stupid plot.

It's funny, because his first thought is to see if she's okay. Of course she is, she's invulnerable and she can take the hit. But I honestly think that in that moment, he is concerned for her. There is a bit of genuine care there -- even if she is quick to dismiss it.

And... as Omega Red inserts himself into our fun loving drama, the issue ends, with Rogue and Gambit tied up (and eventually in chains) which is going to become the norm for them, so get used to it. ;)

Honestly, I love this issue - and it's such a fun way to start their story. And I had forgotten that at least half of the issue is comprised of Rogue and Gambit development.

Shame we have to stop the development to get into the Omega Red arc that will take up the next few issues...

[arminsumi]

˗ˏˋ꒰ 📖 ꒱ BOOKSTORE BOY

Armin x fem!reader

Chapter index / Chapter Ⅳ

Overview; it's been some time since you visited the bookstore and Armin has been missing you a lot. But you appear just when the lonely blue-eyed boy is closing up shop for the day. His grandfather has invites you back to their house in the countryside for dinner.

Content; fluff, angst, kissing

TAGLIST; @sad-darksoul

DM in my askbox to be added to taglists! 💕

Armin melancholically lowered his chin onto the cash register and let out a deflating sigh. His grandfather gave him a sympathetic look.

"She hasn't been around in a while." Armin muttered.

He looked blankly at the display books in the window; they were all crammed together. There was an unmoved cart full of books standing nearby, which he hadn't had the energy or motivation to shelve away.

"She'll come around again." His grandfather assured.

"But it's been weeks..." Armin replied glumly.

There was a silence.

Armin sighed again and rubbed the side of his face with his hand. "It feels so quiet." He commented. It was clear in his voice how much he missed you.

"Chin up." His grandfather said.

Armin halfheartedly pulled himself together.

The working day had come to an end again and you hadn't been there. Armin assured his grandfather that he could close up shop himself, so he let him be and went to get groceries for dinner. Umi the cat comfortably napped in the basket that he carried.

While glumly locking the front door and rolling down the shutter, he heard someone shouting for him.

"Wait! Armin!" You called out, running towards the store.

Armin's heart leaped at the sight of you.

"H-hey!" He stuttered out in surprise.

When you reached him, you panted to catch your breath, "I-I guess I'm a little late... I forgot you closed at five."

After hearing your voice and seeing your smiling face again, it felt like not much time had passed at all since your last meeting.

"Oh... well, since you're here." Armin mumbled softly. He rolled up the shutter again and unlocked the door to the bookstore. "But we best keep the lights off, or everyone will think we're still open."

"Okay!" You beamed happily at him.

So the two of you found yourselves alone together in the bookstore, browsing the aisles in the waning sunset light. Though, admittedly, neither of you were really paying attention to the books; you were too busy catching up on each other's lives.

You explained that your schedule had gotten wildly busy. Armin felt a bit silly, because he'd been overthinking, and came to the conclusion that maybe he said something to drive you away.

It's so nice to hear his voice again, you thought. And he was thinking the same thing.

"Ah, I missed you." You laughed after he made an awful pun about something.

He stuttered, unsure how to respond, "I did as well." He managed to say, but barely.

In the back of Armin's mind, he was trying so hard to challenge his nervousness. He had so much to say. Sometimes he'd lay awake in bed, imagining the conversations that he wanted to have with you.

"I'm not good at speaking..." He admitted. It seemed random to you, but it was currently burdening his mind. "But there's a lot that I want to talk about with you."

You looked at him understandingly. "Hm... maybe we should write to each other! I've been sending letters to my friends lately, but they think it's pretentious." You laughed.

It lowered your spirits remembering that. You were so excited to send old-fashioned letters to your friends as a surprise, but only one of them was vaguely amused by the endeavor. The rest were indifferent, or called you pretentious.

"I'd say any friend who calls you that isn't a friend at all." Armin said honestly. "Personally, I think the idea is really sweet. I'd love to receive a letter from y- from a friend."

You felt your eyes light up. He may have thought he was bad with his words, but every time you talked with him you felt your spirits rise.

"Well, actually, now that you mention it..." You began shyly. "I did write a letter for you. I've been meaning to give it to you for weeks, but everything seems to be getting in my way. It's so annoying!" You complained.

Armin smiled and intently listened to you complain about your schedule and how everything seems to go wrong even when you're careful. You dug around in your bag and pulled out the letter.

"Wow, a wax seal and all? That's really pretty... where did you come by one of those?" Armin analyzed the letter's seal, admiring the pattern.

You shrugged, "I found it in my grandmother's attic. She had a whole writing kit, with a special fountain pen, but I don't know how to use one of those... so I just wrote with a ballpoint pen."

Armin laughed, "I like that. A fancy letter written in ballpoint pen." He said.

It was almost completely dark in the bookstore, except for Armin's phone torch, which he propped on the books to provide a small area of light.

"I know how to use a fountain pen..." Armin mentioned after a short silence. "I could teach you."

"Oh really! Then, we could write real old-fashioned letters – pretty ones – to each other..." You responded excitedly.

"I'd love that." He admitted, and then added with a half-laugh, "Actually, you know, sometimes I want to throw my phone into a lake."

"Me as well. I don't like receiving phone calls, or text messages. When I tried to write text messages more eloquently, then I got slapped with one of those 'you're pretentious' comments." You said.

"Was it the same person who called you pretentious for the letters?" He asked.

You nodded, "Yeah. I'm not sure why I still talk to him, I guess it's just because we've known each other for so long."

Armin felt a small pang of jealousy in his chest.

"Well, personally, I'm just bad at texting. And writing, too, for that matter. I don't think I have a single poem that I'm proud of." Armin continued, steering the conversation away from the topic of whoever this mystery man was.

"You write poetry!" You gasped, "And you never told me!"

"I'm not good at it..." He nervously ran his fingertips over the back of his neck.

In the middle of your conversation, the doorbell chimed.

Armin's grandfather appeared at the entrance with one hand carrying a basket filled with market vegetables and the other carrying a familiar Russian Blue cat.

At first, he confusedly asked why the store wasn't closed up.

But when he saw you and Armin standing in an aisle, he raised his head in understanding. "Oh, I see." he said, "Well, Armin, at this rate, it would be kind to invite the young Miss back home for a warm meal. It's getting late and cold."

"Oh! Um, sorry! Yeah... um..." Armin stuttered.

It felt like after the atmosphere between you and him was disturbed, that Armin's ability to speak significantly decreased. Like a river's flow turning turbulent after having been laminar.

"...Would you like to?" Armin asked, turning to face you.

How could you refuse the idea of coming home for a warm meal with a sweet boy and his grandfather?

"I'd love to, as long as you both don't mind having me." You responded kindly. Armin felt the tone of your voice shift since you were no longer comfortably alone with him.

"Of course not. Let's get going then." Armin's grandfather said, and you three headed out the store together.

⁕⁕⁕

The night finally took over the sky. Street lamps lit up, their globe of light appearing fuzzy and soft. You and Armin followed his grandfather like he was the leader.

Even though he said it was alright for you to call him Harry, you anyways called him Sir Arlert out of respect.

It was a long walk to their house. They lived quite far out of town, it almost felt like you were in the countryside, but not quite. Sir Arlert explained to you that this was the 'old people area'; all the veterans who dedicated their hearts in the war were serenely snuggled up in these well-built homes.

"You can't pry these homes from them. They'll never give 'em up." His grandfather chuckled. It amused you how some elderly people speak of other elderly people, as if they are not all the same age.

"To be fair, I wouldn't give up these homes either. They remind me of English cottages." You said.

Armin was being silent, keeping his hands shyly tucked behind his back as the three of you walked on the dirt road.

"But it isn't nice," Sir Arlert spoke, "Because for young people like Armin, who live with geezers like me, there are no people his age in the area; just more old geezers. It gets lonely for young men."

You tilted your head in thought. "I guess that's true."

"I don't mind it." Armin said, blushing.

His grandfather quickly responded, "Ah but you were moping about being lonely and sick of seeing the same faces until Y/n walked into the bookstore one day!" He said.

Armin blushed violently. He felt the heat searing from the top of his cheeks to the bottom of his jaw.

"Really!" You laughed.

You finally arrived at their home. It was old. And just like the books in their bookstore, it was falling apart. But inside, it was as homely and inviting as browned pages.

While Armin hopped around like a nervous bunny to prepare the kitchen for cooking, his grandfather calmly lit the fireplace and set the table at a snail's pace.

You helped Sir Arlert where you could, and went to light up some candles and gas lamps. It felt like you were in another era, it was wonderfully cozy and quiet, not like in the city where you used to live like an ant in a colony.

The fireplace crackled very quietly.

Armin's nimble hands peeled potatoes and carrots. He began chopping them up for the stew, and then you came to stand by the kitchen's archway.

"Need a helping hand?" You asked him.

His voice nearly got caught in his throat. "No, I've got it – OW! Fuck!" He yelped as he cut his finger.

"Are you alright!" You cried, and quickly rushed over to him.

"Yeah, I'm good." He stuttered.

"Aw, your finger is bleeding! Let's go to the bathroom to fix it up." You said, hastily wrapping a cloth around Armin's finger.

⁕⁕⁕

He felt conflicted; his finger hurt, but at the same time, if he hadn't accidentally sliced it, then you and him wouldn't end up alone together in the bathroom upstairs.

The bare lightbulb flickered above. The candle by the window made up for its lackluster illumination.

"Sorry." Armin apologized softly.

"For what?" You tilted your head.

"For being a bit much." He said.

"I don't know what you mean, Armin."

He was trying to string a sentence together, he was on the verge of saying the first word, but then you smiled and interrupted him.

"It's alright, Armin. You don't have to speak a word, I know." You said understandingly, gently cleaning his wound with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.

He nodded. "I-I'm usually not this bad at speaking..." He said shamefully. "It's just nerves."

"Do I make you nervous?" You asked.

He raised his face at you. His eyes were full of light despite being in a dim room.

"A little bit." He smiled lopsidedly, looking away the second you made eye contact.

"Sorry..." You say quietly.

"Not in a bad way, though." He assured.

You pursed your lips to keep from smiling. Armin did the same.

After nursing his finger, the two of you headed downstairs to continue cooking with his grandfather, and then joined together for a warm, homely meal.

Umi was in her own cat world, except for when you and Armin began washing the dishes; then she decided she wanted to sit in the dish rack.

"It's very cold," Armin's grandfather commented, "And there's a slight drizzle. If you want to stay for the night, Armin's room has plenty space. I'll get the blankets." He said.

Armin's heart panged in his chest. His sleeves were rolled up, and he had soap suds going up to his forearm.

"Oh, I don't want to be a burden... I'm sure I can make it home before the rain gets heavier." You said.

It seemed that the gods were trying very hard to keep you and Armin together tonight, because almost two minutes after you said that, a heavy thunderstorm broke out.

Rain cascaded down the roof's eaves.

Armin's grandfather went into the hallway to take out the blankets that were stowed away into a cupboard.

After washing up, he gave Armin these blankets, and then disappeared into his bedroom with a tired 'goodnight'.

⁕⁕⁕

Armin lead you into his room; it was a small attic room, as neat and composed as his style of clothes. He insisted that he take the floor, but you came up with another idea entirely.

"Why not the both of us make a fort, and sleep in it together?" You suggested.

"A-Alright." Armin laughed. His heart beat rapidly, he could feel it.

So the two of you built a plush fort together. Armin laid the base, and you brought the chairs and draped a mismatch of blankets and sheets over it. There were dazzling fairy lights strung by the window, and glow in the dark stars on the ceiling; towers of books threatened to spill over.

The two of you kept your voices hushed and gentle throughout the night.

"I like your room." You said, laying comfortably in the fort that the two of you made.

"Oh... thanks. I actually kind of hate it." Armin said.

You laughed, "Why? What's the matter with it?"

"Well, it's small and sad." He chuckled, "Just like me." He joked.

"Armin!" You laughed with him. "I don't think it's small and sad. It's full of life, and it's got your feeling plastered all over it."

He rolled onto his side to look at you. Such a simple thing, yet it took such courage. You felt really close to him, it was like the two of you were in a bubble that the world couldn't pierce.

"What do you mean, my 'feeling'? Is that good or bad?" He asked.

"It's good." You assured him.

He smiled a little.

Although he seemed so shy and gentle, there was something in his eyes that told you another story of his personality. He was a book that you had only just begun reading, but you wanted to skip in between the pages to answer all the questions you had about the plot.

"Armin, do you consider yourself a romantic person?" You asked. It seemed random to him, and made him blush.

"Well, sort of..."

"What do you mean, 'sort of'?" You smiled under the dim light.

Armin felt lulled by your voice.

"I've never really felt like I've been in love before meeting you." He blurted out.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

The two of you looked at each other. You began laughing, and he did too.

"Sorry." He mumbled, hiding his face into the pillow. He recoiled so much, you felt his warmth leave your air.

"Don't hide away! I'm not startled, I'm just surprised. I didn't expect you to admit to that now." You said.

"You mean... you already knew that I like you?"

"Oh, definitely. I knew from day one." You laughed.

"Really!" Armin let out a long groan, "That's embarrassing. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable."

You shook your head, "I like you very much, too. I'll be honest, most of the time when I came into the store to browse, I wished that you'd come up to me and say hello." You admitted.

That was a surprising revelation to him; he would have never thought that you were wishing for that.

"I meant to say hello many times, my friend always encouraged me to." He said.

"And why didn't you?" You asked teasingly.

"I was too shy and too nervous." He admitted simply. "I overthink a lot, it stops me from going after what I want."

A silence passed. You looked at him with glittering eyes. Armin really felt like kissing you right then, he was thinking very hard about it.

"Am I something that you want?" You asked.

Armin blushed.

"Yeah." He said.

You were trying to figure out how to tell him that the feeling was mutual, but then you realized that words are not necessary sometimes.

So you went in for a kiss. A swift, gentle kiss. All the meaningful feelings that words couldn't contain were expressed there, on both of your quivering lips.

[strawberrycarat]

CCXP Mexico - Omelete Stage HOTD

So, I've seen a lot of people complaining about the Omelete stage yesterday... and I, honestly, as a Mexican, I agree. There was someone else saying some pro-things to it, and I do agree in some points, but I disagree in others.

First of all, you must know that yes, Mexicans are a more effusive public, so I was kind of surprised they all behave well (trust me, we can be more chaotic). I think the problem was the hosts and the event arrangements.

We're not as punctual as we should, in any event, honestly. Usually we know that if something is set to, I don't know, 10am, it usually starts 10:30 or something. So I wasn't surprised they started late. What did surprised me was the chaos during the interview (yes, it is a more informal stage, but that doesn't mean the host should be less professional - I didn't see the same problem in Brasil, for example, and it was a shock to see two of the hosts were the same that last year). Some of the questions, to my own personal taste, were meaningless (like the same boring questions the actors have already answer a lot - brasil CCXP included - like which team are you, etc.). Some questions were alright (like the one of the makeup/hair, etc.), but it did seem unconfortable for the actors in some points of the interview - like telling Ewan many girls would like him to stay in their houses - there was something similar in Brasil, but I think it was better managed. —Also, I felt like the girls-hosts were competing for attention? I don't know - the men seemed a bit ignored—...

Now, I do disagree in a point someone said before. It doesn't matter if we're in Mexico, there are host that can speak perfect English and that don't have the problem of the language barrier. I think they needed to choose better hosting and I don't know if it was a good choice to have so many hosts (4 was too much - I think 1 or 2 that knew how to handle the interview and the audience should've been a wise choice - specially since they were 4 cast members - and I think for the time they didn't gave the actors a lot of time - which is a shame since they travelled all the way here). One of the host asked the questions of the teams and after Tom, I saw Ewan taking his mic, but one of the hosts started to talk and she didn't let him finish).

I'm not surprised Ewan's ear-thing failed, but I think he did handled so well and he seemed so polite to the technician that went to change it in the middle of the interview.

Another thing that was con: it was on Sunday and the CCXP announced the actors one week before the event. Mexico is a huge country and to make that travel in such a short notice is hard to do (money, arrangements for an hotel, etc). And, even if there were a lot of people from other States going to the CCXP, they probably left for their homes on Sunday because Monday is a work-day. So I think that's why it was more empty than other days.

Oh, and the arrangements. I think they did have a better arrangement in Brasil. Here, the actors had to run from one stage to another (the omelet thing was at 5:15 and the other stage at 6:00 - and since the first one started super late...). I think it would've been better if they had the omelet stage before (or even on Saturday) to have all the fans concentrating in one of them and not choosing one.

Also, the thunder stage seemed more professional - there was one host who seemed to concentrate in more elaborate questions and the mariachi at the end - genius!

I really hope this doesn't discourage the actors from coming again. I think, since it was the first time with the CCXP it was meant to have many errors, but in general I think it was a good event. I just think they could've do better with the HOTD cast - it was a shame. The actors were sweethearts, though, and I am glad they liked Mexico - I can't wait to see all the other interviews they did !

Anyway, it was MY opinion, as a Mexican who wasn't able to go (again - time, money and work didn't allowed me), but who was refreshing all the time to see every detail of the event.

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG SUB] Bojan Cvjetićanin: I know that we will cry our eyes out. And I'm really looking forward to those tears

Original article from Slovenske Novice Si

Translation credit: @moonlvster

Bojan Cvjetićanin: I know that we will cry our eyes out. And I'm really looking forward to those tears

Just before the highly anticipated concert in Ljubljana's Stožice Arena, we talked to Joker Out's singer, who told us about the band's plans for the future. First, they're going on vacation, and they're even all going together.

At the time of our chat, there are two days separating you from the concert in Stožice, how are you feeling?

We announced the Stožice concert quite a while ago, everyone was asking us if we were a little crazy, even we sometimes asked ourselves if we were completely sane in the meantime. But after a year, we are now in the final stretch, and we can't wait, because we don't have the nerves to wait anymore. If it dragged on for another week or so, one of us would explode. We can't wait to get on stage, we really need it by now.

What do you expect to feel after such a big concert? It can probably kind of drain a person?

When the concert was announced, we didn't imagine that in one year we'd be at the point where we are today. A lot of things happened in this year, and for us, this concert marks the end of one era and the official start of a new, even more important one. Based on the experience from Cvetličarna and Križanke, I know that we will cry our eyes out as soon as we get to the changing room. I really look forward to these tears because I haven't cried in a while. The crying will probably last a while and we'll let a lot of things out. I wouldn't say that we'll feel empty. Two days after the concert, we're going on holiday together, and that's where we'll be able to talk and air out everything that has happened to us. After our holiday, we're immediately going on tour again, there won't be a lot of time to think.

It's interesting that you're going on holiday together, do you not need time to have a break from each other?

Everyone we tell reacts the same way you did, they ask us if we're normal. But we have a good time together, we enjoy it, we get on well. Going on holiday togather is natural. We're constantly building a relationship that gets deeper every day, even though it seems like it couldn't be any deeper.

How do you resolve any conflicts that might happen in the band?

Luckily we haven't had any big conflicts so far. We have daily friction, which tends to happen in a group of five creative people, but it probably happens in all teams. Our rule is to speak honestly about all feelings, to prevent any grudges from developing. That way, we resolve everything quickly.

On your website, I looked up the concerts you've announced until the end of the year, a lot of them are abroad. How did you pick the places where you'll play? I understand that venues in the capital cities of former Yugoslavian countries are a natural choice, but how to choose the right venue in, for example, Barcelona?

After the Eurovision Song Contest, we had to really quickly draw up a tour. When we started doing that in June, it was already really late, generally you book venues for the year at the end of the previous year or the start of that year. We responded to invites from all foreign promoters who invited us to have a gig in their cities. Venue availability dictated where we went, we grabbed everything they offered us.

I know that the audience response abroad has been excellent so far, did that surprise you?

We have two tours behind us, UK and Nordic, we were in Great Britain and Scotland, in Norway, Sweden and Finland. We weren't surprised by the good response, but we were surprised by how many people sang in Slovenian. That's pretty hard to get used to.

When we talk about Slovenian musicians breaking out internationally, we quickly come up against language barriers - well, now you're saying that you don't feel that. But still, global success isn't just a question of talent, there's only one Rihanna, but there are plenty of girls who are like her at the start of her career. So what is the key? Luck? Connecting with the right people?

Any kind of success is an accumulation of many links that have to connect into a chain. Hard work, knowledge, talent, a huge amount of luck, being in the right place. I'm not really someone who believes in coincidences, but we can say that, as well. And connecting with the right people. From the start of our journey, we've tried to connect with people who wanted to be with us from the beginning because they liked this story, and not because they thought they could get money from it. Well, at the beginning, it was clear to them that there wouldn't be any money for a while. Love within the team and hard work are the key things.

How much of an influence did performing at the Eurovision Song Contest have on your international success? Some might say that young people don't watch the contest, but your performances prove otherwise…

It's true, the Eurovision Song Contest was our catapult. Just the final night was watched live by 62 million people. We're very glad that before the Eurovision Song Contest, we had built a strong enough base in Slovenia and made enough music that a certain percentage of those 62 million who looked up our music online could actually find it there.

I think that it was in 2020 when the songs Vem da greš and Gola were being played. Back then, I said that Joker Out would definitely be the next biggest band here, and I like to brag about that now. Would you say that there was a certain moment when you looked at each other and said: this is it, we've made it?

Right from the beginning, we've considered what we do to be the best thing. Success is a completely subjective thing, but we've truly believed in what we do. We trusted that if the five of us, our producer, and the people closest to us liked something, that meant it worked. We didn't let any outsiders challenge that. As for a specific moment... for me personally, it was our two concerts in Cvetličarna when we released our first album, that was when I saw how big everything that was happening around us was, when you put it all together in one place.

But it's probably not easy if so many people want a piece of you? You've spoken about panic attacks before…

We have a specific profession, the working hours, workplace and working relationships aren't defined. Us performers also constantly feel like we have to be available 24 hours per day. It's important, when the time comes, to learn how to say no as well, and to understand that nothing is more important than your health and well-being. If you don't have that, you can't create either. All professions have their dark sides, that is ours.

Earlier you spoke about entering a new era for Joker Out, what's coming up for you?

I can talk about short-term plans, about next year. We will spend the first half of the year in London, in March we will also have a European tour, we'll spend the summer at festivals, we already know that we will perform at festivals we've been dreaming about all our lives, and we will finish the year with two more tours around countries that we won't have visited in March. So, our new era will be marked by conquering new territories, as well as moving our brains there.

Siddharta is currently celebrating 20 years since the concert at the Bežigrad stadium, where do you think you will celebrate the Stožice concert anniversary in 20 years?

I have no idea, but I certainly hope that we will be as close then as we are now.

I know that most of the Joker Out boys are from Bežigrad, but twenty years ago you were still far from going to concerts, but perhaps you were kicking a ball somewhere around there on the day of the concert?

I was four years old, I know the other guys also weren't old enough to remember that concert. But we have watched it many times on CD.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

We Haven't Technically Come Full Circle Yet, But This Is Where You Know We're Going To

Ok, so even for the most die hard Artemis Fowl fans, this tends to be the book where they say the story and/or the worldbuilding goes off the rails. I am not that Artemis Fowl fan, and it wasn't until the relisten (my hardcovers are in Dad's Basement in Alaska, so lately I've been audiobooking this series) that I really understood why I wasn't as thrown by the seemingly sudden shift as everyone else was. And it's a subtle cue, but it's one that I think actually works. So let's talk Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony.

*SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS*

The first Artemis Fowl book begins with Artemis and Butler sweating half to death in Ho Chi Minh City trying to buy a lead to a Fairy. It's an opening that tells us we are going to deal with heists, kidnapping, and Artemis being very much the bad guy. It gives us the genre we are going to be working in, and that's basically crime fiction, with Artemis learning not to be a complete dickhead as the character arc. We get that and it basically finishes out with The Opal Deception.

The beginning of The Lost Colony mirrors the beginning of that first book. It starts with Artemis and Butler sweating half to death on a sidewalk in Barcelona waiting for a demon to materialize. We as readers are back to--to borrow a phrase from Robert Jordan--if not THE beginning, A beginning. This is where the book tells you that we are revamping the series, and there are even clues that this will be more of a fairy tale than a crime novel. And that there will be a metric fraggle rock ton of time travel, which holds true for all the rest of the Artemis Fowl novels. Time in general is a key theme in the later books, as Artemis himself tells us when he responds to Butler's query about whether the demon is beaming down from space with "Not space, old friend, [...] Time."

We also get the most hilarious self-actualized Artemis-ism on his own puberty in this chapter:

"It's this blasted puberty, Butler. Every time I see a pretty girl, I waste valuable mind space thinking about her. The girl at that restaurant, for instance. I've glanced in her direction a dozen times in the past few minutes."

And aside from being hilarious, this also cues us into the fact that The Lost Colony is a new beginning for Artemis and the series. Our boy finally hit puberty, and he is not the same cold, focused, calculating little asshole we remember from book 1. Everything about this chapter screams "Hey, remember the first book? This ain't that." It cues the reader that this will be something different, something unexpected. I kind of love this symmetrical asymmetry approach to revamping the series.

We also get the fun of watching two geniuses mastermind against each other while learning how to puberty, and honestly I love that Minerva Paradizo exists. She is a nice little nod to the fact that Artemis is really going to be TORN between the human and fairy worlds. As I believe Philippa Boynes said of the end of Return of the King, if you want to make Frodo going with Sam have weight, you have to give him the other choice. And Eoin Colfer is setting Artemis up to HAVE the choice.

As far as our demons and wrlocks go, mostly what I have to say is that No. 1 is a delightful little cinnamon roll and I love him and I want to scritch his little demon horns.

Now. The other massive thing we need to talk about here is the climax of the book, because Artemis high-key just...time travels. And steals magic. But mostly MOTHERFUCKING TIME TRAVELS. And saves Holly's life with math. But again, TIME TRAVELS. At the end of this book, Artemis is yeeted three years into the future, so he is a 14-year-old body with a 25-year-old brain in a temporal location where he is supposed to be 17. It's peak wibbly wobbly timey wimey ball of stuff. Artemis also has one of Holly's eyes and a little spark of magic. Our boy is fully in fairy tale territory here, and this book was structured really brilliantly to transition the readers from middle grade crime fiction to borderline YA fairy tales. And honestly, if you're willing to let criminal mastermind Artemis go and grow with him (or just consider the series as having two distinct halves, as I do), then I don't actually think the series falls apart in the latter half.

Lots of Artemis Fowl fans might disagree with me on this assessment, and that's fine. You can love on the first 3-4 books and just pretend the second half of the series doesn't exist. But I really love the change, and from a purely structural, writer perspective, Eoin Colfer pulled off an IMPRESSIVE AS HELL shift.

[ebonysplendor]

TOUCHSTARVED (Demo) ����🫴

TL;DR: People are always saying "Touch grass" but even that might be dangerous in this scenario. If you thought Mike Tyson's hands were lethal, wait until you find out how our hands work.

Game Link: https://redspringstudio.itch.io/touchstarved

Notable features: Self-Insert, Multiple LIs, DnD vibe, MC backstory selection, Multiple endings/routes, Choice-Heavy Spiciness: 3.5/5 -- Nothing too explicit and no sex scenes or anything like that, but it does get pretty suggestive and there's some flirty jokes and comments here and there, especially with one particular LI LI(s) Red Flags: ...I mean, aside from one of them being a suspiciously smooth talker and the other essentially implying that they'd corrupt us, the biggest red flag is one of them having the cleanest pickpocket skill in history

Wanna know more? Meh, there's not an age limit, but the game pages does say it's for older audiences so, me personally, ... I'd say at least sixteen, but the older, the better. Anyways, let's get into it!

Okay, I'm sorry, but I have been coming across some damned gems lately!

Once again, this was one of the visual novels I downloaded forever ago, and what the heeeeeell, this was so good! Like, no, it was REALLY damned good. I'm not going to get into my ranting and raving like I tend to do because then the intro will get all long, but just know that, once again, I am geeked. Like, why have these game developers been going in so hard lately?!

I honestly have so much more to say, but I really want to get to the summary and the review portion, so I'm going to half-ass this intro and leave it here. That being said, this is NOT a yandere visual novel; however, it is a dark romance visual novel, so, it's still not the super teeth-rotting, cutesy, fluffy stuff.

Anyways, I'm going to tell you as much about the game as possible without ruining the game itself (like usual). Be mindful that, because it's a demo, there's not really an "end" nor is it even leading up to the end. The best way that I can qualify the demo is deadass...a demo. Like, it's a literal introduction and acts as a showcase to the rest of the game. More accurately, it flows exactly like how you'd think the prologue to a story would, "Chapter 0", honestly speaking.

Anyways, I'm done yapping; let's summarize. Just a heads up, though, it's gonna be a little lengthy, so...get comfy. All right, now let's get into it.

So boom.

In the spirit of keeping things as brief as possible: We're cursed, and that curse flows throughout our hands, front and back; it is for this reason that we keep them completely bandaged to ensure our own safety (kinda) and for everyone else's sanity. We believe that we can find a cure in this city called "Eridia", which is known to be this city of vast knowledge, and within this city of vast knowledge is this place called "Senobium". Senobium is where we're hoping our answers lie.

Lmao, I know that's a hell of an opener, but that's quite literally what's going on. We have been cursed since the start of forever, and we're essentially tired of feeling no sense of belonging anywhere, so we're trying to fix that; however, shit goes very left, very fast.

As we're on the way to this oh so great city of knowledge, we get hit with this ominous fog, and everyone who's travelling with us immediately knows: this is not good. No sooner than later, we're pretty certain that we hear someone getting killed nearby and the carriage that we were in is suddenly flipped over and blood gets shed very quickly. As expected, and for plot purposes, when the carriage got flipped over, our ankle took some extra damage which makes running a very unlikely option. Because of this, this terrifyingly dangerous creature wastes no time approaching us. Wanna see what it looks like?

That, my friends, is what is referred to as a "soulless", and it can rip you to literal shreds within seconds.

For whatever reason, this thing darts past us and disappears into the mist, but we don't ask questions; we just bolt behind the carriage for cover, and we're thankful that there is still someone alive after the attack. It would be much more comforting, though, if the guy wasn't praying, because that meant either one of two things:

We were very much so fucked, and he was trying to put in a good word for himself real quick before he potentially met his maker

or 2. We are very much so fucked, and the only thing that is applicable in this scenario is to pray and hope it disappears

but either way, we are very much so fucked.

That being said, we simply can't accept that. We don't pray, because we don't have the time. We've literally come too far to get taken out right outside the very city that holds our salvation, and that's all the reminder that we need when we see those city lights through the haze.

That reminder doesn't last long, though, because remember that soulless that vanished? Well, it came back, and the guy that was praying essentially brushed up against our hand, trying to get us to dip out with him because, duh, situation kind've popping off. Now, you remember that curse I mentioned? Well, our bandages kind've tore off during all of this ruckus, and all it takes is the slightest touch to make a person go from this

to this.

Yeah, so...not good.

Anyways, the situation essentially keeps escalating until we're one hit point away from death...but it never happens, because the next time we open our eyes, we see him.

Maybe we are dead, because hello~! Lookin' like an ethereal being in all of that white and attractive features! Like, gyatt DAMN. That is one fine ass angel!

Honestly, there are a lot of guys, and a lot of swooning, and a lot of introductions, so I'm going to kind've rush through those parts, especially since I don't want to ruin too much.

So, to get back on topic, essentially what goes down is that he -- his name is Kuras, by the way -- found us pretty much dead where the attack went down and brought us into the city to treat us. Now, this isn't because he's a hero or anything, but because he's a doctor and helping and healing is quite literally his entire thing, and damn, did he heal the hell out of us...suspiciously so.

Kuras tells us that, in Eridia, knowledge and secrets are what really fuels the area because it's so valuable. That being said, he can't get into exactly how he healed us so damn near perfectly. That also being said, he pretty much implies that the Senobium isn't all that's cracked up to be and that we aren't likely to find what we need there. Now although, we aren't fully believing of this due to desperation, he does point us in the direction of someone else. Some guy named Leander that we can find in some place called "The Wet Wick".

We follow Kuras' directions...but who the hell is--

--LEANDEEEEEEER~! HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~! ...Yeeeeah, this is the one I'm gonna romance first lol. Kuras is gonna have to chill for a second.

Anyways, we're here with Leander, and what happens here is...he is so obviously a playboy, but the man is smooth as shit. I mean, damn, the man gave us flowers as soon as he laid eyes on us and was talking about some "New here? I'm certain I would've remembered a face as lovely as yours". A classic playboy line, a fuckboy move, possibly, and I always manage to gravitate towards/pick them in these damn multi-LIs stories. Back on topic though, we ask Leander about the Senobium, and, much like with Kuras, he tells us that it's not only a taboo topic, but that the place is bad news.

That being said though, he's pretty confident that he's able to find an alternative to our ailment, but that we'd have to be willing to trust him a bit, which is a tall order considering the backstory we may have chosen. We bite the bullet though, because we discovered earlier that he was a pretty damn good mage, and we're really desperate. We give into his confidence...and it actually panned out well. So well, in fact, this man, once again, takes the opportunity to spit game and puts the gold in our hands next to the gold on his coat and be like "Look, we match". That man is smoother than damned butter, and I'm down bad.

Anyways, he gets us a room to sleep in for the night, and tells us to go explore, but be careful. So we do, and we run into this guy.

Yeah, so, remember that room that Leander got for us? This guy, monster, thing just swiped the key. Lol here we go...

The thing is, we could easily get it back, but something feels...off...about him. So, we play along with his game for a bit before we're just like "A'ight, can I just get my damn key?" but he kind've avoids the topic and, of course, our desire to reach the Senobium comes up. As expected at this point, he's flatly like "It's overrated" and to simply forget about it. Well, damn...

The encounter goes for a bit more before Vere -- we finally got his name after someone called him out for causing trouble -- leaves with the someone who called after him. Despite all that we've heard about the Senobium, we can't help but see it up close and in person to at least make the journey and trials and suffering worth it.

And we do, we make it there, and we see this figure there.

But when someone calls after us for gawking at the building, the figure disappears as quickly as we saw it. Aside from this though, a feeling of hopeless kind've takes hold and we're just...it's just like damn at this point, ya know? But then something kind've weird happens.

This red-eyed woman, who is clearly supposed to be dead as apparent from this gaping hole that she showed us on her body -- no, you don't get it. It was a literal hole that you could see through -- spoke of this seaspring that could cure, quite literally, anything. Not having much faith in the Senobium anymore, but still desperate for a cure, we follow the woman and receive directions to this mysterious seaspring and are told about some gang leader named Ais.

We get there, and we come to the conclusion that someone probably lives here. We call out, there's no answer...you already know where this is going.

BUT I DID NOT EXPECT THIS MAN TO BE THIS DAMN FINE. AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~! Okay, okay, okay, okay, so I'm going to romance Leander first, DEFINITELY this daddy second, and Kuras is gonna be my solid third. Okay, moving on...

He -- this is Ais, by the way -- pops up and scares the shit out of us. Actually, it wasn't him that scared us, it's his loyal pack of red-eyed soulless that scares the shit out of us, and for obvious reasons. Anyways, for the sake of trying to keep this from being longer than it already is, he's actually a pretty chill dude. Once again, he is also anti-Senobium, but he is straightforward in that, "Yes, that seaspring will literally clear up whatever you've got going on, but boy, is it going to drive you batshit crazy". Well, not batshit, but it makes you a part of this thing called a "groupmind"; that explained the red-eyes. Ais described it as "one big happy family in your head". Oh...okay, so...not a good idea. Guess we weren't as desperate as we thought. He gets one of his trained soulless to take us back towards the city.

After everything that had went down today, we decided that we should officially call it a night. On our way to the room Leander funded for us, we run into some...complications.

Ah, yes. Why would we have been able to just walk across the city and to our room? That would've been too easy. Any chance that this one is tamed, too, and Ais is just messing with us again?

Oh...oh wait...this one doesn't have the red eyes. ...Yeah, we bolt. What makes this whole situation worse though? As fast as we are running, this soulless is keeping up pretty damn easily. Also, did I say that this was the worst of it? It's not, it gets so much worse actually. Tell me why, in our panic, we literally ran ourselves into a dead end. Beautiful. What are the odds we'll survive this thing a second time around?

Pretty damn high apparently. Bless this person because we were about to get one-hit'ed!

They help us up and...wait...didn't we...?

Oh yeeeeeeah! This was the person from the Senobium! ...Damn, they're short lmao. That being said, we were all:

"Yo, you were at the Senobium!"

And they were all:

"So what if I was?"

Mmm...a feisty lil stallion. Big sass. I would be, too, if I was that short. Like, damn, they are not as tall as the baes. Kuras could take their ass out with one stomp if he really wanted to.

Anyways, they scold us about being alone at night and how it's not safe and all that. We follow them for a bit, and granted, we saw that they meant business, but it's still weird that if it's so dangerous, why were they travelling alone and why did they stop to help us?

"There was a bounty on that Soulless; you were just in the way. Not killing you isn't the same as helping you." Wha--?

Well, fuck you, too then! You get romanced last, Shorty McDouche.

We essentially get spicy back, and now, they're all blushy and shit as they start walking us back to our room. Yeah, take that shit, Mhin -- their name is Mhin, by the by -- but we don't have to deal with their sass for much longer because guess who comes along?!

IT'S BAAAAAAAE!!!! .....gyatt DAYUM Mhin is short. Then again, they could be taller than or the same height as us, but we did mention that everyone was significantly taller while Mhin was "Huh...they're shorter than I thought".

Anyways, they both escort us back to the Wet Wick, and wouldn't you know it?

Not only are all the baes here, but they all apparently know each other! All those different personalities hanging out together? Well, isn't that a wild concept. Even still, since they're all here...

Maybe we can get to know one of them a little better...

END OF DEMO LOL. Well...actually there's more after this, but of course, it depends on who you go to talk to. This is definitely long enough, though, lol; you'll have to play the game yourself to find out more, not to mention all the details I left out.

Whoo, FINALLY. The summary was long, but that was because the demo was long, and it had a lot going on. I swear I excluded so much detail, you have no idea, but guys...

When I tell you that this game was so good.

When I tell you that this game was so good.

FRIENDS. When I tell you. That this game. Was so. Good.

I don't think I can emphasize that enough, and I'm not even going to lie to you, at first, I was not feeling it. It's crazy to say that now, but I swear, I was not feeling this game at first, because it was feeling real Dungeons and Dragons, and as much I want to get into that...I can't. It just never vibes with me, and it's like I can't ever effectively get into it. That being said, it was rough at first, but then--!!

Listen. The story started storying, and the baes were baeing, and I was like, there is a visual novel to be played here. I knew it was a demo when I had started it, but when I tell you that I was legitimately upset when that "Thanks for playing!" message came up? DISTRAUGHT.

Anyways, my take on the game (as if it wasn't clear enough): it was great. Fantastic, even. It's just really odd how it flows like a fantasy story book but a DnD map at the same time, and yet they made it work so beautifully. The art style; those of you that have been rocking with me know how I feel about art style. Absolutely enthralled with the art. It looks straight out of one of those DnD campaign or character books. The baes! Don't get me wrong, all of them aren't my cup of tea, but the baes that I'm feening for?! Even the ones that I'm not feening for, honestly. They are sooooo handsome. Like, I want them al-- well, I want like 3 of them, to be best friends with 1 of them, and to throw hands with the other one lol. I mean, like, they're a'ight; I'm gonna have to get to know them because they a lil' too slick at the mouth lmao, but we all know that's probably going to be the sweetest of the bunch.

But yeah, this game is legit. Again, absolutely going to spend money on this one, if that's what the full version will entail. Now, just to add a bit of degeneracy...

IF THE DEVS MAKE THIS INTO AN 18+ GAME WITH A SPICY SCENE. MY SOUL. WILL BE THEIRS.

Okay, okay, okay, anyways, but like, the game really does have mad potential. Like, look at this:

You can pick your back story, and look at what it looks like when you pick your LI!

There are routes! You pick your LI by route! Can you imagine how huge this game is going to be if there are routes for each character and choices within those routes? I am literally so excited! Run me the full release, dev(s)!

Anywho, this post is waaaaaay long, and I could ramble way more about this game, but I shall not. If you'd like to give this game a playthrough yourself -- and I'm telling you that you need to -- I'll put a link to it right here for ya. If you'd also like, you can give the dev(s) that ever desperate "Please. I need more. This game is so good. I will literally sell you my lung and both of my kneecaps. I beg" and let them know what it is! Donations are also super helpful should you be in a position and mindset to do so!

All righty, that's finally all from me! Sorry about the length on this one, but there was so much that needed to be said, and I could honestly say more. For the sake of length though, I'll leave you with this:

Play this game, but also, please remember to drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

TOUCHSTARVED (Demo)