#well actually a set of three games but this one is my fave

[flash-from-the-past]

Hamtaro's Day Out

[starflungwaddledee]

Okay you gave me permission so now it's time to go fully autistic

*inhale*

So something I'm really interested in (mostly for my Bandee x Marx bias) is that comic with Marx and Bandee interacting, like, what's their relationship in this au, how'd they get to that point and heck, what was even happening? also it kinda seems like Bandee may be the main guy in this au or is just really important which makes me happy as Bandee isn't treated the best by Nintendo at all (hell, Sakrai said he didn't add Bandee into smash because he didn't like him) so seeing Bandee get the spotlight always brings me joy

And about the Meta and Galacta comic, it seems like Bandee plays a factor here too, with the mention of him being what gets the most reaction out of Meta and that makes sense because canonically Bandee is the weakest of the four and most likely to die quite easily, so it would make sense for the others to be protective of him

ALSO META BEING SEALED AWAY AND GALACTA SAYING HE'LL TAKE GOOD CARE OF, I'M ASSUMING BANDEE, DOES THAT MEAN GALACTA TAKES META'S PLACE??? HELLO???

anyway hi im really invested and also your art is fucking astounding

hell yea, fully autistic! the best kind of message! thank you also for the sweet words about my artwork ahhh! but hoo boy isn't this The Ask Ever. okay, let's get into it!

Bandee is, i think maybe obviously, my most specialist little guy ever and everything i make is likely about him in one way or another. so you're correct that he is indeed the main guy in both these AUs; he is the central protagonist which i think he deserves!!

(but he does also go through the angst blender a bit, just like... a warning. i adore happy endings but before that i do tend to meat-grind my faves pretty well in the drama machine.)

clockwork heart is actually a spin-off of awtdy (we do a little AU-ception in my household) which is our* primary au. (*a lot of my au work and headcanons are fleshed out very collaboratively with my girlfriend! the initial concept for awtdy was her idea, which i then very meanly shoved my bandee-important agenda into lmao)

awtdy sets this basic alternate world-state: during the Haltmann invasion, Galacta Knight defeats Meta Knight in battle and makes a wish on Star Dream to trade places.

this causes all sorts of terrible fun problems for everybody and basically gives rise to a bad timeline that a lot of folks do not come out of intact (rip floralia)

the Meta Knight vs Galacta Knight comic covers an important turning point in the story, where Meta Knight lets slip that he cares about Bandee the way he cares for Kirby. Meta Knight has an especially strong reaction to this for two reasons:

one is because, as you said, of the three remaining heroes Bandee is the most vulnerable-- seasoned and experienced fighter he may be, but against someone like Galacta Knight? 💦 he's still ultimately just a mortal dude. this obviously puts him at terrible risk, because Galacta Knight also considers him far more expendable than Kirby.

"i'll take good care of him" is transparently a threat and not actually... you know, kind.

secondly is because (unbeknownst to Galacta Knight) Bandee uniquely remembers Meta Knight. he knows that the timeline is screwed up and Galacta Knight is not meant to be there, and is actively working to rescue his real dad mentor. Meta Knight knows that if he's found out, Galacta Knight won't hesitate to kill him.

suffice to say the guilt of this would drive him capital i Insane!

as for the Marx "hurt like hell" comic, I am actually sorry to have to tell you that that scene is their first ever interaction in this au! 😂 in this alternate version of the story Marx is also aware of the timeline fuckery (due to his existence as an eldritch, temporal little creature) and he tracks Bandee down late in the game with a risky trade offer; which Bandee refuses. that's what's pictured in the comic!

it goes on for quite a long ways after that; though I don't know if it'll tickle your ship dynamic quite right because Marx is mildly antagonistic towards Bandee (and everyone) the whole time. so while they are cursed to be Stuck Together By The Narrative they are not really close or even particularly friendly.

they do indeed interact in it quite a lot, and I personally think Marx would gladly shoot his shot if he was offered it; but Bandee is neck-deep in a different ship for the entirety of awtdy and is especially miserable/pining as hell throughout clockwork heart.

but that's okay because Bandee is, uh-- totally fine!! he's normal. he's fine. he's very very fine and things will be very very okay.

[gffa]

CONGRATULATE ME, FATHER FINALLY CAME HOME!!! I was kind of dumb about it, because I knew I wanted her pretty much since it was announced she would be a playable character, but... Itto's banner was running for the third time and I have been trying to get that guy for three years now. So, I kept pulling on his banner until I finally got him! Smashy-smashy fave was finally mine! It was so satisfying! Right up until I realized, oh, shit, I just blew through my primos and will not have a guarantee for Arlecchino's banner. Well, maybe it's okay. I have enough for ~80 pulls on the next banner, so long as I don't lose the 50/50, I should be-- WELL GUESS WHAT HAPPENED. And it wasn't even Tighnari! The only 5* standard banner character I don't have! It was a constellation for Dehya and I like her, but not enough to not be mad that I was out of primos, there was only about 9 days left on Arlecchino's banner, and a guarantee doesn't mean much when you're starting out with 0 pity. Guys, I worked SO HARD. I was desperately scrounging up chests I hadn't gotten to yet, I finally cashed in so many teapot furniture set rewards, I was making my way through a bunch of quests I hadn't finished yet (I like to save them for when I don't feel like doing dailies), and it was going so slow. (Thankfully, I'm good at sticking to just the Welkin, I won't spend money on this game beyond that.) But luck was on my side, she came home at about 35 wishes and so now I have both Itto and Arlecchino and she is so much fun to run around as already. *___* (I actually really enjoyed the world quest in Fontaine, the one with Cassiodor the cat, man, this game's writing really has been on point with this region. I wasn't really that excited about Natlan beyond it being the final one before the ramp-up to Snezhnaya, the aesthetics so far haven't really been my thing personally, but if the game has been putting out this many banger storylines lately, I'm cautiously excited about Natlan, too.)

[theresattrpgforthat]

THEME: Mint's Fave Games (Part 2/2)

This is part 2 to a very difficult ask in which I managed to narrow it down to 12 games that I'm very normal about but still couldn't fit all in one post. 6 games left! I'll put the link for Part 1 here. Let's go!

Exceptionals, by Bramble Wolf Games, aka @sahonithereadwolf. (Purchased, not yet played)

I’m not a big comics fan, but X-Men has always been my favourite form of superhero media, particularly because I love the care and purposefulness of talking about marginalization and bigotry in a nuanced way. The creator of Exceptionals loves that very same thing about X-Men, and asks about what life is like for your average neighbourhood mutant.. This is a game where you can play Genodivergent folks, people who experience a process called Claremont-Simonson Mutation.

The game system uses d10’s - 2d10’s for any given roll, while you can use other d10’s to track the Bonds your characters have with each-other. Characters are made up of 4 “protocols”, lists of words and phrases that describe your mutation as well as your role as a community member. These pieces will not just give you advantages - they’ll give you disadvantages as well, which will affect the outcome of your rolls.

This is not a game about superheroes. This is a game in which superheroes exist, but your group is more likely going to be figuring out how to keep their neighbourhood safe when the police are one of the constant dangers, learning how to care for community members who have unique problems, and making noise when asking nicely for others to respect your rights doesn’t work.

The Wildsea, by Felix Isaacs. (Purchased, not yet played)

I was sold on setting alone for this one. The Wildsea is inspired by works such as Railsea, (a re-telling of Moby Dick), as well as Firefly, Blades in the Dark, and Sunless Sea. You are sailors on a verdant ocean of giant trees, hunting leviathan squirrels and trading with various outports and settlements. Character creation involves three parts: your Bloodline, Origin and Post, combining species, background and job to allow for some highly customizable, evocative characters.

The Wildsea prioritizes narrative play, allowing players to determine how their stats affect their actions, and using an in-game mechanic called Whispers and Charts to help you create locations as you play. Travel is never boring, as everyone has a role to play and the wonders of The Wildsea never cease. The community behind this game is wildly inventive, with oodles of home-brew and character inspiration. You can pick up the free version of the rules here, and check out the Storm and Root Expansion at the Kickstarter link.

HouseHold, by Two Little Mice. (Unpurchased)

Two Little Mice are known for gorgeous games and this is no exception. Household is a game about little people living inside an abandoned house, each room of which is a different nation. Will you dance with a Boggart princess at the ball of the Chandelier? Cross the Long Hallway and survive to tell the tale? Are you a Sluagh with a mouse steed or a Sprite with a beetle companion? Do you wear the finest of bee furs, or is mushroom leather what you prefer to wear?

This game is unique on this list in that I don’t actually plan to run it - I play to play it, with a friend of mine who backed the game on Kickstarter. He’s already got the full version of the book, plus its expansion, and let me tell you, it’s deliciously beautiful. The game uses the same system as Broken Compass: your character choices will give you strengths in certain arenas, and you’ll use pips to give yourself strengths in subsets of skills within each arena. The game uses card symbols to represent Society, Academia, War and Street - these characters won’t just be fighting spiders and bringing down rats, they’ll also try to catch the eye of an aristocrat at a dinner party, or pick-pocket the keys off of a palace guard. Character advancement is chronicled as Memories; your play the game as if your character’s stories have already happened, and are in the process of being written down for posterity.

If you’re interested in this game I’d recommend checking out the linked website above, as the 96-page Quickstart and the character sheet are free to download!

Brinkwood: The Blood of Tyrants, by Far Horizons Co-Op. (Played)

This game has the most hardcore slogan that I’ve ever seen, and it has not failed to get people stoked about it - Drink the Rich. It’s Robin Hood meets Castlevania. A powerful Faerie helps you fight against Vampire Capitalists using magic-infused masks, and a sanctuary hidden inside a wild wood. This is yet another Forged-in-the-Dark game that shows you how to build a rebellion via three different strategies, and has a well-written and well-thought-out Codex that allows you to put the game in different settings, as well as an Almanac (included in the base game) that immerses you in the milieu of Cardenfell.

My favourite aspect of Brinkwood is the communal Mask playbooks. As characters, you’ll have your own personal character sheet, but when you go out on different forays, you’ll have the opportunity to share the Masks that are available to the group. This means that players can choose strategically-optimal playbooks for missions that require more stealth, combat, or social control, and it also means that you’ll never feel nailed into a specific role. I very much want to see more of this kind of setup in games, even if I have to design it myself.

Moth-Light, by Justin Ford. (Purchased, not yet played)

You are humans that have fled to a planet after the fall of your civilization. In this speculative future, your new home must be shared with giant, predator insects called Moths. Your future depends on your ability to develop trust, form pacts, and work together.

This is (you guessed it) another Forged-in-the-Dark game with a really unique implementation of the group playbook. Depending on the Pact you choose, you don’t just determine what kind of story you want to tell, you also determine what action ratings are available to your characters. This makes sense, as a story about different villages banding together to achieve peace will provide different challenges then a story about a series of war-games, in which your characters are desperate to prove their worth. The spectrum of stories available within this game are broad-spanning, and I’m itching to get this game to table sometime before the year is over to see how it plays.

Moth-Light is still in beta, but after your first purchase you’ll receive new updates about the game as they come out! When I bought this game, only the Promise and the Scavengers were available - now the creator has updated the file to include the Slayers and the Jammers! I’ve also created my own Pact for this game, inspired by the Chronicles of Pern. It’s called RIDERS, it’s about people creating sympathetic bonds with the Moths in order to stop an even greater threat, and you can find it here!

Apocalypse Keys, by Rae Nedjadi. (@temporalhiccup ) (Played)

I just finished running this game and I don’t know how to express to you the emotional rollercoaster that it led us on. Rae Nedjadi is a fucking amazing designer and you can tell he intensively play-tested this game because Apocalypse Keys is tight. The mystery setup gives you an idea of how long a single mystery will take, and the generative style of play allows you to not just fill out the world, but also come up with the answer to the mystery as you unlock clues.

The central focus of the game involves Grasping Keys, which is a move that allows your character to find clues that will eventually be connected to core facets of the mystery for a very dramatic roll. Also, unlike a lot of PbtA games, your characters use a token system reminiscent of Belonging Outside Belonging games instead of stats, which you can spend to increase your chances of success - but roll too high and you are too good at what you do, possibly causing collateral damage in the process. If you love Hellboy, if you love monsters, if you’re queer… you really need to check out this game.

Finally....

If you want to see what other games are currently living rent-free in my noggin that I hope to pick up at play someday, you can check out the Games that Intrigue Me folder I've started on Itch. There's currently 148 games in there that I haven't played yet!

[lscholar]

A SEMI-REASONABLE 40 CHARACTER SMASH ROSTER

An exercise in indulgence and egoism, and posted as the same.

THE RULES:

1. Characters shall be semi-reasonable! Beatoriche I love you but this needs to be a roster composed of characters who could conceivably actually make it into Smash. They should be from video games, and ideally ones people care about.

2. Characters shall be gender balanced! I separated my picks into four categories: GUYS, GIRLS, and CREATURES AND CHARACTERS, TYPICALLY PLAYER, OF EITHER CARDINAL GENDER (like Pikachu or the Animal Crossing Villager). the number of GUYS shall be EQUAL TO OR LESSER THAN the number of GIRLS. I set this restriction on myself and so should you.

3. Characters shall be 40 of them! but you could tell that from the title.

GUYS

MARIO - You have to have this guy. also like it's been like 20+ years since Sunshine can we not give him something other than FLUDD?

DONKEY KONG, LUIGI, NESS, BOWSER, FOX, WARIO - You also have to have these guys. I cut Captain Falcon, as we already had Fox as a Smash original character.

LINK - Someday we will be able to put Link in the CHARACTERS OF EITHER CARDINAL GENDER list, but not yet.

KING DEDEDE - Sakurai made this so his faves get a little extra attention. I claim that same right.

SNAKE - Updated for MGSV, naturally.

SONIC (Palette Swap: SHADOW) - I really really don't care about these guys. I kind of actively hate them actually. but they deserve to be here, even if all their moves are the same (turning into a ball and the ball flies at you).

CLOUD - The iconic Final Fantasy pretty boy. Would I prefer Lightning? yeah. but this is the semi-realistic roster.

PHOENIX WRIGHT - I know, preaching to the crowd here. This guy is a tumblr darling behind only his boyfriend Miles Edgeworth. But they've put him in fighting games before! And he totally has a moveset, right? Presenting his badge as a jab, shooting OBJECTION and TAKE THAT! (HOLD IT! is a grab!), submitting paperwork and random items hoping and praying that they'll be accepted as evidence...

Barely missed the cut: Sans Undertale, Sekiro, Shulk, Solaire, Paper Mario, Sora.

GIRLS

SAMUS - You have to have this girl.

PEACH/DAISY - Ideally Daisy would get Luigified (this is the very technical term for when a Smash character starts out as a clone and then gets differentiated) as the Mario Sports Game Representation. But that probably wouldn't happen. Peach is fine. kind of

ZELDA (Breath of the Wild/Tears Of The Kingdom) - The opposite of the Smash Ultimate dynamic. Smash Lscholar Link is old-school Link; Zelda is newer Zelda. Like in Hyrule Warriors she fights using runes on her magic ipad/wii u pad/nintendo switch game console. Bombs, Ice Block, Ultrahand - and the ability to Recall all of them, sending them flying backwards along their trajectories when the attack is reinput. An evil zoner but let's be honest: she already is. Maybe she has a "take a picture" that can stun?

ISABELLE, ROSALINA - both need reworks. Isabelle in particular has the potential to be a Kirby for new players - but hitting with her is so hard that most try her for a round and play Toon Link instead.

BAYONETTA - No notes.

HORNET (Hollow Knight: Silksong) - Clear moveset, fan favorite, zero questions.

D.VA (Overwatch and, fine, Overwatch 2) - The single most popular Overwatch character by far, and a much needed female heavyweight character. Would translate pretty well to Smash as a pushy zippy tank-type.

EDELGARD VON HRESVELG (Fire Emblem: Three Houses/Three Hopes) - big smashy axe, avowed militant atheist, Vriska, Fire Emblem rep. Smash Lsclr's Ike. Slow but dangerous, with surprising range, much like Byleth; unlike Byleth she is an actual character. also her axe twirl has to be a taunt. Also she's canonically bisexual. which would make her the second bisexual smash character after Snake, and the third in my heart after Cloud Strife (Byleth isn't real).

REIMU HAKUREI (Touhou) - Iconic rep from possibly the single most important indie game series.

CHUN LI (STREET FIGHTER) - Honestly surprised they put Ryu in Smash. I feel like if you asked anybody to name a Street Fighter character Chun Li would be first?

UNDYNE (Undertale) - Fine. Susie (Deltarune) is also acceptable.

VI or JINX or SOME LEAGUE OF LEGENDS GIRL (LoL) - as with Sonic I don't care for these but they have undeniably earned their places. Arcane was better than it should have been and I really hope Mel Medarda survives into s2.

SABER (Fate/Stay Night) - It's Saber! I know this seems like a meme pick but I really do think she deserves to be here.

Barely missed the cut: Karlach or Shadowheart, The Silent, Arle Nadja, Vriska

CREATURES AND CHARACTERS, TYPICALLY PLAYER, OF EITHER CARDINAL GENDER (like Pikachu or the Animal Crossing Villager)

PIKACHU - You have to have this thing. Brand recognition on par with Santa Claus or Jesus. A creature for sure, even if its tail indicates biological gender.

KIRBY - This is technically a Guy but in practice this is a creature. also I have one less Guy than Girl so I could put him there, but I chose not to.

YOSHI/BIRDO - Put a trans woman in Smash. She's just a Yoshi reskin and that's fine.

MARTH/LUCINA - The other Fire Emblem rep. Why does Awakening get like three characters? may have to make Marth a bit less floaty to make this work but they really should consolidate these two.

POKEMON TRAINER (Charizard, Ivysaur, Squirtle) - good on nintendo for making it possible to play pokemon trainer as a guy or girl.

POKEMON TRAINER 2 (Gengar, Gardevoir, Lucario) - We have so many pokemon and here's three more. swap out one of your choice for Jigglypuff or Mewtwo or Mimikyu or Greninja or whatever, as long as your substitution isn't from Kanto. This pokemon trainer is a bit more of a tryhard, and wears darker clothing. also their pokemon are category balanced: one is a guy, one is a girl, and one is a creature.

INKLING - Kind of a creature and definitely not of either cardinal gender. these kids squids are nonbinary. A good addition to smash; may they goop and bloop for many games to come.

Wii FIT TRAINER - Mix in Wii Sports and Ring Fit and whatever else.

ANIMAL CROSSING VILLAGER/MINECRAFT STEVE AND ALEX/PACMAN AND MS PACMAN - CHARACTERS OF EITHER CARDINAL GENDER

NOAH AND MIO XENOBLADE (XENOBLADE 3) - Like Pyra and Mythra but less gross. Mio has faster short range chakram attacks and mobility; Noah has slower harder-hitting moves.

THE ASSASSIN (Assassin's Creed) - Snake represents Solid, Naked, and Venom; why can't The Assassin be Altair, Ezio, and whoever else?

Barely missed the cut: Duck Hunt, Toad/Toadette.

if you got mad at me about removing your favorite character reply and I'll tell you why I took them out. probably because I didn't care about them.

[thydungeongal]

Hey, love your blog! I've been following you for a while now and learning a lot about the world of ttrpgs outside of DnD. I hear a lot about how rule heavy and difficult DnD is to learn, not to mention that I am rather 'sheltered' when it comes to the genre. I always assumed that DnD was like the ONLY ttrpg until I followed you haha. So I have a quick question for you, I have been interested in trying out the Werewolf: Apocalypse ttrpg, have you ever played it? Do you have any advice or opinions about the best ttrpgs for someone who has only ever played DnD, but is looking to try something new? Thanks! Sorry for the long ask, I'm notoriously bad at condensing my words😂

Hello! First of all, no need to apologize. As you may have noticed from some of my really long posts, I have something of a problem with writing tersely as well. :)

I have sadly not played Werewolf: The Apocalypse, but not for a lack of trying: there was a period in my life when I was obsessed with the game but could never get anyone else interested in trying it out, so that never amounted to anything. Here's my unfiltered opinion on Werewolf: The Apocalypse: it's silly, reductive, and even within the context of World of Darkness it is extremely culturally insensitive, but I still kind of love it as a game. It's an extremely flawed game but one that I can't help but think fondly of in spite of its flaws. It is very mired in 90s and early 2000s caricatures of indigenous peoples and even more so than any other World of Darkness game weirdly fetishistic about bloodlines, but if one is willing to treat it as a problematic fave there's a lot of good in that whole mess. Like, you get to play as strong as fuck werewolves with magic powers who fight to protect the Earth from a rogue's gallery of enemies that are basically caricatures of the corrupting effect capitalism has on communities and the Earth itself? That shit owns.

Having said all of that, the information that has come out about how the upcoming 5th edition of the game has been handled does not fill me with hope and I'm not sure if I want to support the current direction of the game. You can find more about what I'm talking about here.

To your next question, sadly there isn't a single definitive answer I can give to someone looking to branch out from D&D: it all depends on what kind of game you're looking. But the good news is, whatever kind of game you're looking for it's probably not going to be as much of an investment as D&D. D&D is kind of an outlier in the sense that it requires three whole-ass books, whereas most games fit into just one. But since you asked, I'm going to list a couple of games that I think are neat anyway. :)

Hard Wired Island. Indie cyberpunk RPG. Easy to learn system, setting heavily inspired by 90s anime, actually uses its setting to present questions relevant to the role technological advancement plays in marginalization instead of simply using cyberpunk as dressing for another cops vs. robbers RPG.

Esoteric Enterprises. Since you asked about Werewolf: The Apocalypse chances are you're interested in urban fantasy, yeah? Esoteric Enterprises is dark urban fantasy where you play as an occult gang in a modern city. The system is based on D&D, albeit one of the older editions, and it plays much more grim and gritty than 5e. While characters default to humans it has rules for supernatural characters. It'll be a very different beast from Werewolf, but it'll have that same grimy urban gothic punkness to it.

Break!!. Science fantasy RPG inspired by video games and anime. Was Kickstarted recently but even if you missed the Kickstarter it's not too late to preorder! I've got my hands on the Beta PDF and my first impressions thus far are that even though it's still very much in the wheelhouse of D&D (It's an action adventure RPG in a fantastic setting) it has amazing presentation and is wonderfully condensed. Absolutely worth checking out if the aesthetic appeals to you.

Voidheart Symphony. This one's a bit from the left field, but I like Voidheart Symphony. It's a game about playing psychic rebels fighting against corrupt people in positions of power. Explicitly inspired by the Persona games, but with a more openly revolutionary stance. Where Esoteric Enterprises leans more on the urban occultism and gothic punk, this one is more about fighting against the Man with your Stand.

Anyway, if you have any further questions, don't be afraid to ask. :) For an example, if you feel like you have a specific wish in mind with regards to an RPG system let me know and I'll see if I can think of something more specific.

[voiceofsword]

do you have any brotps/friendships for rinne or niki ( since they seem to be like . the ones you think about most ) that you particularly like ? aside from the other bees ofc

YEAH!! under a read more bc its a little long :'3

roommates are a given, i think hikari dorm is perfectly balanced (chaotic) in its own way and that even tho the 3 of them are so different they also manage to get along really well. i cant take them seriously at all and i think thats part of their charm lol. they're all such Characters individually that together it just feels Normal. i can imagine the three of them sitting around the bathtub, kanata splashing around while hiyori paints his own nails and rinne gossips. its like if the golden girls were anime boys but theres 3 instead of 4 and none of them are divorced or widowed. so really nothing like the golden girls but im sure u understand...maybe

nihihi dorm is actually tied for my fave with gender dorm god i love them a ton, i think in part because i love nikis relationship with hiiro and how hes adopted him as his own younger brother, but also hinata. i think about niki cooking for them and having them try new dishes and them having movie nights or staying up all night playing games and even tho niki has work the next morning hes like (exaggerated sigh) fine ONE more game...but he loves it

i love both rinne and niki (and crazybs in general honestly) doting relationship on 2wink and im so happy they keep getting collabs .. in case they decide to give us more crumbs... plz. they feel like younger siblings to them. rinne especially makes me so soft because past his initial impression of being a bad influence and generally just pushing his luck on how much he can tease, it always feels like hes looking out for the two

otherwise i also rly enjoy how they both interact within their own circle (i feel like ive been wanting a nikis kitchen tour for the past 2000 years. i hope we get framed picture of izumi in one of the 3*s).

i rly like how rinne gets along with his kouhai both in asobi and craftmonster bc of the attitude he takes on, ive mentioned it in another post but w/ the former especially he rly just allows himself to be playful so much so that it almost takes the kids off-guard bc theyre like what..hes not as scary as we thought he'd be at all. i think the best rinne friendships are the ones where they set those prejudices aside and dont take him seriously at all lol bc that's when he rly starts to feel comfortable. this grown ass man running around playing games and doing arts n crafts with a bunch of 15-17 y/os (and shu i guess) is a funny mental image and it rly feels like he can let himself loose. conversely i also love when he's exasperated with his juniors bc then hes like oh right im an adult i need to set an example.. this is about U chill yellow

on the other hand i like how niki interacts with ppl a lot more "serious" than him i.e ibara, natsume bc he tends to like..soften them? ppl cant help but let their guard down around niki hes just.... himself. like even if theyre initially wary they grow to be like "oh wait this guy's really nice what the fuck"

i particularly like nikis kitchen circle bc its ppl you usually wouldnt see interact with niki but u can tell they want to impress him. its so sweet nikis just some guy who wants to share his love for cooking. also thinking about the difference between how ibara would interact with rinne and niki (harsher with rinne bc hes his Boss whereas with niki he's more accommodating, that one gordon ramsey meme thats like u donkey vs oh oh dear) is funny so even if theres not a lot of interactions for them i want to think ibara would let niki get away with just about anything

AND NIKI AND TETORA...IVE ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS A FEW TIMES THOUGH... i have a huge soft spot for them. ritsu too. they get like 2 interactions (sweets hunter story, craftmonsters recent gacha) but ritsus humor is just so DRY and u can see niki be like (cogs turning in his head) Whar? its really silly ALSO HE CALLS HIM NIKIPYON....IS THAT NOT PERFECT... i need them to be friends

i like niki and mayois friendship, but its admittedly not my favorite; i like how niki feels like he can trust mayoi implicitly and how he tries to make him comfortable too — i think theyre both quite similar irt self image/esteem although they both go about it in different ways. their interactions can be sweet but one thing that stops me from enjoying them fully is how mayoi always seems kind of uncomfortable (and niki seems unaware of how/why he's uncomfortable) ;_; i hope that in the future the writers can let mayoi be more at peace around him, it'd be sweet!!

and atp i feel like ive talked enough about hiiro and rinne for it to not warrant having its own little ramble section here 😭

[volaile]

tagged by my brother @beesnutz :P

last song you listened to: descent by fear factory

last movie you watched: the new hunger games!! went to see it at the cinema with two friends :) it was good, unsettling exactly where it needed to be (which was. most of the time LOL) and its managed to pull off the 'act as a standalone but still have room for a sequel if someone wanted to' balance v well. and id watch a sequel! but overall i cant lie i prefer the original trilogy...

currently watching: house md on my own, im on season 7 rn and [spoilers] have finally left huddy hell. i love masters btw my friend masters ❤️she just had her first main pov ep and it was a good un. im also watching doctor who when mine gustes and peris schedules line up, and also taskmaster with guste :)

other things you’ve watched this year: ummmm lots but some of my faves are still across the spiderverse, also limitless and alien, and also american psycho but thats sort of from last year, i watched it nye with nami and it hit 2023 like halfway through for me LOL

currently reading: money by martin amis!! its good ive read time's arrow by him before too. he's got a fun way of writing but idk how i feel about him putting himself as a character in this one lol???!!! also i guess i technically have a few other books on the go too but tbh im not actively reading them... btw if anyone wants my goodreads send me a dm !!! i would love more friends on there

currently listening to: my albums 2023 playlist which is um. 1500 songs strong still. i swear ive listened to plenty its just that i keep adding more oopsy doopsy

currently working on: editing my longish nrmts fic so that i can finally start the last three out of ten chappys.... problem is is that im doing this mostly at work when the bars quiet LOL. im also trying to draw more frequently!! ive made it as easy and low stakes as possible for myself (using a biro in some small lined notebook, means i dont get fixated on making things look perfect and also means i dont need to fill up too much space to finish a full page) but its still a habit in progress ....

current obsession: honestly probably the gym. im following what i guess based on exercises and number of sets and reps would be considered a powerbuilding program?? october saw me doing proper strength building work for the first time Ever rather than just hypertrophy/muscle building and ive finally started doing bench press using an actual barbell rack set up!!! and i really like it :P

ok thats it thank u. all the crans my lovely crans have been tagged i believe so i'll also tag @sevenyeargap @bardicspiration and @adultfiendfinder ❤️ and anyone else who wants to do it go hog wild ok byeeee

[jupujuu]

Being the Ghost Trick lover that I am, I purchased the Japanese limited edition box with all the extra goodies!! It is so exciting and fun to have new Ghost Trick things!! Amazon had a super cute Missile pin as a preorder bonus which I only saw after ordering on eCapcom.. Oh well, I grabbed one off eBay so I'll get it later!

It's such a cool set of items too, the playing cards are my fave and they're super delightful and every card has a character illustration, big or small! I also love the little mystery game, though unfortunately my Japanese reading skills aren't advanced enough for me to be able to translate it well or at least at a reasonable speed. There's probably someone already on it anyway, considering how dedicated the GT fanbase is!

I took way more pictures and you can view them under the cut (DON'T CLICK if you have not finished the game, there will be spoilers)!

(Edit: Oh gosh I had no idea the images don't show next to each other under the cut in the dashboard view so now this post is EVEN LONGER lol, why does it let me arrange them nicely in the editor if it doesn't matter?!)

Let's start with some more playing cards pics! I picked some more or less random ones to show of the 2-9 numbered cards because there was a lot.

These are legit so neat and I love that even the numbered cards have character images. I picked Masked Muscleman as one of the cards to show bc there's just something really funny about his severed head especially lmao (wonder why that is hmm)

Let's move on to check what's inside the OST packaging! I don't have a convenient way to actually listen to the CD rn unfortunately, but boy if I still don't love owning physical media.

They're just using existing illustrations for this one as well, but gosh the leaflet is still super nice. Love to see everyone together like that!

Aaand let's check what's inside the big game case!

Well, the game itself, of course! As well as the super interesting mystery box. :3c

I took some pics of the latter to show the contents, lots of reading there! I didn't dare open the three envelopes for now, but they're numbered 1-3 in the back, Lynne being 1, Kamila and Missile being 2, and Sissel being 3. I'm guessing the story of this mystery takes place after the game considering our Sissy is a kitty here, and they're not afraid to spoil his name as seen in the last pic! They blatantly call him Sissel on the first page of the "story" leaflet.

Well that's about it! If you wanna see more pics of anything (or better ones of the ones I already photographed) feel free to let me know. :>

[the-larxist-manifesto]

GameGirl28 ~ Wario Land 3

When deciding the first set of games to play for this challenge, I just HAD to make Wario Land my first heavy-hitter game. As a lifelong fan of the Mario extended universe, platformers, and quirky games in general, this series always spoke to me. The problem is... most of the games are stuck on the GameBoy!!!! So actually, I haven't played very many of them at all! Thankfully, I've outlined this challenge so that I hit all three of the GB games (after which I plan, outside of this challenge, to play Wario Land 4 and Shake it).

Why am I playing the 3rd one first? Erm.... anyway, moving on...

Wario is such a fucking creature, dude. I love how much they lean into that angle for him in this game. The entire tone of Wario Land 3 basically reads "shakily drawn feral comic book characters get into Looney Tunes shenanigans together." I'll be saying this a lot throughout the challenge, but for a GameBoy game, I was so charmed by this game's art style and presentation. Pictures are favored in the exchange rate with words, so let me just showcase a scrapbook of my faves

Like in Mario 3, this sun will swoop down and attack you. But since Wario is invincible in this game, your ass just gets set running on fire

Wario can destroy the natural landscapes around him in a multitude of violent and absurd ways

Don't fuck with Wario or he WILL turn you into one of those worm on a strings....

~A competent platformer~

Aside from just being pretty, I think the developers objectively made very efficient use of the small screen real estate. The objects, enemies, and Wario himself are blown up quite large to make room for detail and style, while also increasing the legibility for platforming and squashing enemies. I've played games on a WIDE SCREEN HD TV and had more trouble seeing ahead of me. In Wario Land 3, I almost never struggled to see jumps or areas of interest ahead of me.

This game is, after all, all about exploring. On this particular adventure, Wario is transported to a whimsical island contained inside a magic music box. His aim is to escape, but not without nabbing every goblet and gold doubloon he can. Search every nook of this unfamiliar land, find every giant key to open the treasure chests, and help restore the power of the music box deity in order to go back home with your pockets lined $$$$

The gameplay loop consists of essentially three phases:

One: Metroid-vania style level progression. You enter the first level sorta unable to do much at first. It's kinda funny playing as this worthless fat old man just wandering around the forest, until you just HAPPEN upon one of these giant chests which hold little powerups for Wario. As he powers up, he resembles the tough-and-tumble brawler we know Wario to be, and can start busting through blocks and climbing up cliffs that he could not when you first visited the level. When blocked off areas become accessible, the levels evolve into wide-open platforming sandboxes. It makes the adventure feel vast, despite the size of the console!

Two: Boss battles. Like most platformers, you will encounter bad guys way huger and eviler than the other ones, and you will have to defeat them set to special battle music. All bosses, save for the final boss, follow the rules of Three Hits and Hit the Glowing Part of their Body. Each one is a unique creature with some fun arena gimmick, making them a nice change of pace after all the jumping and smash attacking.

This soccer rabbit was a particularly memorable fight. Whoever can kick a ball-ified version of the other into the net three times wins

Three: Mini games. Well, actually, there's just one mini game. Golf! For a 2D golf game, I found it fun to master power adjustment and spin to conquer the various courses. There's even a secret course you unlock by collecting the special music coins! I LOVE me a classic unlockable, especially unnecessary ones thrown in as a fun extra goodie

... Para-Goom? Is that, like, a relative of the Goomba? I was not ready to be introduced to a Darwin-esque Mario universe evolutionary tree

~Reading the enclosed instruction booklet~

OKAY TIME FOR A BRIEF SIDE TANGENT!! Given how strange and arbitrary as some of the "puzzles" were in Alone in the dark, I ended up using a GameFAQs guide at certain points. As with most old video games, console limitations and lack of in-game tutorials make it tricky to blindly play GameBoy games. Sometimes, it makes them a matter of pure trial and error. I don't find that particularly fun, personally... so when it came to some obscure bits of Wario Land (what levels to visit next after triggering an event, how certain transformations worked, etc.), I felt a sense of annoyance growing in me. What were the devs THINKING? Surely they didn't make a game THIS OBSCURE and expect children to be able to beat it??

In that moment, I tapped into my very empathetic mind and remembered... game devs may not have invented tutorials yet, but they DID include manuals with every single game! That's right! Those little booklets used to be good for something. Really quite important, actually!!

With that, I researched to find an online PDF scan of the game's original manual. That way, without the need of external guides, I could understand the full context of the game! And I am not exaggerating when I say that this guide HELPED. A LOT. It's not like the game was impossible to play without it... but it was, quite simply, a worse game. I learned how to quickly replay event cutscenes, instantly check the next level to explore, the full capabilities of every transformation, and more! Stuff that was programmed into the game but that I simply didn't know existed. Neither me nor the devs would have wanted me to continue without knowing all this!!

As you've seen from some of my previous screenshots, the manual has lots of little lore tidbits and cool official art scattered throughout. It's like a little love letter to the game, stitched together by the developers to go, "Lookie! Look at this cool thing we made! Have fun!!! :D"

With this discovery, I have decided that I will be locating and reading the official instruction booklet for every single game in this challenge from now on. Not only is it helpful, but it's fun! Manuals have always been one of my favorite parts of video game collecting, so it totally enhances this challenge and gives me even more to look forward to as I go!!

~Conclusion~

My only criticisms of this game stem from my own bias against Metroidvania-type games. I don't consider it super fun to wander around the giant ass levels over and over, struggling to find one random block you couldn't break before. But I will admit, it's an economical way to maximize the gameplay in a modest number of levels and maintain a fairly high play time! That is, without abusing artificial difficulty or unfair level design... (looking at YOU, Dr. Wily's revenge....)

Aside from that: the levels look so good, the music is so catchy, and the powering up is so addictive, I can easily forgive a little repetition in exchange for the feeling of absolutely BASHING ENEMIES SKULLS IN and KNOCKING THEIR BONES TOGETHER LIKE PINBALLS with how absolutely beefed up Wario becomes later on

It's a classic for a reason. I am definitely turned on to the Wario Land series now, and I can't wait to see how they all build off each other as a franchise! Shame Wario only seems to star in minigame collections now... which only serve to kill our chances at a new Rhythm heaven game..... >:{

((jk I luh waryo where <3))

Check out this lil medley of the game's soundtrack, made by our very own SiIvaGunner team! :D

Phew, that was a long one...

[pureun]

14 and 😼 and if u got this twice i am sorry tumblr is trying to SILENCE me.

༝       [     ...     ]       ˓       ask game       ;       11:47 am       ⸺       #14.

DULCEEEE HELLO!!!! <3 and no need to apologize!! tumblr is always JUST SO </3 i was going to do like a traditional profile with name, age, but as i was typing that out i was like damn this is so boring ! so here's just me yapping ( hopefully coherently ) about the differences in current + alt!moonturn plus some fc options i thought would be fun!

tws: family death, prison, corporate crimes

fc notes: pale 's current fc is gong yoo who tbh i really do think he works well as him! but he's a bit TEW nice as gong yoo for the environment he'd be in. i think winston!pale is a bit tew nice too but he's one of my favs and i like casting my faves <3 other options were idris elba ( ngl you're probs gna see idris a few times lSDKGH ) but pale's appeal to me is that he's too young to really be one of the older members ( they're all '80s ) and too old to really be lumped with the younger members ( mOST are '90s minus marchen who's '02 ) and andrew garfiled bc he gives me tired underpaid intern. i just didn't wanna commit to him bc some aspects of his real life are too similar to pale's plot so it's just too ;/ to me.

alternate storyline notes: pale is actually a member of moonturn, but for 20204 ( and probably most of '25 ) takes on the role as their main producer. before all of this, he was a member of digipop's 90's pop boyband, oddpunk. it was him and three other guys, but he wasn't close to any of them and honestly didn't care about the boyband shit. he was just doing it bc his mom used to be digipop's owner and his father had concocted this entire scheme to get it all back for her ( atleast that's what he said but tbh i wouldn't trust a single thing father's in treacle say LMAO ). he has a bad falling out with one member the company really likes, but bc he's sooo talented digipop does nawt want to let him go and the current ceo kinda likes him ( idk why ig the vibes are good ). so pale takes on the role as both underpaid producer and intern to the current ceo, later works his way up the company ladder, then gets to become digipop's ceo. he's ceo for like a good few years before having to take the blame for fraud, embezzlement, yk other corporate crimes maybe even murder i think that could be fun which i 100% think they were always gna set him up to take the fall for. so he gets arrested and his mom dies while he's in jail ( i like to think she was struggling with some sort of sickness that only exists in treacle for thematic reasons. ) then he meets eyes who's like i can get you out of jail if you essentially sign your life away to me and he's like okay ig and then is added to moonturn as producer, creative director, and occasionally member bc i'm not too sure if i want him to be a member member or like a behind the scenes member ( maybe a dj like marshmello or those other djs who aren't really contributing anything but vibes in the music video and the beat ig 💀 )

differences in plots: gong yoo! pale doesn't go to jail, he's fired for beating up that member he didn't get along with, and then moves in with his producer friends and like rots in their crib for the next five or six years. he meets saint a year before saint goes poof! and its through saint he gets a job at for romance bc they left some stuff for him he's gotta figure out the meaning to. whereas potentials!pale gets to stay at the company, gets ceo, goes to jail, then meets eyes and then joins for romance. he's supposed to be paired up with saint, but if i go us route his dynamic with eyes would be a lot more fun to write 😁

additional notes: if it's not his dad that sends him it's his mom and maybe the ceo is his real father but that feels a lil cliche to me kJDBHJVGbn

༝       [     ...     ]       ˓       answered       ;       😼       ⸺       #14.

Strangely, Pale was reminded Eyes. A frown slowly crept on his face coupled with a sudden burst of irritation. He was prone to frequent bursts of irritation, but this time was different than all the other ones. It was a sort of irritation only Eyes could inspire within him.

"I signed a 97 page NDA." He pressed his thumb to the crook of his nose bridge as his irritation becoming annoyance at the thought of the massive document. "I not only had to read every single page to find where to place my signature, because she didn't mark it, I had to read it out loud. And that was just the NDA. It wasn't even the actual fucking contract."

"NOBODY—" Pale cleared his throat, eased his tone to take on a more kinder note. With a tight smile, he continued: "Nobody else had to. Marchen didn't even sign anything. That little freak is here of his own volition."

[mymelodyisme]

18, 27, 32, 34, 38, 44 😍😍

😄HELLO LIBBY MY LOVE!! Asdfghjkl I started this last night and then didn’t finish it but here we are back at it again 👏🏽

18: A quote I live by

For once I can easily answer this!! Something I’ve always said and you can probably find on this blog is

“I am nothing if I’m not kind.”

🤔 “nothing if not” means to a strong degree or very but like that’s not the way I see the sentence. 🤣 nothing if I’m not. All this to say I will be kind otherwise I become a version of myself I don’t want.

Hooraaaay for me twisting language in my grubby little fingers🙌🏽

27: My favorite book I read for school

Of Mice and Men! And Little Women. 😭 I was so in love with Laurie. Funnily enough I HAVEN’T seen the newest movie yet. I’ve seen clips but my head says I’m not ready. Soooooob

32: A little known fact

Oh no 🤔 okay I share so much I don’t even know what I haven’t shared. Uh I do happen to have a list of fun facts or something let me go take a look—

WELL

I share this one often but I’m a miracle baby🙌🏽 Though the doctors couldn’t get me to breathe when I was born and ushered me off before my mom could even see me. 🙌🏽 🙌🏽

Yeah so my parents were told they couldn’t have kids and then oopsies helloo it’s ME 💅🏽 and then they went and had three more girls 🤣

34: I time I succeeded

Ooh!! Okay so I was in honor choir t-three times? Two maybe? The first time I was in Junior high we had to audition to get chosen. Then we took a bus back to the school or theatre they had us practice in and we performed at a big named theater in our area 😄 the second was basically the same thing but without the audition. And I THINK I had a third one in there somewhere but I can’t remember.

I don’t have very many successes in life but I am in my city’s time capsule so 😎

38: My favorite band.

This one used to be easy to answer COUGH PALAYE ROYALE COUGH. 😒 actually it still kinda is. I really love MCR and Set it Off. Epecially SIO. I LOVE Cody Carson’s voice. And also his name it’s so fun to say. 😭 my favorite song from them rn would probably be Punching Bag. THEY COLLABED EITH MIKU. I love them s m they make up a good portion of my car karaoke music. I need more songs though I only listen to a handful cause I don’t actually go and seek out my favorite artists new stuff unless I happen across it 😔 to all my SIO fans give me your faves please

44: My favorite TV Show

Last but not easiest! I can’t say I have one 😭 I like a lot of shows but I don’t have any one favorite I could turn on and just unwind. I know a lot of people love like the office, use it as background noise, and can quote it easily. I don’t have that kind of love or relationship with anything in particular. Back in the past I GUESS it would have been Adventure time or Steven universe but as of now I’ve come to this knife fight empty handed. 🤔 that said I’m SO excited for Umbrella Academy to drop the final season. Oh also I feel like I have to mention that I love Fruits Basket with all my heart 🩷♥️🩷♥️🩷

😭 I swear I say some ridiculous things and no one’s ever been like “hey Melissa you do ____ how did you not notice??” YALL can probably tell me more about me than I can cause you’re forced to watch me day in and out.

Anyways I lov e you thank you for 🥺 being my friend.

♥️ The Ask Game ♥️

[thiefbird]

Top 5 books!

Okay so. Gonna cheat just a lil and give my top 5 books OR series(and my fave book in each series)

In no particular order:

1) The Aubrey-Maturin Series

This should shock no one who follows my tumblr: I have talked about little else for the last five months. These characters invade almost my every waking thought; the few thoughts that aren't about them are about related subjects like Temeraire or Hornblower. Patrick O'Brian's writing style has permanently changed my own. I think probably my favourite book in the series is HMS Surprise. Patrick O'Brian has gotten fully into the swing of things, he knows his characters inside and out. Diana is there. And unlike some of my other favourites, the story in Surprise is self contained - as opposed to Desolation Island/Fortune of War/Surgeon's Mate, which are all the same arc.

2) Dragonriders of Pern

I read these books way, way too young (they are not in any way meant for an eight year old) and they changed my neurochemistry. Dragonriders of Pern is why I loved Eragon, and why I love Temeraire. There is a more age-appropriate series, the Harper Hall books, but that's not all that I read. I think my favourite book in the series is probably Dragon's Dawn, which is the book that explains the sci-fi connection to what starts off as feeling purely fantasy. It does such a good job of explaining how we get to where the series ends up in the first books, and also confirms the Anne McCaffery super-universe is alive and well(if you read any of her sci-fi series, there are always little references to show that they're all in the same universe, though they may be centuries or millennia apart). Do not give these books to your eight year old. Maybe not even your twelve year old. Sixteen is probably good.

3) Septimus Heap

For all you people who want to introduce your kids/your sibling's kids/your friend's kids to reading, but don't know what to recommend to little kids who like fantasy now that Terfwizardry is a no go, let me introduce the better Special Boy Learns Magic Books! Septimus Heap is the seventh son of a seventh son, but he doesn't know that at first. These books have a fascinating magic system that actually makes sense, an entirely separate from real life setting, and actually healthy family relationships! I don't have a specific favourite book, but even though they're very much aimed at younger kids, I reread them recently and they hold up! They're cute and sweet and heartwarming and also the cover art is excellent. If you have kids age 5-12 in your life and you want them to enjoy books, but don't want to recommend Percy Jackson for the billionth time? Give them Septimus Heap! (Or Gregor the Overlander, my personal favourite Suzanne Collins series; it might actually be more depressing as an adult than The Hunger Games, and it is written for late elementary/middle school kids. Give your kids a really weird but good experience and opportunity to talk about the horrors of both war and capitalism, all surrounded by giant rats and bats and cockroaches who are your friends.)

4) Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre

Are these the same series? Not really, but they are in my heart; the Brontë's books in my mind are so intertwined that they can share a space. Its what they would have wanted probably. I am a miserable Gothic bitch at heart. Highschool Birb read these books pretty much on repeat, with occasional breaks for Jane Austen or Mary Shelley. In terms of a favourite, my heart lands just a little on the side of Wuthering Heights; I am a sucker for parallels and inescapable fates.

5) Madeleine L'Engle (cheating again)

There's quite a bit of JV/YA fic on this list; I think there are some brilliant books that are ignored because they were written specifically for children, and anything by Madeleine L'Engle is absolutely included in that list. A Wrinkle In Time, and the rest of the books about the Murry-O'Keefe's(The Kairos series), are the reason high school Birb bought three nonfiction but not textbook books on string theory, and another textbook. They are almost entirely the reason I have a grasp on Christianity - Madeleine L'Engle's particular flavour of faith is a beautiful thing, and she ties it so perfectly into an intensely sci-fi and scientific series. Her more slice of life series, the Chronos series, is definitively but obscurely tied into the more sci-fi Kairos, in ways that are wonderful to think about. As a high schooler, and even after coming out as trans, both Meg Murry and Vickie Austin really spoke to me, but I think my favourite book of all of them is A Swiftly Tilting Planet. There is something heartbreakingly hopeful in all of L'Engle's writing, but especially in the scenes of the Murry's waiting at home, together, hoping that they'll see the morning, and then doing so.

[didisficrecs]

DRAMIONE FICS

Top tier | Rereads | Faves | d

Breath mints / battle scars — 8th year au, hogwarts vibes, heavy angst,(redeemable & the right amount of)toxicity, damaged and toxic hermione & draco, sarcastic angry Draco. The standard, thee book, ultimate favorite book of 2022. This is the good shit. Canon in my eyes, actual enemies to lovers | thoughts | edits 1 2 3

The Fallout — war au, dramione surviving together, angst, sarcastic draco, one of the classics, redemption, enemies to fwb to lovers | so so so so good, so raw and beautiful, love the way they love

Ghosts in a Wishing Well — ministry au one shot, exes to lovers, angst, smut | this was so so so good wow

Let the dark in — Triwizard tournament au, where Draco is from another school, rivals, dark, angst

To Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth — ministry three shot, fluff, patronus casting

Manacled —

Voldemort wins au, high reeve Draco, memory loss - biggest plot twist - so well written & captivating. It’s so heartbreaking, dark, tragic, horrifying and traumatizing. - but it’s so good - the way they chose each other - the extent of their love - also you’ll hate the golden trio in this.

However, i couldn’t read it fully I mostly “skimmed” cuz I couldn’t stomach it, couldn’t get past all the triggers warnings - I still have mixed feelings - I can’t fully forgive Draco. PS. It’ll leave you depressed (and don’t read the last line) note to self: don’t reread

Forever Is Composed Of Nows — Aurore/James one shot, angst and fluff

Consumed, obsessed and attached — one shot, secret relationship, smut

I bet you think about me — exes to lovers goodness in a one shot, angst, hea

Essential Vices — 8th year one shot, exes to lovers, rough smut, angst, toxic, jealousy

Height — 8th year one shot, fluff, soft vibes

Accidentally in love — muggle fwb series, so well written fgjhg, fluff and smut

Party lines — muggle academic rivals au, fluff and smut

Common spaces, Empty spaces — 8th year one shot, angsty angst, smut

Isolation — (lol again), forced proximity, angry Draco, thee og dramione fic - nostalgic fave

Stupid games — one shot, good smut

Read recently

Sweetly Broken - depressed draco, drug addiction, hit every angsty spot

Wedding Bell Blues – angst

Sweet Bones by somandalicious – exes

Not NoLonger Lovers by somandalicious – exes, angst

Cake by somandalicious – exes

ivy – secret relationship, astoria, kinda infidelity

Read

The rights and wrongs series — coworkers au, pining Draco and Hermione, not enemies to lovers, so so so fluffy, I acc love the golden trio here, just good vibes but I didn’t really like Hermione’s characterization or Draco’s for that matter — they’re very fluffy and simpy

The Auction — Voldemort wins au to the series, captured, auction, death eater draco au, unrequited love, not enemies to lovers, “skim-” read it cuz it was heavy angst and plot buht this was actually good/okay ( “actually” bcuz I’m used to enemies to lovers dramione ).

A rake’s revenge — regency era one shot, fuckboy draco

Lust and Loathing — muggle fwb au, LOVE THIS DRACO, he’s toxic and hates her but is secretly obsessed with her, angst and smut

The art of keeping casual — muggle fwb au, smut and tini dash of angst

A Season for setting Fires — soulmate bond au, angst, war, Voldemort wins, they’re both vulnerable, very realistic

Various Storms and Saints — 8th year au, soft draco, dnf | thoughts

Happy pills — Post Hogwarts rehab au, angst, drug addiction, found family ish, soft vibes dnf

From Wiltshire, With Love — war au, spy draco, morally grey Hermione & Draco, angst, enemies to friends to lovers, dnf

Self-preservation — 8th year one shot, head girl, hate sex, angsty smut with psychoanalysis (my favorite genre), not hea? wish this was a series or had a second chapter, bcuz it’s too good

Tension — post hogwarts one shot, break ups, make ups, rough smut, jealousy, miscommunication

On the Nature of Daylight — 6th year au, heavy angst, dark, possessiveness and crazy obsession kinda toxic, controlling, codependency, unhinged Death eater!Draco, Hermione has no backbone bye, hated this draco Most of it is well written and good, but Draco’s pov and dialogue has you like : | :o

sequel The Bitter Earth (unfinished) | even more toxicity, really didn’t want to like duo-logy cuz that shih toxic even for my standards and don’t really like the ‘good girl’ trope.

Where You Belong — post war one shot, secret relationship, smut, angst, burrow

Fine Line — hogwarts au one shot, smut, pwp, established relationship, toxicity

Momentary Oblivion — post hogwarts one shot, angst, not hea, cheating

Every Day, a Little Death — 8th year short fic, smut basically, fwb

Nothing Good Happens After 2AM — 8th year two shot, potions, smut

If we were made of water — ministry one shot, secret relationship, angst

Lessons in darkened rooms — 8th year one shot, angst, smut

To be read/reading

Coming down — 8th year one shot, angst, idiots to lovers

Love a Lie and other fics by ambpersand on ao3 (log in to read)

— Considering

LIATOTZA — zombie apocalypse, toxic draco? Manacled Draco was inspired by him, pregnancy, marriage

Beyond the Castle Walls — 6th year au, past, present, angst, pregnancy later on

Ride or die — muggle au, gang au

Measure of a man — dad!draco, healer!hermione, adorable scorp, slow burn, soft vibes, healing sort of fic, cozy read, post-Hogwarts

False Pretenses — Post Hogwarts au, fake dating, angst

Dramione wips to read once they are completed

Note to self: For more see the collections under breath mints / battle scars or TikTok collection

[avatarskywalker78]

don't ever forget (you're part of us) for the Director's Cut ask game?

Okay, so this fic - part of flufftober 2021 - was only my second ever Westhallen fic, and much like the first was born out of the belief that they deserved better, especially Eddie, after his experience being held captive by Eobard, and the idea of Iris and Barry leaving their boyfriend love notes because he's been struggling recently just really called to me. This was one of the first to establish the 'No Zoom S2' and Eobard just being dealt with instead of listened to because the latter in particular had always bothered because why?? Would you ever have trusted him?? And knowing I could just pop that in the background without having to put in a lot of lead up was great.

The love notes were definitely my favourites, though, even though only two are actually shown. First we have Iris's:

Dear Eddie, I just wanted to let you know that I love you so much, and you’re one of the kindest, sweetest, and most supportive people I know. Love, Iris

This one did involve little projection on my part because he is one of my faves, but only a little because this is pretty clear in canon and I'm pretty sure everyone in Team Flash and beyond can see this. And then I had Barry's:

Eddie, You’ve always been a good friend, even when I haven’t deserved it. When I tried to save you after your arrest, you ended up being the one comforting me – you saw what the real problem was and no one ever really had before. You’ve no idea how much that meant to me back then. You’re the best friend anyone could have – and the best boyfriend. Love, Barry

While the show did have a few missteps in S1 (Barry's entitlement and the waterfront cheating kiss) for the most part Barry and Eddie had a pretty solid friendship, and that moment was one of the absolute highlights, because we have Barry, the hero of the show, actively prepared to break the law because he can't bear to lose someone else he loves - and Eddie, the would-be rescuee, accused of murder with a lot of evidence against him, stopping him because he has faith that Barry can exonerate him the right way. It's one of the best moments of the episode and the show and I wanted Barry to tell Eddie just how important this moment was.

And for a little while I considered writing out every love note, but I ultimately decided against it because I think these two set the stage well enough that I could just summarise the others - the two of them telling Eddie that they're lucky to have him, that he's an integral part of Team Flash (because that was definitely one of the roots of his insecurities, feeling like an outsider), and that he's one of the best parts of their lives.

In any case, the three of them get to talk it out in the last scenes, Eddie feeling so much love towards them for realising he was starting to spiral and stepping to help how they could, reminding him that he is loved and that he is important - striking back at Eobard's claim of his 'footnote in history' status becuase he will never be a footnote to them, not ever, and Eddie thinks he's very lucky indeed, and I felt that was an excellent place to end it.

Director's Commentary Ask Game

[invisiblegarters]

Only Friends Ranking - Ep 3

Just accept that this is going to be a weekly thing, self. Because these mfers keep making me switch it up. I can't even pretend to be annoyed, tbh.

Characters (Most to Least Fave atm)

Boston - not this motherfucker out here doing the most. And not me genuinely not knowing where the truth ends and the lie begins. If it does. Because honestly? Resetting his own virginity sounds exactly like something Mew would do, especially if Ray was too drunk to remember that it ever happened. As far as Mew knows it was just the two of them - it's not like he suspected Boston was being a creep and recording them - and however he felt or feels about Ray it clearly suits him to pretend nothing ever happened. I would fully believe they did have sex, tbh. And I would fully believe it of Boston to hold onto the evidence and play along as if he didn't know for his own ends, until he has a good time to pull it out (like he literally said Mew is a virgin who can't drive to Top in ep 1). I can't even be mad at him for it. I'm too busy cackling with unholy glee. Whatever games everyone is playing, Boston is the one winning at the moment.

Nick - Except this dude right here is now going to be the one in a position to fuck shit up. This dude is set up to go full on insane and a part of me can't wait. Personally, I hope he uses it to blackmail Boston into exclusivity. Why? My own amusement, mostly. I hope he does that and Boston can't do anything but comply (because he does seem absolutely terrified of Mew actually finding out - which is how we all should know that what he's doing probably has very little to do with Mew and much more to do with Boston and Boston's hangups about himself). And then when he finally gets Boston out of his system he should send the file to Mew. As a final goodbye. Yep, he's shady, we knew he was shady, this comes as no surprise to me. Might as well use what he has to get something of what he wants until he can find something or someone new to fixate on.

Sand - I never thought I'd demote him but I'm kind of bored. Whatever I wanted from him, I'm not getting it. I swear to god if he doesn't pick up a baseball bat at some point...but yes, he's just not giving me what I want and that's fine, not every character can be for me. I just feel currently, in ep three, like they gave him the most bland, almost predictable edit: he's gonna fall for Ray's shit despite himself, he probably had an ex that Top fucked and he hates him good for it, he probably had a parent (my guess is dad) who drove drunk or was killed by a drunk driver and now he has trauma surrounding it, he's going to put up with Ray and be jealous of Mew and probably cry from ep 5 on but hey, the good part is that this edit more than likely means that he has the best chance of getting out of this heartbroken but not in prison or dead. Just don't get in a car with Ray again.

There are two things that that kept him in the third spot today and not further down for the severe crime of disappointing me: the first was flipping off Top. That was hilarious. Even though I fully expect the problems between them to be about an ex and not that they are exes (I swear to god my poor bingo card is just gonna have one thing crossed out by the time this show ends; this hurts me why do you have to kill all my TopSand exes dreams, show? Why do you hate fun?), that was a great interaction and I want more. The second is that there are still times when he's looking at Ray that I don't see fondness, reluctant or otherwise. I see a man assessing how likely it is that the animal in front of him is going to bite. But more and more I am beginning to think I'm delusional because the guarded, emotionally unavailable man I sometimes think I see in Sand is not the one I'm getting in scenes like one in the car after the party (actually he was so smiley and easy in that scene I at first thought he was drunk. Have some pride, dude. I know you're twenty two and dumb but yeesh).

So yes. Three because he made me laugh and because I've still got the clown shoes on, if not the facepaint and orange wig.

Mew - I still think he's being manipulative, but not at Top this ep. I don't think it was coincidence that every time Ray's attention strayed from him this ep, he was right there to give him some encouragement. Ray might have been drunk when he confessed to Mew two years ago (and I'm betting he was, it's his whole thing), but you better believe Mew remembers, and I get the impression that for whatever reason - genuine feeling, wanting to be special, boredom, etc - Mew very very much wants to make sure that Ray never really looks away from him. Part of me wonders if he is kinda into him but he also knows what a bad decision he is, so he's waiting for Ray to clean himself up or for someone else to do the work to help Ray clean himself up (hi, Sand!) before he swoops in to claim the well-adjusted person that's left. If so, kudos dude. I mean that. Because the one thing that tends to be true about the fixer uppers is that they rarely stay with the person who puts in the work.

Even with that though, Mew fell flat for me this ep. And frankly I will be a bit annoyed if it turns out that he isn't actually a virgin, not because I think his virginity is Important but because I liked the idea of a virgin being as sexually confident as he is.

But also if he slept with Ray his whole speech in ep one to Top about how he'd get if he slept with him is taking on a whole new light. Just putting that out there.

That said, I do not think that the call to Ray was part of that manipulation, unless it's manipulative to know which person will come help you no matter what. I'd have called Ray too. He's the only one of Mew's friends who will drop any and everything for him, and a tipsy dude needs to sleep. In all fairness he tried Top first (foreshadowing for endgame, maybe?)

Top - He will get a pass from me on the anger if and only if it turned out that Mew and Ray actually fucked and I will tell you why. Because I would be furious too, but not about the virginity thing. Or Ray being the one he slept with. I would be furious because Mew has been harping on honesty this entire time while lying to him about this thing, this thing that he's actually using as both shield and weapon in their little battle of wills. Sure, Top wants to conquer the virgin or whatever and that's weird but I'm not gonna fixate on it because I already know how people get about virgins, especially when they start to get into their twenties (it's always either being almost afraid like virginity is catching or fixating on being the one to take it like it's a raffle prize), but for me personally the lying while demanding honesty is the thing. And Mew does wield his virgin status like a weapon.

But here's the thing. If he isn't. If Boston isn't lying his ass off or manipulating a situation to seem like something it isn't. If he in fact did sleep with Ray two years ago and then just decided to pretend otherwise because as far as he knew no one was the wiser. Now Top knows. He knows that Mew is a liar and that he's not above telling the kind of lies that can break things.

He's been mostly playing by Mew's rules. But if all of that is true...he won't be anymore. And that's where Mew's gonna get way out of his depth. Because as manipulative as Mew can be, I definitely think Top is better when it comes to this kind of game.

The reason he is so low is because he knows better than to just trust Boston's word. He should have asked, or done something else, anything else but just trust that Boston wasn't being a manipulative turd. He knows Boston wants him, he knows that he's got a ruthless streak. And he mostly went to him in the end because he was mad Mew put him off again. It's also because if Boston didn't show him a full on sex tape, then he's not only stupid but he's entitled. A kiss two years ago is nothing. A love confession two years ago is nothing. Hell, sex two years ago is nothing, if it weren't for the lying.

but at least he's not as low as

Ray - I keep seeing that Ray doesn't know what he's doing, following Sand around and begging him for time and attention constantly. Yes he fucking does. He just doesn't care. He's exactly like Boston, only I will give him that he isn't trying to pretend that he's after more than he is to keep Sand around. Sand's big, beautiful, dumb head is doing most of the work there.

Sand is convenient and fun now. Doesn't ask him for anything and lets him basically get away with being a total dick with a smile and a shake of the head. Of course Ray likes him and wants to be around him. But wait until Sand stops being convenient. As all people eventually do.

But no, I don't blame him for picking up Mew's call mid makeout or for leaving Sand to go to him. I wouldn't even if it wasn't that Mew was tipsy and didn't have his key. The dude has said over and over again that he just wants sex. He's given no indication he's going to give anything else - oh, he'll happily demand and take more from Sand for sure, because he's selfish and he doesn't think past his own immediate pleasure when it comes to him - but he's not offering himself. That was never on the table,

He's low because he annoys me. And because I do actually think that he sees that Sand likes him more than he's willing to reciprocate, but he just flat out doesn't care enough about Sand to care if he hurts himself over it. Ray wants what he wants, and if Sand ever even hints that what Ray wants isn't enough for him Ray will throw their FWB status in his face so hard it'll rattle his teeth. We've already seen him do it more than once here, and Sand wasn't even asking for more, just trying to warn Ray how he was coming off!

He'll leave Sand for Mew again, too. Mark my words. It'll happen over and over until Sand (hopefully) finally gets it through his gorgeous skull that he's fighting a battle he can only lose and puts and end to it (and then Ray will probably have a rich kid tantrum about it because his toys aren't allowed to decide he no longer gets to play with them). And then when you throw his alcohol issues into the mix...

I have a feeling Ray saw his only time above the low end of this list last week. It was a good run. I am still delighted that I aggressively dislike this character though. Between this and Kang from Dangerous Romance this is apparently my era to dislike characters played by some of my favorite actors and I am living.

I am not even putting my girl Chueam on the list because she had like four lines this week. But hey, now we know Title is playing her bro! I was wondering when he would show up. And I wonder if he still has some connection to Sand, since he did in that one chart Jojo posted forever and a year ago (I am also wondering if Yo is related to them as well - big sis?)

Relationships

The only relationships I am interested in this week are the ones we don't know much about. Top and Sand, Nick and Sand, Sand and Boston. Kinda sorta Ray and Mew in that I really want to know if they did the do or not (that they will eventually smash is taken as read by me, but I am curious if it happened before too), and whether Mew's apparent disinterest is real or he's just waiting for Ray to get his shit together to be the kind of boyfriend Mew wants.

But if I had to pick an "established" couple (insofar as any of these guys are established, lol), I think I'm most interested in Boston and Nick right now. Least interested in Ray and Sand, but that's par for the course.

Top and Mew I expect to fight Nick and Boston for the number one spot next Sat.

In Conclusion

We're getting some real mess and I for one couldn't be happier. Full speed ahead on the messy train, Nick come on out and go hogwild. Give our boy Boston a run for his money.

I expect we won't see fallout from the car event in the messy olympics for an episode or two. Mew and Top gotta work through the Ray issue (or pretend to), and they both have to settle back into believing that they have the other one right where they want them (or, maybe, actually start to like each other). Nick has to decide what he's gonna do and how much havoc he wants to wreak (my guess is he'll let Boston or Sand talk him into sitting on it for a while, if Boston finds out. But that won't laaaaast). Ray has to maneuver Sand around his own wariness (shouldn't take long) and into the pale imitation of what he really wants with someone else.

They've all gotta get comfortable. But not too comfortable. What would be the fun in that?