#I've played games for hours with no change

[bbybaku]

BOY NEXT DOOR SHIG

i actually really like this one. like might be my fav thing I've ever posted lol. slow burn i fear. ends w smut. as always

follows the American academic calendar sorry its all i know and it'll make sense why at the end

5k ish words (sorry idk how this one got so long)

warnings: uhh slow burn, smut, multiple positions, make out, dirty talk, choking, dom shig, slight voyeurism, slight exhibitionism

you went to college a little over an hour away from where your parents lived.

which meant you only really went home and stayed with them on school breaks. Summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas break.

You didnt think or wish to be back at your parent's house, your whole life was at college. Your friends, your stuff, your job.

That was until your parents got a new neighbor over the summer.

He was tall and kind of lanky. He had long fluffy blueish-white hair that was a little past his shoulders and always slightly in his face.

You saw him and what looked like his dad moving in.

Their new house was the one right next to your bedroom window.

Your parents went next door to introduce themselves. They came back and told you that the boy was only a year older than you and he was also in college.

You asked more questions, what school? What is his name? Does he live at home? is he on social media?

but they said they didnt know. They told you to go over and introduce yourself but you had a better idea.

You knew better then to open your bedroom window. For all you knew the new boys dad could be in the room directly next to yours.

But you did it anyway. You took down the curtains, opened the blinds and opened your window.

It was summer after all.

You never got the opportunity to talk to the boy over the summer.

You saw him in passing.

He was akward. When you saw him in the neighborhood he would give you one of those closed-mouth smiles and lift his hand in a wave. he was so hot in one of those loser-man type of ways.

You also saw him doing yard work. He never took his shirt off but he had more muscle on on than you initially thought.

Luckily, the neighbor boy also took the bedroom across from yours and he seemed to notice your open window.

Sometimes in the evenings he would open his too.

there was a little bit of distance between the houses but you could still occasionally hear the music he was listening to, you could hear him talking while he was gaming, and sometimes you would wait until he was in his bedroom with his window open to change clothes.

you hoped he would notice. maybe even take interest.

but as the summer ended and you packed up for school you knew you had to accept that it was too soon. you knew it needed time.

as the semester progressed you tried to forget the neighbor boy. you went out with you friends, you went to class, and you lived your life but he was always there in the back of your mind.

no matter where you were or what you were doing you couldn’t help but think of him. what he was doing, where he was, his long slender hands, the veins on his forearms. when you would listen to him talk to his friends. if he had a girlfriend.

obsession is a big word but you were swiftly approaching it with how often you thought about him.

when you went home for thanksgiving in mid-november you were actually ecstatic, unlike your usual sadness to have to leave your life behind. not this time, you were going to get to see him.

even if if was in passing or if it was just listing to him play video games through his window.

something was anything.

and anything was something.

just like he did over the summer he opened his window in the evening.

you tried not to stare into his house but it was much more decorated and lived in than it had been over the summer.

he had posters on his walls, better lighting, furniture arranged to be more fung shiu, and dirty clothes on the ground.

what you would do to get a hold of his dirty laundry.

he still played video games at night and listened to music.

you still changed infront off the window.

you two saw each other in passing and he did the same thing he did over the summer.

a closed mouth smile and his hand would lift up as a wave.

but now your parents and his dad were friends so they had more to tell you about him.

you had to play it cool they couldn't know that you were obsessed, no you were asking out of morbid curiosity.

your parents told you his name was tomura shigaraki. his dad adopted him, it was just the two of them, he was a year older than you and he was in computer science.

and no it did not seem like he had a girlfriend.

you had to hide your excitement.

how much did he know about you? was he even interested?

as your excitement began to dwindle and you got ready to leave home and go back to school for the last few weeks of the semester you herd someone call out your name.

you looked up and sure enough getting out of his car was the neighbor boy, tomura.

“hey! you’re (y/n) right?”

you tried to control yourself. you knew your face had to be beet red.

“oh yeah hey”

“well i just wanted to say hello" a pause. he looked around a little awkwardly, then finished his train of thought "im tomura.”

you gave a small smile “it was nice to meet you tomura, i guess ill see you around”

he did his little wave and went inside.

you could feel the butterflies in your stomach.

you couldn’t get his devious little grin out of your head.

he had to be interested. you two were the same age and the same demographic. he was a loser and you were beautiful.

if you weren’t obsessed before, now there was no denying it.

the last three weeks of the semester went by agonizingly slow. even your friends noticed your distracted demeanor.

you chose not to tell them. you didn’t want to ruin the magic. and you didn’t want to sound delusional about the neighbor you’ve been stalking and only spoken to once.

when the semester finally ended you were practically already packed and ready to head home.

you spent the entire drive trying to calm yourself down. knowing you had to play it cool around the neighbor boy. around tomura.

you got home and pulled into the driveway, you noted that his car was in his driveway.

you walked in the front door and were met with not only your parents, but also tomura and his dad.

your eyes instantly met.

you dropped the bag you were carrying.

“oh hey” you said not breaking eye contact.

“uhh what’s up” he said sounding nervous but there was no denying that he was happy to see you.

your parents introduced the two of you. he awkwardly shook your hand. you could feel how clammy they were.

your mom announced that tomura and his father would be coming to their yearly holiday party that they throw every year.

you had to rein in your excitement.

“oh, I'm excited to see you guys there”

they left and you immediately went upstairs to scream into your pillow, with your window closed of course.

the holiday party's theme was to wear holiday-esc clothes, you knew who would be there so of course you wore a little black dress and a santa hat.

you saw tomura walk in but you didn't approach him, not yet.

he was wearing a collared shirt under an oversized dark green sweater with Christmas symbols on it that looked thrifted.

you helped yourself to the access of alcohol that both your parents and their guests provided.

you had left your window closed the last few days in anticipation of seeing him tonight.

you noticed he was drinking a beer. your eyes met from across the room. he was standing next to his dad, talking to a group of neighbors.

you were talking to a different neighbor, an old lady who was telling you to dress more modestly.

you risked a glance. he was checking you out. how little you left to the imagination in your little dress.

he caught your eyes and blushed, looking away instantly. he was back into the conversation as soon as he looked away and you looked back.

you excused your self for more alcohol.

you talked to your mom

felt the warm effects of the alcohol.

made eyecontact with tomura.

talked to some more of the party guests

more prolonged eye contact.

You were laying it on thick with your "fuck me eyes"

after what felt like an eternity of dancing around each other finally, your parents were talking to him and his dad.

you joined the circle, only a little motivated by the alcohol you had been drinking all night.

the alcohol that mad the blood rush between your legs a little more than usual.

your parents were asking him about college. he answered their question but was staring at you.

"- yeah I dont really have plans after graduation I'll probably just go wherever the wind takes me kind of thing"

he didnt take his eyes off you. even after he finished talking. he was a good head taller than you. his hair had gotten longer but it still looked good on him. you noticed the contrast of his light hair against his dark eyebrows. he was well-groomed. clean shaven. you wondered what he would look like first thing in the morning with stubble and no shirt on-

"Y/n?"

"Sorry?"

"they were asking about your plans after college"

"Oh um- Im also not sure yet, Ive been looking into grad school but I'm still on the fence,"

your eyes flicked to tomura, an invitation.

"Now, if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go get some water."

he took the bait, "I think im gonna get some water too"

he followed you to the makeshift bar on the kitchen island.

you poured yourself another drink.

he cracked open another beer

“so what are you drinking?”

he shrugged and took a sip

“doesn’t taste very good”

you simply nodded. you could feel the heat on your cheeks. all these months of thinking about him and now you have absolutely nothing to say.

“so you study-“

“can we quit it with the small talk?”

he stepped closer to you and wrapped his free a hand around your waist, he leaned down so that his mouth was right next to your ear.

he said it just quietly enough that only you could hear, “i don’t want to act like i haven’t been jerking off to you changing in front of your open window and you can’t act like you’re not the little slut who opens her window and gets naked for me.”

you flushed. your blood should be cold from the embarrassment but it wasn't.

it was the opposite.

you felt like you were on fire.

it felt like your excitement was pooling in your underwear.

you realized he was still holding on to you, he hadn't moved.

it was like you and tomura were the last two people on earth. your surroundings a blur,

"wanna get out of here"

"yes. yes please" you whispered.

"thats what i like to hear"

he took your hand and walked you to the back hallway of the party since so many people were blocking the front door and the stairs.

he stopped you in front of one of the doors.

you wanted him so bad that a drunk makeout next to the guest bedroom was enough.

your back was against the wall and one of his hands was leaning against the wall next to your head.

"do you ever think about me when you're away?" he whispers.

you run a hand down his chest. stomach. brush your fingers against something else.

something hard.

"all the fucking time" you whisper back.

he doesn't say anything.

he pins your back to the wall with his body. his hand runs through your hair.

his hand does it again.

youre looking down.

his hand grabs your jaw and forces you to look up him.

he inspects your face, eyes lingering on your lips,

and then he kisses you.

not a little gentle kiss.

your mouth is met by his wet open mouth.

your hands locked around his neck, one of his hands found your waist and the other was in your scalp.

you could feel his hard on.

you rubbed your sex on him and he sucked in a breath while kissing you.

his tongue was exploring your mouth, he wanted in while simultaneously sucking on your bottom lip and biting your tongue.

tomura was warm, he smelled like ocean and spice and laundry detergent. he was all you wanted and more.

he pulled away from the kiss and took a step away from you. he wiped your mouth with his sleeve and then wiped his.

an old man you recognized as one of your moms coworkers wandered back into the hallway.

you quickly understood why tomura just pulled away.

“this isn’t the bathroom” he said looking between the two of you.

you and tomura look at each other and fake a laugh.

his face was flushed, his hair a mess, and your there was a tint the color of your lipstick around his mouth.

"oh yeah we were just talking about college. the bathroom is that way." you pointed to where the party was happening

the man smiled and walked away.

once he was gone you and tomura went right back to what you were doing.

this one wasn’t like the first one though.

it was rougher. it was something more

tomura grabbed your jaw with one hand and squeezed your ass with the other, saying between passionate kisses,

“you have no idea how badly i’ve wanted this”

he pulled on your hair, forcing your head to angle up towards his face.

you can’t ignore his big strong hands, the length of his fingers, the veins on his arms just peeking out from under his rolled up sweater sleeves.

your santa hat must have fallen off a while ago.

his other hand on your ass kneaded it like it was bread dough.

he grabbed at your ass by the handful, pulling on the skin and fat and muscle before letting it go, occasionally feeling your waist, the swell of your hips, and then going right back in for your ass and repeating the process.

his tongue explored the inside of your mouth like it belonged to him. he sucked on your bottom lip, shoved his tongue in, sucked on your mouth with his entire mouth all in no particular order.

you pressed your hips into him and liked what you found.

with one arm wrapped around his neck, you other massaging his scalp and occasionally pulling his hair, a signal to him to come closer to you.

you moved back and into him again. grinding against him. he was hot and hard.

you removed your hand from his scalp and palmed his member.

he pulled off your mouth but not your body and let out a shaky breath.

“if we start with that i won’t be able to stop” he whispered into your hair.

“who said that’s a bad thing” you whipered back.

you could feel his smile against you even though you couldn’t see his face, “i never said it was bad but maybe we should find somewhere more private”

“can we sneak out to your place?”

this was when he pulled his body off of yours and you could see his smirk, “i think that’s a great idea.”

the two of you tried to tidy each other up as best as you could but there was no denying the fact the the two of you just did something. both of your cheeks were flushed, hair was ruffled, and clothes disheveled.

there was also no denying his excitement. you pulled his sweater down to help him attempt the hide the tent in his pants.

he mumbled out a "thanks" and looked away blushing.

he walked out into the party first, raising his eyebrows at you as he said to meet him outside in ten minutes.

you counted to 100 before entering the party so as not to look suspicious.

you didn’t want your parents old and nosy friends know yours and tomura’s business.

you found your parents and stood in on their conversation. casually looking around every chance you got to find him. you spotted him in the kitchen standing next to his dad talking to a woman.

he was standing with his hands in his pockets, slouching, his cheeks still pink, his lips a little swollen, and his his looked like someone had just ran their hands through it.

you noticed you were staring. then you noticed he was staring at you too. he gave you a small smile and he pointed his head toward the front door.

you gave him a small nod in agreement.

you whispered to your mom that you were going to go sit outside and to not worry about you.

she had a few drinks in her system and was more concerned about her holiday party than whatever nonsense her daughter was up to, so it was easy to slip away.

you instantly started walking towards the front door when you felt a hand grab yours. you didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

the next five minutes were a blur.

your hand in his.

running over to his house.

his frantic effort to unlock the front door.

instantly making out against the front door once inside.

running up the stairs with him right behind you.

hands intertwined.

barely making it to his room before, once again, aggressively making out against his closed bedroom door.

tomura peeled your desss off in one fluid motion and picked you up throwing, you on his bed.

he whipped his sweater off, and climbed on top of you.

you began to undo the buttons on his white button down but he stopped you,

"ah ah, not yet. its my turn"

he pulled one of your breasts out of your bra, nipple already hard, and put his mouth around your nipple.

his right hand finds yours, interlocking fingers and pressing you to the bed.

his left hand finds your other breast and kneads on it. pulling on your nipple, grabbing the flesh with his palm and fingers.

all while milking your other.

his mouth sucking and teeth bruising there was nothing you could do to conceal the unholy wimpers he coaxed out of you.

his eyes find yours.

“look at me” he says then resumes what he was doing.

your mind couldn't form coherent thoughts.

the only thing you could focus on was the pleasure you were experiencing at his hands.

and mouth.

your hips find his.

you could feel his rock-hard member in his pants.

your free hand finds his member between the two of you and you rub your hand up and down him over his pants.

he inhales shakily.

"mmm not yet" he whispered into your breast.

he maneuvers to switch sides, his mouth now on the opposite breast and his hand cupping the breast his mouth was just on.

your back arches and you moan as his mouth makes contact.

you couldn't stop yourself from grinding your hips against his again.

he bit your nipple in response, getting a yelp out of you.

you knew for sure by now that you were soaked through your panties.

since Tomura had taken your dress off your arousal was evident but his attention was still on your breasts.

he was holding one of your hands and the other was in his hair, nails scratching circles on his scalp and occasionally pulling on his hair.

your hips still moving against his you gave a tug on his hair for his attention.

he kept his mouth where it was but stopped what he was doing, lazily looking up.

you pet his hair and whispered "can we please?" pushing your hips into his for emphasis.

he raised his eyebrows slowly.

he removed his mouth from your nipple dramatically with a loud sucking noise.

he sat up and switched the position he was in to now hold down both of your wrists with one of his hands and to hold your hips down with the other,

"I said not yet,"

and he turned his attention to the nipple he had previously been working on.

you thought you couldn't have been more aroused but with his new found control over you? you could have come just from the sight of him.

your hips struggled against his arm, seeking any form of release as you whimpered in pleasure from the love he gave to your nipple.

you came out of your trance and realized he was still fully clothed and you were still wearing your bra and underwear.

he removed himself from you slowly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and pushing his mane of hair out of his face.

you were breathing heavily and slightly disoriented from what he had just done.

"lets get rid of these, shall we?"

he started to pull off your underwear. and you went ahead and removed your bra.

"it cant be fair that im the only one who's naked?"

you motioned to him still being almost fully dressed save for the sweater he had been wearing over his now half unbuttoned button-down shirt.

shigaraki sighed and began unbuttoning his shirt

"I thought you preferred to be naked?" he looked up at you and smirked "or are you just a show off?"

you didnt really have a good response to his call out so all you could do was stare at him.

you watched him undress making sure to emphasize one of your signature looks, the fuck me eyes.

he definitely noticed your gaze.

he smirked back at you as he stood up and shucked off his pants.

Leaving him in nothing but a pair of blue plaid boxers.

your favorite.

he crawled back onto the bed and sat on his knees in between your legs, where you lay on your back. head propped up with pillows and still panting from what his magic mouth and fingers just did with your nipples.

he locked eyes with you, hooked his hands underneath your knees, and pulled your bottom half up to him.

he pushed your legs up, essentially folding you in half as he brought his mouth down to yours.

He kissed you sweetly and deeply. with care but also disrespect like he would stop if you asked you him to but you were pulling him closer, scratching his back, and grinding against his member.

so he squeezed your thigh, groped your boob a little tighter, and explored the cavern of your mouth a bit deeper with his tongue.

his hand previously on your tit found your throat. he choked you as his mouth pulled from yours.

the pressure of his hand caused your mouth to open, searching for air and only getting a little bit of it.

he squeezed tighter as he licked down the column of your neck and back up.

kissing your mouth lightly one last time as he released your throat and started kissing down your body.

kissing down to your soaking wet sex.

his hand stroked your face at first. he kissed your jaw, your neck, your chest, booth boobs, your navel, then he found the space between your legs. he lifted your legs over his shoulders and started kissing you there too.

he kissed your clit similarly to how he kissed your mouth at first. softly. respectfully. passionately. like he was waiting for permission.

you gave it to him by grabbing a handful of hair and rubbing yourself against his face. you could feel his nose and his smirk on your sweet spot.

he took your invitation, and you could hear him inhale through his nose he grabbed two handfuls of your ass and went to work.

with his mouth on your clit you could feel him sucking on it, lapping his tongue against it, and eventually sticking two fingers into your sopping entrance.

you couldn't hold your moans in. especially once his veiny, long-fingered hand was pumping in and out.

your first orgasm didnt even build it just ripped through you, without anything you could have done to stop it.

shigaraki, satisfied enough with his handy work sat up and whipped your wet from his mouth with the back of his hand.

you could have orgasmed again from the sight of his flushed cheeks and messy hair in the ambient lighting of his bedroom.

"your so fucking hot" you couldn't stop yourself from saying.

his hazy eyes found yours "You should see yourself right now" he gave you that smirk after he said it.

there was no hiding his arousal. he pulled his boxers down and his member sprang free.

he was hung.

8 inches long and thick.

all you could do was stare your mouth slightly open and your blood pumping between your legs.

"you like what you see i take it," he says that fucking smirk on his face.

all you could do was nod your head.

he spits on the tip and starts pumping himself as he moves forward toward you.

he hooks his arm under your right leg and maneuvers himself between your legs.

"you ready?"

you hum in response

"mmm i need a yes"

"yes, I am ready"

"good girl, thats what i like to hear,"

he inserts himself slowly, you feel the familiar sting of being stretched out

tomura pauses, looking at you as if asking permission to continue.

your hand is covering your mouth but you nod for him to continue.

he does.

you look down to see that he is not even halfway in.

"oh my god" you whisper "its so fucking big"

he just smiles, not losing his focus on what he is doing.

once hes almost all the way in he pauses again, looking at you for permission to continue.

"can you start moving slowly?"

he doesn't acknowledge your words other than thrusting in and out as slowly as he can,

with each thrust in you couldnt with hold your whimpers.

tomura was slowly increasing speed and how deep he was going,

"is this okay" he asked his breath slightly shaking

"oh my god yea" you struggle to get out

he pushes the leg hooked. under his arm up higher and finally bottoms out in you,

you both moan.

"fuck, youre so tight,"

"you youre so big"

his hand hound your face and stroked your cheek before he took your jaw in his hand,

"youre so fucking beautiful"

you could feel your heart flutter in your chest as he pounded in and out of you and an unholy speed.

"lets switch positions"

you hum in response, so fucked out that you couldn't form coherent words.

he grabs a pillow and flips you over, shoving the pillow underneath your hips.

he taps the small of your back, you spread your knees and arch your back for him, grabbing one of the other pillows to hold in your arms.

tomura grabs hold of your hips and inserts himself, going in smoother this time.

just because the entry was easier did not mean the new angle was any mind boggling.

and tomura was not holding himself back in the slightest, he moaned once he was all the way in and wasted no time in absolutely fucking the shit out of you.

you didnt know it was possible for a human being to experience pleasure like this. your second orgasm of the night rips through you with an inhuman moan.

tomura gathers up your hair and pulls you toward him,

"came again so soon? thats my girl"

he wraps one hand around your throat the other finds your shoulder to use as leverage as he continues to fuck you from behind.

his thrusts begin to stutter losing speed and consistency,

"im close i wanna see your face"

"okay" you say through breaths

he once again flips you over, pumping himself as you readjust the pillows under your head and hips,

tomura heaves your legs up and enters you one last time.

your hands find the back of his head and you pull his face up to yours as he resumes his no longer consistent pace.

his hand finds your throat and your other hand finds his bicep, squeezing at the cords of muscle,

you look up at him slowly, from the sight of his cock entering in and out of you, his muscular upper body, to his big red eyes staring down at you. watching you watch him.

one last orgasm rips through you, starting in your stomach and then spreading to your core and to the rest of your body.

tomura finishes at the same time as you, pulling out and coming all over your stomach and boobs.

the two of you just sit there for a moment. both of you breathing heavy. both of you fucked out of your minds.

tomura is the first to break the silence.

he swallows and rubs his jaw,

"do you think we should go back to the party because I kind of want to do that again?"

m.list

#shigaraki smut #lov smut #mha fanfiction #mha smut #shigaraki x you #yandere shigaraki #mha headcanons #shigaraki tomura #bnha shigaraki #shigaraki x reader #mha shigaraki

[luimagines]

Hear me out...

Reader who knows about the "someone will die" from the Sheikah Slate.

Reader who ran the numbers, and realized Legend and Warriors were the only ones who had nothing left to guarantee, or even hint that they survived, unlike Time, who has to have Twilight, Wild who has TotK, Sky and Wind who both have to found Hyrule.

Reader who also knows about the grey area, the ones that should survive this journey, but only based on flimsy evidence or who will meet a terrible fate soon enough. Hyrule, and only his game guide stating he is destined to become a great king, Four and the Palace of the Four Sword.

Whether they know this through playing the games, reading the comic and being isekaied, or having some sort of gift of prophecy, they know about this.

And they're determined not to let it happen.

If the heroes die, game over. Reader isn't the protagonist. They're a sidekick with all the death flags raised.

A Reader who is determined to take the place of whoever will die on this journey, because they can't let it be any of the boys. The world is better off if it's them, and not the boys, right?

And if they were isekaied as a human, a Chain of Links blaming themselves. For not seeing the courage hidden in a human. For not having the wisdom to see beyond the surface. For not having the power to stop this. For allowing their prejudices to get in the way of seeing the signs.

And on top of that, a Reader who plays into the prejudices. Who acts like a "big, scary, greedy, traitorous human", because maybe they can soften the blow of grief if they make themselves somebody nobody would grieve over. Reader whose words will conflict with their actions, saying "I don't like kids", then raging at a monster for going near one. Maybe Reader wasn't even ready to die. They're still scared to the end, but so determined. They still have family back home, they still had plans for the future. But, they're probably assumed dead anyway. What does changing a false into a truth even do? They notice these thoughts, and go through sleepiness nights so their brain won't even have the energy to think them...

Anyway, remember to get 8 hours of sleep and drink some water as well, dehydration is bad for you.

I've actually thought of that idea before of a character with the "nothing to lose if I die" attitude because if the the Hero dies, it's game over.

However, I think that Link (any of them would do) would be able to see through their act because they're perceptive power combined would be too high for Reader to hide all their intentions and lies.

And I had to say one thing, I think Reader would still pay attention with Time as well. Because it's heavily implied that he died young and we know that he died with regrets. The fact that Twilight exists isn't necessarily enough to stop that. In fact, it might be the very thing that could cause it.

Meaning, Reader has to do double the effort to not only keep the Old Man alive, but to also focus on any of the other boy's blind spots as well.

#pinky replies #human! reader

[mirpuzzle]

I've been really curious about this, who are your top ten Yu-Gi-Oh characters?

Hello! 🌷 Usually, I only have a few favorites. So, aside from the first three, the rest is constantly changing. I'll try to put them in order (all under the cut).

♡. 10 ── Carly Nagisa (5Ds)

What's not to love about her? She's funny, pretty, and a complete mess of a person. She gets in all sorts of trouble, all because she's trying to make a living. I like it when she gets screen time.

♡. 9 ── Noa Kaiba (DM)

He was my favorite as a kid, so I still have a special place in my heart for him. His story made me cry. He did not deserve that. He only wanted others to understand him. You're valid, Noa.

♡. 8 ── Yusei Fudo (5Ds)

It's rare for me to favor a protagonist. That's how you know he's good. This man is a blessing to Yugioh. He has a natural charisma that's impossible to ignore. He's perfect.

♡. 7 ── Bandit Keith (DM)

...I think. I have mixed feelings toward him. I don't even know why he's on this list. I keep going to him in games where Kotsuzuka is not there. So, that must mean I like him, right? I'm confused.

Cross Duel showed me he can be really nice to you if you help him win. I appreciate how he helps other duelists fortify their decks, using the themes they originally had instead of giving them a completely new deck. He cares.

While there's no excuse for what he did to Kotsuzuka and the boys, the fact that, behind that 'bad guy' front, there's a sad, broken man makes me feel bad for him. He deserves to heal.

♡. 6 ── Ryou Bakura (DM)

The anime doesn't do him justice. The more I learn about him through other fans and Duel Links, the more I like him. He's a precious cream puff who likes spooky stuff and is treated terribly by almost everyone. He deserves better (friends).

♡. 5 ── Divine (5Ds)

This man is terrible in every way, and that's the point. I hate that his character was designed to be hated. He gets no backstory, no redemption arc, no nothing. I pity him. He's the worst. I love this guy.

♡. 4 ── Thief King Bakura (DM)

PLEASE give this guy a break. He has gone through enough.

♡. 3 ── Kiyoshi Takaido & Satake (DM)

They share third place because I can't have one without the other. I automatically started loving them because they're close friends with Kotsuzuka. I like that they care about him. These guys have so much potential to explore, and it's a shame we see so little of them.

They're not 'Keith's lackeys'. They're duelists in their own right. They have ambitions and aspirations. They just didn't get to be in the spotlight.

♡. 2 ── Yami Bakura (DM)

Sometimes switches places with Takaido and Satake but usually stays in second place. He's wickedly perfect. From his gorgeous design to how he pretends everything is part of his plan, even though he's literally dissipating into nothingness. And he has the nerve to make empty threats that he never carries out.

There's something beautiful about this ancient evil spirit dedicating his existence to fulfill his objective - all while showing us that he can enjoy normal human activities, like playing games. The complexity of his character captivates me. You can study him for hours, and it will still take you a while to figure him out due to his confusing lore.

The way he makes others suffer causes me to have mixed feelings. Sure, I love angst. I just wish there were some feelings involved.

Seeing him make enemies with almost everyone he crosses paths with makes me think he wants to keep everyone away, and that's sad. I want him to care about someone other than himself. I want someone to care about him.

♡. 1 ── Ghost Kotsuzuka (DM)

Yes, that one guy who's known for using Zombie-Type monsters. That short, spooky 15-year-old who walks around hunched over pretending to be a ghost, not realizing he's too cute to be scary. That naive boy who trusted the wrong person and then was unlucky enough to cross paths with the main antagonist. He's my favorite.

I love him. The way his eyes light up when he talks about the things he likes is adorable. I could listen to him gush about ghosts for hours.

His character tends to be frustratingly misinterpreted and overlooked. It's sad that some people think of him as nothing more than collateral damage to Yami Bakura's 'mischief'. He deserves better than that.

When you see past his 'side antagonist' role, you realize he's a precious little guy who's trying his best. Behind that ghostly, mischievous smile, there's a lost youth looking for guidance from a 'big bro' figure he can look up to, whether he realizes this or not.

Despite the differences in his characterization between the manga, anime, and games, one thing remains consistent. He grows into someone who wants to prove he can duel by himself.

But what does he get? Nothing but pain. Betrayed, deceived, ending up dead or lost in the darkness, condemned in almost every canon, with only his sentient Duel Links data to remember him by.

He only wanted to duel.

---------------------ꕥ

I'll stop here. Otherwise, I'll be talking about Kotsuzuka for hours. Thank you so much for the ask! ♡ Sorry that it took a while. I was struggling to organize what I wanted to say for some of the characters, and I wanted to add some art :3

Keep in mind that I've only seen Duel Monsters and the first half of 5Ds, so there are many characters I don't know yet.

#yugioh #yami bakura #ghost kotsuzuka #kiyoshi takaido #satake #bonz #Bandit Keith #Yami Bakura talk #Kotsuzuka talk #Bandit Keith talk #Yugioh talk #Duel Monsters #yugioh sid #yugioh zygor #Takaido #yugioh fanart #fanart #my art #yugioh 5ds #yugioh bonz

[octuscle]

hey dude, I’m not a writer, but a bro sent me this request and I think the chronivac team can help him out

I’m a 21 year old gay geek who lives in a very loving but nerdy family. My dad is a geek who has been taking me to gaming conventions since I was little. Me and all my brothers take after him. I love my family, but I’ve always wondered what it would have been like growing up with a jock family. Could I have been the jock I fantasize about being if I had more masculine influences in my life?

March 10th, 2024

I never thought my family would turn into a bunch of fitness fanatics, but here we are. Mom, Dad, even my little brothers, they're all obsessed with this new super athletic lifestyle. Protein shakes, chicken breasts, and hours at the gym have become the norm in our household.

I used to be content with my telescope and chessboard, but now I find myself being dragged to the gym and force-fed protein shakes. It's like my family has become a cult, and I'm the reluctant follower. I'm not sure how I feel about all of this.

March 25th, 2024

I can't believe how quickly things have changed. Just a few weeks ago, I was the nerdy kid who spent his days studying the stars and playing chess. Now, I'm a typical high school jock, hanging out with the popular crowd and making fun of anyone who doesn't fit in.

I've traded my telescope for dumbbells and my chessboard for a football. And the worst part? I'm starting to enjoy it. I feel powerful and invincible, like I can do anything. But I'm also starting to notice a mean streak in myself that I never knew existed.

April 10th, 2024

I've become a bully. I can't believe I'm saying that, but it's true. I'm the one pushing kids into lockers and stealing their lunch money now. And the worst part? I'm not even sorry about it.

I've also developed this gross habit of forcing kids to smell the stench from my sweaty armpit after football practice. It's like I get some sick pleasure out of humiliating others. What has happened to me?

April 30th, 2024

Yo, dude, like, physically, I'm a whole new person now. Went from a scrawny little dude to a 280-pound muscle beast. My clothes are bursting at the seams, and I gotta turn sideways to squeeze through doors. But hey, ain't complaining - diggin' all the stares I'm getting. And guess what? Bagged a wrestling scholarship to a college out in the Midwest. Me, the dude who used to daydream about space and stuff, gonna be slammin' in the ring for a college team. It's bonkers, but man, I'm totally stoked about it.

May 20th, 2024

Yo, OMG, peeps! I am legit ecstatic right now, like I never in a million years thought I'd be uttering those words, but BOOM, it's straight facts, fam! E'en though I've gone through some major transformations, like morphing into this 280-pound jacked AF bodybuilder who lowkey bullies nerds, I am L-I-V-I-N-G my best life and am beyond stoked about it! I've finally discovered where I belong in this crazy world, and that's under them bright lights on the wrestling mat, ready to throw down and slam some bodies, chug some protein shakes, and maybe, just maybe, dial back on the bully vibes a smidge. Here's to the next epic chapter in my saga, AKA living my dream and taking names! #OnTopOfTheWorld #LivingMyTruth #BodySlamsAndBulkingBro

#male tf #muscle tf #reality change #chronivac #ai image

[technowings]

Anyone else's phone getting real hot when they're on tumblr mobile?

#tumblr mobile #I've played games for hours with no change #but tumblr mobile makes it toasty in 30 seconds #galaxy s22 #techno babble

[citrinide]

Saying this in the nicest way possible.

Some people really need to shut up.

#cecil.fm #DESPERATELY begging some of you to stop ignoring huge parts of a character JUST because you like them #He's an asshole. He's CONSISTENTLY an asshole. He makes slights and unnecessary judgements toward EVERYONE. PLEASE IT'S NOT JUST THE CHASSIS #yes this is about Wheatley obviously I'm going to be pissed over people misinterpreting characters from my special interest AGAIN #I was there when people UwU-ified him and treated him like a precious baby while demonising GLaDOS at the same time I'm bashing heads in rn #they're. fucking. FOILS!!! #THEY'RE BOTH BAD PEOPLE OH MY GOD THEY BOTH MAKE UNNECESSARILY RUDE REMARKS YOU NEED TO ACCEPT THIS OH MY GOD #I am begging oh my fucking god #there's moments where I see this behaviour and like desperately want to block people because oh my god what ELSE are you blatantly ignoring #like I'm not innocent either here I'll be the FIRST to admit my f/o is a shitty person too! He's a pathetic little suck up #he's annoying and so fucking rude but I'm not ignoring any of that! #The portal fandom has such an issue with this I swear to god. nothings changed we're going in circles. character analysis is dead. #I think thats what made me cancel LaaC originally too. fuck. #this is why I stay in my little Aperture Tag corner. Because at LEAST we aren't operating under the false pretense that Nigel is some saint #forcing you all (non-specific) to play the game again and TRY to explain away the blatant instances of him being all types of awful #just a general sentiment I've seen again recently that I REALLY despise. stop declawing characters im going to MAUL you #anyway sorry for the tag rant im just very passionate about this game and people misinterpreting characters WILDLY off is. Yeah :)) #extra note: blaming the chassis for his actions as if he wasn't predisposed to that behaviour is a stupid ass take and always has been <3 #i could go on for hours but I'd hit the note limit so <3 #one of my biggest pet peeves in fandom honestly.

[moonchild-in-blue]

Being so brave about the fact that I have lost all of my Sims files and not crying 🙂👍

#I haven't played in almost a year #and i really got the itch to do it #but for some reason all of my worlds are gone 🙃 #i managed to reinstall all of my cc #and i have the save files RIGHT THERE #but they won't load??? or even appear in game? #I SPENT YEARS ON THEM #I HAD 1 REALLY GOOD RUN AND IT'S GONE I CAN'T BELIEVE IT #I've been trying everything on Google but nothing works #and it's silly and i can just remake it i guess but... all of my sims. all of them. #i had one fully customised town. i even changed half of the npcs and buildings to suit me and have Actual Interesting People to interact #AND THEY ARE GONE. YEARS AND HOURS OF SILLY WORK GONE #i'm so okay rn. this is silly like. it's a game. BUT!!! #whatever #darya talks to herself

[bunnyb34r]

I wish my brain would let me play video games again without a care

Now I'm like "no I can't bc I'm wasting my precious free time. I can't reason using my day off to play video games when I could be using that time to do literally anything else" like fucking come on

#marquilla #and i work part time! so i theoretically have a shitload of time to do this but i dont think I've even turned on any of my games since i #started working like i used to spend my nights playing animal crossing until the early morning hours and now im like noo i cant sorry #same with watching tv series like no sorry i have to watch the same two channels every day bc they keep me on track time wise #like oh medium is on? it's 11am. oh bbc world news tonight is on? it's 7:30pm LIKE BITCH YOU CAN ENJOY THINGS YOU DONT NEED TO BE #ON A SCHEDULE ALL THE TIME #one time my mom changed the channel on the living room tv (it's been on one channel 24/7 for years bc it's the one channel we can agree on #and we need the background noise) and when i was getting ready for work i was thrown off so bad bc the good wife wasnt on and thats whats on #when i put my shoes on for work and i was like ????? as soon as i got home i changed the channel back ahhdhdgd i was like nope i need it #but yknow def not autistic. nope not me. gotta be something else #im trying so hard to break my routine hence going to The movies and shit bc hey im watching something new! i AM somewhere different. i am #DOING something else. but it's so hard to get my head to be okay with even this minor change #AUGH

[sherlock-is-ace]

.

#not to be depressing in new year's eve but i feel so shit right now... #all year i've been so out of myself not enjoying anything #and what i do manage to enjoy takes up like an hour of my life and then it becomes disappointing #that's how i would describe the past few months... disappointing #everything feels flat #I can't manage to hold on to a good feeling for more than an hour or two #i have absolutely no hope for the future and I don't even care about that anymore #nothing feels worth anything anymore #and what's really solidifying that feeling today of all days #is the fact that every year since before I was born my family celebrates new years eve #a few years ago the celebrations changed since my extended family decided to cut us out a bit but my mom brother and i still celebrate #we get yummy food play fun games and just spend the night together until midnight when we toast and go to bed #well this year it's 10:30 and we're already in bed doing the same things we do every day #being on our phones or watching a movie or whatever on our own #and it's just disappointing again #idk if it's the break of the tradition or the fact that the new year doesn't feel important this time #but i feel so fucking sad and numb and depressed #i hate it #I don't even feel like saying the usual ''hope 2024 is better'' shit #i just don't care and i don't think it's gonna be better... it's gonna be the same old shit and it's gonna be disappointing #nothing matters anymore and i don't think anyone fucking cares #i feel so numb... #i don't even know what the point of this post is... sorry about that #hope y'all's new years eve is better than mine (or new year's day idk your time zones) #angel talks #personal

[nyalternatehellkitten]

@madharemuses replied to your post “((I have a headache so I'm watching an FE:Engage...”:

[I want to enjoy Engage. I like the art design, I like the characters, I like the gameplay, but for some reason I just can't really bring myself to enjoy it. Also, it lacks replay value compared to most previous titles, so I feel like I spent too much on it.]

@gensokyogarden replied to your post “((I have a headache so I'm watching an FE:Engage...”:

ENGAGE GOOD

((Ayyyy we have the big two(tm) opinions here! Joking aside, I reply to these responses in the same post because I want to share some general thoughts. I'm not trying to pit you against each other by highlighting your opposing opinions lmao. Even though it's been a few days, Engage has been swirling around in my head for about a week or so now, and I do want to give my thoughts to you two, who responded to me, at least, so that post I made doesn't just become a big jebait or whatever the term is. So, spoilers, Zane's thoughts, and etc. etc. beneath the cut. Oh yeah, and it's long so don't read it unless you want to know what I think of a game I've not played, that a lot of people have been dismissive towards.))

I am writing this across several sittings. At the time of writing this statement, I'm watching the Avalanche map, so basically I'm right near the end. (I've also seen some supports, but the guy whose playthrough I'm watching is doing them offsceen because he doesn't want to waste his audience's time with grinding.)

This isn't going to be a structured review, it's more of a slightly-edited thought-dump.

My overall thoughts of this game so far, which is an impression unlikely to change, is this:

Fire Emblem Engage is a game unfairly criticised as worse than it actually is. It's not a super good game, but it does not fall as far below the 'average' standards of the series as much as people say it does.

Before I get into the full swing of things, I need to offer a disclaimer: I am out of touch with the series. I've played FE3-12 and Echoes, which means I'm missing FE1, the game that started it all, and Awakening and Three Houses, two immensely popular games that made big changes to the way Fire Emblem works, brought many new people to the fanbase, and generated a lot of attention. (I also haven't played Fates, but it's a bit less relevant to what I have to say.) I have never been interested in Awakening or Three Houses, but they changed the Fire Emblem 'landscape' so much that I would consider myself out-of-touch simply because I haven't played them.

Addressing some common criticisms

The two main complaints I see first-and-foremost on the internet that dominate over the better-formulated criticisms are: It's too anime and the writing sucks.

Now, the anime thing is stupid. Fire Emblem has always been anime; it's a stale and tasteless counter-argument, but it's objectively true. Most Fire Emblem games at least partially reflect the anime style popular around the time they were made, and all of them draw some influences from anime in general. The designs are too colourful and fancy for my taste, but I still find them enjoyable (Chloe and Etie are probably my favourites? Not super fond of Etie's Archer outfit but the player I'm watching made her a Warrior and she looks fine). In fact, I think this design choice was good; they clearly wanted to deviate from the grimness and seriousness of Three Houses, and can they be blamed for that? Making that sort of story can get heavy at times, so for an anniversary game I feel like going for something lighter was the right choice. Overall, the presentation in this game is excellent; not enough to make me love it like I loved Echoes (which was carried by the presentation alone for me), but good enough that I enjoy seeing it on my screen.

The second criticism is the writing, which is semi-valid. It's almost-good in a lot of places, but there's always one or two tiny details holding it back in my eyes. It's frustrating, because I feel like Engage would actually be quite well-written with a few fairly small edits that remove some of the issues or make the stupid parts (Chapter 10-11 Time Crystal) less stupid. The issue I have with the criticism is not that it's wrong, it's that people act like all of the other games in the series are god-tier writing or something. This is objectively untrue; most Fire Emblem stories are fairly straightforward or cliche plots carried by a cast of one-note, but enjoyable and likeable characters. Liking the characters makes you overlook the flaws in the plot. Just think about how many Fire Emblem games are about awakening or summoning some kind of all-powerful dragon or dark god (or both), and then think about how often that actually bothers you simply because you like some of the characters.

Let's talk about the writing for a moment, since this is an RP blog and therefore revolves around writing

It sounds to me like Engage's writing is actually really average by Fire Emblem standards (it can't be worse than the GBA games at least, if you ask me) but it's issue is that it came after Three Houses, a game which tried to be very different from the rest of Fire Emblem when it comes to writing. I haven't played Three Houses but I have seen people react to it. The amount of time people spend debating and arguing over who's in the right or wrong, beyond just which lord/house they like, shows that the game provoked more thoughts from its players than just "Oh I like this character more than this other character." Engage clearly has not done this, and parts of it that could form a good running theme just don't quite connect. The dots don't quite link up and the stars don't quite align. It falls just short.

In my head, I'm comparing it with other Fire Emblem games and I don't think it's that much worse than some (fairly well regarded) entries in the series. For example, in FE7, everything Ephidel does doesn't really make sense since he's formenting a rebellion in Lycia to gather Quintessence for Nergal to summon dragons... even though Nergal already has enough Quintessence to summon a dragon. In Sacred Stones, Eirika is supposed to be the diplomacy route, and yet everywhere she goes, stuff(tm) happens and she gets dragged into fights because Fire Emblem requires things.exe to happen so that each chapter can be a fight. In Binding Blade, the big exposition was Jahn explaining Idoun's backstory... through the medium of Roy seizing like 20 thrones in one chapter. In Monshou, the big main idea of Hardin being turned evil was great and executed pretty well, but most chapters are "So you're fighting dudes loyal to Medeus or Hardin" and the story is mostly about Marth trying to figure out what's going on in Akaneia. It's not bad, but it's hardly some god-tier story that has the player hanging off the edge of their seat at every chapter.

By comparison, Engage has an issue with build-up and payoff. The payoffs are often good, but the build-ups often don't do them justice. For instance, Morion was a good payoff because while what happened to him was quite predictable, Alchryst and Diamant's boss conversations with him are great. What's lacking is the fact that he gets captured by Hyacinth like... one chapter after he's introduced, after raising a million death flags. If he had been a green unit (or even a playable character with a big "Morion will go back to ruling his kingdom after next chapter" warning, or his stats transferring over to Diamant like with Nils and Ninian in FE7) for a while to let the player get to know him better, then his death would have been more impactful. Let Alear agree or argue with him about certain things; Alear needs to interact with Morion's pretty strong force of personality (that I think is pretty well demonstrated, even if it's quite one-note, in his first appearance).

Likewise, Lumera died too quickly. We needed a few more chapters for her and Alear's relationship to ripen. If the game had opened with Alear sent to Firine (upon Alfred's request, to help deal with Corrupted and bandits), with Lumera accompanying them but not helping them in battles to help him readjust to being awake, then it would have probably worked out better pacing-wise. Little happens character-wise in those chapters, so slotting in some Alear-Lumera interactions would have helped establish Alear's personality and motivations for the rest of the game. After Firine, they could return to Lythos for a little bit of R&R with Lumera promising to teach Alear more about the Emblems. Then the attack happens, she dies before she can, and the game proceeds with Brodia after that. It makes Lumera more impactful because the player gets to see her relationship with Alear more, and it makes their feelings for her stronger too, since they now have time to experience how she's their mother and acts like it.

One last example I will give is Zephia. Her whole death scene is kind of invalidated by the fact that she's been speaking as if the Hounds are her family for the whole game. I think a little tweak could really have fixed it. Take 'family' to be the theme of the story; a lot of Fire Emblem games place emphasis on bloodlines and family. Engage could have taken that both ways: that sometimes, blood family is important (e.g. the royal sibling pairs in the game) but sometimes your found family is just as important (Lumera and Alear) and sometimes your family can be abusive and bad for you (Sombron and Veyle, Zephia and Marni). How does Zephia fit into this? Well, imagine if her dialogue was tweaked ever so slightly. The idea is that she misunderstands how family should be because of Sombron (what he said during the time travel part). She longs for a real family, but because of Sombron she thinks that family should be abusive. Seeing Alear and Veyle helps her appreciate what family should be, and she helps them because of that. She dies thanking Griss, and hoping that Marni will forgive her in the afterlife. There we go, a villain given a better redemption than the weird one she got in the game, and completing a theme/story/lesson for the game as a whole.

Zephia also suffers from the buildup thing. The Hounds have a lot of screentime but they don't really do much with it; Griss and Zephia get their motivations and backstories infodumped as they die, and Mauvier spends the first half of his appearances being all "I am a knight I follow orders" when he should have been dropping hints that his true loyalty was to Veyle, rather than just mechanically following orders. If some of that screentime had been used to develop that Marni wants familial love, while Zephia misunderstands what a family should be, and Griss thinks of Zephia as his mother/older sister but struggles to convey that since his world is dull when he's not feeling pain, then it would have made them more compelling than the four big mooks you knock over 13 times throughout the story. Oh yeah, and of course, they do the "I must retreat" thing way too often. Fighting them feels completely insignificant because they never die until they suddenly do.

Lastly, the characters are all quirky and... oh boy. I've seen people complain that the Engage characters are more one-note crazy than usual. That... doesn't feel true to me. They feel like they're less serious than usual, but that's Engage being light-hearted. I've seen serious stuff (Alfred's illness, Hortensia's feelings about stuff) but mostly it seems to be on the lighter side. I don't mind, but I think it should have perhaps been a bit more of a balance. I will say this thought: of the supports I have seen, character motivations at least seem to make sense and stay decently consistent.

Some of my other criticisms

I would argue that there are a few things holding the game back. The writing, I have already mentioned. While there are plenty of good individual moments, there's often a lack of good build-up or connectedness that makes the whole feel like wasted potential and staleness. The gameplay, I think might actually be the most tactical in any Fire Emblem game so far; you can't just air-drop a god-unit into any situation with 1-2 range as easily because of Weapon Triangle breaking, and chain strikes mean that positioning actually matters, and tanking isn't infinite. This might not be a good thing, however, as I get the feeling that the average casual Fire Emblem player... doesn't care about gameplay much. It can't suck, but a lot of the time they do just want to make their favourite unit into a god and drop them into whatever situation.

One of the biggest problems is the Emblems, however. They're not really written as themselves. They're more like echoes or shadows or ghosts of the character they're meant to be. They often feel like they were written by someone who'd only read a synopsis of what that character was like, instead of seeing and analysing them (which... is probably what happened). The Emblem ring bond supports are bland and soulless most of the time, with often no connection between the character and the Emblem based off their commonalities (though to be fair, writing 12 Emblem supports for each character would have been hell). Regardless, all of the Emblem characters feel way too superficial to actually matter most of the time, they mostly exist to reference their own games a lot or provide the same basic statements about things. The advice they offer in the story is... logical but kind of bland and uninteresting. Sometimes they feel right, but most of the time they feel... not very good, which is not great when they're meant to be a big selling point of the game. It's like the Emblems are supposed to make you so excited about seeing your favourite characters that you don't stop to think if they're acting in-character. I won't comment on them too much gameplay wise, since I think that as much as they are meant to somewhat represent their own games (e.g. Sigurd being mobility and canter, Lucina having dual strike stuff) there's a limit to what you can do since most Fire Emblem games play quite samey.

Another issue I think that Engage has is the lack of post-game. Relying on DLC and Multiplayer to create replayability for a single-player game is just... objectively a bad idea? It's not what people are mostly there for. Watching the playthrough made me think "If I were playing this game, I'd want to run some of the other characters in side battles to see their supports and find out more about them." A post-game would be good for that, maybe with a bonus series of maps like Thabes was in Echoes. As it is, I've seen no evidence of that sort of thing.

I want to say some nice things

So I actually quite like Alear. Not a lot a lot, but a fair lot, if that makes sense. Based on everything shown about past Alear, and the way Alear loses their memories, their character makes sense for most of the game. Past Alear was emotionally stunted because Sombrero is the worst Fire Emblem dad in the series, and present Alear has a serious case of no-thoughts-head-empty at the start of the game. Given that everyone treats them super well (worships even...), it makes sense for them to develop a positive outlook on life, a strong fondness of their friends, a solid sense of duty towards everyone counting on them, and also feel kind of creeped out at being worshipped. Alear also feels a little more complete as a main character to me, oddly enough? I haven't played those games so I can't say for sure, but Robin and Corrin both often gave me a weird vibe like they're meant to be the player's self-insert but didn't commit to it enough. Like they wanted to make a self-insert character but then realised they needed to insert more character for supports, interactions, and story beats. Alear, on the other hand, feels like they wrote a complete character and then had to shove the self-insert in, to their detriment.

I also need to talk about Yunaka. I think Yunaka did something no other Fire Emblem side character (non-main character) has ever done: she immediately made me want to read about her supports to learn more about her backstory. Most Fire Emblem characters show up and I'm like "Okay, so this is this character's vibe. I'll find out more in the supports, I bet." Yunaka though... as soon as I heard her battle/crit quotes and saw how much that differed from the quirky "OwO I am cute thief" personality she was projecting, I was immediately like "There's more here. I need to know what her deal is." The game immediately shows that she's good at acting, and as soon as you put her into combat you see a side of her completely different from the one you saw before, and that sparks curiosity. That's good. Fire Emblem doesn't do that, instead it tries to establish the one note that its one-note characters are based around in a good way so that the player knows what that character's deal is. This time, it did that, and more. I haven't seen all of Yunaka's supports yet, but I will go through all of them when I get the chance to. I must know.

The music and voice acting are pretty good. The presentation and CG art is good. I don't think I need to elaborate on this, I think they're presented in a way that accentuates the atmosphere they're trying to create most of the time.

I'm hesitant about this last bit, but I think the game conveys its characters well. This is something Fire Emblem has never really had trouble doing, so it's not really a thing in Engage's favour, it's just another thing the game is not bad at. The supports (or those that I've seen at least) are good at showing what each character's deal is. That's not hard to do, though it is occasionally not done well (Vaida and Dorcas... a support that shows what their characters are like, but repeats the same joke dragged out three times in a row without really resolving anything).

Edit: Oh, and I can't believe I forgot to say that the really cheesy and campy moments are amusing rather than cringe to me. I think they just barely toe the line at times, but like... given how often the games try to shoehorn the 'Fire Emblem' into it, this really isn't even the worst.

Conclusion

This is the part where I pretend to have a conclusion so it feels structured. I already said what I needed to say at the start, so this is the part I put a bow on it.

I feel like it's hard for me to assess this game. I haven't played it, and I haven't played Awakening and Three Houses, two games that I feel like probably influenced both the fanbase and Engage a lot. But I can't help but feel like it's better than all of the hate it gets. I don't really think it's god tier, but it's definitely not as bad as it's said to be. I think if I did have the opportunity to play it though, I'd enjoy it at least as much as I enjoyed FE6, FE8, and FE11. With the others I played, I think it'd be a bit more up in the air.

If I had to say though, there's enough problems for it to be disappointing, but enough good for it to not warrant the amount of hate I've seen. I feel like the hate it gets is often an instinctual rather than logical thing; rarely do I see people fully explain how they feel, and sometimes some of the people criticising it talk like they're series veterans but it turns out they've played like... 4 games. Still, I can't help but feel like if this game came out after Fates rather than Three Houses, people would have a better view of it.

#ooc #madharemuses #gensokyogarden #((idk why I bothered with this)) #((I've been unable to play games and do stuff very freely lately)) #((so all of my free time has been watching an Engage playthrough)) #((so I think it's been big on my mind lately)) #((as I'm writing this I have reached the final episode)) #((I doubt my thoughts will change)) #((if they do I'll make an edit)) #((but like this is a 2 and a half hour thing)) #((not waiting that long to write my conclusion)) #((kitty is doing his 'I want attention' wail outside my door))

[obliviousriki]

I finally finished Future Connected. The game has been out for over two years at this point

#xcde #xenoblade #whats up. im alive #ive been posting on my sideblog awareriki pretty frequently these days but have had no time to play games #and suddenly its winter break #and i remember i haven't finished this game #this semester almost killed me #trying to do engineering and music at the same time does not leave a lot of room for playing videos game #unfortunately i will not be purchasing xenoblade 3 yet #i doubt i'll have time to finish it over winter break just based on the number of hours I've seen people say it takes to see most of it #and i would want to go through basically every sidequest #looks fun though! i haven't seen much gameplay but the characters look pretty fun #i might buy it in the summer but honestly i dont know what my summers gonna look like #because last summer i had a 9-5 and spent like a collective two weeks traveling to opposite sides of the country #and i was living in another city! so who knows #its wild to think about how much i've changed since i started this blog like i was a little baby when i posted that first photoset #but anyways ive got some stuff coming up and maybe ill do another landscape gradient thing people seemed to really like that one

[kindafooey]

Had a bit of a xenophobic moment just now lmao

#I was at a campfire site minding my own business when a bunch of southerners came up #and while sternly pretending that I wasn't there they put on godawful music and started doing yoga #and I. well. I'll admit I could've made an attempt to be more communicative but like. I was literally right there #and they were being extremely rude. like. I don't know it's a cultural thing because I genuinely do not understand southern finns #but I think it's customary to ask if it's okay to blast music from your shitty boombox when there are others present?? #not to mention that we were literally in the middle of the forest where people usually want to enjoy the silence ffs #and they didn't so much as say hi #so I was like. fuck it. two csn play this game. and I pulled up my phone and searched for 10 hours of annoying noise on youtube #and started blasting that to drown their dumbfuck yoga music #and eventually they pulled that gross fake southerner smile and asked me if I wanted to join them #and I was like. no I don't think I will. I was just curious how long they were willing to pretend that I wasn't there #and I told them it's common sense to ask other people if they're okay with playing music that loud especially in a situation like this #and they were STILL fake smiling at me and said I'm free to join. so I was like. okay gals listen up. #I don't know if this is how you do it in helsinki but it does not fucking fly in lapland and maybe they'd be better off going the fuck back #to where they came from #(which is a gross thing to say to anyone I KNOW but I was being talked down and fake smiled at #and feeling fairly fucking pissed at that point) #then I was like aight I've had enough I'm outta here #but changed my mind and came back #at which point they turned off the music and actually apologized. which I can appreciate #so uhh yeah. I can be obnoxious and gross sometimes lol #but even though it didn't come out in the best possible way I still think it was like. a well-deserved moment of straightforwardness #for the three of them #honestly I don't feel ashamed at all haha #but maybe next time I'll be more polite. just maybe. no prommies tho

[angelizs]

I think something twst does really well is show the characters improving in a realistic way. No one can change overnight which makes the aftermaths of the overblots so interesting. I think it’s shown the most through Riddle during Book 2 you get to see him changing, trying to adapt now that he’s acknowledged what his mom did. You see him slowly improving and of course he isn’t perfect none of them are, but you get to see them make active efforts to better themselves- 🦭

YESSS YOU'RE SO RIGHT ONCE AGAIN 🦭 ANON!!!

I had a conversation with Gabi about Riddle in the reblogs of one of my oneshots (see here, just scroll down to the end) in which we mention a chapter of the anthology that makes this change very clear (this one!) and as you mentioned yourself in the Floyd ask, there's one chapter in which we get to see it more! in my Azul brainrot I also mention how I like the change in his acts and how he puts some efforts into being better. in my writing I love to explore this aftermath and their inner thoughts on it, especially in this Azul oneshot in which his overblot ends up a little differently!

I have individual thoughts on how each character reacts and improves after their overblots, so I'll go over them really quickly!!

first I just wanted to go over the concept of an overblot on itself. it's mentioned at the beggining that's a rare and dangerous occuring, but at NRC it happens every other month after MC's arrival, so that must be shocking. an overblot also leaves them sore and exhausted, both physically and mentally, as it's the result of the dangerous combination of too much magical usage and too many negative emotions due to years of distress. it's truly interesting how MC and/or Grim seems like a trigger of sorts to these overblots, as I believe there wasn't any before they suddenly appeared, getting involved in the middle of each of them. it's definetly not a coincidence how some of the most powerful and influential students suddenly overblot on the same time period, almost as if there was some higher force making it happen on purpose, for some reason. I hope it gets more explained in the future, perhaps after chapter 7!

as stated, I feel that Riddle, for being the first overblot, has gotten more time to show how much he's changed. from the tyrant from the start of the game to an actual dorm leader worthy of his title! he hasn't dropped his appreciation for rules entirely, but he won't go around cutting other people's heads for minor things. he's still strict with proper conduct and Heartslabyul's students' grades, but in a less overwhelming way, as he's seen how the way he's been taught to do things was wrong. during the second chapter, Riddle is much calmer and more rational, he helps MC solve the mystery even when he didn't have to do so. he was a great help at Leona's fight, and it's due to his quick thinking that no one was hurt at the stampade stunt. even when it's hard and causes him some mental turmoil, Riddle has reflected upon his actions and does his best to change for the better! having Trey, Cater and Che'nya by his side, lending him support, is probably a big motivator, as well as Ace's judgment and sharp words, as he's not afraid to speak his mind and call out people who are in the wrong. Deuce's admiration for him also contributes to it all, as he'd like to set a good example for his underclassmen to follow. all in all, Riddle has improved a lot in his behaviour and I'm very proud of him!

Leona is a complicated case, in all aspects. before his overblot, he had such an intense inferiority complex he didn't put effort in anything, thinking he wouldn't be recognized either way. not only that, he stays stagnant at NRC, most likely because he didn't want to have to go back to his kingdom where he's always second place. it's due to this that he tries to win against Malleus, spelldrive is one of the things he's best at and he used to be recognized for it before Malleus appeared and took his spot. for someone as smart as Leona, I feel that the plan from chapter 2 is kind of... half assed? him and Ruggie appear scheming all smug, but it's a pretty shitty and obvious plan, honestly, and he had potential to do something better. maybe, some part of him couldn't bring himself to care, since he was so used to being second place, it's not like that would change anytime soon. and that's why Lilia's words are so important, to make him realize: he wasn't second place because the world is against him and won't recognize anything he does, but because he can't bring himself to put an actual effort into things and get over his pride and ego to do what's best. I could go on about that but I didn't even get to the point yet, so I digress.

going back to the main topic: after Leona's overblot, I don't think I see him changing that much? while in Riddle's case it's plain to see how he's been trying to be better, Leona seems the same as before. he doesn't go to classes nor starts taking an initiative in things, much less apologize for hurting Ruggie and putting so many people in danger. (not that I expected him to actually say "I'm sorry", but maybe show in his own way that he regrets what he did?) even in chapter 3, he doesn't help because he wanted to, he begrudgingly does as MC suggests only because it benefits him too. I don't believe for a minute that Grim and MC posed any threat to his sleep, as he could easily beat them up and get it over with. no, Leona went along with MC's plan an destroyed the contracts because it was what he wanted all along. in the previous chapter he had made a deal with Azul in order to get Ruggie's potion, so he must have wanted to stop beind indebted with him and/or get back whatever it was that he bargained.

don't get me wrong, I do like Leona a lot! when I first started playing, he was on my top3 characters, and even though he isn't anymore I'm still rather fond of him. it's just... disappointing to see how much potential he has and how he doesn't do anything to reach it. one way for him to change would be to drop the unbothered attitude and actually start making an effort. there's still a long way for him to go, and only he can take the first step. I do like how his problems aren't all solved after a little motivational talk (and being beat up), since his overblot doesn't change his depression, nor his country's political state, nor his family issues, nor his complexes.

Jamil's and Kalim's relationship is a major theme of chapter 4 and very connected to Jamil's overblot in the first place. I like how Jamil becomes more open after it, even if he's blunt and rude, possibly making him seem worse than before. the thing is, before he only hid what he was thinking and kept it all to himself, bottling up his emotions to the point that they end up exploding. afterwards, even if he voices his annoyance and is pretty harsh with his words, not trying to spare Kalim's feelings, it feels better that he's being honest for once. the work his family serves under Kalim's family creates a very complex relationship between those two, as there is a power balance, no matter how much Kalim tries to treat him like an equal. Jamil should always present himself as less than the heir of the Al Asim family, should always follow along his heat of the moment decisions and make sure to keep him safe between the sea of shady students that could take advantage of his naivety and positive thinking. the way Kalim's childhood molded him into such a different person, almost the complete opposite, from Jamil also aggravates their dynamic's problems.

anyways! as I discussed in Azul's post, I like how we can also see a change in how he does things post overblot. while he still might do some shady deals, his focus goes into his business and ways of improving it, showing his change of perspective. he no longer tries to hoard other people's powers, as he finally recognizes his own merits and learns to be proud of them. he's still cunning and witty, not losing the interesting parts of his personality, but he's changed on how he uses those traits. he isn't suddenly one of the "good guys" and he doesn't do things out of the kindness of his heart, as he wants people to believe, but he's improved a lot from how he used to deal with things, even helping MC on chapter 4. (he also had other interests, but he didn't necessarily have to help MC, even if he felt indebted to them for the help during his overblot fight)

I throughly enjoy how the consequences of a change in their careful and fragile balance are explored in chapter 5, with Jamil finally putting himself out there and letting his potential show, not holding back, and Kalim feeling frustrated for the first time for not getting what he wants, and how it makes him understand better where Jamil is coming from and be more considerate to his feelings. all in all, even if Jamil doesn't become a good person in the traditional sense, as he's still sassy and deceitful at times, it serves to help him improve himself in a more internal sense, to try to be more open with Kalim and to break some of the old patterns he's been taught to follow.

Vil is quite interesting, as he's the only character that overblots that I liked a lot straight away. I didn't pass through the phases of "I hate his guts he's so annoying" to "alright he's not that bad" to "wait I think I might like him" like I did with the others. and I'm not saying he didn't do a lot of wrong things, since besides almost poisoning an innocent person, there were also times when he acted out of line and showed his arrogance, such as when he fought with and made Epel cry only to prove a point, without much respect or care for his feelings. still, he also felt more reasonable than the other overblot characters, as he's more down to Earth, shows his hard work and efforts, and is up with social causes like gender equality and not conforming to toxic masculinity.

by the end of chapter 5, he expresses regret (as he "wishes they hadn't seen him in such an ugly state") and keeps his head high as he performs with Neige after losing. he doesn't seem to particularly feel sorry about almost hurting Neige though, and maintains his feelings of animosity. I have yet to see how he behaves in chapter 6 and how he might have changed, perhaps by trying to find compromises when things don't go the way he wants them to and by praising people's efforts rather than only criticizing their errors.

so! I agree anon, TWST does very well show that things don't change overnight and that there must have some effort put into these changes. the characters' problems aren't magically solved by the power of friendship (and violence), but they can get started on working on them. acknowledging your mistakes and trying to improve is rather hard, but a very necessary part of personal growth. with each passing chapter, I hope we get to see more about how the overblots have changed them and how they have improved themselves!

#tea time #don't lose your head #when I stop and look at how much I've thought and analyzed about TWST it becomes a bit obvious how much I love it #all the characters hold a special place in my heart #and I could go on and on for hours about many game aspects from story to characters to playing dynamics #it feels a bit harder to notice how the characters change after their overblot since it's a process that happens gradually and takes time #but I appreciate how subtle these changes are as they feel more realistic that way #anyways I'm gonna take a nap now so I'm not proof reading this. if you see any mistakes no you didn't.

[astrxealis]

sometimes (often) i think about the characters i kin or relate to and then the realization comes in again and again that i need therapy (/lh?)

#⋯ ꒰ა starry thoughts ໒꒱ *·˚ #unfortunately i doubt i will ever get therapy bcs i have this. thing. idk. but i believe in myself to just rely on myself? #and yeah i uhh can go on more about that BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT OF THIS sorry i suck at explaining things. anyways #humans. interesting. i am fascinated by humans and myself and i'm tired of typing now GOODBYE anyways xiv music is so fucking good #and also idk how to interact w others sorry ..... i am scared of getting close to people bcs everyone i've grown close to has ended up #leaving me or i mess up! but tbh it's better now i think and also not as bad as i think but sorry i still have bad issues with. that #me saying i don't want to type anymore and then proceed to rapidly type out so many words oopsies #pls just do not PERCEIVE ME !! unless you want to ig but idk why you'd want to do that uhm #yk i like tumblr most out of all social medias bcs it feels like i can... sort of just be my weird self here! and it's not fully nice #and i still have anxiety problems and overthinking problems and whatnot which is evident by my 100+ notifs i havent checked since #christmas but that's not the point (?) idk whats the point honestly uhhhh nvm (??) #OH I LOVE FF SO MUCH tbh it's w/o a doubt still my favorite series ever but drake/nier is also up there for sure #which i think is amazing bcs i have yet to finish a game. and ive only like played idk 5 hours of replicant and automata #and then ive already spoiled myself on important aspects of all games but that helps ngl uh. i could explain but im tired of typing #ANYWAYS GOD actually noehgjbsejhbghjes i really suck w interacting w others i really wish i were better at all that #im not super introverted or shy im just kinda awkward and anxious but im a fun person and all and idk #and tbh its interesting thinking abt my personality... some parts of me havnt changed at all from a bit (/pos) like my lively. aspect of my #personality !! i was a bundle of energy and a little annoying (perhaps unintentionally but now i think its a bit more on purpose lol) #but the only person who really sees my true self is me. and the closest to that is lune. but even i dont know who i really am #and yeah... wnvr im like woa ill make more friends !! and then when i have the opportunities i suddenly dont care anymore IT SUCKS #anyways i think i have Opportunities now again so lets see haha ?? at least uhh in school. its like 2nd sem and i dont rlly have friends #as usual haha that sounds so sad help BUT its not like im disliked im just rlly quiet and shy at school..... throwback to 7th grade tho #that was rlly the worst but also now is just as bad in a diff sense but back then i cldnt talk w my crush at ALL i didnt speak at all im so #sorry about that HELPPP I RLLY JUST CLDNT SPEAK anyways moving on in my class rn i do have a group of sorts. like #we're grpmates wnvr theres grpworks and we can pick which is nice! ive been classmates w em all b4 and theyre the cool kids #but in the more fandom sense and one used to be a close friend of my twin and of mine too by extent and then the other was someone #who knew me when i was more extroverted so yeah uhhh anyways #OKAY ALMOST MAX TAGS im DONE rambling. bye. hopefully. bye. oh god

[ereborne]

Shuffle Meme

@zahnie did one of these last week and I always enjoy them.  These are all out of the ever-evolving ‘laundry list’ playlist I keep on my laptop

I Can Only Stare by Sleigh Bells

Old College Try by the Mountain Goats

One Foot by Walk the Moon

Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight by Jennifer Hudson (from the Sing! OS)

Fire and Rain by James Taylor

Ship to Wreck by Florence + the Machine

I Ain’t Never Seen No One Like You by George Strait

Shame on the Night by Dio

Stop Me by Natalia Kills

What I Really Mean by Robert Earl Keen

Tagging anybody who wants to do the thing!  Please @ me so I can see your music, this is where I get maybe half my new songs

#tagged by #zahnie #about me #I don't have playlists set up anywhere but on my laptop so there's no algorithms driving any of this for me #just songs I've pulled from soundtracks and themed playlists and you know fic titles and graphics edits and things like that #and from recommendations from my family and my friends and from viewers like you! #for real if it weren't for my brother and the little ghost roommate and these tag games #I'd have to spend a lot more time trawling those 'latest hits' lists and I don't think anybody who has to be near me irl wants that #please tag me if you do a playlist thing #anyway my personal playlist titled 'laundry list' has existed since 2008 but the songs change constantly #the current iteration is one day two hours and fifty-one minutes long #and it is what I like to think of as pleasingly eclectic #(also I have to say it's an obligatory family fact: #when Robert Earl Keen sings 'we saw our friends in Charlotte we played on the radio' #my dad was there #he was at the radio station when Robert Earl Keen played live #Dad would say this every time the song played and now we must say it for him)

[invinciblerodent]

I've been kinda thinking about character motivations, and reasons for decisions made in each playthrough all day, and I think the core of Iona's personal narrative is finally starting to expose itself to me, which is neat.

Like... while Arvid's arc is overall about him balancing the divine with the mundane, and learning to make decisions with his own needs in mind occasionally, Iona's is shaping up to be one of... the continual challenging of long-held beliefs, and picking through her own survival tactics like she's unpicking a big, painful knot in one's hair that's tugging at the skin. Her story is kind of looking like it's about finding the line between what's true, and what was merely said enough times to start sounding like the truth- about what even the liar was lied to, basically.

From the beginning, when she's outed as specifically not a by-choice magic user, but a magical being, one with living sorcery in her veins, to her vehemently anti-magic community their warmth turns instantly to cold steel (even running to her husband for help and comfort only to meet scorn, rejection, and pain), she has had to constantly challenge herself, and try to find just how much of her view of the world was grounded in common sense, and how much of it is just... common nonsense.

It kind of works out beautifully that the first people she breaks bread with in the game are a guarded and jumpy young woman who is 100% lying to her (yeah, turns out she's an ardent worshipper of a dark, forbidden goddess), and a handsome, if foppish, city-type fellow, who only suspends his bristling about roughing it long enough to lay on the charm extra thick and obvious (whoops, a vampire- someone she would have ordinarily believed to be a mindless monster at that point).

Over and over in the story, Iona seems to have to completely reevaluate all the things she thinks she knows. Everything, from her idea of what a monster is, to where the line between morality, justice, and ruthless self-interest lies, to what love is and looks like (is it a contract? a mutually beneficial transaction? something different and delicate and precious and entirely new?), is constantly being challenged, and since the factors doing the challenging seem immutable, it has to be her who does the changing.

In the beginning portions of act 2, she was a little... noncommittal, about the whole ascension thing. Sure, in act 1 she was fully in favor of upending Cazador's whole schtick (in a "cool plan my guy, godspeed, have fun with that, glad that's not my mess to clean up" kind of way), and this thing, while literally diabolical, it was easy enough to see that it'd at least get results. Like, maybe the ends really would justify the means like they so often have so far, and the "number of souls" sacrificed were no more than an abstract that he at least seemed excited about. But meeting Dalyria and Petras (and experiencing that spark of genuine fear of Astarion then), talking to the attacking spawn, that (on top of everything else learned, including the sentience and potential benevolence in mind flayers and all that) is yet another very sharp pivot in her mind that exposes the whole thing for the nakedly amoral action it would really be.

Between that night in the Elfsong, and when we'll finally go to Cazador, she'll be slowly piecing together her thoughts on how much power is it really okay for just one person to take, how much revenge is justified, and at what point does it turn to harmful excess, to evil for its own sake, and there is something... that's imo kind of beautiful about how "not my circus, not my kobolds" turns into "I want you to live a life you can be proud of".

(In my headcanon, after the "the world can be a wonderful, kind place, Astarion, if you find your place in it" line she says in that post-attack callout, there is just a tiny bit of an insert of an expansion: it's just him asking, with an exhale that could pass for amused were it not for the somber look in his eyes, "you really believe that, don't you?" and her responding, with just a hint of a desperate edge, as if uncertain herself, "I have to. Otherwise, what's the point? To all this?")

#if she had a personal quest it'd have to be one that can be completed at any point in the game #but depending on how long one lets her grow and change; the outcomes would be radically different #like if you go to the cult with her in act 1 it ends in a horrible; game-endingly difficult massacre of a village #the game clearly intends you to fail then and it's doable only technically; if you really WANT the bad ending #so you need to level and grind and come back much later #but by the time you're in act 3 and would decimate everything she has grown enough that there... need not even be any killing #is this anything #the exact same outcome -slaughtering all- could either gain her unshakable loyalty but cement her in a cold spiteful state #that may or may not bite the player in the ass later #or cause her to become hostile and/or permanently leave the party #that sounds like it'd be a pretty cool thing for a game like this to do #squirrel plays bg3 #oc: iona raedir #i am. in so much pain today #need sleepies bye bye honk-shoooooo #i've been poking this wall of text for like an hour now i'm so foggy