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thatpinkbetch · 3 years

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okay but!! BNHA Souleater AU, as in a SE AU for the BNHA kids

AAHHHHHHHHH okay sorry for taking so long to get to this, it made me excited and i had to make sure i consulted a professional before attempting to answer (aka my sister). Side note.....i havent actually finished the anime 😅😅😅 im close though!!

So anyways i mainly care about bakudeku but i have many things in mind, if you will let me agsivjeofnwodkw

I cant really figure out what weapon Bakugou would be....but i feel like him and Midoriyas souls would resonate against his will :) my sister suggested flame thrower for him and i suggested grenade launcher, but I also want Midoriya to be a badass close range fighter who does more than shoot, you know? I guess scythe would be the go to for this AU, but trust me, i am ALL EARS. So anyways, Bakugou would definitely want to be like Justin and become a death scythe all on his own, and for sure he would only partner up with Midoriya (at first) as like, a stepping stone, a way to get stronger and or whatever he says to rationalize sticking around with the nerd. In the end hes fucking in love with him, and they will perfect their soul resonance, but thats for the end of course ;)

At first i thought All Might could be Death, but then I thought, what if One For All is Death, and All Might is the death scythe he keeps by his side, and the other death scythes are the previous users? 🤔 All For One can be the first kishin 😬 my sister then suggested that what if All Might is cracked, or even missing a piece :( anyways, All Might gets to be Midoriyas father, but rather than hating him like Maka, hed idolize him, because he never got to see him so much, so he isnt even like a dad to him, but a hero figure :( going to school he sees him more often and he fanboys and All Might feels so bad about it because he knows he wasnt around for so long, but also hes hiding his injury from the public eye.

And now, Todoroki. Hes the same as Tsubaki, where he has that special family bloodline, and he probably has the same backstory as usual, abusive dad that wanted him to surpass All Might as death's personal scythe. And also he got many of the weapon forms; katana, shuriken, smoke bomb, etc. And...of course...Dabi, the enchanted sword...well lets just say that Shouto ends up getting that form too...

Anyways my sister actually suggested that Todoroki would enter the school on his own, no meister, also looking to do it on his own. This obviously would anger Bakugou, who would be irritated with the respect he feels for the other, and also make him more anxious to get better and to leave Midoriya, who can sense his weapon distancing himself, and he would struggle with his own self esteem trying to keep Bakugou by his side. Okay but this was supposed to be about Todoroki avfohkwovjwkcks lets make it work! Midoriya and Bakugou fight Todoroki together and they break through to him, the way Midoriya did at the sports festival. And after finally deciding to go with a meister, he goes with Momo. She would be super skilled in all forms of combat!! Perfect for Todoroki :) but the thing is...she struggles to make decisions, which really sucks when she has to decide which weapon form to chose! :( but Todoroki believes in her because hes seen her do great and knows what shes capable of 😤😤😤 and together they will work on her self doubt and his struggle with obedience avdobjeovjaofjwp because he is NOT used to having a meister, especially since hes such an unlawful little guy that knows no respect for authority.

There isn't much for this one but fuck yeah Kaminari and Kirishima would be twin weapons and Sero would be their meister 😊😊

Also i kind of want Uraraka to be like... nunchucks? Idk something that just kind of beats the shit out of someone using martial arts ajdjgkehfiajdkw idk who would wield her, maybe Iida? 👀👀

Also my absolutely favorite part of this whole thing: Aizawa -> zombie teacher. And his husband, Present Mic, is his weapon. Who happens to be a megaphone. Thank you.

Okay so. The bakudeku. Im sure plenty of people will ask them, maybe mostly Midoriya, why they continue to partner with each other if theres so much rupturing their resonance all the time. And of course there will be a little flash back to them as kids, because obviously, they were childhood friends. And they promised each other that Bakugou would become greater than All Might, and everyone can tell that Midoriya wants to create a weapon better than All Might just to get attention from his dad, right? But like...still, he remembers how those red eyes looked at him so earnestly, so passionately as they promised him that they would succeed, that they both would. Kacchan can do anything, in his eyes, and its always just an awe-inspiring sight to him. He truly does believe that, with or without him, Bakugou will become the greatest death scythe, and he very much wants to be there the whole way. And even as Bakugou tries to struggle on his own, his heart is still always with Deku, because that asshole really did go and just take it without even asking for permission way back then, didnt he? When he fucking told Bakugou that it would be him who made him great, the first one to ever believe in him, the actual child of All Might, and he still never once doubted Bakugou, not even after the times he failed.

Okay i think thats all i got TT_TT anon thank yoooouuuu i love this so much and i love you 😭😭😭

#bnha #boku no hero academia #bkdk #bakudeku #my hero academia #so yeah i love this #spent a good second talking about it with my sister and it was so fun agsovndofjwofjaos #long post

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prompt-master · 3 years

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HHHHH Honestly I totally agree that like.... There should've been more development with Kyosuke's side of things. Personally I would've liked it best if Makoto and Kyosuke could've met in the middle and compromised/cooperated instead of one or the other steamrolling the other with their belief system. Hhhhh I'm not even sure a game would've been enough. Literally I feel like I need a whole LONG BOOK about the FF heads and their backstories-

I mean the danganronpa games are essentially playable books! So i think a game could have worked really well! I also have lots of ideas for interesting and scary game mechanics! But youre right there is SO MUCH key information missing!! You could theoretically start an entire spin off series based on the FF alone.

I like the idea of a compromise at the end especially since as much as i love naegi he CAN cause false hope due to his over optimistic attitude! Theres the arguement to be made over whether or not that can still be good but regardless Naegi can set people up for further dissapointment!

Altho and this is somewhat off topic i do enjoy how Naegi stays calm when fighting Munakata. A lot of peopke comolain Naegi was watered down because he doesnt fight back (and i get that i really do) but here if he fights Munakata he loses and he KNOWS that. Naegi has sm control compares to Munakata who has a katana that can brand your stomach.

#ask #danganronpa #kyosuke munakata #makoto naegi #dr3 #dr3 spoilers #did you...did you read my 3 page munakata thing... JDKCKDKCKXKXK if so ty!!! sm!!!!#he needed sm development tho both prior and during smdh ..#i firmly believe munakata could have been one of the best characters

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exhaustedauthor · 4 years

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Spreading Like Poison Ch.2

Ch. 1 Ch. 3 Ch. 4

Virgil and Janus have been dating for over a year now, and the fans were demanding a Q&A after it finally was announced.

Janus had gotten a spot near the beanbag chair, which was opposite of Virgil. There was one question for the ‘Anxceit ship,’ as the fanders called it. It was directed at Virgil.

Thomas asked, “Is Deceit a shitty boyfriend to have?” He looked up at Virgil, surprised.

Janus had stood there in shock, his mouth gaping open. The others were put off by it too, but Virgil didn’t skip a beat.

“I mean, I wouldnt say shitty, but he isn't a great one, either… He lies duh, he'siterally the personification of deception, but he also doesn't listen to me. I make a point, he doesnt like it. I don't really get why he always contradicts me, though. Its kind of.. Well, illogical. And I know logic isn’t his forte, so..”

Janus sputtered. “Wh- b- I-”

Patton frowned. “You do do that. I mean the contradiction. Well, I assume also the lying. Maybe you should try to agree with each other more! Agreement is the key to a healthy relationship.”

Roman raised an eyebrow, his hand sliding to his katana. “What do you lie about, Janus?”

Janus felt his sasy, sarcastic video persona crumble. “I- I try not to,” He said, looking around the room nervously. “I’ve been trying not to mess up, honest!”

Virgil shrugged. “It doesn’t really bother me.”

Logan had adjusted his glasses in that, ‘I’m about to spout a few facts,’ way. “It seemed to me that it did seem to bother you, at least a little. In fact, according to recent psychologists, lying in a relationship destroys self esteem, and it develops trust issues between people. As humans, we need to be able to trust someone, and usually someone who is deceptive is someone we don’t need to trust. Perhaps Janus is not the best partner.”

Janus felt absolutely sick. Thomas’s Logic had proved that he was a bad boyfriend. “I- I- I-” He couldn’t force a proper sentence out. After a couple failed attempts, fully aware of the others watching him, he forced out some kind of sentence. “I don’t want to be, I don’t mean to,” He hiccuped. “I’m- I’m so sorry,” he said, and with a choked off sob, he sunk out before he could hear a reply.

The room was silent for a moment.

“He seemed genuinely upset,” Thomas said, shocked. “That wasn’t his lying tone, I think that he really didn’t know he was hurting Virgil like that.”

"The poor kiddo.." Patton said. "I'm gonna go check on him."

"He actually kinda likes to deal with things alone.. learned that the hard way." Virgil chuckled.

"The hard way?"

"Yeah, he hisses at me then ignores me. It's fine though."

Patton made a concerned nose at the back of his throat. "Kiddo, it sounds like a bad relationship. Maybe you guys should break up?"

Virgil shrugged. "Maybe."

Janus sighed heavily. He was looking back at the footage in the present, and he honestly couldn't care less at this point. Virgil had made it evident that he'd fucked up everything. But he loved Virgil! He didnt want to break up with him, and he hadn't brought it up.

At this point, he was just feeling depressed. He didnt really want to do anything anymore unless it was sitting on the couch taking up as little room as possible.

After he had heard Virgil say how he lies and how it made a bad relationship, to ensure he didnt lie, he talked as little as possible.

He had even given up his self care days. Those were the days where he sat in his room in a Scooby Doo onesie, binged all of the What's New Scooby Doo's, and ate an entire pot of Mac n' cheese. Logan highly protested those days, since they were bad for his health, so he just quit them to avoid discourse.

Earlier in the week, he had taken his box of 'special' memories and given them back. Logans old tie, Roman's old sash, and one of Patton's stuffed animals. He remembered presenting them to the sides with a look of shame on his face.

The hardest to return was Virgil's old hoodie. He had been nervous about it for an hour before he had finally worked up the courage. He had said, “I.. I kept this after you changed your style. I know it was weird, but you hated me and.. I didnt know what to do.”

Virgil was silent for a full minute before answering. “Creep,” he said, and hung the hoodie in his closet.

So here Janus was now, laying on his bed and watching the latest Sides episode for the eighth time in a row.

He felt a tug on his navel and he flinched. Someone was lying.

He sighed again, putting his phone away. He needed to get some food, he knew that. But he just couldn’t bring himself to care. So he just laid there, staring at the ceiling.

Someone knocked on the door and Janus groaned. “Come on in,” He said, rolling over.

Virgil opened the door. “Yo, snakeface. Haven’t seen you in a while, so get your ass downstairs before I drag you down.”

“I don't really want to..” Janus’s bed was soft, and he was comfortable and warm.

“I know that we dont need to eat or do anything, but stop being lazy. Its really not the good kind of selfish.” Virgil said pointedly, sitting down on Janus’s bed.

Janus sighed. “But-”

“Just come down before everyone is more stressed out. Remus had a whole cake for breakfast, now hes chasing down the others going, ‘IMMA FUCK YOU’ and you know how to deal with it. Also you should eat something otherwise Patton’ll die from the stress.”

Janus twisted the sheets. “Okay. Um, who let him have a whole cake?”

“He got up and made one at 3 in the morning. It actually looked edible. Then he just started ripping out chunks of it and eating it. Theres frosting everywhere.”

Janus chuckled. Virgil was just sitting there with him for once, and he felt content to just stay like this, with Virgil and his snake plushes. But he had to go downstairs.

“Hey Virgil?” He said, sitting up. “Do you hate me?” He lifted his eyes to Virgils.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was rewatching the QnA thing, and- and the one question about if I’m a shitty boyfriend.. And I was just wondering if you.. if you hate me.” Janus stared into his lap.

Virgil scooched closer, putting his arm around Janus’s shoulders. “Is it because I dont hug you enough? I can be more affectionate!”

Janus’s skin was lit on fire and he smiled softly. “Yeah… this is nice..”

Virgil gave him a light squeeze and stood up. “We can cuddle later. Right now, lets go downstairs.”

Janus groaned and pushed himself off the bed. “Remind me again, why do I have to go?"

"You know how to calm Remus down. Now come onnnn," He tugged on Janus arm like a child, smiling.

Janus laughed. "Okay, okay!" He grabbed his hat and allowed Virgil to drag him out.

#unsympathetic-virgil #chapter 2 #spreading like posion #abused janus #tell me if i missed a tag

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snowtimeisbesttime · 4 years

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Thoughts and questions on Pesterquest Volume 14, and the Afterw@rd! The last one... for now?

~VOLUME 14~

-aaaand we didn't get an alpha kid reunion here :(

-Looks like very waterproof technology is a leftover from when the Condesce tried to turn Future Earth into Alternia 2: Electric Boogaloo, because otherwise I'm pretty sure that having a wholeass computer out there right next to saltwater would be a very bad idea.

-There's Hal! This time with Speakers. Also, it's neat that Dirk knows exactly what's up with MSPAR in Pesterquest's last volume, while Lanque had no idea that an alien was running around befriending everybody in town in Friendsim's (i know friendsim didn't quite do chronology between volumes as much as pesterquest has done, but the soleils were kinda busy being stuck inside a weird timeloop manor and therefore couldn't have heard of mspar's quest of friendship, while lanque could have definitely heard about them from like. wanshi or something.)

-Dirk is also very much on board (whoops ocean adjacent phrase) with MSPAR's quest of friendship, which is awesome and also adorable.

-Instead of experiencing awful offshoots, we just get weird visions of them, which kinda beats “drowning by aesthetically focused robo scuba suit” and “puppet katana accident” any day.

-Cal is empty, thank fuck. At least Dirk's one...

-MSPAR can wield the sord....., revealing its power to deepfry reality with a single slash. Which could actually make it incredibly strong in the hands of a Strider, as they're probably immune to jpeg artifacts thanks to SBaHJ so they could exploit that ability without getting headaches.

-There is some talk about Assorted Dirk Topics, which get answered quickly as the bread and butter of the route is mainly the topic of trust, and also. You Know.

-Of course Ult!Dirk just Had to pop in. Hooray. Dude can fuckin play spore and instead he decides to fuck off all the way here and fuck shit up. And expects MSPAR to agree with him once they get their Homestuck memories back even. The whole “process gif” effect he's got does look very cool though.

-What separates Pesterquest from any fanfic where characters screw around with retcon powers? Legit question here. What's the difference between MSPAR befriending everyone and a fic where John accidentally breaks Jane's tiaratop while retconing stuff and makes it so she never even goes Crockertier, for example? What makes it so the first one kills reality but the second one doesn't?

-also nice (/s) to see the epilogues are as dubiously canon as water is dubiously wet, as it's never even implied that things could ever go differently after the kids win the game. Maybe that's more an “ultdirk absorbing assorted dirks and hogging all the narrative relevance as bgd said that time in hs2” thing though.

-To convince PQ!Dirk to not leave with Ult!Dirk, MSPAR gets the Big Gun: Candy Dave. And of course he would go along with a mission to help his bro without a doubt... (and he also gets taken along to the locked timeline)

-In the end, it's Dirk the one who gets to make the Choice this time, between friendship (and family) or infinite knowledge (and loneliness).

~THE AFTERW@RD~

-dirk: some other me went with you so don't be a sore loser the less cool dirk, almost immediately:

-Unlike Friendsim's Epilogue, this one can only be accessed from Dirk's good end, apparently.

-And here we get to talk to the Director of Pesterquest, also known as the t-pose or a-pose or whatever silhouette from the funky troll hell nexus hallway of metaphysical realities. She's the one responsible for MSPAR losing their memories (for friendship reasons) and not being able to reach their friends from Friendsim (for hiveswap act 2 reasons i hope).

-MSPAR is straight out called that and MSPAReader here, But it's also revealed that they do have a name- which might be revealed in a future sequel... ( @carcino-gnostalgic-s pointed out that the sequel might be those friendsim routes the hiveswap crew wanted to make for like dammek and trizza and the guys, and i'm personally very on board with that idea)

(-I started calling them MC (as in Main Character) all the way back when Friendsim Vol 12 came out... Hope we get to learn their real name soon!)

-there was this post going around not that long ago that was about how in stories Without a happy ending to look forward to and provide catharsis, having lots and lots of suffering can make it feel senseless and gratuitous or something and like. What that post said. Sure, conflict can drive a story, but constant conflict 24/7 forever and ever just gets tiring after a point.

-Again, what makes MSPAR's friendship escapades so harmful to the multiverse compared to any random fic with Retcon Shenanigans on the internet? As in, choosing to not betray our Pesterquest friends or throwing out John's beta again straight up causes the game to close, implying reality just perished and despawned.

-Ult!Dirk also has to come along here and push for canon's preservation. To the point he tries to screw with MSPAR's thoughts directly, though luckily they can shrug it off and the Director isn't having any of that bullshit.

-First of all: fanfiction exists, and so do AU fanfics that take characters into a whole new genre or spares characters that died or puts the spotlight on background characters, so between that and me having heard the concept of “fictional character Lives On Forever in the minds of people who read their story, even if they get maybe eliminated by the author” in a book (Niebla, by Miguel de Unamuno idk if theres any translated version available online rip) that I had to read for a class, I sure was just standing there while the Director and Ult!Dirk talked about how we Absolutely Must destroy Pesterquest.

-Thankfully, MSPAR found a third option and took it, inspired by Jade and with Aradia's moral support. You ever love your friends so much you literally absorb the Green Sun's power to create an entirely new concept (the Locked Timeline containing iterations of them that can grow up without Sburb) and become its First Guardian?

#pesterquest #homestuck #pesterquest spoilers #dirk strider #mspa reader #thoughts and questions #long post #<- just in case #its like 4:20 in the morning here. time to Sleep

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royalheavens · 5 years

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@viciousvizard said:Kid: Momo and Toshiro ; ), also Lisa and Rose. And Kirio & Byakuya!!

If they had a kid meme

MOMO AND TOSHIRO

Name: Minako Hitsugaya

Gender: Female

General Appearance: Relatively short, Minako stands at barely five feet and is held at a slim weight. Her shihakushou is rather baggy on their frame, and can drag on the floor. her hair is a light silver just like Toshiro’s, but she has Momo’s brown eyes.

Her hair is cut short to avoid any hassle in fights, and she tries to keep it that way.

Personality: Minako is short tempered by nature, and doesn’t take disrespect sitting down. They try and act serious like their father, but is easily distracted and prone to following the other children into danger to try and be the voice of reason, but it never holds up well. She has a strong loyalty to her comrades, and will do anything to protect them

Special Talents: Her swords name is Bakudan, and using the release command, “ Explode “ her shikai appears. Her shikai turns the sword into a long katana, only difference is the blade turns more jagged. Using this, she create sparks off of surfaces, and uses her own reiatsu to create explosions out of it.

As for her bankai, she had been working hard to try and reach it at a younger age then Toshiro did.

Who they like better: Momo!

Who they take after more: Toshiro

Personal Head canon: Loves flower pressing as a hobby

Face Claim: Etoile from Arslan Senki

LISA AND ROSE:

Name: Atsushi Otoribashi

Gender: Male

General Appearance: A tall and lanky boy, he has dirty blonde hair and turquoise colored eyes. He acquired his mothers poor sight, so is almost never not seen with his glasses, unless they’re broken. His shihakushou is always neat and proper, going out of his way to make sure his apperance is always clean.

Personality: Atsushi is a very serious, and noticably aloof individual. He never wants to mess around, and takes his work very important. He’s rough around the edges and is known for being stuck up. But he can be really soft when let in, and even be more than generous

Special Talents: His shikai is called Sairenkōru, or Siren’s call, and it’s release command is “ sing “. When he uses it, his sword gains another blade and looks like a tuning fork. When he collides with someone elses, theres a certain tune heard for anyone in the vicinity. The more times the tune is heard, the enemies attacks will be thrown off and lose momentum.

Atsushi is also affected by this, but he trained himself to bypass the effects.

It’s possible he can do a cero, and other hollow abilties. It’s unknown if a hollow manifested in him or not

Who they like better: Neither, he doesn’t really care for his parents much

Who they take after more: Lisa

Personal Head canon: Has a very impressive collection of records

Face Claim: Shiho Kimizuki from Owari no Seraph

KIRIO AND BYAKUYA

Name: Keiko Kuchiki

Gender: Female

General Appearance: At around 5′3, Keiko has black hair and her mothers violet eyes. She always has her hair down, reaching to her back and only ties it up if she thinks its necessary. She has a very soft demeanor, and doesn’t take the nobility of being a Kuchiki with much grace. She likes wearing her clothes very baggy, and leaving room for her to store things.

Personality: She is very joyous, and doesn’t seem to take anything seriously, getting herself in a whole mess of trouble. She’s well trained in a fight, and is pretty powerful for a girl her age, but doesn’t ever brag about it. She gets upset when people insult her for being part of one of the noble clans and wants others to think of her as just “one of the guys” not knowing thats impossible.

Special Talents: Her shikai is rather unique, and even brutish to that of the noble kuchikis. Her sword is called, Nikuya and it’s release command is “ carve them up “. Her sword becomes a machete, and though it seems rather bland, it uses her own reiatsu to increase its cutting power. She’s yet to learn its full abilities

Noticably can make things out of her reiatsu

Who they like better: Byakuya!

Who they take after more: Kirio

Personal Head canon: She has never met Kirio, or even knows who she is. Keiko is basically a bastard child, in the sense where Kirio had to go back to Squad Zero and Keiko is not allowed there

Is a very good cook

Face Claim: Yuri Egin from Ao No Exorcist

#&&. ( yhwach deserved better 2k20 ) // ooc #WHOO THIS WAS FUN #A lot of work tho i love them

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journaloftomfooleryandjapery · 4 years

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All the TOP 10 OF THE DECADE posts made me want to make one of my own, so here’s my 10 fave games this decade:

Yakuza 0 Shovel Knight Nier Automata Metal Gear Rising Gunvolt Chronicles Luminous Avenger IX Final Fantasy XV Scott pilgrim vs the world the game Undertale Persona 5 Doom

Danganronpa 2, New Vegas, Touhou Luna Nights, Katana Zero and Mario Odyssey all only barely missed out, and it was a tough decision not to include them. I loved the shit out of those games but thinking it through I decided they were just slightly less loved by me than the above.

Below the cut are some extended thoughts (of varying length) on the games included:

Just CTRL F if you wanna find a specific one

Yakuza 0

Every Yakuza game is delightful and this is definitely the best one, in my opinion. The Yakuza games appeal to me for a lot of reasons: the combat, the story, the variety of activities, the look of it all and the music. I feel like its a very unique game experience with its blend of weird in-depth side activities, serious crime drama, manly man masculine combat friendship melodrama, metal gear-esque convoluted conspiracies and a surprisingly compassionate view of the world it takes place in.

The combat is what drew me in initially because it just feels good, the feedback of stomping on a dudes face in yakuza is delivered perfectly, and the attacks are brutal, hard and flashy. Its a very solid and satisfying combat system and in 0 its the best it has ever been. The ability to switch between 3 different and equally fun fighting styles on the fly really lets you mix things up and adapt your approach, every style feels fun and useful. If i had to pick a favorite it would be slugger, but its a tough choice, and they are all very viable and FUN.

Yakuza 0 also gets big points for having the best story in the series. The protagonists feel much more interesting in this era, the fights feel more earned in this game than others, the relationships are incredibly touching (I’m almost mad majima didnt stay with makoto) and the substories (and some parts of the main story) are the funniest they’ve ever been. Stuff like the quasi-stealth mission where you have to make sure women don’t see you buying a porn magazine for a child, and the extended scene of kiryu trying to guess the right business manners for a meeting had me laughing so much i was i was almost in physical pain.

The extensive business and host club substories get you tons of extra game content and are good enough to almost be there own game. The other games in the series have extended side activites of varying quality, but i think 0 had a rare case of all of these being, basically, perfect. The team obviously agrees since host club management came back repeatedly, but never as good as it was here.

Being set in the 80s elevates almost everything in the game because of the outfits, money flying out of every enemy you attack, the classic sega games you can play at the arcade (Outrun is so much fun and I’d have never have given it a proper go otherwise) and the disco minigame everyones made a meme out of (that music is so catchy).

As a final note this game has the best boss fights and music in the series, which is a very high standard to surpass when you look at the rest of the series. The dual final boss fights, the recurring boss for kiryu and almost every majima fight are highlights of the entire series for me.

0 is going to end up being one of the few games I’ll never sell my copy of because i want it available for me to play forever, its a complete delight.

Shovel Knight

This game has been analysed to hell and back, so i wont have much original to say i suppose. Admittedly i did enjoy the first campaign but it didnt completely win me over, plague knights campaign and beyond was what really made this an all time greats for me. It’s one of very few games that gets the NES+SNES platforming appeal 100% right and essentially surpasses most games of the day, with almost perfect pacing, challenge and level design. IT helps that the whole world and story and look is charming as all hell. It’s an easy game to love and the more you play it the more that feels justified. Being PACKED with great content is also a plus. If you liked the first campaign you can just keep going through a set of campaigns about as good that only really rehash some level assets. I would say its one of the best 2D platformers ever for me, if not quite my true number 1.

ALSO JAKE KAUFMAN KNOCKS IT OUT THE PARK WITH THIS SOUNDTRACK

Since i have little else to add to the shovel knight discussion, here’s my ranking/thoughts on each campaign

Plague of shadows. BEST storyline, great levels with a really cool gameplay gimmick, the characters are all cute and the ending really makes me feel for him. both sorry for him at first and then a very real AAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW for LOVE

King of cards. king knight is just fun as hell to play as, he doesnt have that many tools but his movement is just crazy fun and i love the flair in all his animations. also has that rad final boss. joustus is ok i guess.

Shovel of hope. uuuuuuh what can i even say about this. its good, and the melancholy dream bits add a lot to the mood of the story. we’ve already analysed this campaign within an inch of its life i dont think i can say anything new. wish we could fight the battletoads on pc.

Specter of torment. still fun and i appreciate the tone change, but i didnt care as much for the characters and the mega man-esque level select doesnt suit shovel knight imo. specter knight has a lot of fun movement options though. mainly i just love GRINDING and the diagonal slash. i dont give a fuck about reize

Nier Automata

I feel a tiny bit ashamed i have so little to say about this considering it is one of the most emotional experiences i have ever had with a story. If i lsten to the final version of weight of the world i still cry just from remembering this game and how it made me feel. i think its one of the greatest narratives of the century but i can barely get across the appeal to anyone who hasnt already played it. its a story about hope, despair and the nature of the human race that never feels like its preachy or pretensious or taking on more than it can handle. it made me feel all kinds of emotions deeply and intensely, it genuinely made me burst into tears about 10 times, maybe more. even putting aside the ggrand narrative, theres so many cool character moments and bits of world building and visual eements and tragic little side stories that you would need a whole book to talk about them all while doing any real justice to them. i loved it so much that im paying £70 to see an orchestra do the soundtrack live. I want to hug and kiss 2b and 9s better. i just love it deeply and i find it hard to explain why it makes me feel that way, but its a dark beautiful and hopeful story where every moment feels earned. the despair of the story giving way to genuine hope with the rest of the world helping you fight for it is such an intensely emotional moment that you could never replicate outside of this kind of story and medium. how the fuck do i explain that to anyone that doesnt already get it. I’m glad this game exists

Metal Gear Rising

Well, complete tone shift here. Platinum made a lot of great action games in the last decade that all dig into that same itch for DODGE SLOW MOTION BANG BANG BANG alongside great soundtracks, visuals and awesome set piece moments. Just intense, flashy, awesome combat. Picking a favorite of the decade was the hard part, because a platinum game had to be one of my faves of the decade. The closest was transformers, but mgr has a couple of things about it that put it above the rest of the platinum catalog for me.

The story actually works very well at still being metal gear while in the platinum formula, its about the cycle of violence and FINDING YOUR OWN PURPOSE and it works weirdly well. The strangest part is that it feels like a legitimate sequel to metal gear 4 tonally while still being the crazy action game it is

Raiden is just super fun to play as, while I’ll always miss the DODGE SLOWMO in a platinum game parry and zandatsu give a great flow to fights and there’s real exhilaration to parrying a hard chain of attacks and tearing out a bunch of enemies spines at once every time

raiden is also just a fun protag, it truly allows me to embrace that kind of stereotypical edgy cool anime swordsman he embodies

BEST PLATINUM SOUNDTRACK DO NOT @ ME

Bosses just rule

one of the best final bosses ever, in my opinion? maybe that’s controversial, but armstrong gets an insane amount of characterization and pure PRESENCE out of such a small amount of screen time and the fact he feels like such a perfect rival to raiden so quickly is kind of nuts to me. within about half an hour you are ready for the ultimate final showdown with everything at stake, and then the gameplay 100% delivers on that with a fight that is challenging as hell and just feels climatic and intimidating. its a little thing, but having this dude just smack you around with his hands and almost no fighting skill after a game filled with crazy flippy cyborg ninjas makes him feel TOUGH and the way you finish him off? it just rocks, plain and simple. I don’t think i need to justify slices a massive dudes chest open and ripping out his giant still beating robot heart as the music climaxes and our cool edgy protag literally says WE’RE DONE HERE. truly, it has to be this way.

Gunvolt Chronicles Luminous Avenger IX

For fast twitchy 2d platformers this barely beat out Katana Zero and Touhou Luna Nights, but i think its just a little better. The skill ceiling on this game is high as hell and once you really get to grips with it, its an experience you cant find anywhere else. its just satisfying as hell to be able to get through the point where you can ZOOM through these levels by making use of copen’s dash and lock-on and weapons well enough. once you get good enough to get through a hole level without touching the ground, you just cant go back. I liked this enough to get an S rank on almost every level. this game just rules, man.

story, art and music are all great as well. but they pale in importance next to zippy jetpack zoom zoom fun time.

also great for having a cool twist that i genuinely did not see coming at all

Final Fantasy XV

For context, my experience of FFXV was not the base game so i cannot personally address the concerns of the version at launch, which i hear from others was a total mess! The game has been updated and changed so much that it is probably almost unrecognizable aside from the absolute base aspects of it. The version i am talking about is, as far as we know, the “final” version released right before Episode Ardyn. There was of course an update after this, but it only added DLC compatibility and a few items, so it means very little in the grand scheme. I also played all of the dlc and watched all the periphery material to get the full, messy disjointed experience. it is also worth noting that the only other FF game i have played is the classic title Mario Hoops 3 on 3 Basketball. I feel it important to tell you this before getting into things so that you can have a full idea of the perspective i come at the game from.

This was chosen over Mario Odyssey and someone will probably kill me for that. I just think its a great emotional story that does a fantastic job of making you care for all the characters, and the world feels massive and full of cool stuff to see. It’s my favorite open world game and i love The Boys. its not the kind of thing i usually play but i think it genuinely had a great story and its a very fun game to just explore and spend time in. ffxv truly understands the emotional bond between The Lads and it is fun to kill big monsters with your party

(they kinda ruin the last cutscene in english, in japanese he says I LOVE YOU GUYS and it makes me cry but in english he goes U GUYS ARE THE BEST which just isnt the same. a small nitpick though. a lot of this game made me cry regardless, its just great at creating an emotional bond)

I admire the insane level of ambition in the visuals and scope, and i bought every dlc for it because it was just that good. the ifrit boss fight and all the giant monsters are just amazingly epic in scale. the “found a cool rock” post is what i truly admire about this game summed up.

all the ancillary material for the game is great and worth getting into, with the exception of the Comrades multiplayer expansion. Everything else adds depth to the story and the world without being entirely necessary for you to get through the story. the anime and the dlc all really feel worth getting into without being something you have to see to get The Full Experience

the giant monsters are cool

Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game

Being from 2010 this game only just makes it in, but it was my favorite beat em up this decade and a source of great nostalgia for me. It had a pretty big impact on music and art tastes in regards to games, and in retrospect this games existence was very much a dream team scenario. Paul Robertson is a great sprite artist who does a lot of good work, Anamanaguchi have gone on to become one of my favorite bands (another winter is still one of their best tracks imo) and at the time this came out i was obsessed with scott pilgrim. That plus the beat em up gameplay makes this kind of a perfect blending of a lot of my specific tastes. Playing this brings me back to the time in my school life that i played it very distinctly, a more comfortable time in my life for sure, and i think the game still stands up excellently. I hope that someday it will get a rerelease so others can enjoy it. I give this another play through every year or so, but i wish id gotten the dlc while it was still available

Doom

ITS VIOLENT ITS FAST ITS FUN ITS METAL

i like this game because of the intense adrenaline rush and violent catharsis it gives me, essentially a constant dopamine rush

fun game good

Undertale

I’m glad i got to this before the massive wave of spoilers and popularity came about. It’s a great story with some fun gameplay, and i think SANS UNDERTALE was one of the best boss fights this decade. Its a shame that for so many new players this experience is going to be ruined by spoilers

Persona 5

Danganronpa 2 and fallout new vegas were close contenders for this last spot. I actually made a post about my thoughts on this game before https://journaloftomfooleryandjapery.tumblr.com/post/184341270554/nue-is-great-love-his-goofy-design-when-life-will but essentially

Essentially, its got a great cast of characters, a cool slick look, great monster designs, a fun gameplay loop of collecting monsters and grinding stats while waiting for the next big event, and a surprisingly good story

No idea if royal is any good, but its on a pretty small list of games that i might actually take the time to replay

#game thoughts

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smallgayblanket · 5 years

Note

OOh - tell me some of your headcannons for the egos?

Ohhh man oh man oh man- which one do i even start with..

I have a load of different HCS that fit certain different spins of how the egos are depending on one what kinda universe they are apart of..

For example, I have one about JJ- Where he was actually made mute by Shawn, except Shawn while his body was puppeted by the ink demon creature that resides within him. (Ive even RP’d a thing with a friend where Shawn’s ink counterpart forced ink into JJ and JJ ended up having his own alter ink persona called Cole.)

JJ is a bartender- and hes suuuper good at knowing exactly what someone will enjoy as a drink, call it a superpower, he hardly ever goes wrong when asked what he suggests they’d like.

(Also he has a pocket watch which contains the soul of an old man called Horace who likes to try and provide old man advice to the lad.)

And although hes a timey fellow, I actually HC’d his ablity would to be to control liquids, his veins in his wrists glow when he does it, its very fancy (and extremely pretty when he can make creatures out of water dance on the surface of the lake) However over use leads to him suffering an experience of drowning which can be rather dangerous and awfully scary.

JJ also has a huge fear of knives.

Also I picture him having silver tipped hair, which is just a touch long and flops in his eyes occasionally.

JJ Also suffers malnutrition because of his sore vocal cords/throat. It can be struggle to get him to eat!. (Did i mention I cannon him as selectively /half mute because he can still talk but its raspy and hurts to do so ? ^^’ )

Jackie

Jackie!! my ladd. Hes a great guy, buff, charming, super big sweetheart too.

He runs a couple of jobs, depending on where hes at which include: a comic book shop, a gym, or just sneakily hiding in plain sight as a gas station convenience store clerk.

I HC that his eyes are actually a blue tinted lilac, and glow gold.

He has a red patch in his hair!

Hes v v fast, and buff.

I also had this whole thing about him being able to create glowing golden orbs and if he makes enough of them he can basically make a clone out of orbs, and they copy what he does!

However, I’ve also always adored Phionex! Jackie, who lost his wings and desperately wants to grow them back but despite being reborn from ash they seem to still refuse to resprout.

Because of his inhuman nature, he runs really fucking warm! so hes like a human heater.

He gives real good advice, and the bestest fuckin hugs.

Also for some reason whenever I write him speaking he has a bit of southern in him?

Robbie

Robbie. Is the softest of lads, he drowns in his sweaters, and as a few autistic traits. Not a fan of big loud noises and crowds and loves soft things to nuzzle up against. Also big oral fixation, boi needs some chew toys. Hes a good lad, eager to help out and be around the other egos, but also quite the quiet type and happy to sit around at home in his piles of blankets.

Chase

I totally HC that Chase suffers from Chronic fatigue, which is part of why his depression got so bad and that he tries his best to make use of his energy. Poor guy can get real tuckered out when he pushes himself too hard.

He's always kept the lime green mess on the top of his head, though sometimes it gets more yellow then he means for it to get.

He has a tattoo dedicated to his kids hidden under his sleeve on his upper arm/shoulder. It's of some cool triangles. One in red for his son, one in purple for his daughter.

He does really well trying to maintain his bro average channel.

Anti

I kinda have a couple views on Anti, since I love cold asshole murder, and also the possibility of ships with a slightly more misunderstood but softer guy.

Hes got static blue eyes, that you’ll only see if hes being vulnerable or super tired that he cant maintain the scary green glow.

I have a HC that hes actually a missing part of Jacks soul, hence why he feels so unstable, incomplete and sad. Hes missing all the good bits that Sean has, and is left with a cold fragment of what he could really be.

However he has, and does murder. Though he attempts to murder those who have actually done wrong.

Very sassy and snappy. Takes alot to get to get to who he actually is.

On the other hand he can just be a fucking ruthless torturer and crazy sadistic asshole who has it out for nearly everyone!

Angus!

Survival hunter. Weird accent mix of Australian and Irish. Uses 'mate' 'oi' 'bag a few of them'

Has a trusty machette. And an epic bow which he's p good at using. Large knowledge of trees and animals and survival.

Wears alot of camo/brown stuff. Loads of pockets. Pocket knife/multitool Hair usually slicked back or messy.

Finger less gloves! Oceany more greeny pale eyes. Totally has some cool studs in his ears- maybe a little wolf fang in the side or something. Beard more like is soft and fuller and well maintained.

Freckles??? sunspots?? yes. Also toned n tanned Def has scars. On his neck, over his cheek and right eye. Plenty on his hands from burns and stings. Has some nasty ones on his ankle on his right foot from accidentally encountering a rouge set up bear trap- nearly lost his foot. Because of that theres sometimes a faint limp that's only kinda there when hes sick/tired.

Obviously wears boots.

Eats alot of trail mix.Loves his meat tho.

Also partakes in Woodcarving !!

Sometimes rather foolishly ignores when hes hurt.

Lost his right leg from the knee down to an awful incident with a hippo Has a prosthetic leg.

Also lost from his elbow down his forearm n hand to a Wedingo.

if he were to have a Home it would basically be a sanctuary. Like a huge property out of the way and secluded.. Nice and private.

HE HAS A St. Bernard. Big puppo- Called Baloo.

He grows some cool ass rare flowers, some homegrown vegtables n berries. Maybe even a cashew tree/apple tree. Plenty of shade but also fresh air.

He has solar panels too so hes basically not needing anyone asides the trip to the shop for like basics he cant acquire like soaps n milk n stuff.

Blank

My fucking. Boi.

Fricking soft boy, his aura is hard to control and sometimes controls him.

He has a rare heart issue which makes him prone to fainting and collapsing without much warning. Still, he tries.

He mumbles an awful lot, and has boughts where his aura ges really bad and he numbs out..(Usually in the corner of his room, everything dark, and loads of errie whispers..)

His aura can manifest into dead vines. He can also absorb other auras so they cant affect him/others!

Sometimes stray petals end up in his hair.

He’s truly trying to be a good lad, hes just a bit odd and misguided. He worries he’ll turn into a monster.

He fucking loves the moves Finding Nemo, and Finding Dory, because he can be very forgetful too.

Honestly, fav boi, should write more for him i just l ove him alot okay.

KOTS

Personally, I HC that the KOTS is actually called Simon. Occasionally i like to picture him with both ears and tail, but generally hes just a guy in glasses in a red sweater who is generally a little skittish and usually quite frazzled. However he actually isnt all that dumb, and has quite an extensive knowledge on the forests flora and fauna.

I did have a really mean HC that hes actually allergic to PB, but only in the sense that it upsets his tum, so like a lactose intolerant person, he eats it and regrets that later.

Also, he has a really nice hanging egg nest thing thats really cushioned and he loves to curl up and sleep there with a nice book.

He’s got really pretty amber eyes too!!

Edward!!

He fucking loves space!! and Secretly also is not that bad at painting. It's a soothing thing to do in his downtime.

His favourite treat is anything with white chocolate and raspberry.

Also, I quite adore my HC that he loses an arm- Either because of upsetting the heads of the household (Dark/Wilford) or because of a house fire.

(Also this isnt the place to mention it but I did once get excited about the idea of a Google/Edward fusion called Edware.)

Yandere

Nonbinary somewhat MTF.

They’re a real cutie. but they will punch dickheads without sweat and really just want someone to be their senpai and let them fall for them head over heels without running away..

They have an epic pink katana. Obviously a huge love for japan and its culture and stuff.

Quite obsessive, but it usually only endangers them for falling so hard that they hurt themselves trying to please their Senpai and beat themselves up over not being worthy or good enough for them when they dont get affection back or end up rejected.

Also yeah theyre into blood a little bit >.>

I kinda love the idea of shipping them with Bim and helping him get a supply of ‘meat’ in return Bim gives plenty of affections to satisfy Yans starved nature.

#everyoneprotector #hcs #my ideas #I love so many of these okay

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thetravelerwrites · 6 years

Text

Commitments: Part 1 (Gargoyles Fanfic)

Rating: Teen Fandom: Disney’s Gargoyles Relationships: Goliath x Elisa Maza Additional Tags: Marriage, Proposal, Engagement Trigger Warnings: Light Language, Sex Mention Words: 3996

Takes place in the years 1998-2000, and pertains to the Commitment Ceremony that had been planned for future comics between Elisa and Goliath. There will also be Brooklyn/Katana and Broadway/Angela moments thrown in. Please leave feedback!

It wasn’t going to be a wedding, not exactly. Gargoyles had no need to marry; once they gave their heart to someone, they were bound to that person until death or until they decided they were no longer compatible, which frankly was an uncommon occurrence among Goliath’s people. The severance of his union with Demona was, although perfectly understandable under the circumstances, exceedingly rare.

Gargoyles trusted their feelings far more than humans did theirs. On the whole, they didn’t often succumb to insecurity about their own love for their mates or the love of their mates for them. Perhaps that was why humans needed the security of marriage, the notion that they controlled their own emotions and not the other way around, to give them a sense of certainty about their feelings. Tokens, legal documents, and ceremonies were all trappings of humanity’s desire to make something as simple as loving another person complicated and tedious, and to Gargoyles, unnecessary.

The ceremony had been Goliath’s idea, though. After the Masquerade two years ago at the Xanatos Building in which Thailog had nearly killed Goliath, Elisa had sat down with him sometime later, nearly a month, and they discussed their relationship at length over coffee, laying out what being together meant for the both of them and if they felt it was still worth pursuing. They both agreed that it was.

Elisa told him that she had come to terms with the things about their lives together that would always be out of their reach and seemed content to lay them aside, having made the personal discovery that being with Goliath was worth far more to her than a normal human life. Goliath wasn’t sure he completely believed her but decided not to push the matter. He was simply happy to have her back.

After they had talked, Goliath had flown back to the tower with his thoughts in a roil. Being with him shouldn’t rob her of everything she had wanted in a mate. Surely some middle ground was to be reached in this situation. He had taken seriously the things Elisa had said during the brief period when they had separated. There were things he knew he’d never be able to give her: the house in the suburbs with the white picket fence she had spoken of. Gargoyles didn’t believe in money, and they had little to no interest in physical property, so buying a house was out of the question. Goliath suspected, however, that this specific desire was an optional one.

It was children that would be the biggest issue for Elisa and Goliath was keenly aware of it, even if she said it didn’t matter to her anymore. It wasn’t the same for him; Gargoyles did not have daughters or sons, nor fathers and mothers. The children of the clan belonged to the whole clan. That was simply the Gargoyle way.

Though he had to admit, this was no longer true, at least for the Manhattan Clan. Brooklyn was deeply devoted to his and Katana’s hatchlings. Goliath knew Angela and Broadway had been privately discussing laying their own egg. Goliath himself had come to love his only biological daughter as any father should, and while Elisa loved Angela very much and treasured their friendship, he doubted Elisa would ever consider her a daughter. They were too close in equivalent age for that. A child was one thing Elisa would never have with Goliath, and though it was a matter they both regretted deeply, nothing could be done to change it.

It wasn’t until he was back at the tower and overheard Owen talking about plans for Xanato’s anniversary that it clicked. There was one thing he could do for her. He could, officially and in public, surrounded by friends, family, and clan, declare his love for her. Become not only her mate, but her husband, and she his wife. Human terms though they were, Goliath didn’t mind them so much if it would make her happy, and he dearly wanted her to be happy.

Goliath was unfamiliar with the specifics of the ritual and resorted to asking Elisa’s brother, Talon, for help in planning it. One aspect was talking to the parents and, in some cases, asking the father for permission. Talon laughed at this, amused at the thought of the progressive, independent Elisa furious at both Goliath and her father for discussing her like she was a commodity for which they could barter.

Goliath did think that talking to Elisa’s parents about his intentions was appropriate. He wanted them to be there for the ceremony, as they would become part of his clan. Diane accepted it immediately, though Peter had needed a bit of convincing. Diane had given Goliath a ring that had belonged to her grandmother; a silver band with five inlaid sapphires. In return, Goliath asked Diane to officiate the ceremony. Diane cried, accepted, and hugged Goliath around the middle, an embrace Goliath awkwardly returned.

Another aspect of the ritual was, as Talon had put it, to “pop the question.” And one couldn’t just come out and ask, either, it had to be done in a special way with forethought and meaning. Talon had told Goliath about New Hope in Pennsylvania, which was an hour and forty-five minutes by bus, but much faster by air, which he knew from taking Maggie there a fair few times. There was a wildflower reserve there that Elisa had visited often as a child, but she hadn’t been back since she had entered the academy. Goliath thought it sounded perfect.

He kept his intentions quiet from everyone else, waiting for the right moment to ask Elisa and get her answer before mentioning it to anyone besides her family. It had taken time, more than a year, for him to work up the nerve. One thing or another always seemed to get in the way; her work, their missions, villains, new threats, all seemed to pop up just as Goliath was attempting to pull her away and ask.

One night in July of 1999, he finally had the chance he was waiting for. Elisa had three nights off in a row, the city was relatively quiet, there were no pressing matters to attend to at the castle, and despite the summer heat, the nights were pleasantly cool. Thinking this could be his only chance to do things properly, he made his plan to take her out to the reserve swiftly, before something could stop him. Goliath had only told her they were going somewhere special and left it at that.

That night, he reached her apartment and let himself in through the open window. He found her in the kitchen packing a picnic basket with various things, looking up at him with a beaming smile as he came closer. She was draped in a lovely pale blue dress, knee-length and flared at the hip, as practical as it was pretty.

She abandoned her task long enough to jump into his embrace, her feet dangling from the floor, and plant a kiss on his lips, which he returned with a gentle smile.

“It’s good to see you, too,” He said.

She laughed. “So where are we going?” She asked, still clutching his neck and running a finger up and down the place where his back curved into his neck, feeling the strange, minuscules scales that made up his skin, so fine and small that you had to be looking very close to see them at all. Rough when caressed one way, smooth if rubbed the other.

“It’s a surprise,” Goliath said as he released her. Her hands slid down his chest as she was set back on her feet and moved away to finish packing. “But we must go soon. It is quite far.”

She smiled and nodded, picking up the basket and a blanket that had been thrown over a nearby chair, and allowing herself to be lifted up and cradled in Goliath’s arms. Then they were off.

The trip took the better part of forty minutes, and they whiled away the time by talking about one thing or another. It was so much better now that it was all out in the open and they didn’t have to dance around each other as they had done in the first two years of their acquaintance when they couldn’t admit their feelings. Now things between them were easier, effortless, like talking with your best friend. Because Goliath was her best friend; the best she had ever had.

Elisa had been talking about plans for her sister’s graduation next year when she looked down and stopped mid-sentence.

“Wait!” She said, shifting a little to get a better look. “I know where we are! The wildflower reserve! Goliath, how did you find out about this place?”

“Your brother mentioned it to me,” Goliath said smugly. “He said this place was special to you.”

“Aw,” Elisa tutted. “I should visit him and Maggie soon.”

“I have no doubt you two will have much to discuss,” He said.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Nothing. There’s a deck there where we can land. Hold on.” He dove downward quickly, flattening his wings against his back as the ground rose swiftly to meet them. He unfurled his wings with enough time to slow them without scrambling their insides before landing gently on the wooden patio sitting in the middle of the field, surrounded by the colorful, fragrant plants as far as the eye could see. Talon had been right. This was the perfect place.

Elisa handed him the quilt, which he shook out and laid down over the wood. Elisa knelt and went about setting the things she had packed out onto the fabric. Goliath sat down cross-legged and assisted.

The basket had contained sandwiches, cheeses, and fruit, as well as water, wine, and if Elisa was feeling particularly festive, a bottle of whiskey.

“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, Elisa,” Goliath said, looking over the spread she had packed.

“It wasn’t any trouble. I just threw some stuff in a basket. You’re the one who lugged us here in forty minutes with no break.” She handed him a glass of wine and a small plate with food, which he accepted with a smile. “I’m glad you suggested we do this. I love New York, but it’s nice to get away from the city for a while and spend some time with you alone.”

“I agree,” He replied. “This has been long overdue.”

She poured herself a glass of wine and settled next to him, leaning into him and sighing contently. He enjoyed the weight and warmth of her body against his. They ate and drank in relative silence, but not an uncomfortable one. They were not the type of couple that felt the need to fill the void with inane chatter. Simply being alone with each other with no sense urgency or distress was reward enough.

After a while, when they had eaten their fill and drank enough wine to make them feel very at ease, Goliath sat up straight and reached behind him.

“I have something for you,” He said, pulling out a thin, long blue box in roughly she shape of a book, complete with a bow. “A gift.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Where were you hiding that?”

He smiled a wide, toothy smile that was most unlike him, and presented the box to her. She took it with a furtive glance at him.

“You’ve never given me a gift before,” She said, intrigued.

“No,” Goliath admitted. “Gift-giving is not a typical Gargoyle practice. Tonight is special, however.”

“Special, how?”

“You shall see.”

Quirking an eyebrow at him, she untied the bow and lifted the lid. It was, in fact, a book: a photo album. The covers, back and front, were plain and bound in a midnight blue canvas. She opened the cover and gasped. The very first picture was of every person she loved standing together; her parents, Derek and Maggie, all of the Manhattan Clan, including Brooklyn and Katana’s hatchlings, tall Nashville and tiny Matsuko, and the newest edition, Broadway and Angela’s egg, which they proudly held between them. Lexington had little Alexander on his shoulders, now three years old but looking much older. Even Beth was there, smiling and standing with her arm around Derek’s waist. Goliath was also there, standing head and shoulders above the rest, square in the middle with his hand on Angela’s shoulder, a crooked smile on his normally grim features.

“Oh, my God,” Elisa breathed, flipping through the pages only to find more photos of her family and the clan interacting. There was a picture of Alexander playing with Matsuko, with Bronx laying belly up next to them. There was one of Derek, Maggie, Beth, Diane, Peter, and Matt Bluestone all playing cards together. There were tastefully shot photographs of the Gargoyles as stone in the sunlight, both in greyscale and in full color. There was even a sneakily obtained shot of Elisa sitting with all of them last year when she had managed to get them together for Christmas dinner, taken without her knowledge. She marveled at each page, a wondering smile lighting her face.

“How?” She asked. “How did you do this?”

“Your sister, Beth, helped me put it together. I wanted to do something special for you. She gave us all disposable cameras and asked us to take pictures, and she developed the film herself.” He was delighted by the pure joy in her expression. “You like it?”

“Goliath, I love this. I love it so much. It’s beautiful.” She kept turning the pages, stopping at each one to admire and smile at the candid shots of her family, of Angela sitting quietly and cradling her egg with Broadway hovering protectively nearby, of Katana and Beth laughing over tea with Matsuko in Beth’s lap, laughing along with them. Of her father and Hudson reclining in easy-chairs, talking somberly over a glass of bourbon. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever been given.

“Thank you, Goliath,” She said, holding the book to her chest. “I love it so much.”

“Keep going,” He said with a smile. “I saved the best for last.”

She grinned at him and kept turning pages until she reached the back cover, where rested a small, plain, white envelope.

“What’s this?” She asked, holding it up.

“Open it,” He replied. His smile was gone and he seemed to tense suddenly, though she was unsure why. Puzzled, she slit open the top of the envelope with her fingernail and peered inside.

“What is that?” She asked quietly, as if to herself. She tipped the envelope over and the silver ring tumbled into her hand. At first, she didn’t react, trying to comprehend what she was seeing. She looked up at him, a stunned expression on her face. He was looking at her very seriously, all trace of playfulness gone.

“Goliath,” Elisa said slowly, turning the band slowly in her fingers, examining it as if it were a riddle to be solved. “This is a ring.”

Yes,” Goliath answered simply, watching her face with rising apprehension.

She looked up at him, her chest tight. “For humans, when a man gives a woman a ring, it means something.”

“Yes, I am aware of this,” Goliath replied, his eyes still locked on hers. “I’ve spoken to your family. Your mother gave me this ring. To give to you.”

Elisa was finding it hard to breathe. Surely he didn’t mean… he wasn’t… “Are… are you…. Goliath, what does this mean?”

Goliath reached out his hand, and Elisa laid the ring into his open palm.

“Elisa,” he began. “When a Gargoyle chooses a mate, they pledge themselves to each other, much the same as humans do. But for our kind, it is a private matter that takes place between the two souls in love, away from prying eyes. After the pledge is made, it is acknowledged within the clan that the lovers are no longer two separate souls, but one soul that resides in two bodies, living for and within each other.

“Ceremonies and celebrations are not the Gargoyle way,” He continued. “We find gladness in the union of our friends and rejoice in their happiness, but there are no festivities to mark the occasion. That is a human custom.” Goliath looked long at the ring sitting cold and smooth in his hand. “But if I am to take a human woman as my mate, as I intend to do, I must come to accept her people’s customs and adapt to them. For her people will become my people, as mine have already become hers.”

Elisa sat staring wide-eyed at Goliath, her mouth open in shock.

“Therefore,” Goliath continued, taking a breath and reaching for Elisa’s left hand, which she offered. “I, Goliath, willingly offer to pledge my life and love to you, and ask you, Elisa Maza, if you would willingly pledge your life and love to me. Do you accept this offer?”

She seemed too stunned for speech. Her breathing was shallow and uneven. A tear spilled over her eye and down her cheek.

“Elisa?” Goliath asked in concern, brushing the tear away. “Are you alright?”

She nodded, another tear falling. She held his hand to her face and managed to find her voice, though it came out rather strangled. “I accept.”

A smile started to spread across his face. “Yes?”

“Yes,” She said, wiping her cheeks and laughing. “I accept. Nothing else on earth would make me happier.”

She took the ring from his palm and put it on her left ring finger, then pushed herself up to her knees to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him. His arms encircled her waist and squeezed gently.

The kiss deepened became more urgent. Elisa fell back, pulling him with her so that he lay next to her on the blanket. Their arms wrapped tightly around each other as they explored each other’s kiss. She boldly flicked her tongue into his mouth and over his teeth, sharp enough to bite through steel, with no fear or apprehension. He responded in kind.

He gently caressed her face with one hand and the fingers of his other hand traced the skin up and down her spine. She had always marveled at the level of control it took for a person who could literally tear a car apart with his bare hands to touch her so tenderly. His claws were made for penetrating stone and metal, to climb and carry the immense weight of his body, yet in all the times he had touched her, he had never once left a mark.

Taking his hand from her face, she moved it downward to touch her breast. Goliath stiffened and pulled away.

“Elisa,” He started with a sigh. “We have discussed this.”

“Goliath,” She replied in a slightly exasperated voice. She sat up. “Every time I try to initiate intimacy with you, you push me away. Ever since that night we decided to stay together, you’ve brushed me off. I always figured it’s because you’re just old-fashioned, but I really think we are past the point of propriety here, don’t you?”

“It is not about that,” He said, pushing himself up into a sitting position as well. “When you first attempted to engage with me, we had just repaired our relationship. It was new and fragile, and I felt it was far too soon to be intimate with you.”

“I can understand that, Goliath, but we’ve been together for over two years now. Our relationship is more solid than it’s ever been. Besides, we are both adults, and we’ve done this before. Not with each other, obviously, but we have both had sexual partners in the past. Neither of us are exactly virgins.”

“That is not the point,” Goliath said. “Humans treat this subject with far too much indifference. There is no such thing as a casual encounter among Gargoyles.”

“Do you really think that’s what I’m trying to do?” Elisa said, mildly annoyed. “We literally just got… I don’t know… engaged? Betrothed? This isn’t exactly ‘casual’ for me.”

She folded her arms, looking away into the distance and growing quiet, as though she had suddenly realized something deeply unpleasant.

“What is it?” He asked, watching her expression shift.

“Nothing, it’s not worth mentioning,” She said dismissively, though she wouldn’t look at him.

“Tell me.”

She sighed, tilting her head in a begrudging way and refused to meet his eye, looking out over the field of flowers.

“Well,” She started slowly. “I had thought… I mean, I know Gargoyles don’t exactly find humans physically attractive. I thought, maybe… you didn’t think of me… in that…” She trailed off, visibly embarrassed.

It took a moment for Goliath to comprehend what she was saying. “Oh! No, Elisa, it isn’t like that at all. I have wanted to…” He struggled for wording that wouldn’t be vulgar. “To be with you in that way many times while we have been together.”

“Then why haven’t you?” She asked, looking at him. She was definitely upset.

“You must understand, to my kind, the act of making love is a promise in and of itself. To do so before now would not have been… appropriate.”

“So why not now?” Elisa asked him, her arms still folded. The ring he had given her noticeably glinting against the dark skin of her hand, drawing his eye.

He took her hand and held it in his, bending down to kiss her fingers. “Elisa, I love you,” He said gently. “To me, this is as miraculous a thing as seeing the sunrise with my own two eyes. After what Demona had done, after all the betrayals my clan had suffered by not only humans, but from my own kind, I had sworn that I would never trust or love again. You were the one to change that. The fact that you are human makes no difference; I desire to…” If a Gargoyle could blush, Elisa believed he might be. “To touch your body and lie with you and show you the depths of my longing.

“I wish to give you all that you desire and more, but I wish to do so the proper way. Though our methods may be different, both humans and Gargoyles set aside a time in which they make their pledge, after which they consummate the union. For my people, it is a private matter, but humans have a ceremony in which all the people they love gather to be a part of the celebration. As I understand it, the consummation takes place after the festivities have ended. ‘The wedding night,’ I believe it’s called. I want for you as normal a life as I am capable of providing. It is important to me that we observe the human ritual of marriage as well as we can, including the consummation ritual.”

Elisa had to laugh at that. “Honestly, Goliath, I hadn’t pegged you for the ‘saving myself for marriage’ type. But that part of the marriage is usually for people who are religious, and you and I both know neither of us are what you might call devout. In this day and age, it’s at most an optional aspect of the wedding.”

“Even so,” Goliath said, smiling. “I believe it is the right thing to do.”

Elisa sighed. She stood briefly and then settled in his lap, her arms around his neck. “You’re really going make me wait, aren’t you?”

Goliath returned her embrace. “I’m afraid so. But I promise you, it will be worth the wait.”

“It had better be,” She said dangerously, tracing his lips with her finger. He caught her hand and then kissed her again. She grumbled around the kiss but relented. He definitely wasn’t making it easy on her.

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