#but also LoR sucks

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i would love to hear your dark spore rant. i didnt even know spore had a sequel.

Oh anon. Poor sweet anon. I’m so sorry.

So, the thing about Darkspore is…

… it was a really REALLY… mediocre game.

Like, the moment to moment gameplay was… fine. Just fine. Not incredible. But not BAD! Really, it only had two major flaws:

The first, it was buggy as hell. One particularly nasty bug was present in the games launcher, and on certain systems the game would fail to install at all. They were unable to ever fix this bug, which I speculate was a major reason the game was abandoned by the devs so quickly and lead to it being taken down from every major digital distribution site. You could still install and play it if you already bought it though! If… it actually installed for you.

Which leads us to the second flaw. It’s right there on the box.

“Internet connection required”

The game has Always Online DRM. All the levels, enemies, loot, your entire account, was all stored server side. And servers are expensive. So, when the games bugs became unwieldy and not worth fixing, and they took it offline… it became a money sink. It was a game generating ZERO revenue, but had huge server maintenance costs. So eventually, they just shut down the servers.

It is now very difficult to obtain the game, requiring you to buy one of the few unopened physical copies remaining. And even once you do have it, it is IMPOSSIBLE to play. There is a project called Resurrection Capsule in the works, some fans trying to create a private server for it. But with so much info stored server side, they basically have to recreate entire subsystems from scratch. It’s… not going very fast, and to my knowledge hasn’t been touched in over a year.

Story

The story of the game is pretty basic. A progenitor race of alien super-scientists create a new, synthetic form of DNA, called Exponential-DNA, or E-DNA. This rapidly mutates to create new life, and can be guided to create specific, specialized organisms, condensing thousands of years of evolution to a few hours. It can also be injected into existing creatures to alter them and make them more powerful. However it also linked everything affected by it into a hivemind. So it was outlawed. The creator of it decided to respond by creating a E-DNA virus, called The Darkspore, infecting himself with it, and spreading it across the galaxy and conquering it, wiping out his own race.

You play as another member of that race, who has been in hibernation for 1000 years while that was going down. Your ship AI has woken you up because it has managed to stabilize E-DNA and also keep it disconnected from the hivemind, and needs you to go kill the guy who took over the galaxy. That is how the game starts.

…

And how the story ends. There is not really any more story past that part. You get a cutscene describing each of the games 6 planets the first time you visit it, and a final “Hey you won!” cutscene after killing the final boss which ends with the cliche “implication the villain isn’t really dead” trope, and… that’s it. That’s the entire story. Not really the selling point of this game. Its not even entirely clear if it takes place in the same universe as Spore! It’s just set dressing for “Run through these 24 levels and beat everything up”

Gameplay

Darkspore was created by Maxis. This alone was HUGE. This was a team of developers who only really made lifesims like The Sims and Sim City, taking a stab at making a diablolike game.

And I GENUINELY BELIEVE every single studio out there needs to do shit like this. Designing for something so outside your wheelhouse creates SOOOOO much innovation so quickly. You get fresh new ideas injected into the genre so quickly. The final product won’t be good! You don’t have any damn experience in the genre! But it will create something unique beautiful, and god damn I wish we lived in a world where that alone was enough and devs weren’t focused on chasing profits instead.

Genesis

Genesis is just a fancy way of saying ‘Element’. There are 5 of them: Plasma (fire and lightning), Bio (plants and animals), Cyber (machines), Necro (death and fear), and Quantum (space and time) and the way they interact is… certainly a choice I guess. Each Darkspore you face has a genesis it falls into, and each of your heroes has one as well. If your Genesis matches that of the darkspore you are fighting at the moment, you take double damage and they take half damage. If they don’t match, all damage both ways is neutral.

The system itself is kinda mediocre. The biggest part of it, however, is the Variant Skills. Each Genesis has 4 unique skills tied to it that represent the common elements of that type.

Heroes

There are 25 heroes in the game, which each have one Genesis and one Class (Sentinel which are the tanks, Ravagers which are the DPS, and Tempest which are the Casters/Support)

Each hero has 4 total variants, with the first one you unlock being Alpha, and as you level up your account (heroes do not have their own levels) you eventually can purchase their Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants, with each variant having slightly different stats, and a different one of their Genesis’ 4 variant abilities.

Each hero has a unique basic attack, which USUALLY has a little extra to it. For example Sage shoots a bolt that hurts enemies it hits, but heals allies it hits. Zrin alternates between two different punches, one of which has a short duration DoT and the other of which has a 10% stun chance. Stuff like that.

They also have a passive effect that is always active while you are playing them. Collect a soul from each enemy killed for a 5% damage boost, 10% damage bonus when attacking from behind, a stacking defense buff every time you take damage, stuff like that.

Finally, a character has 2 unique abilities. One that is unique to them and can only be used while you are playing that hero, and a second ability that is everyone in the squad can use if that hero is present.

Squad Decks

Which brings me to the first rant and something I am SO AUTISTIC ABOUT (positive). SQUADS. The game had you craft Squad Decks, collections of 3 heroes that you can swap between during your missions, for a total of 883.2k squad combinations (I think my math might be off on that). Swapping between them is on a cooldown of about 10 seconds, but otherwise is don’t instantaneously and as often as you want without penalty. You always have 5 abilities active:

- The unique ability of your active hero

- The Genesis ability of your active heroes variant

- Hero 1’s Squad ability

- Hero 2’s Squad ability

- Hero 3’s squad ability

The first two abilities change out every time you swap heroes, but the last 3 are fixed. So you have 3 abilities that you always have access to, and 6 abilities that are paired up and you can swap between which pair of those abilities is active.

Your heroes do NOT share a health/energy pool, but DO share healing pickups. Any time you pick up a health or energy restoration pickup, it refills a chunk of the respective health pool of your currently active hero, and a smaller chunk of each of your inactive heroes in the squad.

So the core loop of moment to moment gameplay becomes swapping situationally between heroes both offensively and defensively, to get access to your other heroes skills and also to mitigate damage from enemies based on their genesis or control where your healing is directed.

Loot

Loot in Darkspore is fairly standard for your average Diablolike. Item drops have 4 tiers: Common (Item Level=Account Level-5), Uncommon (Item Level=Account Level), Rarified (Item Level=Account Level+5), and Purified (Item Level=Account Level+10)

Items of higher tiers have more chances to roll on a table to gain beneficial modifiers.

Each item fell into one of a few different categories: Weapon, Hands, Feet, Offensive, Defensive, or Utility.

Each hero has one of each slot, plus an additional slot based on their class. Ravagers have an extra Offense slot, Sentinels have an extra Defense slot, and Tempests have an extra Utility slot. Any hero can equip any item you gain, with the exception of Weapons that are hero specific. Some heroes also lack Hands or Feet, in which case their weapon has extra stats and can get the same modifiers as hands and feet can.

The items you equip can then be added onto the Hero in the Hero Editor. The Hero Editor is often equated to the Creature Editor in Spore, which is BULLSHIT and was a pet peeve of mine the ENTIRE DAMN TIME THE FAME WAS LIVE. This is a FALSE EQUIVALENCE. It uses the outfit editor from the Tribal/Civilization phases of Spore instead. Importantly: this means you cannot alter the overall silhouette of your hero. It will always maintain the same basic profile and animations. However you can freely place the extra parts you equip anywhere on its body, and can also place multiple copies of them.

Additionally, old parts can have their stats stripped, converting them into ‘Detail’ parts with no stats, of which you can equip 6 different parts, each of which you can include 10 copies of on your hero. So you could get some pretty cool looks from it!

However all this loot is garbage and you likely would not use most of it outside of appearance. Which brings me to…

Cash-out Loot

Usually if you mention the word ‘cash’ in any sentence involving a game published by EA, it would be a call for concern. Luckily this isn’t that! It’s just gambling! Everything is fine!

The main progression in Darkspore comes from gear, and the best gear comes from how good your ships engines are. These come from account upgrades as you level up your account, determining how many levels you can do in a row. Every time you complete a level, you are given an option: Keep going, or ‘cash out’ and get a guaranteed piece of Uncommon gear, with a 10% chance of it becoming Rarified, as well as all the gear you picked up in the level.

If you choose to keep going, you have to complete the next level. If you die, you lose ALL the gear you picked up, including that guaranteed piece. If you make it to the end, you are given another choice: Risk it all again and go on to the next level, or stop here and get your TWO pieces of guaranteed uncommon loot, which each now have a 20% chance of becoming rarified and a 5% chance of becoming purified.

You can only go another of levels equal to the number of Engine Upgrades you have earned by leveling up your account. So at first, after the second level you HAVE to cash out. As you progress you can start to do many more levels at a time, getting a dozen pieces of gear that are practically guaranteed to be the highest rank.

But of course you have to play these levels in order, and you don’t get a chance to upgrade your character with all the cool new loot you found on the way, so you can’t just jump straight into this. You have to slowly build up to being able to push yourself this much, and once you can, you have a readily available source of some of the best gear in the game.

And that ties into my absolute favorite system of Darkspore:

Catalysts

Many diablolikes have a mechanic called ‘Sockets’. The gear you equip has its own type of equipment slot, and you put gems in there that give you small bonuses. Every game does it a little differently, but it’s kind of a staple of the series.

Darkspore uses a similar system, but utilizes it VERY differently. While you are running levels, enemies will rarely drop Catalysts instead of loot. These come in 5 colors: Purple (boosts your base stats), Red (boosts offensive secondary stats like damage or attack speed), Blue (boosts defensive secondary stats like health regen or damage resistance), Green (boosts utility secondary stats like movement speed or lifesteal), and Rainbow (can contain any of the bonuses of the previous categories) They also come in two sizes: Big and Small. This determines how big the bonus from them is.

You have a 3x3 grid on your HUD that the catalysts you collect go into. You can rearrange them however you want, and if you create a line of 3 of the same color (Rainbow is a wildcard and matches with all of them), it will double the bonus of all Catalysts in that line. This stacks, meaning if you create multiple lines over a single catalyst it could get a x3, x4, or even x5 bonus if it’s the center piece of the grid and forms a line in every direction.

However, you can’t save Catalysts. You can equip it to the grid or drop it on the ground and move on. That’s it. You have to decide now. Do you keep that Big Purple you have for the big buff to your most important stat, or do you trade it for that Small Rainbow for a mediocre stat you just found that you can plug in the middle and double everything else in your grid?

“Surely that only matters early game, and once you have good catalysts you don’t swap them out that much, right?” I hear the diablolike veterans asking, because that is how socketing works in most of those games. And normally you would be right. Except for one major change: All your catalysts only last until the end of your run. When you get to the cash out screen, and choose to keep going? You keep them. But if you choose to cash out, or if you ever die, your catalysts all vanish. Every new run you have to go through and collect them again, which results in you playing your heroes in new ways and adopting new strategies based on what catalysts drop for you each run.

It’s an INCREDIBLE easy to learn system that adds SO MUCH depth and replayability to the game. I love it so incredibly much. Each mechanic flows elegantly into the the next. The catalysts help you do better runs which gets you better gear which upgrades your heroes which lets you do better runs, the entire spiral being locked into your account level to give a quantifiable metric of how far this spiral is gone. It was so good!

And now, it’s gone forever.

Man that sure was a long post. Friends have heard me go on this rant SO many times. Thank god I never got into a second mediocre game filled with novel innovations that are ultimately lost to time and can never be experienced again due to Always Online DRM making it unplayable. Can you imagine if I didn’t learn my lesson and did that a second time? Ha!

… I never did that again. Right?

… right?

…

HEX: Shards of Fate

Hex was a digital TCG legal battle with TCG elements created by Cryptozoic. It was originally put up on Kickstarter, advertised as a digital card game with both PvE and PvP modes, a unique focus on the design space opened up by being a digital game, and gameplay damn near identical to Magic: The Gathering.

The thinly veiled truth was that this game was never meant to succeed. They had hoped it would, and it would be great if it did, but I’m fairly certain that was always a secondary objective. The first objective was to get sued by Wizards of the Coast over the similarities to Magic: The Gathering.

Now, that might sound strange to an outsider, but to anyone in the industry, they are probably nodding along and going “Yeah that tracks actually.”

You see, Wizards of the Coast is… bad. Really bad. They do everything in their power to choke the life out of the industry and have resorted to a lot of questionable tactics to do so. One of these is against anyone who develops any form of trading card game. You see, WotC has a patent on booster packs, customizable decks of cards, and turning cards sideways.

Literally.

U.S. Patent No 5,662,332 (A)

It is not a coincidence that the second two biggest names in TCGs don’t involve turning your cards sideways. Konami contested that Yugioh was different enough to not violate the patent.

WotC responded by suing them. They settled out of court.

Nintendo actually hired WotC to design the Pokémon TCG to NOT violate the patent in return for WotC getting to distribute the first few sets. WotC gladly accepted, distributed the game, got their cut of the sales, and as soon as that was over….

WotC responded by suing them. They settled out of court.

Every single other game out there ended up paying royalties to WotC. Because the cut of the sales to WotC was cheaper than going to court even if you won. WotC had their fingers in every pie, but was smart enough to make sure not to piss people off so much that refusal was ever a viable option.

Cryptozoic was a company that, at the time, was making several licensed TCGs. The big one that jumps out was the World of Warcraft TCG, which they were in charge of (though it was originally made by Upper Deck). Cryptozoic was begrudgingly paying royalties because having the WoWTCG license was too good and they didn’t want to give that up. Then Hearthstone happened and Cryptozoic was going to lose the WoWTCG license as it got discontinued.

So Cryptozoic set up their new game, Hex, specifically to bait WotC into suing them, so they could get the patent overturned.

See, the patent isn’t actually valid. You cannot patent a game mechanic. There are certainly aspects of the patent that ARE valid and CAN be enforced, but the parts about mechanics can’t actually be enforced. WotC uses it because people can’t contest it, but if it actually was used in court it would get overturned VERY easily, and WotC would be declawed.

So Cryptozoic created a game that was a clone of MtG, used a Kickstarter to build up a large amount of legal funds, and got sued by WotC! Yes! Exactly what they wanted!

… and then they settled out of court.

Sigh.

I guess I’ll talk about the game now.

Lore

The lore of the game was solid. Pretty typical fantasy setting. Humans and elves and sort of racist orcs (better than most other orcs I’ve seen at least) and extremely racist tribal coyote people make up the good guys. Undead, spider-orcs, dwarves, and also pretty racist samurai rabbit people make up the bad guys.

There are two types of magic in the world: Blood magic and Wild magic. Elves are adept at wild magic. Shin’hare (the rabbit people) are adept at wild magic as well. The Shin’hare tried to take over the world, forcing the Orcs, Humans, Elves, and Cyotle to ally together to drive them underground into the underworld.

There the Shin’hare met and allied with the Vennen, an all male race descended from Orcs. They were adept blood mages, and they procreated by kidnapping orcs and using them as incubators for spiders. I fucking love the Vennen. I’ll focus on them a lot in this. The Vennen taught the Shin’hare how to sacrifice their young for more power.

The two then allied with the Dwarves, a genderless race of sentient stone statues who excel at creating machinery, and who believe the world itself is a giant machine. Specifically, a weapon of mass destruction, and they are trying to set it off. They believe blowing people the fuck up to be their natural calling.

The underworld and overworld forces go back and forth a bit, with the Elves doing a large chunk of the work as the only overworld race that can use magic.

Then Hex happened. Hex is a massive meteor made up of Diamond, Emerald, and Sapphire. Hex punched clean through the world, scattering gems all across it, before stabilizing in orbit on the other side, becoming the worlds moon.

These gems were incredibly magical, allowing every race to now use magic. Diamonds were restorative, bringing life to things. Rubies were extremely destructive and burned bright and hot and quickly. Sapphire allowed finesse manipulation and control over water. These

Yes this is just the MtG color pie.

Eventually, humanity stumbled into one of their old crypts that was very close to the impact site of Hex, and found it CRAWLING with undead. They were taking the Diamonds from Hex and putting them into the eye sockets of human corpses, causing those corpses to reanimate. These were NOT actually undead, but an alien consciousness that existed within the gems that were using human corpses as a host.

The Necrotic sought a peaceful and symbiotic relationship with humanity as thanks for the use of the bodies. Humanity responded by getting really pissed off that the Necrotic were grave robbing, and went to war over it. Eventually the Necrotic retreated deep into the underworld and allied with the other races instead, eventually helping the Shin’hare with a second attack on the surface.

The lore has a lot more depth than that, but that’s the basic. I liked it a lot. The Orcs being good guys who just really liked tests of strength was a refreshing take on orcs. I liked them a lot. The extremely racist caricature that made up the Cyotle and the Shin’hare? Less so.

Digital Design Space

As for the actual gameplay… it was MtG. Like, almost 1:1.

Like…

Seriously.

Shards work similarly to Lands, with there being 5 basic shards, Diamond, Sapphire, Ruby, Wild, and Blood. You can only play one Shard per turn and when you do you get 1/1 Resource. 1 resource to spend on this turn, and 1 permanent resource. You spend that resource to play a card that costs 1, and you go down to 0/1 resources. Start of your turn, you would go back up to 1/1 resource.

Pretty straight forward stuff. Resources are a card type like in MtG, but once it’s played it acts as a perpetual resource like the Mana in Hearthstone, with no need to care about where the resource is coming from.

… wait a second though, this is a MtG clone. It uses the color pie. Caring where those resources come from is KIND OF a big deal in MtG.

Which is the first really cool difference between Hex and MtG! THRESHOLD! Each time you play a shard you gain 1 threshold in that color. To play a card, you have to have at least as many threshold as are displayed below its cost. See that purple dot below Murder? That means you need 1 blood threshold to play it.

Threshold is NOT consumed when you play a card, which DRASTICALLY alters deckbuilding and how feasible multi-color decks are.

For example, in MtG, if you had 4 swamps and 1 mountain in play, and 5 cards in hand that all cost R…. You can play 1 whole card this turn.

In Hex, if you have 4 Blood and 1 Ruby, and have 5 cards that all cost 1 and have a single Ruby threshold, you can play your entire hand that turn. This made it incredibly viable to splash colors in relatively smaller amounts. It also opened up cool new design space, like cards that cost 1 but still required 3 threshold in a color. Or cards that require 1 threshold of every type to activate a bonus effect (very common among Necrotic) or… for sockets!

HEY WE ARE COMING FULL CIRCLE!

Remember how I mentioned Diablolike games having sockets, but how Darkspore didn’t use it? Well Hex DOES. There was a pair of keywords called Socketable Major and Socketable Minor. Each set, there would be 10 gems (two of each color) that rotated out for Socketable cards. Cards with Major sockets could equip any gem, while minor sockets could only equip half of them. So for example the current rotation might have the Sapphire gems be “While you have at least 1 Sapphire Threshold, this card has Flying” for its Minor gem, and “When you play this card, if you have at least 3 Sapphire Threshold, target player draws 3 cards”

You chose which gem was in each Socketable card during deckbuilding. Different copies of the same card could have different gems equipped, or you could have the same gem equipped across multiple different cards. It was basically a way to go “This card was designed to be splashed in other color decks. You pick what that other color is.”

It opened up a lot of design space! This was something Hex did VERY well. They knew they were making a MtG clone, but they weren’t beholden to the same restrictions a physical card game did, and they THRIVED in those areas.

For example, REPLICATORS GAMBIT, a one cost card that creates six copies of a troop (read: creature) that just… could not exist in MtG.

Another example of this was in my favorite archetype in Hex: Mill. Now, I’m not normally a blue player. I’m not a big fan of the ‘you don’t get to play the game’ archetype. Even mill isn’t really my thing. But the way it worked in HexTCG? God I loved it. I wish I could see my opponents faces as they reached a trembling hand out to their bloated, grotesque deck, a cruel mockery of what it once was. They had started the match with only 60 cards, but now it held twice that number. Knowing every draw was more likely to bring their own skittering death out.

…

Maybe I should back up a bit.

There the Shin’hare met and allied with the Vennen, an all male race descended from Orcs. They were adept blood mages, and they procreated by kidnapping orcs and using them as incubators for spiders. I fucking love the Vennen. I’ll focus on them a lot in this.

Vennen are, in MtG terms, tribal Blue/Black with a focus on control. Specifically an aggressive form of control. Your wincon is still ‘beat your opponent to death’, but the means by which you do it is… spiders.

Lots of Vennen cards work by still allowing your opponent to do the thing that you blocked, but it now creates Spider Eggs in their deck. Lock down a creature as it enters play with ‘Everytime this creature becomes tapped, shuffle 3 spider eggs into your deck’ or ‘Whenever an opponent draws a third card this turn add a spider egg to their deck’ or ‘When this creature is destroyed add a spider egg to your opponent’s deck’ and when they DRAW a spider egg… well… the effect of a spider egg is more or less ‘When this card enters your hand or graveyard, draw/discard another card into that zone and destroy this one. Your opponent creates a Spiderling and puts it in play. “

Spiderlings are 1/1 Unblockable creatures.

The Vennen win con is to just fill your opponent with spiders and then shred them apart once the spiders start hatching. It was a DELIGHTFUL playstyle.

PvE

Hex also features a fairly robust PvE mode with a point crawl encounter map that was quite delightful. There were cards unique to PvE, but all PvP cards were also legal in PvE. In general, all your staples came from PvP and were the same core staples everyone uses to win (they were very generous with handing out common/uncommon PvP cards in the single player mode, which in turn also made Pauper a very popular format), however you also had PvE cards which made up your win cons. PvE cards weren’t balanced as tightly, and allowed to just be dumb overpowered bullshit just because it’s fun to use dumb overpowered bullshit sometimes!

There were also equipment slots that would modify the cards in your deck, turning PvP cards into PvE cards. For example, Replicators Gambit made it so that EVERY copy of that card gained that text.

PvE started with character creation. You would create a character that was one of the 8 races, and one of 6 3 different classes. Warrior, Cleric, or Ranger. I think there was a late update that added Mage but I don’t recall too clearly, and it isn’t document online anymore as far as I can tell!

Each class had a unique talent tree that you could customize and change how you played. Your race determined what colors you could play, and your level determined how many of each rarity you could play.

I played a Vennen Cleric. Cleric’s whole thing was that you would gain Blessings, 0 cost cards that would rise in your deck each turn, and could be played to draw a card as well as additional effects based on your build. My blessings put more eggs in the enemy deck, to the surprise of no one.

As you went from encounter to encounter you would earn new cards to modify your deck, swapping decks between fights. Then there were dungeons, long laborious streaks of a dozen or so encounters, with branching paths and decisions to be made, earning you tons of new packs and equipment and experience to boost your character. One especially fun encounter was crossing a desert with a pack of… I think it was gnomes? There were 20 of them that needed rescuing. The way you rescued them was putting them in your deck, and then leaving the desert through a single combat encounter. Except they were AWFUL. Like 3 cost vanilla 1/1’s level of awful. The more you had in your deck, the harder the encounter became. It was a really nice way to portray the logistical challenge of trying to fight while protecting all these useless tagalongs.

There were plans to even introduce Raids, 3v1 PvE encounters, but they fizzled out as the game got sunset.

The game was good. REALLY good. It relished in the digital design space in a way I haven’t quite seen since then. A few games, like Legends of Runeterra, have come close, but always fall short, and that’s so sad! I DESPERATELY want to play a TCG with this level of customization again!

Luckily that was the end of it. I finally learned the error of my ways, never touched anything ‘always online’ again, and now can live a life without regrets! … except Legends of Runeterra a little bit like I mentioned above but THATS IT! There are no other always online games I have regrets about!

…

ToonTown Online

Okay no, not seriously. I’ve never played toontown. But honestly it looked kinda silly and like a shitpost in video game form. I think it would have been fun to try at some point with a few friends. Not seriously, just to screw around in for a bit.

Never going to get that chance. Just like nearly everyone reading this will never get to play two of my biggest influences that shaped how I think about game design.

Always Online DRM is an insidious beast. It doesn’t just kill games, it kills *archival*. All we have left of these games is a relatively small number of gameplay videos. I was planning on having a lot more pictures in this post of all the interface elements I was talking about as I talked about them, but there just… aren’t any good pictures of them. Even these details are based on my own memory cross referenced with a couple of wikis, and even those were sparse.

Some games can’t feasibly avoid Always Online. MMO’s are a big example. But by adding it into a game that has a single player experience involved, and not making that single player experience a standalone thing on its own, you are destroying any hope that your game will be remembered. It will fade into obscurity. There will never be a cult revival. Your work will be discarded and forgotten and it’s… so incredibly sad to see.

I jokingly titled this section being about ToonTown, but really this section is about Kingdom Hearts: Union X. It was a mediocre and disgustingly predatory gacha. It was horribly managed with horrible issues around localization and it was just… a mess. But it was part of the world of Kingdom Hearts, and it’s story was important and mattered.

The game is no longer playable, but it’s also not entirely lost. The devs created a new version of it, as a gallery to view the cutscenes. The single-player side mode, Dark Road, is also included. The devs didn’t have to do this. They could have gone the same route as Darkspore and HexTCG, and had their work be forgotten. They chose to save it. Not in full, but at least the parts the deemed important.

It also makes me wonder how much this happens in other mediums. Ludology is a pretty new field, and it rarely goes into specific games and their impact on the medium, mostly just focusing on the impacts they have on humanity, rather than the mechanics themselves as these beautiful pieces of art. And it makes me wonder how often this happens with say… film critics. Are there any indie film makers who are deep in the paint of indie films and critique of not just the films themselves, but the very techniques being used, just sitting there going “It’s so upsetting that this big studio managed to do something this beautiful and all of us in the scene recognize it’s beauty, but no one else seems to, and now it’s gone?”

… as I’m writing this I actually realize that this does happen there. It’s how I found out about what became my favorite film of all time, The Man From Earth. It’s a small film that flopped horribly in theaters, and only gained any attention by being pirated by a lot by indies who wanted to talk about it. It’s a good movie, highly recommend. Not for everyone though.

I don’t know. I’m sure I had a point with all this but… seeing it happen again and again and now with streaming services taking stuff down it’s just… I can’t help but seeing not just more and more games, but more and more of EVERY artistic medium ending up in this area. How many digital artists entire portfolios have vanished off the face of the earth because their tumblr got deactivated? How many movies are going to be gone forever when Netflix eventually goes out of business? We can’t even rely on piracy! Many old pieces of media is just lost forever. Just ask the Doctor Who fandom. They probably know more about that than anyone else at this point.

But mostly I just really wish more developers would consider what parts of their games are important, and what kind of legacy they want to leave, instead of just what will generate a short burst of profit, with no care for what happens after.

… I should start doing video essays with how long this got. It’s like some kind of text based video essay. A text essay. Those are a new thing I just invented.

#Darkspore #Spore #Those are the only two tags on this post because those are the only games I talk about don’t worry about it. it’s fine. don’t read further. #HexTCG #Hex: Shards of Fate #Kingdom Hearts: Union X #Always Online DRM #The Man From Earth #I swear to god if anyone tells me I should just play Temo on LoR I will scream #YES I KNOW AND I DO #but also LoR sucks #and also that is missing THE ENTIRE POINT OF THIS RANT #the SAME THING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO LEGENDS OF RUNETERRA #maybe not soon #but it WILL die someday #and be gone forever #because it isn’t being preserved #Text Essay

[gay-artificer]

I've seen people be like downpour ruined how people see five pebbles and im gonna be honest if you were here for any number of years pre-downpour the fandom was always god-awful with the nuance in his character. thats not a downpour thing thats a fandom thing

#niche comparison but if any of you know angela from lobotomy corporation/library of ruina #in the years prior to LOR angela was probably one of the most demonized characters ive ever seen in my goddamn LIFE #NO ONE was going to bat for this girl as anything other than a absolute villain and bitch #i was and im sure some others were too but the vast vast majority fucking hated her #because she spends most of the game being mean to you and then betrays you at the end #and you had to read between the lines to get to “wait a minute whats happening to her is kinda immensely fucked up” #and this is someone betraying you at the end of a very /very/ hard game to 100% and beat proper #then LOR came out and fully explored the depths of her trauma and anger at the situation she was put into #how desperate she was too take something for herself and how little she cared about how the effected others because she was not given that #and suddenly it clicked for everyone! #suddenly she wasnt a heartless bitch anymore! but of course now you had the #'literal infant' crowd because it also explored some ideas of parental trauma/lack of experience with the world #but god it was way more refreshing to see people actually move on from 'theyre an evil bitch' even if it came with 'so shes like a kid?' #and i feel that way about pebbles tbh #i dont get super super into the iterator lore so i cant speak much for the quality across downpour #and its higher focus on them and their stuff #im sure it carries plenty of issues as many things will #but god people sucking at reading the room on the iterators is not new lmao #actually five pebbles and angela are shockingly similar.... #huh?

[staryarn]

Local man covered in paint and can't find a dry cleaners

(Wanted to redraw the Library of Ruina op where roland is covered in blood. It was a fun exercise so maybe I'll redraw more of it)

#yarnart #blood cw #library of ruina #library of ruina roland #roland library of ruina #roland lor #lor #this only topk a couple hours + i qas in an art spiral w no inspo to finish oc art bc it felt like years #so hopefully i can go back to it #also lor is super fun! i just suck at it!!!

[graciousmaximus]

i want to follow project moon bblogs btu there is problem: spoilers :(

#i have not finished library of ruina :( #im about. like. halfway through i think? #im at urban nightmare and i know all the chapter names and my highest floor is tiphereth. so it looks halfway ish. #''i'' have finished lobcorp (watched my friend play) and i dont care about limbus spoilers #but lor is the one people actually. like. talk about. a lot. i have to be so so careful #one wrong step and OOPS I KNOW A SOMEWHAT MAJOR PLOT POINT NOW #so sucks. cant follow anyone. cant look at the tag. #the agony of playing a very long and time consuming game but also not wanting to get major spoilers

[caffeinatedopossum]

Turns out I can convince myself I'm faking anything for attention apparently. Even though attention makes me so uncomfortable that I never even leave my house or show my friends the things that I'm proud of.

#i be like *has a literal seizure* okay but am i faking this? but what if its my fault tho #oh yeah im also scared that somehow i caused my seizures. by like i dont know... being bad at NOT having seizures? lmao #sorry if i talk about the seizure a lor im just really in shock about it i think #im scared im gonna make myself have another one by thinking about it somehow #but i dont want to not because it sucks for me but because i feel self conscious and guilty about it #like people try to talk to me and i can't respond :(

[headphonemouse]

I love reading something and unintentionally absorbing the author's niche hyperfixation at the same time

#talking tag #the fanfic im reading now is more 'va///lor///ant tutorial' than 'e-dating meet-cute' and i really appreciate the author for explaining all #these gameplays and how the tier system works cuz when i played that game i sucked ass for a week and gave up #yknow that post that was like 'hearing someone talk about something in depth makes them sound insane but if you learn about it suddenly its #not so crazy anymore' thats how i feel like 'hm yeah i get how covering your teammate with a smoke screen is peak romance' #i need to gather my thoughts somehow before i write a comment #also as fun as this is im not gonna try getting back into the game because the noises scare me #also also i wouldn't exactly call this game niche but it's just the most recent example I've got

[hikingofthenoldor]

This slow morning has me contemplating transphobia and ableism in the historical reenactment community, especially among those that pride themselves with historical authenticity. It makes me sick.

#jack's personal stuff #reenactment #as an nb person that prefers gender neutral or masculine clothes its an issue and it hurts and forces one to come out #and that might be met with disrespect and a öack of understanding... #also ableism starts with glasses... like you can't force me to not wear my glasses for the sake of authenticity. they're prescription #i don't want to even think about horrible unauthentic mobility aids that other people may need... #some really want hide disability lor jave people suffer the way people did back in the day just to feel happy with their authenticity #fuck you #also maybe... binary trans people may get a pass #but i guess nb people are often supposed to suck it up and wear stuff according to the gender they appear at first glance #we do reenactment for gods sake. we may strive to make our clothes and tools as authentic as possible #but we are not. we are modern people enjoying elaborate dress up and pretend with maybe a dash of scientific interest #we wear glasses. use mobility aids. have straightened teeth which we brush with modern utensils twice a day. #we should welcome and accomodate modern people with disabilities and funny genders and all. we don't leave our modern minds behind. #use your brains. don't be a jerk #i needed to get this out #it has annoyed me for a long time and i finally can phrase why

[lobpoints]

The way it has been a year and I still think the whole "fade away without a trace" in lor sucks

#yeah just pull out of nowhere for a character whom for 100 hours of story run time never really have particular attachment to the meaning #of this quote #like if you dont play lc her saying that wouldnt make a lick of sense and if you do play lc her saying that #still??? doesnt make sense???? like ok what is this supposed to represent???? #100 hours of story run time never once the quote was brought up as something particularly meaninful to this specific character #and it being reused feel soooooooo ''ok I get what you are going for but this feel weightless for this specific character in general'' #''i know what you are going for but the writing isnt convincing enough'' #i think the reusing of suppression to floor realization and the whole virtue also suck in lor btw but that #is another can of worm #also that just on my personal taste in the last past in general lol

[lordgoopy]

also even more tragic news im into league again and just like before im a lore nerd and sadly riot doesnt care abt most of my faves. i have to thank the lor team for caring abt zilean and taliyah though

#*lor team voice* ill vgu him then since youre so damn complicated #technically kassadin did get like smidge of lore with bel'veth and also kai'sa i GUESS #i like the concept of kai'sa and lore kai'sa but her design sucks ass they needed to get someone who thought like the dude who designed #the xenomorph for her but they DIDNT #lor team also cares abt fiora #who i care abt also despite her being french somehow #none of them care abt jax tho which is the right answer (<- has mastery lvl7 with him and also the legendary mech skin) #goopy.txt

[sweeterthansammy]

ONLY YOU - JON SNOW

Summary: After being accused of wanting another woman instead of you, he makes it his mission to let you know that he wants you…and only you.

Warnings: This is all over the place but it makes sense in my head :D. Completely made up the last name for the sake of the fic. Now for real warnings - One (1) quickie, unprotected sex (be smart y’all), vaginal penetration, fingering, oral (female receiving), face-sitting., love-making ig, overstimulation, basically porn, very light touch of breeding, one (1) use of the word ‘whore’, marriage (yes that is a fucking warning but it’s not that complicated in this fic), feelings (ew), mild language, cheating accusations, mentions of not being able to conceive, one (1) very brief mention of Jon crying (yes this is also a warning)

A/N: Hello my darlings! My laptop is still being repaired so please bear with my shitty typing as well as possible typos. I just recently started watching GOT and I HAD to jump on the opportunity the second I laid my eyes on Jon…… considering that I’m only a few episodes in, I did not follow anything too canon considering that I don’t want the details to be too off.

Word count: 4.2k+ (this is the most I’ve written in forever LMAO)

not my gif!

Daenerys Targaryen. The most wanted woman of all in any of the kingdoms. She was undoubtedly envied by many, you included. You were a very close runner-up, but it didn’t help much considering your family’s constant comparisons between you and the younger girl.

You were nearing twenty-one and you had yet to be set for marriage, your parents frowning upon the idea that you wanted different things in life. Sure it might be nice to carry on your family’s legacy and become the heir, being their oldest of seven girls, but it wouldn’t be all that nice when you’d get threatened by others to give up your title as queen.

You’d met Jon when your parents had gone over to the Stark residence for a ceremonial dinner. He’d been out front, swording away at a dummy. You removed the flask from the garter that sat under your dress, sipping the bitter whiskey. You’d leaned yourself up against the wall, eyeing the dark-haired alpha as he blabbered away to his uncle Benjen.

He stole several glances, his tongue prodding at the inside of his cheek when he realized your gown parted more and more to allow some air under the fabric.

“I shall go with you when you leave, Uncle Benjen. My father will say yes - ask him!”

Trying your best to not eavesdrop much more, you began to wander off. His uncle couldn’t stop the perverse words that fell from his tongue. You glanced over your shoulder, shooting the older male a wink, careful as to not show too much of your face as he’d only seen your silhouette. He took off, heading into the castle to rejoice with his brother and several lords, leaving you in the presence of the young man.

“Tisn’t quite the scene for a lady. You should be inside with everyone else.”

“Nor is it the scene for the son of a lor-“

“Lady Stark requested that I didn’t join them for the dinner.”

“Oh, right. Jon Snow, is it? The bastard?”

You finally turned to face him, his eyes widening in their sockets.

“Honorable Y/N Burke. You shan’t be in the presence of an unwed man, young lady.”

“There are many things that I ‘shan’t’ do,” you mimicked air quotes. “But, you’ll find very soon, bastard, that I don’t care much about the things that I shan’t do.”

He eyed you for a moment longer, his sword firm at his side. You had yet to conceal your flask, offering him a sip before taking one of your own.

You watched as his eyes glanced over the way your lips encircled the opening, a drop of the liquid dribbling down the side of your mouth before your finger swiped at it, sucking the digit into your mouth.

Then he lost it.

He pounced on you in just a matter of seconds, groaning as your tongue mingled with his. The exchange of tastes - the whiskey warm with a mix of whatever sweetness you’d treated yourself to beforehand, and his bare whiskey. You could almost taste his musk but it must’ve only been the way his scent overstimulated each of your senses.

His hands, which had made themselves up to your face, dropped to your waist, pulling your lower halves together as he felt up on your body.

“Goodness- we can’t get caught, Snow.”

Your breath picked up into heavy pants, his fingers dipping into your undergarments as he swallowed all of your moans.

“Just be quiet, darling, and they won’t know a thing.”

He teased your clit with a grin plastered to his face. He yanked your underpants down, mimicking the move with his own clothing.

“Jon-“

“Sh, sweetheart-“

He hoisted you into his arms, not hesitating to plow himself into you. You bit down on your lower lip, trying to fight each moan from leaving your mouth. A high-pitched squeal sounded from your throat as his hand accompanied his rather vulgar pace.

“Fuck-“

“Remember what I told you, sweetheart,” he grunted into your ear.

His arm circled itself around your waist, stabilizing your squirming figure. His head tipped back, a groan sounding from his throat before his forehead met yours.

“Jon, fu-“

Before you could finish your statement, you felt the pulsating of his cock, his seed dribbling down your legs. He fucked you through his high, dropping his thumb to your cunt so you’d finally come around his cock. Your body shuddered as your climax hit you, your hands clutching onto him for dear life.

He pulled his garments back up once he’d placed you on the makeshift railing. You remained silent for just a bit longer until you broke said silence.

“Look, Jon- Lord…Snow, I’ve heard of your desire to leave this land and become a Night Watcher. I just….”

For once you had not much to say despite wanting to spew so much out.

“I know of your oath and the things you must accede to.”

“What are you getting at, Hon Burke?”

“If…if I am to carry your child, and I know the chances are slim because it’s only been once-“

“As you said, it’s only been one time. Don’t speak nonsense. This never happened. Are we clear?”

“But-“

He turned to you, helping you redress yourself with a sigh. He couldn’t miss the way your demeanor faltered just a tad, his own softening drastically.

“It’d be in both of our best interests to pretend that this never happened, sweetheart.”

And so you did as he said.

Despite wanting oh so badly to miss your menstrual cycle that month, it’d worked out for the best - you’d told yourself. You’d only known the lad for a few minutes tops but he remained on your mind for years following.

Upon his leave, you were devastated. Watching with teary eyes as the man you knew you wanted so much more with was leaving. Your mother watched as you quickly wiped a tear from under your eye, sniffling quietly.

Two years down the line, it was nearly impossible to avoid the fact that you’d have to step up and become queen rather soon.

“Mother, I am not stepping into that role until I get a proper proposal!”

“You’re too picky, Y/N! We’ve been waiting - for years, we’ve been waiting. You’ve gotten thirty proposals, all of which you’d turned down for the darndest reasons!”

“I’m not picky! I am awaiting someone that will settle for more than what the stupidity of this society offers. My king-“

“Has arrived.”

That voice. His voice.

Immediate tears were brought to your eyes as you found Jon standing in your doorway.

“J- Sir Jon Snow. Am I dreaming?”

“No, m’lady. ‘Tis truly I.”

You resisted every fiber in your body that urged you to jump into his arms and snog him right in front of your mother.

“Lady Burke,” he bowed.

Your mother offered a tight-lipped smile before leaving the pair of you to catch up.

“I didn’t think I’d see you for another ten years.”

Your smaller arms pulled his body into yours, embracing his warmth despite his cool armor.

“Jon,” you hummed, nuzzling yourself further into him.

“Y/N,” he copied your actions, smoothing his hand over your hair. “I couldn’t do without you for much longer.”

“Really? That’s hard to believe considering how quick you left after fucking me,” you quipped.

“I’m sorry, darling. I truly am.”

You met his lips in a soft kiss, your fists clenching around his coat.

“How’ve you been holding up?”

“I’ve just been dandy.”

Lies.

“Sort of glad I didn't have your child.”

Lies.

“Tried to get back out there after you left.”

Lies.

His arm tightened around you at the last of your statements.

“Tell me, Hon. Am I marrying a whore?”

“‘Marrying a whore’?” you were flabbergasted. “One - never call me a whore again. Two - who said we are to be wed?”

“Me.”

The simplicity of his statement baffled your mind.

“You? My father would never let me-“

“Marry a bastard. But, darling, as I remember, you’d told me something two years ago. You don’t care about the things you shan’t do and that shall include claiming me to be your king.”

“Well, why do you wait, my lord?”

He held you tight to his chest with his pupils blown.

“Tell me you’ll be mine, sweetheart. This is my proposal to you. We shall leave this land and rule our own kingdom together.”

“I do accept your proposal, my dearest, but I believe it isn’t that easy.”

“Nothing is easy, especially this. If your father is to deny our marriage and your leave, we shall go nonetheless.”

You grinned up at him, shaking your head as you laid your head on his chest.

“Then I shall marry you, my king.”

As expected, your parents didn’t have the merriest of a reaction when it came to notifying them of your leave with the man who’d notoriously been known to be a bastard. They were disappointed you wouldn’t be running their kingdom but they were relieved to see that you were finally off to be married. They hesitantly approved of the young man’s proposal, sending you off with him.

On your ride to your new castle, miles from your parents’ kingdom, you couldn’t help but question your husband-to-be.

“Why did you leave?”

He eyed you.

“The Night Watch. Why did you leave, Jon?”

“I know my status as a bastard would’ve done me well over there but I couldn’t take it. Being away from you, my family. It was eating at me day and night.”

“Then…why’d it take you two years to come back?”

“I didn’t know how to tell them I’d be leaving. It took me a long time to muster up the courage for that.”

You allowed yourself to remain silent until he placed a hand on top of yours.

“I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I regret ever setting myself up to be away for the rest of my life, but now I’ve got you and that’s all that I need.”

“You sure have a way with words, don’t you?”

His lip quirked into a gentle smile, his hand squeezing yours with tenderness.

In just a couple of weeks, you were settled into your new home with your husband. It was now time to host several dinners and welcome all to your land. You were beyond ecstatic but it wasn’t until the guests actually arrived that you became wary of those around you.

Daenerys had made quite the entrance into your home, every one entirely forgetting that you existed for a moment. The Khal trailed behind her, offering head nods to those that personally greeted him.

Your heart stammered in your chest beyond your control. You isolated yourself from the crowd, tears cascading down your cheeks as your breathing grew jagged.

Your husband seemed to be infatuated with the platinum blonde-haired girl. You couldn’t blame him but it was killing you. He hadn’t torn his eyes from her, nor did she. She seemed to eye Jon for a bit too long, keeping great eye contact with him as she bowed.

“No need for that,” he chuckled, greeting Drogo with a firm handshake.

He waited for you to greet the couple, not sparing a glance at your seat until he hadn’t heard your voice whatsoever.

“Y/N?”

Chatting and eating resumed, Jon’s leg bouncing anxiously. He watched like a hawk, eyes wandering about the crowd.

“Lord Snow, I don't think Lady Snow is feeling all that well.”

Upon hearing your name, you wiped the last of your tears, seating yourself at your husband's side yet again.

“Darling, what’s the matter?”

He held your face in his palm, eyebrows furrowing at your puffy and reddened eyes.

“Nothing, my lord.”

You spoke the words with such harshness that it pierced his heart.

“What-“

“Ah, Lord and Lady Snow! Why don’t you make a toast?”

“I don’t think-“

“Of course, Benjen. We shall give a toast!”

You stood with your goblet, Jon staring at you with confusion clear in his features before standing on his own two feet.

“Thank you all for coming tonight. Lord Snow and I are delighted to be sharing such a special moment with you all. We wouldn’t have wanted it to be spent any other way. Jon?”

He cleared his throat, keeping his eyes on you as he spoke.

“I’m sure I’m supposed to be thanking you lot but if it weren’t for my beautiful wife here, I wouldn’t be standing in front of you and for that, I thank her. I thank her for trying to understand me, for being the greatest human on earth, and for standing by my side regardless of what. I’ve known the shame of being a bastard for my whole life but she’s willing to bear the embarrassment of being wedded to me.”

His speech went on and on and on. It didn’t seem to end but your heart fluttered at his words. He grasped onto your hand when you turned away from him, your eyes catching Daenerys’. You shook those pestering thoughts from your mind, repeating ‘stop it, stop it, stop it’ over and over in your head.

That had only been the first of many instances, though.

You were distraught. It’d been months since you and Jon were lawfully wedded yet it seemed as if you couldn’t conceive. Your parents were applying pressure, sending ravens to your kingdom every day after, asking when you’d bear children.

After a dinner you’d put together at your castle, you lost it. Jon had spent nearly three hours lingering near the Khal and his Khaleesi. For only two minutes, he held you at his side while conversing with the couple. You’d shimmied yourself from his arms, entertaining the younger Stark children.

Robb had witnessed the way in which you embraced your inner child, chasing the kids around as they screamed their heads off. You shooed them away with a motion of your hand. With a hand on your hip, you watched them run off, your heart aching at the thought of never having children.

“Any luck yet, m’lady?”

Robb chuckled as you flinched in the slightest.

“My goodness, Robb. No, no luck yet. However, we already have names picked out, as well as runner-ups for godparents.”

“Oh really?”

You playfully rolled your eyes, spinning to face the brunette.

“If you’re so desperate to hear it, then yes, you are a candidate for our children’s godfather.”

He took your hand into his, landing a kiss on your knuckles as you giggled endlessly.

“I knew you always loved me,” he dramatically expressed.

You raised a brow, badgering him, “Say that with caution, Stark.”

“Or what? Lord Snow will behead me?”

“I might.”

The older boy wrapped his arm around his brother’s neck in a cub-like embrace.

“Goodness, Jon. Leave your brother be,” you scolded him, watching as his eyes lingered on you for a moment longer.

The dinner was called to an end rather soon, but a few of your guests straggled about - Khaleesi Daenerys amongst the few. Your eyes were like daggers as you watched Jon converse with the younger girl. You were drawn from your thoughts the moment Robb placed his hand on your shoulder.

“Now, Y/N, I am well aware that you think my brother is mad over this woman - or at the least, having an affair with her. But I can assure you, nothing of that sort is happening at all. He’s only trying to make am-“

“I’d like to hear that from him, Robb. If he’s just trying to make amends with the Khal and everyone then that’s on me. But it doesn’t help that the Khaleesi is that fucking gorgeous. She has these big doe eyes that scream ‘help me’ or ‘fuck me’! I don’t know which one it is but I’m afraid that Jon will play the hero and be the one that fulfills any of her needs.”

You were seething in the corner with Robb at your hip. He tried assuring you repeatedly but you were quite a stubborn queen.

After everyone had left for good, you wasted no time in heading straight to bed. You wanted to avoid Jon to the best of your ability but you simply couldn’t outdo the king. Before you could step foot out of your bedroom with your things in hand, Jon stepped in front of you. He backed you into the room, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he shut the door.

“What’s your problem?”

You tried to not break under his intense gaze, your eyes bouncing from his own to everywhere in the room.

“What is your issue, Y/N?”

His voice was too quiet for your comfort.

“Are you…having an affair with Daenerys, Jon?”

The words that left your mouth sent a genuine fit of laughter racking through his body.

“Are you being serious?”

“Answer the question.”

His laughter died down, his body gravitating towards yours.

“Of course, I’m not having an affair with Daenerys. What makes you ask this?”

“The way you look at her kills me, Jon. When she’s here, it feels like I don’t exist! Why do you think I disappear for hours on end- you know what - you don’t even realize that I’m gone because you’re too immersed in your interactions with her! It’s-“

His hands found themselves on either side of your face, forcing you to look at him, though gently.

“If I was having an affair with Daenerys or anyone else, do you think that I’d be in the same bed as you every single night? All of those things I said about you months ago were nothing but true. You were probably too busy being upset with me to hear most of it but I don’t want anyone else. I want you and only you.”

“Then why do you look at her the way that you do? There’s so much compassion and-“

“I look at her that way because I feel bad for her! She talks to me because she feels as if she can’t trust anyone else, not even her own brother. I’m sorry that I ever made you feel less important. You’re the most important person, the most important thing in this world. I care for Daenerys’ well-being but I don’t care about her the way I care about you. I love you and I know I don’t say it enough but I do!”

He panted as he read your face.

“So you’re not cheating on me?”

“No, and I never will! I only want you, Y/N Snow. Only you.”

His lips met yours, your shoulders falling as relief washed over you. You allowed your hands to get lost in his hair, his arms wrapping themselves around your waist as your lips moved in tandem.

“Tell me you love me.”

You hadn’t noticed the few tears that stained his cheeks until he spoke against your lips, your heart aching in your chest.

“Jon, my darling, I love you more than you will ever know.”

His arms tightened around you, lifting you from the ground as he pecked your skin.

“It seems as though I have to make up to you for the rest of my life,” he chuckled against your skin.

“Sweetheart, you loving me alone is enough of an apology.”

He laid you gently on the bed, undoing your bodice in an impressive amount of time. He held back no longer, suckling on the skin that was graciously presented to him.

“Jon,” you hummed.

He imitated your actions, putting a ministration to his movement once he’d reached your underpants. After kissing, biting, sucking on your skin, his lips were red and plump. They met yours again, the taste of whatever wine you’d been drinking just hours prior still lingering on your tongue.

He worked his hands into the sides of your underpants before pushing them down your legs. You whimpered against his tongue as his fingers stimulated your clit.

“Darling,” you gasped out, his fingers dipping in and out of your cunt.

He used a leg to pry yours apart, reveling in your angelic sounds. He propped himself up on his other arm, hand holding his head. With your hands tugging at his clothing, you pulled him in even closer.

His face disappeared into the nape of your neck. The way in which he breathed against your neck caused your skin to crawl.

His nose nudged at your jawline, a dumbstruck grin taking over his features once he felt your walls pulsating around his digits. Nothing could’ve prepared you for the next words that flew from his mouth.

“Lannister had told me he imagined you sitting on his face long before my proposal. I nearly slayed the son of a bitch until I realized you weren’t mine then. Why don’t you come on my face, sweetheart?”

“W-what?” You stammered out - half shocked at the proposition and half processing the fact that he was still fucking you with his fingers.

“My pretty girl doesn’t want to sit on my face?”

He jutted out his bottom lip, on which you pressed a kiss, uttering an ‘I do’. Your legs squirmed a bit more until you came. Your back arched off the mattress as you gasped and cried out. He slid his fingers into his mouth, his eyes locked on your blissful features.

“You taste heavenly,” he murmured, wiping his saliva-slicked fingers off on his bottoms.

His words made your cheeks heat up, using whatever strength you had to push yourself onto your knees.

“Are you sure about this, Jon?”

“A million times over - yes, I’m sure about this.”

He laid himself down, your legs trembling as your cunt hovered over his face. He brought you down in seconds, not being able to resist the temptation.

His tongue expertly worked your cunt as it’d done several times before. Sitting on his face, however, brought a new sense of pleasure to you - his nose bumping your clit every so often as the entirety of your cunt grew soaked. The mix of his saliva and your release sent you spiraling once more, the core in your lower half tightening before you could say anything.

His tongue softly fucked your desperate hole, a glass-shattering moan sounding from within. You couldn’t hold back any of it. You needed to let the whole damn castle know that your king was treating you right.

“Jon!”

One hand dropped to his hair, the other fondling your breast. Your eyes dropped to his, your body giving out at the sight of his disheveled hair and his eyes just begging for your come.

Your body shook gently as you came in his mouth, eyes screwing shut once your head had lolled back. You’d lifted yourself off to the side, your husband chuckling at your already fucked-out state.

“How was that?”

His fingers traced patterns on your skin as you came down from one of your many highs for the night.

“Fuckin’ amazing,” you breathed out, your arms reaching for him once he’d brought himself to his knees.

You watched as he undid his bottoms. The intense eye contact he held with you was a telltale sign that you needed to help him out of his clothes before he exploded.

“I won’t be rough tonight,” he whispered.

You bit your lip, feeling the burn of his gaze on your face as you undid the buttons of his shirt. Your insides grew fuzzy, becoming giddy at the fact that this was truly your husband. No one, nothing could ever take him away from you.

He stood nude before you, pressing his back to the headboard before patting his lap. You climbed onto him in a matter of seconds, your hands already stabilizing themselves on his shoulders. Your knees bent at either hip, legs akimbo to appease his girth. You pumped him a few times, running his tip up and down your fold before sinking onto him with a cry.

“Has it been long, my darling?”

You nodded, offering an airy chuckle as you struggled to take all of him.

“Gods, I’m beyond s-“

You hushed him with a kiss on the lips, your hips beginning to rock back and forth once you’d hit his base. His hands fell to your behind, your back arching as he hit that spongy spot inside of you. His name left your mouth like a mantra, chants of ‘fuck, fuck, fuck’ following right after. Your mouths found one another in a slobbery mess, a clash of teeth and tongue as the rutting of your hips became more desperate.

“Stop apologizing, my lord. I- holy shit, I love you,” you choked out.

“I love you, sweet girl.”

His forearms held onto your waist, using this as leverage to thrust himself further into you.

The pace of his hips, the words exchanged, the looks on both of your faces. Just outside your door, guards exchanged knowing glances, clearing their throats at the sounds that came from the both of you. They seemingly grew louder, Jon taking the opportunity to let the words flow from his mouth - “I shall put a baby in you tonight.”

And so the night proceeded. Jon didn’t let up until you physically couldn’t go for another round, making sure none of his seed left your womb.

It was a relief to know that your king, your lord, your love wanted you and only you.

Join my taglist here!!

Old miscellaneous taglist (dm for removal): @ronbrokemyheart @quxxnxfhxll @eunoia-kth @siriuslyslyslytherin @dracomalfoys-wh0re @rudypankowisdaddy @tenaciousperfectionunknown @i-love-scott-mccall @justreadingficsdontmindme @sprucewoodlover @iwannabekilledtwice @daydreamin-lol @analove26 @ravenhood2792 @spiderdrive27 @photocoz @lunar-writing

#jon snow #jon snow smut #jon snow imagine #jon snow imagines #jon snow x reader #jon snow x you #jon snow x y/n #jon snow x self insert #jon snow x female reader #jon snow game of thrones #jon snow fic #jon snow fanfic #game of thrones #game of thrones smut #game of thrones imagine #game of thrones imagines #game of thrones fic #game of thrones fanfiction

[ganondoodle]

in light of the news that riot games is letting go 11% of their workers (over 500 people), including long time workers responsible for big parts of the best lore in the entire league ip, AND cutting down LoR AND abandoning Riot Forge (the best idea they had in years lol)-

i stopped playing league a long time ago for multiple reasons, but one of the big ones were my annoyance with the increasingly shit ass monetization (thats only getting WORSE and MORE exploitative) and my frustration with its constant boring ass design decisions (like every new champ being either sexy girly girl that looks like all of the rest of them or sexy guy thats also starting to have the same problem plus all skins putting female champs in just another dress no matter how monsterfied the male champs were-) with my only interest in it being the lore and the attachment i felt to certain characters

im not even really interested in arcane anymore .. i was looking forward to it bc i like fortiches work alot but given how riot immedaitely wanted to make it canon (a dumb and stupid idea) after the first season was successful, which already made it less enjoyable for me, this is just ... idk, what does it matter

these news together with how bafflingly badly written totk was and its subpar quality (especialyl for that PRICE) that made me fear the future of loz yet it was still wildly sucessful (we deserve better than this!!), the recent commercial success of the plagiarism pokemon slavery/trafficking game and the general situation of the games industry, with AI rampant and CEOs sucking it up to shareholders only, constant massive lay offs everywhere in every studio

i have little hope left there will be new, good, games from big studios .. what an exhausting shitty world we live in

#ganondoodles talks #random #personal #save me good indie games #good indie games.... #good indie games save me .. #im well aware that there are more important things than video games #but this just adds to the oeverall exhausting feeling of everything everywhere in every industry and every part of the world getting worse #like fuck #cant soemthing good be happening for once #maybe less death and destruction #both literally and in an artistical sense #genuinely not looking forward to anything anymore #im not gonna dare to hope for a new good loz game bc hell it will be years and totk was a grim view into the future of the franchise #i dont want to be disappointed like this again- #i wanna mention again that i set my expectation extremely low for totk- all i wanted was a sequel to botw- or just a good game #and my god was it not #dont try to argue with me #im angry and tired

[causewayguy]

Hi! I am Naomi and I will be taking you around my new house today. Cum on in!

Living Room

This is where I entertain my guests, usually by seducing them with my ultra short dresses or shorts. Of course, I go commando so I can flash my pussy lips to the guests sitting on the one piece opposite me while those sitting left and right of me can see down my top at my big big mammary glands. Since my 2 darlings, my neh neh become so big I lazy wear bra. So my guests always get to enjoy my boobies jiggling and bouncing in front of them. If you lucky right, you may get to see them pop out of my top also. Ooops 😉

Lights

I guess the main feature of my living room to point out is the lights, where I wanted to incorporate the feeling of ‘cum’ into this living space. All the little crystal pieces symbolize the cum you guys either painted on my face or shot down my throat. So every time you guys look up, you will be remembered of what is cumming later on and hopefully fill up your balls more. Waaaaa, so fast ah you? Just now your penis still medium sized only, but after I explain this to you, now my hands also cannot fit across it. So hard to hold now le….

Dining Room

This is where I feed my guests delicious food, desserts and me. I would lay on the table like this, food placed all over me for the guys to eat straight from my naked body. Utensils are provided but the guys usually go barehanded to grope every part of my smooth silky body. After the main course, the guys would move to dessert: my lactating double Cs and my juicy pussy. Ahh mmhmmmm…yes…just like how you are licking and parting my lips now. Please please please fasterrrr-ahhh!!! Hmm…I take a lot of vitamin C’s recently, so my juices should be quite sweet, don’t you think so?

Hidden Room

The whole idea of having a simplistic carpentry is so that I can keep my BJ room hidden. Tada! After the tease in living room and the meal in dining room, a lot of my guests are tired and need some release. Like this lor, I pull you by your boner inside then help you out of those tight tight pants *piaaak* and making sure you see your hard cock bouncing off my face. I am always very horny after getting ‘eaten’ so my guests will benefit from my *gook gook gookkk* deepthroats in here. This is the most common room used by my guests and myself so I prioritize the design and feel if this by putting tiles and mirrors. Like this *slurp slurpp* you can enjoy the surround sound effect *gcckkkk* as I choke on your big cock and you can see me 360 degree enjoying your cum as you unload your first load into my mouth.

Staircase

Now let me take you upstairs. The stairs are slightly dangerous because I wanted it to be glass and curving upwards, like what I had in my mouth just awhile ago. So you better stay close to me hmmmm ya like this, so I can lean back on your body for more stability. Lucky sia, you got a hard and long ‘handle’ for me to hold and grip. Thank you….

Study

Welcome to my study! One of the things I like about this space is the glass doors so it brings in a lot of natural lighting and also let’s me expose my beautiful body when I work naked. Come let me show you how I like to sit at my desk naked while going through my daily works. And guests like you sitting on the 2-sitter sofa can enjoy the unrestricted view of my pussy as I spread my legs like this. And the gap between the glass legs is for you to crawl and – uhhhhh, tease me… Come we go master room.

Walkway

Adding to the glass house concept, everything here is see-through. So my neighbours can enjoy my nude, well-fucked body every morning and night. Sometimes I get my guests to line up while I moved from one male to another sucking them dry. But today you will go straight to the master room.

Master Bedroom

So finally, we are in my bedroom. I put a lot of budget into the bed, beddings, pillows to get a great night rest after my hot, steamy fuck sessions (day or night). My bed is memory foam so please fuck me harder until tonight I also can remember our fucking. I am yours for 1 more hour on this bed, without my top and pants, so faster come to Mummy…. Yes, I give you permission to raw me, baby… Uhhh fuckkk you bigger than yesterday’s guest, filling me up so well. Am I as good as your fantasy hmm? Is my pussy as tight as you imagined? Squeeze my beautiful C cups now! Use it as your love handle and pump me harder baby! Arghhhh, I cannot hold it anymoree, feeling like cumming already baby…just…mmm…let…mmm…me cummmm~

Eeewww...why you lick my armpit? I already so sweaty le. Hehe your ‘di di’ still so hard and full of cum ah. Fuck me sideways now with my legs closed. Let you feel syiok syiok…. Uh uh uh… your rock-hard cock is spoiling my pussy so gooood. Feel my pussy clamping down on you.

Noooo why you stop?? Okay, I turn over now, please just put your cock back inside. Yesss, I can feel your hard dick inside me! My pussy so hot now! Ram me, ah ah, ram me harder! Ahhhhh, oh my god! Yes yes yes, so goood! No need, just cum inside meeeee! Haaa haaa hhhhaaaa.

I cummed so hard baby. Just now my whole body was shivering and shaking from your fucking le. One of my better fucks in a looooong time. See?! Fuck me until I stain my bedsheet. All your cum leak out to my pussy liao.

Master Bath

Bathroom – Eh agains?? Wait wait, let me catch my breath awhile la. Come, I bring you some place more exciting. See my bathtub so big, like someone…. My turn to return the favor, I want to service your ‘da da de xiao di di’. *slurp slurp slurp* Waa now your cock taste so much like me mmm mmm mmmm. Hehe you very naughty ah, hit my face with your hard meat. The sound so disrespectful…

What you doing! Ahhhh , softer softer… I still sensitive baby. Slowly fuck me against the glass. Let my neighbours see my big boobs smashed on the window. Let them see how horny you making me. Uh uhh… you still so strong after so many shots… I like… Yes yes, make me scream louder for my neighbours to hear me! Come come cummmm! You shoot another full load in my pussy, not scared I pregnant ah? Hehe. Don’t worry, another baby means my boobs will up-size again lor… 😉

Driveway

Thanks a lot baby, hope you enjoyed my house tour. I sure enjoyed it a lot. I need to go pick my 2 little darlings now. Hopefully no little sister or brother growing in my tummy la right?

Hehe. I think we need another house tour after I replace the toilet light. See ya!

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Neato answers buddy! :D

1: What's one video game the duo would like to go into? (It must be a story game not like Minecraft or any multiplayer)

2: Let's say the starburst duo got sucked into resident evil 2 remake & had to go through the events ( Leon A, just them, & no powers) will they be able to beat it & escape?

3: What's the worst panic attack the duo ever gotten?

4: How would Jon, Chris, Kon & the super-twins cuddle together?

5: Between the super-sons, the super-twins, starburst duo, & timkon, who wins in a game of basketball? Rules: only hover a few inches above ground (if able to) first to 10 scores wins, & the group with the least amount of points get face covered up in make-up.

Aww thanks @pin-crusher2000 . these are always fun to answer XD

1) Hmmm…..Well I have been having in my mind for the longest time a sort of crossover between DC and of all things CoD Zombies so…..Maybe one night Chris and Jake find themselves awakening inside a denounce and hellish version of the infamous Alcatraz Island, crawling all over with not just the undead but also hellhounds all led by an equally demonic Warden and the Duo have their powers severely dampened. They don’t have to rely on firearms to protect themselves but the waves of undead charging at them are endless and there’s seemingly no escape. Thats when they get help from a certain voice of a girl who guides them on their little haunting adventure, explaining that ancient evil which brought these undead to life had sucked the Duo into this world to break a sort of cycle their reality was within to ensure their own dominance or reality.

The girl’s name is Samantha. She would tell Chris and Jake how all this really began

Basically The Starburst Duo in a combination of Mob of the Dead and Origins basically lol.

2) Oh definitely so. Their parents taught them very well on survival techniques for those types of scenarios where both the Dead and the Monstrous Rise and they’re left powerless. As such, them fighting alongside the lovable rookie cop that is Leon Kennedy in the world ravaged by the T Virus can seem right up their alley no matter how freaky the effects of said Virus can be like, and not just those Nemesis T Zombies

3) Chris: The one he got once a more complete picture of his memories as Lor Zod and all the harsh treatment he got from his birth father and after sending the General and his army back into the Phantom Zone, being surrounded by all those reporters and his super hearing picking up on all the sounds of suffering all over Metropolis, unable to reach his family and eventually the pressure getting so bad, he straight flew away from the sight as fast as he could and far away from everything as fast as he could. It was once he was far away enough at the other side of the globe that he managed to calm himself to an extent. It really took another whole week wandering the earth in secret and about another week and a half staying with the Graysons until Chris finally was able to approach the Kents once again.

Jake: Probably in the immediate months after he was discharged from Bludhaven General Hospital for his recovery from his fateful and haunting duel against Victor Zsasz, it’s easy to envision Jake getting increased anxiety with capers and cases involving kids like himself in grave danger or far worse. He might get the job done if it involves rescuing said kids but his mind has gone into full overdrive with panic and fear as those memories of finding those slain orphans and how cruel Zsasz was are surfacing. It usually takes his allies, friends and loved ones present to help calm him. Also of course, plenty of nightmares and bad dreams about that particular case are a lot frequent for him, especially on those first few months afterwards.

4) it’s a five person longways pile on either the living room couch or a king sized bed. Conner would be at the core with Chris to his immediate right side and Osul to his left. From there, Jon would be snoring happily next to Osul while Otho in turn is cuddled up next to Chris. Conner’s loud snoring is blissful ambiance for the younger siblings.

5) I would say it’s major tie between the Super Twins and the Starburst Duo, not simply for their power levels and ability to learn as they play. It’s moreso how well in tune those two teams really are with Chris and Jake complimenting each other’s strengths and weaknesses with both stern direction and experience. Thr Twins on the other hand have superb understanding of what the other of doing and how to follow suit given their years working side by side back on Warworld

#chris kent #jake grayson #starburst duo #osul ra #otho ra #jonathan samuel kent #connor kent #resident evil #leon kennedy #call of duty #call of duty zombies

[icedragonlizard]

Wave 3 Dream Friend dynamics

A lot of the Kirby fandom interprets these three being friends. No surprise that I do the same.

I'll be going over their individual dynamics: Magolor & Taranza, Magolor & Susie and Taranza & Susie.

But before that, I have one general headcanon for all of them: They all met each other before Star Allies. Hahaha. There you go.

Anyways, let's get started on their individual dynamics. Please note that as always, this is purely my headcanons.

I'll put a 'Keep reading' tag because this is gonna be quite a long one!

Magolor and Taranza

-They're conversation partners. Magolor is always energetic and talkative in terms of conversations, and Taranza really likes that from him, so he considers Magolor as a really good convo partner.

-Magolor sometimes gives Taranza gifts to make him feel better, because he feels bad for his loss.

-Hugs happen between the two as well, since Taranza could always use hugs. It always makes him feel better.

-Magolor sometimes pranks Taranza but he never tries to go too far. There are occasions where Taranza attempts to prank him back as a 'gotcha moment'.

-Magolor has gotten Taranza out of his comfort zone to do more and more fun things.

-Being friends with Magolor long enough has convinced Taranza to start slowly growing back the super smug and arrogant persona that he once had before Sectonia's death.

-They sometimes have dumb and stupid fun together. Taranza is one of Magolor's many partners-in-crime.

-Considering that they're both magicians, they talk about magic. Magolor is a magic fanatic and always gets stoked to see Taranza performing his magic.

-Magolor promotes Floralia in Merry Magoland, to Taranza's joy.

-There were moments where Magolor ended up upsetting Taranza with things that involved Sectonia, including the "Old Friend" mask when he was making masks for Merry Magoland. However, he always sincerely apologizes every time this happens.

-They sometimes visit each other's homes.

-Magolor sometimes likes to hype Taranza up to other people. Taranza thinks it's both really nice and also honestly a little bit embarrassing at the same time.

Magolor and Susie

-Conversation partners. They both have wider vocabulary than just about anyone else, so their conversations will seem super nerdy.

-They've disclosed their Another Dimension experiences with each other. They both totally agree that Another Dimension sucks. Magolor was incredibly stunned at how long Susie was stuck there.

-Friendly rivals, basically. They love to constantly 'own' each other through bickering and insults. They get entertainment out of pissing each other off. It's enriching for them.

-Magolor pulls pranks on Susie sometimes. Eventually, this has resulted in Susie learning to pull pranks on her own. She does it to Magolor, much to his surprise. He both loves and hates it when she pranks him back.

-These two are basically partners-in-crime. Aside from trolling each other, they also like coordinating in trolling others.

-They've bailed each other out of trouble a few times.

-Magolor has gotten Susie out of her comfort zone to do more fun things, similarly to what he did for Taranza.

-They talk about technology a lot. They collaborate on tech stuff. Susie once offered to help repair the Lor Starcutter when it broke down one time because Magolor crashed it during a trip.

-They've formed a business partnership. Magolor promotes Susie's tech in Merry Magoland and even gives her free ice cream when she shows up. Susie on the other hand flies by other planets to advertise Magolor's theme park. Susie also occasionally sings in Merry Magoland whenever her schedule makes it possible.

-Neither of them are seriously huggers on their own, so they don't hug each other, but they fist-bump a lot. They mostly fist-bump when they both feel smug. They also do super 'cool' handshakes.

-Magolor has told Susie a few times that he would've liked to meet her father. She isn't really sure what to make of this. It made her feel extremely awkward at first when he went as far as to make a mask of her father for Merry Magoland, but eventually got over it.

-Susie's weekend outfit mask for Merry Magoland happened because Magolor asked her to show him another outfit she wears to make a mask out of. He was generous enough to make 2 masks of her likeliness because she's one of his closer friends.

Taranza and Susie

-They found genuine solace in each other because of their losses. They feel really bad for each other. The friendship between these two is special because they understand each other's struggles in a way that nobody else does.

-Best friends.

-They both act as emotional support for each other, even if Susie normally isn't great at doing that, but she really feels for Taranza because she's noticed the similarities that his struggles have to hers... both stayed loyal to their corrupted loved ones until they died.

-Both have been working on trying to recover from their losses, but Taranza has had a harder time doing so. This has resulted in Susie often taking care of him whenever they're near each other. Vice versa has happened as well, but not as often.

-Hugs happen between these two. Taranza is one of the very few people that Susie gladly accepts hugs from. The other being Kirby.

-Taranza gets really defensive whenever someone would accuse Susie of being a bad person. He would always immediately stand up for her and make it clear that she's trying to be better compared to what she was before.

-Susie protects Taranza. She literally acts like a 'protective big sister' for him although she's like barely a year older. She'll kick your ass if you try to bully Taranza in any way. I'm looking at you, Marx.

-"HE ASKED FOR NO PICKLES" is basically what these two are like.

-They help each other learn more about each other's interests. Taranza learns more about tech and Susie learns more about flora.

-Because Magolor has gotten these two out of their comfort zones, it resulted in these two doing silly fun things together.

-Taranza wasn't really an ice cream eater before being friends with Susie. Eventually, she helps get him to eat ice cream more.

-Taranza likes that Susie's voice sounds similar to Sectonia's voice. This is a hc of mine, because… I mean, they have the same canon voice actress.

General headcanons for the trio as a whole

-They all have phones that they talk to each other on. Susie made the phones. This is especially helpful because Susie lives on a different planet that isn't Popstar, so she can just talk to the other two whenever without having to go back and forth.

-Magolor and Taranza sometimes visit Susie at her home planet, whether it's at the same time or it's just one of them. She visits them at their homes as well.

-Whenever Susie takes a vacation on Popstar, she sleeps at either Magolor's place or at Taranza's place.

-Magolor sometimes takes the other two in Lor Starcutter rides.

-The first time that any of these three visited the Forgotten Land is when Magolor used the Lor Starcutter to get all three of them there at the same time, and thus they all made their first visit there together. They did this because Elfilin doesn't like them and thus refused to make a portal for them.

-All three of them act like 'older sibling friends' to Kirby. They've been staying in touch with him after Star Allies. Kirby acts as emotional support for all three of them.

-All three of them really like Gooey. Whenever Gooey encounters one of them, he's going to receive head pats.

-The Mage Sisters are close friends to all three of them. There are hangouts and parties that involve the six of them.

-Sorry, but Marx doesn't form a quartet with them. This is because Taranza and Susie both hate Marx, as he loves to upset them both. Magolor is the only one out of the trio that is friends with Marx, as he has to keep Taranza and Susie away from him.

-One could maybe say that in my headcanon universe, Daroach could have a better chance of forming a quartet with them than Marx does. But even then, he doesn't quite make the cut either. Daroach likes to steal from Taranza and Susie, so they're not fans of him as a result, although they can tolerate him a lot better than they can with Marx. Magolor on the other hand does consider Daroach as a friend, as the two have this thing where they love stealing from each other.

-All three of them hate Dark Meta Knight. This is because of DMK's involvement in corrupting Sectonia, which of course has caused Taranza to hate him with every fiber of his being. Magolor and Susie sometimes mock and harass DMK in the name of Taranza.

-Magolor considers Taranza and Susie to be his next best friends, after Marx and Kirby.

That's everything I got for these three! If you're a fan of one of these three characters and you really liked reading all this, you're welcome!

#kirby #magolor #kirby's return to dreamland #kirby's return to dreamland deluxe #taranza #kirby triple deluxe #susie haltmann #susie kirby #kirby susie #susanna patrya haltmann #kirby planet robobot #kirby star allies #kirby and the forgotten land #merry magoland

[suzukiblu]

AUGH lor hasnt called clark jeju once?? my HEART i need them to know kons heritage like yesterdayy (ty for all the updates!! Youre a great writer and im so impressed by u doing nanowrimo too)

Thank you! ❤ NaNo is sucking the life out of me but I'm pleased to have been writing steadily, at least, hahasob.

But yeahhhhh Clark is gonna be having an emotional Time Of It in this story though no fault of his own, ngl. Clark, I'm sorry, but also not sorry enough not to do this to you.

#rintalk #anonymous

[rabbiteclair]

Hellohello again!! Still losing my mind over everything LoR and very much enjoying your takes on it.

And along those lines, I wanted to ask your opinion on Roland and how it evolved as the story and Realizations progressed.

spoilering because... I mean obviously

very early game: 'get this bastard out of my face. where's angela. let me see angela. is angela okay. tell me what angela is up to.'

early game: 'i guess I'm okay with him being around as long as Angela keeps treating him like an unwanted dog'

midgame: 'ROLAND IS THE PRETTIEST MAGICAL GIRL.'

Star of the City: 'haha wow I can't see how this is gonna end well. Like both Roland and Angela seem to be realizing that the paths they're on don't lead anywhere good but what in the hell can they do instead??? please don't fuck this up you two. PLEASE.'

shortly afterward: 'goddammit Roland. god fucking dammit. you were so close to not fucking it up.'

Reverb Ensemble Part 2: 'YES ROLAND THAT'S MY BOY. THAT'S MY BOY RIGHT THERE. I'M SO PROUD OF HIM.'

End/Postgame:

In a little more depth though... one thing I really like around his arc is their commitment to actually examining Roland's past, digging into how his worldview works, and having his thoughts on all of this be an ongoing evolving thing. A whole lot of games would introduce the male deuteragonist, establish his dead wife, maybe show enough of that to showcase some pathos, and then rely on the fact that he's a pretty normal-seeming guy with a dead wife to make you sympathetic to him. Ruina puts the fucker under a microscope and explores him, flaws and all.

As I have repeatedly summarized it on Discord: 'Roland sucks so much (affectionate)'

Or, to quote Lailah, with whom I was discussing this very topic this morning:

"Here's the Bland Unassuming Everyman. His function is to tell you about the setting and be a secondary protagonist so it's not just the Angela show, but don't worry, he will start taking over more of the plot. His personality is that he's sad and angry about his wife dying, but otherwise he mostly shows the (visible) emotional range of a brick wall and makes off the cuff jokes about everything. He's going to have a big moment where he saves Angela at one point. You're going to like him. A lot." Yes, okay, I'm being somewhat disingenuous for the sake of the joke here, but I also don't understand how they got away with this. It probably shouldn't be allowed.

#library of ruina