#i want to play it right now but my pc is dead

[ehlnofay]

aromantics need to take over every industry NOW

#I'm ANNOYED. not in an earnestly sad way but just like #everything keeps being about romance!! and it's fucking boring!!!! #my friend is playing bg3 and it seems cool and all but there's so much emphasis on romance and sex #mostly in the fandom but partly in the way the game's relationships are structured #and like. I'm so dead serious. that shit's boring #give me a best friend mechanic in every game #I want the exact same vibes but it's all purely platonic #I want all the emotional deepcuts but NO KISSING #that can all be an option obv #but I wish a romantic storyline wasn't the only one that could have depth yk #idk I haven't actually played the game bc my shitty pc cannot handle that #maybe it's actually cool and chill and you can do all the same stuff as with the romance plotlines as Besties #but. kinda doubt it #and that's not what anyone is talking about regardless #if I don't get a narrative without romance in it Right Now I'm going to start biting #I mean it

[deedee-sims]

Tutorial - extracting stuff from Disco Elysium (+ viewing the models in blender)

Due to... recent events, I decided to finally get myself to write a tutorial about this, because all I found was some half-assed reddit comments when I was trying to figure out how to do it sometime last year.

I'll show you how to extract... pretty much everything (including voice lines) from the game.

This is a beginner tutorial, so you don't have to know shit about any of these programs, I'll try to explain everything.

I promise it's pretty easy! I extracted stuff from various games, and this is one of the easiest I ever did, so yeah.

You'll need:

Disco Elysium on PC

AssetStudio

Blender

+1 Interfacing

+2 Endurance (mostly to survive my bad jokes)

First of all, open AssetStudio. You don't have to install it or anything, just unzip the file you downloaded and open the program inside (AssetStudioGUI).

This is how the bad boy looks like, we'll be able to see the asset list on the left and the preview on the right.

Click on File../Load Folder.

Select the folder where the game is installed. For me it's Steam\steamapps\common\Disco Elysium\disco_Data. You can load individual files too, but it's easier to just list everything and then filter them imo.

Wait... for a while. It's a lot of assets. Make a tea or something (hydration is important).

After everything loaded up, click on the Asset List tab. You can see all the stuff! Well, it's rather confusing. Let's see what is what!

If you click on Filter Type, you can see the types of the assets. These are:

AnimationClip: I think these are supposed to be the animations, you can export them if you select an animator asset alongside and right click Export Animator + selected Animation Clips (couldn't get the animation to play but that's probably on me).

Animator: These are the rigged models, you can export them to .fbx format, but I couldn't figure out what to do with them in Blender because they were kinda distorted (funnily enough, when I imported it to the shitty Milkshape program it showed up just fine... and people wonder why I prefer shitty Milkshape XD) Anyway, I hope someone can figure this out that actually knows something about Blender lol.

Audio Clip: Sounds, voice lines, background music. (.wav format)

Font: Well, fonts. Can be exported and installed to your device like any fonts.

Mesh: 3D models of the characters, objects, scenes. (.obj format)

MonoBehaviour: No fucking clue.

Shader: Shaders for the game. Not interesting in our case.

Sprite: Images that the game uses: portraits, object thumbnails, user interface elements.

Texture 2D: The textures that belong to the 3D models. (.png format)

TextAsset: ??

VideoClip: The stuff that plays when you open the game.

You can preview any assets (well, the ones that you can preview), if you click on them. You can view them in the right panel.

You can extract by left click on the asset in the list -> Export selected assets. You can select multiple assets and export them at the same time.

The program will ask you to select a folder where you want to export the stuff. It'll export them into separate folders, by assets.

Well, yeah, now you know what is what, and how to extract them, but there are still a lot of assets. Good news, you can filter them with the little search bar too, if you type in some gibberish! Some stuff are a little tricky to find.

Voice lines are grouped by task / place, so if you know where the particular thing takes place, you can try to filter for those. The assets are named with the speaker's name - either a character or a skill. I think the numbers mean some kind of order, but I couldn't really figure it out. If you click on one of them, you can preview, and listen to it in the right panel! Super easy! (if you want your own daba-doop-doop-dead it's Kim Kitsuragi-YARD  HANGED MAN-556. Just saying)

For objects and characters, you can find them by name, although some characters are named differently. Like, Harry is referred as Tequila in the game files.

Basically if you want to have a character or an object extracted, you’ll need to extract a mesh and a texture that belongs to it. You can quite literally play dress-up game with Harry, because all of his clothes are separate files (and named with kinda the clothing item name). The Kineema has multiple parts (exterior - interior - door - whatever else).

Anyway, let's move on to the Blender part before I forget how to do it (I learned it this morning lol). (Disclaimer: I don't know jack shit about Blender, I use it for extracting stuff and creating the simplest shapes in existence. I use the godforsaken program Milkshape on a daily basis.)

Open Blender.

Hit delete to get rid of this beautiful default cube.

File.../Import.../Wavefront (.obj)

Select the thing you want to import (I'll import the gremlin child).

There he is! And he doesn't fucking care!

Btw, you can zoom with the middle mouse button scroll or middle mouse button + Ctrl, rotate with middle mouse button, move the view with middle mouse button + Shift. So you can see his itty-witty mischievous face from very close!

Now, that's great, but he doesn't have textures still. First of all, change the Viewport Shading to Material Preview.

Select him (just click on him, you'll see an orange outline). And go to the Material Properties tab on the side.

Click on the little dot next to Base Color, and select Image Texture.

Click on the Open button that appeared out of nowhere, and search for the Cuno texture.

Tada! He looks beautiful now! (and he still doesn’t fucking care)

You can do the same with any 3D models, objects from the game, really.

Well, that's it lol. I hope it made sense! And I really hope someone runs away with extracting the animators + animations, because I'm pretty sure it's doable, I just have no clue how.

#disco elysium #tutorial #nonsims #well kinda sims if you want to convert stuff from this game i guess

[johnny-depplyloveyou]

[Spoilers] Methods to check Gale's true attitude towards godhood to prevent his “Sneaky God” ending (with a full list of dialogue options that determines his human/god ending)

Several people mentioned that they are playing on console and therefore can't check his flag status in my last post about using console commands to avoid his sneaky god ending(it is where you reject his proposal of ascending together in the boat scene, although he acted convinced but will then leave you and ascend to godhood alone), after searching through dialogue files, I found that it's actually possible for all players to check which ending he'll get after you have done his act 3 scenes(book scene, meeting Elminster, meeting Mystra, boat ride scene), but that involves killing him, which is not optimal :((...

So here's how you do it: first, send him to camp, enter turn-based mode, use your party members to kill him in one turn, switch back to your avatar and cast "Speak with Dead" on him, and ask him: "What were you trying to achieve?", if his answer is "Seeking... Karsus' power... failed..." then he's going to ascend at the end of the game, if it's any other answer, he'll remain human. Now revive him or load a save before this event!

You'll need to redo his Act 3 scenes if you got the Karsus answer, and if you want to know which dialogue options you need to choose to ensure he's convinced, I gathered a list of options you need to pick or avoid under the cut. If you really don’t want to kill him, you could load a save right after his act 3 scenes and view dialogue history to count options you chose with each flag and figure out which ending you’ll get.

If you are playing on PC, you have progressed too far in the game and don't want to redo the entire Act 3 when you find out about this, or you just want to see other endings of him with your character without replaying the game, here are some console commands for you to alter his ending using Norbyte's BG3 Script Extender(console version). These codes should still work during the scene when you defeat the Netherbrain before his part starts.

To get the normal human ending, copy and paste the text below in the console repeatedly until it returns a 0

Osi.SetFlag("ORI_Gale_State_RejectedBeMyGodProposal_de72eaa6-c6f4-014c-b1a2-213c243c1dba", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) Osi.ClearFlag("ORI_Gale_State_AcceptedBeMyGodProposal_3d452ca4-14e6-176a-88ad-47d0ef8271d3", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) Osi.SetFlag("ORI_Gale_Event_PushAwayFromCrown_303eeb6d-22cb-4832-a186-f366a4a6eacc", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) print(GetFlag("ORI_Gale_State_SwayedTowardsCrown_76150a10-511d-4eeb-b263-46994bab0b48", GetHostCharacter()))

To get the normal god ending, copy and paste the text below in the console repeatedly until it returns a 1

Osi.SetFlag("ORI_Gale_State_AcceptedBeMyGodProposal_3d452ca4-14e6-176a-88ad-47d0ef8271d3", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) Osi.ClearFlag("ORI_Gale_State_RejectedBeMyGodProposal_de72eaa6-c6f4-014c-b1a2-213c243c1dba", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) Osi.SetFlag("ORI_Gale_Event_PushTowardsCrown_96fad101-7c29-495c-91d3-3645b30c2bab", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) print(GetFlag("ORI_Gale_State_SwayedTowardsCrown_76150a10-511d-4eeb-b263-46994bab0b48", GetHostCharacter()))

To get the sneaky human ending, copy and paste the text below in the console repeatedly until it returns a 0

Osi.SetFlag("ORI_Gale_State_AcceptedBeMyGodProposal_3d452ca4-14e6-176a-88ad-47d0ef8271d3", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) Osi.ClearFlag("ORI_Gale_State_RejectedBeMyGodProposal_de72eaa6-c6f4-014c-b1a2-213c243c1dba", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) Osi.SetFlag("ORI_Gale_Event_PushAwayFromCrown_303eeb6d-22cb-4832-a186-f366a4a6eacc", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) print(GetFlag("ORI_Gale_State_SwayedTowardsCrown_76150a10-511d-4eeb-b263-46994bab0b48", GetHostCharacter()))

To get the sneaky god ending, copy and paste the text below in the console repeatedly until it returns a 1

Osi.SetFlag("ORI_Gale_State_RejectedBeMyGodProposal_de72eaa6-c6f4-014c-b1a2-213c243c1dba", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) Osi.ClearFlag("ORI_Gale_State_AcceptedBeMyGodProposal_3d452ca4-14e6-176a-88ad-47d0ef8271d3", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) Osi.SetFlag("ORI_Gale_Event_PushTowardsCrown_96fad101-7c29-495c-91d3-3645b30c2bab", GetHostCharacter(), 1, 1) print(GetFlag("ORI_Gale_State_SwayedTowardsCrown_76150a10-511d-4eeb-b263-46994bab0b48", GetHostCharacter()))

If you wish to do this on other characters, change their flags etc., this list of all the uuids of items, character tags and flags in the game could be useful, and you could look into datamined dialogue files from this post by @roksik-dnd to find which flag you need to look to get things done.

You'll need to choose more options with "PushAwayFromCrown" than "PushTowardsCrown" for his human ending to work, for his god ending, you should choose equal or more amount of "PushTowardsCrown" than "PushAwayFromCrown". You do not need to choose every possible option or ask him to seek Mystra's forgiveness to get his human ending. u/airydandelion explained this mechanism in detail in their reddit post, you should check it out if you want to understand how this works!

Dialogue options with the "PushAwayFromCrown" flag

In the discussion after you give him The Annals of Karsus

Romanced with Player

That crown is an abomination, Gale. I don't need a private conversation to understand that.

Not romanced version

I thought you were past this kind of temptation, Gale. You know exactly where such over-reaching leads.

Or to destroy the next wizard who attempts it. The attempt would kill you as it killed Karsus.

(after choosing "This is no ordinary artifact, Gale. Do this and you'd challenge the gods themselves.") Wallowing in the dirt? Is that what our time together has meant to you?

(Mystra is Player's deity) What you're suggesting is blasphemy. You'd be wise to banish these notions from your head. ['Gale -1']

(after choosing "Gale - I'm urging you to drop this. This Crown cannot be reforged." ['Gale -1'])You're still destined for greatness, Gale. But you won't find it chasing Karsus' shadow.

 (after choosing "Gale - I'm urging you to drop this. This Crown cannot be reforged." ['Gale -1'])Don't give up yet. There will be an answer - it just isn't the Crown.

(after choosing "Gale - I'm urging you to drop this. This Crown cannot be reforged." ['Gale -1'])You're deluded, Gale. The crown is clearly dangerous, as is pursuing it.

In Stormshore Tabernacle before meeting Mystra

Seek her forgiveness, Gale. It might be your only hope of curing the orb.

After meeting Mystra

if SwayedTowardsCrown=true (n(PushTowardsCrown)>=n(PushAwayFromCrown))

No, Gale. This all sounds far too dangerous - Karsus' magic must be destroyed.

if SwayedTowardsCrown=false (n(PushTowardsCrown)<n(PushAwayFromCrown))

(after choosing"Is that what you want?")  We're going to cure you - I promise. ['Gale 2']

(after choosing"Is that what you want?") You're a great man, Gale. With or without the orb. ['Gale 2']

(after choosing"Is that what you want?") A better incarnation of you, I hope. Not the impulsive wreck who unleashed the orb in the first place. ['Gale -2']

(after choosing"Is that what you want?") And what then? What will you do?

(after choosing "Sod redemption. With the Karsite Weave and the Crown, you could be a god.") You'd be more of a fool for chasing godhood. Take up Mystra's offer - it's the best way.

Boat scene

(Gale has not met Mystra in Stormshore Tabernacle) So much power will only prove dangerous. You should forget it.

(after choosing "I feel the same. Whatever you need of me, consider it done.") Wait. Perhaps I'm being too hasty... and perhaps you're overreaching.

(after choosing "I love you. But for the man that you are. Not the god you'd pretend to be.") Stop his protests with a kiss.

(after choosing any options other than "I feel the same. Whatever you need of me, consider it done." or "I love you. But for the man that you are. Not the god you'd pretend to be.", then ) You're already everything I need you to be.

Dialogue options with the "PushTowardsCrown" flag

In the discussion after you give him The Annals of Karsus

 You're a convincing man, Gale. The crown sounds promising. ['Gale 5']

(Shadowheart origin Dark Justicar route) Mystra is no friend of the Dark Lady. If you can dethrone her, you have my support. ['Gale 5']

(Player is a wizard) The pursuit of knowledge and power is in our nature. There's no question - you must do this. ['Gale 5']

In Stormshore Tabernacle before meeting Mystra

Make her squirm. Tell her the Crown will be ours soon enough.

After meeting Mystra

if SwayedTowardsCrown=true (n(PushTowardsCrown)>=n(PushAwayFromCrown))

Of course. ['Gale 1']

We're usually inclined to agree on moral matters. That's good enough for me. ['Gale 1']

Morals be damned - this is an incredible opportunity. You must take it. ['Gale 1']

I'm right beside you. Time to make you a god.

if SwayedTowardsCrown=false (n(PushTowardsCrown)<n(PushAwayFromCrown))

(after choosing "When you put it like that, it sounds rather easy...") I thought you were more ambitious than this, Gale. Why settle for mortality when immortality is on the table? ['Gale 2']

(after choosing "Sod redemption. With the Karsite Weave and the Crown, you could be a god.") You're right. This opportunity is too good to pass up. We need to get you that Crown.

Boat scene

(Gale has not met Mystra in Stormshore Tabernacle) I'm here to support you, no matter what you want. ['Gale 10']

(after choosing "I feel the same. Whatever you need of me, consider it done.") Kiss him.

(after choosing "I feel the same. Whatever you need of me, consider it done.")(Karlach origin without the second heart upgrade) You know I would if I could. But I'll sit with you as long as you'll have me.

(after choosing "I love you. But for the man that you are. Not the god you'd pretend to be.")You're right. We should not deny ourselves such a gift. The crown must be ours.

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale #gale bg3 #gale x tav #tav x gale #galemance #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 spoilers

[gunpowderraven]

critical role: by someone that hasn’t seen any of it

hi so we recently got into dimension 20 and our friends have been tugging us towards critical role for a very long time at this point but we still haven’t watched any of it nor do we know all that much about anything that actually happens in it. however we do intend to actually start watching soon so we decided it was the perfect opportunity to make one of those ‘all the things i know about this thing i haven’t watched’ posts, show it to our critrole friends, and then actually get into critrole and be able to look back and laugh about it later

also the images are all sourced via friend so this is all one hundred percent no wiki no google knowledge, just from tumblr and discord convos and stuff. and some cast compilation videos that were very funny

update: we are now watching cr3! liveblog tag for silly lb -> #cr3 lb

vox machina

from left to right:

- i have literally no idea who the two halflings are. i’ve never seen them before in my life. what. uh. paladin and bard? im literally just guessing. who plays these characters. what

- grog? grug? this is travis’ pc maybe. also hypothesizing hes a half-orc barbarian or something similar? ive seen like one clip of him

- percival frederick von something something de rolo i think there’s a iii in his name as well, his name is long and very german but he does not have a german accent. or a french one. at separate times i have thought this character was german and french and then i heard him talk and was like. What. anyway i know he’s taliesin’s pc and he invented guns and is also possessed sometimes by big bird demon, and he has a nifty plague doctor mask. also tragic backstory. his entire family is dead i think. no mercy percy! he has a thing with vex? also his hair did a wilbur. the gay people on tumblr love this twink. i also think i love this twink

- vax’ildan! i think i may have actually spelled that right! half-elf? vex is his twin? and he’s... liam’s pc i think. yeah that’s it. he gives me angsty boy energy tho. not as much as percy but this boy has seen some shit. also he might be a rogue or a ranger who even knows. he looks like gay jon snow

- vex’ahlia which i definitely didn’t spell right. i think the next one is marisha’s pc so this one is... uh... laura? i think she’s the ranger actually. i think she has a bear. not like a gay bear like an actual animal bear. though it could be gay too i dunno. she has a think with percy. or everyone wants her to have a thing with percy. i genuinely can’t tell. anyway get that traumatized twink girl

- keyleth... marisha’s pc. some kind of spellcaster? maybe sorcerer? wild magic? she Also has a thing with percy maybe. or vex. or both. who even knows. everyone wants that twink. one time she threw herself off a cliff and turned into a goldfish and almost died and it was hilarious

anything else i know about this:

- there are evil bitches called the briarwoods and they might be vampires

- this is the one that got a tv show and might have also been the first critrole campaign idek

- d. ragons? chromia something. dragons. i hope i haven’t been lied to about the dragons. i hope there are actually dragons in this. there’s like a chromium something with dragon symbols tho

mighty nein

from left to right:

- mollymauk! ...tealeaf? another taliesin pc. the trans people like this one. i don’t know what their pronouns are. but theyre slaying every time i see them at any time. no idea what class but maybe a spellcaster?

- ...beau? i know her exclusively through lesbian ship art so i know her name is beau something bc that’s the ship names but i don’t know if that’s short for something. monk? no clue. also no clue who plays her either. maybe marisha?

- i have seen this character but i do not know their name. or anything else about them

- oh this is the sad wizard boy caleb widogast. he’s gay for essek thelyss (or something. i didnt spell that right) who is a npc i think. yeah. sad wizard. every time i see him he’s just being a wizard and sad. the gays love him too but he’s more of a distraught otter than a sad twink. maybe he and percy should start a club tho. also i think he’s played by liam

- i KNOW this character’s name i think it starts with s but i can’t remember for the life of me. scriv? scrat? no thats the rat from ice age. possibly a menace? i think im getting them mixed up with someone else. they look cool as hell though

- jester!! laura pc i think perhaps. i want to get drunk with her and tell her about all of my problems. yeah. i dont know anything about her actually. beaujester exists tho i know that

- YASHA. CRUSH ME HOLY FUCK. sorry im normal ? her voice makes me a little crazy insane. ive seen a few clips of her. mostly gay shit with beau. uh she’s played by ashley and she could kick my ass very easily

oh my god there’s another photo

- i think there’s only one character different here and it’s caduceus clay fun fact i hated this mfer for really dumb shitty personal reasons for a while before deciding it was very stupid to blame a fictional character for interpersonal drama and now im fine with him. wait does mollymauk die or something. wait a second. no, wait, fuck—

- ALSO WHO’S THAT FUCKER IN THE BACKGROUND I JUST NOTICED THAT

anything else i know about this:

- yeah i got nothing. no idea about the lore or the plot or anything bc i pretty much exclusively see gay ship art of these pcs. love wins i support it

bells hells

from left to right, one more time:

- look my brain is just saying gertrude from dungeons & drag queens but obviously that’s incorrect. so i don’t know who this is

- or this! but she looks very pretty and i love the little... monkey... bird? pls tell me these two characters have some kind of wild opposites dynamic they look like they do

- LITTLE ROBOT GUY . fcg? fgc? i think it was the first one. uh. liam pc? ?????? i think he gets bitches

- orym...? i know one of these characters is named orym. and i think it’s this one. i also see gay fanart of him

- i don’t know who the guy underneath him is

- or the lady with the purple hair god i really don’t know shit about this campaign sorry

- ashton greymoore, taliesin pc, my friend luna loves this guy, he’s. rocks? he’s rocks. groovy.

- someone in this campaign is named like dorian or something and im guessing its this one bc idk who they are either

anything else i know about this:

- flying.......... ship?

- this is the ongoing one i think

thank you for coming to my ted talk, i can’t wait to look back at this in a few months and laugh my ass off. hope u enjoyed this mess

#jupiter.txt #thierry.txt #critical role

[kookslastbutton]

Love's Remedy ༓ jjk (m) l Ch. III

✑ Summary: Jungkook is a romantic. He comes from a highly intelligent family who wants him to carry out the lineage. Being this way, he goes to college to be a pharmacist but his friends say college isn't just about studying! With a little persuasion, he goes to his first frat party thinking his hat will help him pick up a girl-or woman he means.

Pairing: STEM major!virgin!jungkook x STEM major!hot girl!reader

AU/genre: angst, smut, fluff, s2l, college au, mini-series

Rating: M, 18+

Word Count: 4,378

Warnings: jk is very determined to "win" oc, jk a romantic, oc has philophobia (fear of relationships), protective!koo again, oc is an engineering student, PC Bang, jk is a king at LOL (League of Legends), jk lowkey flirts with new person, oc gets cold feet but please don't blame her 🥹, jk and oc get on level ground after hashing things through, themes of stalker-ish behavior (not oc or jk!), feat Jackson and Jae-beom, if i missed warning lmk!

Now Playing: seven, summertime sadness, she’s kerosene, angels like you+

A/N: For reference a PC Bang is: "a type of LAN gaming center and Internet cafe in South Korea, where patrons can play multiplayer computer games for an hourly fee". Also, I am not a gaming guru but I try for this chapter that means I researched haha Enjoy! 💞

<< ch. II ༓ ch. IV >> | series masterlist

A week later, Jungkook waits for you at your agreed rendezvous point; for over an hour. You promised to meet him near the campus garden at 7 pm but here it is almost 8 pm and you're a no-show.

He checks his phone for the fourteenth time since arriving–no reply.

Jungkook tries not to jump to conclusions but you broke your word and you ghosted him.

He thinks back to last week when he'd stepped between you and Jun-ho. And when you followed him back to his dorm where he told you he could love and take care of you, as you helped patch his wound. Had he come on too strong? Did you get into more trouble that he didn't know about?

He kicks a few pebbles by his feet, sending them flying in every which way, as the number of endless possibilities rattles his brain.

"Stupid," he cusses himself. "You're just so fucking stupid."

How could he believe that after two short weeks of random run-ins with you that he'd earn your interest? You told him you don't do relationships yet he still shows up, anxiously presenting himself as your knight in shining armor. Any sane person would tell him he was barking up a dead tree.

"Might as well get a head start on next week's homework." Jungkook loses hope, trotting back to the dormitory with the wind howling and mocking behind him.

"What do you mean she ditched you?" The boisterous inquisition belongs to Jackson who's looking thoroughly offended once hearing his new best friend was shown up. He isn't sure how much this woman meant to him, but either way, it makes him livid. Even if you weren't going to go out with him, you should've at least told him like a decent human being.

"I really thought she'd come," Jungkook replies with his heavy eyes. He walks alongside the blonde-haired boy, dirt crunching below his feet. "Guess she had something better to do."

"No." Jackson stops in the middle of the road. "You know who actually has better things to do? It's you. What do you say to hitting up the PC Bang downtown? Play a little League of Legends or Overwatch?"

Jungkook shrugs with less enthusiasm than a snail. "Sure…"

"Hey man," Jackson puts a hand on Jungkook's shoulder. "I'm sorry about you and __. It sucks being stood up. I've had my fair share and you just gotta take it as a blessing that nothing else happened between you both. Nine times out of ten, it didn't have anything to do with you either so don't blame yourself. Take it as a lesson and keep working on yourself until the right person shows up. They'll be the person you can truly give yourself to."

"Hard to believe you've been shown up. You're charismatic, confident, in good shape, have good facial features, and you're getting your MD." Jungkook's aware of his friend's attempt to lift his spirits but he can't fathom anyone not giving Jackson the time of day. Due looks like a pop star in the making.

"Nah, most of what you just said is me bullshitting my way through life. I'm not all that," Jackson rejects, striding forward. "I got rejected by a girl a few days ago myself."

"Had a boyfriend?"

"Nope, just didn't like me. And she doesn't go out with first -years apparently."

"Oh," Jungkook's eyebrows shoot up. "She was an upperclassman?"

"Yup, on her third year."

At this Jungkook's mouth gapes open. "No wonder she said no. What the hell are you doing trying to go out with a third-year?” The accusatory tone spins Jackson's head–he's a sad little puppy with you but a bulldog with him. What a puzzling fellow.

"Same thing you're doing trying to convince someone who doesn't want a relationship to go out with you."

Jungkook dials back his previous assertion. "We're idiots."

"Correction. we're dreamers." Jackson slaps him on the shoulder. "C'mon, let's go burn some shit up at the internet cafe."

By the time he and Jackson get to the cafe nearly all the computers are taken. It's no surprise since PC Bang's are quite a rave amongst university students like themselves. You can play the hottest games for hours while stuffing yourself full with whatever food's served on the cafe menu–all for a small fee of course.

"Let's go here." Jackson manages to grab two free id cards from the counter–guiding them to two empty PCs, side by side to each other. "How long do you want to play for?"

Jungkook sinks himself in the leather gaming chair and powers on the machine in front of him. "I'm good until 6 pm, but then I should head back to my dorm and do homework."

"Cool, same for me. We'll play for three hours then."

"What should we play?" Jungkook tosses the headset over his ears and scrolls through the game options. Jackson does the same.

"Kinda in the mood for LOL." He flips to the game's screen card. "Gonna need to join a team though."

"No problem.," Jungkook clicks the game on his own pc until the loading screen covers his view. "So many people play League of Legends. We'll be able to find one in no time."

Jackson nods and opens LOL himself. "Let's kick some ass."

"Fuck yeah," Jungkook mumbles, inaudible to everyone but himself.

An hour passes and he and Jackson have been hammering their opponents into the digital abyss. The thrill and surge of adrenaline cause him to forget previous heartaches–aka you. Plus, after finding a team of three to jump into; one member who happens to be female, Jungkook's been able to turn his attention to other prospects.

"Soomin, how long have you been playing LOL for?" Jungkook decides to learn more about his female teammate after claiming the final victory over the opposing team.

"Five years," her raspy voice comes through his headset. It sure is a unique voice, he notes.

"Same. We should play on a team more often. In fact, Jackson and I are thinking about building an official LOL team so we could use a third person. You're really good so if you want, we'd love to have you." Beside him, his friend gives him a confused look. 'We are?' he mouths silently which Jungkook ignores.

"Wait really?" She pauses a moment. "I've never been on a permanent team before. I guess that'd be cool."

"I play late at night sometimes too. Meaning if you ever wanna jump on with me shoot me a message or something."

"Alright, I'll jot down your username."

"Already got yours memorized," he says, a tad more cocky than he meant.

"Damn," she cusses. "You work fast. By the way, do you go to university?"

"Yeah, I go to Seoul National University."

"No way, what year are you? I attend there too. I'm a second-year."

"What?!" He nearly hits the ceiling once the information is disclosed. He had no idea Soomin would be this close and that he could meet her in person. call him eager but should he ask her out? No…he's already made that move with you and look where it left him. He'll ask to hang out first. "We should meet Soomin. As long as you don't mind that I'm a first-year that is," Jungkook chuckle lightly and looks over to Jackson who immediately gives him a double thumbs up.

"Well I'm kinda busy this week but how about next week? Also, if it's good with you, can my boyfriend come?"

Fuck. If this is some kinda joke he'd like to catch a break any time now. Not that he was as intrigued with Soomin as he was, or still is, with you but he definitely thought it was going somewhere!

"You're dating?" Jungkook watches Jackson lower his double thumbs up, frowny face on.

"Yeah, we've been together for a year. Met as classmates." When she giggles Jungkook has the unexpected urge to roll his eyes. Of course, you did, he mutters, just a perfectly peachy coincidence for you two.

"Well that's nice," he says bitterly.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jungkook. He's actually calling me now so I have to go but I'll talk to you soon. And message me when you want to meet. I'll tell my boyfriend about you!"

Great. Jungkook bids her goodbye and she signs off.

"Sorry about Soomin. She seemed cute." Jackson slides his headset off his ears to rest them around his neck. "But you know what? You're still a force to be reckoned with inside the virtual world. I honestly don't know how you do it."

Jungkook grins shyly and slips his headset on the desk. "I've been playing for a long time. Must be something to do with that." He throws a hand over his abdomen when his stomach rumbles at the same time. "We should order food." He browses the cafe's extensive menu on his pc. Nothing but rows and rows of tasty options flash back at him, urging him to spend fortunes.

Still, he's got to cap it at some point with only about 2,000,000 Korean won (about 1,500 USD) in his bank account. The Jeon family is wealthy but Jungkook is not. His parents are especially careful to inform him that generational wealth is not going to be given to him freely. Instead, he is to earn his own money, starting at the car wash which he worked at over the summer.

"I'm getting an order of Tteokbokki and a soju. What about you?" Jackson punches in his order, sparing a glance at Jungkook who's tapping on his keyboard with one hand while the other rests under his chin.

"The Jjajangmyeon looks good. I'll get that with a soju too." After Jungkook enters in his own order he strolls his chair out from under the gaming table. "Do you see a bathroom around here?"

"Yeah, it's all the way to that far right corner." Jackson points in that direction with his thumb.

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Bathroom, bathroom, bathroom.

Jungkook repeats the simple word to himself. He scans the corner Jackson gestured towards earlier but sees nothing except a giant blank wall. Must have meant the opposite direction. He turns himself around to scout the other side of the floor.

"Excuse me sir-" a voice chimes close behind him.

"Oh sorry." He steps aside to let the young lady by and as soon as he does his whole body jerks forward in shock. "__!"

You turn around with the tray of food in your hand in what looks like a work uniform. "Yes, what can I do–Kookie?" You grip the plastic tray firmer to keep it from shaking uncontrollably, though the clamminess of your palms makes it a challenging task. Seeing Jungkook at the place you work was bound to happen being that the PC Bang is close to the university. You just weren't prepared for it to be tonight during one of your last shifts of the season.

"I didn't know you worked here."

"Yeah, only part-time." After bumping into Jungkook moments ago, you found it inevitable to avoid him further. You agreed to meet him outside once your break started. "I'm planning on leaving before the semester gets crazy. I have about a week left probably."

It dawns on Jungkook that he doesn't know what you study so with shifty eyes and clenched fists, he asks. "What are you going for?"

"Engineering." You can tell he wasn't expecting that for an answer; most don't be a woman in the field and all. "Jungkook, let's not do this. I'm sorry about what happened the other night." A sick queasy feeling settles in your gut–you're well aware you did Jungkook wrong. You're not proud of it in the slightest and him standing in front of you right now only reminds you of your guilt.

"I waited for you __. You said you come even if it was a rejection." A twinge of hurt laces behind his words and he keeps a controlled stance. He doesn't get in your face, demanding for an answer, nor does he break down and cry. He's more inquisitive than anything else. "Where were you? Why didn't you come?"

"I–" You intertwine your fingers, a nervous habit you picked up in childhood. "I panicked Kookie. I'm so sorry."

Jungkook stiffens when he hears the endearing name drop from your soft lips again. It was nice at first but now it feels like a sharp pain twisting in his side, like a thorn only for his misery. "Can you not call me that, please? It's–It's making me uncomfortable."

"Oh god," you lunge forward out of instinct but freeze when he steps back. "Jungkook I really am sorry. I was planning to see you. I had my shoes on and everything. Like I said I panicked, I'm not suited for relationships. And I'm not suited for you."

The last part stings the most.

"But–"

“There’s no buts Jungkook." You place your hand on the door of the building. " I have to get back to work."

"Wait!"Jungkook moves to face in front of you from an angle. "You say you're not suited for relationships but why did you get ready to see me? Why didn't you just say no to me? And last week when you told me you needed more time to think…was it a lie?"

"Because I like you okay? You're cute, protective, sweet, but you like me too much." you release the handle. "You don't know anything about me yet you've already got into a fistfight with an obscene jerk for me and claim you'll wait for me even when you just met me. If you love me this much now how much more will you love me later?"

" I'll love you for eternity."

"See this is it, Jeon. You saying stuff like this before anything real has happened between us–it's too much. How can you be this devoted to basically a stranger? You'll love me for eternity but have you considered that maybe I won't?"

"What are you saying?"

"What makes you think I'll love you as much as you do me?"

" I don't think like that __. I don't want a relationship so I can see what I can get. that's not how my mind works. I understand that I've been very forward with you. I should have been more conscientious about how that would make you feel but when I say that I love–"

"Please, don't drop the 'L' word. If you're saying love then you don't love me; only the idea of me."

Jungkook pauses, wordless

"Never thought of it that way huh? Guess not. Let me ask you something…do you know what I do? With men?"

He swallows and shakes his head no

"I sleep with them. A new guy a week if not twice a week. People call me a whore, and I'm spreading my legs for everyone and anyone willing. Do you want to get involved with someone like that?" You wipe away an escaped tear.

"I don't care about that at all __."

"Well, you should! This is who I am Jungkook. I can't let you be responsible for me. So unless you want a one-night stand or a friends-with-benefits relationship, I suggest you forget about me. I can't be your girlfriend."

"__!" Your manager shoves the front door open, causing you and Jungkook to jolt in surprise. " Where have you been? We have about twenty orders that need to be served."

"Sorry Manager Choi. I'll get right on it." You spare Jungkook one last glance before disappearing back inside the PC Bang. "I'm sorry," you say with a lowered head.

That night Jungkook lays on his bed, thumb hovering over your name in his contacts list. His logical side whispers for him to delete it. His heart says to call, text, or do something to–no. He remembers your pained facial expression; on the verge of tears as you explained to him that he'd been too quick in making his mind up about you. But then he replays your final words.

"…unless you want a one-night stand or a friends-with-benefits relationship, I suggest you forget about me. I can't be your girlfriend."

Well, he doesn't want the first two but if it meant he could be in your life longer–stop. His logical side intrudes. "You don't want to go down that path," he matters to himself. "It's better if you just delete the number." Jungkook moves to tap the trash can icon on your phone contact, a pang in his chest. Just as he's mustered up enough strength his phone buzzes off, screen lighting the entirety of the darkened dorm room. His roommate groans at the sound and rolls over in their bed.

"Jungkook," said roommate rubs his face. "I have an 8:15 tomorrow morning. Please speak take it in the hallway."

Jungkook quietly jumps out of bed not solely because of courtesy to his roommate but also because it's from you.

"Jungkook… can you um…"

"__?" He eases the door shut behind him and paces up and down the hallway. "Are you there?"

"Can you meet me at the bus stop near the campus library/ I'm sorry to be asking you it's just that…Jun-ho's–"

"What is it? Are you okay? What about Jun-ho?"

" I'm taking the bus back from work and he's on the same one he keeps staring at me and I'm scared of following me back to my dorm. Please Kookie-Jungkook I mean. I don't have any right to ask you, I know. He won't try anything with the bus driver here but once I get off I'll be alone. I have some pepper spray in my bag–"

"Yes, yes I'll be right there. How far are you out?" This isn't about pursuing you, impressing you, or anything like that anymore; it's about your safety. Jungkook leaps into his room, grabs his wallet, and shoves the sneakers on his feet. "__? Did you hear me?"

" I'm five minutes from the stop. Oh, he's, he's still staring at me."

"Don't look at him __. I'm walking down right now. Stay on the phone with me. I'll be waiting for you when you get there okay?"

"Thank you Kook. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. If Jun-ho's tracking you down like a wolf, it'll be his funeral." The icy tone in Jungkook's typically warm, milky tone sends a shiver up your spine.

The bus you're on pulls up in exactly five minutes, as you estimated. Jungkook frantically searches for you through the window glass, growling when he sees Jun-ho standing up a few rows behind you. He makes sure to be as close to the bus's exit doors as possible so he can grab your hand as soon as you step out.

"Hey!" He greets you loudly. "How was your shift?"

"Great! We were running around like crazy but thankfully, I didn't have to work through the night." You cling his hand tighter, slinging your other arm around his.

"That's a blessing." Jungkook and you walk faster, putting more space between you and Jun-ho. "You must be tired."

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to slee–ah!" You trip over a ledge on the sidewalk. Jungkook grips you before you completely fall flat on your behind.

"New feet?" He can't help but joke and you slap his arm. Jungkook helps straighten you back up, your hands remain interlocked. When it comes to a split in the road, you and Jungkook filter to the right side towards the female dorms. You hope to god Jun-ho takes the left.

"He's such a fucker." Jungkook curses, peering over his shoulder just enough to see Jun-ho faltering at the intersection. He burns holes at both of you so much that it makes Jungkook feel like kneeing him in the gut but he doesn't want to provoke the bastard–putting you in unpredictable danger. "I'll get you to your dorm. Which one is yours?"

"Up ahead." You gesture at the brick building with the number 318.

"We can let go of our hands now." You're the first to speak after arriving outside your dorm.

Jun-ho thankfully did not follow you any more than back at the split in the path between male and female dorms. The fact that he still attends school here makes your skin crawl. You don't exactly like calling people a mistake but Jun-ho is by far an exception. You messed around with the guy one time while you both were a bit tipsy and he keeps hounding you. If you need to, you will make him stay away from you permanently.

"Promise me you'll get a restraining order on him if this happens again or gets worse." Jungkook ignores your suggestion to release your hands. "That idiot has no right to be around you."

"I will. Thank you for coming out. I was nervous to call you being what happened earlier. I truly, from the bottom of my heart, am sorry. And I know having to go back to work left things hanging so if there's anything else you wanted to talk about or tell me, please feel free."

"Anything for you–" slips out of his mouth before he can stop it. He slaps a hand over his mouth instantly, you chuckle softly.

"It's okay Jungkook," you reassure. "I can tell you wear your heart on your sleeve. You're naturally very accommodating and flattering."

"And you're beautiful. Damnit, I did it again. I'm sorry __, but whenever I look at you I feel butterflies and I say a lot of fluffy stuff. I'm not trying to flirt or impress you by using what can be in the right context, shallow methods. But yeah, I was thinking about what happened at the cafe earlier tonight and I think get it–I've been too quick to the draw. I'm honestly not sure why I'm so attracted to you other than the fact that you're breathtakingly gorgeous in literally every way, both physical and non-physical. It makes me want to know you more. And the fact that assholes like Jun-ho won't leave you alone makes me want to be your personal bodyguard or something. I don't lift as much as him but fuck, I can keep him in his place. I'm starting to sound crazy, aren't I? It's like you said, we're strangers after all…right?"

Jungkook waits for you to respond. The cool autumn air is crisp against your cheeks, not cold enough to see your own breath, but enough to have you secretly grateful for the warmth that comes from his hand. That's right, you've been clinging onto his hand for dear life for the past fifteen or more minutes. You should probably let go now if weren't for the fact that he's also clinging onto yours just as hard.

"You really want to know me Kookie?" You brush a few strands of his hair that have blown in front of his eyes. He's incredibly handsome now…how did you not see it before? Sure he's cute with his bunny-like smile, mole on his button nose, and his adorable voice that makes you oh so soft and comfortable inside. But he's also handsome with his piercing oak tree-colored eyes, perfectly sharp jaw, and eager yet tenacious energy that always seems to show up for you.

Jungkook takes your other hand in his, swinging them between you both. "Of course," his earnest voice chippers. "It’s next to impossible for me not to want to know you. I'm sure I'll eventually move on if that's what you really want, but if there's another alternative that can avoid that I'd like to take it. You seem to be in deep thought about something…" he switches up his response when he notices you don't look as alert as you usually do. “__.”

"I'm here," you say, the tiniest bit dazed. "I was just thinking about something."

"Yeah I know, but about what?"

You swallow before replying. “…You.”

Jungkook smiles sheepishly. You're unsure if he's pleased or nervous. "Is it–is it something good or should we leave it here?"

"Are you free tomorrow?" You bite the inside of your cheek, begging yourself not to take it back. "It's Sunday so I get if you have some last-minute studying to do. Just thought maybe we could do something….together." Jungkook goes to reply, cheeks more than raised but you continue speaking before he sounds a word. "It's not a date per se. I'm being crazy annoying but I'd like to be friends first with something extra."

"You said no to friends before though. This isn't an offer to be friends with benefits is it?"

"That was when I wasn't sure what I wanted with you if anything. I didn't want to take advantage of you or anything. I want to start as friends so we can see if we can somehow be more. I'm interested in you Jungkook so no, not friends with benefits but rather, friends with the potential to be more."

"Okay," Jungkook squeezes your hands. "I can do that. What do you want to do? What time do you want to meet? What do you want me to wear?"

"First of all, if we're going to do this I'm going to need you to treat me like your bro. Wear what you want, we can meet afternoon and we'll figure it what to do along the way." You think your suggestion is fair yet it's crystal clear that it's not ideal for Jungkook, given the pout on his face.

"I don't want you to be my bro though," he whines.

"We start as bros or we're not hanging out." You're firm because you want this to work but you know yourself, and you need to take this slow.

"No wait, okay. Bro it is. You'll be the prettiest bro of mine."

"Jungkook," you snort, undignified. "That sounds weird."

He shrugs, "I'm weird when I'm with my friends. Especially when they're as pretty as you, it makes me all dumb because I can't seem to think straight anymore."

"Alright Romeo," you say, face flushing. "Save the rest for tomorrow."

<< ch. II ༓ ch. IV >> | series masterlist

A/N: This was originally going to be three chapters but it will be extended 😶 Lmk what you think and if you wanna to be tagged fill out tag form or ask 💞

Masterlist

Taglist:

@hoseokteardrop @skzthinker @igchochi @jksjx

no reposting, copying, or translating my work– © kookslastbutton

#jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook smut #jungkook x reader #jungkook imagine #jungkook fanfic #bts fanfic #bts angst #bts fluff #bts imagine #bts scenarios #fic:lovesremedyonfire #kookslastbutton

[adrianthevampire]

A Somewhat Comprehensive List of Horse Video Games

I will be editing this original post with new games, new information, and so on. If you see a reblogged version of this post, it is worth going to the original post to see if updates have been made.

Ahead will be a list of games that either were released recently and/or are being actively maintained. I have not personally played all of these games. Do not take this list as my personal recommendations.

If you have games you would like to suggest for this list, please let me know!

Some games are listed in both the Single Player and Multiplayer sections. This is due to them having the capability for either.

Single Player

The Ranch of Rivershine [Steam]

Horse Tales: Emerald Valley Ranch [Website, available for PC and consoles]

Rival Stars Horse Racing [Website]

Astride [Steam, Website]

Horse Club Adventures [Steam, also available on consoles]

Horse Club Adventures 2 [Steam, also available on consoles]

Wildshade Unicorn Champions [only available on consoles]

Multiplayer

Rival Stars Horse Racing [Website]

Astride [Steam, Website]

Horse Isle 3 [Website]

Alicia Online [Website]

Star Stable Online [Website]

Star Equestrian [Website]

Browser

Horse Reality [Website]

Ropin' Ranch [Website]

Wild Horses Valley [Website]

Hunt and Jump [Website]

Mobile

Wildshade

Equestrian The Game

Star Equestrian

Rival Stars Horse Racing

Star Stable Online

Equestriad World Tour

Honorable Mentions

These are games that are not horse games technically but may have good horse gameplay, either in the base game or via user created content.

Red Dead Redemption 2/Red Dead Online/RedM

Minecraft

Roblox

The Sims 3 Pets

The Sims 4 Horse Ranch

Black Desert Online

Upcoming

Some but not all of these games have demos or paid beta testing, though none are officially available yet.

Fernhoof Grove [Trailer]

Unbridled: That Horse Game [Website]

Tales of Rein Ravine [Patreon]

Horse Life Simulator [Patreon]

Canter Crossing [Steam]

Pro Show Jumping [Steam]

Horse Project [Website]

Horse Trainer [Video]

Details about some of the games:

Rival Stars Horse Racing

Rival Stars has two versions. Desktop via Steam and Mobile. While the gameplay itself (e.i racing, breeding, etc) are identical there are massive differences in how it functions. Mobile has micro transactions and limits on how much you can do a day without paying money. The desktop version has no micro transactions and no limits on how much you can do at any given time. Desktop, however, does not get updated as often as Mobile. I could go on and on listing various pros and cons between the two versions, but ultimately I personally prefer Desktop due to the lack of micro transactions or wait times and in addition Desktop has the ability to make custom horses, which is quite fun. It's worth checking out the mobile version first, however, so you can see if the game appeals to you as the Mobile version is free to play.

Astride

Astride is in "early access" on Steam, though that can be misleading. What is currently available is little more than a tech demo. You can create a horse and ride around an area on it, utilizing Astride's unique jumping system, and you can given play with friends. However, it is extremely glitchy, the lighting looks awful right now, and overall it just... isn't good. That said, it is still in progress and I personally have hopes that it will become a full fledged game as promised someday. That day is not today and so I personally recommend not purchasing it until it has gotten a few good updates, unless you just really want to financially support the developers.

Horse Isle 3

Oh boy. I'll just point you towards this article about some of the issues with the community management of HI3. Be warned if you intend to play, moderators are inconsistent about the rules they enforce and you can very easily get banned for saying harmless things. Personally, I stay out of the chat and I'm careful with what I name my horses. Horse Isle 3 is a one of a kind game, sadly, that allows for extremely detailed breeding. Realistic genetics combined with the ability to breed for all sorts of shapes makes it a very compelling game, which is why so many people continue to play it despite... the issues. It is free to play, though there are paid aspects to it. However, you can earn the premium currency within the game and utilize paid features without ever paying your own money.

Minecraft

Minecraft can be a fun horse game using mods or server plugins! The mod SWEM adds a lot of content that makes for good realistic horse roleplay, though doesn't fit well in survival style gameplay. The mod Realistic Horse Genetics actually doesn't change much of the horse functionality, making it a really good fit for survival gameplay, but adds lots of realistic genetics and a better system for inheriting stats than vanilla minecraft. The mod Genetic Animals will be adding horses soon.

Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Online, and RedM

While it is not intended to be a horse game, RDR2 has horses that feel so very real. They are well animated so they feel alive and they respond to their environment in realistic ways. Many people purchase the game purely because of the horses. There are mods you can use to improve the horses in Single Player, though I've never used any so I can't offer suggestions. Personally, I really like Red Dead Online for the horses because the horses can't die and there are a few more breed options. You also can look into joining a RedM server. There is one called Rift that is specifically meant for horse enthusiasts.

Roblox

I know nothing about Roblox personally, but I know there are several worlds (games? I don't know what they're called) in Roblox that revolve around horses.

I will add to this as I think of more. If you are viewing this as a reblogged post, it's worth checking the original to see if it has been updated.

Please feel free to request more information or suggest games or add your thoughts.

#adrian the vampire original post

[shittybundaskenyer]

✹ ▬ 𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐒

rating: Explicit pairing: Female Shepard x Garrus Vakarian summary: the Mako breaks down in a snowstorm on Noveria. Shepard is stuck with her turian friend after some things went sideways in one of the research labs. warnings: first time gone wrong (but then so right), sex pollen, so much kissing, just pure smut (what do you want from me??), does doing it in the Mako is considered car sex?, interspecies sex, love confessions, so much fluff, Garrus is too sweet for his own good word count: 3831  

a/n: I had Mass Effect Legendary Edition on my PC for like a year and I'm now cursing myself why I've waited for so long to play the trilogy. The Bioware brainrot took me once more under its influence so I guess I'm going back to my roots. This is almost entirely is pure smut, I guess I can't write anything else nowadays but I'm embracing it now. So have this very rusty, messy love scene I wrote in a frenzy after finishing the trilogy. <33

MASTERLIST   |   ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN

Noveria is cold and white and still beautiful in that strange way only death can be. It became the noose woven around Garrus’ own neck too, when it twirled his fate and Shepard's own together in form of a messy string. 

It only started becoming strange when Shepard started to tear her armor off of her body, but by then all common sense was out, laying dead in the relentless snowstorm. She became feverish, smelling so sweet, like summer, like sun-warmed earth, like arousal that Garrus had realized all too late. They were warned by the dangers of the labs surrounding Peak 15, the tower that was like an old pine ringed by fungi, all the rot and unethical discoveries blooming under the disguise of neat little buildings that twinkled in the darkened landscape—a constellation hiding in a thick cloud of dark matter. 

He knows she was curious. He knows she only wanted to help, but Spirits, it will be the death of her one day, N7 or not, she’s only human. And she’s fragile, a goddamn glass cannon that can blow up the whole universe and crumble from hands that grip her a bit too tight at the same time. 

Liara’s warning came too late, they had to cut to the chase and there was no time to think about the consequences of Shepard's stray shot breaking open the containment cell of an unnaturally lush, succulent little flower in one of the labs. It didn’t set in until they were in the Mako and she steered the dumb tank even more recklessly than she did it stone cold sober. A boulder came, then the half of the mountain too, raining down thick globes of fresh snow until the Mako was good and well stuck. She was sweating by then, skin hot and wet and her eyes wild and Liara offered to get help from one of the nearby labs, leaving Garrus to protect his commander with his life. From what, he didn’t know. There was nothing, only snow and wind and Shepard’s warmth all around them for miles. But time trickled by like water on a glass window after a storm, slow, sluggish, and Shepard couldn’t keep herself in line anymore. 

She pleaded for a caress she always wanted from him and he wanted to give her everything instead. 

(Maybe he loved her all along.)

And now, now Liara is gone and has been gone for hours, and Garrus pushes Shepard into the Mako's seat, his forehead meeting hers, something akin to a kiss only lovers do. Her skin is damp, her hair sticking to her face in messed up crimson ribbons and he tries to trace the constellations under her eye with a blunted talon when blood floods her cheeks, making them twinkle like stars adrift a sea of nebulae. The Mako is dark but not dark enough to hide the fire flickering in her gaze, shielded by a series of curved, dark lashes. Humans and their strange hair—eyebrows and lashes and thousands of fair fuzz that stand up as he moves his hand lover, to the vulnerable skin of her throat, swiping a thumb over her pulse that jumps wildly at the touch. 

"Kiss me," she whispers, barely audible for the translator to pick up, and it almost sounds like music like this, a series of hisses and high notes, so he nuzzles his way closer to hear it once more, now pleading, the sound buzzing in her throat. 

It's beautiful in a way.

"How?" he whispers against the side of her jaw, warm plates against cooler skin, and she puts a hand to his face, five fingers splaying over his colony markings, urging him upwards until her lips can brush over his mouth. It's strange. It's unbelievably soft. Then— wet as her tongue darts out and tries to coax his mouth plates apart. 

He takes the leap and lets her in. Even if he has all the sharp teeth, even if it's wildly different from his own experiences. And Spirits, it feels good. It's tender—even though they started to tear at each other's armor before this, even though he has to clench his fingers into a fist before he scratches her in his hurry. This has to be gentle where nothing in the world is. 

His tongue meets hers, and now he understands why humans like kissing so much. He does now too. Shepard makes a sound as he tastes the inside of her mouth, the blunt edge of her teeth and sucks in a breath when Garrus pulls back to gaze down at her and find her looking dazed. 

"Alright?," he checks, always, afraid of fucking this precious thing up and Shepard has the audacity to smile. Full of teeth and curving lips, a flash of white in the darkness. 

"I'm good," she knocks her forehead against his, nuzzling him, "really good."

Garrus kisses her again as an answer, bolder now, so much braver, and he kisses and kisses her until there's no more left to give, until there's no air in her lungs. Something new shines in her eyes, in the pool of darkness that is her pupils, dilated beyond belief, ringed by a thin strip of wild green, a black hole with a halo. Want. Need. Something more. Something unbelievable. 

Garrus rumbles deep in his chest, a sound so low she can only feel its vibration against her sternum, the crook of her neck where his face finds a home. His subvocals sing so many things at once, a confession she can't understand, not yet. Contentment. Gratefulness. Lust. Love.

(Maybe I love you.)

She drags her hand across his face again, that delicate, soft hand that is only calloused in places where wielding a gun made the skin harder. She touches his fringe, and under it, where plates turn into the most vulnerable patch of hide he has on his body. His voice grows louder, more like a growl than a purr, and she smiles again, so pretty something under his keelbone jumps and bursts and flickers—a star being born. 

"That's—," he starts and he's not proud of the way his voice trembles. "That's one way to give the night a quick start."

Shepard's fingers stop in their movement, but before she could pull away he takes a hold of her forearm and soothes a thumb over the inside of her wrist, guiding her back to that spot. 

"Am I hurting you?" 

"Spirits, no," he flicks a mandible at her, his way of smiling, and Shepard puts her mouth to his jaw as her confidence grows. Garrus can feel the plates at his sheath slowly parting and somehow he's hyperaware of her body trapped against his, her knee brushing his own, warm even through metal and ceramic plates. 

They have to strip down that damn armor, like, right now. 

But Shepard knows this, feels this too, and her hand disappears so she can grab the waist of his pants and tug on it, even though turian armor is not designed in a way that it could make it come off easily. 

"Help me, will you?" she asks against the side of his mandible, face and incredibly soft lips still so close, her eyelashes brushing his jaw as she looks down between them in the dark and Garrus desperately wishes that he could feel that fluttering. Instead, he's stripping. The rest of his undersuit that was hanging by his hips goes lower when he unfastens every little clasp and belt he has around his spurs. 

Shepard licks his mouth. He rumbles again, louder when the thin fabric of protective weave finally pools on the Mako's floor, and he's right up there against her, pressing close, so close, until his keel digs between her breasts and his side is framed by her knees and he kisses her the human way, with so much tongue and want it leaves her breathless. 

"How much time do we have?" he asks against the underside of her ear, finding a soft spot there, one that pulls a whimper from her. 

"Barely any," she hisses and lets him nibble on the curve of her neck. "Gonna make the most of it?"

"Trying to," he smiles, mandibles catching her messy hair, blood red on silver, hands going up to cradle her nape, to get lost in that soft sea of crimson. 

Shepard likes this, likes the feel of his hide on her skin and she wants more, wants no barriers in those minimal, quiet gaps the differences of their bodies create. Negative space filled with heat and some unintelligible emotion, something like summer, something like home. She melds her body to his and Garrus can't help the low resonance his subvocals start to make. 

"Am I hurting you?" she whispers as she lays tiny kisses on his neck, just beside the edge of the plates shielding his spine. "You're trembling."

"No, I just—," his breath hitches as those kisses turn into gentle nips. Right where a bondmark would go. Spirits, he's slipping. She can't know this, she can't— "You just found all the good buttons to push."

He feels her smirk on his hide. He wants to have her mark here, even though the thought terrifies him.

(Maybe I love you.)

"You know I'm good at pushing buttons."

Garrus chuckles but it comes out rasped. He doesn't care. Not when he can feel her body vibrating, shivering as his hands finally roam downwards, onto her sides, her hips, the soft of her belly that is so blessedly bare. 

He slides a talon along the muscles leading down, around the small divot in the middle, lower still where Shepard's already lifting her hips up to let him free her of her undersuit pants. There's still some fabric that remains, covering her most intimate parts but she grabs his hands and makes him grip the fabric of it in a hurry. 

"Pull this down too," she whisper-commands and he obliges, skims the tips of his blunted talons over the jut of her hipbones, a feature all too familiar on a body made of infinite curves. It traps his gaze, the small hills and valleys, freckled here too, and hairy when he gazes lower, a trail of tiny red curls disappearing between lush thighs as he reveals more of her skin. 

The undergarment only gets down one leg, dangles on the other by her knee when he pries apart her thighs, makes himself at home right in the cradle of them. This is all too fast and all too hot, but none of them complains as they meet in another heated kiss. She smells different like this, stronger, sweet and tangy and something else, pure arousal he realizes, and Garrus can't hold himself back any longer, can't will the swollen edges of his sheath to stay closed. 

"Show me how to touch you," he asks, almost pleads, because damn, he can't be selfish with her, not when he trusts her with his life and wants all the happiness the world can offer for her. That too, is a confession he's not ready to make, not for himself and not for her, but Shepard stops him in his thoughts as she puts her hand back right under his fringe, driving him wild. 

"None of that right now," she pants, breathless as his hands go bruising on her hips. "I just want you inside me."

Fuck, this was not the way Garrus thought he would die.

"I don't want to hurt—" she interrupts him with another kiss, then a hand on his stomach, low enough to almost graze the plates on his groin. 

"Please, Garrus," it's a plea. Broken and rasped. Raw, like a fresh wound. Why is she suffering? 

"Don't let me hurt you. I could not live with myself and the consequences."

"You're sweet," she smiles quietly, looking up at him from under the shadow of those long lashes, eyes burning with fire and want and that same thing that eats his heart alive, while it still beats a wild rhythm only for her. 

Garrus touches a hand between her legs, follows the trail of fascinating hair to where it parts in a seam of flesh, soft folds hiding a hot, wet warmth. It's familiar enough, so much more slick and so much smaller, but there's give in the muscle lower, where his finger finally dips inside her. Spirits, that’s—

She angles her hips, and moans, right beside his ear when his finger slips deeper, almost to the last knuckle in one go and damn if that's not something he'll remember for the rest of his life. 

"C'mon," her lips brush the word against his mandible. He puts his forehead to hers and pulls his hand away, moving her instead, three fingers splayed on the jut of a hipbone. 

It takes a little more shuffling, a little more angling and gripping for him to slot himself right at the apex of her thighs, her warmth scorching here, a sun, a red giant star, her wetness smearing on the bare hide of his stomach and then he's holding her firm and letting his sheath finally, blessedly open, his cock sliding out and into her in a slow, perfect motion. 

Shepard doesn't breathe. She can't. Garrus can feel her shuddering against his keel as he keeps filling her, making way for himself inside her even though there's barely any. He never thought she could— that she would have all of him, like this, with her leg cramping up around his hip, with her throat full to bursting with unsaid curses and whimpers. His subvocals scream, his mind fogged by the feeling of her oh so close, so perfect, so beautiful like this, with her hands bruising his neck and her lips open on some silent shout. 

"Fuck, Garrus I—," there's a hitch in her breath, then a fluttering squeeze right on his cock, her muscles clenching up. He's gonna lose his mind just like how he lost control of his voice. 

(I love you.)

“I got you,” he murmurs instead, eyes half-closed, hands still gripping her waist. “I got you sweetheart.”

Shepard squirms, pulls his face right down to her, then lower, into the crook of her neck and a deep urge surfaces in him, an instinct buried deep under centuries of civilized life and culture, yet it was never erased from his genes. He evolved like this, with the want, the need, to bite, to mark something that he wants to forever keep his own. Turians mate for life. If she leaves now, he thinks he will die. Can another soul be ripped from his own? He would gladly lay in a cold grave with her. Would follow her to the end of the universe and back, just so he can protect her. Shield the one that wants to keep the world from crumbling. Travel through all the stars and Mass Relays laying dormant, see all the wild emptiness and beauty of the galaxy and it would still be nothing compared to the way she looks up at him now. 

There’s water collecting at her pinched brows; sweat, he remembers, and he lifts a hand there to swipe it away. Her eyes are wet too, glossy, glinting in the low light like a starry night sky over home.  

“Garrus—” she presses out between her teeth, her face scrunched up in a frown of pain-pleasure he assumes, because she never makes a move to push him away, to halt this perfect joining. He hopes it’s okay. He hopes he’s not fucking this up. Losing her after this would be a killing blow. A heart-shaped bullet hole right on his heart. 

“Just tell me how,” he takes her cheek in his palm, angles her so that he can kiss her. Slowly. Softly. It’s a fleeting thing that ends with her nipping on his mouth, his tongue, just to get his attention. Like his every nerve was not focused on her anyway from the start. 

“Please move,” she murmurs against his mandible, her body squeezing him tight, making him groan. He pulls back a little, testing, careful, always so afraid of hurting her, his tough girl, but Shepard smiles and it’s enough to make him thrust shallowly into her. “Yeah, you feel so good.”

Garrus’ vision whites out for a second as her insides tug him back inside, so warm and so wet that a messy patch is already forming between their bodies, his sheath hitting her folds, the friction blinding, and the sight even more as he looks down, fringe tangled into her hair, and in the darkness he finds himself nestled deep, her cunt stretched around him, glistening in their combined want. 

He moves, spirits, he moves. And his chest rumbles and his hands shake and his mandibles twitch at her cheek and his heart aches so damn hard it makes his breaths get stuck in his lungs like trapped creatures in a bone cage. 

(I love you so damn much.)

She moves with him like a tide, like water rising on an endless black ocean alight with stars, then falling back, and even though he knows she's the most horrible dancer the galaxy has, she follows the steps of this tango by heart. Maybe because it's wanted. Maybe because it's with him. He desperately wishes that it would be true. 

"I won't last long like this," his voice is barely picked up by the translator and he knows this, hopes that she doesn't mind the sounds he makes. They're real. So perfectly clear in their meaning, so sure in expressing something he's not yet ready to say when she can understand. 

(I love you, I love you, I love you.)

She puts a palm to his stomach, just above his sheath, five lithe fingers mapping out the narrow lines of his sides, and damn, it makes his cock twitch, makes him thrust in roughly for the first time. There's a sound of delight. It comes from her, head tipped back and lips smeared with spit and red strands of hair, like fresh blood after a good brawl. 

"Yes," she breathes out, dragging him down to her, clinging to him tightly as he finally moves his hips in a hard, steady rhythm. His knees are gonna kill him later but it doesn’t matter because he’s with her, joined like lovers, like mates.

She takes his hand, leads it over her body, to the divot of her collarbones, her sternum, the dip of her stomach, then the soft of her belly where she makes him press down a little, makes him feel the distinct shape of him moving inside her. That's something entirely new. 

It makes him even more aware of the fact that this small, fragile woman would take up a krogan in a fistfight and come out alive. It makes him lose his mind. It makes some sick, posessive part of him growl and rumble and hold her so tight he's sure her hips are gonna bruise. 

"Shepard," he hisses, one hand gripping the seat behind her to find more leverage, her sounds getting louder, out of breath and high-pitched, his name a silent mantra only muttered with gaping lips. “Show me how to make you come.”

She whimpers, clutches his fingers tighter on her navel. The talons of his other hand tear the Mako’s seat behind her. She drags his palm over the mound of hairy flesh where they join, and he enjoys carding his talons through the curls, then she takes a thick finger and places the pad of it just above where he’s stretching her open with his cock, on a small bundle of swollen flesh that instantly makes her tighten around him. This is something he could never get used to—the tight warmth clinging to him like a second skin under Palaven’s unforgiving sun. He swipes his thumb over it, then draws a slow circle. The tightness becomes almost unbearable. He keens.  

“Damn clever turian,” she hiccups, grinding into his touch, into his unsteady thrusts, her hand gripping his wrist instead, not guiding but trying to steady herself. “I’m so close, Garrus.”

He nuzzles her jaw at that, forehead meeting forehead after, then lips with plates, tongue with tongue. The kiss breaks off in a series of desperate gasps, and Garrus murmurs against her, “let me come with you. Senna, please I—”

“Love you,” she pants into the crook of his neck, teeth grazing him, and then biting in when he pushes his whole length into her, the stretch unbearable, her words ringing in his ears like endless echoes in a hallway made of dark matter and stardust, and he claims her, puncturing her shoulder and filling her cunt, his tie growing, the taste of her blood bursting on his tongue. Sweet. Salty. Iron. Just like her. 

She tightens on him impossibly so, and then there’s a fluttering, her muscles spasming violently in an orgasm that makes her legs shake and her stomach jump. His thumb slowly stops moving on the bundle of flesh she showed him when her short nails dig forcefully into his forearm. 

(I love you, I love you, I love you—)

Subvocals screaming, his whole body trembling, he finally releases her flesh, knocks his nose against hers until her eyes flutter open, dazed and unfocused, brimmed with tears, pupils dilated to infinity. She smiles, blunt teeth flashing white and blue in the low light, and it takes him a few seconds to realize that it’s his own blood on her lips. 

He leans down to lick it off, to embrace her tighter, to feel the taste of her tingle in the back of his throat. She bit him. She marked him for life.

“I love you so damn much, baby.”

It’s out and it’s his own shot right through his heart, a shard of metal carved out just in the shape of her, and Garrus knows that nothing ever will be the same. The marks, the blood, his tie cradled by her fluttering warmth, his heart laying bare out in the snow, thawing in her warmth. 

Turians don’t like the cold, but Shepard scorches and it's just the right way.

“Thank you,” she whispers, weak now, entirely spent, but not influenced by the poison of want anymore. “I know this was… not how a first date should’ve happened but…” she bites the bruised swell of her bottom lip and he smooths a hand over her cheek, brushing away sticky hairs from her face. “Can we… have a next time?”

Garrus flicks out his mandibles in a smile and hugs her tighter, reassuring, eyes full of hope and wonder and her own disheveled reflection, “I want all the next times with you.”

“Good,” her grin tickles his hide, mischievous now. “I’m looking forward to it.”

(I do too. I do, I do, I do.)

#mass effect #mass effect fanfiction #shakarian #shepard x garrus #garrus x shepard #garrus vakarian #commander shepard #oc: senna shepard #mass effect 1 #mass effect legendary edition #mass effect fanfic #shakarian fanfic #so um i wrote this while being sleep deprived #i'm so rusty #but heyy new babies i can obsess over #i cried so hard at the end of the trilogy i had to do something about it #you call it coping i call it the writer's muse

[lale-txt]

Oh my goddd now I can't the image out of my head of what different characters reactions would be if you're like "wait babe let me set the mood" and then you put on The Sims soundtrack

a/n: omg say no more i typed those out at the speed of light because apparently i could picture this very vividly. partly ns.fw given the scenario!

💫 putting on the Sims soundtrack to get in the mood

those who nut the second “Consumerism Simplified” from the Sims 3 starts playing because it takes them back to a time of premature ejaculation 

❀ Ace, Sanji, Kin’emon, Page One, Paulie

those who look at you with dead eyes because they want to rail you in peace for once, questioning every life choice they made that led them to this very moment right now (they still rail you but at what cost)

❀ King, Kid, Marco, Smoker, Law, X Drake

those who say “i lied. put your clothes back on. we’re gonna build a five floor villa in Sims 4, i got us all the extension packs” and you do, sitting naked in front of the pc for the next 3-10 hours

❀ Franky, Usopp, Bartolomeo, Sasaki, Buggy, Perona, Luffy

those who waggle their eyebrows and say “oh bee ga” and “wabadebadoo” because oh boy, they sure are on fire for you for putting on such a banger playlist

❀ Sabo, Shanks, Roger, Corazon, Yamato, Oden, Bartolomeo

those who put their clothes on and leave, they had enough

❀ Crocodile, Izou (on a bad day), Mihawk, Rob Lucci, Ulti

those who let out a deep sigh and will make you pay for dinner, but they had seen worse and they can handle your silly little playlist

❀ Nami, Black Maria, Denjiro, Izou (on a good day), Boa

those who have no idea what is going on and don’t care to find out either, they just want to make you count out loud the amount of times they make you cum with whatever is playing in the background

❀ Rayleigh, Garp, Zoro, Thatch, Benn, Who’s Who, Shakky, Gaban, Whitebeard

those who will complain loudly but you will still find them humming to the beat of it as you go down on them, making them curl their toes and see fireworks like in the game when you press "woohoo"

❀ King, Kid, Buggy, Cavendish

those who keep their thoughts to themselves but will ask in the middle of being knuckle-deep inside of you “babe if you make us in Sims can you promise me that you will never remove the ladder from the pool please?” with a worried look on their face

❀ Kaido, Katakuri, Killer, Smoker, X Drake, Iceburg

#eustass kid #trafalgar law #roronoa zoro #portgas d. ace #sanji #silvers rayleigh #gol d. roger #revolutionary sabo #marco the phoenix #massacre soldier killer #thatch #shanks #usopp #kaido #watch me never tag all characters because i lost track #one piece x reader #purethoughts.exe has stopped working

[beabeemu]

Ragequit my life

Itoshi sae x filo!gamer! reader

Cursing, screaming, FLUFFF, Y/n making suyo, and sae being tampo ehehhehehe Nagi cameo word dump!! A bit ooc for sae

MASTER LIST ; Taglist Form

“Gg, guys, gg. That is what I would’ve said IF WE WON

DON’T TELL ME IT’S MY FAULT, I WASN’T THE ONE DEAD THE HALF OF THE GAME

OH YEAH!?!??! TELL THAT TO MY 20+ KILLS DUMBASS

SANA LAGING BULOK ULAM NIYO” (I HOPE YOUR FOOD IS ALWAYS ROTTEN) 

Slamming your hands down the table as you left the game.

Meanwhile, sae was standing by the door, concerned. 

“You good?” he said while walking into the room. You turned your gaming chair to face him and smiled “Yeah! I’m great! Kind of hungry though” 

You stood up and made your way to the kitchen. Sae was slightly stunned at how your mood changed so quickly. HE shrugged it off and followed you to the kitchen. 

.

.

.

.

(DIfferent time btw) 

“Yo nagi go A”  tapping away at your keyboard, playing Valorant with nagi after work was one of the things you looked forward to, other than spending time with sae of course. 

Too busy playing, you didn’t notice your boyfriend coming in the room, fully showered, which meant that he’s been home for a while. You only noticed because he leaned in to kiss your cheek, but then you pulled away saying that he was blocking your view. 

“AH! Sae, get your head out I can’t play properly!” 

“Head out of what?” 

Nagi said from the discord call. 

“From my face dumbass, what were you thinking? Get your head out of the gutter, AW! FUCK IM DEAD, BROO NAGI WTF WAS THAT, I SAID A” 

“There were enemies in B too dumbass, it’s not my fault you suck” 

“Shut the fuck up, you died after 10 seconds last round” 

“L behavior lol” 

“Were gonna lose if you keep fucking up” 

Too invested in your game, you failed to notice the sulking sae leaving the room. You continued to play with Nagi until you started feeling hungry. You turned off your pc and went to the kitchen, you noticed that it was quiet, you saw sae in the living room watching tv. 

You walked to the couch and sat down. 

“Hi love” You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed his cheek 

“Have you eaten? Sorry if I kind of yelled at you earlier, I was getting in the heat of the game.”

“Mh, hmm” 

“Are you mad at me?” 

“Yes” 

Resisting the urge to giggle, you tried your best to keep a serious face

“Why?? I said I’m sorry, plus if you were the one playing you wouldn’t want anyone to distract you right?” 

“Oh, so I’m a distraction to you now? You rejected my affection now your not getting any”

“C’mon sae baee, I’m sorry. You can’t stay mad at me” you started shaking his shoulders. You started spreading kisses all over his face. 

“How about, I cook you dinner and you’ll forgive me?” You intensely looked into his eyes, he only side-eyed you and narrowed his eyes. 

“Depending on what you cook… then I might forgive you” 

Eyes lighting up, you made a little ‘yay’ before you got up from his lap and immediately went to the kitchen to cook his favorite, which was ochazuke. 

Lets just say that he immediately forgave you after dinner. 

Likes and reblogs are always appreciated!!

#itoshi sae #blue lock #anime #blue lock fanfiction #blue lock x reader #itoshi sae x reader #bllk x reader #bllk headcanons #bllk sae #bllk imagines #bllk scenarios #bllk fluff #nagi seishiro #genshin impact

[sometipsygnostalgic]

World vs Rise - Multiplayer focused breakdown

This is a crosspost from Reddit. I played some World this morning and had some monster hunter brainrot.

Hi all! So I have about 750 hours on my main characters in both games, and I've been playing them for 2 years now. I have some thoughts on the multiplayer components - what Rise improved on, and what World does better.

I have played base Rise on the Switch and PC, and I played Sunbreak on PC. Meanwhile I played World WITH Iceborne on PC. I played base World on Xbox One in the distant past, no memory of that experience so it shouldn't quality much.

I played both games with a group of friends, and played many many hours doing SOS, lobby, or solo, so I have a good idea of how the multiplayer works.

Anyway let's get down to it.

Story

World has... much more of a story. I refuse to say that it's "better" but I think the story presentation is much better than Rise's. Iceborne's story progression is more interesting, but I do appreciate how Sunbreak tried to write this story with all the Qurio and Malzeno. I do like Rise's final fight with Malzeno significantly more than Velkhana or Fatalis, but I think I like Shara Ishvalda and Nergigante more than any monster from Rise. As for the characters, they suck ass in both games, Rise has a lot more personality on the surface level but less depth overall and feels less like a large living world. That makes sense from an arcadey, nostalgic experience? I guess I prefer World's story... but I don't prefer playing it.

Multiplayer Story Progression

Rise DRASTICALLY improved this. In World I often would be forced to start a quest in "expedition mode", then have to leave and reopen the quest my friend could join, which was especially annoying when we were both starting the quest the first time and we'd have to wait for each other. I don't understand why it doesn't allow you to start quests or join them freely. In Rise you can join each other's quests at any point, no matter if there are story cutscenes or what. IMO this is an example of World's immersion getting in the way of a cohesive multiplayer experience.

Additionally, I need to say World has more "annoying" Key Quests. There are a number of quests where nobody will join SOS because you're fighting a Nightshade Paolumu, or a Brachydios, or one of the crappy Zorah Magdaros quests, and that one Velkhana artillery mission.

I believe that this is because the quests have one of these two factors:

You need to change your set for them. Nobody wants to fight Nightshade Paolumu or Brachydios with their normal set because it's too painful. But why would you have a specific set just to join these not very interesting SOS quests? Well, I made a set for Nightshade just because I find it so frustrating that my SOS feed is full of 'em! I should set up for Brachydios as well but honestly I find him annoying to fight even with the right tools, not my favourite.

Time spent on the quest. Velkhana artillery is like 30 seconds with three people, and Zorah Magdaros is about one minute of fighting to ten minutes of downtime so nobody ever wants to join it.

With Rise, there's less of these annoying quests, but you can't CONTROL what quest you are joining on an SOS, which has its pros and cons. I'll go more into that shortly.

Normal Multiplayer Pacing

I think that Rise is a much, much faster game than World. In base Rise on Switch, you had to run into a match and attack the monster as fast as possible or it'd be dead before your palamute got there. This is mitigated when you're playing with friends, you can take your time and collect as many spiribugs as you want. It's also somewhat mitigated in Sunbreak because the monsters are such heavy hitters that if you DON'T get all the bugs, you're going to faint anyway. I feel like the game is constructed to accomodate for this. That's why monsters in Sunbreak are so tanky and hard hitting, they expect you to go at them with your full arsenal ASAP.

The pacing in World is much slower, which originally drove me insane, but over time I've grown to like it. I think base Rise was great for how arcadey it was, and World is a nice slower paced game. Sunbreak feels... too intense. Like, I'm fighting for my life in every Anomaly quest and even when I rush the match takes a long time.

Joining World SOS quests is nice and easy, you can take your time collecting potions and stuff before hopping in, you can prepare for the specific monster. In Sunbreak if you're playing in a lobby or with friends it's nice and slow there too. If you're SOSing in sunbreak, good fucking luck, more on that now.

SOS Request Changes

In World, you see all available SOS quests and choose what one you want to do. The pros of this are YOU get to decide if you want to fight Rathalos in the Ancient Forest again. The cons are that it takes longer to join a quest, and the person SOSing may not get any help if they're fighting an annoying monster - see Multiplayer Story Progression section.

In Rise, you don't see what you're joining anymore.

Pros: Faster join time for player, less faffing around in menus, and you can get people joining your quests no matter what they are. People get rewards no matter how late they join. Great especially for Switch players with the higher playercount.

Cons: You can't choose what you're doing. You can't see what quests are active, how long they've been going, or how many players are in them. Often I find that I join a quest and it's OVER already and I'm booted back to the village. Often I choose a category and there are no quests at all.

Uber Mega Con: You have to INDIVIDUALLY SEARCH Event quests??? Hello???? Why can't I join a random event quest? Why can't I see what event quests are open?? I want to do the golden Rajang quest with other people!! I have to pray that either someone is running it when I search for it, or that someone will search for it when I'm running it! Why is the event quest SOS designed this way in Sunbreak?! It's not like that for High Rank and Master Rank!

I feel this worked best when the game first launched. It doesn't work great on PC or Xbox which has a lower playercount than Switch, and therefore you will have a lot of quests with four people and a lot of quests with nobody joining at all. I think matchmaking is also designed so that it waits til it has 3 joiners before letting you in all at the same time, which is infuriating.

Combat

Base World was designed for the immersive, technical multiplayer experience that the PS4 wanted to sell. It wanted the world to feel alive. Your character is quite slow and clunky and less elaborate than in Generations Ultimate, but smoother as well. Combat is updated but everything is more muted and toned down.

Monsters feel alive, and you need to track them down with research. They run around with quick small movements and "limp" away to their dens. This can be annoying if you're chasing a Tobi Kadachi for ten minutes before it reaches its next stopping point. There are a lot of monsters with fast, unchoreographed attacks that you have to fight in enclosed spaces. I think the game is a bit more claustrophobic than what came before, and your stamina meter is outrageously small, and you take a long time to drink potions. Let's not forget how annoying World and Iceborne can be before you've completed them and got that sexy double HP double stamina Fatalis armor with Speed Eater and Evade Extender.

Attacks from the player in World are faster than in prior games, but hard hitting and deliberate. I feel a lot of satisfaction playing Longsword in this game. Every single weapon is fun to use because of how good the impact is. Not all weapons are equal though, and it's clear the Longsword is very powerful.

People complain about the Clutch Claw. In World, this tool was an unreliable piece of trash. In Iceborne, it's... almost necessary, to tenderize and knock monsters down. But personally I feel that even a non clutch clawed monster in World falls down more quickly than any Anomaly monster in Sunbreak.

Rise was designed for the fast paced, agile, arcadey experience that the Nintendo Switch is famous for. It's PERFECT for the console. You can ninja-hop to whatever direction you wish, you have so many more options for every single weapon. You can hop on your dog and the monster is already on your map. You can change what style you're using every moment of the match! It's almost limitless and you can tell because of how crazy speedruns have gotten in Sunbreak.

As a result of these arcadey changes, however, monsters feel... less alive. Closer to Generations but without the paintball tracking stuff that makes it so fun (in MY opinion). In Sunbreak especially, you'll find you're wailing on some monsters for 25 minutes before they go down. I don't enjoy Anomaly Quests and it's very difficult to get people joining them at certain level areas. You'll be spending a lot of time alone, especially if your friends have been playing more or less than you and are in completely different levels, therefore being unable to fight the same monsters. I don't think there's many areas in other games that have the same problem of, if you spend too much or little time in a certain mode, you can no longer play together.

Buffs and Nerfs in Rise

Some weapons got do-overs. The Hunting Horn is now far more simple and aggressive, with less powerful but still useful buffs. The Longsword started off as ridiculously powerful in Base Rise, to the extent it was by far the best weapon. Thankfully it got nerfed, but I think they overdid it - instead of making the weapon more slow and deliberate like in World, they simply HALVED the damage output of all its base game special attacks and gave it a bunch of new powers so you'd have a whole new playstyle. I think the new Longsword playstyle is too risky, with too little gain. It looks stylish in youtube videos but is no longer optimal for most players.

Other weapons are buffed or nerfed because of how Sunbreak plays. The Hammer is a dogshit weapon, sorry, because monsters no longer keep their heads in one place long enough for you to get some good stun damage. Stun in general has been hard nerfed in Sunbreak. In Rise, Sticky Light Bowgun was a beast, so they made sure to keep the stun values for ALL weapons low in Sunbreak and you'd be lucky to get two stuns in a match, even with how much time is spent in combat now.

The Greatsword got some fun skills, but because monsters are more mobile, I feel that it doesn't keep up. You're likely to hit something with a TCS in World, but in Sunbreak most monsters will already be 20 metres away by the time you finish charging, even with the cool new switch skill that lets you instantly charge.

The Gunlance... it's way more mobile but I feel like you need to put in a great deal of work to keep up with other weapons. The blast damage doesn't do it in sunbreak. My partner became a Gunlance Pro but she was barely keeping up with my Switch Axe output even though frankly she's way better at the game than me and she spent dozens of hours perfecting her set.

The Switch Axe, my main weapon, is ASTRONOMICALLY buffed. I already thought it was good in World and Base Rise, and in Sunbreak it's just... *chefs kiss*... Swing that thing around and everything in the area dies.

It's certainly way less effort than Longsword or Hammer is now, RIP.

Monsters

Sunbreak has perhaps the BEST list of monsters in any game. You have Astalos, Mizutsune, Almudron, Chamelos, Velkhana, Amatsu, Azuros, PRIMORDIAL MALZENO, basically everything you could want. World had a problem where a lot of monsters were just... quadripedic dogs or dragons, dragons, dragons. It didn't have anything like Azuros or Astalos. It had Jyuratados though... Great....

I think that Rise's NEW monsters tend to be annoying. I just mentioned Almudron but fucking hell, that monster is a NIGHTMARE if you're playing Greatsword or any slow weapon. It leaves mud everywhere, which is meant to encourage wirebug use, but what if you don't like using wirebugs all the time? Magnamalo is another one that hops around everywhere but I do enjoy fighting him.

Of the monsters that didn't make the crossover, I think Nergigante is my favourite from World. I love the CRUNCH of hitting his spikes with my Switch Axe or Greatsword, or my Gunlance. I feel nostalgic for the raid bosses like Safi or Alatreon but it's not like I rush to go back to them whenever I load up World.

I also think due to the more arcadey, less immersive style of Rise, most monsters that are in both games are more interesting in World. With exception to Zinogre. Fuck World Zinogre. And fuck Teostra. Again the monsters in World have more fast annoying movements.

So yeah this is a win for Sunbreak!

Endgame combat and set building

I feel the non-anomaly Sunbreak monsters are less annoying than lategame normal Iceborne. I think tempered monsters in Iceborne are about the same level as anomaly monsters, but they go down much more quickly.

I think World had a LOT more going for it in endgame, because Sunbreak ONLY has anomaly quests.

Let me put it this way:

I completed Iceborne about 200 hours into World. Then I spent the next 500 hours doing a combination of Tempered Quests for my decorations, Safijiva, Fatalis, Alatreon, and of course the Guiding Lands. In the Guiding Lands I trained my land to fight every monster at least a few times at level 6. Was it grindy? A... little bit? It didn't feel that grindy. I had fun doing it because almost every step was done with my friend, and there was only a brief time where he was too high level and I couldn't go to his land.

Fatalis, I don't like. I couldn't beat it twice. Thankfully there was an exploit that allowed me to collect fatalis eyes with my cats, so I was able to build a few sets just from that. I used various methods to get the parts I needed.

I was able to build a set for every single weapon shortly after unlocking Fatalis. Yes, the decoration farming was a bit of a grind. However, I think that it was nothing close to what awaited me in Sunbreak...

I compled Sunbreak about 120 hours into the game? I really didn't spend much time in High Rank. Anyway, I spent the NEXT 600 HOURS doing NOTHING except for Anomaly Investigations, and I AM STILL NOT AT RANK 300.

Please send help. I never hit level cap. It's just... a combination of failed quests, the amount of time it took to gain a couple of levels, the time it takes to complete each quest... Save me!!

I also spent a lot of time trying to "perfect" my sets.

FYI - I have about 20 sets in World and they are all for different weapons. I have about 20 sets in rise and they are all for THE SAME WEAPON. That is how complex set building is in Rise, there's no "perfect" set.

This has some... pros? I guess? You are encouraged to try out different things. But honestly... I don't like the RNG involved in rolling for parts, and how you have to go hunt the monster again to get a new version of that part, then spend resources upgrading it for a different set. It's... too overwhelming. Too complicated.

Maybe I should've hacked in parts, to make this part of the game more enjoyable, but I was doing it with my partner, and she is very competitive so I didn't want to cheat. I also didn't want to be banned or anything for using hacked rolls.

When I completed BASE Rise on Switch, I immediately made a set for every weapon! It was fun. I was able to quickly join matches and try them out, and I'd always have the parts ready because of how simple it was to join matches when the game was at its most popular.

I think the biggest problem with Rise's endgame is that they didn't have enough development budget to make something as meaningful and deep as World's Guiding Lands, so instead they artificially padded it out with all these Anomaly Investigations.

Overall

My opinions on the two games shifted as I became more experienced. At first, it felt like Rise was smoother at everything, but when I put more hours into World, I got used to all the annoying parts and became fully immersed. Then when I put more hours into rise and Sunbreak, the cracks started to show, reaching a breaking point where I put down the game and haven't played it in months since the final monster released.

I think Rise is a better casual, arcadey, fun game to play with your friends, making it perfect for the Nintendo Switch. Sunbreak tries to be something more. It succeeds in some ways, like more complicated combat, but trying to be as hardcore in Sunbreak as you are in World will result in a pretty miserable experience.

World is the worse casual game, by a biiiig margin, but the much better game to sink 700 hours into with your friends beating all the endgame content. It's perfect for hardcore gamers once you get past the annoyances of the Base World story missions.

My more casual friends preferred Rise, it was more digestible for them, but once I got properly into the game, me and my hardcore MH friend much prefer World. It's more fun for us to go back to. It's nice and slow so we can take our time to enjoy it, rather than racing to complete objectives so we can continue grinding AR or whatever the fuck.

#monster hunter #monster hunter rise #monster hunter world #gaming

[mylordshesacactus]

Okay, but camapign check in questionnaires genuinely sound awesome. What kinds of other questions do you typically put in them?

Well, there's really no "typically" because this is my first time DMing, but: Only things that are actually important to what I need to plan for the future of the campaign.

(Also, while I totally get the advice to include "what don't you like/what are your least favorite parts of the campaign", I've found from being on both sides of that question that it doesn't tend to get me anything usable. If there's sessions that dragged a bit, I already know that and they know I know it--and also, these are my friends and we're playing a game together for fun. They don't want to complain. It's more useful for everyone to focus on what they want to see more of! If there's something literally no one mentions, it probably wasn't their favorite.)

It's also useful to focus on stuff that's reasonably specific while still open-ended. Like, "what do you want to see more of?" is SUPER broad. The questions I had instead were:

What's something you hope will happen before the end of the campaign? (This can be anything from a spell you hope you get to use, to a plot thread you want to learn the end of, to a specific kind of emotional/character moment.)

Everyone's characters have grown immensely. Other than the immediate "halt the apocalypse", how would you describe your character's personal goals now? (If it helps, you can describe how similar or different it is from when they started.)

What have been your favorite moments of the campaign so far? What would you like to have more of?

and then of course the Greatest Fear question, which is relevant to the next part of the campaign for reasons. Obviously I won't say what those are because my players are on here, but also, it's the faewild, I'm sure they expected there to be SOME kind of mindfuckery as they get closer to confronting the Queen of the Fae.

But you'll notice--those questions are positive, they have clear purpose, and they're actionable.

(This is where the many years of therapy training come in tbh. If you're setting goals, make them measurable, make them positive--not "what do you want to avoid" but "what would feel right"--and make them something you can actually do something about as the DM.)

These tell you lots of valuable things about your players and their priorities! I got a really useful mix of practical "I REALLY want to be able to use this really situationally specific ability/class feature in a meaningful and cool way now that we're higher level" and roleplay-heavy "I really want revenge/closure/to be able to build something when this is over" responses.

And those things will also help me in the event of a PC death--obviously when discussing the legacy a dead player character leaves behind it should be mostly the player making that call! But knowing what their player thought was most important about their story helps me know how to handle it in the moment--what to prioritize in narration, how to describe their death if I have to.

I think also as a player it's always valuable to think about these things periodically as well! I'd also suggest having at least a vague idea of what death would look like to your character--I have a few characters for whom that's extremely clear (Benny, Atri of course) and a few where I have no idea (Rinda especially, but also Lorne and Sedge) and in the moment, it can be a boon to your DM for you to actually have an answer for "what do you want this to look like".

#d&d

[twistedtummies2]

Top 15 Skeleton Characters

Happy Dia de los Muertos, everybody! Anybody who knows about the Day of the Dead knows it is really a celebration of life…and they also know that a major part of this holiday’s iconography is the imagery of skeletons and skulls. The human skeleton, in fact, is quite the ubiquitous visual: skeletons unsettle many people, on a fundamental level. Everybody has one, but if you’re actually SEEING one, that’s not a good sign: bones are the last vestiges of something long dead, and so there is always this automatic gut reaction of perturbation that comes with them. Of course, there’s also a recognition that life was present, which can, in its own odd way, be heartwarming. Skeleton characters - or even characters who are simply skulls or have skull faces - are thus a major part of many fictional worlds. They can be used to mock death, or celebrate life, or they can be used to represent fear and destruction. Regardless, they are always interesting to see, as commonplace as some may claim them to be. So, I decided, if today is a day about celebrating life through the imagery of death, it was only fitting to do something to celebrate the many characters who, effectively, do the same thing, one way or another. Now, I’m only going to be counting ACTUAL skeletal characters here, so to speak; characters like the Phantom of the Opera, Red Skull from Marvel, or Skull Face from “Metal Gear Solid V,” will not count. They evoke the imagery of a skull, but they’re really just deformed human beings, not actual collections of living bones. Also, I won’t be counting gatherings of skeletons (with one exception), such as the various skeleton-themed enemies you’ll find in video games, or the famous Harryhausen skeletons from “Jason and the Argonauts.” They aren’t really “characters” so much as “creatures,” so I don’t think they fit the bill. With that said, let’s waste no more time! Here are my Top 15 Skeleton Characters!

15. Skelly, from I Spy: Spooky Mansion.

Here’s a more obscure option to start things off. How many of you had I Spy books or played the I Spy PC games when you were younger? I know I did. This picture-puzzle series could be surprisingly challenging, and I was always fascinated by the way they organized the photos in the books, not to mention the animation in the PC titles. “Spooky Mansion” was always my favorite game and book, mostly because…well…I like Spooky Mansions! (Even did a list about them, go and take a look at that, tis the season.) Skelly was essentially our Tour Guide for the game: a mischievous but not malicious skeleton who loved to play games with people and spook them silly. She traps us inside her haunted house and challenges us to find various pieces of a puzzle in order to escape; none of this is done with evil intent, she simply wants to play! I always found Skelly a wonderful mix of creepy and sweet, almost like an Addams Family character; that’s always a great blend.

14. Skeleton King, from Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force GO!

Imagine Skeletor on a REALLY bad day. That would basically be this monstrosity in a nutshell. The main antagonist of this (incredibly weirdly named) superhero series, the Skeleton King was once a good-hearted scientist, who wished to help the world; it was he who created the titular Monkey Team. However, things changed when the man began to study the dark forces of the Netherworld; assured in his safety from them, he later paid the price of his hubris, as the dark spirits were released, and ending up possessing and corrupting the scientist, body and soul. He thus became the Skeleton King: a cyborganic ghoul who plots to destroy the entire universe. The King was a deliciously creepy villain, and much of his menace can be owed to his voice actor: none other than the Joker himself, Mark Hamill. Honestly, if that name alone doesn’t interest you in this character right away from the start, there’s not much more I can say that will convince you to give him a look.

13. Sir Daniel Fortesque, from MediEvil.

Sir Daniel is a tragically comic case: for ages after his death, this knight was hailed as a hero, believed to have been a mythical and powerful figure who died nobly for a righteous cause. In truth, he was a bungling coward who was killed in the very first seconds of battle, and never really did anything grand at all; somewhere along the line, the facts of his life got all twisted up. When the evil he once fought (or, at least, wanted to fight) rears its ugly head again many years later, Sir Daniel Fortesque is brought back from the grave to do battle once more...but, of course, not being a hero at all, he now has to prove himself. “MediEvil” becomes a typical quest of an unlikely hero; someone trying to live up to the reputation he garnered over time, trying to earn respect from those who know the truth. It’s a classic kind of setup, only enhanced by the unique, Tim-Burton-esque visual styling of the game…not to mention Sir Daniel’s absolutely hilarious running cycle. I guess he went to the Ministry of Silly Walks before his demise.

12. Bob, from The Dresden Files.

So far, I’ve only finished the first six books of “The Dresden Files,” but it’s already a favorite series of mine. (Also, if you’re only familiar with the TV series…that doesn’t count here, since their version of Bob is rather different.) The series details the many adventures of “consulting wizard,” Harry Dresden, and blends elements of noir-style detective mystery storytelling with doses of dark fantasy and Gothic horror. One of my favorite characters is undeniably Bob: an eccentric ghost who inhabits a skull in Harry’s home. Bob is intended to be a sort of living encyclopedia for Harry to consult when on a case; he has been around for centuries, and helped many wizards in his time, making him an extremely valuable source of information. However, Bob is also…well…freaking hilarious. He’s always got his mind in the gutter, and he’s always filled with snark and a ready-to-whip-out insult or quip, leading to some pretty funny dialogue any time he’s featured. Generally, whenever Harry consults Bob, that’s when things are about to get truly serious…but it’s hard to remember that past all the pure, glorious silliness he provides. The only reason Bob doesn’t rank higher is that he is literally JUST a skull, and on top of that, the skull probably isn’t even his own: it’s just his way of communicating with Dresden in the world of the living, sort of like a crystal ball or other conduit of knowledge. Still, I feel he counts enough.

11. Captain Bones, from Crashbox.

Made for HBO, this series was one of my favorite shows EVER when I was a kid. “Crashbox” was a show that really went outside the box with how an educational program could also be entertaining! It used various styles of animation in numerous scenarios and skits to showcase all kinds of different skills. Basic stuff like math, history, sciences, social studies, and so on were featured, but you’d also have things that challenged your critical thinking or problem solving skills, with puzzles and riddles that weren’t necessarily things you’d be taught at school, but were still important things to learn. It was all done with this irreverent tone; the series was utterly bonkers, so it was always a joy to watch even as it taught you all the skills it tried to push. Captain Bones was one of the most frequent skits in the series, and also one of my favorites. “The Incredibly Dead Captain Bones” was a skeletal ghost pirate cursed to Sail the Seven Seas for an eternity. “And I’ll tell ya,” the Captain would sigh, “I’m a Bored Stiff.” (Har Har.) To keep himself from dying of boredom (…presumably a second time…), the old pirate would use his own bones to create math and picture puzzles, which the viewer would be challenged to try and figure out before he showed them the answer. What made Captain Bones hilarious…were his insults. This guy was the KING of Insult Comedy, able to come up with all kinds of incredible, colorful phrases without ever getting dirty or lewd, given the fact this WAS made for kids. If you don’t agree…“THEN YER NOT FIT TO WALK THE DECK OF ME GHOST SHIP, ye crustacean-sucking, knock-kneed, squid-faced, plank-walking sack of soiled, sea-salted, unwashed fish buckets of barnacles for brains!”

10. Lord Ainz, from Overlord.

I haven’t seen a whole lot of “Overlord” yet, which is the primary reason Ainz only BARELY crosses the threshold into the Top 10. Trust me, if I’d seen more, he’d probably be WAY higher. “Overlord” is a classic Isekai anime series: the plot focus on a young man who ends up zapped into a video game world, which he had once been a player of. He finds that he has been transformed into the character he created: a hyper-powerful dark skeleton warlord, known as Ainz Ooal Gown (or “Lord Ainz” for short). The interesting thing about this isekai is the way Ainz is played, and how he evolves over the course of the series; as time goes on, he loses more and more of his humanity, as his personality, morality, and ethical viewpoints start to merge and become less like his own back on Earth, and more like those of the character he created. This leads to a lot of gray area in the morality of Ainz, as he seeks to conquer the world - the typical goal of many a great dark lord - but has surprisingly understandable motivations for doing so. From what I’ve seen so far, the series is quite interesting, and Ainz is an equally interesting character…but I’ve only scratched the surface of this show, so I don’t think it’s fair to give him TOO high a rank JUST yet. But still, Top 10 ain't bad, right?

9. Bonejangles, from Corpse Bride.

There’s really not a whole lot to say about this guy, I just really love him. Though a fairly small part on the whole, Bonejangles is arguably one of the most recognizable characters in the Tim Burton animated picture “Corpse Bride.” A hollow skeleton with a single eyeball, which he rolls back and forth between his sockets, this limber, jazzy fellow appears to be pretty close to the titular character, Emily - the ghost of a bride-to-be who died mysteriously. It is he who tells the story of the Corpse Bride to our protagonist, Victor Van Dort, via the song “Remains of the Day,” easily the best song in the film’s soundtrack. While his time onscreen is small, he makes an immediate impression, and Danny Elfman’s gravelly, raspy vocals only add to the clattering, rambunctious skeleton’s fun personality. In short, Bonejangles is proof that big characters can come in small packages.

8. The Horned King, from The Black Cauldron.

This movie was HATED when it came out - notoriously, “The Black Cauldron” lost to the CARE BEARS when it premiered. (I wish I was joking about that.) However, over time, the movie has garnered something of a cult following, mostly for its dark and often rather brutal atmosphere (which is still rather pale compared to the Lloyd Alexander novels the film is loosely based upon). One thing almost everybody loves about the film is the villain: the lich-like Horned King, voiced impeccably by John Hurt. A cross between the character of the same name from the first book, “The Book of Three,” and the evil Lord Arawn, the main antagonist of the series, Disney’s incarnation of the character is easily one of the most mysterious and frightening of their animated baddies. Essentially a living corpse (who has horns growing out of his head, for some reason), the Horned King is a powerful sorcerer who wishes to destroy all of mankind. (Why? Probably because he’s tired of everyone around him having noses.) To this end, he and his goblin-like assistant, Creeper, seek out Hen-Wen, a pig who somehow has gained oracular abilities, allowing her to find the hiding place of the titular Black Cauldron. The Cauldron is an ancient piece of crockery possessed by the spirit of a long-dead king, which can create an army of living dead brutes, “The Cauldron Born.” In the end, the King is thwarted by Taran, a young farm boy who has been thrust into a quest to stop him, and is sucked into the Cauldron itself. In arguably the goriest death scene in a Disney movie, the King is stripped of his soul, and his FLESH (what little he has), as his life force is sucked into the Cauldron’s hellish depths, before EXPLODING in a flash of light and dust. A fittingly gruesome end for this bony fiend.

7. Arc, from Skeleton Knight in Another World.

Much like Overlord, this is another fantasy isekai anime series, in which the main character is transformed into a character they played in a video game. And, just like then, said main character is an extremely powerful skelly-dude. HOWEVER, that’s about where the similarities between this show and “Overlord” stop. In “Skeleton Knight in Another World,” Arc is not a villain who plays the hero of his own story…but instead just a hero, period. In fact, a big part of the series is that he worries about people seeing his true bone face, as he knows the sight of a giant living skeleton will probably be seen as a bad sign by many. Arc is a wonderfully fun protagonist: like many characters in this sort of scenario, he is equal parts bold and admirably strong…and sort of a total dork. The human life he left behind clashes constantly with the uber-heroic facade he tries to put on (complete with a bold and daring laugh, which is absolutely glorious), leading to a great deal of humor. While Ainz is probably the more popular character between these two, I’ve actually finished all of “Skeleton Knight” (at least with what’s available thus far), and I generally prefer Arc a little bit more, based on what I’ve seen. Therefore, he gets higher marks on the list. Also, on a side note…the theme song to this show is absolutely freaking GLORIOUS, seriously, go take a listen to it.

6. Basically the Entire Cast of “Coco.”

This is the exception to the "no groups of characters" rule I made. I know it’s cheating to include a whole bunch of skeletons, instead of just one, but I felt that, in this case, it was warranted. It’s fitting I’m posting this on the Day of the Dead, because that’s what this film is actually inspired by and based around. This Pixar movie tells the story of a young boy named Miguel, who loves music. However, due to personal tragedy, his family has banned any member from being a musician. Believing his great-grandfather to be a legendary musician, Miguel goes on a quest to rekindle the love of music in his family…and, in the process, ends up in the Land of the Dead, which is populated by a whole world of Dia de los Muertos-inspired skeletons. Ranging from friendly sorts, like the eccentric Hector, and multiple late members of Miguel’s family, to the more villainous Ernesto de la Cruz, choosing just one character to represent an entire film of colorful, whimsical bunches of bones seemed next to impossible. So, yeah, I’m just counting the entire movie here. My list, my choice. So sue me. :P

5. Ghost Rider, from Marvel.

A prominent anti-hero of the Marvel universe, the Ghost Rider has gone through many incarnations. One early interpretation, later re-named the Phantom Rider (big difference, I know), isn’t a skeleton at all, nor a supernatural entity of any kind. Instead, the first Ghost Rider was a Wild Western hero and horseman, who used his ghostly costume and magic tricks to frighten his enemies - think of a cross between the Lone Ranger and Batman. Later interpretations, however, took a different path. The most famous Ghost Rider is Johnny Blaze: a stunt daredevil who was tutored largely by his adoptive father, Crash Simpson. (Good lord, these names sound like video game characters from Nintendo…) When Crash developed an inoperable cancer, a grief-stricken Johnny made a deal with the Devil himself to try and save him. Needless to say, it didn’t go so well. Now, Blaze - and others who would share his curse - must roam the land hunting down evildoers, fighting both mortal and supernatural villainy in an endless quest to avenge the innocent. The Ghost Riders all share common visual elements: fiery skeletal bodies, leather clothes, chain-based weapons, and of course, AWESOME motorcycles to ride upon. Their power over the fires of Hell itself are their primary weapons, however, with a variety of different attacks and powers available to Blaze and his later compatriots in the war to seek out the evil and punish them for their sins...hopefully while avoiding ending up in terrible Nicolas Cage outings. No promises on that one.

4. Sans & Papyrus, from Undertale.

Oh, God, I LOVE Undertale. And more than that, perhaps, I LOOOOVE Sans and Papyrus! The Skeleton Brothers are easily my favorite characters in the game, and the most identifiable for me, in many ways. Sans is, in some ways, Undertale’s equivalent to the Doctor from “Doctor Who”: he is a comedic, laid-back, somewhat eccentric character who uses his unassuming appearance and “dopey” personality as a facade. As many a player quickly learns, Sans is far more powerful, far more DANGEROUS than he looks or seems, able to go from cracking a terrible pun to threatening you with painful death in a split second. If you get on his bad side, “you’re gonna have a bad time.” His brother, Papyrus, on the other hand, is sort of the reverse: at first glance, Papyrus seems like your typical “over-the-top villain.” His signature laugh, twisted design, and sense of self-importance all make him about as fiendish as can be...all he’s missing is a top hat or a moustache to twirl! But it quickly becomes clear that Papyrus is neither as evil, nor as clever, as he likes to seem: in reality, he’s really a rather harmless sort of bony fellow, and would much rather befriend you than murder you with his incredibly elaborate, Wile-E.-Coyote-esque death traps. (Much like with Wile E., the traps never work the way they should.) Dealing with these brothers is a BIG part of figuring out the events of Undertale, and the path your adventure will take in the game. Whether you love them as much as I do or not, I advise you to decide wisely.

3. Skeletor, from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

There have been several different takes on Eternia’s greatest villain over the years (my favorite will always be the original, but I do like many, if not all, of the other interpretations out there). No matter which one you look at, Skeletor is a very fun villain, and is easily one of the most iconic skull-faced scoundrels out there. A dark wizard who longs to take over Castle Grayskull, and learn all its secrets for his own evil ends, Skeletor’s evil ranges from cartoonish to truly cruel, depending on which version you look at, but there’s always a wonderful blend of both creepiness and genuine menace that accompanies him. It’s hard to not make references to this guy when looking at other bony characters, and he’s given rise to more memes than you can shake a sorcerer’s scepter at. Really, what more can I say? It’s Skeletor: by virtue of his recognition alone, he’s more than earned a spot in the Top Three.

2. The Grim Reaper.

Arguably the single most iconic skeletal figure in history, the Grim Reaper - the embodiment of death itself - could really take up an entire list of his own. (And he probably will, one day.) There are so many versions of the Reaper out there, it’s kind of amazing: when people imagine what death’s avatar looks like, it’s likely that the typical imagery of a skeletal figure, garbed in a dark cloak and carrying a scythe, is the first thing they will imagine. Sometimes the Reaper is depicted as a humorous and comical figure, such as the version found in “The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.” On many occasions he is depicted as an evil monster, such as the version of Death found in the “Castlevania” franchise. Other times, he is something of a neutral force, as death is neither truly good nor evil when you think about it; probably my favorite example of this is the one found in Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld” universe. Bottom line, I think the fact that skeletons so often represent death, to the point where the very embodiment of the Angel of Death is depicted AS a skeleton, speaks for itself as to why this ranks so highly. Honestly, I was tempted to make this choice number one, but I decided against it for several reasons. Still, iconic as the concept of the Grim Reaper is, the character - in pretty much all his forms - has more than earned high praise here.

1. Jack Skellington, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

“Nightmare” is one of my favorite films of all time, if not my absolute favorite. It’s not a complex movie, really, but its simplicity is part of what makes it so wonderful! Jack is, by extension, one of my favorite characters of all time: hailed as “The Pumpkin King With the Skeleton Grin,” this dapper, noble, gentlemanly bonehead is the ruler of Halloween Town, a world of ghosts, goblins, and ghouls (oh, my!) whose only job is to make Halloween as frightening as possible. But, despite his undead state, and wicked sense of humor, there is no malice in Jack’s mischief; he just sees it as a job. A job he’s apparently very, VERY good at, from the few examples the film and other spin-offs give us. Jack’s really a very good sort; charming and debonair, but also rather naive. A cockeyed optimist in his own way, and a bit of a prima donna, Jack’s over-the-top antics and spirit of adventure are what often get him into trouble; he has a problem with thinking things through. However, when things go wrong, Jack is ready for action, and quick to take responsibility, take charge, and take chances. His heart is in the right place at all times, even if his brain doesn’t always get there right away. Mixing intelligence and charisma with a childlike simplicty - much like the movie he hails from, in fact - Jack Skellington is an endearing and interesting character who deserves every bit of love he gets from myself and the world over. He’s just as iconic as the Grim Reaper, Skeletor, and others on this list, if not more so! And for all these reasons and more, I happily (albeit pointlessly) name Jack Skellington my Favorite Skeletal Character!

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Captain Barbossa, from Pirates of the Caribbean. (He really only counts for the first film, which is why I didn’t include him on the main list.)

The Speaking Skull, from The Last Unicorn.

Manolo Sanchez, from The Book of Life.

Spinal, from Killer Instinct.

#list #countdown #favorites #best #characters #fiction #movies #film #animation #tv #video games #literature #comics #skeletons #spooky scary skeletons #skulls #top 15 #halloween #day of the dead #dia de los muertos

[hypervoxel]

do you have any headcanons about Velvet?

I have so many thoughts about Velvette. They are hampered slightly by the fact that I know next to nothing about the fashion industry (I've seen The Devil Wears Prada tho, so there's that?)... However, I kind of think her main focus for fashion within VoxTek is overseeing costume design for various shows/films/commercials. I think she was into musicals and set and costume design for them when she was alive.

That's if I give her fashion as a main focus though. Because I am also enamored with her just doing fashion shows right now for fun. Sure, she likes dressing up herself, but organizing fashion shows are not her main thing, it's just a passing fancy. Maybe it's just Pentagram City Fashion Week right now. She'll be onto the next trend as soon as she decides what trend that's going to be.

In either case, I think she's great with computers, but focused on websites, design, editing, etc. She can program mad HTML or CSS but she doesn't know anything about, like, computer specs or building your own PC. She knows how to design and host websites, but she's a big fan of using virtual machines so she doesn't have to know how to actually fix the physical servers. She knows 20 apps you can use to touch up photos and make better Sinstagram* posts, and she's great at video editing. She would have loved TikTok if she were alive for it. If a printer isn't printing, she will throw it out the window instead of checking if it needs new drivers installed.

*(sorry I like that parody app name better than Voxtagram)

I've been playing with the idea of her having radio powers of her own, but specifically and only affecting the Bluetooth spectrum range. This makes her less powerful but very versatile, especially with modern technology. She can connect to and spy on your phone, and this is how she meets Vox and Val in my little backstory that takes advantage of that headcanon <3 The way her phone call went straight to Vox's screen actually isn't normal for him: that's a skill only Velvette posseses. She also AirDrops memes straight onto his face while he's in the middle of board meetings just to mess with him. Also she and Vox have kinky telepathy sex.

She loves gossip, and will always find a chance to share the drama with all of her viewers. But she's the kind of vlogger who makes videos like, "here's 20 minutes of me doing whatever I want to do," and her viewers eat it up.

When she was alive, she had the meanest, scrungliest, most pathetic feral cat that she rescued from the side of a road. The pathetically godawful thing stole her previously thought to be non-existent heart. She took it to a vet hospital and paid for its surgery, and she vlogged her saga of caring for this cat, then the custody battle when the cat's former owner wanted it back but like no fuck you, it's her cat now. This cat boosted her from being a small time creator to having a legit audience. Everyone loves her cat.

This also made her in-universe (while she was alive) stans the Worst bc you can never question Velvette, she's literally such a good person, she's the kind of person who rescues half dead cats and nurses then back to health!! If she bullies and suicide-baits someone online it's because they deserve it. Her fans will never abandon her. She's not evil! How dare you call her out. She literally saves animals out of the pure goodness of her heart!

#i think she was into creepycute things and had a cursed doll collection when she was alive #velvette #hazbin hotel velvette #thank you for letting me ramble please ask me another thing to give me an excuse to keep talking without making any sense at all <3 #is there a better way to format this? undoubtedly. anyway‚ send post

[purplecodedman]

Emulating Yakuza: Dead Souls

So after numerous attempts at emulating this godforsaken game, I finally got it to run! Staggering between 25-30fps during game play (excluding the occasional drop due to an explosion) and constant 60fps during cut scenes. Due to the amount of trouble I went through trying to make it work for my PC, which isn't high end by any means, I'm putting together a list of configuration settings and things I did and recommend to help it run on yours!

I use the RPCS3 emulator, so you'll want to follow the steps in downloading the ps3 bios and 64x OS correctly. These steps can be found here under Software Requirements. Keep in mind, this is just what I did! If you find a better system or prefer to do something else during these steps, go ahead and use that. To export and unzip the ZIP, 7z and ISO files used, I use WinRAR. (its free! the trial lasts forever. You just get annoying prompts sometimes asking you to pay. whatever) Once the Visual C++ OS is downloaded, you can open and run the emulator. Drag the ps3 PUP file into the emulator window and allow PPU modules to download.

I recommend using VIMM'S lair to download Dead Souls. It took me about 3 hours to download the game at 553mbps. While it is downloading, you can configure settings (explained below) and set up your controller, assuming you will be using one. When the download is complete, export using WinRAR (or an equivalent) to a separate lone folder and drag "Yakuza - Dead Souls (USA)" into the emulator window. It will take a while to upload, so be aware of that.

Before configuring the standard settings, you'll want to set up the debug menu. This video explains it better than I could through text :) (make sure under the Advanced tab you have "Debug Console Mode" enabled.)

Now that your configuration window is set up, navigate to the CPU tab. Only settings that need to be a specific value will be noted. To the right, PPU Decoder > Recompiler (LLVM) SPU Decoder > Recompiler (LLVM) To the left, SPU Block Size > Mega In the GPU tab, To the right, Shader Quality > Low (this /\ can be changed!) In the middle, Resolution Scale > 300% Resolution Scale Threshold > 512x512 To the left, Shader Mode > Async with Shader Interpreter # of Shader Compiler threads > 2 Additonal Settings > Vsync > ON In the Emulator tab, To the right, Max LLVM Compile Threads > 4 (this /\ can be changed too! i have it set to 4 because I stream it to my friends and it keeps Discord running smoothly. If you aren't worried about other apps working, you can keep it on it's original value of All (8)

In the Debug tab, to the right, GPU > Force CPU blit emulation > ON to the left, Core > Accurate GETLLAR > ON I believe some values can be changes around, but these are the settings that work best on my XPS 8920. The last part of the process is downloading the necessary patch to disable a MLAA patch that will stop the game from running.

Navigate back to the RPCS3 main screen and click on the Manage tab. A drop down menu will appear, go down and click on Game Patches. It will ask you if you want to update, choose Yes until all avalible game patches for your game. There will be a large list of patches, but you only need to focus on All Files - Warning: These patches apply to all games! All Files > All Serials > Disable SPU MLAA - Multiple titles (02) > ON That's really it. Be aware of random crashes, so you may want to save as often as possible. enjoy being forklift certified during an apocalypse or whatever

#yakuza dead souls #rgg #ps3 emulation #rpcs3 #ryu ga gotoku #RGG of the end

[lauramkaye]

Disco Elysium For Beginners

So apparently my cunning plan is working and some of my mutuals are interested in learning more about my recent obsession by playing the game Disco Elysium. Great!!! In your honor, and so that I will have more people to talk about the game with, I present to you Laura's Beginner's Guide to Playing Disco Elysium.

What Is It Even About?

Hope, despair, poverty, the human condition, politics, pinball, art, love, loss, communism, experiencing a bisexual awakening in your forties, colonization, dancing, substance use disorders, unions, mental illness, truth, trying to be a good person in a completely broken society, beauty, the end of the world, joy, complicated relationships, kindness, intersectionality, the complex and problematic nature of the profession of police detective, cryptids, juvenile delinquents, PTSD, and falling helplessly in love with Kim Kitsuragi.

Oh wait, did you mean the plot?

You play as an amnesiac detective who wakes up after an apocalyptic bender that obliterated his memories. There is a dead body hanging in a tree behind your hotel, and you are there to find out who killed him with the help of Kim Kitsuragi, a detective from another precinct who has also been put on the case and who will be your partner while you are in town. You can, as the official site puts it, "become a hero, or an absolute disaster of a human being."

Where to Get It

Disco Elysium is available for Mac and PC via Steam and for XBox and Playstation (both current and previous generation) and Nintendo Switch. The current version is "The Final Cut" which includes full voice acting. The Steam version goes on sale pretty frequently - I'd keep an eye on Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales if you're interested in picking it up. The MSRP is $40 but you can often find it for around $20 if you look for a sale - the PS4 version is $17 on Amazon right now (11/15/2022).

I'm Not Really A Gamer, Can I Still Play?

Absolutely! DE does not require any "twitchy" gameplay - you interact with the game by reading/listening to text, selecting dialogue options to talk to people, and clicking things/people to interact with them in some way. It runs very much like a tabletop RPG, where all the uncertain things are decided by skill checks and dice rolls.

Notably, DE is quite replayable even though the solution to the mystery doesn't change, because different character builds will have very different experiences and may even see completely different sidequests and dialogue. Unlike most RPGs, DE makes many checks silently, in the background, and if you don't pass the check you just don't see the relevant content and never know you missed anything. I'm on my third full and sixth partial playthrough and I still find new things.

Mechanically, playing Disco Elysium goes something like this:

Go into a new area.

Look around. You will see little colored circles appearing, either on top of items/people in the environment, or sometimes around your player character's head.

Click on the colored circles to interact with them. You will learn something, do something, or start a conversation.

Doing stuff and talking to people gives you XP! Every time you get 100 XP, you get one Skill Point. You can either use it to increase one of your skills, unlock a slot in your Thought Cabinet, or forget a Thought from your Thought Cabinet. You don't have to spend them right away; you can save them up if you want to.

Once you have clicked everything you want to click and talked to everyone you want to talk to for now, go somewhere else.

Repeat.

What the Hell is a Thought Cabinet?

As you go through the game, you will unlock "thoughts" that you can ponder. You have a certain number of slots in your "thought cabinet" where you can be mulling over an idea; you start with three slots and can unlock more up to a max of 12. Thoughts will have certain effects while you are thinking about them, which might be positive or negative. While you are still thinking them over, you can equip or unequip them at will. Each "thought project" takes a specific amount of time.

Once you have spent the designated time on a thought project, you will see the message "Breakthrough Imminent" and then you will "internalize" the thought. The thought will have effects on the gameplay, which can include skill buffs and debuffs or other effects. Once the thought is internalized, you can no longer unequip it. It will take up that slot permanently unless you spend another skill point to forget it.

So what thoughts should I internalize?

A lot of them are mainly for flavor or role-playing but a few notable ones:

Actual Art Degree gives you bonus XP when you pass a passive Conceptualization check. This is the most common passive check in the game, so AAD is the thought to take if you want to get as many skill points as possible. You unlock the thought by talking about art as much as you can.

Get Jamais Vu as early as you can on Day 1 by talking with Joyce Messier at the dock. It opens up some key dialogue options and skill checks as well as giving you bonus XP whenever you click an orb.

Ace's High or Ace's Low gives you extra Empathy bonuses towards Kim. Which you will want, because Kim is the Best.

Wompty-Dompty-Dom Centre is available starting on Day 3 and will give you $2 and some XP when you pass an Encyclopedia check.

Homo-Sexual Underground. Its only effect is to allow you to talk about sexuality with Kim. Therefore it is the most important thought in the game, because approximately 90% of players will be in love with Kim by the second in-game day.

Okay, What About Skills?

Your character "build" (strengths, weaknesses, abilities, etc.) is primarily determined by two things that you can adjust as the game progresses by spending Skill Points: Skills and Thoughts.

Skills in DE are similar to skills in other RPGs in that they determine how good you are at various things. The main difference is that instead of the more traditional skills like strength, dexterity, or charisma, DE has skills like Savoir Faire, Rhetoric, and Empathy. As befits a game that emphasizes the story and characters over combat, the skills are a lot less about how good you are at punching monsters and a lot more about the state of your character's head. The skills are broken down into four categories:

Blue or Intellect skills - brainy stuff like Logic, Rhetoric, and Encyclopedia.

Purple or Psyche skills - emotional stuff like Empathy, Volition, and Authority.

Red or Physical skills - the condition of your physical body. Endurance, Electrochemistry, and Pain Threshold live here.

Yellow or Motorics skills - how well you use your physical body. Things like Hand Eye Coordination, Perception, and Composure.

There are good descriptions of each skill in the game. At the beginning, you can choose from three predefined archetypes (Thinker, Sensitive, or Physical) or create your own by allocating 12 points between the four skill categories and picking one skill as your "signature."

What Is The Best Skill Build?

There isn't an "best" one! You can play the game equally successfully with any build, but different builds will feel very different to play, especially early in the game.

That said, I would recommend against doing a 3-3-3-3 build because it just won't be as fun. Most skills generally start to really show effects at around a 4, and failing skill checks is often funny and shouldn't lock you out of completing any checks except if you've done something really unusual.

Basically the "best" build for you is whatever is the most fun - pick something that speaks to you and go for it.

In general, Intellect builds will get a lot of worldbuilding and lore and be really good at detecting. Psyche builds will have a better sense of other people and the world and strong intuition. Physical builds tend to be able to punch their way through obstacles but aren't very smart or empathetic and struggle with following their gut instincts/cravings without thinking about it. Motorics builds will find several early-game skill checks a lot easier for them and will be good at skills like shooting, picking locks, noticing stuff, keeping cool under pressure, and talking about cars.

Some key things to consider when deciding on your character build:

Encyclopedia is the skill that gives you lore and worldbuilding information.

If you want to min-max your build to get as many skill points as possible, make sure you have good Conceptualization so you can unlock the thought Actual Art Degree.

Esprit de Corps is similar to Empathy, but it works specifically on other cops. Doing a run with high EDC helps unlock a ton of lore about many of the other key characters in the game.

Electrochemistry will try to get you to drink, smoke, have sex, and take drugs. It will also give you insights into the drinking/smoking/drugging/sex habits of others. VERY high EC will allow you to unlock a leopard-print unitard underwear option for your player character.

You have two health pools, Health and Morale. Health is affected by the Endurance skill and Morale is affected by the Volition skill. If you start a game with only 1 point in either purple or red skills, that can mean you die very easily early in the game. My first playthrough I did a high INT build and I died in the first room of the game from turning on the lights even though I had a terrible hangover. So just be aware.

Shivers is my favorite skill in the game and I'm not alone there. Shivers allows you to have a connection to your city. A lot of the best moments in the game come during Shivers checks and the writing is generally really evocative. Great for atmosphere.

My favorite skills are Esprit de Corps for character knowledge, Shivers for cool atmosphere, and Drama because Drama is just really funny.

What Else Do I Need To Know?

If you seem stuck, go somewhere else and talk to more people OR spend a skill point to level up a skill.

You can zoom in and out. My first playthrough I didn't realize this for a while and kept missing certain characters who were standing somewhere I needed to be zoomed out to see.

A lot of things that are usually part of game menus have to be unlocked. You get a map by buying it at the bookstore. You get your stats and to-do list by finding your police ledger.

Cuno seems horrible but if you gain his trust there's a lot of depth to his character. There is also a potential ending where Cuno acts as your partner during the endgame.

Do the sidequests. They are often the best stories in the game.

Don't be TOO afraid of disappointing Kim. If you avoid being racist/sexist/hurting people, he will usually come around.

That said, if you play as a terrible person he won't be your friend anymore. I don't know how people can take the emotional trauma of that, but some people do!

Save frequently, Just In Case.

Don't be too hasty to reset. Let things play out. Most of the deaths are pretty funny and sometimes you might think you died but really you didn't.

That said, it's fine to reload a save if you messed something up. It's a single player game, it isn't "cheating" to do this if you want to.

If you fail the red check at the church it is extra double okay to reload a save and make that not have happened. (This is probably one of the two highest-stakes skill checks in the game because if you succeed you get one of the best scenes in the game and if you fail you get one of the worst.)

Look at everything and talk to everyone.

I like to keep at least one unused skill point at all times in case I need to unlock a skill check I've failed once.

If you arrest someone or send the body to Processing, Kim will be gone for the rest of the day. There are some things you can only do with him and some you can only do without him, so plan accordingly.

Hope this helps and always feel free to ask if you want more help/get stuck/need hints/just want to scream about the game with me!!

#disco elysium #beginner guide

[blueneil]

Crying over SSL Kaoru's Route

i can't stop crying over them, someone pls help me….

I finally can play Hakuouki SSL on my pc, and ofc the first route i finish is Chizuru's twin, the one and only Nagumo Kaoru.

I really craved for "Yukimura" twin sibling bonding moment or them having actual sibling relationship (not where one of them trying to kill the other one).

AND SSL IS WHERE OTOMATE HEAR MY PRAYER

Whatever issues SSL's have, i just want to see my Yukimura sibling being happy :( so heres some rambles about it since i'm so happy after finishing it right now T_________T

Some cute SSL Kaoru thingy

-> KAORU PREFER CATS THAN DOGS!!!!!!!!!! also his reaction when Chizuru choose the same animal as him (despite Chizuru was like "B-but i don't hate dogs…" its literally the "You like waffles so you hate pancakes" shits) is just so cute and on brand. He really acts and looks like cat tho, theres also part when Chizuru calls the cat "Kaoru~" and the cat "meow" at it. I'm literally on tears rn…..

-> Yes… he has his own "Dead Note" where he put peoples names on it… thats so nerdy wtf (love him more). He also part of disciplinary comittee so he put names on students who broke the rules (or studets who getting too close to Chizuru) and give them strikes after that, well maybe its really a dead(th) note in some way.

-> Kaoru and Okita…. no matter what timeline it is i guess they just can't get along huh. Okita without his coughing and Kaoru without sniper behind him, this scene looks like shitan Okita's route remake in some way lol. Happiest ending ver.

The only time Kaoru and Okita actually "get along" is when they confront Sannan who suddenly being a "creep" to Chizuru

Which…. well deserved actually. Sannan you really need to sounds like it when you actually "didn't mean anything" hh….

Borderline-siscon-overprotective-brother personality really suits him lol

I mean, i think if the original timeline Kaoru have a better past with the Nagumo's or him and Chizuru isn't seperated, i think he will be like this too. His "Kawaii imoutou" phrase whenever he referred to Chizuru wouldn't sounds creepy or full of loath, but more actually loving and caring.

I mean, i think the main reason he "Hates" Chizuru is actually because he loves her so much, he thought she also have the same life as himz and he dream to someday he will make her happy together with him again just like in the past. But the feelings become cloudy when he learned his beloved sister forget him (when he always think of her), having a way better life, loves by everyone, and also she rejects him at the end. He thinks sibling should feel e/o but Chizuru didn't feel him at all, doesn't even remember her past/family, and living "her best life'". Theres black feeling right there but still he can't stop loving her so the only solution for him is to just bring her suffered like him.

*cough* so SSL is here to bring the pain away from them.

This is one of the funniest Kaoru overprotective mode, he really act as if he is also not a "16 year old" kid. AND I'M WITH CHIZURU, WHO IS WHO?!?!?!?!JSDHSBHS The only obvious one is "Idiotic student council president"??? T_______T Loose cannons is Okita i guess????? Happy-go-lucky is Heisuke??????

Tsundere big bro and bold lil sis

Even though yes Kaoru is really siscon like here, its actually still in the sibling border. Like the way he loves Chizuru is not disgusting at all, he just so protective and genuinely want to "fulfill" his role as big brother to Chizuru, but didn't know how to handle his feelings well lol so he really ends up being a tsundere mess.

I mean look at this one example, at first Chizuru is hurt, Kaoru then laughing at her, but when he realize Chizuru is actually hurt, he become worried and piggybacked her?! AND THEN LOOK AT THE PHONE MESSAGE SCREENSHOT, HE LITERALLY MAIL THAT TO CHIZURU AFTER THE EVENT. Thats so sibling thing,,,

Different from Kaoru who become "tsundere" when he expressed his actual feelings, Chizuru is actually so much bolder. She talks back to Kaoru, take initiative firts, and just "meh" it a way when Kaoru say bad things to her. It's like the gap of how different someone can be with their sibling vs with other people.

Heres some example lmao, Chizuru holding Kaoru's hand first so casually and Kaoru said he hates it but didn't trying to get away at all. (he loves it ofc he is). Then the bottom picture, its Kaoru mailing shits to Chizuru when he actually watching Chizuru from the crowd, and well Chizuru responds to his mail is sure come from heart <3

I need to put this because its funny seeing Kaoru dumbfound face while Chizuru saying the same thing 3 times cause his stupid brother apparently can't grasp the fact that his sister give him chocolate on valentine day WHEN HE ACTUALLY FORBID EVERYONE TO BRING CHOCOLATE AND DOING INSPECTION OF IT SINCE HE DIDN'T WANT CHIZURU TO GIVE CHOCOLATE TO ANYONE. What a cute irony.

Oh, and of course if we have bickered moments we also have the sibling wholesome moments

*sobs*

*SOBS WAY HARDER*

Also, when Kaoru calm like this, their face really looks like a copypaste (maybe because iT IS a copypaste) somehow i giggle at this.

So thats it i guess… i'll go back crying alone for now, no i'm still not done making a river of tears on my bedroom

#hakuouki ssl #yukimura chizuru #nagumo kaoru #i love my bby twin so much