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absolutebl · 3 years

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This Week in BL

May 2021 Wk 3

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

It’s a cray cray Friday when Vietnam gets its eng subs up before GMMTV Thailand. What alter-reality are we in? Well, the Vietnamese offerings are better right now anyway. (Oooo, feel that burn.)

Ongoing Series - Thai

Top Secret Together Ep 2 - pulping it up in the best possible way. Sure sound and production values are pants, and in classic Thai fashion the editing in post is exacerbating (rather than fixing) pacing issues, but it’s still CUTE AF. I don’t even mind the added university storyline, because they’ve got good chemistry (and a confident gay fresher after a panicked gay hazer is an old favorite... what can I say, SOTUS was my first love). We aren’t spending too much time with any one couple, so it’s weighted a lot better than Brothers was, but also character development is slow.

Siew Sum Noi Ep 2 - Unfortunately, it’s just too hard to find, plus no subs. I’m dropping it in the hopes it comes back on my radar some day.

Y-Destiny Ep 8 - (Thurs) It’s rough having a ghost boyfriend, half your friends are scared, the other half think you’re crazy, and kissing shortens your lifespan. This was a cute couple even if I wasn’t wild about the surrounding story.

Close Friend Ep 5: (Dear My Star/JimmyTommy) - about high school penpals. It had to rely entirely on voice over work as the actors only meet face to face at the end. It’s a good thing they are appealing screen presences on their own, with good vocal control. It’s hard to imagine any other BL pair carrying this kinda plot. It’s by far my favorite of the series so far, and I’m not even a big JimmyTommy fan.

Fish Upon The Sky Ep 7 - no subs. Do we care? Not really. Because we have...

Nitiman Ep 3 - currently my favorite out of Thailand. It’s the university Thai BL i’ve been waiting for since... when was the last good one? My Engineer? Yowza. Anyway we got: head on my shoulder, baby is a floppy drunk (but still wants to be in control), proximity alert, boyfriend’s closet, seme gets seriously jelly, and a cute twist on feeding him. There’s something fun and complex about Jin’s character. He’s not a panicked bi. He knows exactly what’s going on, he just hasn’t decided if he wants Bb or not. He clearly enjoys being looked after, the compliments, and the attention, but he’s not sure if he’s going to like what happens if he gives in. I like that twist on the usual tsundere uke archetype a lot, cautious rather than willfully obtuse or freaked out. We can see Jin realizing in stages: I like this person, I like that they like me, I like the romantic attentiveness. But in the background is... do I actually want to f*k him? It’s a dynamic we don’t often see on BL.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 10 fin - the most ridiculous show using BLs worst tropes in a sort of weird smoothie of bitter greens and too ripe banana. The ending was the sappiest cheesiest thing ever, like cheese syrup tapped from the cheese tree. So of course I loved it, but I’m pretty sure I giggled through all the bits meant to be profound. Because, in the end, to tolerate this show at all, you just can’t take ANY of it seriously. RECOMMENDED (with some SERIOUS reservations and trigger warnings.) Full review here.

Be Loved in House: I Do (Taiwan) Ep 1-2 - I don’t mind a damaged seme character but this one is a bit weird for me. Like creepy Cheese in the Trap level weird. On the bright side, the story has given our tsundere uke good motivation for his angst and great existing friendships, loyalty, and likability. Plus I’m invested in the cafe owner/innocent puppy side dishes. So if it’s only the seme character I’m not jiving with, and he’s the most established actor, it should all turn out fine. I believe in you, Taiwanese BL.

Papa & Daddy (Taiwan) Ep 6 fin - speaking of belief. This such a good show but they gave us a cliffhanger ending. Now we must hope against hope for season two. That’s never guaranteed with Taiwan tho. So, I’m docking a few points and saying, RECOMMENDED so long as you realize it’s a cliffhanger.

Love is Science? (Taiwan) Ep 1-9 (BL subplot) - this is a good het romance, but the fact that the BL subplot is a beautifully acted disaster bi + confident gay means you’re hearing about it whether you want to or not. Plus they just added in some GL! Come on! I gotta support Taiwan normalizing queer to this extent. They are fighting the good fight and if I also have to watch a career lady and her much younger softest straight boi get it on, too? Twist my arm with that service sub subtext. Go on Taiwan, TWIST IT. It’s on Viki. Join the revolution. * Incidentally if you actually like the D/s het dynamic of this show, I highly recommend Japanese Kimi wa Petto - career woman keeps a hot young dancer boy as a pet. Oh yes, an actual pet, that IS the pitch. Never doubt Japan when kink is on the line. It’s also on Viki. Go get your kink on, thank me later. (If it helps: That was not a request.)

Most Peaceful Place 2 (Vietnam) Ep 2 (AKA 5) - love triangles aren’t my thing, but if you’re gonna do it short form, by all means bring in the lead’s other BL pairing so the chemistry is on point. Now I've no idea who I want him to end up with. Can’t they just be in a poly triad?

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 7 - I’m still enjoying it a lot. It’s still unabashedly queer and the tension is ramping up. We now have secret identity, blackmail, femme fatale, faen fatale, and incoming seme confrontation. Best of all, the series is still airing, which makes it longer than any other Vietnamese BL I’ve seen (aside from Tein Bromance - which is just too weird to count).

Gossip - Thai BL

SEVEN PROJECT TEASERS

No one is entirely sure what Studio Wabi Sabi’s Seven Project/7Project will entail.

It might be like Close Friend (1 episode per couple, no linking),

or Y-Destiny (2 episodes per couple, loosely linked),

or The En of Love (4 episodes per couple, linked but independent consecutive stories).

They’re giving the couple’s arcs separate titles. So each one would be what? Seven Project: Once Upon a Time or the like? We’re in Taiwanese title territory people and NO ONE WANTS TO GO THERE. Anygay...

Once Upon a Time is the BounPrem (og UWMA) anchor story, and seems to be the most dramatic and likely saddest. These two can handle most of what’s thrown at them at this juncture, so it should be good.

Vs Love is a BoomPeak (og Make it Right) university vehicle. Since I thought Boom was done with our nonsense, I couldn’t be more thrilled and surprised this pair is doing another show together. I don’t think either of them are the greatest actors but I find Peak very endearing and Boom charismatic on screen, so I’ll watch.

Would You be My Love is the hotly anticipated SantaEarth launch. They’re a (cultivated) IRL ship and Earth is an established BL actor. They have great chemistry and high energy so this could be lots of fun.

We are also getting a GL from this series from established BL actresses Samantha and Pineare. Nothing teased yet on that, but I’m looking forward to this installment the most. Also curious to see how the ladies handle the branding and promo side, not to mention the culture. (Thailand variety shows gonna force *girls* to play the Pepero game?)

Secret Crush on You upcoming Thai BL with no release date, co-produced by and featuring (but NOT staring) Saint and directed by Cheewin (sigh) with all fresh faces. (Previously known as Stalker the series.) It looks like pure pulp and I’m not wild about the plot but could be better than expected as it’s adapted from a novel. Cheewin is an okay director when he has an actual story to follow.

Don’t Say No the series. Coming from the producers of TharnType this is the JaFirst vehicle many have been waiting for. Friends to lovers + a good boy/bad boy pairing on a sports romance foundation. It’s basketball so they tapped Meen as well (he’s semi-pro). The bad news? You get one guess as to who is writing the darn thing? Yep it’s MAME. So, ya know, expect some slam dunk kidnapping, a light dribbling of rape, and me turning into a basketcase. AKA...

Will I have to live blog this series in order to survive it? That seems to be the only way I can. So probably. Which means the bad sports puns will continue. Look, if I’m suffering, SO ARE YOU!

Rumors of a new YinWar vehicle The Best Story (mini series) coming in July. Also rumors that their previously announced Love Mechanics (full length series) has either been delayed, is facing money issues, or is moving studios, or all three.

Breaking News

DELAYED (I’m talking these three off the watch list until we get new airing dates)

Love Area’s release was pushed out but it got a trailer.

Golden Blood was supposed to drop Weds but comments in MDL report that it is delayed due to C19.

Love’s Outlet (Taiwan) is supposed to have started a 50 episode run (only 3-5 min each, what utter nonsense). Sadly, this delay is due to a surge in cases in Taiwan which was doing so well, but also doesn’t have many inoculations.

Bad Buddy has started workshopping at GMMTV actual.

Kang Insoo’s BTS for Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding is SO FLIPPING CUTE. You have to watch it. Trust me, I don’t rec behind the scenes stuff often.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

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justaddgame · 2 years

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GOTY 2021: Honorable Mentions

POWERWASH SIMULATOR

This year I got really curious about simulation games. Growing up, I shared playtime with my sister over things adjacently similar like The Sims and classic management sims such as Roller Coaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon. Just about everyone can find the fun in games like those, but sims like Euro Truck Simulator and Farm Simulator? I think they take a certain kind of appreciation; an attention to detail that largely speaks to people who already get it, or have the urge to explore something unfamiliar on familiar ground.

Thankfully, for those like me that are afraid of the deep end, there’s been a recent trend of oddly specific simulator games. These sims don’t require a companion manual or serious tech like a racing wheel. Sims like PowerWash Simulator may not even teach you very much, but I’ve learned it’s an appreciation for the mundane that’s being tapped into. I can’t tell you why I enjoy power washing someone’s rusted-over car or polishing a driveway. It’s just something you feel while playing a sim like this one.

It wouldn’t be worth mentioning if the game itself wasn’t well designed for what it wants to accomplish, and even in its Early Access state, there’s a great foundation here, and developer FuturLab continues to update it on a frequent basis. If you fancy a need for something urgency-free, the continuous developments within PowerWash’s Career and Challenge modes will help you discover what the genre is all about.

TONY HAWK’S AMERICAN SKATELAND

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2’s surprise release on Nintendo Switch offered fans a modern Tony Hawk game on handheld, but there’s a long history of this franchise going portable. From Sony’s PSP to, surprisingly, Nintendo’s GameBoy Advance. But nestled in between those was Vicarious Vision’s excellent Nintendo DS entry, Tony Hawk’s American Skateland, a sort-of demake of the similar Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland released on console.

This was one of the first games I completed this year kept me glued to my DS from beginning to end. It was praised at the time for being more than just an experimental port; everything from the art style to the controls takes advantage of the hardware it’s on while also managing to deliver an authentic Tony Hawk experience. The classic tricks, the authentic soundtrack, the free-roam level design, the story mode packed with creative missions, and the ability to create your own skater. Vicarious Visions left nothing behind.

If you find yourself feeling nostalgic about the DS, I highly recommend making time for this gem.

LITTLE NIGHTMARES

Little Nightmares was one of a handful of brief games that took only a couple of days to blast through, making each one a nice reset between those games demanding more hours as you’re quickly losing daylight. Of them all, I especially liked this twisted, creepy journey wrapped in a puzzle-platformer with an outcome that definitely stuck with me for more than a day or two.

It’s a well-directed story that tasks you as a small child, named Six, to escape The Maw with nothing to defend herself or even a clue of why she’s there. The narrative itself remains silent throughout the game, forcing you to decipher the meaning through dread of the surroundings and the unimaginable things living there. The first encounter of Little Nightmares’ ghoulish creatures was enough to give me pause, and not something I’ve felt outside of something like Silent Hill or Resident Evil. It isn’t especially difficult in terms of gameplay. There are no real game overs and the puzzles won’t leave you scratching your head. Solutions are largely driven by outwitting your captors, which can lead to several failures until that “ah-ha” moment arrives. It was sometimes repetitive, but there are several tense scenes, and one in particular near the finale that had absolutely stellar camera work.

You’ll spend far more time with other games, but Little Nightmares, and other games like it, know we’re busy, and can still succeed to entertain with less.

MARIO GOLF: SUPER RUSH

It hasn’t been easy to be a Mario Sports fan in recent years.

While Mario Kart continued as strong as ever, practically eclipsing all other recreational activities in the Mushroom Kingdom, games like Super Mario Strikers, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, and Mario Power Tennis were yet to be replicated as Nintendo entered the HD era. Glimpses of a revival often turned out to be more experimental and disappointingly safe, such as the Wii U’s Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash.

Are the glory days back with Mario Golf: Super Rush? That remains to be seen, but it’s a promising step in the right direction. If nothing else, the opening cinematic was a brilliant nod to the fans of Camelot’s chaotic shorts featuring Wario and Waluigi hijinks. The core gameplay is solid, though, and actually made a better golfer—only virtually, but still. The story mode itself was far more in depth that I expected and had enough surprises for a fun distraction. Recent updates have rounded the package out to a respectable degree, as well.

Super Rush didn’t meet fans’ expectations unanimously, and those reasons aren’t without merit. But in many ways Super Rush felt like it was at least acknowledging the past games unwillingness to go beyond good enough. And I think it rose above that in places. Let’s hope someone at Nintendo keeps the fire burning, meanwhile.

WARIOWARE: GET IT TOGETHER!

Among the numerous franchises within the magical Nintendo well, WarioWare seems to spring up when we need it most. After a hiatus that saw a couple of spinoffs in the form of Wii U’s Game and Wario and 3DS’s WarioWare Gold, the next evolution in microgames appeared this year on Switch with WarioWare: Get it Together! The initial trailer was both promising and exciting—it certainly looked like WarioWare.

But the latest twist was putting us in direct control of Wario and his Diamond City cohorts. I got the impression after release that not everyone was sold on this new idea, but it ended up being one of my favorite features. What makes WarioWare unique is that repetition is a feature—not a detraction. Each character controls in a unique way, meaning your perspective within every microgame changes slightly upon revisiting them. Flipping light switches is easy when you can move in any direction. Now try doing it when you can’t move. How does jumping over and over again sound?

I’d argue it was a smart design choice given that the WarioWare formula has seen many iterations now, and was in need of a strong comeback. I’m not sure where Nintendo will go forward with WarioWare in the future, but Get it Together! was a neat surprise this year, and a reassurance that innovation is alive and well in Diamond City.

#powerwash simulator #tony hawk's american skateland #little nightmares #mario golf super rush #warioware get it together #goty 2021

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angelqueen04 · 3 years

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Hamliza Month, Day 21

@megpeggs @historysalt

Valley Memorialize Summary: Eliza gazed into the mirror, taking stock of her appearance.

Eliza gazed into the mirror, taking stock of her appearance. Her hair had been primped and allowed to fly free, to the point where she hardly recognized herself. It had been so long since she’d done something like this, and it felt strange to see herself in such a state. Reaching up, she tucked the strand of black pearls more securely amid her hair, and made sure that the matching bow was fixed as well.

“Eliza?”

Her eyes left her own image in the mirror and turned to gaze upon Alexander’s reflection. He stood in the doorway, dressed in a simple black coat with a white cravat. Unlike her, he had chosen to powder his hair, giving him that dignified air that he so often sought when sitting for his portraits. Eliza herself had decided against powder, recalling that she had worn powder in her hair the last time she had sat for a portrait – goodness, had it really been eight years?

In truth, she had been hesitant to agree to all of this. Their finances still were not entirely repaired, and Eliza had thought it an unnecessary expense. But Alexander had insisted on it, and had even located a painter of portraits who charged much less than the likes of Mr. Stuart and Mr. Trumbull. The portraits would not be large, grand things, but they would be perfectly respectable, as apparently Mr. Sharples came highly recommended for both his talents and his fees.

Eliza remembered the bright, excited expression Alexander had worn when he’d told her of the arrangement and, in the end, just hadn’t the heart to resist further.

Standing up from her dressing table, Eliza turned to face him, letting him see the entirety of what she had chosen to be painted in. The pearls had been a gift from her parents some years before, but the dress was relatively new, a confection of white and cream silk and taffeta, with a low-cut bodice.

Alexander’s eyes roved over her, taking everything in, and Eliza tried not to laugh. “Do I pass muster, husband?” she asked him lightly as she swept closer, intending to begin the journey downstairs. She didn’t even make it out of the room, because Alexander caught her by the arms, leaning in to nuzzle at her exposed neck.

“You are ravishing, my love,” he murmured against her skin, pressing a kiss on her pulse. “And so… inspiring. I have so many ideas now… ideas that will delay our appointment with Mr. Sharples.”

Eliza shivered against the sensation of his lips on her skin. “Now, now,” she breathed, and then firmly pushed him back a step. “I did not do all of this just to have it taken apart within five minutes, dearest,” she told him, and then she gave him her a naughty grin. “You’ll just have to wait until this evening. We shan’t be interrupted then.”

It was true, after all. With the children all visiting her parents, she and Alexander were in that rarest of states – alone in the house. And he was also remembering that, if the hungry gleam in his eyes was anything to go by.

“Just you wait, my lovely minx,” Alexander murmured in her ear as she slipped past him.

They made the journey downstairs to the parlor together. As they entered, Eliza was pleased to see that Mr. Sharples was already waiting for them, his easel and other tools already arranged neatly. What surprised her, however, was that he was not alone. He was accompanied by a young matron with chestnut curls peeking out from beneath her cap, who also had several sketching tools of her own organized and laid out neatly.

“Ah yes,” Alexander said from beside her, as though he was just remembering a previously forgotten detail. “My dear, permit me to introduce you to Mrs. Sharples. She is an artist herself, and often paints alongside Mr. Sharples here.”

Pleasantries were exchanged, but they were short. It was obvious to Eliza that the couple clearly wished to get on with their work, so she did nothing to impede them beyond asking if they would care for any refreshment. They politely accepted the offer, and Eliza called for their hired girl to bring them a tray of tea and other dainties that could easily be nibbled on while the couple went about their work.

It was Mr. Sharples who guided her and Alexander to sit in the pose he required. Instead of facing forward, he would be painting them both in profile. “Please,” he told Eliza, gesturing to one of the chairs, “sit here, Mrs. Hamilton. This angle will permit us to an excellent view of all pertinent details.”

By which, Eliza gathered, he meant her bow and pearls. So her efforts had not gone to waste, she thought, pleased.

Alexander was then left to the other chair, which was directly in front of Eliza, placing his back to her. As he seated himself, Eliza noted that, yet again, he had not completely covered his hair in powder, covering only the hair atop his head, at his temples, and part of the way down. The last few inches were still quite visibly their normal color. She smiled in amusement.

“Ah!” Mrs. Sharples cried out suddenly, “Just there, Mrs. Hamilton! Pray, do not move an inch!”

Eliza blinked, surprised by the younger woman’s exuberance, but did as she was told.

“You have a lovely smile, Mrs. Hamilton,” Mrs. Sharples continued, to which her husband hummed his agreement. Eliza could not see them clearly, but from the corner of her eye, she could detect the way their pencils flew over their work. “Mr. Hamilton showed us the portrait created by Mr. Earl, and he was most insistent that we do our best to capture that same liveliness. I had worried that we might not be able to, for people so often change over time, but now I see we need not have been concerned.”

“Quite so,” Alexander agreed cheerfully. “My Betsey is as lovely as she was the day we met!”

Eliza laughed. “And you are just as smooth-talking, my Alexander.”

The rest of the sitting passed pleasantly enough, and within an hour or two, Mr. and Mrs. Sharples had done enough preliminary work that they could return to their workshop. They would, of course, need to return for supplementary sketches, to catch further details, but that would not be for some days yet, and promised to send word to arrange a convenient time for another sitting.

Eliza saw them to the door with Alexander, and watched as they hurried down the street on foot. She turned away when Alexander shut the door on the outside world, and spotted a few pieces of mail sitting on the entry table. She walked over and picked them up, and brightened when she spotted her sister’s familiar handwriting. Before Eliza could open it, however, Alexander cleared his throat behind her. She turned and found him leaning against the closed door, staring at her intently.

She cocked her head. “Is something wrong, dearest?”

He shook his head. “No, just remembering what you said earlier.” Alexander gave her a slow, almost predatory smile, and asked, “Must we really wait until evening?”

Eliza paused, and then remembered her earlier words. She eyed him and, after setting Angelica’s letter back down, tapped her lips with her finger, giving him a mock-considering look. “Hmm,” she said. “We really should. ‘Tis almost supper time, and we –”

Alexander cut her off as he darted toward her, clearly intent on ambushing her. Eliza, however, knew this game very well, and her reflexes could be just as fast as his. In a flash, she turned on her heel and fled before him, holding her voluminous skirts up as she raced up the stairs. She could hear him pounding up the steps after her, just a few feet behind, and Eliza couldn’t help but laugh as she struggled to increase her pace in spite of her cumbersome attire.

He would catch her, of course. Alexander always caught her, not that she minded.

Most likely, they would have a late supper.

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Note: The portraits Eliza and Alexander are sitting for her are the 1795 portrait for Eliza, and the 1796 portrait of Alexander. Both portraits are credited to James Sharples, but his third wife, Ellen, was very much an artist in her own right, and was known to work right alongside her husband. She painted a portrait of George Washington in the same year as the one of Alexander (the two look very similar to my admittedly untrained eye). I combined their sittings, just so Eliza and Alexander could keep one another company, and have some fun together afterward.

#my fanfiction #hamliza month #hamliza #elizabeth schuyler hamilton #alexander hamilton #ellen sharples #james sharples

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thegoldenreport · 3 years

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MIND BENT

Pretending to be someone else is easy, especially when you’ve been doing it your whole life. Amber-Eye 098 is an top tier imitation artist from the Southern Moon district, who has almost twelve years of experience under her belt in deceiving the general public for fun.

She recently sat down with Golden Report executives to share one such experience - how she managed to infiltrate Jatty’s Candy Cave and impersonate the titular owner, while remaining undetected for three months.

If the name of “Jatty’s Candy Cave” doesn’t ring a bell for you or stir up a primordial urge to vomit, we highly recommend an appointment with your local re-education services to rectify the issue. But in the mean time, we’ll ask you a very simple question, what’s really in their candy?

Or to put it in a different way...

Are you meant to be seeing the buzzing, glitching, oozing shadow that stands in the corner of your room at all times?

…

AE098: Whenever I approach a new character, I choose to look first at their environment. Their people. You can tell a lot about how a person is supposed to act just by looking at their people.

Jatty’s Candy Cave, for example, is housed in a very elaborate sewer system underneath the inner city of West Logos. Jatty doesn’t voluntarily share this information, but somehow makes sure her customers spread it like the plague. She wants to be known far and wide, yet continues to stay hidden. Chosen isolation perhaps as a method of retaining control? A walking contradiction nonetheless.

Sending several camera flies into the underground system confirmed she didn’t work alone. A personal assistant named Rael followed her every beck and call. Visuals showed him to be a funny little man who changed his aesthetic and vocal inflection on the daily. Though tended to favor anything revolving around a space or astronaut theme. It was a good thing I wasn’t stealing his identity.

Jatty, on the other hand, donned an a-line purple skirt, skin tight black turtle neck, dark green combat boots (which just so happened to be the same shade as her nefarious chemical ingredient, zeroX), and a pair of velvet back gloves that extended her fingers into claws.

Unlike Rael, she wore this suit on the regular and showed no signs of switching it up. Which of course made things ridiculously convenient for my costumes associate. She does such a sublime job at matching garments down to the very fabric and shade. I had nothing but confidence in her work.

I remember spending long evenings in her sewing shop, top floor of the special ops building. Trying on the boots and pacing around the floor. Feeling out the walk of, shall we say...a potential murderer? An ill advised chemistry enthusiast? Mad science extraordinaire? I wouldn’t know for sure until I became her.

Everything is a performance. Everyone has a good side. Everyone loves to act for the camera that isn’t even there. You may be wondering why we even go through the trouble of full body espionage if we already send in a hundred camera flies to wire tap the place. To that I say again, everything is a performance. The name of the game is not just tearing down the curtain, but walking backstage. The one place a camera refuses to go.

Further audiovisual input revealed her voice to be low and musky, like she constantly had to be clearing her throat (of her own toxins, perhaps?). We had vocal modifier pills that could mimic this effect. And her walk was always brisk in comparison to the slower moving factory workers. She was a being in motion, a blur that could not stop for more than a few moments at a time. And it wasn’t just an urgency to it, but a nervousness, a real fear. I was excited to discover more.

In the days leading up to my deployment, special operatives performed what we like to call a body snatch. Methodically extracted in such a way that Jatty would not even think to deny leaving with us. We offered an opportunity, intentionally vague, but sweet enough to seal the deal. Or that’s how it started.

In reality, we slipped a sleeping agent into her water glass, while discussing terms in the late hours of the evening. I’m not entirely sure where they took her, but by that point, I was ready.

MEETINGS

This is the word I would use to describe my first month in character. I remember the night I slipped into her office chair, torn faux leather at a cherry red mahogany desk. I remember the stickiness of said office chair. I remember pouring through her journals, her agenda books, her middle school science books. She was a being on the move, constantly meeting with someone. But for what?

One such meeting that stook out to me was with a blue deer handler, and only in my second week of deployment. I had read about this particular blue deer. And the sweet nectarine like flavor of it’s blood. Our conversation was brief, speaking about his latest harvest for the factory. He had come across a surplus, could give more this month than before. I was immediately suspicious. Could this blood contain the hallucinogenic properties I had heard about?

Unfortunately, the answer was no. Can confirm. I tried it myself.

It was however the main component of almost all their candy’s flavor profile. But I couldn’t have cared less about the flavor.

CHEMICALS

My second month felt the most comfortable. No one had yet raised a suspicious eye towards me, save for a few factory workers who I quickly disposed of, as per my training. I had gotten used to the endless walking. Learning to digest informative material while on the go. Like all those mad scribbles in her middle school science textbook. Keeping all conversations either short or long depending on what the situation called for.

I had internalized every type of candy we made in the Cave. The pipes hissed. The air smelled like swamp water. The work room was a mental prison of blood, sweat, and flickering lights. It was here that I learned the ingredients. That I tasted the fruit for the first time. Although I was pretty good at pretending I had done it many times.

She must have built up a tolerance to the drugs they use if she does this on the regular.

The candy I tried was called Vox. A lime green sucker that slowly turns into goo as it melts in your mouth. The color is deceptive. One might expect it to taste like an apple or even a lime. It tasted like salted butter.

This particular candy among many others contained a key ingredient known as zeroX: an opaque, thick, dark green almost black liquid at room temperature. Meant to be highly addictive. Meant to simulate an adrenaline rush. Meant to make the whole body shiver. The eyes dilate. The palms sweat. You feel like an imposter in your own skin. You believe that the voices on the radio are talking directly to you. The paranoia crawls deep into your brain, filling the space behind your eyes.

But you don’t hallucinate.

Can confirm, as I locked myself in the chief office and rode out it’s side effects on the wave of a panic attack.

SECRETS

In the middle of month 3, we received a mysterious package from a tall man in a black trench coat. My assistant Rael brought it to me at my desk, during one of the few times I had felt comfortable sitting down. He seemed to know exactly what it was. And assumed I also knew.

It was a black box, no seams or openings, no buttons or lights or switches. The only thing of note was a silver etching of an eye marked out with an X. It was a symbol that made me shudder. I had seen it all over the textbook. I had seen it plastered on every police car and above every government building. It’s a symbol you should all know. That was the first secret.

Our own leaders were in on it. Turning a blind eye.

That was the beginning of the crack in my facade. That little pause. That miniscule choke before my answer. I noticed a glimmer of something in Rael’s eyes. Confusion. Doubt. Suspicion. Patrons not trained in this artform might miss a cue like that, but I knew I had to begin my extraction.

A week later, I exposed my taste to zeroC. One of two chemicals they used as zeroX was designated for hard candy and zeroC for soft. Only five percent of their production contained soft candy. They don’t talk about zeroC. They mix it under tables or in dark corners of the room where the light doesn’t touch them. Which leads to the second secret.

The black box was zeroC, ground up like powder to be mixed with the syrup.

I had been reading about this less popular ingredient written upside down between the lines of Jatty’s incredibly weathered textbook. Similar to the effects of LSD or DMT, but extremely more potent and infinitely more long lasting. Made with the same blood of that fantastical blue deer.

I was fearing the inevitable. My weekly tasting of the newest batch. I could not fake it. All the workers lined up to stare at me at I sat before their production table and consumed their poison. There are some things you simply cannot fake before that many eyes.

I felt the sweet juice explode in my mouth as the candy’s skin broke between my teeth. I swallowed with all the confidence of returning to my office to take a shot of my emergency counteractive medicine.

I immediately started to cry. A side effect I was not expecting. The emotion swallowed me as they all stared. Some perplexed. Some, dare I say, satisfied? I stumbled through the hallways. Rael chasing after me with a clipboard. I didn’t turn to look at him. Escaped to my office, shut the door, and locked it. Which brings me to the third and final secret.

I had been fooling no one. They knew.

Sitting behind the cherry stained mahogany desk was the real Jatty, holding the shattered remains of the syringe, which contained my antidote. Ice blue eyes magnified by the chemicals coursing through my body. Her glare pierced through my skull. I don’t know if she escaped, if I was set up, or if my extraction was on short notice. My supervisors have neglected to tell me.

But as I was there with knees buckled and tunnel vision, I saw the black shadow of a hand appear on her shoulder and she whispered.

Don’t forget this. You people have no control.

I blacked out after that. My supervisors came to collect me after some time. I felt their arms wrapped around me as they dragged me out, slipping in and out of consciousness. Unable to process the shocking and also very strange things I was hearing.

Something about not keeping the deal. Something about craving orange juice. Another thing about an early return. And another thing about wombats in space.

I was in recovery for three weeks afterwards while our physicians on hand constructed an antidote. The hallucinations have stopped, but the paranoia is still palpable. They offered me a mind wipe pill, asked me if I wanted to forget.

I told them it was impossible.

#the golden report #issue two #unreality #paranoia #drugs #original #storytelling #hallucination #delusion #let me ask you this #is this the kind of exposure you wanted?#jatty's candy cave

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eljackinton · 3 years

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Jack's End of Year Video Game Round-up.

There were many things I couldn't do this year, being in lockdown and all, which in turn meant I played a hell of a lot more video games than I normally do. Here's a quick rundown of what I thought of them.

Hitman 2

IO have sort of perfected the Hitman formula now, so future entries in the series simply have to ask the question of what new directions you can take that formula. In that regard Hitman 2 is a resounding success, setting sneaking and assassination in scenarios around the world from race tracks to holiday resorts, and thus making it the best entry yet. It's possible one day the Hitman conceit will wear thin, but today is not that day.

Thronebreaker

Most people will go into Thronebreaker just wanting a stand-alone version of the Gwent we played during Witcher 3. Thronebreaker is not that. Indeed, even beyond the changes to the mechanics brought in by the online version, Thronebreaker is more of a puzzle game which uses the mechanics of Gwent to concoct unique scenarios. Still, the story is pretty good and it is fun overall, even if it didn't end up scratching the itch left by Gwent.

Black Mesa (Xen)

I returned to Black Mesa after Xen was finally added, eager to see what the team had come up with. My feelings are complicated. The Xen portions of the game are really well designed, great to play and visually beautiful. However the levels hew so far from the Half-Life originals that it kind of stops feeling like Half-Life. I would have like to have seen a more faithful recreation to be honest.

Neon Struct

If you've been wanting a spiritual sequel to Thief that actually used the mechanics of Thief, here you go. Though low budget, and therefore having somewhat uninspiring visuals based on reused assets, it's still a really impressive game from what the team had to work with, and it's short enough that it doesn't outstay it's welcome.

Acid Spy

I'm generally usually okay at stealth games but this one was well beyond my skill level. Got through the tutorial but just got frustrated and quit on the first mission.

Salting the Earth

A wonderfully put together visual novel about the legacy of war and the nature of national identities. Also you date buff orc women. One of the best VNs I've played, but it does have some pretty bleak potential endings that clash somewhat with the rest of the story's tone.

Hedon

Speaking of buff orc women, Hedon is a vivid, perfectly designed retro-shooter that really uses the most of it's engine to bring it's world to life, with shades of Thief and Strife thrown in there. Wears its hornieness on it's sleeve, but if you can roll with that you'll have nothing but a good time.

The Painscreek Killings

I really really loved this immersive narrative game, where you explore an abandoned town to piece together a series of suspicious deaths. My only gripes are the town looks very British despite being set in the US, and the final confrontation adding a chase scene felt a little over dramatic.

Deus Ex Mankind Divided

There are many problems with Mankind Divided. Trying to find another story to do with Adam Jensen. Making the game more of an open world by taking away the usual Deus Ex globe-trotting. The clumsy use of racial metaphor being applied to cyborgs. All in all the game just didn't really come together, which is a shame, because the DLC showed such promise, and hinted at the real Deus Ex game we could have had.

Warhammer Armageddon DLC

I managed to complete the Salamanders DLC and got stuck near the end of the Blood Angels one. All in all it's simply 'more' of what the base game offered, and I'm not sure it really needed it.

Unavowed

Easily one of the most interesting games I played this year. So good It inspired me to write a cheesy fanfic. Sure the mechanics of applying squad mechanics to a point and click are interesting, but it's the world, the art and the characters themselves that really make this game. Highly recommended.

Devil Daggers

The ultimate distillation of classic shooter mechanics. One platform, one weapon, endless enemies. I didn't get all that far into it and I think most people won't, but I'm not going to complain for the price. Overdue a revisit.

Dream Daddy

A fun and fluffy dating game that actually does a good job of putting you into the mindset of a recently bereaved bisexual dad. Come for the hunks, stay for the really affecting story of a strained relationship between father and daughter.

Greedfall

Greedfall falls short of the mark in most aspects, but I have to give it credit for being one of the few games to give us a Bioware companion-centric adventure during this drought of Bioware games. It lacks the zing of something like Dragon Age, and handles the subject of colonialism really problematically, but if you can get past those issues, it's a fun ride, and a world I'd like to revisit.

Endless Legend

I've been wanting a game to scratch the Alpha Centauri itch for decades now and Endless Legend finally did it. There is a risk of being overwhelmed by the sheer number of unique factions to play, and I know I still haven't really scratched the surface even after 4 full campaigns. Is that a criticism? I suppose it depends if you think you can have too much of a good thing.

Space Hulk Deathwing Enhanced Edition

A valiant effort was put in to make a faithful FPS of the Space Hulk experience, but ultimately it falls far too short. The visuals look great and the game-feel of stomping around as a Space Marine really works, but the game lacks charm and character. Up against Vermintide, there's no comparison.

Sunless Sea

This is a game that feels like a bottomless abyss of secrets and mysteries tied up in a very brutal one-life-only system. I really enjoyed my time with Sunless Seas, with the music calling me like a wailing siren every now and again, yet in many ways I did find it a bit too unforgiving, and it could have benefited from having a bit more of a progression between lives than the almost solid reset it leaves you with.

Age of Empires / 2 / 3 Definitive Editions

The first Age of Empires has an important place in history, but is borderline unplayable by today's standards. Almost every aspect was improved in 2 and going back now feels like trading a car for a horse and cart. It's clear that the game was intending your slow crawl out of the stone age through hunting and gathering to be part of the game in its own right, but today it's just tedious, and the rest of the game is just so slow.

There isn't much to say about Age of Empire 2 that I haven't already said, but I will point out that multiplayer AOE2 has kept me sane over the course of the lockdown, and I'm glad the Definitive Edition enhanced that experience.

Age of Empire 3 tried too hard to reinvent the wheel. Instead of taking 2 and building on it, it instead contorted it around a colonisation theme, and it didn't really work. On top of that, the mechanics really felt they were built more for single-player story missions. The maps are too small, and the expansion factions clash with the rules badly. Still, there is fun to be had, and I'll be checking out the campaigns next year.

Hand of Fate 2

This game takes the original Hand of Fate and adds way, way too much into it. While I appreciate the addition of companions, a longer story mode, and optional side missions, the game is far too experimental with it's formula, and leaves me struggling with complex missions around being lost in a desert or evading barbarian hordes, when all I wanted was a straight forward dungeon crawl. I tapped out two thirds of the way through the campaign.

Wild Guns Reloaded

I love the style and aesthetic, but I just don't have the reflexes (or the gamepad) for these fast paced arcade games.

Vermintide 2 Drakenfels

Fatshark gave us an entire Vermintide campaign for free this year, at the cost of having to be subjected to obnoxious cosmetic micro-tranactions. Hard to say it was worth the price, but Fatshark really do continue to improve, bringing new scope and ideas to every new mission. As good as it gets.

Pendula Swing

A fun little game that apes the visuals of a Baldur's Gate style RPG but the mechanics of a point and click adventure game set in a fantasy version of the roaring twenties. A strong introduction to it's setting but definitely needs building on if we're to see a continuation. A lot of the world-building feels too simple and half-baked at times, and the gameplay feels like too much is going on too fast. Still, a charming story though.

The Shiva / The Blackwell Series

At first I had no idea that Unavowed was connected to a host of other Wadget Eye adventure games, so naturally I had to check them out. I'd known about The Shiva and the Blackwell games for years, but never actually thought about picking them up. Playing them all back to back was a great experience, and almost felt like a prototype to the episodic storytelling many games do today.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light/Temple of Osiris

Guardian of Light is a fun, inventive co-op game for killing some time with a friend. The puzzles are often unique and interesting and get you thinking, and the story, while nothing fantastic, is fun enough to keep you interested and have a laugh about with your co-op partner in a B-Movie kind of way. Temple of Osiris adds way too much to the formula, with more characters, mechanics and more open exploration and it absolutely loses the charm of the first game, and even then it's buggy as hell. Skip the second one.

Command and Conquer Remastered

Big chunks of my childhood are taken up with memories of playing Command and Conquer and Red Alert, so it's difficult to really gauge my thoughts on the remaster. On the one hand the art direction looks great and preserves the feel of the original, and the quality of life improvements to the gameplay help make it more playable. The nostalgia hit is also palpable. That being said, the mechanics have not aged all that well, with much of the game being far, far too hard. Probably the best way to experience the genesis of the RTS genre but just know what you're getting in for.

Superhot Mind Control Delete

I wrote a lot at length about how unsure I was about Mind Control Delete at the time, and that's because it does feel a little unsure about itself. Is it a continuation of the first game? A fun bonus mode? A mediation on the nature of addiction? A critique of video game content? A joke on the player? I don't know, but I do know one thing, and that is that Superhot is still as addictive as hell.

Opus Magnum

Zachtronic's steampunk alchemy game requires far too much maths brain than I am capable of , and so I had to rely on guides a lot of the time, but that being said, it's still amazingly put together and vividly presented. Really feels like a game that could be used in schools.

Necromunda Underhive Wars (Story Mode)

I'll be checking out Underhive's Campaign mode in the new year, but for now I just want to talk about the story mode. Much like Mordheim, this is a game that's not going to work for everyone, but I really dug it and like it's unique take on a squad based TBS. However, in many respects the game does feel like a missed opportunity. The storyline is fun enough, and the arsenal robust, but much of the character of the tabletop game, the weird, chaotic, and sometimes comical things that can happen over the course of a battle seems to have been lost in translation, as has the quirky character to a lot of the gangs.

Outer Wilds

There is little I can say about Outer Wilds that hasn't already been said by others, particularly that one should go into the game as blind as possible. A beautiful piece of interactive art, words would fail me in describing it anyway.

Life is Strange 2

Fantastically written, amazingly animated, wonderfully acted, and grim and depressing as all hell. I really love Life is Strange 2, but it it a tough game to bare witness to, especially in 2020. It treats it's subject matter with great maturity, but is so dark it's hard to motivate yourself to continue each gruelling episode. Also, I really think it would have fared better if it had not named itself Life is Strange 2, as not following Max and Chloe turned a lot of people away from a game I think they'd have otherwise enjoyed if they'd named it Wolf Brothers or something.

Half Life 2 / Episodes / Portal / 2/ Mel

After playing Black Mesa earlier this year I decided to revisit the entire Half Life 2 and Portal series. What I concluded is that Half Life 2 is not really all that good. A well told story wrapped around weak combat and average encounter design. This much improves across the episodes of course, but in the end I rather feel Half Life 2 is pretty overrated.

Portal, on the other hand, still feels fresh, though I was surprised I'd forgotten just how much was added in Portal 2, to the point Portal feels more like a game demo. That being said, I think the slowly growing mystery and menace of Portal has aged a lot better than the gagfest the series became with 2. Mel, a stand-alone mod that feels like could be a Portal 3 in it's own right, returns to a more serious tone, and feels all the stronger because of it.

Control

Control has gone from a game I didn't really care about all that much to one of my favourites of the year, if not the decade. Sure there are criticisms I could make, but the world has so much depth, the characters so much potential, and the gameplay such perfectly designed chaos, that it wouldn't really matter. A great time was had.

Icewind Dale 2

Finishing Icewind Dale 2 was the final banishing of the old ghosts of Infinity Engine games I never finished as a kid. Sure there was the nostalgia, but Icewind Dale 2 also feels prefect for the Baldurs Gate era's swan song. Beautiful environments, a well written story and great interface and design, only pulled down due to some overly long busywork at various points and the plot being dragged on a little too long. Still, sad to know I have no further Infinity Engine games left to conquer.

Elsinore

The first half of Elsinore is an absolutely great time-loop mystery, which seems to be an interesting interrogation of Shakespearian tropes and asks the question of how much of a Shakespearian tragedy remains the more you change it. The second half, however, quickly devolves into a cosmic horror story that feels a poor fit for the genre and far too grim for the art style, and that's even before it basically devolves into trying to do the same thing Undertale did but worse. A well put together game whose ending did not sit well with me.

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game

Since Thronebreaker didn't sate my appetite I started playing competitive Gwent. It is a wholly different game than the one that appears in The Wither 3, but is certainly fascinating in it's own right. After 200 hours I am officially addicted, somebody please send help.

And that's that. Not doing a top 5 games of the year because I played too many this year and I've spent too much time thinking about them already. Here's hoping I play less in 2021 and can get back to a more normal life.

#video games

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let-me-love-you-loki · 4 years

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The Christmas that Wasn’t-Ch. 4

A/N: As always, written with the lovely @mox-made-me-do-it

Chapter 4: Adam

As we watched those beautiful women walk away hand in hand smiling and giggling, I looked to my buddy, the wheels turning in my head. I kept my voice down. “Ken, maybe I could sweet talk the desk into putting us close to them. You see if the concierge can set something up for dinner tonight. It will be nice to have friends to hang out with and those two are fun.”

I looked back over my shoulder at the door where they were waving on the way to their bungalow. I grinned, giving them both the head-to-toe once over.

“They’re pretty easy on the eyes, too.” Kenny rolled his eyes, even though I could see him watching them walk away just as I had. He’d had eyes for Leigh even on the plane. Even two rows back, we could hear them whispering and ordering their mimosas—one orange juice, the other mango. “OJ is definitely into you, man. And Mango is like a little hellcat. I'm not sure if they scare me or turn me on.”

It didn’t shame me one bit to admit it, either.

“Probably a little bit of both,” Kenny replied with a chuckle. “Mango gave me some tips earlier while you and OJ went to get drinks…. those two love each other fiercely.” The girls rounded the corner, and he looked kind of sad.

As soon as the girls were out of sight, I clapped him on the shoulder. “Kenny, my friend, we have work to do.” I pushed him toward one end of the desk to take care of dinner.

I stepped up to the desk agent, surprised to find myself nervous. “Hello ma'am, we need to check in. Name is Page. I uh…” I leaned toward the desk clerk and dropped my voice, flashing the most adorable and dashing smile I could muster. “I need your help. The two lovely young ladies that were just here, Ms. Mason and Ms. Keene? They’re in hut fourteen. Is there any way we could be close to them? They’re friends of ours. Please?”

I bit my bottom lip and felt my brows lift just a little. It was an expression that had charmed enough women in the past. Hopefully it would work on her, too.

“That shouldn't be a problem at all, Mr. Page.” She flashed a smile in return and began tapping away on the keyboard. After a moment, she glanced back up, brow furrowed. “Okay. Looks like there is one more overwater bungalow across from them. It's also a honeymoon suite. With an extra-large King bed with an unobstructed mountain view, daybed and hammock outside. Will that be ok? It's at the end of a pier as well.”

“Also a honeymoon suite?” I repeated, fighting the urge to glance toward where the girls had disappeared. What’s the story there, Mango? “That will be fine, I guess. I already planned to sleep on the hammock. Two keys please.”

She smiled and nodded. “Did you want to add the same dining package as the ladies? It will cover all your food and drink. We highly recommend it as it makes your stay a little more streamlined.”

“Sure. Just make sure you got plenty of Diet Coke for this one,” I replied, chuckling and jerking my thumb toward Kenny.

She laughed. Ah, the charm still works, Hangman. “Very good, sir. Luke will take you to your room.”

The desk agent handed me our keys with a smile. A guy stepped up behind me. His name was on a brass plate on his chest. After a quick word, Luke took our luggage to the bungalow and gave me directions. Then I sidled up next to Kenny.

“I assume you offer room service and can set up a private dinner for four?" Kenny asked, his voice a strangely quiet. The agent at the concierge desk nodded with a smile. I glanced at his nametag. Marco.

“Of course, Mr. Omega. We can take care of anything you desire. Would you like dinner close to your bungalows?” The concierge took up a pen and pad, taking detailed notes. Kenny nodded. “May I suggest dinner at eight? Your dining plan will cover all of your food and drink and you will have a beautiful view of the sunset."

“That sounds perfect.” Kenny looked up, his hand running through his curly hair. “Could you also make a huge tray of cut fruit—mostly mango, pineapple, strawberries and oranges—and send it with a bottle of the best champagne you have to the ladies in bungalow fourteen?”

The concierge scribbled. “Absolutely. Would you like some melted chocolate dip in the tray as well?”

My buddy nodded. “Can I borrow a pen and paper to write a note?” I looked over his shoulder as he scrawled a message for them.

OJ & Mango,

We hope the fortune teller didn't warn you against guys bearing fruit. We’ve arranged dinner tonight in the gazebo if you would like to join us at 8. Hope to see you soon.

Curls & the Cowboy

“Look at you, Omega. There’s a romantic beneath all those muscles.” He thumped me hard in the ribs.

“Okay, dinner is all set up for you, Mr. Omega. The fruit and champagne will be sent to hut fourteen. They should receive it in about forty-five minutes. Do you have any special requests for food or drinks for the night? Or would menu service be acceptable?"

“Menu service is fine. You, Marco, are amazing. You’ve just made two people really happy.” Kenny grinned. “Thanks again.”

“I’m sure the ladies will be more than happy, sir.”

The concierge stepped away to get everything organized. “Did you get tonight set up?” I asked as he turned around smiling. “Oh, here’s your key. Number thirteen.”

“Yeah, they’ll deliver the fruit and champagne in about forty-five minutes. And we have dinner reservations tonight at eight in the gazebo closest to the room. They’ll take care of everything.” Kenny looked incredibly proud of himself.

I threw my arm around his neck. “So, you wanna go listen to the girl's reaction? I bet they’re screamers,” I said with a nudge and a wink. "Hopefully, they don't see us.”

Kenny’s eyes went unfocused and I smirked. I knew exactly where his thoughts had gone, and I couldn’t blame him. There was something about those girls… Allie reminded me of a wild mare. All spirit and will and wild. Just thinking about her was gave me a rush. She was beautiful.

And I could only imagine what it might be like to have her alone and in my arms.

“We’re here,” I said, popping my key into the door. We had a few minutes to take a load off before the fun really began.

The bungalow really was something. Two bathrooms, a huge living space, a bar, closet (where Luke had deposited our bags), and a deck that had a day bed, stretch hammock, small infinity pool, swimming dock, lounge chairs, and a covered table with a nice look at the nearby mountain. I whistled through my teeth.

“Jesus, no wonder this thing is so damn expensive. It’s a fucking house.”

Kenny stood at the end of the giant bed looking out a window that was so big and so clear I almost didn’t think there was glass there. “What’s your plan, Hangman?”

I was already elbow deep in the minibar. “Cop a squat on the deck outside. The girls are in the bungalow thataway,” I said, sticking out my right arm. “We can listen in from the railing.”

We ended up in the loungers with our sunglasses on while we waited. Jesus Christ, it was hot as hell. I’d kill to get in the water. But first there were two gorgeous girls who needed wooing.

I heard the words “room service” from the girls’ bungalow and slapped Kenny hard in the chest. “Here we go.”

We went to the railing closest to their bungalow and leaned over as far as we dared. Luckily, they had the door onto their deck open. Leigh’s voice floated out on the breeze.

“Oh, there’s chocolate dip, too! And champagne. Als, come have some.”

“Give me a mango with some chocolate,” Allie’s voice replied. A second later, there was giggling. “C’mere, you’ve got chocolate down your chin.”

I elbowed Kenny, waggling my brows. He punched me in the arm and put his finger to his lips.

Allie continued, her voice getting louder as she got closer to the door. “There’s a note… Oh my God… Leigh, listen to this…” She read the note Kenny had included with our gift. “Curls and the Cowboy. He heard us in the ladies’ room!”

I saw a flash of red in the doorway as Leigh walked by. “OJ and Mango? They were on the plane with us,” she said, breathless. Her next words were a high-pitched squeal. “They noticed us before we noticed them. Kenny noticed me! I could just die!”

Allie laughed at her friend. I glanced over at mine and saw him grinning from ear to ear and turning pink.

“They’ve invited us to dinner… sweet baby Jesus… are we going? Of course, we’re going! We are going, aren’t we?” I could just see it… Allie pacing back and forth, waving the note in the air.

“Yes,” Leigh replied. “But we gotta pre-game. Remember the Zeta Tau rule for dating? Always eat dinner before you go to dinner. So you don’t look like a cow.”

“Leelee, they’ve already seen us destroy loaded cheese fries and a cookie skillet. Not to mention a shit ton of mimosas on the plane,” her friend assured her. “We’re going to be ourselves. Now, let’s take this outside and enjoy it in the pool. I didn’t buy a new swimsuit for nothing.”

Before we could move, they appeared on the deck. Leigh was carrying the tray of fruit, a black robe hanging open over a bright azure two piece and her still-braided hair over her shoulder. The top had a behind the neck strap. The bottoms were high waisted. She looked really good. Kenny made a choking sound, so I assumed he agreed. Allie was a few steps behind, two glasses and the champagne in her hands. She wore the same robe over a two piece of her own. Black with a strappy top that gave a healthy view of cleavage and bottoms like Leigh’s. Her hair was loose around her shoulders. God damn.

Leigh looked up, catching sight of us staring. She elbowed Allie.

“We weren’t eavesdropping,” Kenny stammered just as I said, “It was all his idea.”

I had just enough time to see the girls grinning and blushing before the world went sideways and I landed with a hard splash in the sauna warm ocean.

Tag List

@mox-made-me-do-it @not-that-kinda-gurl08

#the christmas that wasn't #kenny omega #kenny omega fanfiction #adam page fanfiction #adam page #hangman adam page #hangman page #aew #aew fanfiction #paradise #vacation #strangers to friends to lovers #multi-chapter #real person fanfiction #mox-made-me-do-it #co-write

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lionheartslowstart · 4 years

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Getting To Know Me

I had a rough start during quarantine. My mental health was dipping pretty low, I felt isolated and bored, and I was alone with my thoughts so the body dysmorphia was turned up pretty high. I’m not sure what happened, but somehow, I was able to do a complete 180. I’m taking the time to change my lifestyle and find ways to make myself happier, because, what the fuck else am I going to do during quarantine?

First things first, I’ve changed my sleep cycle. Huzzah! I went from falling asleep at 3-5 am and waking up at 1-3 pm, to falling asleep at 10-11:30 pm and waking up at 7-8:30 am. Crazy right? Somewhere in there I hit a couple bumps in the road, so now it’s been more like falling asleep around midnight and waking up between 9 and 10. Still way better than how it was before, but I’m trying to work back down to at least 8 in the morning. This was incredibly challenging for me, and a huge victory. My energy levels have increased, and my mood has generally been better.

I’ve started doing yoga. Yes, you read that correctly. I’ve been doing yoga for almost three weeks now. It’s the first thing I do when I wake up. My best friend turned me on to this amazing app, Daily Yoga. Highly recommend. I do yoga for two days in a row then rest the third day, which is what the app suggests. I’ve been taking courses, beginner courses specifically since I’m new to this whole yoga thing. The sessions started at about 10-15 minutes, and they’ve increased to 20-30 minutes or so. Not very long, but I figure I’m doing it almost every day, which I’m told is better than long, intense workouts less frequently. I’m hoping to increase to 45-60 minute long sessions. Though, once society resumes and I start school, I may no longer be able to do it every day. But that’s why I’m trying to increase now. If I can only do yoga a few times a week instead of every day, I want to be stronger so I can participate in longer routines, and so I can challenge myself with more difficult poses.

In addition to my almost daily yoga, I have a short work out regimen I do every day, including on days I don’t do yoga. I do 100 squats, 50 crunches, 50 lower abdominal crunches, and 60 oblique crunches. Every. Single. Day. Some days I don’t want to, but I force myself, and I’m always glad I do. I also try to go on walks, especially on non-yoga days. There’s a lovely trail right by my apartment, so I try to get in at least 30 minutes. Like I said, I’ve only been doing this stuff for about three weeks, so it’s not like I’ve lost weight or anything. But I do feel stronger, and I think I look a little stronger. Also, my butt is poppin’ thanks to all the squats. I don’t know if it’s because I’m feeling stronger, or because the exercise is helping with my mental health, maybe a bit of both, but my body dysmorphia has seen a drastic decrease. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely still have bad days, but I would say that, overall, I’m obsessing about my body less, and shitting on my body less. There have even been several days where I see myself in the mirror and think, Damn, I look good.

Other than fitness, I have added a couple of other things to my day-to-day. I’ve been making sure to practice my Spanish on Duolingo every day for about ten minutes. Not only that, but I started taking French, too, which I also practice for ten minutes a day. Unlike Spanish, French is very difficult for me. I’ve studied Spanish since middle school, and while there was a large lapse in my speaking of it, it came back to me very quickly. I’ve always loved the language, and grasping it came easy to me. French, not so much. It’s way harder than Spanish. Just, generally. The grammar is less consistent, most of the differences in words are in how things are written out and NOT how they are actually spoken, so as a result, all of the words sound the fucking same, there are 80 fucking vowels to memorize, and, to top it all off, the pronunciation is super difficult already. I hate it. I love it. The challenge is the fun! My mom and I were supposed to go to France this summer (fat chance now, I know), which is why I chose French as my second language to learn. My mom speaks French, but I figure if I’m going to be spending time in a foreign country, I might as well at least try to understand what’s going on around me, as opposed to solely relying on my mother to get us around.

Another thing I’ve been working on is learning guitar. This is something I’d been doing before quarantine began, but being in quarantine has allowed me to practice a lot more. I’ve added guitar practice to my regimen, although there’s been a pause in that, as the handle for the case broke on the way to my mom’s house for a lesson, so the guitar will be remaining there until the new case arrives. But before that (and presumably after we get the new case), I’d been practicing every day. I would practice all the chords I know and play through the two songs I’ve been working on two or three times. At my most recent lesson with my mom, we downloaded a P!nk song online, and she taught me a new chord so I could play it. Now I know 10 chords: G, C, D, D7, Em, E, A, Am, A7sus, and Bb (aka, the hardest chord ever). Obviously, I still have a lot to learn, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made. Guitar is hard, but I’m determined.

So, these 5 things (yoga, daily workout, Spanish, French, and guitar, in that order) are how I begin my day, every day. I usually finish anywhere from 10 to noon, depending on how early I wake up. This frees up the rest of my day for household chores, errands, cooking, calling my friends, video games, overall chillaxin’, and various creative endeavors like crafting or writing. But this has led to two different results, one positive and one negative.

The positive effect is that I have a schedule. My mornings are pretty set in stone, and I try to organize the rest of my day as best I can. I use a “To Do List” every day, and I include my leisurely activities on it as well so I can put everything in some kind of order. I try to accomplish any chores or errands I have in the middle of the day (with the exception of doing the dishes and cleaning the stove, which I do every night after dinner), and spend the rest of the day having fun and relaxing. I end every night by reading in bed for about thirty minutes, which has definitely helped with my sleep cycle. All of this has led me to the conclusion that I can be functional in a regular society.

The negative outcome is that I’m still bored. When I was living in Italy, I was constantly anxious because life is so slow-paced there. Other than my classes, I felt like I had nothing to do, which was a stark difference from life in the Big Apple. It just felt weird to have all this time on my hands, and as a result, I often felt unproductive. I also didn’t take as much advantage of the free time as I should have, but that largely had to do with the state of my mental health at the time, as well as just not being used to having buttloads of leisure time and therefore not knowing what to do with it. With everything going on, life right now feels really similar to how it did in Italy. Like I said, I finish my routine by the end of the morning, and then the rest of my day is just a big blank space that I try to fill with everything and anything else.

But even this has led to another positive realization! When I started this journey three weeks ago, I was afraid that when society reforms, my schedule will fall apart and I’ll become overwhelmed because I’ll suddenly have a lot of other things I need to do (namely school and medical appointments). I definitely still have anxiety about that, especially since school will be incredibly demanding, but that anxiety is beginning to lesson. Why? For the same reason I’m bored all the time! My morning routine only takes a couple hours. Even if I have to switch to the evening because of school, or split it up into half one day and half another, it will still be manageable. I know I will have space for the other demands in my life. As my mom has said to me, it’s a lot easier to go from having one schedule to having a different schedule, than to go from having no schedule at all to having a schedule. I’m sure there will be adjustments, maybe ones I haven’t thought of. But I’ll be able to figure it out, even if there are bumps in the road (which I’m sure there will be), because I’m building a skillset.

So, what does all of this have to do with the title of this entry, “Getting To Know Me?” I was on the phone with my therapist the other day, telling her about all the progress and positive changes I’ve made, and how I’ve been feeling as a result. She responded, “You’re getting to know yourself.” This took me by surprise, which I voiced to her. I told her that I’ve always prided myself on knowing exactly who I am, but I nevertheless thought she was right. That, yes, I do know Who I Am, but, as with everything else, I’m discovering even more. I keep peeling back layer after layer, I keep thinking I’ve reached the core, but then I tap a few times and realize, Oh fuck yeah! There’s even more!

I’ve learned that I like waking up early in the morning. My goal is to be able to wake up at 7 or 7:30 every day. (This doesn’t change the fact that I love nighttime, which will no doubt cause me issues down the line, but I’ll figure it out.) I love learning languages. I want to be able to speak Spanish and French fluently. Maybe I’ll even try learning Italian after! I want to be able to speak as many languages as I can cram into my brain. I’ve learned that I can take this fitness journey, and I’m enjoying it. It’s okay that I’m still a beginner, and that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of being an expert if I keep going. And I can live without sweets. I still treat myself every now and then (and when I do, portion control is still an issue I’m trying to work on), but for the most part I don’t crave chocolate or sugar the way I used to. I’m currently attempting to go two weeks without dairy. Now that has been HARD. The exceptions being anything that comes with my Blue Apron meals, because I’m not going to waste food, and putting a little bit of milk in my coffee, because I can’t not have a little bit of milk in my coffee. But in terms of breakfast, lunch, and snacking, zero dairy. I’ve substituted Pringles and Pop Tarts for fruits, applesauce, and (non-dairy) yogurt. I’m only on day three, but I’m confident I can make it to day fourteen. I’ve learned that I have more energy than I thought I did, which is huge. I’d been so used to feeling sluggish and exhausted, I had no idea I have the capacity to feel this energized! The best part is that I know it’s because I’m doing all of these things that MAKE me feel energized. And they make me feel energized because they make me happy. Even sitting here writing this, I’ve just thought of more things I want to work on while I have this time. And I’m going to! I have the time, all I need to do is remember to add it to my To Do List.

I know it’s a scary time right now. I don’t want to pretend it isn’t, or that a lot of lives haven’t been lost, or that we shouldn’t take it seriously. But taking it seriously involves staying at home as much as possible, and if we’re stuck at home anyway, shouldn’t we make the most of it?

#personal #reflection #self love #healing #fitness

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alexis-dot-com · 4 years

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FFVII Remake Rambling

These are taken from my Twitter so this is an incoherent mess, apologies. There are no spoilers but I understand you may want to go in completely fresh, so I’d maybe avoid reading if you are sensitive to that kinda thing. In short; If you’ve played the original, nothing in this post will be a spoiler.

Fought my second Turk in FFVII Remake. I got my ass handed to me but I finally got through it. It was fun though. The animation in this game is mind-blowing at parts.

For those hoping the Final Fantasy VII Remake would keep some of the more out-there enemy designs; you'll be happy with one of the bosses here. I genuinely said "Oh shit, they did it!" when I saw it.

Also!! They changed the cross-dressing scene in Remake and I MUCH prefer how it panned out. The original had you go on a long fetch-quest for all of the materials but the Remake streamlines it in a WEIRD, cool way.

FFVII Remake is blowing my mind. Midgar was only around 5-6 hours in the original. I've been playing Remake for around 20 and am only at the half-way point. It's so much more fleshed out and bursting with tiny details and charm.

I know we're only four months into the year and there are some incredible games on the horizon, but FFVII Remake will absolutely be my GOTY so long as it doesn't shit-the-bed on the final stretch.

I really don't want to say anything else about Remake but just know that everything I found frustrating in the original have been updated in really interesting ways.

The OST for FFVII Remake is also super impressive. It's dynamic and there are a ton of versions of classic songs. Wall Street has three themes that change as you walk through it. That town is also stunning.

I can't imagine the other parts of this game will be quite as elaborate. If every town is as detailed as Midgar, we'd be looking at one game per town. I'm also really excited to see how they handle the overworld in later parts.

And that’s everything from my Twitter, but I’ll post a little about the combat here, but again, don’t expect this to be well-written.

The combat feels great! You push Square to attack. Cloud can perform certain combos by delaying or holding button presses. You also have a Stance Change with Triangle, allowing you to attack with heftier swings at the cost of a block. Blocking is done with R1 and you can dodge with Circle. X brings up a menu with Abilities, Spells and Items (as well as Limit Breaks and Summons later on). As you deal (and take damage) ATB bars fill up slowly. The character you control’s bars fill up quickly, whereas your inactive members charge more slowly. You can switch characters with the D-Pad. The interesting thing about combat is that each character plays completely differently.

Every character attacks with standard attacks with Square but every one has a unique ability on Triangle. As mentioned before, Cloud has a Stance Change on Triangle, whereas Barret has a more powerful shot called Supercharge. A bar slowly fills up and can be sped up by hitting Triangle. When the bar is full you can use Overcharge to send out a huge blast.

Tifa is really damn fun. She has a level-up system built into her gameplay. As you perform attacks you build up ATB which can be spent to level up her Triangle move. Her default is “Whirling Uppercut”, her second is “Omnistrike” and her third is “Rise and Fall”, each getting more powerful. Once used, you level down. She’s probably my favourite character to play as.

Aerith is probably my least favourite character to play as but she is incredibly powerful. Her standard Square attack is slow stream of magic hits. Triangle can be charged by holding it down to build up magic. You can tap the button to send out a single magic attack, or hold it to unleash a more powerful one. I may be missing something because compared to the other characters she seems very simple.

A quick tip for those about to play, when you meet a character called Chadley, take the time to do as he says as you can unlock some really cool stuff. Also, he’ll offer a new service a little later on. Without spoiling anything, be sure to have at least one more character in your party when you do that thing. I’m sure it’s possible to do solo, but it’s incredibly tough. If you want a challenge, go solo, but I highly recommend having at least one more member with you.

And that’s it! Hope you enjoy the game as much as I am! If you’ve got any questions, feel free to shoot me a message

#Final Fantasy VII #Final Fantasy VII Remake #FFVII #FFVIIR #Final Fantasy #Square Enix

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acepalindrome · 5 years

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If anybody is in need of a really good free to play mobile game and enjoys classic JRPGS (especially if you liked Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross,) I highly recommend you check out Another Eden. I haven’t seen many people talking about it and it’s such a shame because it’s really surprisingly good and has super lovely music! It’s very much a spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, so it ends up being a story about time travel and jumping back and forth between eras to try to prevent a terrible calamity in the future, with some fun Easter eggs too (I’m so endlessly delighted by the sword-wielding talking frog named Cyrus.)

There are tons of side quests to keep you busy, plus collecting lots of materials to craft weapons and armor, and harder versions of the various dungeons that you can unlock later for exp grinding and gathering rare materials to make better gear and upgrade characters. The game does have IAP to get more characters for your party, but the currency for that (Chronos stones) can be gathered in game and unless you’re super impatient or really hate grinding, you shouldn’t have any issue getting enough to build a good party (I would advise you to save the stones so you can draw ten at a time, it guarantees at least character will be 4 stars or higher. Also you get 20 free stones for logging in each day, and you can get another 10 daily by going into the menu to buy stones and tapping the banner at the top for free!)

And did I mention the music? In the spirit of Chrono Trigger/Cross, the music is really lovely, and the random battle music changes depending on the time period you’re in which is a nice touch! The graphics are nice and smooth as well, the backgrounds are very pretty and I enjoy a lot of the character and monster designs. The characters themselves are solid and likable enough, if nothing terribly new, and I enjoy traveling through time so I can fight dinosaurs AND robots!

Anyway, it’s a surprisingly good game, it’s free, and it takes me back to some of the most beloved JRPGs of my childhood. Give it a try!

#another eden #chrono trigger is very dear to my heart #so is chrono cross but CHRONO TRIGGER!!!!

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timetravelingheart · 6 years

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My Side of the Fence Part Seventeen: A.M. Imagine

For those concerned about a heartbreaking moment, it does not appear in this chapter (this one actually turned out quite fluffy!) but it is on its way. This chapter kind of sets up that moment. That’s as spoilery as I’ll get since this is all still a work in progress and ever-changing! Thank you for following along. I love when you send in ideas that fit these characters SO well; it’s like you’re in my head!

ALSO - to the anon who sent in the Vance Joy “I’m With You” song association, thank you! I thought this would be an appropriate time, for those who are unaware, to mention that this story is semi-based off of “My Side of the Fence” by Dan+Shay whose latest album is on repeat for me. Highly recommend listening to it! :)

One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen

Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen

For the first time in a while, Savannah was uncomfortable in Auston’s presence. She could tell he was deep in thought, gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. While she wanted the conversation they needed to have to be over with, she knew that it wouldn’t be wise with him in this current state.

“So how come you didn’t drink tonight?” Savannah asked, trying to break the tension.

“When you said you were coming and that you might drink, I wanted you to be able to have fun without worrying about getting home,” he kept his eyes on the road ahead of them, rain now coming down and causing him to be a little more cautious.

“You didn’t have to do that. We could’ve just taken an uber home.”

“I know. But it’s not a big deal. I get more nights out than you do anyway. There’s always an opportunity to drink,” he shrugged nonchalantly, still not sparing her a glance.

“Well, thank you,” she replied awkwardly. Auston finally turned to look at her, suddenly seemingly aware of the effect his mood was having on her. He smiled tightly, reaching over to squeeze her thigh in acknowledgement.

“I’m sorry about Melanie,” Auston apologized, wanting to clear the air before they reached her apartment. He had assumed he was going up with her, but after the night’s events, he wasn’t sure.

“Oh, don’t be. She was really nice,” Savannah replied.

“Yeah, she is,” he agreed, not knowing what else to do. He wanted to know what was said, and based on how Savannah was acting, he knew she knew something, he just didn’t know what version of the story she got. He wanted her to ask him for his side, much like she did the night they played 21 questions.

They pulled into the complex parking garage and Auston turned off the car, but neither made any move to get out of the car. Auston waited, tapping his wrist on the steering wheel. Savannah unbuckled her seatbelt and turned in her seat to face him.

"Are you still okay with our arrangement?” Savannah all but whispered, her voice shaking, giving way to her uncertainty. Auston whipped his head around the face her. Fuck.

"What do you mean?” Auston willed himself not to overreact.

Savannah sighed. Specificity was probably necessary here, but she hated confrontation. “I mean, are you okay with us just being casual?”

Auston sighed this time, running his hand through his hair in frustration. He should have known. "Sav, what did Melanie say to you?”

“I promise I didn’t pry, she just…word-vomited all over me,” Savannah explained, fidgeting with her hands in her lap. “She said that you ended things with her because you realized you wanted to be in a relationship. I’m not asking you explain your past, but I just need to know if what we’re doing is still okay with you.”

"That’s partly true,” Auston admitted, glad to have an opportunity to explain himself. “I told her that I was done with hooking up with random girls and that if I were to be in a relationship, I didn’t see that happening with her and I still don’t.”

"Harsh,” Savannah visibly cringed.

"I know, and I feel badly about that, but I thought it was best to be direct,” he paused, not sure how his next statement would be taken. He watched as she fidgeted with her hands, unbuckled his seatbelt, and reached out to grab them in his. He was relieved when she visibly relaxed at his touch. “I didn’t tell her I was actively seeking a relationship or that I needed to be in one, Sav. You’re not keeping me from anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

"So you are still happy with keeping things casual?”

“Sav, I’m happy with you,” Auston squeezed her hands, bringing them to his lips.

Savannah fought the urge to give in to his sweet gestures. She needed to know the complete truth before she felt comfortable moving forward. “That’s not answering my question. You know how I feel about a relationship right now and the last thing I want to do is lead you on or feel like you are waiting for me. You deserve more than what I could give you in a relationship right now.”

Auston bit his cheek to keep himself from audibly sighing. He adored Savannah, but sometimes she just worried too much. “You need to stop assuming you know what I think I deserve and what I would want in a relationship.”

Surprised by what was easily the harshest tone Auston had ever used with her, Savannah cringed, worried she was making this more difficult than it needed to be. “I’m sorry, you’re right,” she relented. “But I just need to know because if this is more than casual to you, I think it should end for both of our sakes.”

Red flags rose in Auston’s mind. She was willing to end this if she thought he wanted to be in a relationship with her, or in general. He needed to salvage this before it was too late. "I am okay with it being just casual, Sav. It’s not more than that,” he lied.

"You’re sure?” she looked doubtful and hopeful simultaneously and Auston hated himself.

"Sav, we have a good thing going right now, don’t we? I mean, you’re having fun and you’re happy, right?”

"I am,” she answered honestly. And she really was, other than when she spent way too much time overthinking moments with Auston, almost searching for reasons to doubt him.

Auston reached his hand out to cup her cheek, relishing in Savannah sinking into his touch. “Then please stop stressing and letting outside factors influence this. It is what it is right now and as long as we’re both okay with that, I don’t see why it would need to end. Okay?”

Savannah nodded, leaning forward to place a kiss on his cheek. She had to trust that Auston wouldn’t lie to her. She got the answer she wanted, so they could continue. She pushed aside the nagging feeling that something was amiss, but she wanted so badly to continue, to stay in his presence. She didn’t even remotely acknowledge what wanting to stay in his presence meant. If he could keep it casual, so could she. “Okay. Let’s go upstairs.”

After having a long hot, and productive, shower together, Savannah and Auston were tangled up in her sheets, listening to the rain and continuing their game of 21 questions. It was nearing 1am, but neither felt tired. They lay naked, Savannah leaning on her crossed arms on Auston’s strong chest as he lay propped up against her pillows.

“You can’t say that!” Savannah exclaimed, raising her head to admonish him.

“Why not?” he retorted, the gleam evident in his eye. He was relieved that nothing felt different from the moment they left the car and entered her apartment. It was as if the events from the night hadn’t happened and things were back to what was becoming their normal.

“Because, you can’t possibly believe that. There’s no way I’m friends with someone who believes that. I can’t accept it.”

“Well, you better believe it, baby,” Auston laughed.

“Nope, no way. Hedwig’s death was not more emotional than Dobby’s. It just wasn’t,” Savannah shook her head defiantly. Who was this person she was laying here with who had these terrible Harry Potter takes?

“You asked my opinion! That’s my opinion!”

“Your opinion is wrong,” she plopped her head back down on her arms aggressively, earning a grunt from Auston, who barked out a laugh.

“All I’m saying is that Hedwig was there from the very beginning. She was a loss of his innocence. She symbolized that end,” he reached one hand out to push her sexed-up hair behind her ears. After the rough night they had, he was so content to be in this moment with her. His favourite version of Savannah was the one he got to be with behind closed doors, in their safe spaces. She was light; at peace with their privacy and joyful in his company. He felt like he was simultaneously floating in the clouds and being grounded to something good; something real. He had a feeling this is what love felt like.

“I agree with that part. I just don’t agree that it was a more emotional moment.”

“Well, we’ll just have to agree to disagree, won’t we?” he teased, tapping her twice on the nose and laughing as she stuck her tongue out to lick his palm.

“Whatever. It’s your turn.”

Auston hummed thoughtfully. He ran one hand leisurely up and down her side, sending shivers up her spine. “What is one of your favourite childhood memories?”

Savannah didn’t have to think twice before answering. “As you know, my dad is one of the biggest hockey fans out there,” she paused to roll her eyes as Auston mouthed a faux cheer of ‘Go Leafs Go!’. “And when none of my siblings took a serious interest in playing the sport, I was kind of his last hope. I don’t know if I told you, but he used to coach some of the kids’ leagues at our local rink. He coached my brothers in baseball, too actually. Anyway, the problem was, when I strapped on those black hockey skates, I would see the girls at the rink in these clean white ones doing spins and jumps and just looking like angels on ice and suddenly that’s all I wanted. My parents have actual video of me playing away from the puck and just trying to do pirouettes and mimic the moves I saw these other kids do, but in my hockey skates.” Savannah laughed at the memory.

“I need to see those videos someday,” Auston laughed picturing an even tinier Savannah doing spins in hockey skates. “I didn’t know you were on a hockey team though.”

“For an inconsequential period of time,” Savannah laughed. “It took my mom to convince my dad to let me switch from hockey lessons to figure skating. But she did, and even though he was disappointed, he was there for every single practice of mine and even helped me pick out some of my leos. One day, I skated off the ice after practice just fuming and in tears and when he asked why, I told him that some of the kids I used to play hockey with were teasing me for moving to the ‘weaker’ sport instead saying only ‘babies’ figure skated.”

Auston grimaced. As a hockey playing kid, he was definitely on the side of the teasers once in a while when they had to share the ice with the figure skaters. He now felt like sending personal apologies to all of the kids he mocked from ages 8-12.

“So my dad, all 6′2, 200 some-odd pound of him, got himself a customized pair of figure skates, made in white no less even though men’s figure skates are usually black, and skated out on to the ice with me at the next practice. And I never heard another comment again. These kids revered my dad. He was Coach. And now he was out there in figure skates, nearly dying and killing his knees trying to spin. It was just...everything,” Savannah smiled, feeling her heart squeeze at the thought of her big teddy bear of a dad.

"That’s amazing,” Auston laughed. “So are you a daddy’s girl?”

"It depends on the day. I think because I moved away from home at such a young age, my parents have done their best to spend time with me together and individually so I’ve gotten a bit of both,” Savannah reflected on her relationships with her parents. “My mom is all-knowing though. My dad is pretty unobservant for the most part, so most of our more meaningful talks come from me approaching him or outright expressing an emotion. My mom reads between the lines. She reads body language. She listens for the unsaid. I think it comes from being a teacher for students with special needs who can’t always communicate quickly or in what we consider to be the easiest way so she has to really pay attention.”

"She sounds a little like my mom.”

“Oh, after meeting your mom one time I could tell she was the kind of woman who could draw blood from a stone. She had my whole life story in under ten minutes of knowing her!”

Auston’s heart soared at how affectionately Savannah spoke of his mom after meeting her only one time. “Yeah, she has the affect.”

"What about you? Are you closer to one parent?”

"For a long time, it was my dad. He was my best friend. And still is,” Auston ran a hand through his hair, thinking back on the last few years with his parents. “But when I lived in Switzerland, my mom moved in with me for the year and we really bonded. I think we missed a lot of that because of how often I was away for hockey as a kid. She can still make me feel like a kid too sometimes, especially when I’m home visiting. But it’s just how she shows love.”

“You have great parents, Auston.”

“It sounds like we both do,” he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, watching as she tried to hide what appeared to be a rather large yawn. He glanced at the clock on her bedside table, seeing that it was nearly 3am. They had nowhere to be in the morning, and he had no intention of leaving her apartment the next day until she all but kicked him out, of course before what he assumed, and hoped, would be a very late breakfast. “All right you,” he pecked her lips, dragging her up his body. “Time for bed.”

“Mm,” she moaned, leaning in to kiss him deeply and then snuggling herself into his side, head tucked under his chin. She felt warm and safe and happy. This still worked for them, and she was so relieved. She could focus on the Olympics without the added pressure of balancing a relationship, and still have this safe space with Auston. As long as he was happy with what she could give, she was happy to stay right here for as long as possible. “Good night, Auston.”

“Good night, Sav.”

#auston matthews #auston matthews imagine #auston matthews fanfiction #auston matthews writing #nhl fanfiction #nhl imagines #nhl writing #hockey fan fiction #hockey imagines #hockey writing

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croatian-nt · 5 years

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Mario’s snippet

I recommend reading through my high school AU masterlist(in the notes since tumblr fucked uf links) first for this to make sense

Word Count: 2293

Warnings: again, some violence, fighting(do @domo-no-domo-yes and I have a thing for injuring main characters and them having anger issues? Perhaps.

Notes: So this is Mario’s introduction post. Some things you should know about him:

he’s the star striker of the local football club

has an unexpected interest in fashion

Is 18 and in fourth year

Seems very intimidating to most people a lot admire him but keep him at arm’s length

his best friends are Dejan, Mo and Leona(important to note mo and Leona are gender swapped football players. You’ll learn more about them later ;) )

Also big shoutout for @wordpuddle as always for editing our works

That’s about it. Enjoy :)

For Mario, it was bad enough that he had to be stuck in detention instead of going out or playing football. This wasn’t his first time, and he knew that he technically broke school rules, but the fact that he got detention and Santini got away scot-free for doing something at least equally bad just pissed him off. However, hearing the news that another student was going to join him in detention only made his mood worse.

He knew that he was supposed to be thankful. Less work and an extra pair of hands did sound like more than a good deal. However, he did not exactly like the idea of someone bothering him as he worked. Also, even if he was supposed to have someone who was going to be serving detention alongside him, they seemed to be running late, and Mario didn't plan on getting in more trouble because he waited for that idiot.

Mumbling “no good” under his breath, he wiped some sweat off his brow, soaked his rag and squeezed out the excess water. Just as he was about to start cleaning the first table, the canteen doors swung open with a loud bang.

Mario quickly turned around, nearly jumping as he was startled by the sudden loud noise. His eyes fell on a certain smirking, blond punk, who looked him up and down as if they never met each other before… even though both of them knew otherwise.

“Not you again.” Mario groaned, fighting the urge to rub his forehead. His detention companion was none other than Domagoj Vida - inarguably the most notorious troublemaker in the entire school, and all too proud of that fact.

Vida's shit-eating smirk only grew at that as he approached Mario with intent, like a panther stalking its prey. Still, Mario refused to budge. Instead, he put down his rag and returned the smirk with a grim, hard expression of his own. He wasn't about to be intimidated that easily by a guy who wore black eyeliner and had a stupid lip piercing.

“Aww...did you miss me, Mr. No Good?” Vida's eyes playfully flashed. Mario rolled his eyes and curled his lip with disapproval. If the idiot thought he could get under his skin quickly, he was in for a rude awakening.

“No, I didn't miss someone who almost ran me over with his bike because he doesn’t know how to fucking drive.” Mario gritted his teeth together, stopping the rest of the insult from pouring out. If he went on, he wouldn’t be able to stop, and he knew that things would inevitably end up as more than a fight with just words. He also knew that while Vida was shorter than he was, he wasn’t a pushover.

He turned around to face the table again, huffing. He couldn’t believe that he was going to be spending detention with Vida for the next month. From the way the punk was dressed, it seemed as if he didn’t even care that he was supposed to be at detention and was going to be cleaning for a couple of hours. In contrast to Mario’s own simple navy tank top and faded jeans, Vida wore his usual all-black - ripped skinny jeans, combat boots, fingerless gloves, at least two necklaces, and a black leather jacket with spikes adorning its collar and shoulders.

“Just leave your stuff and start cleaning...and for fuck’s sake, wear something more practical next time. This is detention, we’re supposed to be working, not fooling around. This is not the time for your stupid pranks unless you want even more detention time.”

He could hear Vida laugh, and he looked back. The blond had taken off his jacket, his tattooed arms in full view now that he was just in his black shirt, and was now pulling his long hair back into a high ponytail. He then gathered the rest of the things he had taken off and set them aside. Mario tried to fight the urge to roll his eyes or say something sarcastic as he tore his eyes away and tried to focus on the task at hand.

“What did you do to end up here? You don't seem like the sort to enjoy having a bit of fun anyway.” Mario didn't have to turn around to know that the fucker probably still had that stupid smirk plastered on his face as he tried to get a rise out of him.

“Who the hell said that it was a stupid prank that landed me here? It’s none of your business.” Mario’s patience was wearing thin, though he didn’t exactly have much of it, to begin with. Vida’s remark, however, made him recall the events of two days ago that led to him getting himself into trouble.

========

“Santini, enough!” Mario roared as Ivan Santini’s fist connected with the jaw of Alen, one of the new recruits. A sickening crack followed, and Mario swiftly grabbed his fellow striker’s wrist, gripping it tightly.

“WHAT THE FUCK?! What does this stupid hazing achieve? What we need are uninjured players to win our games! Are you trying to fucking sabotage us?!” His eyes blazed with anger and hearing Alen whimper in pain, as well as seeing all the other new team members’ bruises only made him more furious. Santini, however, only returned Mario’s glare with a cool expression of his own.

“How many times have I told you that these harmless little exercises are meant to build character? Football is a man’s sport, Mandžukić, and wimpy little boys don’t belong on this team. Do you understand?” Santini’s smile was cold and cruel as he carelessly regarded the players in the locker room. “Or are you too soft?”

Santini laughed, but Mario cut it short by throwing a hard punch at his face, followed by another. Santini’s rough hands grabbed Mario by the neck, but Mario ducked, before elbowing Santini in the gut. He stumbled back, and Mario kicked him down. Before Mario could make another move, however, another voice cut them off.

“MANDŽUKIĆ! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!” Mario, realizing that they were in the school’s locker room rather than the club locker room, looked towards the doorway and saw Coach Lopetegui. The man’s expression was stormy and his arms were folded. Two bad signs. Rather than defend himself, Mario remained silent, his face hard. Frankly, Santini deserved it.

“To the headmaster’s office, Mandžukić! This is not proper behaviour befitting a star striker!” Coach Lopetegui ordered, clearly meaning business.

========

Mario noticed Vida glancing pointedly at his bandaged knuckles, and it almost looked like something akin to understanding flashed through his eyes. It was a brief moment, however, as Vida’s usual smirk crept back on his face a few seconds later.

“No stupid prank huh? I knew you weren't the fun type. Shame. Doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t like you though.” Vida remarked, flashing a brief, impish grin before proceeding to grab one of the rags hanging above the sink.

“Just because you probably got detention for a stupid prank yourself, doesn’t mean I did. Let me guess, were you the one responsible for the beers?” Mario had heard about Mr. Čačić’s outburst after finding beer cans glued to the walls of his office. It was difficult not to, actually, considering that Mario was in the chemistry laboratory, which was right next to Mr. Čačić’s office when the old man discovered that somebody had vandalised his space. The math teacher was known for his short temper after all.

“Hmm...what makes you think that, Mr. No Good?” Vida chuckled as he held his rag under the running tap until it was soaked, then proceeded to choose a table to begin working on.

Mario expected Vida to keep talking and that he will have to try and mute him out during the whole detention but to his surprise, Vida pulled out headphones, quickly selected a song from his playlist and continued cleaning. Mario heard the faint yet distinctive beat of aggressive, hard rock music.

He wondered exactly how high had Vida set the volume. Even without wearing headphones, Mario could already hear the loud, heavy music. He also wondered exactly how loud it was for someone listening through headphones. He also wondered if Vida could even hear his own thoughts with such loud music. Assuming that of course, Vida was capable of thinking for extended periods of time, which he highly doubted.

As the time ticked, Mario couldn’t help but harbour suspicion towards the blond punk, and he regularly looked over his shoulder to see what Vida was up to. He didn’t want to admit it, but part of him felt as if he was going to spring a trap on him anytime soon. Yet, for some reason, nothing happened. Aside from offering up his headphones a couple of times, and as well as the occasional grin, there was absolutely no indication that Vida was about to do anything that Mario was dreading.

By the end of their detention, Mario found himself seriously considering his impression of Domagoj Vida to be partly wrong. He seemed rather different from his usual, annoying prankster self, at least while serving detention. Of course, part of him was still reluctant to accept this. That part of him was giving him that nagging feeling that, if what he knew and heard about Vida was true, Vida wasn’t going to let him get away that easily.

“I guess I should be going now. See you around on Monday, Mr. No Good?” Vida had shrugged his leather jacket back on and was now buckling his choker around his neck. Mario noticed that the blond was smiling warmly, but he could’ve sworn that he noticed a hint of mischief in his smile. It was fleeting, but Mario was certain that he saw something. His suspicions only heightened when Vida swiftly took his leave. Wondering if something had happened when his back was turned, he reached for his bag and unzipped it. He dug around for his wallet, his keys and his phone, and when he found them, he was secretly relieved to see all of them there, and that none of them had been stolen. He still checked the rest of his bag’s contents, however, not fully trusting the punk. Nothing had been touched either.

Grumbling to himself, he slung the strap of his bag over his shoulder, hung his rag near the sink and left the canteen. When he reached the parking lot, the first thing he noticed was that Vida’s motorcycle was still in its usual spot. He furrowed a brow, remembering all too well that Vida had left earlier than him.

Mario then went over to his own car, thinking that perhaps, Vida was probably just squatting and drinking a beer somewhere in the parking lot. What he didn't expect to see was a familiar black-clad blond leaning over his car and attempting to place a cracked-glass prank sticker on his windshield.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He hissed, letting annoyance slip into his voice. This caught Vida by surprise and nearly made him fall into the car, as it didn’t have its roof put on. Mario couldn’t help but be the tiniest bit amused at the sight, as well as a bit proud of himself for catching Vida in the act. He bit back his laughter, however.

Vida caught his balance and momentarily leaned against the red Bentley to steady himself. He then quickly turned around, the sticker still in his hands. There was a look of surprise on his face as if he did not expect Mario to show up that quickly.

“...Decorating?” Vida’s smirk was its usual cocky self, but Mario knew better. He saw a hint of sheepishness in Vida’s expression, one that someone who had been caught in the act would have.

“Nice try. Give me that.“ Mario quickly snatched the sticker from Vida's hands, tucking it into one of the pockets of his bag. He gave Vida a dark, warning look. “Now get lost before I decide to run you over like you almost did to me.”

Vida rolled his eyes but Mario could see his pierced lip twitching in amusement and the corners of his mouth raising. As if his look had not fazed him the least bit. In fact, Vida was looking into his eyes a bit too intently. As if he was intrigued, rather than intimidated. It was something that Mario wasn’t exactly used to. Most people looked at him with equal parts respect and intimidation, but here was someone who didn’t. Someone who wasn’t intimidated by him, for some reason.

“Just wanted to make your life a bit more fun, Mr. No Good. But I guess you’re still too boring...or at least, making a valiant effort to resist my efforts,” Vida laughed as he threw a mock salute in his direction before they parted ways.

Mario shook his head before getting into the car. That guy really was as much trouble as he originally assumed. And yet, why did Mario take his words as a challenge? He knew that he could’ve easily just ignored them and act maturely, yet here he was, thinking about his next move in the strange but oddly exciting game that Vida had unwittingly started. The thought of wiping the smirk off Vida’s face rather appealed to him.

As he drove home, he momentarily looked at the cracked glass sticker he had swiped, and an idea wormed its way into his mind. He was going to have to head to school early on Monday. If Vida dared mess around with him, he wasn’t going to make things easy, or go down without a fight.

The game was on.

Taglist:

@lovren-la-vida-luka

@ohmylovren

@synne-sol

@loodalo

@croatianstan

@living-lovren

@zadarskabagudina

@marice-marice

@pinessa

@igecko1320

@sejan-is-love

@childsmokers

#croatia nt #mario mandzukuic #domagoj vida #high school au

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retphienix · 5 years

Text

(Random) Game Recommendations

It’s a new year (or a few days prior as I type this and prepare it for new years) and completely unprompted here’s some game recommendations because I want to mention some games.

No rules really, just some random games I’ve either played for the blog or outside of the blog- heck- it’s not even all games I played this year and it’s definitely not games exclusively released this year.

The last one, for reference, was a little over a year ago on 7/29/2017 with this aiming for new years 2018 into 2019. Also I would change a few things about that due to Bamco not knowing how to stop themselves from ruining a game for microtransaction greedy money grabbing, but I digress.

Hamtaro Ham-Ham’s Unite! for the game boy color

This one is a game from my childhood that I’m so glad I completed through this blog.

If I were to sum it up I’d say it’s a game about learning hamster words and solving simple puzzles (usually making use of these words to interact with characters / the environment) to gather up Hamtaro’s friends for a meeting.

It’s too cute for its own good, it made me shout “THIS IS ON A GAME BOY COLOR” many many times because it looks too good in my opinion and is overflowing with adorable animations, and it’s just makes you feel good.

Ham-Ham’s Unite is a really relaxing and uplifting game, and it certainly left me in a better mood throughout my entire playthrough.

I hear Ham-Ham Heartbreak is even better, so I’ll be keeping that in mind the next time I want to revisit Hamtaro and friends.

Clickpocalypse 2 for android/iOS and apparently even in your browser (news to me)

Yes yes, an idle game. And one I haven’t played in months at that- but then again I haven’t played Hamtaro in a long time as well so I don’t see that as discrediting what I saw in it.

I, usually at least, just don’t enjoy phone games. Not for the bull crap “It’s not real games!” rhetoric, but because as time as gone on phone games have gone further and further from what makes a game good and instead have mostly become manipulative Skinner boxes. Even if they don’t SUCCESSFULLY drain your wallet, heck, even if they don’t have direct monetization and only use ads- they always seem to fail to balance the ‘game’ and the ‘greed’ and you’re left with no game.

You turn it on, play it for a little while, and then you realize you’re almost exclusively being used and you’re not actually getting anything out of the game.

This isn’t an incredible example of directly countering that mentality- it’s just one of a few games I’ve found in the previous years that successfully balance the other way for me at least. I’ll mention another arguably more successful- but inarguably more messy example for the next game.

The reason I mention Clickpocalypse 2 is because, well, it’s a good idle game that hit a very specific aesthetic and enjoyment for me. This is a VERY idle game, you did VERY little- you can’t even “click” to increase speed as the name might suggest. Your input is exclusively “Pick the party. Choose when to use potions or spell scrolls. Equip equipment (it’s simpler than that sounds, it auto lists the best found loot and you tap to equip). Tap to level up when you get the xp etc.

It’s really really hands off- but it felt great to me.

The aesthetic it lands on is classic RPG goodness and the party does as you’d expect, clearing out dungeons and grinding while you check in to equip and level them choosing what skills they learn.

It’s a game I enjoyed because it’s, well, a good idle game. It doesn’t bury you in “You should be tapping this non stop or else” gameplay. It carries enough enjoyable mental tricks like stronger gear and leveling up to make it fun, and the monetization is, well, the most optional thing I’ve seen in a long while.

I’ve played so many games that rely on ads and they all feel highly necessary. This has a similar idea- there are optional ads for buffs like double achievement points (used for permanent buffs across multiple adventures) or tempoary allies- and these are helpful as heck, but man.

Because this is SUCH an idle game, they honestly feel like the most optional ads around. I watched plenty because I enjoyed the game and less because I felt like I needed them in any way.

But there’s not much to say that would convince someone this is a great game. I just think it’s a good idle game for messing around on your phone. It gave me that feeling of watching a friend grind through an old FF game- a very specific feeling, but that’s what I got out of it. A chill idle with a nostalgic feel and the balance of “game” vs “phone bull crap” was tilted heavily towards the game side for me.

Buriedbornes for android

Lord that image is larger than I planned for, my mistake.

Buriedbornes was nothing but a surprise to me. I’ve played a few games I enjoyed on the phone in recent times. Idle Apocalypse and Clickpocalpyse 2 being high up there (not sure how Idle is now, but pre-beta was alright). Even fell into Dokkan for a little while. But this?

I downloaded this because I thought “Oh my god it’s trying to pretend it’s dark souls or bloodborne, what on earth is this.”

And you know what it is?

A REALLY good roguelike with traditional turn based combat!

Like a REALLY good one. It has that feature I adore in good roguelikes where things can seem impossibly difficult, but then you get a couple good drops, you tweak your character to emphasize a certain playstyle, and BOOM! You just beat the entire game in one run deep into the endless mode on a character that seems unkillable due to strategies you built from the drops you found.

And it has the foresight to tell you at a certain point “Score stops at this point so you’re just playing to collect things in your beastiary of items so you might as well stop” along with ways to end a run, though my preferred way to end a god run is to keep making deals with various demons until I end up with a curse that is guaranteed to kill me on the next boss that way I feel like I gambled to death.

Look, I know the last game might have seemed a little floaty on merits, but try this game.

It’s simply fantastic. Dive in, die, dive in, die, and then stumble onto a perma stun build or an infinite shield build or a barrier regen build- you can stumble unto so many unique ways to play and I honestly had a lot of fun breaking and being broken by this title.

Wasteland 2 for PS4/Xbone/PC/Switch

Let’s get away from phone games and handhelds in general.

Wasteland 2 is a game I was looking forward to ages before release. I remember stumbling across news of it being kickstarted or something similar- and bookmarking it for future reference and promptly forgot until I saw it in stores and started berating myself for not getting it at release.

Now it took me a long while to get around to Wasteland 2; Long enough to hear from some that it wasn’t as good as they wanted and others that it was too complicated. Long enough to build doubts.

But my god.

This is a game that I highly recommend you come in with a quick start guide of some sort. Seriously. No it’s not impossible or anything- and I’m sure fans of the original will scoff at me for saying as much- but no, really. It’s “Fallout before Fallout” except now it’s well after Fallout (obviously) releasing in 2014, and it takes that oldschool complexity seriously.

Mostly.

Basically, just read up a quickstart guide, I found a wonderful one for my purposes (pretty sure that’s the exact one I used) because character creation at the start pretty much dictates what your first impressions are gonna be- ranging from “Oh, okay, this is pretty neat, I’m hyped to dive into this” to “OH MY GOD THIS IS TERRIBLE AND EVERYONE SUCKS AT EVERYTHING AND I’M NOT A FAN”.

If your reaction is the latter, I recommend restarting and fiddling with your team composition. You can play however you like- but this is a game that kind of expects your first run to be “mostly diverse” before you attempt a less specialized team in the future.

Enough of that. Wasteland 2 is a newschool fallout game. That’s what you need to know. It’s got a ton of post apocalyptic fun, plenty of moral moments ranging in quality from “Oh heck that’s good” to “.... not good enough” but there’s a lot more good than bad.

The first half of the game is simply better put together than the second half, to be honest, due to budget and deadlines or some other dev level nonsense, but that doesn’t make the rest of the game throwaway- it just sorta simplifies towards the end and then culminates in a massive boss encounter, which isn’t terrible by any means.

Combat’s great if you enjoy oldschool fallout and want some nice squad x-com style battles. Death is scary (very scary). And, heck I don’t know, it’s just a fantastic fallout game. Like a REALLY fantastic fallout game.

I made characters I grew attached to and it felt so natural to do as much because (thanks to the quickstart guide) my team was VERY diverse so I began to associate each of them with their skills and the playstyles those skills dictated.

Seriously, with a short read on what skills do what this is a fantastic game that I’m very glad I got to play through. Oh, and if you’re on console the text is stupid small- go into the options and change that. Also, don’t do what I did which made me sad to notice- don’t type up a large Bio for your characters (at least on console) because a bug prevents the Bio box from scrolling, meaning you will forever lose access to your long backstory ;-; Don’t do that.

Wario Land: Shake It! for the Wii

God I love this game. This goes up with Hamtaro as another feel good game and in a similar way it left me feeling in a much more optimistic and generally positive mood as I finished it.

I am a huge fan of the older Wario Land titles, the first one is one of my favorite games on the game boy- but I never really kept up with Wario until recent years. I didn’t play the later games, didn’t try his mini game compilations, and didn’t look at console releases at all until much later.

I heard of this game from a Wario marathon stream setup someone was doing years ago and took note only for one fact “It’s got good graphics”.

Like that was it. I saw this and went “Pretty” so I took note to get it later on.

I had no idea it’d end up being one of my favorite games, but here we are. This game hit like a truck with quality. You can easily coast through the game if you’re struggling with the harder challenges, but my god, there are SO many challenges hidden all around for treasures. The gameplay is FANTASTIC, the motion controls are SMART (come at me) and that aesthetic! MY GOD, that aesthetic! The entire game looks like a fox kids cartoon or something similar and I adore it.

This goes down as one of those games I’d recommend to just about anyone. You have a wii, find a way to play this. Truly, one of, if not my absolute favorite platformers of all time.

Well I’m dropping this a little early because I don’t mind being off season.

12/28/2018.

There are a metric ton of games I could talk about or recommend, but I had some oddballs I wanted to say and a couple feelgood games I wanted shown as well.

Quick bonus titles would be EDF 5 (a ton of quality of life changes and it’s EDF!!! SHOOT BUGS!), Play Yakuza you dinguses, if my whole emotional sputter and that whole side blog I made didn’t give a hint- Doki Doki Literature Club is worth a play, Dragon Warrior Monsters is the best pokemon game, The Fall was very interesting and enjoyable, Nioh is Bloodborne done right, and God Hand is great.

Have a great new year, everyone~

#Hamtaro #Clickpocalypse II #Buriedbornes #Wario #wasteland 2 #Retphienix

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goldenchildkatsuki · 6 years

Note

Hi, could you make a drabble about enemies but secretly dating for Kacchako? Thank you very much!

I can’t write you a drabble but I can write you a 4.7k one shot instead, is that alright?

Summary: Uraraka, studies Pedagogy at Univeristy. For a big research report for one of her classes she decided to start an all girls soccer team. She managed to start up a team with 14 enthaustiastic and active young girls that love nothing more than to run around the field with her and learn from her. Uraraka had been really enjoying spending time and learning from the girls until an asshole with a tracksuit from her Uni arrived to the club, with a new all boys team, picking a fight with her by taking in her pitch.

Writers note: I asked on Tumblr to send a cliché fanfiction trope in my ask box and I would make a decent Kacchako drabble out of it. This is for the third ask I received. Someone requested for me to write them as enemies but secretely dating. It took me some time to think of something but I’m in love with what I eventuallu came up with. I didn’t manage to put the “secretely dating” part in YET. I say “YET” as I really want to write a next chapter (see the end for more notes).

Word count: 4.700

AO3 link: (x)

YOU PUSH & YOU PULL

“Now go give mommy a kiss, we’re starting soon!” Uraraka gently ushered the girl towards her mother. With a big smile the girl ran in the arms of her mother and placed a giant kiss on her cheek.

“Be good to Miss Uraraka, you hear Keiko?” The mother told her child as she was smothering her against her chest.

“Yes mommy!”

“And to the other girls too, no dirty tackles!”

“Well that’s something I can’t promise.” All three of them started laughing. The mother let go of her child who ran past Uraraka towards the canteen. Uraraka approached the mother as she watched the girl run to her friends and who happily greeted her.

“She sure is something.” Uraraka smiled.

The mother looked past her at the group of girls in the canteen and sighed. “She is. It’s this sport that brings out this side of her. Keiko finally has a place where she can be herself. Thanks again Miss Uraraka, for setting up the girls soccer team.” She bowed and Uraraka gestured for her to lift her head.

“Please Miss Nakahara, no need to thank me. I love teaching the girls and running around the pitch with them. It’s a nice to actually do something with kids instead of just reading about them in pedagogics books.”

Miss Nakahara’s eyebrows perked up. “Oh! That reminds me, have you run into-“

A hurdle of loudly chittering girls in soccer gear interrupted her and marched towards them, like the girls were readying for a demonstration they had their small fists raised and eyes filled with rage.”

“Coach Uraraka!” They all cried for her attention. Uraraka turned to them and tried to hush them as all the girls started to speak at once, every voice trying to get over the other voice.

“Girls. Girls! One person at a time please.” Uraraka had to raise her voice.

The girls gradually fell silent and looked at each other, their heads turned towards the pitches and pointed at the field. Another team in orange jersey’s were running laps around the field. Their field. The field Uraraka had requested for her to train her team on at exactly 6:30 PM. Uraraka rolled up the sleeve of her windbreaker and looked at her watch.

6:37 PM.

Of course he would go in and snatch the field in those 7 freaking minutes.

Uraraka excused herself from Keiko’s mother and lead her team to her pitch. She walked onto the pitch and saw the head turn of a couple of boys. Cheeky smiles appeared on their faces and they continued running as if they weren’t supposed to have a single foot on the field. The anger in her started building up, something she had promised herself to contain seeing as she clearly had influenced the kids with it. She adjusted, scoped around the field and spotted him.

The cockiest, most-arrogant and selfish brat on campus. Wearing his stupid school issued tracksuit to training, standing there if he owned the pitch, like he bough it himself. He seemed to be so far in his own butt that he didn’t even seem to properly pay attention to the kids. As typical as you can get a Sport and Exercise Science student.

Uraraka cupped her hands at her mouth. “Hey!”

The guy raised his wrist and tapped on this watch. As fast as he noticed her, he lost interest in her and turned towards his team, that had started to slow down anticipating a war about to go down. The girls hesitantly turned their heads towards Uraraka, who was gritting her teeth flat.

“Girls…” She growled as she tightened her ponytail.

“Oh no.” A girl whispered. “She tightened her ponytail, you know that that means.” The girl next to her sighed.

“Wait here for me.” Uraraka ignored them and jogged across the field, ready to confront the guy for what must’ve been the millionth time. It was as if he was really out to get her. She had been through hell to make a pitch available at a time that suited her, the team and the other professional coaches walking around at the club. It took her a lot of work to make sure the pitch was empty between 6:30 and 8 PM, seeing as the team before her often extended their trainings and the team after her took a lot of time warming up and therefore preferred to start earlier. And she was extremely proud when she was able to make the coaches sympathize with her, explaining how much the girls and she herself were enjoying learning from that hour and a half on the soccer field. As a result of that the pitch was made available for her.

Uraraka was late once. Once. And the pitch was already claimed by someone else. No one else other than Bakugou Katsuki, who had decided to start up a boys league as his project for one of his Sports Pedagogy classes, that evening. When she first saw him on the pitch she remembered him walking around campus once, with the notorious dark blue track suit, sunken into his collar and glaring at everyone he walked past. From that she could’ve guessed he wasn’t one of the few sympathetic people from that major. Carefully she had walked up to him and explained him that she was scheduled to have the pitch and kindly told him to get off of it.

“So uptight.” Was the first thing he said to her.

Uraraka couldn’t believe her eyes. She pardoned herself and tried to explain it to him again, trying not to beat around the bush that time.

“And also annoying, great.” Was the second thing he had said to her.

Bakugou had hushed her as she opened her mouth ready to verbally attack him.

“Listen Miss Stick Up Her Ass. You’re 11 minutes late alright? Rules says a reserved pitch becomes available again if the coach doesn’t inform the club of their absence at least five minutes ahead of scheduled time. So take your girls scouts elsewhere.”

Uraraka had never been that close to punching someone in the face, he had shut her up like it was nothing. She wasn’t able to express nothing else but anger, something she had never felt before. All she could do was guide her team to the canteen and ask the head of the club about the so said rules, and it turned out the guy was right. She couldn’t remember a time she had felt worse than when she had to the send the girls home, not being able to find another pitch as the champions league was getting close and almost every coach had scheduled in extra hours of training for their team.

Since that evening Uraraka had been running into Bakugou at the constantly, on campus and unfortunately on Mondays. Even when there were other pitches available he would cross out her name on the training schedule or even have one of the boys on his team stall her so they could take the field. It was one big joke to him. She couldn’t imagine him having an actual grudge against her, so the only thing she could think of to make sense of his behavior was that he genuinely enjoyed to ruin the fun of her and 14 little girls.

“Rules are rules.” Bakugou smirked at her.

“Give me a break! I was talking to a mother of one of the girls.”

“Rules are-“

Uraraka pointed a finger straight at him. “Don’t you dare say that again.”

Bakugou huffed and crossed his arms. “Or what? You’ll have a go at me again?”

She didn’t expect him to let that go any time soon. Almost a month ago, Uraraka had managed to set up a practice game with another all girls team. She was extremely excited as she had been thinking her team was the only girls team in the area. The coach of the other team had reached out to the club head and had mentioned Uraraka’s team, highly recommended her even. A week before the practice game Uraraka had managed to get new jersey’s for the girls to wear at the game. Before practice she had left the box containing them on the pitch and left her team to fill her water bottle in the restroom. When she came back she saw her girls yelling at Bakugou’s boys who had taken the new Jersey’s and had put them on her head, tied them around their neck and head. She was in complete and utter shock and tried her best to control the chaos as she walked on the pitch. Then she saw Bakugou, surrounded by a couple of boys, with a pink jersey on his head.

“Okay guess who I am.” He told the kids. “Blah, blah, blah, get off my pitch, nag nag nag.” He swiped the shirt over his shoulders, pretending to move hair out of his face.

Uraraka didn’t know what came over her but before she could think rationally she ran at him and tackled him. She sat on his waist and repeatedly punched his chest. It caused hell to break loose, the girls let out their battle cries and followed their coach’s example by attacking the boys on the field. They started to chase the boys team, threw kicks and punches, tackled and pushed, until the head walked onto the pitch. He had sent both teams home and scolded the petty coaches, giving them one more chance to behave.

Uraraka rolled her eyes as far back as humanly possible at a Bakugou who was standing before her, ever so smug about his own nasty joke.

“Again, I thought it was funny.”

“Just leave, you jerk.” Uraraka groaned. She didn’t want to waste any more time on him, time was ticking away and the girls haven’t broke a single sweat. She could tell Bakugou was considering making it even more difficult for her, but after a few strokes on the chin he had decided the reaction he got out of her was enough for that day.

“Fine. Brats, pack your crap and head to field E, we’ll continue training there.” He shouted at his team. The boys hang their heads in disappointment, clearly ready for discourse between the two coaches. They picked up their bags and walked to their coach.

“Right, let’s move it, we’ve tortured her enough for today.” Bakugou told his boys. “Now tell Miss Stick Up Her Ass til’ next time.” He pointed his chin towards Uraraka. The boys did as they were told and followed Bakugou off the pitch.

Uraraka’s team hurried onto the field and glared along with Uraraka at the team that left to go two fields over. Uraraka became aware of her behavior and softened her face. She clapped her hands together and woke the team up from their trance.

“Right ladies. Let’s go warm-up! Let’s make this a quick one okay, we don’t have much time left.” She started running in her place, knees high, trying to enlighten the mood and get everyone motivated. But the girls weren’t been born yesterday and couldn’t train without making sure their coach was feeling alright.

“Don’t be discouraged coach, we’ll get him one day!” Tora took her hand.

Junko started rubbing Uraraka’s lower back. “We’ll kick his butt again.”

The girls started cheering and raising their fists, Uraraka couldn’t help but giggle. Even though it was quite a funny scene, this wasn’t what these girls were supposed to be thinking. She didn’t want them to grow up to believe that you could hurt anyone that makes you or others you like feel sad. It was embarrassing the way she acted a month ago, it’s still embarrassing the way she acted around him. He brought out that awful side of her but at the same time it was up to her how she dealt with it. Right now, she was doing a poor job of handling her emotions and now it’s reflecting onto the kids more and more.

“Kicking butts is not the answer ladies.” She pat Tora and Junko’s heads.

“But coach Bakugou is a big meanie. And we’ve kicked his butt for it before.” The poor kids sounded so confused as to why this was morally wrong.

Uraraka squatted down to the girls’ level and huddled them in closer.

“Listen. Coach Bakugou is a big meanie, yes, but you can’t kick people’s butts for it. That makes you a meanie too, do you all follow?” The girls nodded.

“But doesn’t that make you a meanie Miss Uraraka?” Keiko asked.

Uraraka took a deep breath. “I guess you can say that, but I’m the biggest meanie of us all for making you pumpkins think this behavior is okay. That’s why I’m going to have to talk to coach Bakugou, like a real grown up, so we can settle this once and for all.” It took her all might to purse that sentence over her lips. It was a really bold and ambitious statement to make considering the instant irritation she felt when only his name was mentioned. She had been meaning to have a real conversation with the guy for some time though. Uraraka had been too proud to apologize to him after attacking him. To clear her conscious and because she actually felt the slightest bit of guilt after socking him in the chin before getting dragged off him by the head, she had been meaning to apologize to him.

“When are you going to do the grown up talk?”

“I don’t know Emi, I don’t see coach Bakugou at school often. But you girls don’t have to worry about that. You guys have to think about the fun stuff! Like the parent day training, isn’t that going to be exciting?” She lied and managed to avoid going any deeper on that subject. Luckily, the girls picked up on the genuine excitement and let the subject go.

After letting the girls ask each other about what they were going to teach their parents at the parent training day, she sent them out to do a little warm up session and then work on what they wanted to teach their parents next week in teams of 2. Usually Uraraka would actively try to join in every team, giving more instructions but this evening she let the girls work independently, jumping in when she was called out to. For most part of the training she was on her phone, something she normally wouldn’t dare to take out of her bag and looked at the Sports and Exercise Science Major schedule. Their classes didn’t match up with hers in at all, making it so that she actually saw Bakugou more than she wanted. Often she would spot him at the end of the day, sitting on the steps of the library, which seemed to be his usual spot, reading coursebooks. He always managed to notice her, despite how small she tried to make herself and how fast she tried to walk past him. He would greet her with an insult and she would contain herself not to flip him off. At first she thought of seeing him with a bunch of books to be a coincidence, not being able to imagine a student of the Sports and Exercise Science other than passive, based off the reputation graduates and current students have left at the university. But every time she saw him on those steps he had his nose buried in a book, looking as invested as once could be in a course book and scribbled away in notebooks. It was kind of admirable but that made it even harder for her to wrap her head around the fact that for some reason he would rather risk ruining his practical assessment learning experience by essentially bullying her.

It didn’t make sense.

He could be a decent guy if he wanted to.

They could’ve even bonded over their shared interest in pedagogics.

But he had to be put himself up to be detestable, leaving it hard for her to see him in another way.

After looking at their schedules side by side for the longest time she had established there was no time she was guaranteed to see him for a long period of time and talk to him. Uraraka was starting to have her doubts, would there ever be an appropriate time where she could talk to him? Most likely not. And even if there was, would he even listen to her without interrupting, insulting her or taking it the wrong way? Hard to imagine.

When Uraraka saw the first mother of one of the kids walk into the canteen, she decided to shove her thoughts to the side and join the team with all her enthusiasm. She called the girls and told them they were going to play a quick game of ‘Dragon Tail Tag’ before cooling down. It made her feel much better when she was actually up and moving again and laughing with her team. By the time they were at the last exercise of the cooling down most of the parents were waiting in the canteen for their daughters.

Quickly Uraraka ran up and down the pitch to collect as much of the equipment on the pitch as she could whilst sending the girls to their parents, not wanting them to wait for too long.

“But Miss Uraraka, we can help!” a girl tugged at her windbreaker.

“That’s sweet of you Ayiko, but your daddy and little brother are waiting for you. I’ll clean up by myself this one time.” At this point she was buried under a pile of pilons, hoops and a single ball. The pitch lights shot on which gave her a better indication of time. Uraraka told the girls a hurried goodbye and rushed off the pitch to the equipment shed.

She looked at her feet trying to make sure she didn’t crash into anyone and right before reaching the equipment shed someone cut her off. The sneakers looked familiar and it made her whole face turn sour.

“Watch out will you?” Uraraka murmured.

“Keep giving me that attitude, see where that will get you.” Bakugou yelled from the shed.

Uraraka had enough of him for one evening. She was not about the ruin the last part of the evening which had been amazing. She loudly tapped her foot whilst he kept rummaging.

“Can you hurry up please?”

“Can you shut up please?”

Enough of his attitude Uraraka was ready to squeeze past the boy, dump her stuff and leave. She was about to set a single step forward as she felt tiny hands push into her back and legs, forcefully shoving her into the shed. Every item immediately fell to the floor, both Uraraka and Bakugou turned around and saw the big eyes of boys and girls in the slit of the closing door.

The two moved into action to late and their noses met a closed door. They heard the key turn and Bakugou instantly fired up, banging on the shed door.

“What are you doing little shits?! Let me out!” He yelled into the keyhole.

Commotion erupted on the other end of the door. Uraraka tried to push Bakugou aside. “Girls, this is not funny. I told you to go to your parents, not play pranks. Let us out.”

Uraraka put her ear against the door and listened to the commotion dying down.

“You can’t get out before you’ve had the grown up talk with coach Bakugou, miss!” Tora said.

Uraraka felt Bakugou staring at her and her face turned bright red. “Uh girls, I-I said I would do that at school, t-there’s no need to do that now!”

“But you said you don’t see coach Bakugou often, now he’s there with you, you can talk.” Emi yelled back.

Bakugou kicked the door. “If you brats don’t let me out I’m going to make sure you pass out at the next training!”

“Coach Bakugou, we had a grown up talk with the girls, now you have to do the same with Miss Stick Up Her Ass.”

“I don’t h-have to do anything! Kenji, I will-“

“You can get out after you two stop being meanies!” They heard the kids walk away from the shed.

Uraraka put her hands to her face and fell to her knees. As if the feud had any chance of being resolved in this time and space. She had seen and heard enough of him and the guy himself was probably too riled up to even have a trivial conversation with about the weather. If the kids really stuck to their word, they might as well make themselves comfy for staying overnight.

Bakugou kicked over a pilon and let out the most raged filled groan she had ever heard from him.

“Good fucking job on keep your kids in check. See, next time you overshare with people that are half your age, try to keep my name out of your mouth.”

Bakugou really knew how to make a bad situation worse, choosing the worst time to get under her skin. She had promised herself not to lash out again but he was making it extremely hard not to deck him to the ground right there and then. Uraraka simply bit her tongue.

“This sure is something only you would be able to cause. So typical.” Bakugou continued.

“Don’t act like you know me.” Uraraka let a small portion of her anger out but the intensity in her voice would have sent the biggest man shivers down his spine. She stood up and felt her anger levels rising along with her. Not being able to control the amount of anger she let out she raised her voice. “Don’t act like you know me, because you don’t know me at all. Your smug ass has no cl-“

“Let me tell you something, you act like you know everything about me, but you don’t! You just think you do.” He snapped back at her.

Uraraka shook her head, trying to get her head around what came out of his mouth. A quick thoughts of self-awareness and guilt shot through her mind, leaving her at a loss of words.

She diverted her eyes away from him. “That’s not…I”

“You just see what you want to see. I know exactly what you think of me. You think I’m some lazy goof who’s just here to pass. But I actually happen to tolerate these kids, I might even go as far to say that I like them and I think it’s fucking fun exercising with them. I’m learning a shitload from them and the fact that they somehow tolerate me too, makes me even more motivated to learn more. You act like you’re the only one on this god forsaken planet that cares about those kids and learning from them. Well, guess what princess…”

“Bakugou, I didn’t…” Uraraka didn’t have a single thing she could follow up with. Though what he said was genuine and reasonable, every fiber in her being wanted to stay angry at him. She wanted to curse at him, scream at him, something! But it refused to come out. Bakugou seemed to have noticed her tied up feelings, he looked like he was going to take his advantage as she was blown away by his words. Instead he was actually looking for words himself, hesitantly opening and closing his mouth.

“Ha? You didn’t what? Know that about me? Like I said, you see what you want to see.” He eventually decided to say. Part of his confidence had left his voice. “Just like you refuse to see that I…that I was just fucking with you to get your god damn attention. Fucking hell, how obvious could I have been!”

If Uraraka feelings weren’t tied up before, they definitely were now. She physically felt the knot in her stomach, getting tighter and tighter as she tried to process what Bakugou told her. Teasing her to get her attention? They weren’t 5-year old on a playground anymore? Uraraka though back to every insult and every rude comment she got thrown at her head. Finally being able to make somewhat sense of the situation, she could only feel offended and irked by his childish ways.

“Oh give me a break!” Uraraka sputtered. “Have you ever heard of just being nice? That’s kind of how flirting works you know?”

Bakugou face suddenly turned softer and his skin started to take a rosy shade of pink. “You’re cute when you’re angry though.” He said as if it completely validated his actions.

“Oh, I hate you!” Uraraka yelled at him.

Bakugou closed some distance between them. “Come on, you like me too!”

Uraraka copied him. She wasn’t stubborn but with Bakugou it was necessary to hold her own ground. She put a single finger on his chest and pressed down.

“I don’t, I hate your face, that’s way too handsome for your shitty personality. I hate how good that stupid tracksuit looks on you. I hate your smile when you make the children laugh at your stupid jokes that I totally haven’t found funny or laughed at, not even once, no. I hate how you’re smart, I hate how you’re actually earnest, interesting, passionate and motivated. I. Hate You!” Uraraka managed to say with a single breathe.

Bakugou smirked.

“You like me.” He took her finger of his chest and held on to it.

“I hate that I do.” Uraraka sighed.

“Can we stop yelling so I can kiss you already?”

“Do it before I hate you even more.”

It didn’t seem like she had to tell him twice. As he grabbed her face with both hands he pushed her against the racks, causing equipment to fall at their feet. A very fast paced kiss, with teeth clashing and no room to breathe. Desperation coming to the surface as their hands started to roam. Her hands went up his jacket and tugged at his shirt. His short nails digging in her jawline and neck. As if they could rip each other to shreds. Uraraka was the first to pull back, gasping for air. Their breathing falling in sync as they stared into each other’s eyes, like lions ready to bite into their prey.

“Miss?”

Uraraka pushed Bakugou an arms length away, almost causing him to trip over a pilon. Big eyes looked into the shed through a small creek.

“Let me through! Miss Uraraka, are you alright?” Keiko’s mother waded through the sea of children and opened the shed door wider. Confused she looked back and forth between the two red faced coaches.

“Miss Nakahara! I..uh. First of all, I-I’m sorry for, uh…” Uraraka put her hands over her mouth, her thumbs cleaning off the saliva left at the corners of her mouth.

The mother squinted into the darkness.

“Are you two…” she slowly started her sentence.

“No.” Uraraka cut her off.

Nakahara looked at Bakugou and frowned.

“I thought you two disliked each other. I didn’t think-“

“I hate him.” Uraraka blurted out.

She walked towards Nakahara and bowed. “Now if you excuse me.” She awkwardly smiled at the children, that for the first time ever were completely silent. Uraraka speed walked towards Field B and to get her bag and rush home from what might have been the most embarrassing moment in her whole life. She didn’t have a foot on the field yet or she felt a hand holding on to her wrist. She recognized the firm grip and stopped herself from turning around.

“I’ll pick you up at 7 tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

“What?! What makes you think I want to go out with you?”

She heard him laugh. “Because you like me.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you hate that you do.”

He let go of her wrist and walked away from her.

“See you tomorrow.”

“You won’t.”

Yet there she stood, the next evening, 15 minutes early, in front of the campus entrance, waiting on him to come and take her out.

Writers note: So are you tired of the “Bakugou teasing someone as a way of flirting” trope yet? BECAUSE I SURE AM NOT.

#jj writes #writing prompt #kacchako #bakuraka #bakugou x uraraka #uraraka x bakugou #kacchako fic #kacchako fanfic #kacchako fanfiction #bakugou #bakugou katsuki #uraraka #uraraka ochako #bnha #boku no hero #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Squid Game: Best Deadly Competition TV Shows & Movies to Watch Next

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Chances are, if you’ve started watching Squid Game, then you’ve finished watching Squid Game. Netflix’s Korean social thriller is highly suspenseful, driving viewers through its nine episodes to its chilling conclusion with an anxiety-inducing urgency. The story of 456 desperate people who play a deadly game for the chance to win a ₩45.6billion ($39 million) prize, Squid Game is a familiar premise executed masterfully, which means that if you’re looking for more stories like Squid Game, then you’re in luck; the “deadly competition” trope is a very popular one. Like other standouts in the subgenre, there is nothing quite like Squid Game, but there’s still many, many TV shows and movies worth watching if you’re looking for something that delves into some of the same themes and scenarios as the addictive Netflix drama. Here are our recommendations…

Death Race 2000 (1975)

Not technically a live-action adaptation of Hanna Barbera cartoon Wacky Races with a deadly twist – though that’s very much the vibe – this Roger Corman camp-fest is a cult favourite. The film stars Kung Fu’s David Carradine as the mysterious champion driver of the Transcontinental Road Race, an ultra-violent race across America designed as an outlet for the population’s simmering violence under a totalitarian regime – much like sports day at school, but with muscle cars instead of eggs and spoons. Health and safety guidelines are very much unobserved on the road, and the bodies soon pile up, as does a conspiracy that goes – you guessed it – all the way to the top! Brrm brrm. – LM

Das Millionenspiel (1970) & Le Prix du Danger (1983)

Two films, in two languages, from two different countries in two different decades, but both based on the same 1958 American short story. Robert Sheckley’s ‘The Prize of Peril’ is a prescient vision based on a television show where citizens volunteer to be hunted by trained assassins for the chance to win a life-changing sum of money. (Yes, there’s a chance that Stephen King, or at least his alter-ego Richard Bachman, read it before coming up with The Running Man). German film Das Millionenspiel was a TV movie that reportedly had viewers call in post-broadcast to volunteer to take part in the deadly televised contest, but perhaps that’s best taken with a pinch of salz. – LM

The Running Man (1987)

What’s more fun than a dystopian action movie based on a novel by Stephen King and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in his 1980s prime? Nothing, that’s what. Arnie stars as a former police helicopter pilot named Ben Richards who is framed for a massacre he didn’t commit and forced to compete in a televised game show where prisoners are mercilessly hunted down by mercenaries. On top of that, the obstacle course is basically an even more fucked up version of Sasuke/Ninja Warrior. Fortunately, Arnie isn’t alone in his hatred of the totalitarian government that has doomed him to death just to entertain The People, and that’s how the revolution starts. Yes, it’s a campy movie with some very cheesy lines, but good for a few Friday night laughs. – JS

Battle Royale (2000)

Battle Royale is one of the most beloved examples of the “deadly competition” genre, especially for nerds like Den of Geek staff and readers. Based on a 1999 novel by Kōshun Takami, Battle Royale made an impression for its brutality and stark social analysis when it burst onto the international nerd cinephile scene back in 2000. The story follows a busload of school children who are knocked out and wake up on an island. Each is given a random weapon—from guns to household items, like a paper fan or pot lid—and they must fight to the death until only one remains. – KB

Series 7: The Contenders (2001)

The early 2000s were… what’s the term for a golden age of something terrible? A high-low point? The eye of the shitstorm? Either way, for the reality television genre, the early 2000s were it. The world dug its mucky snout into the honey pot of dehumanised abs, boobs and therapy bills waiting to happen, and decided it liked the taste. Some good though, did come out of it – satires like Danial Minahan’s 2001 feature debut Series 7: The Contenders. The film shows six American strangers picked by national lottery, armed with guns and forced to hunt each other down while the world watches in nightly instalments. It’s pacey, well-acted, darkly funny and carries your basic screaming ‘what have we become?’ message of many others on this list. – LM

Doctor Who, “Bad Wolf” (2005)

OK, I’m cheating a bit with this one, which isn’t a series or movie, but rather a single TV show episode, but it’s Doctor Who, so I’ll allow it. It’s hard to remember more than 15 years later, but, when Who relaunched in 2005, head writer Russell T. Davies was reinventing the wheel, resulting in some conceptually ambitious installments. This definitely includes “Bad Wolf,” which has a pretty strange premise for the first half of the season-ending two-parter.

In the Davies-penned “Bad Wolf,” Rose, the Doctor, and Jack wake up to find themselves not only separated from one another, but in incarnations of various British TV competition shows like The Weakest Link, Big Brother, and What Not to Wear. Though these shows may seem similar to their 21st century counterparts, the stakes are not: the losers are killed. Honestly, this premise was a bit ahead of its time. Sure, this was five years after cult classic Battle Royale hit the scene, but three years before the first Hunger Games novel would hit shelves. The scenario is not only compelling and fresh, but Davies doesn’t linger too long before explaining how it is relevant to the season-ending mystery. – KB

The Hunger Games (2012)

A list of this kind would not be complete without The Hunger Games, one of the most popular and successful modern incarnations of the “deadly competition” trope. Like Battle Royale before it and Squid Game after it, The Hunger Games succeeds because it uses its violent premise to explore contemporary social anxieties. Suzanne Collins famously came up with the initial idea for The Hunger Games while flipping through the channels between competition reality shows and footage of the Iraq War. Given the massive success of both the novels and movie adaptations, it’s obvious that this story is tapping into some serious and unaddressed collective social trauma. The Hunger Games gave young people especially a chance for temporary catharsis through the guilt, fear, and pain that came with growing up post-9/11. – KB

3% (2016)

The thing about deadly competition stories is that most, if not all, of them are particularly class conscious. When one thinks of the type of person who would choose to participate in, or be forced into, a life and death game, it’s not usually rich people. Deadly competition stories are often about the exploitation of the poor. Perhaps no other entry into the genre understands that as deeply as Brazilian series 3%. This tale takes place in a dystopian near future in which the impoverished residents of the “Inland” can compete in a mysterious event known as “The Process” and potentially be granted access to the upper ranks of society. The Process is rigorous, with many of its participants eliminated and some even killed. How many actually make it? Well, check the title of the show again. – AB

Alice in the Borderland (2020)

There’s a reason why Alice in Borderland started trending as soon as Squid Game binges began: the 2020 Japanese science fiction show based on a manga of the same name, has a lot in common with its Netflix cousin—at least on the surface. Directed by Shinsuke Sato (who also helmed Gantz, another great “deadly competition” story example), Alice in the Borderland begins when three friends are abruptly and unexpectedly pulled into a parallel Tokyo where they must compete in a series of deadly games. The difficulty of each game corresponds to a playing card and, if they lose or refuse to play one of the competitions, they will be killed by lasers from the sky, naturally.

While Alice in the Borderland’s initial premise has some things in common with Squid Game—notably, the shock of its characters upon realizing the deadly stakes of the artificial competition—the respective shows are not only grounded in different cultures (Japanese va. Korean), they also hail from different genres. While Squid Game is very much set in our own world, Alice in the Borderland is much more science fiction in tone and execution. (I mentioned the sky lasers, right?) Both are good shows, but their comparisons quickly fade once you look past the surface. – KB

High-Rise Invasion (2021)

The concept for High-Rise Invasion is as enigmatic and compelling as any anime can be. The anime (or original net animation as this is sometimes dubbed) picks up with our hero Yuri Honjō suddenly on top of a skyscraper with no memory of how she got there. Yuri soon discovers that she’s stuck in a world made up of entirely high-rise buildings and the bridges that connect them. What’s worse is that these high-rises are patrolled armed individuals wearing masks who seem hellbent on killing everyone who isn’t masked. High-Rise Invasion is slightly atypical from your usual “death competition” genre in that it’s not clear if this is even a competition. At the end of the day, however, the goals remain the same: survive at all costs. Until things get a little more complicated of course… – AB

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What are your favorite examples of the deadly competition trope? Let us know in the comments below…

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