#which they do not sell online and it is after hours | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

engeorged · 3 months

Text

The Influencer II: Will

For part one: The Influencer : Milo

Words by @engeorged

Artwork by @badoobers

The previous 6 months had totally changed Milo’s life and his body. After his Mukbang video went viral, and following on from the success of his first TikTok live, his followers began to rack up. Soon he had successfully established accounts on TikTok, instagram and Twitter where he would upload daily content, doing lives twice a week on different social platforms. It wasn’t quite as glamorous as he thought it would be. There was a lot of research he needed to do, to learn eating tricks about how and when to eat. Methods to stretch his already considerable stomach capacity. He would force himself to drink gallons of isotonic drinks as quick as he could to get his belly to hold more and more. At first he could just about manage a gallon in less than half an hour. In no time at all he was able to do two gallons in less than fifteen minutes. The flat stomach rapidly becoming curved and bloated as he chugged. He’d never really had a gag reflex either which helped in more ways that one. He was taking to the rhythm quickly.

Pushing through the pain barrier if bloating with liquids was one thing, but the eating challenges were even less glamorous afterwards. At least with the liquids he would only have to go to the toilet every ten minutes for a few hours. But with the stuffing sessions, it was a lot more for his system to take and the side effects where pretty extreme. Firstly, digesting vast quantities of food made him very sleepy which meant he would often crash straight after, bloated and sticky. For another thing, eating a lot made him very very gassy. The added issue was the weight gain. He’d always been toned and buff and the sheer volume of calories he was consuming were making his weight skyrocket. He’d managed to gain 20lbs in just the first month, all of which stuck to his expanding middle as a firm curve to his toned stomach. By the third month it had slowed a little bit he was still up another 20lbs in total making him 255lbs. His height and muscle mass meant his body could easily take it but he was looking a lot thicker that normal. This wasn’t entirely a bad thing, as it actually seemed to go down pretty well with a number of his new fans, but Milo wasn’t so sure. So he started hitting the gym on a more regular basis to work on the muscle groups that wouldn’t interfere with his stomachs ability to expand. This felt like a happy medium.

The main perk was that now he’d worked how to monetise these social media ventures, he was finally able to quit the delivery job and the dog walking. He decided to keep the house sitting gig though, as the setting was part of his media presence and the non stop supply free food was also massively helpful.

After the first few months of being a social media influencer he was starting to be recognised in the street. Not many people but he was definitely starting to be somebody. His main accounts were all centered around Mukbang and eating challenges, This wasn’t his only online presence though as he also set up a few side accounts. One all around his workout regime where he would flaunt his muscles. There was also a very niche OnlyFans, where the crazy amount of gas he was getting was paying off. People would pay to watch him belch and fart whilst watching sports matches on the sofa in his boxer briefs. There was even a side hustle selling his underwear that featured in the videos. Who knew guys would pay for boxers he’d farted in?

Whilst he hadn’t quite shifted the extra few pounds, he’d managed to at least get more bulked elsewhere. His arms, pecs and thighs were the biggest they had ever been and whilst his stomach was no longer a flat six pack, he had managed to get the definition back on the curve of his belly.

Then one evening, Milo was just finishing off a live, having done a popular gravy chug challenge that was doing the rounds on socials. Most people were doing a few litres or even a gallon of gravy, but Milo knew he could do better than that. He had set himself up in the massive downstairs shower and had used a bier stick to push the gravy down his throat. At the end he proudly declared he had done a gallon and a half, having done eight sticks full. Everyone watching, gleefully pointed out that as the stick was a 40 oz stick, he had actually done 2 gallons! Laughing and belching he admitted defeat, maths had never been his strong point after all.

Turning the live off, he was now seriously regretting chugging fucking gravy! He didn’t even really like gravy and the belches coming up were heinous. He quickly turned on the shower to wash off the gravy that had spilt on himself. Rubbing his distended stomach as he cleaned himself had become a part of his routine he loved the most. Whilst he loved getting the attention from doing the streams, it was surprisingly nice to take a moment for himself. As his large hands glided over the firm curve of his bloated belly, he felt the ridges of his protruding muscle definition. Washing the underside of the curve and feeling his Adonis belt framing the bulge of liquid inside himself. Gently pushing on the taut surface and feeling the pressure of his full abdomen. Not for the first time, he began to feel his dick harden as he took time exploring his swollen middle. Closing his eyes he allowed his mind to drift as he began to pleasure himself, rubbing his firm gut with one hand and stroking his thick shaft with the other. Just as he was ready to climax, his phone rang, making him jump out of his skin. Scrabbling around fora towel he began to as he involuntarily jizz all over the walls of the shower.

Turning the water off, he quickly dried his hands and answered the phone. Trying to suppress the waves of pleasure he was experiencing he tried to give a happy ‘Hello!’ On the other end of the phone was Will, his old school friend asking if he was still interested in taking that job he’d offered him a few months back. He didn’t want to admit to Will but he’d totally forgotten about the job. He gently declined the job offer but asked Will how he was doing, he’d heard on the grapevine that Will had recently divorced so he asked how he was after that. Milo was just about to invite him out for a beer when Will reminded him that the school reunion was coming up that weekend and asked if he was going. Milo had stopped going to events like that. Everyone seemed to just be there to brag about their happy lives and their fancy cars and beautiful children and that just made him feel like a loser. But now, he wasn’t a loser, he was a success! Maybe he would go? After all he wasn’t doing anything else, and it would be good to see Will at least. They had been pretty tight when they were younger. Their friendship only really fading because Will had gotten his girlfriend pregnant and 19 and had gotten married. Kids ruined everything!

Milo agreed to go to the reunion and returned to the shower to clean up, finding himself hard yet again as he cleaned off his belly.

A Week Later . . .

After spending the whole morning getting ready Milo was ready to go. Pulling into the parking lot of the hotel in his brand new Tesla, Milo started feeling a little nervous. He was well liked in school, but so much had happened in the last ten years. In some ways, he was a different person and there were so many of his old friends who wouldn’t know him any more. As he got out of the car he straightened himself up and rearranged his very tight shirt. It used to be a good shirt to show off his muscles, it’s just that now it also accentuated his more curved meaty stomach. The buttons a lot tighter than they used to be.

Ignoring the uncomfortable sensation and walking up to the counter, Milo coughed to why the receptionists attention. Without looking up the guy responded disinterestedly with a quick’You here for the reunion?’ Milo replied to say yes when suddenly he hears a familiar voice behind him shout a nickname he’s not heard in years.

‘How’s it hanging Pipe?’

Turning round Milo sees his friend Will lumbering towards him with a huge grin on his face. Milo wasn’t quite expecting what happened next. Will was average height at 5’10, but he was always slim. He was known for it when they were younger. He would eat junk food constantly but would never gain a pound. That had definitely changed. Will had developed a huge round beer belly which was sticking out perpendicular to his body. The round mass of solid gut was at least a foot in front of him and almost a perfect sphere. His dense stubble and moustache was giving him strong daddy bear vibes.

‘Holy fuck it’s you!’ Milo blurred out as Will characteristically bundled over and pulled him in for a hug. Will’s belly was indeed as solid as it looked and nearly winded him as it was pushed hard into his own stomach.

‘It’s good to see you man!’ Will exclaimed as he pulled out of the hug. ‘You’ve hardly changed!’ He added looking Milo up and down.

Not really knowing what to say Milo eventually managed; ‘You neither?’ He couldn’t help but go up at the end of his sentence, making it more of a question than a statement.

Laughing, Will grabbed his solid belly with both hands. ‘Liar! I’m a blimp!’ He admitted! ‘It’s fine! We all knew it would catch up with me. Besides it’s been a rough few years. Me and Bex divorced last year as you know and I guess I’ve been eating a few too many take aways!’

‘Sorry to hear that man.’ Milo responded trying not to look at his mammoth belly.

‘It’s cool man. We’re still friends, we should never have married so young. We were good friends really, not husband and wife. Three kids later and there was nothing left. That, and she cheated on me with pretty much every single dad in the school run!’

‘Fuck her then man I guess!’ Milo offered

Laughing, Will slapped Milo on his thick arm ‘let’s get some food man! I’m starving!’

Walking through the hotel lobby, they found the party at the gardens in the back. The smell of cooking meat luring the two men through. Looking round, Milo saw a heap of faces he vaguely remembered. He always had his own group of friends but on the whole he never joined a clique so he was known by most people. He was the kind of guy who wanted to be everyone’s friend. He was quite the player when he was younger and looking around he realised he had slept with about 15 people that he could see. Mainly women back then, but there were a few guys who suddenly put an arm round their wives and girlfriends as he walked past.

The two old friends positioned themselves near the bbq and started catching up. Will explained that he was a fairly successful business man, owning a company that specialised in international shipping. From the sounds of things Will seemed to be doing pretty well for himself work wise. He was lonely though, marrying early and churning out three kids had isolated him from their old friends and he, like Will, hadn’t really seen anyone since they graduated.

As they stood catching up the two men were grazing heavily on ribs and burgers and sausages, absent-mindedly eating whilst they chatted. Milo realised half way, how much he’d missed his friend, and the resentment he felt over their falling apart was beginning to subside. Eventually they were joined by two more guys they used to hang out with, Ralphy and Jordan. These two had clearly stayed in touch with one another and were super happy to see Milo and Will.

Ralphy, used to be the runt of the group, being wiry and lithe with little to no facial hair. However, it appeared that he had exited the ugly duckling phase. Being tall, had had now bulked out and was now bordering on stocky. His once ginger hair and pasty complexion had developed into some deep auburn hair with a full lumberjack beard. ‘Finally hit puberty then?’ Will commented cheekily. Ralphy took it with good humour, and asked back ‘When are you due?’ Patting Will’s pregnant looking belly. Jordan was as good looking as ever, his dark brown skin, chiselled cheek bones and deep chocolate coloured eyes unchanged by the passage of time. Milo embarrassingly remembered the brief crush he had on his friend when they were younger. He never acted on it or even told Jordan at the time but it was pretty intense.

As the four old friends caught up, Will and Milo continued to attack the buffet almost continuously. Knocking beers back with casual abandon the lads got rowdier and rowdier. Half way through the evening, Will began to rub his belly, now tightening as he continues to fill it up. Letting out several loud belches, and to the surprise of no one he starts complaining about his belt being too tight and how his clothes have shrunk. Looking across at Milo he notices Milo has also begun to bloat out.

‘Hey, how have you eaten as much as me?’ Will blurted out

Milo blushes and rubs his front. ‘I guess I have!’ Weirdly, he is actually is beginning to enjoy people noticing his belly.

‘What are you doing with yourself at the moment anyway Pipe? You never did settle on a job if I hear correctly?’ Ralphy asked.

‘Funny you should say that man! I’ve started a new career recently!’

Milo smiled and produces his phone. Pulling up one of his most successful videos where he speed eats four large watermelons he turns it and shows his friends.

Jordan whistles ‘You’re getting paid to pig out? That should be Will’s job!’

Will belly barges Jordan who nearly spills his beer. Laughing they carry on their conversation. Milo explains all about how he was trying to make it a social media influencer and how a random video he had made had gone viral. He talked through his training routine and how he worked out key muscle groups in order to maximise room for expansion. The guys nodding along as he speaks.

‘So you mean to tell me, a skinny thing like you, thinks he could fit more in his tank than me?’ Will scoffed slapping his already stuffed tank of a belly.

Smiling Milo says ‘Yeah that’s pretty much right! Follow me for the proof if you want!

Will dramatically begins sniffing the air. ‘Can you guys smell that?’

Jordan, naively begins sniffing along with him. ‘What is it?’

‘It’s quite rich? Smells to me like BULLSHIT!’ Will laughs loudly at his own joke. Jordan and Ralphy join in. Milo stays straight faced.

‘Right here then?’ Milo says defiantly. ‘Eat-off. Loser takes the winner out for dinner next week at a restaurant of their choosing.’

Will still laughing, thrusts out his hand. ‘Let’s make it more interesting! If you win, I’ll take you Dubai on my next business trip. All expenses paid.’

Milo grabs his hand and shakes it. ‘Deal!’ A thought enters Milos mind about whether or not to live stream it? He’s not due for a live stream till tomorrow but an unscheduled post might go down well. He’s confident he can win. Doing his research into the world of competitive eating and other social media stars who do this kind of thing, he’s spotted a trend. Guys who are on the larger side tend to not do as well as the more toned ones. In fact, his biggest online role model has been an Indian guy called Jai who goes round the world doing food challenges on cam. He can pack away a ton of food and his flat stomach goes from toned to fully round. If he’s honest, Jai has been the biggest inspiration for most of his wanks over the past month as well. Not only is Jai insanely hot, the sight of his swollen belly keeps sending Milo over the edge.

He grabs a standing table and runs to the buffet with Ralphy where they pile two plates high with identical hauls. Trying to grab one of each of the delicious items on display. Balancing their heavy plates they place them on the table. ‘It’s better to do this standing!’ Milo tells Will confidently. He hands his phone to Jordan and asks him to hit record. ‘I’m gonna live stream this man. Hope that ok!’ He adds quickly.

‘Well I’m sure your followers want to see you lose just as much as I do!’ Will boasts

‘I got that!’ Jordan shouts laughing as he sees the screen begin to light up as watchers begin to pour in. Milo turns to the camera and welcomes everyone, explaining the bet and how he’s gonna kick Will’s ass. The two of them line up. Both already full of beer and meat from nearly an hour and a half of grazing and chatting. Will’s stomach hardly looks any different, only the discerning eye would have noticed that it has lost some of its jiggle. Milo on the other hand is clearly already stuffed. His already tight shirt stretched tightly over his swelling out stomach.

‘Ready?’ Milo asks

‘Born ready!’ Will replies.

‘Then go!’ Milo yells.

As the two tear into their plates of food, both picking up a huge double burger, dripping in bbq sauce and cheese, they begin their task. A few people begin to notice the commotion and a few start to amble over. Ralphy is keen to explain what’s happening and people begin to pick a side and cheer them on. As per his brand, Milo seems to be eating with a strong constant rhythm, taking a large bite and chewing well before swallowing. Whereas Will is just gorging himself. Massive dripping burger in one hand and a chicken leg in the other. By the time Milo has finished his burger Will has eaten three things. Unphased, Milo picks up a thick German sausage in a bun, glazed with honey and mustard and starts to eat. He did a video a few weeks back where he tried to match the world record of hot dog eating so he was used to hot dogs, and this one was much tastier than the shitty ones he’d bought for the challenge. These were prime cuts of pork, the ones he had were just ‘arseholes, hooves and lips’ as his brother would say.

Milo was starting to feel the now familiar sensation of getting to the point where his stomach was feeling the strain. He was only two items into the feast and already he could feel his belly tightening. There was a lot of food and beer in his stomach already. The shirt had definitely been a mistake. As he finished the sausage, he reached for a thick chicken kebab and with the other hand undid his belt and untucked his shirt. That helped as he kept going, his belly expanding into the space created.

Will’s mad dash strategy on the other hand was beginning to backfire. He was feeling totally stuffed. The comfortably full feeling he’d had at the start was starting to be replaced with a dull ache of gluttony. He was struggling to breathe a little bit with the pressure building up under his ribs. Looking across at Milo who was calmly chewing and swallowing down the food he began to regret the bravado. He gave his tight belly rub and ploughed on.

The crowd was beginning to build, both online and in person. Around twenty of their old school friends all watching with delight as the two played out a scene that wouldn’t have been unfamiliar in the school canteen ten years previously. Will was pouring with sweat, large circles appearing round his neck and arm pits, with half circles under his meaty pecs. Milo on the other hand was taking it in his stride. Mouthful after large mouthful was being chewed and swallowed down into his clearly expanding belly. The burger and sausage, now joined by a decent slab of belly pork, a lamb shank as well as chicken kebab, a pork one and a lamb one. Just a rack of ribs, the chicken leg and a thick juicy steak to go.

Milo was loving the attention, it made the pressure in his belly fade away as he heard people cheering and the distant ping of people tipping him on the online video. He began to play to the crowd a little, getting people to cheer him on whilst he made banter jabs at wills expense. ‘I heard Dubai is lovely this time of year!’ He quipped.

By the time Milo was down to one steak, Will was a mess. His belly was clearly maxed out, tight and rounded out straight from under his ribs. He was breathing heavily and in front of him was nearly half the food he’d bragged about finishing off so easily. Milo picked up the steak and showed it off to the crowd. Taking a big bite he began the final hurdle. He felt uncomfortably full, more so than he had before. He’d decided he would try and count up exactly how much food was packed into his belly when he got home. Maybe as a little bonus for his OnlyFans premium account. He might even do a little strip tease reveal of his belly and the consequences of the stuffing for them. There were a few heavy tippers who would really enjoy that.

Showing off, he managed to devour the heavy steak in 10 bites. Chewing and swallowing the last one, to the rapturous applause of the crowd. Will shook his head, looking a little green and belched, quickly putting his hand to his mouth just in case he threw up. ‘You win!’ He admitted. ‘I’m seriously impressed!’

Laughing, Milo picked up the sausage and a kebab from Will’s plate and ate them as well as the gathered school colleagues whooped and cheered. It was actually a little painful but it was worth it to see the genuine admiration on Will’s face. Turning to the camera he gave his usual belly reveal to his followers. Peeling up his shirt over the top of his engorged midsection, he revealed his packed furry gut. Ralphy ran in and gave his belly a big slap to celebrate. Milo laughed it off but it nearly made him chuck the whole lot back up. Swallowing it down he turned to Will and shook his hand. ‘Let me know when we leave and I’ll try and find my passport!’ He said with glee. Belching heavily, Will just nodded and smiled.

After the crowd began to disperse, Milo took his phone back from Jordan and gave a little shoutout to his watchers. At the bottom of the screen, just before he shut it down, he saw a brief flash of a username exiting the chat. ‘Jai-Eats’ was the name, which was the handle of his role model. Could that have actually been him? Milo thought to himself? Shaking away the thought quickly. As Will excused himself to get home, Milo tried to pull down his shirt over his belly to cover himself up but couldn’t really do it. Leaving it unbuttoned, framing his bloated stomach. Laughing he stayed a little while chatting to his old friends and knocking back a few more beers to numb the pain of his bloat. The familiar feeling of being uncomfortably full settling in to a dull ache as his system set about digesting the huge amount of food he had just consumed.

Later that evening both engorged gents reflected on their experiences that day at home. Will had been reticent to go to the reunion, not really wanting to see anyone now he was so fat. He pretended to be confident about his belly but really he was ashamed. He hadn’t lied, the belly was sort of accidental, and was really the result of a few too many take aways from his bachelor pad. But it was more than that. He loved food. Greasy take-aways were a guilty pleasure but he actually loved the whole process of cooking something from scratch. Experimenting with herbs and spices and new gadgets. Working out on how to slow roast a shoulder of pork perfectly using his brand new bbq and wireless thermometer was his happy place. And not only did he love cooking the food, he loved eating it. He loved the feeling of laying in the sofa at the end of a huge meal and feeling the weight of the food he had cooked himself and then consumed. Seeing Milo today had made him realised how much he enjoyed that full feeling but also how much he had to learn. It would be good to reconnect with him and maybe eat together. As he lay there rubbing his distended and rock hard belly he began to fall asleep. Dreaming of all the foods he would cook for Milo and how big Milo’s belly would get as he pushed in more and more and more.

Milo on the other hand was at home nursing his also swollen stomach. The food had begun to go south inside him, rounding his belly out even further. Being on the more muscular side meant that his stomach went through stages of digestion you could almost watch. Rubbing his belly in the mirror and seeing how the bottom half of his gut had rounded out a little more. He could hear the digestion sounds gurgle and churn. He watched as another part of his anatomy became swollen. As he massaged and stroked his stomach his thoughts moved to Will. His belly was incredible, round and hard and firm. And even though Milo out-ate him in the competition, he wasn’t sure if Will had actually eaten more food than him overall. He definitely ate faster, and maybe at the rate he was eating, more food ended up in there. Thinking about the new bloated and rounded out Will was new. He hadn’t seen Will in a while but he had never seen him in a sexual way? Now just thinking about that round tank of a belly and how full it was, was doing something for him. Milo took himself off for a shower to work out those emotions. As he left, peeling off his clothes rapidly, he didn’t notice his phone buzz. It was a dm from Jai-eats which was simply a number and the message ‘Call me’.

#gainer fiction #belly expansion #gay gainer #male gaining #stuffing #belly fiction #gainer stories #stuffing art #gainer story #gainer artwork

229 notes · View notes

ataraxiaspainting · 3 months

Text

One More Hour.

Megumi x GN Reader.

Synopsis: After nearly a whole day of spending time in your boyfriend’s dorm, he still wants more. Can you really deny him that wish, especially after he has bribed you with more chocolate and plushies, along with cuddling his dogs?

Word Count: 1k.

Ten Songs Like This Piece:

we fell in love in october by girl in red

Honeypie by JAWNY

I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys

Training Wheels by Melanie Martinez

Bubble Gum by Clairo

Cloud 9 by Beach Bunny

As It Was by Harry Styles

Mayonaka no Door / Stay With Me by Miki Matsubara

Hey Lover! by Wabie

Electric Love by BØRNS

*~*~*~*

No matter how much time passes, Megumi's dorm room remains unchanged in appearance and function.

The door glides open effortlessly unless Megumi has locked it for the night or day.

The rear wall of his room boasts fully stocked bookshelves, primarily filled with history books and nonfiction literature. This tends to annoy you, as reading any of them inevitably leads to immediate boredom-induced sleep. Once, you suggested that Megumi should embrace more imaginative reads, prompting him to respond with a half-serious glare that may have been annoyance or simply playful teasing, a common occurrence when the two of you are alone.

Megumi sleeps on a single futon, always left in a disheveled state, which is rather peculiar considering his typically organized nature. Even you occasionally make your bed, unless you're too tired in the mornings. However, Megumi consistently leaves his futon untidy, with stacks of nonfiction books near his pillow, as is his custom.

You always ponder silently, wondering if he keeps such boring books near his bedside so he can fall asleep faster, a mischievous smile forming within.

In the far corner of his dorm room sits his desk, always facing away from you. On it, you'll find Megumi's trusty laptop, open notebooks filled with scattered ideas, a collection of books, a handful of succulents and bonsai seedlings, and if you're fortunate, his Nintendo Switch. It's likely occupied by the perpetual loading screen of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Omori, or Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Although he claims to play these games solely to appease your persistent recommendations, deep down you suspect he genuinely enjoys them. Of course, if you were to ever voice this suspicion, he wouldn't hesitate to sell his beloved Nintendo Switch on some online auction platform right before your eyes, subjecting you to a rather cruel spectacle.

However, he would undoubtedly retract his decision at the last possible moment. Megumi may possess various traits, but intentionally causing you emotional pain out of spite is certainly not one of them.

“‘Gumi, what’s your favorite type of chocolate?”

At your question, Megumi stares at you like you have grown a second face like Tomie Kawakami. Surely to him, you’re also just as pretty right, minus the second face thing? You’ll have to put it on your list of impulsive things to ask him, physically writing it down or otherwise.

In your hands is the heart-shaped box he had just given to you as a supposed reward for not having talked his ears off. Along with not having thrown his gift, a container of some homemade strawberry cake that you made from a boxed mix, that you would never admit, at him when he inevitably made some teasing quip. You aren’t known for being exactly willing to let insults from fellow peas in your pod pass without them hammering back. It is just what you do.

He may avoid the question, but at least he will still be chained down to sitting with you on the floor if you keep on pouting with every action he takes.

As always, acting like he is being held hostage in his own dorm room, he shuffles from side to side instead of responding. He’s faking being nervous again. Even if you wanted to, you could never actually hurt Megumi.

He looks at the floor, feigning confusion and fear.

You sigh.

There is a slight smirk that appears on his face as you do so.

He can be such a dick sometimes, intentionally or not, although him being the former is quite rare, he only does it with you. The duality of such a foreign species of a man called Megumi Fushiguro, you guess.

“Cherry, of course.” Of course. “I just love it. You should know that. Bec-”

Immediately, your hand slaps over his mouth like its life depends on it.

“Don’t you dare, everyone knows I hate cherry-flavored things!”

Like he was drowning, Megumi acts out a struggle and as soon as your hand is off, he takes in deep breaths, inhaling in and out quickly like you had single-handedly made him see the heavens itself. He is strange. But so are you.

So, against your better judgment, you throw your copy of Crime and Punishment, all 700 pages of it, at him, hitting his forehead with a loud slamming sound erupting from the attack.

“Ow!” Megumi exclaims, rubbing the sore spot with his hands. Maybe your actions were over the top? Yet, then again, so was his.

You cross your arms. “Deserved.”

“I can take away that rabbit plush I gave you last week.”

“You wouldn’t dare, Fushiguro.”

“I would. You’re lucky, though. I don’t usually tease anyone aside from you.”

That’s true. Megumi is stoic in all matters, from cooking to reading. That is, aside from matters where a closed door and you are involved. It is like he becomes an entirely different person, you heavily, heavily doubt Yuji would believe you if you told him.

Even on dates, he is never this expressive. If anything, he is a well-meaning but cold Prince Charming whenever the general public has eyes on him. If only that were true.

“But really, what is your favorite type of chocolate?”

His smirk disappears, replaced with a thoughtful expression.

“Hmm.” Perhaps the all-powerful concussion made him go back to normal? That would make sense. “Coffee, maybe.”

“Huh? Why, to still satisfy your caffeine addiction?”

“Goes well with ginger.”

“What?”

It is a hard-to-stomach image that appears in your head; Megumi eating Shogayaki for breakfast with black coffee along with coffee-flavored chocolates on the side. It makes you sick just thinking about it. If that vision ever became an unfortunate reality, you could imagine yourself looking at the scene in pure horror.

He isn’t teasing you if his expression tells you anything.

He’s serious.

“They aren’t that sweet either.” He really is serious. “You know I don’t like sweet side dishes. Ginger and coffee are a good combination.”

He really is fucking serious.

“Get out, Megumi.”

“...This is my-”

“Argh! Don’t care! Get out!”

#he deserves so much better </3 #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #jjk fanfic #jjk fluff #jujutsu kaisen fluff #fanfic fluff #megumi x reader #jujutsu kaisen headcanons #megumi fushiguro x reader #megumi fushiguro x you #author aya

129 notes · View notes

thefallennightmare · 6 months

Text

Miracle-eighteen

*gif found on pinterest*

Pairings: Noah Sebastian x Reader

Warnings/Tropes: forced proximity, slight enemies to lovers, slow burn, smut, angst, fluff, mentions of death, and swearing.

Summary: Reader is the merch girl for Bad Omens. It wasn't what she wanted to do with her life but when her mother got sick with Alzheimer's, reader took a job where she could to help with the costs. She thought it would be a one-time gig but the longer she was on the road with them, the harder she fell for Noah Sebastian; even if he wanted nothing to do with her. She needed a miracle to save her mom and her future.

Author Note: I hope y'all don't hate me after this.

Tags: @ada-clarence @nonamessblog @thescarlettvvitch @malice-ov-mercy @crimson-calligraphyx @theoneandonlykymberlee @yumikitten @blackveilomens @cherrymedicine13 @thebadchic @notmaddihealy @jay02bo @beaker1636 @jakekiszkasguitarpick @punk-pr1ncessxoxo @er3nslovergirl @iamdesolate @lma1986 @jessitpwk @themodern-daywednesday @writethrough @bngurngheart @dreams-that-are-anwsered @loeytuan98 @omens-in-reverse @loverofagoodbeard @jay02bo @niicoleleigh

"So it's over?" I clutched my phone between my ear and shoulder as I carried in the bags of groceries into the house.

"Yes. He tried to fight your mothers will, but it clearly states that you keep the house. There's no way James can sell it without your permission."

I sighed while setting down the bags on the kitchen counter. "Thank you, Ryan. I appreciate all your help."

"No problem, Y/N. If you need anything else, call my office anytime."

Ending the call, I left my phone on the counter as I put away the food I bought, the setting sun forcing its rays through the glass windows. Even with the cool November weather, the heat of the sun-blasted against my back, warming my skin instantly. The house was quiet as I moved throughout it, picking up odd things that were scattered in random places and putting them back where they belonged. The phone call with the lawyer's office that had been helping me deal with situating my mother's estate and her will weigh heavy on my mind. I'd been working with them for the last couple of weeks and although they said that it was over, a part of me knew deep down that this thing with James was far from over.

After my mother's funeral a few weeks ago and the interactions with James, I immediately sought some legal help to make sure that there wasn't any kind of loophole that he could find to slip through. Thankfully, there were none and James ended up flying back home to Texas, leaving me alone.

Or so I thought.

It started at first as just weird feelings then it turned into the feeling of being watched anytime I was walking around the neighborhood or even inside my house. It got so intense that I ended up leaving the curtains closed twenty-four-seven. If that wasn't creepy enough, one morning I woke up and noticed that the back door was open just a crack. It scared me so bad because I remembered shutting and locking it. It's been about a week since the last weird incident and I decided it was all in my head. Originally I thought it was James but knowing he was back in Texas, I chalked it up to a crazed fan that found out where I lived.

Somehow pictures of me with the guys at my mother's funeral ended up online, especially ones of Noah's hand in mine. People already had their suspicions about the two of us but now the rumors were spreading like wildfire online. I did what I always did when I read something I didn't like; I ignored it.

Since the kiss we shared on his birthday, things between Noah and I were even more weird, in a good way. The only problem? It felt as if we were rushing back into things which is not what I wanted. So while Bad Omens were away playing a three-day festival a few hours away, I was using this time alone to think about things.

Noah offered me my job back, but I didn't accept it, not yet anyway. It was something I needed to think about. Although be it tempting, I also needed to think about where my life went from here. I didn't want to stay in this house much longer because the memories were too daunting and frankly; I wanted to forget about the times of taking care of my mom here. Her lies were etched into the walls and buried deep into the soil of the foundation. The thought of moving far away crossed my mind a few times, but it never was more than a thought. All the bad memories aside, there was a lot of good here that I couldn't bear the thought of leaving.

Before Noah left, we talked about some things that were said that night of our fight. He apologized profusely about bringing up my only fans page in front of everyone and comparing it to amateur porn. When in fact; it was something that Noah watched often. He said the real thing was better than the pictures or videos I posted.

I thought I would be angry that he saw me like that before the night in the storage closet but I wasn't. It extremely flattered me he thought of me like that.

When I told him I'd be stopping the page, he told me I didn't have too since we were kind of, sort of, dating, but I told him it was only to pay Lana's paychecks when she was taking care of my mother. Now, there was no need for the Only Fans page anymore. Noah wouldn't say it out loud, but I could tell he was relieved that I deleted the page.

I also had to tell him that Folio saw my nudes. Prior to how he acted in jealousy, Noah surprised me when he shrugged it off with a laugh.

"Damn, he got those for free? Do you know how much I had to pay for those?" He joked which earned a slap to his chest from me.

We hadn't kissed or done anything more since his birthday, much to the dismay of my aching pussy that begged for him. He never forced me for more of our relationship and I was thankful for that.

As I was returning downstairs with a large stack of photo albums in my arms, I heard my phone ringing from the kitchen and made it just in time to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi angel," Noah's deep voice echoed in my ear.

The corner of my mouth lifted into a smile. "Hey you. How's the festival?"

"Good, we just got back on the bus and should head back home soon. I wanted to call and check in since it's been awhile since we last talked."

It was true. I wished them all good luck at the festival before they left a few days ago. I didn't even talk to Folio, that's how much I was valuing this alone time. Of course, not wanting them to worry, I sent a text or two letting them know I was alive. Noah was understanding in letting me have all the time I needed to myself but he made sure I knew that once the festival was over, he'd be calling.

"You're leaving already? It's only the second night," I said.

"The schedule of the festival changed around and our sets already finished. We figured to head back home a day early."

I hummed. "Some girl back home waiting for you?"

"Yes. In fact, I plan on having her over at my place for a movie night."

"Oh, really now?" I raised a brow while opening up the photo albums. "Does she know about this?"

There was some loud voices on Noah's end before he yelled away from the receiver. "Assholes! I'm on the phone."

"Tell Y/N we say hi!"

Jolly.

"She's coming back to work, right? Because the pictures Davis got for our social media fucking suck."

Nick.

"Hey, fuck you man!"

Davis.

I chuckled while sitting on the stool at the counter, slowly flipping through the photo album. It was of my sixth birthday and seeing the pictures of my father with a large smile on his face as he handed me my birthday cake warmed my heart. I did this every night the last few weeks; looking though old memories in hopes to remember the good ones.

"Tell her to answer my text. It's important!"

Folio.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled my phone away from my ear to look at my most recent text from him.

The second we got the news that our set ended a day early, Noah damn near sprinted to the bus like someone lit a fire under his ass so he can call you. He's rushing us so we can get back home. I don't know how but you got that man wrapped around your finger.

My heart skipped a beat as I put the phone back to my ear just in time to ear Noah's sweet voice again.

"So about that movie night?"

"Depends," I chewed on my bottom lip.

"On?"

"Can it be just you and I? Maybe at my place?"

There was a long beat of silence on Noah's end. "You sure? I don't want to rush you into anything, angel."

"You're not, trust me. We've been taking things slow so this movie night could be the next step."

"I'll promise to keep my hands to myself."

I could almost imagine Noah crossing a finger over his chest.

Closing the photo album, I leaned back into the stool with a playful smirk on my face. "Maybe I don't want you too."

"Angel," Noah groaned. "As soon as I'm back home, I'm coming over. I don't care the time."

I giggled while making my way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my room. By now the moon was casting its bright white glow on the old wooden floorboards and I was ready to turn in for the night.

"How long is the drive?" I asked.

Noah sighed. "It's about five hours."

Glancing at the clock on the wall of the hallway, I noticed it was about eight in the evening, meaning by the time he got home, it would be too late and I'd most likely be asleep.

"How about tomorrow night then?" I asked once I stepped foot in my room.

"I'll hold you to that."

We talked for a few more minutes before I reluctantly hung up, exhaustion pulling my body toward my bed.

My nose tickled at the harsh smell as I turned over in bed, slumber still weighing heavy on my chest. But the smell intensified which woke me, eyes fluttering open. It was almost an earthy smell as it engulfed me and I sat up in bed with a start. The surrounding air was thick with dust and my vision was hazy as I looked around my room. Then I realized it wasn't my vision that was hazy, it was my room that was hazy. A thick cloud of smoke filled my room, and I traced it to the bottom of my closed door where I sucked in a sob; bright flames licked their way underneath the opening of the door and I scrambled out of bed towards the farthest side of the wall.

Fuck.

My house was on fire, and it was slowly reaching my bedroom.

"SHIT!" I cried when the flames now ran up my door, the heat immediately brushing across my face.

Did I leave a candle burning?

No, I haven't lit one in days.

Did I leave to stove on?

No, I ordered pizza for dinner.

And the fireplace hasn't been lit in years.

So how the fuck did the fire start?

My eyes glanced over to the phone on my nightstand but before I could reach for it, the flames reached it and I reared farther back into the farthest corner of my room away from the fire. Fear gripped me as I tried to scramble my brain on how to escape.

I couldn't leave my room without getting burned alive so the only way out was the window, but I was on the second story which was at least a 15-foot drop. There was a lattice I could slowly climb my way down but it would take time to make sure I didn't fall which time wasn't something I had much time of.

My throat felt raw and thick as I continued to breathe in the smoke the longer I stayed in my fetal position. I coughed as I slowly rose to my feet, ready to climb through the window when something caught the corner of my eye. On my dresser on the other side of the room was an array of pictures of my mother and I and also with my father. Then on my desk next to the dresser was my laptop which had more pictures; most of my time with Bad Omens.

Continuing to cough up black smoke, I rushed through the flames to grab two picture frames and as I was going to reach for my laptop, a flame brushed up from underneath the desk, touching the skin of my wrist and hand. I hissed in pain as I pulled my burned hand into my chest, tears mixing with the soot from the fire on my face.

My brain was screaming at me to leave because the fire would burn me alive in seconds, the sound of the flames and memories burning hurt my ears. So with one last look around the crumbling vision of what was once my bedroom, I hastily climbed out of the window with my burned hand clutching the pictures close to my chest. It was difficult to climb down the lattice with one hand and shaky legs, the amount of smoke I inhaled made my breathing labored and I was sure that I was seconds away from passing out.

Far off in the distance, I heard sirens and knew that in a matter of minutes, I would be saved, all I had to do was reach the safety of the ground below. But as I was about a few feet away from safety, I noticed the flames were burning hot and bright from the window just below my feet. Which meant I was trapped in between the two floors, barely hanging on to the lattice.

"Fuck," I sobbed while banging my head on the peeling wood.

"Angel!"

Choking out another cry, I peered over my shoulder to where I heard the desperate voice.

Noah was running up the long driveway up to my house, both Nicks' and Jolly right behind him.

My heart soared from the sight of them and for a moment, only a moment, I didn't think I was going to die.

"You need to jump!" Nick yelled up to me.

I quickly shook my head. "No way. It's too far of a drop and if one of you guys try to catch me, I'd hurt you!"

"You have too!" Jolly demanded.

Noah's frantic eyes searched every inch of the house until he pointed to the window a few feet to my left, one that had a balcony. "What room is that?"

"Uh," I closed my eyes to think of the layout of my house. "It's my mom's. There's a back staircase in her room that leads to the mudroom!"

"It seems like the fire hasn't reached it. You need to climb to that window and hoist yourself up onto the balcony to make your way down," Nick suggested.

"I can't!" I cried.

Folio's soft voice called up to me. "Yes you can, Y/N. There's no other way."

"No," I shook my head with not only fear but the pain from my burned hand. "I burned my hand pretty bad and I can't climb with it. I'm barley hanging on."

A scream crawled its way out of my throat when I slipped down the lattice a few inches, my grip faltering.

Noah's face was filled with so much worry it made my stomach sink to the pits of hell.

"Stay there, angel!" He called up to me as he began running. "I'm coming!"

"NO!"

Folio was too slow to stop Noah, who disappeared out of sight as he ran towards the side of the house that the fire hadn't reached yet. My eyelids felt heavy as I continued to cough up the smoke that my lungs inhaled and with every breath, I hissed in pain. It felt as if there was a vice grip around my insides making it harder to breathe and stay conscious.

"Y/N, stay with us. Noah's almost there," Jolly's voice sounded so far away.

I nodded, or I thought I did, because Nick's yells were all I heard before darkness finally had a grip on me just as my grip on the lattice slipped away, my body falling to the hard ground below.

#noah sebastian #noah sebastian and reader #noah sebastian x reader #noah sebastian reader insert #noah sebastian smut #forced proximity #enemies to lovers #slow burn

232 notes · View notes

public-trans-it · 7 months

Note

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

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

So, the thing about Darkspore is…

… it was a really REALLY… mediocre game.

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

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

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

“Internet connection required”

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

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

Story

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

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

…

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

Gameplay

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

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

Genesis

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

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

Heroes

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

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

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

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

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

Squad Decks

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

- The unique ability of your active hero

- The Genesis ability of your active heroes variant

- Hero 1’s Squad ability

- Hero 2’s Squad ability

- Hero 3’s squad ability

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

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

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

Loot

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cash-out Loot

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

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

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

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

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

And that ties into my absolute favorite system of Darkspore:

Catalysts

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

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

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

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

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

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

And now, it’s gone forever.

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

… I never did that again. Right?

… right?

…

HEX: Shards of Fate

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

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

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

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

Literally.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

… and then they settled out of court.

Sigh.

I guess I’ll talk about the game now.

Lore

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes this is just the MtG color pie.

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

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

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

Digital Design Space

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

Like…

Seriously.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HEY WE ARE COMING FULL CIRCLE!

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

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

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

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

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

…

Maybe I should back up a bit.

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

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

Spiderlings are 1/1 Unblockable creatures.

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

PvE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

ToonTown Online

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

295 notes · View notes

kanmom51 · 7 months

Text

JK Radio Stationhead 1 October 2023

And a little more as well...

cr./and huge thanks to the translation accounts I used in this post.

I think this was the most interesting Stationhead we've had so far with JK. JK was chatty, informative (well, to an extent), I would maybe even say combative? Maybe that's a little too strong a term to use, but I do think he came to show that he is unbothered by the shitstorm going on and clap back just a little bit. And he knows about that shitstorm, make no mistake.

I see Jikookers falling for this hateful campaign against JK. Not only are they perpetuating it, but they are also adding to it, embellishing it, and spreading it.

By now JK has had several girlfriends named, he's a baby daddy (she was pregnant in Feb, so...), he's going on double dates with his mate Tae, trucking (censorship issues had me change that - you know exactly what it's meant to be) her with the windows and curtains open for all to see (after telling us he's aware he's being followed around including home). All this he managed to get done before he sat down and did hours on end of JM dedicated lives, calling him his fan, flirting with him online while in bed for all of us to see, and going on a 4 day private trip with him.

A very wise blogger once said: (@ourwinterspring, hope you don't mind me quoting your wise words):

Rumors are created by haters accepted by fools and spread by idiots

That. Just that!!!

People that called themselves Jikook supporters (I'm not talking about shippers, they are in this for their own self gratification, while supporters are supposed to be looking out for JM and JK and supporting them both individually and their relationship, which btw is still considered tabooed in their own country), they are rushing to conclusions, and aiding in the spread of these lies.

K-army laughed them off.

Chinese army are fighting them off.

And I army are just spreading them like wildfire.

Why this long winded introduction?

Because Jikook are in an impossible position really. They are a closeted queer couple in a country and industry that would not accept their relationship if it would become publicly known. As long as the door is open for deniability they are ok. Taking that step through that door and out of the closet, that is one hell of a step with many consequences, to them and to those who surround them.

JK is about to release his 1st solo album, and he's in the midst of trying to infiltrate the American and Western music market. To do so they are selling a very certain image, and being queer is not part of it.

They are also both before enlistment to the military.

Them going: "hey bitches, the stories are untrue, we're in a long term loving relationship", is not a realistic expectation. And no matter what JK would say otherwise, the rumours they are just gonna keep coming, cause this train, this coordinated smear attack, it's not finished. And if and when that would be done, we'd be back to Yubi and Rose and Lisa (oh, oops, she's with Freddie), and Miju. Ehm, she's married. But wait, since when has that stopped anyone, eh? It didn't stop the Nicole stories, which, btw, are still rampant, including among some Jikookers (?) - what the actual truck is wrong with people???

So, no Jikook announcement.

A company one? Kind of feel that one won't come either. Again, JK 3D promotions and upcoming album in mind. Not to mention, and this my friends is me being super cynical right now, other than the harassment claims, the company doesn't have a problem with these rumours, given it solidifies his bad boy, truckboy, heterosexual image they are selling right now. There, I said it.

But Jikook, JM and JK, they aren't happy with this. They can't be happy with this. As much as this image is a price to pay, on the way JK is sending us constant hints that it ain't all that you see. That he's a complex being. That he might appear one way in 3D, but another in Seven and another in his CK and Vogue photoshoots (the latter with him being the artistic designer and bringing along some outfits and/or accessories that he wanted himself), not to mention someone else all together in his long lives with us. He tells us this is him. Who we see. But those that only see that image in 3D are just not looking at the full picture he's painting.

This is him:

But also this:

And this:

They are all pieces of the puzzle that is one Mr. Jeon Jungkook. And I'm sure there are pieces we have yet to see.

It's funny that JK is singing 3D (basically having phone sex and wishing for more) but at the same time he's telling us "this is me in 3D". Not one dimensional. A complex grown up human being.

Btw, I kind of feel like I need to link this post again, seeing that so many are still thinking that having muscles, tattoos and piercings makes you heterosexual or at least bi. Cause, I mean, you must be sexually attracted to women if you are super masculine, and get tattoos or pierce your body, right?

Oh boy, this is a long one. I haven't even started with Stationhead, lol.

So, JK is trying to show us he's a complex human being. This is him. Not one MV or song he chose to sing. The full picture. The shoots he chooses, the concepts for his songs (do I have to remind of his Seven concept shoot?), his lives, what he shared with us (as in past tense cause Idk how much more he will with everything that's going on).

And in the midst of this, knowing you are in a committed relationship, having your integrity, your good name smeared, being with the person you love and knowing that the world not only doesn't see how dear you are to each other but also thinks you're being sexually intimate with multiple others. Not to mention, having to deal at this young age with the knowledge that there are people out there that hate you enough to want to hurt you on such a level, to ruin your good name, your career. It can be paralyzing. And they put on a brave face. JK says he knows people hate him and good for them, he'll continue to live his life. But it's hard, it's hurtful, and these two, they are the kindest sweetest people out there, they don't deserve this.

OMG, when will I finally get to the point?

I think about now would be a good time.

So, no speaking up. No announcement. But at the same time they don't want to just sit there and take it.

Phew, here we go?

JK came today, 1st October (or more so 1st Jimtober) to Stationhead after his 3D dance practice video landed (same day).

And by some strange coincidence (no coincidence at all), JM released his second #ThisisJimin dance clip to Dominic Fike's Phone Numbers with these lyrics, coincidentally:

Woah, Kenny! Why you not here with me? Can you break bread with me? Why you switch phone numbers like clothes? Why you can't answer me? (Yeah) 'Cause I got more coming

(Not a love song)

Using a prop. Wait for it...

Oh, and the outfits that happen to be kind of similar and sticking to the black and white.

I feel like I'm repeating myself here, but you know, sometimes you need to in order to hammer the message in.

And JK, well he also posted a selfie on Weverse (while on Stationhead).

1st Jimtober with his fave Jack Skellington.

So yeah. The little things. Those little codes that say "we are here, we are ok, all is well, this will definitely not break us."

Yes. I get all of that from those little things, lol.

But, it didn't end with that.

And here we are.

Finally at the precipice.

Well, not precipice per say. That's being a little dramatic. But I am finally going to get to JK on Stationhead, as in what we got from him during the show.

I guess with this long introduction I should start with the Jikook related, right?

Let's start with JK repeating the endearment JM used in his IG post for 3D.

And then JK basically confirmed that he and JM were together when drawing the cloud whale drawing JM shared with us on IG telling us JK drew it.

Making sure we know that they drew the whale together.

You don't have to understand Korean to hear the amusement in his voice. We don't know when this was taken (CT or perhaps more recently... although my initial thought was CT I'm kind of leaning to it being more recent, like very recent), but we know they were together. We thought so and now JK confirmed it.

Enjoyed confirming it.

He also brought up JM's birthday being this month. Yes, he could be reacting to comments, but we've discussed this multiple times in the past. You know. Choices. And in this case, his choice which ones to answer, right?

Once again, it's all in the way it's all being said. The "I know something you don't" tone of voice. The "a-ha, yeah, Uhah" while supposedly looking up if he's doing something on the day. The "I'm going to be busy...I see I have a schedule..?" ending with a question mark? As in "do I really?" Lol.

The way he was talking, the man has something planned. I really don't want to have any expectations here. But man, he's making it hard for me not to have them. Lmao.

And another JM related comment he chooses to answer:

This time you don't get the sassiness or teasing in his voice like we did with the JM birthday answer. Idk why they aren't doing each other's challenges. It's for them to know. We know JK was showing/teaching JM Seven moves. We know that JK knew SMF pt. 2 moves. I guess it's something they just decided between them. Or perhaps schedules didn't and aren't aligning. Who knows. And who knows, we might just get a surprise. Next phone song JM does could be 3D, lol.

Ok, so he saw his parents. He goes on to also talk about his mother's cooking (oh, that man is so in trouble with his mom calling her cooking bland, lmao). Kind of gathering from it all that JK was in Busan for the holiday. Could that photo JM shared, you know, the one JK made sure we know they both drew the whale on, have been taken when they were both down in Busan for the holiday? I wonder...

This here is, I feel, JK clapping back a little at the haters. But also telling us, once again, that he's an adult and does adult things. Knows how to work hard when needed, and when to "play hard", as in relax and have a good time, when allowed.

This one isn't about Jikook (well in a sense maybe it is, as it's about shooting down TKKs hopes and prayers, lol). JK clarifying Tae's story about him recording a song at JK's place and JK directing him.

So, no pre-planning, JK's reply "and I was like "suddenly"? And also letting us know Tae didn't record the final at his place. Burn, lol. Also answers (again - like in the Inkigayo live) a question about karaoke with Tae. More or less same answer. More or less "that's a no"?

And this I already shared with you guys:

This is basically JK. Again, when he says I'm showing you my true self. It's not the image of the hunky guy with the sexy expressions doing that sexy choreography with the female dancers hands on him. Well not only. It's the shy introvert that feels awkward when these women are touching him. And just to be clear here. This isn't me saying anything about his sexuality. But it's definitley me saying he is not this careless truckboy people are so badly wanting him to be. Being an adult and having sex (let's call it rex from now on), a lot of it, enjoying it, doesn't make it the core of who you are as a person, doesn't mean you are having rex with multiple people for the only pursual of physical gratification nor does it mean that the rex you are having is necessarily with a female even if you are singing a song saying girl in it, to which the lyrics were not written by yourself. JK also sang a song about having rex 7 days a week, but with that one person, in his words, wanting to be all the time with "the love of my life". See, that was a little slip of the tongue by him, lol. But very revealing. Thank you ever so much for that one JK.

Do you understand the difference here?

One being lyrics to a song he's performing, him being a singer. Lyrics he didn't write himself.

The other is his explanation, his take on the meaning of the song he is singing (also not written by him). Inserting that little very personal touch.

Do we get it? JK isn't the lyrics, the lyrics aren't JK.

Oh, and by the by, JK's lyrics aren't referencing multiple partners. If we are being all about "but he's singing it, so it must be who he is". The multiple partners, the truckboy image, that's Jack Harlow's bit. JK is still talking to one person.

But again, I stress, the song doesn't represent JK as a person or his character. And those that are making that leap are simply...

Moving on.

JK's asked which he prefers more? 7 or 3D. Very diplomatically makes sure we know that at the time he liked Seven and now it's leaning more towards 3D. Well duh, this is him promoting it. Then he combines the two to 7D.

"What's your favourite part of 3D?" Him asking the listeners.

JK talked about eating chicken, being busy practicing all the time (I am curious to know what for), finishing up and going home to workout, shower and sleep.

He also talked about GCF and his appreciation for Army.

Asked about music or variety show, and the answer is probably not, it's hard for him (this is where the shy introvert part of him wins, I guess). It's easier to be alone on a stage in front of thousands performing than have to interact one on one with people that you aren't as familiar or comfortable with. On stage you go after much practice. Small talk and interviews and socializing means having to be focused (neuro divergent prince here) and it's so so hard for a shy introvert to deal with. Key word ALONE.

Although he's asked about further plans he's adamant not to give spoilers (well, more so afraid he'll be told off by the company, lol).

He misses the old days I guess. Of Kakao Fancafe. The intimacy of it. The safety of it perhaps.

He also wants to cook for army.

I feel like him telling us he is pulling back on the lives, allowing for the mystery, well he's also missing those lives. He needs that connection with his fans. Maybe even more so with this path he's going down, disconnecting from the idol and becoming the mega star. He needs that emotional connection with his fans. But at the same time, a more intimate setting, where he can really connect with them, is something he prefers.

And again, the connection with Army.

About the members:

F u c k , this is getting way too long. I can't talk about it all. I will add a couple more things and leave it at that. My apologies.

So, this is another clap back from JK:

Oh, and this was curious.

Ooh, one last thing.

He finally tells us where he got the scar on his shoulder from. Well, not too glamorous, lol. He slipped and fell while running in the car park shooting the CK ad. Hurt his finger as well, but that has healed already by now.

JK ending with:

Funny how the little things just added up. All very little perhaps inconsequential actions as of themselves, but add them together and you get a message.

One you will see if only you wish to.

Oh, and end comment. This is utterly disgusting and childish and I'm at a total loss for words here.

We have 2 more of these coming, if I'm not mistaken. Will be interesting to see what we get next.

#Jungkook #JK #JK 3D #JK stationhead #Jikook #Kookmin #Minkook #Jimin #JM

195 notes · View notes

josephquinnswhore · 1 year

Note

Hi! I'm not sure if you're taking requests but i wanted to ask if you could write one with Pedro where they're dating but reader is not famous, she is actually a young artist that runs a small business on Instagram. And everyone is shocked that he's with her, but he is so proud of being her boyfriend and is VERY supportive of her both in private and in public. That's, thank you 😊💕

The Actor and The Artist

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x female reader.

Summary: you’re hosting your first ever art show and the paparazzi make you wonder if you’re good enough.

Word Count: 1.4K

Content Warning: age gap relationship, insecure reader.

Note: I fking love this request @rosaliedepp *kisses your forehead* I hope you love it. 🫶🏼💜

You remember where you first started, selling your artwork on Etsy, your prices were so cheap they undermined the hours of hard work, pain, sweat and tears that went into them, still you only managed to sell 3 works in about 12 months, you were stumped. Feeling like you should just give up, like it was a lost cause and your art wasn’t really as good as you originally thought it was. Until it happened.

You thought it was a scam at first, these scammers were getting crafty these days and the Pedro Pascal, messaging you on Etsy wanting a custom piece? Come on, didn’t seem likely and you weren’t stupid. You remember asking him to DM you on Instagram, his offical page, giving the email your username on Insta and within minutes receiving a direct message from the Pedro Pascal’s offical Instagram page that at the time, had 2.4 million followers, the white tick surrounded by the blue circle was confirmation it was really him and not some bot, or scammer.

He had been generous in his compliments on your works, even suggested making a business Instagram account to gain more traction, within the hour of messaging he had placed an order and left a very generous tip, he had even followed you and kept in contact regularly upon the arrival of his artwork, you figured it was because he didn’t trust you after he had sent that much money.

It was the opposite of what you thought that kept him talking with you, he thought you were sweet, talented and had real potential and knew he could help you where you needed it; not lacking in talent but recognition. If people actually saw your artwork, people would buy them. And they did, once they saw that Pedro had uploaded an image of your artwork in his house, that he followed you, your page blew up overnight, and you had Pedro to thank for it.

Which leads you to the present, two years later and 12 months of you two officially being a couple, even though things were fairly ‘new’ for the two of you, people had suspected things had been going on for longer. People of course had said their two cents online and you opted to ignore it.

Here you were in the cold evening of New York City, in a gallery room that was cleared just for your artwork, which would be showcased then auctioned, you had heard some big names were invited, ones in which you were terrified to see, let alone meet.

“You doing okay sweetheart?” Pedro’s voice scared you, pulling you back to reality as the room was half filled with people, something you’d failed to notice in your dissociative state. You offer him a smile as he hands you a glass filled with champagne.

“A bit nervous, hoping this will help.” You take a sip, your red lipstick that matches your ruby red silk, spaghetti strap dress, smears on the rim of the glass, you clutch your purse as a last resort for stress relief, feeling the tension build as more people arrive.

“I’m shitting myself, what if they don’t sell, what if they don’t like it? What if they don’t like me?” Your rambling makes Pedro chuckle, he steps towards you, his matching burgundy suit presses against your dress clad skin. His free hand caresses your hand and your hair tickles his fingers as you lean into him.

“They’ll be stupid not to love you, or your artwork. You’ve got this sweetheart.” You look at the genuine look on his face and can’t help but fall in love all over again, this man was truly a blessing in your life.

“You’re right, I’m powerful and wonderful and a fucking great artist. To us baby.” You clink your glasses together before throwing your head back, swallowing the liquid for courage before walking to the stage that had a microphone and your most iconic artwork on the wall behind you.

You’re standing in front of dozens of well known celebrities, but the champagne gives you the courage to smile at them as they watch you with wondering eyes. “Thank you all so much for joint us this evening. It’s truly an honour to host this event and to have you all here. Just a reminder that 35% of all purchases goes to the highest sellers choice of charity.”

The group cheer as you welcome them, pleased by your selflessness to give away money to donate to charity, Pedro is standing by himself off to the left of the stage and you give him a sweet smile.

“I wouldn’t be here without my biggest supporter, he’s changed my life for the better. This is the biggest moment of my life and thank you all for joining me along on this journey. The auction begins in 15 minutes so please don’t go anywhere. Stay and enjoy as long as you like, have a wonderful evening everyone.”

The applause goes straight to your head, people clapping and cheering for you as you walk off the stage, meeting Pedro at his side and giving him a kiss on the cheek, he doesn’t mind that you leave a lip shaped lipstick stain on his skin.

The auction is intense, your latest piece was the biggest success, it was sold for $360,000. That to you, was insane, you had earned that much money on one artwork. The years of hardworking was finally coming to pay off, not to mention one charity of a buyers choice was going to have received a very hefty donation.

“I can’t fucking believe it, that was insane. Thank you so much for coming with me, I couldn’t have done it without you.” You muse as you’re locking up the store, Pedro blushes at your compliment. “You did this all yourself sweetheart, money can’t buy talent.”

You shiver as the cold air hits your bare shoulders, the skin forming goosebumps immediately, your teeth are chatting at the freezing temperatures, curing yourself for not bringing a jacket. Pedro takes off his suit jacket, leaving him in his long sleeve-white button up dress shirt as he wraps the jacket around you, the smell and warmth of him bring you back to reality. The warmth holds you in its grasp.

“You didn’t have to do that, thank you.” You look up at him, thankful for the kind gesture. “Of course I did sweetheart, let’s get you home.” The perfect moment between you was spoiled as you see and hear paparazzi come swarming and shouting in your direction, probably after seeing the event posted online.

“Hey Pedro Pascal! What’s it like dating someone not talented on your level? Is it because you want a normal life?” The man snaps pictures of you and Pedro together, holding hands and Pedro shielding you from the cameras as the flash is blinding you.

“She is more talented than me. She’s an incredible artist, not that I have to justify it. Please leave us alone we’re very tired.” Pedro takes your hand and you try to walk away to get to his car which was parked right outside of the gallery, was it a good idea, no. Was it convenient, yes.

“What’s it like dating someone significantly younger, do you think she’s dating you for the money?” Pedro opens your door and puts your seatbelt on for you, before shutting the door and turning to the men following him.

“She’s the most genuine person I’ve ever met, not that it’s any of your business. Goodnight.”

He turns and makes his way to the car, starting it and driving off away from the flashes that blinded his eyes only moments ago. He notices you’re quiet, too quiet.

“Are you okay?” He seemed to be asking that a lot lately.

“I don’t know. They’re just mean, I love you Pedro, I do. I just don’t know how you deal with that- it’s so invasive and just horrible the things they’re saying about me, about us.”

His hand rubs your bare knee as he drives, his eyes not leaving the road until he comes to a red light mere streets from your shared apartment, “don’t listen to a word they say. They’re just looking for a reaction. If you’re happy then we’re good. I know I’m the happiest I’ve ever been with you.”

“You always know the right things to say Pedro.”

“I gotta keep my girl happy, don’t I?” You can’t help but smile at the comment, he truly was a blessing.

#pedro pascal #pedropascal #pedro pascal rpf #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x fem reader #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal x artist reader #pedro pascal age gap fic #daddy Pedro pascal

551 notes · View notes

joshslater · 1 year

Text

Manhood Exchange

The premise is based on a story I read a while back and forgot to bookmark. Similar stories and bonus material on my Patreon.

I was in a shopping mall when I got the notification on my phone. Out of habit I just tapped the icon and suddenly I got a large, erect cock filling the phone screen. I immediately became aware of where I was and had a few seconds of panic before reassuring myself that no one else saw it. I moved a few steps to somewhere less open, where no one could walk behind me, and had a look again.

It was beautiful. Massive and uncut, with the skin pulled back to expose the pink, gleaming head. Actually the entire cock glistened like he had made a few strokes with precum on his hand and then positioned himself with just the right lighting to make the veins pop a little extra. The truly remarkable part was however the overlay at the bottom of the screen. "$400, quick trade"

I'd been on the Manhood Exchange app long enough to know a cock like this is usually hundred times that price, if not more. Whatever impression you've got from watching porn, people are on a bell curve with cock sizes, and the ones on the higher end of the scale aren't selling. All the people who used to compensate with a big truck suddenly ended up in the same market, competing for the same cocks, and they make a hell of a lot more big trucks than big cocks. Oddly enough there was a market for really small cocks as well, not quite as high prices, but just as small supply. Normal people like me in the middle of the bell curve with no cash to buy and no cock to sell just had to make do.

It's not enough for a cock to just enter the market either, which itself is a thread to needle with the 18-35 eligible age span and clean health declaration. For you to find one it has to be bio-compatible for science reasons and roughly the same race for ethics reasons, though the latter is just a matter of money. Obviously I tapped the "Deal!" button in the app before I even checked out his profile. With that kind of cock everyone would know you either had a shit ton of money, or you could get it by selling. The profile didn't add much though. Just more good-looking images of him and his cock. A text message function as well, but was there really anything to talk about?

You'd think I'd be a bit more careful swapping cock with another man, especially since you can't swap again until all the cells have been replaced because of some quantum spin entanglement bullshit. Ten years with bad meat is a long wait, but I already knew he was a bio-match and healthy, so it was more Fear Of Missing Out. I had some shit I hope I could fence, so I took an instant online loan and had the whole deal closed before I'd passed Baskin Robbins on the way out. Both I and my normal size cock were excited.

Just ten minutes later the phone chimed again with a proposed time for the swap at 7:20 pm, almost three hours away. Though I didn't know anything about this less than an hour ago, any delay felt too long, like I hadn't realized how much I wanted this. What it would mean for my position in the crew. Every minute of waiting was a minute where something could derail everything. My phone could be stolen. The exchange could cancel it for some reason. I tapped "Accept" and headed home with the phone in a secure grip in my pocket.

The instructions after I had accepted were straightforward. Be seated with a naked crotch and open the app ten minutes before the scheduled time for exchange. I decided to be pantsless until then just to be safe, and I set three alarms on the phone. One at 6:50 to sit down, if I wasn't already sitting, one at 7:05 to be ready, and one at 7:09 to open the app. I sent a text to Shawn and told him I wouldn't be joining the crew until later, if at all. No details of why.

Then I just sat down in the comfy chair. Three hours to go. I was only wearing my hat, socks, and T-shirt. And my bling of course. The sweatpants and my trunks were in a pile on the floor, and the phone was charging next to me. My cock was pointing almost straight up.

I realized that it would only be my cock for another few hours or so, and I should say goodbye properly. Normally I would jerk off in the shower or in front of the computer, but since I was already perfectly seated and with an erect cock in front of me I just grabbed it and started to remember all the highlights we'd had. When my neighbor Jamar excited came over and wanted to show me something. He was a few years older, but still occasionally spent some time with me. He showed me into the bathroom, lowered his pants, and told me to do the same. Then he showed me that by pulling on his cock he could get it to "bend" in his words. I remembered waking up one early morning with my boxers wet and worried I'd peed my bed. To my surprise they were filled with slime, but just to be safe I put them under the bed to dry so my mother wouldn't know. I remembered that time I got an erection during a movie screening, and slowly wanked but desperately trying to avoid cumming or anyone else noticing what I did.

I remembered the first time I had sex, the first porn I jerked off to, the first time a date ended in sex, the first time I had sex in a car, the first time I jerked off to a porn video on my mobile. All while doing this I tried to go as slow as I could, like at the movie. Flashing before me were dates, partners, and porn stars, while the top of my cock had some frothy pre-cum. I was shocked when the alarm went off. How the fuck could time have moved that fast. I scrambled to get hold of an old T-shirt within reach, and pretty quickly came into it with a few pumps of cum. Not really the satisfying climax I had envisioned.

Suddenly time was moving slowly again, and I was stuck watching dried off, limp cock in front of me. I became self-conscious about how it looked, worried about if the seller would cancel the trade last minute seeing what a lousy deal it was for him. He'd seen my photos already though, but they were taken erect and with good lighting. What was the cancellation policy anyway? The next alarm went off. Why did I even set that one? I was getting nervous. What if it hurt? There was a lot of news about misteleportations some years ago, and this was way more complicated. I didn't even understand how it worked. I knew the basics of standard teleportation from school. Every particle is a probability wave that exists everywhere, but the probability of it actually being at a specific point is overwhelming. By manipulating the quantum state you can poke the probability so that it is more likely to be somewhere else. Just a change in probability, so it can move instantaneously anywhere in the universe, given enough math. Swapping body parts between people was way harder, so it was bound to have lots of issues that could happen.

The last alarm interrupted my train of thought. I kind of felt not ready. Rich people did this, so it should be safe to do I reasoned, and tapped the activation button on the phone.

"This will start a legally binding contract with Manhood Exchange Incorporated adjudicated in the state of Delaware. Please identify yourself." the phone voice said. I pressed the white circle on the screen with my identification finger, the middle one of course.

"Please sign that you are aware that concluding this transaction will replace your penis, testicles, prostate, and relevant connecting tissue, glands, and other structures with a third party as preliminary agreed." I pressed the circle again, wondering what would happen if I didn't. The $400 would certainly be gone.

"Please sign that you are aware that this is a one-time transfer option with Manhood Exchange Incorporated that cannot be reversed through quantum transplantation." I pressed the circle a third time.

"Please sign that you are aware that both set of testicles will be made infertile through this swap." I pressed the circle a fourth time, not so nervous I barely registered what I had signed. The screen of the phone changed to showing a live video from my selfie camera, showing me half-naked in my lounge chair. "Tap to connect" it said on the screen. I did.

The image quickly changed to show the man from the photos lying down in a white, far more upscale couch than I was sitting in. "Yo, man. You ready to do this?" he asked. His erect cock was just as big as it had looked on the photos, almost looking bigger as it was swaying with his breathing. The instructions on the screen said "Verify the other party is the selected exchange party and that he is seated with exposed crotch."

"Yeah, let's do it." I said, and tapped the Verified button on the screen. I could see from his motions that he did the same, and a timer started on the screen, counting down to 7:20. "So, will it fit in speedos?" I blurted out, still feeling nervous and with several minutes to kill. He chuckled. "Shorts are better for swimming, but you want some tight trunks to keep it in place when you're wearing normal clothes. I use compression shorts a lot."

"Well, you can use whatever with mine."

The last 40 seconds we just stared at the countdown in silence. The actual swap was instant, almost silent, though I wouldn't be able to describe the sound, and without any shimmers of light as you can sometimes see when teleporting. It felt like someone spilled warm water over my crotch, though that quickly went away, but it was replaced with the most amazing, intense horny hardon I've ever felt. It was like the cock was buzzing, craving attention. "Enjoy the wank" the other guy said. "What? Oh. Thanks!" I said and the video was closed from his side.

I grabbed the cock with my hand and instantly felt the difference in size. It was almost the size of my wrist. I just moved my hand up and a trickle of precum oozed out and trickled down over my fingers. I leaned back, closed my eyes, and continued where I had left off, thinking about the most recent porn videos, and in not too long I could feel the buildup of a climax, only this time I was unable to force it back. It just kept building and building, and I think I actually moaned out loud as the first rope of cum erupted. Then another one, and another one. Then I had to open my eyes to look at the mess, and it wasn't any small squirts of cum either. It looked almost comical how my T-shirt was completely soaked in cum, and I was still pumping out a few more ropes.

To my amazement the cock was still semi-erect. I got up and hurried to the bathroom and threw the cum-wet T-shirt. After a quick look at my sticky chest I decided to have a shower. I stripped out of the few remaining items I had on and proceeded to have another wank in the shower. This one lasted a bit longer and produced slightly less cum, but it was still a shocking amount.

I had barely dried and put on my underwear before the new cock started to firm up again. I grabbed the phone and sent a text to the seller in the app. "What the hell is happening with my cock? Were you always hard?"

The app sat silent for a few minutes until a response chimed. "It's called hyperspermia. It's a genetic condition, so not a disease in Manhood Exchange's definition. You'll learn to cope several hours between wanks. It was the precum that bothered me the most. Just drink a lot of water, always wear a condom, and compression shorts really help, as I said. Good luck!"

547 notes · View notes