#tea games

I have decided for funsies to play through as many as the Castlevania games as I can starting with the first one c: For all it's jank, the game is a solid platformer, I found it very challenging as well ;w; Was pleasantly surprised how hard things will hit you and how quickly things will go south if you try to brute force. Holy Water is incredibly busted and helped cheese most things though.

Also WOW the 8-bit is eye catching

A/N: A continuation of this au fueled by @abbus-r-us's tags because I was on the floor and dead from them thank you for killing me kindly

“We should be thanking you, Ryuu!” Mitsuki dug into a yakisoba pan with clear relish and nudged Ryuu’s arm with a knee as if to speed his own sandwich on its way. “It was already a lot of batches, and the fanciest stuff you can imagine, but then the extra for getting it done so fast is the biggest we’ve ever scored with an order!”

“You said you couldn’t feel your fingers the next day,” Ryuu said with a wince, the mention of the incident summoning a mass of guilt that hadn’t abated despite a week’s long passing. The edges of it had begun to be consumed by yearning, but the shame of it all had been an effective deterrent. For now. He lowered the yakisoba, tucking it into his pocket unopened now that his stomach had soured with the topic.

“They were just a little burnt, happens all the time. Are you saying you haven’t enjoyed the extra snacks I got with my overtime pay?” 

“You shouldn’t be touching them when they’re still hot,” Iori chided, sipping at his drink slowly. “Did you use the cream I—” 

“Look, Iori,  they’re completely healed! I promise next time we get an order that big I’ll stick to the icing, okay?”

“I could’ve told you it was a posh school though.” Crushing the plastic wrap between his hands, Touma cut in as the brothers devolved into a continuation of their own family squabble. “Got accepted on scholarship, but they pulled the funding at the last minute. Something about ‘my public conduct’ or something. You’re lucky you got out before they caught you.”

“Yeah…” Surprising as it was to hear that Touma would’ve been the one wearing as elegant an outfit as the prince he’d met, the thought of those last words took over. What would the punishment be for someone who’d destroyed an entire party’s catering? If the prince got expelled for helping him, Ryuu needed to set the record straight. 

After the others had gone home, Ryuu stayed to contemplate the ragged shrubbery that had been such a hindrance the first time. He’d gone through once, the second time couldn’t be worse. This illusion only lasted until he took the first step; the fall with all its force and adrenaline had done more for his journey that first time than he’d expected. His jacket, newly repaired with painstaking care, was gaining yet more tears as he fought his way past the sharp edges of broken branches and stubborn thorns. 

The last obstacle was at least new. A flash of yellow was all the warning he had before he found himself clotheslined on a length of silk. Tied across the messy section of the hedge, the silk did nothing except apparently pretty up the eyesore in the school’s garden. Ryuu shrugged out of it with a confused look back, before a far more welcome sight greeted him. 

“You!” The prince waved, grinning as if Ryuu were a long-lost friend and not the one responsible for his no-doubt cruel dethronement. Even his clothes told just such a story. Gone the satin and gold filigree, he was dressed in faded overalls and rubber boots. However, there were still signs of his once-royal origin, his shirt still decorated with ruffles and the ragged sunhat sporting the same pink ribbon as before, perhaps even gardeners needed to be fancy in a place such as this. 

“They’re having you work off your debt?” Ryuu asked, “I need to tell them I did it, please who can I see to explain?” 

“My debt?” The prince cocked his head, lowering the shears in his hands. “Oh, you mean this? I always volunteer for gardening duty in the summer. And I already did the shifts in the kitchen, so don’t worry, you’re in the clear!” 

“You didn’t get thrown out?” 

“I’m sure my father would love to, but if the headmaster’s son gets expelled then it looks bad to prospective parents.” 

“The head…” His rush through the hedge felt pretty foolhardy in the light of those words. His presence wasn’t needed, and now he’d destroyed the hedge even more instead of letting it return to the perfectly manicured state it was meant to be in.

“Did you come through just because you were worried?” the prince asked, an odd expression on his face. Ryuu felt a blush creep across his own at the question, and nodded mutely. 

“My knight on his shining skateboard,”—cutting a rose from the bush he was trimming, the prince offered it to Ryuu—“your chivalry might not be necessary, but you deserve some token of appreciation for coming back.” 

Not a single petal had turned limp or papery yet, it was a rose in the blush of health and still he was being gifted it when it should be in a bouquet at a ball. He held it to his nose to find his next words and found its scent was familiar, a piece of the prince held in his hands. There was too much swirling in his heart now, growing thorny and wild with just a light sprinkle of words. He didn’t deserve to take something so beautiful, he had nothing to offer in return. 

His jacket crinkled as he patted it down, and he held out the yakisoba pan before he could consider how it compared to the fine dining that he’d ruined last time. A few seconds passed and he started pull his hand back when the prince quickly took it, a startled smile on his face.

“Is this in exchange?” 

“I can bring something better next time—”

“So you’ll come again?” The prospect brightened the prince as if he’d gained a spotlight, the sun hitting his face as he pushed the brim of his hat back to wipe his forehead. “When?” 

“W-when will you be here?” Ryuu could figure out how to escape the others’ inevitable ribbing when the time came, it would worth it if whatever was starting to bloom would be watered just once more. 

The prince dimmed as he paused in thought, mouth pulling into a frown after a few seconds. “Only next week, my father’s decided I’m to have extra lessons to…well, keep me occupied. But I’ll find a way to let you know when I’m free.” 

“I’ll be waiting,” Ryuu promised, ducking as he heard a door slam and saw a head of gray start across the garden. 

“Fuck.” The prince chuckled as Ryuu stared at him in surprise. “You should run, that’ll be my father.” 

When he’d reached the safety of the hedge again, Ryuu turned for one last look and was disappointed to find the prince was staring at his shears, the yakisoba hidden away. As if sensing the eyes on him, he met Ryuu’s gaze, an odd determined set to his face. Ryuu curled over the delicate rose and barreled into the hedge with face and heart burning.

I have beaten Super Castlevania IV.

Finished Castlevania III and yeah wow that is a lot of fun. It's basically the peak of NES-era Castlevania. The gameplay was fluid and responsive, it was challenging and interesting having branching paths and introducing spirits. It was neat to see where Castlevania Netflix took Trevor, Sypha, and Alucard c:

Also HOLY SHIT the 8-bit art is incredible

A/N: For @trgdaily August Theme: Rose

Saw @funuya's wonderful Tea Take and Good Good Games art and promptly combusted, here's what remains of me

He’d never wondered what was behind the hedge. 

Ryuu had everything he wanted on this side, all the smooth slopes and tricky rails that he could spend infinity doing tricks on. Sure, he and Mitsuki had started out with only a funbox in the beginning but now that the city had splurged for a bowl and there was talk of upgrading to a cradle and there was Touma and Iori joining, the park was a concrete paradise and Ryuu would’ve gone the rest of his life being satisfied with their curved wonderland, if he hadn’t gone crashing through the hedge. 

Green whipped at his arms, tearing through his jacket even as he tried to twist free. Before he fell into it, he’d never noticed any thorns but they were hard to ignore now as they dug into his skin in burning lines. Scrambling to his feet, Ryuu squinted against the wall of branches and pushed his way back towards the light. 

Finally bursting free, he stumbled from the sudden lack of resistance and found himself falling for the second time in only so many minutes. A hard edge hit his side, the ledge he must’ve wiped out on, returning for a round two. 

Except this time, the ledge moved. 

A cacophony of clinking and crashing, a shout, and a softer landing than he was expecting. Ryuu blinked, blades of grass brushing his cheek, and looked up into a vision of pink and blue. 

“What are—Who are you?” The voice was indignant, but the hand that touched Ryuu’s shoulder was gentle and he’d expected the world to right itself when he sat up, but if anything it only flipped further upside down as he stared at the stranger and his table. 

Teacups. So delicate they looked to have been made of moonlight, molded into the shape of tulips and lilies, a beehive teapot with convincing honey dripping down its side, and that didn’t even include the food. Pastries in every color, puffed to perfection and now crushed underneath him, cake smeared across the grass to feed the ants for months to come, spun sugar shattered to precious pieces. And in the middle of it all, a prince dressed in ribbons and roses. 

“Are you hurt?” Even his gestures were princely, down on one knee and a finger under Ryuu’s chin, gazing at him with such intense scrutiny Ryuu wished he wasn’t dripping with tea and covered in frosting. 

“I’m fine,” he said after a moment, followed by a hiss as he put weight on his elbow. 

The prince pulled Ryuu’s arm aside with more strength than he expected, fingers grazing the cut underneath the rip in his jacket. “You’re bleeding.” 

“It’s nothing, it’ll stop in a second.” Ryuu shrugged out of his sleeve and wiped the blood with his shirt, it was smaller than he’d expected from the prince’s reaction, and he’d had far worse, he wouldn’t even need a bandaid. 

“But—”

“I’m better off than your…”

“Rose Banquet.” 

“Right. Just you?” Ryuu could see chairs stacked to the side, but no one else was in sight. The prince looked back at the hedge, a noticeable hole now gaping from the pristine greenery. 

“No, but the others are coming soon. You should go.” Grasping his uninjured arm, the prince helped Ryuu to his feet, the proximity leaving Ryuu swimming in the sweetest fragrance he’d ever encountered. He didn’t want to go, as unfamiliar and unexpected his journey had been, his curiosity was already taking root. Had the prince been here all along, just a few leaves over from where Ryuu practiced his ollies? What was the Rose Banquet for? And why did he have a new favorite smell? 

The prince pushed him towards the hedge, hat askew and ribbon coming undone though Ryuu didn’t think it ruined his image. “Hurry!” 

Ryuu turned back as he stepped into the hedge, covering the prince’s hand on his arm and holding them together for a moment. “I’m not dreaming, right?” 

Laughing, the prince shook his head. “I didn’t think you hit your head, but you should have one of your friends check. Now go!” 

“Wait, you’ve heard—” New voices drifted through the garden and the prince pulled back with one last look at Ryuu, a smile still playing across his mouth. 

Ryuu retreated deeper amongst the branches, letting the hedge engulf him completely. The last trace of that magical meeting was the prince’s voice saying, “It’s my fault, there was a wasp…”

Returning to the yellow of the skatepark, Ryuu found himself missing the green, even as Touma landed next to him with a shout of concern. How had he never wondered what the hedge hid, until now?