#(...for all its faults I do love this mess of a game very much)

[yawarakaizai]

wearing beast!dazai’s big black trench coat with only undies underneath ໒꒰ྀི ܸ. .ܸ ꒱ྀི১ !! swinging legs while sitting on his lap and messing with his paperwork until he gets mad and punishes u ૮꒰/ฅ//ฅ//꒱ა

m rlly glad u’r opening nsfw reqs luv (*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.ﾟ hope have fun writing angel！

ⵌ NOT A SECOND THOUGHT, OH, ROMEO

SENDER Reader (Fem) RECIPITENT Beast!Dazai (BSD) CONTENTS 17+ CONTENT NSFW, dub-con, usage of 'daddy', fem pet names, dry humping, grinding, bratty impatient reader, implied sugar daddy dazai, dirty talk, degradation, implied unsafe bindings (stay safe during bondage guys!), no lube/dry penetration, maso/sadi, jealous dazai, slight edging, orgasm denial,mean dazai but slightly sweet dazai during aftercare NOTE It's not your fault. It's not your fault there's nothing better to do. It's not your fault daddy promised to be in bed with you soon. You needed him, and he was too busy with the work he promised to have finished earlier! You wouldn't let him get away with this. But - who really has the upper-hand here? COMPANY Lolita

A/N aahh back f rom scho ol trip ;///; first nsfw fic !! h ope its okay (☍﹏⁰) i have more reqs in i nbox !!! i hope you enjoy th is fic !!!!

This was a dangerous game to play.

How you were going to go about this was a gamble, one that could either go in your favour - or horribly otherwise.

Danger thrilled you. And perhaps maybe that is why you paraded right into Dazai's office wearing nothing but his black trench coat.

" Oh? "

His pen was placed on the desk gently. Gaze eyeing you up and down with an eyebrow quirked up in curiosity. " What are you up to, bella? "

You stood there at the entrance with cockiness written all over your face. He knew what you were up to, he knew all too well what you wanted and he decided to play cruel.

Displaying yourself to him in such a teasing manner was the dangerous game. Your bitchiness that will follow will be more reason for him to punish you. You wore your favourite black-lace panties that hung low on your hips, your pretty pussy nearly peeking from the fabric as it hung loose. Dazai's coat was much too big for you, which described why the sleeves covered your hands entirely and you left the jacket unzipped purposefully, the coat just barely covering your nipples, enough to tease - but not enough to satisfy.

" I'm bored. " You hummed, as innocent as an angel, making your way over to his desk.

You twirled his signature red scarf around your hands, pulling the coats sleeves up your forearms to reveal your fingers, adorned with the expensive finger he had bought you.

" I told you I was almost done, did I not? " Dazai stifled a small laugh, sucking in a nervous breath. He wore a white blouse and some black jeans while working in his second office. There had been an incident he needed to look over and the last thing he needed was a distraction.

Dazai really did love you, but it seemed that no amount of training was able to keep a brat like you in one place.

" You're taking too long! " You pouted, hands slamming on his desk as you bent over just slightly, the coat yielding and allowing him to peek at your perked nipples. " My butt hurts waiting for you in our room, so..! "

Standing back up straight, you swayed your hips around the table and - pap! Sat right on his lap, sliding in between his legs very soon after with your back pressed to his chest. " ..This is much more comfortable. "

You emphasise so by wiggling your hips left and right before his hands clamped down on the sides of your hips to stop your ass from digging further against his crotch.

" Princess. " His shaky breath earned a grin from you. " Now's really not the time, okay? I'm almost done, I promise. " He tried to pick up his pen but you kicked your legs, your body moving with the force of so, " But daddy! Please! " You cried out. " At least let me sit down until you're finished! "

Giving in, it was probably for the best knowing you'll bother him either way. " Then I expect you to not move. " Rubbing your hips as his iron grip relented, " Am I clear? "

Of course you weren't going to behave. You deserve to act out every now and then, especially when mean Dazai left you waiting for so long!

" Mhm! " Your head idly rocked with a childish tune playing in your head, leaning back slightly to allow Dazai some movement. He picked his pen back up and began to write while you tried to focus on the fast, cursive writing but just couldn't.

The many words had your brain jumbled and you kept on yawning before daddy even had a chance to tend to you after promising he would.

" Daddy, this is boring. " You complained only to be given a small 'tch, tch' as a response.

Even you talking was enough to distract him. It made you upset, and when you were upset, consequences weren't something you worried or even thought about.

You tried singing, he'd pinch your thigh. You tried humming, he'd pinch your thigh. You repositioned slightly to get more comfortable, he'd pinch your thigh.

It was torture to be kept here waiting especially after you spent so long not only anticipating him meeting you tonight but also convincing Chuuya why you needed Dazai's trench coat and scarf.

You reached over to pick a pen from the cupholder just almost out of your reach and leaned back after. Dazai must've thought you wanted to keep your hands busy since you began to twirl the pen in your fingers. But oh, no.

Because while he was busy on yet another useless paragraph, you scribbled a small little heart in the corner of the page. He didn't seem to like that.

" Princess. " He warned, but you only giggled in the face of his growing anger. " Whaaaat? I'm not doing anything bad! " You threw your head back and looked up, Dazai's head turned down to look at your stupid little smirk. He wasn't impressed, but you both knew deep down he was enjoying this. If that hard thing pressing in between your ass wasn't any indication.

" You can keep acting like a bitch as much as you want, but you know how this is going to end. " He left it at that, knowing you well enough to expect you to continue until he has you flipped over, choking back your words.

" Mm-mm, " You shook your head, scribbling more love-hearts into corner of the page, small little doodles, " I'm only being nice. Daddy's being unfair. " Your legs kicked back and forth as you drew away on the page as though it were your sketchpad.

With Dazai's patience running low, he put his pen away to gather his sheets to read over, his head peering over your shoulder at his notes. Organising information was hard. It was even harder when he had his princess humping back into his half-erect cock.

You could swear that he was reading slow on purpose just to piss you off. You needed his attention now. In a bold move, the next words spoken would end up changing a night that could've ended on a much nicer note.

" Would've just gone to Chuuya if I knew you were gonna be this mean. "

You didn't even have enough time to gasp before your head was pushed down onto the desk, your body bent suddenly and it ached with the unprepared stretch. Your whine came late, but the palm shoving your cheek down made your words muffle until he pulled back , tearing the red scarf from around your neck and bringing it behind you where your vision couldn't see. You didn't dare move from the new position he put you into.

" Ow, ow, daddy! " Your overreactions didn't earn you any pity as he bound your wrists together behind your back securely. It was a little too tight, but that's just how you liked it.

" Can't wait at all, can you? " He huffed, your head still resting on the table, on top of a few of his beloved documents that he spent so long researching for and writing.

" My fault for spoiling you so much, isn't it princess? Lettin' you run the show how you like it. " Unzipping his fly with haste, he let his cock spring free while his other hand pulled the trench coat belonging to him that you were wearing over your bottom, pulling your panties down and letting them pool down at your feet. " Baby got too greedy, now she's gonna be reminded just what she is. "

" But you-! " Your mouth shot open in a gargled cry as he shoved his rock hard dick into your unprepared hole. You were barely wet enough for it to slide in and out comfortably. There was only so much your pussy could give when you had to go through about an hour of being denied. " Daddy! Hurts! Hurts! " You wailed, your legs kicking back and knees buckling with the horribly uncomfortable intrusion. Daddy's cock was thick and long enough for you to feel it push against that certain organ deep around your plush walls. You felt a stabbing pain in your lower abdomen that surged through your body and you thought that maybe this had not been worth it after all.

Hooking a hand under your stomach to keep you from completely falling to the floor, Dazai held your hips and began to thrust as he pleased, picking up pace into something deep but slow.

He would have happily slammed fast if he wanted to, but you only now were beginning to provide him with some self-made lubrication. " Fuck, baby. " He groaned, watching how your cute pussy would stretch around his cock as he'd slam in and how it'd return to it's small plumpness when he'd pull out to the tip only.

It was such an addicting sight, he could silence out your little begs and apologies in favour of watching your pussy instead.

" Dah-ddy! " You squealed, trying to gain his attention, to alert him of the pain.

" Hurts, it hurts, really, for re-al! " Your voice cracked with a hard thrust that made the desk inch forward.

" If that were the case, you wouldn't be getting so wet over this, would you? "

Dazai acknowledged the pain you were allegedly feeling but made no effort in helping soothe.

" Good girls get rewards. Bad girls get punished. Those are the rules. " Dazai was so, so mean. Your tears did not sway him to go easy. " No bitch of mine is bringing up Chuuya while she grinds down on my dick like a cock-hungry whore. "

" I'm sorry that I said it! " You tried to apologise but knew that ultimately, daddy's word was final.

You had no option but to stay still and take daddy's idea of a fit punishment for today.

At this point, your body had given in to the abuse your pussy was given and finally, that pain evolved into something more hot and arousing as precipitation pooled between your legs.

" Then you've learned for next time, hm? "

Dazai was grateful feeling himself slip in and out easier. His thrusts became more brutal and he seemed to care more about his table that kept moving in sync with his thrusts than you.

You were being used as a cocksleeve.

" Aah- aa-a-aah.. " Your body bounced and rubbed against the polished wood all while you tried to form coherent thoughts.

You thought that maybe, just maybe, you preferred this over daddy's usual spanking.

" G'nna..! Cum! Daddy, think I'm gonna! " You cried out, drool wetting the sheets.

" Hold it. " The command alone made your body seize up with fear. " No! " You choked on a mixture of a sob and a moan. " I'm gonna die, daddy! I'm gonna die, please, please! "

He relished in the way your feet raised to pull his thighs in closer into you, begging him to cum inside you and to give you the early orgasm you wanted so bad.

" Just be a good girl. Just this fuckin' once. Can ya do that? "

You really did sob this time.

Unsure how long you could hold back your orgasm, just before you were pushed over the edge - Dazai pulled out entirely and you shrieked.

Rubbing his cock on your soft ass, you felt thick, hot ropes of his seed squirt lines over your plump behind, wiping away any excess on your inner thigh, just about touching your neglected pussy.

" Noo.. no.. " Your voice was hoarse from shouting, small body hiccuping little sobs at the orgasm stolen from you.

" I said bad girls get punished. " Dazai replied coldly, taking a seat back into his chair after undoing the knot keeping your wrists tied.

At first, you couldn't move, and he watched his cum trickle down your thighs and onto the floor. You stayed crying quietly for a while on the desk until you pulled yourself together - enough to stand up (albeit shakily) to take the two steps forward to be held in Dazai's arms.

" Daddy, daddy, sorry, 'm sorry, I am, I am! "

You held onto his shirt with shaking fists, shivering like you were left out wet in the cold.

" Shh, shh, I know you are. I know you are, princess. "

Cheeks and nose flushed red from tears, his hand rubbed up and down your thigh, squeezing the flesh when he could.

" You can be a good girl when you want to. "

" Y-eah. " You cleared your sore throat, breath hitching every now and then with a hard inhale.

" Daddy had to be mean today, you know why, don't you, my brave girl? " Dazai cooed to you, tucking strands of your hair behind your ear so he could get a better view of your tear-streaked face.

" I was bad today, never again, not gonna be bad again. "

" That's my good girl. "

You say it and promise it. You swear it up and down and daddy will give you what you want soon after.

And even then, it'll barely be another two weeks before your next punishment.

©yawarakaizai 2023 ﹒﹒ reblogs appreciated! requests open :3

[sorikufeels]

i’ve seen people complain about how square keeps making sora more dumb and i get that and agree sometimes because i do think that there are some moments where sora is definitely smarter than depicted. however, i sometimes i think it fits and its not because he is actually dumb but because he’s had his mind messed with a lot. and it was messed with during his formative years. in later games, sora is often forgetful, asking what other characters consider to be dumb questions, and shown being slow on the uptake. these things make sense when you consider that:

a) sora’s had his memories scattered and rearranged

b) had an entire year of his adolescence (an important time for brain development) forfeited to a coma in order to fix said scattered memories

c) has been manipulated and the victim of mind games multiple times

d) incurred heaping amounts of trauma in a very short amount of time

don’t get me wrong, i feel like sora is definitely smart in his own way and deserves to have more moments to shine in that regard, but when there’s moments where he forgets things or isn’t able to connect the dots as quickly as everyone else, it makes sense to me. it feels logical, understandable. when those moments happen and other characters make fun of him, i’m always like this kid’s brain has gone through hell and back, it’s a miracle it’s still functioning at all so give him some slack for fucks sake!

he’s still missing memories and it seems like he’s lost more in kh3 (if we’re assuming he forgot about riku’s sacrifice and the realizations he had regarding riku as the light) and might continue to keep losing them in kh4. his mind has suffered a lot and i wish the other characters would be more understanding. but for me, when i see him acting “dumb,” it doesn’t always feel out of character given what he’s gone through. he’s not dumb, his mind has just endured a lot and it makes sense that there are lasting effects from those events.

i have no idea if this is intentional, though lol if it’s not, then square, stop making him so dumb because he’s way smarter than that and you know it.

but if it is intentional, then i love it because it gives me so much satisfaction when events have tangible lasting effects, especially in ways that aren’t outright stated. it would also be cool if this was intentionally supposed to be a factor in sora’s self worth arc. because of his perceived increase of “dumbness,” other characters make fun of him more, making him feel worthless and wrecking his self esteem even further. it’s not his fault he’s having a hard time but he doesn’t understand why it’s happening and it’s another thing for people to shit on him for and eventually he’s going to snap or break under the pressure from all that shit. if this or something like it is the intended outcome, i think that would sick

[arcadekitten]

[MY WISHMAKER Spoilers!]

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I just played MY WISHMAKER last night and I loved it, so I wanted to give you my thoughts!

Arcade, you are SO SNEAKY AND CLEVER!!! I saw those promo images and was like "oh dear, he has a gunshot wound, what happened?" only to boot up the game and find out HIS WHOLE ARM WAS MISSING! You really can't tell when he's facing right, so I applaud you for hiding it so well.

I LOVE how sassy The Wishmaker is! I was expecting it/them(? I'll just go with them for now) to be kind of highfalutin and regal 'cause they're a deity and all but I really love how you went in this completely other direction! I think it does make sense since The Wishmaker obviously has to, like, grant people's wishes (in some way at least), so having a more casual manner of speech would probably make them less intimidated.

Also! I loved how you implemented the QTEs! I feel like it spices up the gameplay and is a nice little nod to your fans who played My Neighbor Enide. Even though I messed up all of them, though I SWEAR the Vas one was not my fault! I was mashing that Z button for dear life, but my laptop decided to type it into Edge for some reason!? I didn't even have it open!

Oh, and I see you were able to figure out the mouse movement? You said you'd have to move around using the arrow keys, which I was fine with, but I was pleasantly surprised when I booted up the game and I could move with the mouse too! It really completed the experience.

I don't really have much to say about the story, not because it's bad, but because it's so shrouded in mystery that my cogs are still turning as to what it could mean. I did really like the puzzles, though! And I did notice those key items you hid away...

I have plenty of theories I've been ruminating on even before MW, but I don't wanna put them here because 1) since this is an ask it might make you feel obligated to comment on them somehow which you are not and I don't want you to do, and 2) I think I would start rambling and make this ask a mile long LOL.

That's about everything I could think of off the top of my head! Overall, I really enjoyed it, and I hope you the best in all the other chapters and games you plan to make. I'm sure I'll enjoy them just as much, if not even more. Take care!

Haha yes! ♡ I know some people have been asking why Reginald has two arms in the promo images and it's like...it's meant to be a surprise, silly!

Also for our little Wishmaker character, yes! I adore them very much and I'm very excited for people to see more of them and learn their real name!! Another one of my favorites to be sure ♡ Not sure how I'll tag them in posts yet until their name reveal... clock, maybe? Just to avoid confusion? This character can be referred to with any pronouns, but for clarification that in games and in my posts they will only be referred to with "they" and the occasional "it"

I'm happy the QTEs are received well! (Granted they were a bit harder at first haha!) I'm happy to include them in future chapters as I feel future chapters will definitely be more linear and dialogue heavy and so I hope they can spice up the gameplay and keep things interesting and maybe just a tad more immersive! ♡

As for mouse movement controls it's kinda like a "Well yes, but actually no". You CAN move using the mouse if you really want to but you also have to be aware that you could accidentally hit an object's hitbox and activate its event. And you can't back out of an event once it has been activated like in typical point-and-clicks. (There's only so far I can push the engine with my experience level!) It's for this reason (and the surprise of QTE's!) that WASD/Arrow Key movement is recommended!

Thank you so much! ♡ I am so very happy to hear you enjoyed the experience and I love to hear what people have been brewing up regarding the story and the mysteries still unfolding (even though I can't say anything about it yet!) and I can't wait until I can have more to show you all! I'm really excited for it and I hope everyone will be too! ♡♡♡

[sweetaprilbutterfly]

I will not wait for the release of the finale (although not all, but I know from leaked what will happen) to pass judgment on House of the Dragon and it is DISAPPOINTING SHIT.

Even when there was the first season, I didn't expect anything from hotd, the 1st season was normal, there were interesting characters, but in general the plot is simpler than in GoT.

I read about Dance of the Dragons in Fire & Blood and treated the changes as normal, because the general plot was more or less close to the book. But with the release of the 2nd season, the book became less and less with each episode and the characters don't resemble themselves, not even like themselves in the 1st season.

Like what have they done to Alicent😭:

“The city is yours, Princess. But you will not hold it long. The rats play when the cat is gone, but my son Aemond will return with fire and blood” versus “When he’s gone, I will see to it that our guards throw down their arms and open the gates.”

Quote source X

Book Alicent would kill show Alicent for what she does in season 2. Alicent betrayed herself and her family for the "love" to Rhaenyra, this is so stupid and this is not Martin, but some kind of comedy or soap opera.

And I don't understand why Condal is so attached to the prophecy and why he so wants Rhaenyra to be Dany 2.0, when book Rhaenyra is better and more interesting than the show one and he will not change her fate, she will still die, although they will probably change how it will happen.

After the leaks, I'm no longer Team Green, I'm Team Aemond, even though the writers messed him up too, but I hate it when showrunners try to make someone "bad" on purpose to everyone hate. They could never make me hate you Aemond.

HBO needs to remove from the credits that it is based on the book by George R. R. Martin, and write that all this is the work of the mediocre Condal and has nothing to do with the books.

Condal and Hess and the other screenwriters should get a lot more hate than D&D. Condal & Co. are the worst showrunners in the world, to have a completely finished book material and to do what they did is just something incredibly terrible.

For all its faults, Game of Thrones was phenomenal and even seasons 5 and 7 (the worst GoT seasons in my opinion) are better than what Condal and Hess did in season 2.

The asoiaf fandom is so weird. After the final of GoT, the rating on imdb and other platforms collapsed, and here HotD already in the 2nd season abused the canon so much and the majority approves of it??? Yes, I'm one of those people for whom the finale of GoT is normal, but I still can't come to terms with the fact that Arya killed NK, it should have been JON and I don't agree with Jon ending, but in general the season is better than 5 & 7. So I hope all those who so unfairly condemned GoT will rightly condemn HotD and collapse the rating, and maybe the leaks will reduce the rating of the show.

The hotd cast are great, but I don't think I can watch season 3 after this shit, there's no hope of it getting any better.

Condal really wanted hotd to be like GoT, but it didn't work out, it's very far from the grandiose level of GoT, GoT was and will be the best no matter what.

[redlittlefoxari]

To The Ends Of Faêrun : Chapter Thirteen: On Hold

This series is book two of a fanfic I have already written called Astarion Epilogue: An Adventure in Making Life

Master List Here for Books One, and Two

*List includes a prequel that is essentially one-shots of their adventures over the fifty years after the battle at the end of the game*

Warnings: Blood, Sex, Violence, NSFW 18+, Smut

Summary: Tav has a chat with Gale about Apple not attending school for a while while asking him to come along.

As Tav walked through the portal, swirls of purples and blues caressed her skin as she was taken across the Sword Coast in a matter of seconds. It felt as if she was underwater but able to breathe. The Weave knew where to take her due to the magic channel that Gale had opened between their home in Baldur’s Gate and his in Waterdeep. Apple had traveled countless times to get to and from school, always marveling at the Weave's power. Tav smiled as she remembered the first time she, Astarion, and Apple went through the portal to drop her off into the care of Gale of Waterdeep. She was mesmerized and fell in love with magic instantly. A frown pulled her smile down as Tav remembered that Apple would not be going to school tomorrow, and instead, they would be preparing to find Mielikki. 

Gale’s office came into focus, and Tav looked around the room to see if the dusty old wizard was in his office this time of day or if he had retreated to his bed for the night. The room was an utter mess, with papers strewn across the floors and books stacked as high as they could go in multiple stacks. It was a wonder how Gale ever found anything in this place with how messy everything was. The perfect touch came in the form of a red loveseat that would have been beautiful if not for the claw marks torn up the side that Tav could see. It looked as if Tara had gotten a hold of it at some point. 

“Tav!?” Gale’s voice sounded from behind a stack of papers on the desk. The only neat pile that could be found in the room. “What are you doing here this time of night?”

Tav looked at her old friend. He looked the same as he had fifty years ago. A glamour was in place to hide what he really looked like, opting to keep a younger appearance. The only sign of aging was the pair of glasses he wore. Over the years, squinting at books in dim candlelight had taken its toll, and now it was the only thing that gave away his age. 

“Oh, you know…” Tav walked over to the loveseat and plopped down. “I just thought I would come and say hello.” 

“Astarion not enough for you anymore?” Gale took off his glasses and placed them beside his stack of papers. “I knew this would happen; he is getting up there in age.” 

“You’re one to talk.” Tav scoffed. “Astarion is an ageless vampire, and I think you are somewhere in your nineties.” She offered a smug smile. “I don’t need an old mage in the bedroom.” 

“Then tell me.” He smiled at Tav’s good-natured jabbing. “What do you need from an old mage like me then?” 

She hesitated, trying to find the right words to tell him everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. It was hard to believe that their whole life had been turned upside down in just two days. All her little girl wanted to do was help Tav. She couldn’t fault her for wanting to help her parents. What she could do was teach her what to do next time and hope she would never do anything like this again. 

Tav took a deep breath. “Apple is going to be out of school for a while.” 

“How long and what for?” Gale raised his eyebrows and looked at her like a stern principal. “Is everything alright at home?”

“Everything is fine at home as far as the three of us are concerned.” Tav gave him a withering look. “And I’m not sure for how long, probably at least five months.” 

“Five months!?” Gale stood up, knocking his chair over in the process. “What could possibly be the reason for her having to miss that much school!?” His face was starting to go red. “This is a very important time in a young wizard's life where we build our fundamentals and start building our practice.” He began pacing. “There better be a good reason and not for some silly vacation because that can wait till summer break.” 

Tav tried to hold in her laughter as Gale, the principal, took full center stage. She had never seen him so serious in all the time that she knew him. The laid-back wizard she knew took a backseat as he scolded her. 

“It’s not a vacation, Gale. It’s something quite serious, and if we fail, it can have serious repercussions on our family.” Tav stayed seated. 

“So it’s a quest?” Gale picked up his chair and took a seat facing Tav. “Well, come on out with it, now that I’ve made an ass of myself.” 

“Apple made a deal with a goddess in exchange for making it easier for me to produce a child.” Tav pursed her lips and continued. “It was my fault… I accidentally set Angharradh free and constructed the deal first, but I told her I wouldn’t agree until after talking to Astarion.” Tav bit the inside of her cheek. “Angharradh was listening in on the conversation when we had decided to say no.” She showed him her forearm tattoo. “And then she decided to use Apple as collateral  to get me to do the quest anyways by convincing her to sign in my place and making the collateral that if we tried to back out or if we failed, she gets to take Apple back to Arvandor.”

Gale sat in silence as he listened to the whole tale. “I see; well, That would be a good excuse; getting mixed up with the goddess who created all elvenkind is pretty big...” 

“Yeah…” Tav looked away. “It’s a bit of a clusterfuck.”

“That’s putting it lightly.” Gale scratched the back of his head. “You never discussed the dangers of accepting deals from strange otherworldy beings with her.” 

“She's six, Gale!” Tav looked back at him and threw up her hands. “I thought I would need to worry about teaching her what a period was before that!” 

“Fair point; sometimes I forget how young she really is.” He steepled his fingers out before him, balancing his elbows on his knees. “She is very bright, best in her class, and if I’m honest, should be placed in a higher class, but I fear that would mess with her fundamentals.”

“Are we really having a parent-teacher conference right now?” Tav gave him a deadpan look.

“No better time than the present to tell you that Apple is remarkable. She reminds me of myself when I was her age.” Gale smiled brightly. “She will be fine.”

“I have a favor to ask of you, Gale.” Tav put on her best begging face. “Is there any way you could come with us?” She placed her palms together and grimaced. “Please, I know you run a whole school, but we need you… Apple needs you.” Tav gave him a sad smile. “I need you.” 

Gale scratched his beard in thought. The anticipation ate away at Tav as he took his time thinking through his answer. She saw bits of an old man underneath the glamour, taking his time as if he were ordering breakfast or deciding what to wear. Tav leaned in to emphasize just how important it was that he didn’t take one hundred years to answer.

“I cannot, in good faith, let Apple neglect her studies and not supply her with the best wizarding teacher the Sword Coast has to offer.” Gale Moved his chair quickly back to his desk, excitement spreading across his face. “I’ll come with you.” 

“Really? You’ll leave your duties behind to go on an adventure with your old friends so that Apple doesn’t fall behind?” Tav smiled at the old Wizzard, and then suspicion set in. “That’s awfully generous of you, Gale… I’m happy that you’ll come, but I want to know the real reason why.”

Gale cleared his throat. “I have some benefactors coming to town, and I would rather not have to kiss their asses while they are here.” Gale started grabbing quills and fresh paper. “Besides, if they hear I’m off on a worldly adventure given to me by a goddess, they can’t be mad and will have to settle for the person I leave in my sted.” 

“Whatever works, I guess.” Tav watched as Gale started to squiggle lesson plans down on the fresh paper.

“We have enough professors that I’m not needed here anyway.” Gale waved a hand in the air as a book from one of the stacks flew to his open hand. “I mostly just sit in my office now anyways.” 

“Well, alright.” Tav got up from the loveseat and started making her way to the door. “We should leave by the end of the week. We’ll need to gather supplies, speak to the others, and close down the tailor shop.” Tav looked at Gale, who was barely paying attention to what she was saying. “so get what you need, and we will see you on Friday. Just come through the portal at any time.”

“I’ll see you then!” Gale didn’t look up as he waved goodbye to Tav. 

Tav gave her friend one last smile of appreciation before opening the closet door and walking through the portal back home. As her home came back into focus and she was back in Baldur’s Gate, she could hear the sounds of Astarion giving Apple a lecture in the kitchen. She followed the sound and found Apple sitting at the small table by the window, pencil in hand, as Astarion stood a few feet away from her doing something she never thought she would see him do: be strict with her. 

“If you ever make a deal with a god, goddess, fey, fairy, demon, or anything else of the sort, I will ground you until you are one hundred. Do you hear me?” Astarion looked irate as he listed off every creature that was the capital of making deals. “Also, I know you know how to read,” he continued. “So why is it that you failed to read the part of the contract you signed that stated you would be taken away from us?” 

“I don’t know.” Apple sounded tearful as she answered back. “She looked so nice I didn’t think she would do that sort of thing.” 

“That’s the point, honey,” Tav spoke up to stop the onslaught. “They look innocent so that you will trust them. Just don’t make deals with anyone, not even people you think are your friends.” 

Apple beamed as she saw Tav, the look in her eyes pleading as she looked back toward Astarion. She looked as if she had stuck her face in a pool of boiling water. The whites of her eyes were red, and so was her normally pale face. Tav’s heart broke at the sight of her daughter in such a state. 

“You’re back.” Astarion turned and walked towards her. “What did he say?”

“That he’ll come.” Tav wrapped her arms around Astarion, and he did the same. “Now we just need to find out where Shadowheart and Halsin are.” She pulled him into a tight embrace. “We need to find out where Mielikki is as soon as possible, and Halsin knows all about the forest, but it’s anyone's guess if he’s at the grove or the Last Light settlement.” 

“We have to have more sending scrolls, or we can go out and buy some.” Astarion kissed her head. “When did you tell Gale we were leaving?”

“I told him Friday.” She pulled away from him to look into his eyes. “That gives us five days to gather supplies, get her some armor.” She jabbed her thumb toward Apple. “And close down the shop.” Tav pursed her lips. “What do you think?” 

“Sounds like our fearless leader has woken up from her long rest and is ready to come out of retirement.” Astarion gave her a sad smile. “We will find Mielikki… I’m not losing her.” He moved his hands to cup her face. 

“We won’t.” Tav returned the same smile. “Not as long as I breathe, and there’s still some fight left in me.” 

He stroked her cheek with his thumb in a loving gesture, and they stared into each other's eyes, forgetting the world around them. Astarion pulled her to his lips, placing a delicate kiss on Tav’s lips that told her everything she was too afraid to say. It was tender and purposeful, but also desperate and fearful. Over the many years the two had gone on adventures together, there had never been a time where either of them was unsure of what the adventure would hold, and the stakes were never this high. Failure meant Apple would be taken away against her will and placed in the service of a goddess on a plane of existence that no mortal could reach.

“I will burn Arvandor to the ground before I let her take our child.” His eyes locked on hers as he made his vow. “Every god and goddess will die by my hands if she so much as touches her.” 

“We won’t have to worry about that because we will not fail.” She touched his forehead to hers and closed her eyes. “I would run to the ends of Faerun and slay any beast that came between the three of us.” 

The two stood in silence as they listened to the sound of their breaths, and Apple watched her parents as they held each other. It was clear she didn’t know what was truly at stake and to what extent her parents would go through to see to it that they would stay together. Either one of them was ready to sacrifice their life for the other. Or in service to protect their child, who was the ultimate symbol of the love that they shared. 

Apple got up from where she sat and made her way to Tav and Astarion. She wrapped her arms around them, squeezing them as tight as her little arms would allow. The three of them stayed in that position, holding one another and cementing their vows. Their child still did does not fully understand what was happening. 

A sizzling sound tore Tav and Astarion’s attention away from each other. On the stove sat the stew, still cooking the whole time they were dealing with everything that had happened. Astarion ran a hand through his hair and released Tav, walking over to the stove to take the pot off the heat. 

“Well then.” Astarion turned back to face Tav and Apple. “I think we all better eat something.” He gave his best-practiced smile. “We’re going to need our strength for what’s coming.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They put Apple to bed in their bed, fearing that Angharradh would return and invoke more chaos. Tav and Astarion took the time to read a long story before tucking her in for the night. They both got on either side of Apple for an added wall of protection. Sitting so that their backs sat against the headboard. It felt as if their whole world had just been turned upside down. Right when they had made it their goal to start putting the work back into their relationship, introducing more of themselves back into each other's lives. 

Once Apple’s eyes fluttered shut and her breaths became softer, signaling that she had fallen asleep, Astarion and Tav let out a long, deep sigh as they tilted their heads back so they rested on the wood behind them. Tav’s hands moved to cover her face as she thought about everything that had just happened. 

“I’ve done the same thing to Apple that my own mother did to me.” Tav’s heart hurt as she whispered her admission of guilt.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Astarion asked, speaking at the same volume as Tav. “Did you also make a deal with a goddess so that your mother could have children?” One eyebrow rose. “Because you might have left that part out in earlier conversations.” 

“No, I did not.” Tav uncovered her face. “But I’m the whole reason she felt the need to accept that deal… because I kept saying that I’m broken.”

“What does that have to do with your mother?” Astarion looked confused. “Sure, she also had problems conceiving, but that’s hardly your fault.” He took her hand. “I’m just as much to blame as to why we are having trouble. I am a vampire, after all.” He gave her a sad smile. 

“Yes, but you didn’t go around saying you were broken.” Tav squeezed his hand. “I don’t think she ever heard me say it, but she got the message all the same.” Tav let out a sigh. “When I was little, I could always hear my mother crying in her room, saying that there was something wrong with her… That she was broken.” 

“I remember you telling me when we first discovered we were pregnant with Apple… You were so frightened to tell anyone, even our friends.” Astarion rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. 

“My mother kept me hidden away like a doll for so long, telling me that I was special because she was broken and I was her little miracle.” Tav felt her heart skip a beat. “I may not have locked Apple away, but I did the same thing to her that my mother did to me… She must have heard me crying yesterday, or maybe she heard me say I was broken.” 

“No sense in worrying when she heard you or how it happened; what’s done is done, and we just need to be sure in the future that we do a better job of not saying that word. ”He reached over and grabbed her hand. “Because it’s not true.”

“It feels like it’s true.” Tav closed her eyes. “I know every elf has the same problem, but it's hard not feeling like you are broken or something is wrong with you.” She opened her eyes and looked into his. “It’s like it’s ingrained into my soul, especially after years of having sex and nothing.”

“We only just started trying a few months ago.” Astarion looked confused. 

“But we’ve been having sex for years.” Tav gave him a sad smile. “It’s not like we stopped after we had Apple. It wasn’t as much, but we still had sex at least once every two weeks.” 

“You counted?” He looked shocked. 

“Every time.”

Astarion looked like he was calculating something in his head before speaking again. “Were you taking tests this whole time?” 

“Gods, no!” Tav sprang up from her position. “A few of the ladies at the shops had said something about how after they had kids, their sex lives slowed down, and I wanted to see if that was true, which it is.” 

It wasn’t as if Tav only waited for Astarion to proposition her for sex. It was equal. The reason they had slowed down in terms of how much they did the act was Apple. With her keen vampiric hearing and magical abilities, more often than not, when they started to get in the mood, she would barge in. Catching Astarion feeding on Tav a few times and led to a conversation about asking for consent to bite someone, which usually snuffed out any burning desires either of them had in the moment.

“Having children can really kill the mood.” Astarion deflated as he looked down at Apple’s sleeping form and found that he agreed. “Does this mean we are putting our romantic endeavors on hold until we finish cleaning up this mess?”

“I don’t see how we can… be romantic when sharing a tent with Apple.” Tav shrugged.

“Fair point.” Astarion looked devastated. “I was looking forward to devouring you with all my pent-up carnal lust.” 

Tav smiled. “Then we better finish this quest as fast as possible.” She leaned into his touch. 

Astarion leaned over Apple. Tav did the same until their lips touched, meeting in the middle. They shared a tender kiss with no intentions behind it. The only thing it conveyed was the promise of what was yet to come and that there would be more in time, but that things were on hold for the time being.

Tag list:

@ofmyth-andmagicart @lunaredgrave @littlekidsteve @omnia--mea-mecum-porto porto @ayselluna @myreadingmanga123 @kismet-of-the-divine @nicalysm @justlilpeaches21 @five-salty-bitters @lenarosic88 @caydevakarian @supervrgnsokay-blog @ravenswritingroom @kalypsoox @foxiecelery @wisteriaofthegraves

[dkmbookworm]

Question for epic the musical community. I know there’s a lot of discourse regarding who was more at fault in the Eurylochus vs Odysseus, but the main point I’m most conflicted on is.

Would not opening the bag have saved them from Poseidon?

We know the big reason for the storm was that it was Poseidon pulling them further away from Ithaca or at the very least messing with them before their confrontation. Jorge even mentioned that you can hear some of Storm’s theme in Ruthlessness showing that he was the cause of it

When Ody goes up to Aeolus in ‘Keep your friends close’ they make the deal that if he can keep the bag closed they will get home. And the assumption we as an audience are operating under is that if Odysseus makes it home he will escape Poseidon’s wrath. However, do we know that would actually happen? Aeolus promises that “you will get what you’re yearning” but how do we know they’re not using genie logic here? Who’s to say that yes he will get home and see his family….right up until the point Poseidon comes. He could very well be speed running to ‘Get in the Water’ and be forced to choose his life or his family and kingdom.

We even see within the song that Aeolus cannot be trusted. After all one of the winions ends up interfering with the deal by planting the idea of ‘its treasure’ in their heads to sow discord amongst them. @anarchy-lives-eternal even points out how there can be a double meaning to the line ‘i give the fire enough to stay burning’. Wind helps fan the flames and similarly they are stoking the flames of distrust within the crew.

It’s the whole point to Eurylochus being wary of making contact with the gods because they are such fickle creatures. They don’t care about them in a meaningful sense, they are pets or pawns at best. Their sufferings are entertainment, “games” for them to play at. To keep alive so their favorite show will continue.

I don’t want to place the blame solely on Odysseus here, it’s a complication situation. But too much is being lain at the feet of Eurylochus. The whole point of these stories is the tragedy of human error in messing with such larger than life forces. They love and care for each other but it is continually tested throughout and ultimately they became weak to their greatest faults.

[mmufanatic]

Ghosts/MMU headcanons

Anna is Alison in this au and Zosia is Mike because I don't think Zosia would put up with them.

George

-I can see him as Julian (mostly because of the politics), the captain or as Robin, purely because he'd love turning the lights on and off all the time because he's a chaotic little shit. Mostly as the captain though.

-He makes Anna download Duolingo for him but she has to actually do it everyday while he tells her what to put. (Think the captain with his run every morning but Duolingo).

-This can take hours as he is very competitive and wants to complete all the daily quests

- actually he's so melodramatic I can kind of see him as Thomas if Ralph lived there. He goes all 'Romeo and Juliet', 'kill yourself and marry me' when Ralph comes over.

Daisy

-I can see Daisy as Fanny as they're both bossy and Daisy is canonically good at Deportment

-(only her husband didn't need to kill her as she was having an affair with the housekeeper anyway)

-she tells off Alexander, rather than Anna like Fanny does to Alison because she likes Anna but she can find a lot of fault with Alexander

-she is quite disapproving of anything after her own time ('Oh let's just do away with books and telephones then! Let's all become addicted to these new mobile phone things!') but was pleased about how women's rights have got better and was interested when she saw something about Pride on TV.

-(she now makes Anna play a lot of Girl in Red for her).

Hazel

-I can see her as Pat because he keeps the peace with everyone and Hazel is responsible but I can also see her as Mary

- She would definitely follow people around chanting 'Get out, get out, get out...'

- I can also see her having all the superstitions that Mary has

- so kind of like Pat from Mary's time (she died how Mary did).

- she loves puzzle games online so Anna has to play a lot of them with Hazel telling her what to do

- Hazel is the only one (apart from Eric and Nuala) who doesn't burst through bedroom/ bathroom walls unexpectedly (Alexander and Beanie forget and everyone else just doesn't care).

Beanie

- She would definitely be Kitty but quieter

- she just follows Anna or the others about to be included

- she does always get Anna to put the cartoons on for her in the morning though (Alexander watches them with her).

-Anna has definitely ended up buying way more Christmas/ Halloween/ Easter decorations than she needed because Beanie was so enthusiastic and no one can say no to her

-she found beanies very funny because it's the same name so Anna knitted her one even though she can't wear it. She just likes to look at it.

Kitty

- I think Kitty would be Thomas since they both always have a crush

-(I can also see her as Julian just because of all the parties and the dirty jokes)

-she has a crush on pretty much every man who walks into the house

- (Imagine 'Free Pass' but its Kitty and George arguing over whether the actor is hot).

Lavinia

- definitely Julian.

- it's her who pushes Anna out the window, like in the show

- sometimes changes the channel or finds something a bit inappropriate online. She is in big trouble if Alexander or especially Beanie sees it ( then Kitty and George have to deal with it).

Alexander

-I can see him as Kitty but maybe dying in a different way.

- maybe hypothermia from falling in the lake or poisoned by his step brother?

- he's very enthusiastic about pretty much everything (will watch anything on TV, loves every song on the radio, always wants to be involved in what's going on)

- he's the most trouble because he never stops talking. Ever.

- He follows Anna around talking and gets offended if she ignores him ( even if she's on the phone).

May

- she is Robin because she would love messing with the lights

- also I can imagine May going down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole

Eric

- Humphrey (because I'm not sure who else he would be).

Nuala

-Jemima because she would love the dramatic entrance and freaking everyone out

Amina

- Annie because they're both so outspoken

- in this au she stayed long enough to meet Daisy. Daisy mourned for her when she got sucked off.

[sholmeser]

THANK YOU finally someone here has a good take regarding the "haha barok and kazuma violently hate each other" thing?? ppl insisting that their dynamic post-game is always gonna keep being the exact same as when they're at their most extreme emotional states just... baffles me, especially since they're literally shown to be civil to each other right afterwards. it's Right There! idk why so many ppl ignore this! in general their circumstances are so unique that it's a huge disservice to boil them down just to being haters.. like yeah they're gonna be huge mess after everything, but not in the way that fandom usually potrays them. if kazuma fully hated the guy i don't think he'd insist on keeping the apprenticeship the way he did in game. sorry if any of this makes no sense, i have too much bottled up rage regarding fandom nonsense. nuance and character growth are nonexistent to people here

also scrolled through your other posts a tiny bit and i feel you, it truly is hard to be in this fandom and not be an as//ry liker, especially if you're a kazuma enjoyer. difficulty level: impossible. you're not alone tho! :')

sorry for leaving this in your inbox, hope you have a nice day/night!!

ANON….THANK U…..i feel like a big problem with the dgs fandom in particular is that they dont really consider how 2-5 affects character dynamics post-canon? because all the change is right there. ive talked about this but its like portraying kazuma’s relationship with ryuunosuke as Exactly The Same post-canon when it would be DRASTICALLY different despite them still loving each other very much, because ryuunosuke now sees all of kazuma. he was only seeing a very small part of who he was before, and his entire perception of his best friend got dismantled and replaced by a completely different one in a really short period of time.

the exact same is true for kazuma and barok: they have despised each other so deeply and irrevocably for a DECADE and now suddenly they have to accept the fact that nobody really did anything wrong. kazuma tried to send barok to his death, but he was doing it out of grief and rage built up over ten years. barok convicted genshin and that led to him dying, but he was young and naïve and grieving and being manipulated by stronghart the entire time. genshin killed klint but he did so honorably. klint was a murderer but all he wanted was to make his home a better place for the people in it. its all so complicated and nobody is completely innocent or completely at fault. everyone did something wrong for good reasons and everyone did something good for the wrong reasons. it’s too nuanced of a situation for them to truly go on hating each other the way they used to, because they’re both MATURE ADULTS who can understand the intricacies of the situation.

do i think they dunk on each other post-canon? i mean. yes. obviously. do i think they HATE each other, still, to this inane degree? no. obviously. their relationship is going to be strained. there’s literally no way that it wouldn’t be. but they respect each other, they hold each other in high regard, and they’re respectful. and it sucks because these changes in dynamics are literally SHOWN at the end of 2-5 but people just like. cant. comprehend them. like i just don’t get it. also if kazuma is going to hate anyone in the cast its going to be herlock like he fucking SHIPPED HIS AMNESIAC CORPSE TO CHINA and never apologized for it i would NOT be letting that go anytime soon

[alpaca-clouds]

German Solarpunk - Did I Mess This Up?

A bit ago, I was doing the thing I will do from time to time: Go through book releases on Amazon (yeah I know Amazon sucks, but what can I do? I literally do not even have a small bookstore around) and putting Solarpunk-stuff on my wishlist (hint: My birthday is in a month). However, doing so I realized one thing: There is a surprising number of German novels that are listed as Solarpunk... With only one issue: None of them are punk. Or even much solar. And I cannot help but wonder: Is this my fault?

Now, this question might seem presumptuous, or even narcissistic, until I tell you something else: Solarpunk was very much a non-topic in German Scifi/Fantasy writing until 2021. Looking through google it was mentioned in like two or three blogs, and there was one group in Hamburg, who was promoting the movement-part of Solarpunk. But writing wise? Yeah, not really a thing.

And then, during the pandemic, in summer of 2021 I made a thread on twitter about the genre. And somehow that thread went viral. People loved it. They loved the idea of Solarpunk. And especially in the pandemic, it just seemed the time was rife for this. I got a chance to write essays on the topic and the genre for several fantasy publications in Germany between summer 2021 and summer 2022.

And those books that I found on Amazon tagged as Solarpunk? Yeah, they released between 2022 and today. Which is why I have to wonder: Did I mess this up? Did I not communicate it well enough?

I did indeed never talk about the punk factor. Mostly because back then I assumed it was a given. Sure, I knew that Germans were not that big on doing the whole punk aspect with Cyberpunk either. I just thought, well...

I am not going to name names. But let me just go through some of the stuff I found.

A trilogy releasing between 2022 and 2024 about an AI taking over a world. Very much a Cyberpunk setting, though not with particularly strong anticapitalist themes. There is not even a lot of environmental or renewable stuff in this story. No fucking clue why it was tagged as Solarpunk.

A fantasy trilogy that started releasing early 2023 (and is not yet released in full), which only thing that might imply Solar-anything is that it features a sun goddess as an important character.

A game with its own short story collection, which is simply a fantasy post-apocalyptic setting, though at the very least it does have some environmental themes.

A scifi novel about slavery - that very much also has a Cyberpunk setting.

Another scifi series about people in Cyberspace. This one I know was originally just tagged Cyberpunk and when Solarpunk started to get hyped, the author just added the tag to it.

A fantasy fairytale retelling, in which I know for a fact not even a single environmental theme is featured.

And I am honestly just wondering: What is happening here? Do people not understand what Solarpunk is? Do they not understand that it is more than an aesthetic? I definitely made that one quite clear. Or do they just use the tag because right now it definitely is a very hyped topic in Germany. I mean, like fuck. The news made a segment about Solarpunk earlier this year! The bloody main news show we have in our country. A variety of news papers also wrote about it during the last two years.

Or to put it differently: Given the genre gets hyped here right now, there is a good chance that you might actually be abled to push something onto one of the big publishers by tagging it with Solarpunk.

And I... I mostly feel frustrated. Because people really do just ignore what the genre is about. Hell, half of the stuff does even ignore the aesthetic and just goes... Well, I don't bloody know what the people are thinking.

But a part of me wonders, whether I should have made more of an effort in communicating the punk aspects. Sure, I talked about how it is anti-capitalist and all that, but... Yeah, honestly. I don't know.

[lunar-years]

i wonder what jamie’s favourite movie is, like we know he’s seen the fault in our stars, and he doesn’t seem to like ratatouille very much. or maybe he just disapproves of sam mentioning ratatouille on a dating app idk. but then he also mentions the “three kates” (beckinsale, hudson, winslet) in the rom-communism scene, so maybe a preference for romcoms?

this is SUCH a fun question!! And I was going to say I don't have a good feel for the answer, but I thought about it over breakfast and came up with a whole thing, as one does (😂).

So, I think Jamie is generally one of those people who will watch just about anything and probably find most of them entertaining if not "good." And he is going to have very strong passionate opinions one way or another that he will voice to you during the movie (Since we know he was shouting things about the play down at the actors when Keeley took him to the theatre, I definitely think he's a talker during films lmao. And because of his total disdain for Ratatouille, I know he's very opinionated. But I also think if someone was like 'hey let's watch Ratatouille' Jamie would readily agree to it even though he hates the film, because he enjoys the opportunity to tell them during the movie exactly why he hates it.)

Jamie is my age and Fault in the Stars indicates to me that he was into all the popular YA movies of the 2010s, so I think he definitely likes like, Hunger Games, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Divergent, Marvel... all the classics hehe. The romcoms I think come from Georgie! When Georgie finally managed to get a night off work to spend with Jamie they would do film nights and curl up together by the TV. Jamie always let her pick the movie because it was a small way to make her happy, and she introduced him to all the classic romcoms :)

With Keeley I think he would happily watch reality tv with her just as readily as he'd watch whatever weird arthouse indie Film™️ she suggested to expand their cultural palate or whatever. He doesn't understand a single thing that's happening in those ones (especially if its a foreign film subtitles situation, because he can't read the screen fast enough) but it's okay because Keeley always patiently explains it to him afterward and doesn't ever make fun of him when he misses the point :)

Also, I wrote in Waterfalls that he loves the Fast and Furious franchise and I stand by that. I think a lot of like, objectively stupid and nonsensical movies are his favorites 😂 Brett apparently thinks Phil has terrible taste in movies, and I like to think Roy thinks the same about Jamie, except that it's very surface level because no matter how much Roy complains, he always ends up getting drawn in my how stupid the plots are kdngjka. And when Roy refuses to watch something Jamie and/or Keeley want to watch, Jamie gets to throw back at him, "don't act like you're better than us, Roy, I know you watched all of Lust Conquers All" and that shuts him right up 😁

Jamie never actually cares what they watch when he's with Roy and Keeley, but he nevertheless puts up a fuss about how it's his turn to pick and dramatically dive-grabs for the remote just to mess with roy hahahah.

[autisticlio]

🔥 🔥 🔥 three unpopular rayman opinions 👀

I don't honestly mind Rayman 4 was never made. While gameplay wise it would have been much better than what we ended up getting with Raving Rabbids, admittedly there are some things in it that are very questionable such as having Rayman's girlfriend in the game, Simohne, be in a Princess Leia situation. Even the final product has elements of racism costume wise. However, another factor is that, from what we do know of the game, it admittedly also feels kinda directionless in some aspects. By all means it was never finished so that's likely a byproduct of that.

The Animated Series is not bad. I do not think it is some world-ending mess that a lot of people make it out to me. It is definitely not for everyone due to it's target audience and outdated, but I have seen far worse growing up as a kid. I also think it's weird people act like the Rayman 2 cast not being in it is a valid critique when, going off the concept arts, it was moreso based on early scripts for the game and aimed to be its own thing. I don't think any of the original characters are bad. It's definitely flawed, but considering the bootleg movies out there in the world, I'd say the series is just okay.

Rayman Origins has better gameplay than Rayman Legends. From playing both games as a kid, I remember preferring Origins way more for the gameplay aspect. I am not a fan of the online leaderboards sections for Legends, but even without that I felt the gameplay pacing wasn't always the best. Maybe cause of the Murfy segments? Or maybe from the level designs? I did have the original WiiU version, so perhaps that'd be a factor. Even the levels they brought back from Origins felt kinda off sometimes. It has been ages, so my memories are kinda vague. Origins I felt flowed way better and, any time I died, it was my fault instead of the games. I can understand why Legends is preferred, and definitely love it too. This also isn't getting into stuff like the Nymphs designs btw. I mean just the gameplay was better.

[honeycrashed]

i want to hear the chess hcs!!!!

OH MAN. HOLD ON.

OKAY! If you're like a chess nerd and expected me to list down their favorite opening moves and stuff I'm so sorry I don't know the names. "Horsie go hehe and horsie go haha" , "average NPC move" , "OPEN UP THE GATES!!" is what I call some of the opening moves. I refuse to learn the names.

also like I'm a pretty mid chess player but I have some silly little headcanons for all stars anyways!

I like to think that all stars are all decent at chess and have a good win-loss ratio, generally understanding how the game works and stuff.

Kidou: He's literally the strategist of the field did you expect me to come up here and say yes Kidou Yuuto genius playmaker is bad at chess. that would be funny but no.

Instead, he always loses to Endou, no matter what. He often tries to bait Endou but Endou always missed the bait and just goes for the more obvious choices, revealing holes in Kidou's moves. it's very frustrating to Kidou but he appreciates Endou showing the faults in his plays, Even if Endou is unaware of it.

fave to go against:

-Atsuya, his fast-paced high-risks playstyle intrigues Kidou and he wants to see how fast he can keep up with him.

-Gouenji, Kidou likes messing with him <3

Gouenji : Exception on the "win-loss ratio"; Overthinking too much in matches, which usually causes the opponent to find a simpler solution to his convoluted plan. He was so sure that his delicate process would work and if he were able to do it it would've looked so cool (Note that his exception only counts when playing against all stars/people he knows well. he still overthinks but his overthinking pays off most of the time.)

Gouenji likes to take his time making his moves which makes it tougher when they decide to do blitz rounds, he hates blitz rounds he always gets very shaky afterwards.(Part of the reason they tend not to do blitz rounds unless Gouenji insists on it or its Atsuya VS Kidou)

fave to go against:

-Kazemaru, Kazemaru doesn't take chess too seriously until it's a blitz match.

-Shirou, their playstyles match very well with one another

Endou : Exception on the "General understanding of the game"; Endou doesn't understand and chess doesn't understand him either. He has sketches of the chess moves he could make on the side since he's easy to forget what moves the pieces make. He has a general idea of it but it still manages to slip past his mind.

Despite this he has never lost against all Kidou ever, which makes him the unofficial reigning champion.

fave to go against:

-Kidou. he finds it funny how frustrated Kidou gets when playing with him, even if he is very lost on how to play.

He just loves it when All stars overthink their moves against Endou and Endou ends up winning, he finds it very funny and it's the reason he hadn't given up on understanding chess yet.

Atsuya: fuckieinfnekl ate the chess pieces /j

Genuinely very good at the game, loves blitz matches the most. Likes to play fast and swift, making very risky moves in most cases. Against Kidou he slows down a little to think about his moves more, One time the two got locked in a 3hr match, having to call it off for the day since it was getting late, but continuing it first thing in the morning.

fave to go against:

-Kidou, same reason as Kidou. He wants to see how fast Kidou can keep up with him, often taunting that he can't. it's all for fun though, is what they say, but the room smells like someone's going to die whenever they're against each other.

-Kazemaru, While Kazemaru CAN keep up with the speed, Kazemaru can't keep up with the moves at all times unlike Kidou. Atsuya still enjoys playing against him anyways.

Refuses to go against anyone but Kidou and Kazemaru.

Shirou: also very good, but he prefers slower games as opposed to Atsuya's fast-paced playstyle. Also less likely to take more risks depending on how the match is going.

faves to go against:

-Endou: his light-hearted playstyles make for calm matches, Shirou likes teaching Endou over and over again on how to play chess and is generally very patient with him.

-Gouenji: the right amount of pressure when being put against someone to play chess, otherwise Atsuya goes against them/Instructs Shirou on what to do.

Kazemaru: Most of the time just watches everyone else play while tallying up the scores/moves, But when he does play he's pretty flexible for all styles of playing. He loves playing blitz the most but doesn't mind slowing down everyone once and a while.

faves to go against:

-Atsuya: He likes the challenge Atsuya brings by making really risky moves and having to make up his mind on a move against it in quick successions.

-Endou: He likes attempting to find out what's going on in that brain of his, and while most of the time he succeeds against Endou, he never succeeds on finding his thought process.

[c0rinarii]

Gonna recompile some thoughts about the 13SAR characters now that im past midpoint!

Juro: Oh its getting juicy.... unfortunately my boy is still as intresting as a plank of sheet wood but im intrested to see if his character goes anywhere outside of the Kyuta stuff going on. Im also sorry i ever suggested to u to make out with Kyuta.

Iori: SHE'S SO FUNNY.... I aspire to have even an inch of her whimsy and dedication to being so #normal. I too would like to confess to my weird as hell crush disregarding the fact he's a dangerous fugitive. Girl of All Time

Shuu: Frat bot facade is slowly starting to crumble and im here to see it. Uncover the truth, gayboy‼️

Megumi: I FEEL SO SORRY FOR U GIRL.... 😭 May you find peace in the future but its an overall shitty situation to be in. truly have her in my thoughts and prayers

Natsuno: I WAS SO HEARTBROKEN TO SEE HER WHIMSY FADE AWAY ONCE SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT THE TRUE NATURE OF THE KAIJU 😭😭 I love that she managed to maintain her optimism despite the awful situation she's been put in though. Still a joy to see pop up on the screen

Keitaro: HE REALLY IS A GOOD BOY... He's just trying his best and i love him for that. You'll save everyone you care about i promise [IMPERIALISM IS LYING TO U AND TAKATOSHI!! I SWEAR]

Takatoshi: Boys be fighting demons and demons is bisexuality. I enjoy him a Regular amount and i appreciate seeing his himboisms so much in the game. I never want to seem him That sad again [IMPERIALISM IS LYING TO U AND KEITARO!! I SWEAR]

Okino:

Yuki: MY PRINCE.... MY SHINING STUD‼️‼️ I love her a very normal ammount and seeing her slowly uncover the truth is nice to see. Definetily much smarter than she think she is.

Gouto: The fact that he is ong for real Ryoko's government assigned boyfriend is the funniest thing to come out of the game so far. He's still gated behind a huge completion milestone but so far i feel like he's trying to make sense of the situation the best he can. Unlike Tomi though, he's very scared of the circumstances of if he disobeys orders, i think.

Ryoko: She's been such a mood so far that i now think of her with her hands on her head when i stress about my uni deadlines. Im so sorry for Ida being anywhere near her life. She should get a wife to kiss and heal her. I give her full permission to kill anyone who breaks her heart. My snarky queen

Ei: HE ACTUALLY GREW ON ME I CANT BELIEVE IT. He really reminds me if the cool rivals with a soft spot you'd see in shonen anime and I cant be too mad at that. I enjoy how taciturn he can be too.

Nenji: HE'S ACTUALLY SUCH A SWEETHEART... knowing that he was childhood friends with Miwako really made me like him more (esp with how he treats her!) Loveable idiot.

Tomi: MY MUTUAL... OOMF IN ARMS... #GIRL IN LAW. Literally love how's she's written her personality is so so colorful. She has definitely said some out of pocket shit on twitter before and ill defend her with my life.

Miwako: I WILL WRITE YOU INTO RELEVANCY MYSELF‼️‼️There is so much oppurtunity to write her as one of the 15. LET THEM BE 16‼️‼️ HER "easy to develop crushes" SELF CAN BE MADE INTO SOMETHING MUCH BIGGER TO THE NARRATIVE RAUGHHH

Chihiro: I can see she's really trying her best to save everyone from the kaiju and seems to resort to any means neccesary to do so... i appreciate the effort despite the uh. [gestures] unethical treatment towards minors ig

Ida: EVERYTHING IS LITERALLY UR FAULT. I CANT BELIEVE IT. This would be half the disaster if you learnt how to sod it with ur selfish desires i swear.

Kyuta, Not-Tamao, 426, Izumi: I CLOCKED UR SHIT, SNEAKY BITCH. I dont trust a word you say. """"Means well"""" in the end i think but has way more messed up ways to go around it compared to Morimura

Miyuki: So far looking like the only person willing to help these kids in a way that would not give them severe trauma. Rooting for u girl.

[No thoughts on Tamao since i consider Erika as 426]

[artofmyraid]

Hi hi! So my sibling and I got into a conversation about in stars and time, their super mentally drained starting school again, balancing life stuff and with the general exestinatlisim of in stars and time, sooooo...

... Good chance we will not continue for a long while, if ever.

(From here on, this is about to turn into a decently long ramble about in stars and time (spoiler free) , so yeah!)

So, on a related note, this line of thought brought up an interesting question. They were wondering why this game was harder on them mentally to play than omori. They just weren't sure why.

I mean, the thought process does make sense, omori leans waaaay more into the horror aspect , its placed in real life, and focuses on the extreme topics more than in stars and time does, so they weren't sure why in stars and time has been harder to play. (Despite this, they do absolutely love the game, even if they may not finish it)

Which got me thinking cause yeah, in stars and time emotionally destroyed me way more than omori did(/postive)

A decent amount of the especially heavy trigger warnings are optional for in stars and time while their required for omori. (Which is a part of why it hit harder, I think)

This led me to the conclusion that I had realized at the very start of the game, with the very first few conversations with the party members. It's the same moment I realized this game was going to be different from others. For me, at least

Which was that these characters are absurdly human. Their unique despite fitting into some classic tropes.

I don't typically have favorite characters, I'm often fairly neutral. Sure, I'll have guys I'll like more than others, but even that's rare for me. Similarly, I don't ever hate characters either.

And that's because their just that. These fictional guys are characters to me. Subconsciously, at least they don't really come off as human?

Which isn't really that big of a deal it's hard to write characters that come off as human, because humans naturally don't make much sense in general we're a complicated mess of personality, motivations and generally contradicting traits so yeah fair enough. It's really hard to articulate a persons being into writing, and even if you feel you have that, a lot of it can just get lost in translation?

Plus, even if they dont come off as human, they can still be fun and interesting characters for one reason or another, its not really a mark against other stories, but a positive tally for in stars and times writing.

ANYWAY! Got a little off track there. The reason in stars and time has become so special to me is the characters.

Omori is great, the story is good, and the characters are likable. It explores its topics well, in general. it's a good solid game. Don't mistake this as me being against the game, Omori is cool, I'd been interested in the game for years before it came out.

But the characters from in stars and time are just... written really well, the dialogue is fun and enjoyable, you get a good understanding of the dynamics right off the bat, and all the options and responses are fun. And you just learn so much about everyone.

I like to put it like this, most characters from the media I find I struggle to name their personality traits, maybe I'm just experiencing poor media, or im just clueless, but I find that it's really difficult to name personality traits, or summarize who they are outside of their stories or "roles".

And literally, within the first conversations with the party members, including siffrin, I just didn't have that problem... I loved them all instantly I could name traits despite knowing little about them, I even clocked a favorite character instantly and I can name my favorite characters from all media on one hand, even then I often don't decide a characters my favorite until reaaally experiencing the media, I might not even decide their my favorite because of the media provided!

And that's not really the fault of the media itself or even the writer of it, but in my eyes, it really is a testament to just how good in stars and time is. Loveable cast of characters that make the story hit super hard, even in the small moments.

So anyway, yeah, in stars and time is an incredible game that means a lot to me. The characters are just... exemplary, and they really make the story. Which just makes this game stand out to me when compared with the other things I enjoy.

Maybe it is just me that feels like that. Who knows! Either way, it's the reason that in stars and time has come to be so special to me. My reason why this game hits so hard when similar games haven't managed to hit the mark in quite the same way.

Goodness, I wonder if this made any sense to anyone other than me, I do not usually put my long ass personal ramblings in text posts. But my sibling seemed interested in me posting this, so i decided why not, lol.

TL;DR In stars and time has incredible writing, the characters are so human in ways that I just can't find in other media. The game has such a huge emotional impact, even more than other games, that have a bigger focus on similar topics or lean more into the horror of this kinda stuff.

Also, if you manage to stumble upon this and haven't played in stars and time, I'd REALLY suggest giving it a try. The anniversary is soon, too! (Make sure to read the games warnings, though)

[blubushie]

Tell us about Vegas?

YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE [BUSHMAN GUSSIED UP] ROUTE!

A TALE OF HIGH-ROLLERS

Warnings: Absolutely none! This a fun story. :]

So in November of 2021 (yes, a month before the Pig Incident) I went back to the US to see my family for a bit. I came back loaded with cash as a peace offering for my family (it didn't work) and so I left and went up to Oregon with a mate of mine for a few days to relax, recoup, and discuss work.

This went (mostly) ok minus a brief blue between us (I say "brief" but he's Still Mad About It, in my defence it was not my fault) and I left for Las Vegas, somewhere I hadn't been since I was very young. I got a flight out there and lounged for a bit and made my way to the only place I know would have me, a historical casino that's very popular (but not as much as it used to be.)

I went in the first night with $20k to blow away. I was upset because of the fight with my parents, further upset by the blue I had with my mate, and I wanted to be a little reckless and a little 20 and enjoy life for a week before I had to leave.

I have a quick meal in town at the Peppermill (incredible place), do some drinking there, then stop by Dream Exotics, rent out a 488 Ferrari, and head for the casino where I end up getting a cheap room.

It's $1500 per 24 hours, I had it for 3 days.

I head downstairs to the tables, sorta keep to myself and eventually I get to come up and play. If any of the you have read my fic, the scene in chapter 9 where Jess and Mundy play poker? Those were my winning hands. So we do a couple rounds.

Something that I didn't know, since I don't make a habit of high-profile gambling, or high-stakes gambling, is that casinos will comp you if they think you're rich. You put down a lot of money and they worship you. They'll spend top dollar on you in the hopes that you lose it all. It's fucking predatory, but it works. What's $20k spent on a gambler if he loses out $60k to you? That's still a $40k profit, and casinos are in the business of betting and winning.

They bet on the wrong bloke. I came in with $2k to piss away and bet $1500 first game. Lost it. Bet the last $500 and got it all back plus $2k more. Wagered that $2k, kept it and gained $1500 more. Bet the $1500, lost that. This repeated, maybe 12 rounds and until 2am, until I decided I'd had my fun and walked out with my $2k plus $6500 richer than I went in.

I'm an addict of one thing--alcohol. I am not a gambling addict. I know when to stop. I stopped. Everything after this was the casino wagering money on me in the hopes I'd come back down to the tables with more cash and lose it all.

I go back to my room. When I get there there's a bloke in a suit waiting for me and he says that the casino's "impressed" and has decided to comp my room and is upgrading me to a second-class suite, free of charge.

Who'm I to say no?

I get my shit and go with him. The suite's incredible. Spa Tower--a fucking two story suite with a spiral staircase, and it comes with a private chef! We're gonna call him C for Chef.

So I get there, set up, stare at this giant fucking bed, and wonder what kinda mess I just got myself into because everything has its price. I didn't get much sleep. Most of my time was spent cleaning my rifle very nervously as a soothing mechanism and muttering about "Oh we're really in for it now, Winnie."

But! I'm here for work. I want work. I love work!

So I finally head to bed around 4am, get a few hours of sleep, and dismiss the chef when he comes in the morning. He insists on making me something and I tip him $50 for some eggs and bacon.

We don't talk much, he's quiet and nervous and I remember where exactly I am and it occurs to me that maybe most people aren't exactly nice to him.

He comes around again for lunch--I don't remember what it was, think it was a panini--and dinner. Dinner was very very very good salmon. He's still not talking much, we mostly ignore each other, but I make him a martini as a courtesy and he seems to warm up a little.

(The suite has a wet bar and you can bet I drank practically all of that $700-worth of booze in it. This is when I first got into making cocktails, and I still enjoy making cocktails today. Thank god for fake IDs.)

Third day comes around, and this is when I get my arse in gear. I am in Vegas in a very high-profile casino. I'm playing with the big boys now and it's time I fucking act like it instead of hiding away in here. I've got impressions to make. I phone the front desk, as to speak to the hotel organiser, we get to talking and at my request he sets me up with a private barber and private tailor. Excellent. This will work. Chef comes in and makes brekkie (potato hash with eggs and chopped bacon) while I'm on the horn with the tailor and giving him the measurements I remember from the last time I had a suit tailored (for court, yay).

I tell the tailor to meet me at 6pm (giving 2hr for suit adjustments) and that I want something black and blue and very formal. I want to look like money. I ring the barber and tell him to come at 4pm, which gives us an hour to get my hair fixed before dinnie (because a mullet is NOT going to cut it here). I tell the cook to take off lunch, I'll meet him back here at 5pm for dinnie. I get dressed and dip.

Spend all day out on the town, seeing the sights and walking the strip and drinking for The Nerves. I head to Dream Exotics and rent out the Ferrari for another 2 days.

I don't get lunch on accounting for big dinnie. Eventually I get back to the casino, valet takes the car, and I head back to my suite.

4pm rolls around and 5 till, I hear a knock at the door. Scramble down the spiral staircase and make my way to the door. Answer it. There's my barber. He's short, very unassuming, older than me by about two decades, scrawny but with bony fingers that show he's been a barber for a long time. He has Those Kinds Of Hands--the kinds of hands that only people who work intricately with their fingers get; hairdressers, barbers, tailors, seamsters, artists, pianists... Wiry knuckles. You get it.

So I let him in and show him around the place. He comes inside and I ask to see his bag. We go through it. It's everything you'd expect. Ok, you're clear, I'll show you the bathroom. We head upstairs. Fifteen minutes later he's drawing the water up in the shower (yay detachable nozzles) and I'm trying my best to avoid looking in the mirror. And this blokes look at me and says my hair looks very thick. And that he likes this, because it means he doesn't have to use volumiser since my hair already has volume.

And then he says "You have hair like a woman's." There's a pause. "I mean that as a compliment." Thanks I guess?

I'm sitting on the edge of the tub and looking out the window and wondering why the fuck I even put this plan in action to start with when he asks me what I'm thinking. You know, in terms of style. And I say honestly, I don't know. Listen, I've got a meeting tonight, I know you should sleep on a fresh haircut but I'm a bit pinched for time. I have to look professional. I have to look good.

He looks at me, seems to have this eureka moment, and we get started. "I've got you." So I take my shirt off cuz it's just gonna get wet if I don't, my hair gets washed, and we head downstairs to the bar. I'm sat in a barstool we pulled from the bar at the eating bar in the kitchen and he gets to cutting.

And because this was pre-stroke I had a Texan accent at the time. So my barber, who I'm gonna call B, he gets curious and asks if I'm a Texas highroller. I tell him I'm a highroller but I'm not from Texas. A guessing game starts. I'll give you a $100 tip if you can guess where I'm from. The cunt guesses South Africa before he guesses Australia. Do I look South African to you? "No, you look like a cowboy." Pssh.

Eventually he guesses Australia. Ding ding ding, we have a winner. So we move on and chatter for a bit about this that and the other, he blows my hair to get the cuttings off but air dried hair is Special so we decide we'll let it air dry. Eventually C gets there, I let him in, and he makes us some steak and potatoes (FUCKING INCREDIBLE) and my hair dries as we all eat. This is the only time I've ever eaten wagyu steak. This shit was A5. Holy fuck the marbling. Melts in your mouth, absolutely incredible.

While all three of us are eating, I pitch the game to the chef. Barber and I are giggling as he thinks. His first guess is Oklahoma, because "Texas is too obvious." Buzzer. He guesses a couple of times. Gets them all wrong. He keeps guessing and he ends up getting a little red-faced in his frustration so I say if he can just guess the country I'll give it to him. He guesses South Africa. "That's what I said," goes B.

"Why South Africa? B guessed it too."

"There's a lot of rich white people in South Africa."

Fair. The game continues.

C names practiclly every European nation there is and then some. He names Canada, he names France and I wrinkle my nose. He names Spain. No. "You look Spanish." My mum's Portuguese?

To hand it to him, my freshly cut hair was drying, I was sitting at the dinner table shirtless and actually eating my steak with a knife AND fork, looking a bit professional despite my state of dress, and drinking a bottle of 1970-something Macallan off the spout. Plus I was freshly de-mulleted. I wasn't exactly the shining example of Aussie. More "American cowboy plucked fresh off the ranch."

But I get bored of the game eventually and I'd finished eating, so I say I'll give him the letter. Starts with an A.

"Aus-"

Yessss…

"-trian?"

NO!

His reasoning is that I'm drinking Macallan off spout for the past hour, it's not affecting me at all yet, and Germanics have a high booze tolerance?

"You know who else has a high booze tolerance? The drunkest nation on the planet."

C is confused.

"He means Australians," chimes B.

"Australians?" C looks at me. "You mean…" He grabs his knife, kinda points it at me but in the faux-threatening way. "'Now that's a knoife' kind?"

Sigh. "Yeah. Aussie."

"So where are you from? Sydney? Where's your accent? Have you ever seen a kangaroo?"

"Are you from Melbourne?" asks B. It's a good guess--there's a lotta rich people in M*lbourne.

"Someplace you never heard of."

The topic drops.

We yarn for a while longer about nothing in particular, mostly about food. I find out that B spent some time in Italy and really loves Italian food, C's favourite food to cook is Italian, they hit it off and I'm sitting in silence as I listen. Not in the third wheel kinda way, but in the intrigued kinda way. They're having a conversation that I'm glad to be a part of. It's interesting.

I make a mental note to have C cook me something Italian for dinner tomorrow.

B decides it's time for the dry cut, so we head back to the kitchen bar (I bring my whikky) and C goes about cleaning up the kish. He's humming as he tidies and eventually he looks over at me and goes "So nowhere Australia?"

"Woop woop, yeah."

"How'd you end up here? With the suite and us? How'd you make it?"

There's a hope in his eyes that's kinda sad. In that childish "I wanna be like him one day" kinda way. He thinks I'm something to aspire to be like. Sad.

"Cattle baron's son?" asks B. He's polite about it. There's no implications there. It's an honest question. He wants to know if I came into money or if I was born into it.

"Nah. Just know the right people."

Topic drops again.

It hits 6:30 and I say goodnight to C, tell him I'll see him in the morning, and he leaves. B is just finishing up with the last trims on my beard--he did a fucking excellent job, made my sideburns sharp and my beard looked perfect--when T gets there. We brush me off, he blows my hair and face and shoulders and chest, and he rubs up my face with an aloe-free aftershave before blotting it try. I get up and let T in and I can see the look on his face when he realises I am in fact as short as I said I was. Kinda funny!

B gets to watch, very amusedly, as T tries to get the bushman into a custom-tailored suit. T thought I was very strange at my initial refusal to wear undergarments (autism no like), but he insists that he can retailor the suit and reuse it for someone else if I do wear underclothes, so I agree and put on some trunks and an undershirt.

The suit was a little loose since this was the start of summer in Australia and I was down quite a few kilos. So some last-minute adjustments have to be made.

After an hour it strikes 7:45 and I'm now fully dressed in this suit. It's tight at the wrists in a way I don't like, but it's a pearl-buttoned jacket, pearl-buttoned dress shirt, pearl cufflinks, and black silk bowtie. I look good.

Black sleek suit, blue velvet lapel, all the pearl accents and everything else? I'm looking good. I get a little blue velvet handkerchief that goes in my breast pocket. I look built for a wedding. Or making connections.

Best $2k worth of clothing I ever spent. Except maybe the $150 I spent for my hat. But still. I'm rocking this shit.

So T is adding the finishing touches, tightening hems and adding little folds on the inside that you can't even really see so that the suit fits me just perfectly, and B is chuckling about this. I glare at him. He stops chuckling about it. Very amusing. T hands me my sunnies and explains that the piss-yellow of the sunnies compliments the black and blue nicely despite the contrast. And I might not be much an artist, but I am a colours bloke, and I can see it. I can understand it. Makes sense. I put them on.

B wets my hair a little, breaks out some hair gel and rubs it on his hands, styles my bangs over to one side, makes some quip about how I should've let him clip the sideburns, and the two fellas back up to get a good look at me. I Am Nervous.

T makes a comment about my hair, B agrees and walks up and fucks with my bangs until a little piece of them dangles at my forehead over my widow's peak instead of combed to the side like the rest. I cock my brow at him but then he steps back and dries his hands and puts them on his hips.

They're not saying anything.

"…How do I look?"

T asks B if he has a mirror. No no no, no mirrors, just tell me.

"Like a million dollars."

Aces.

I pay them, thank them for their time, agree to return the suit to T at the end of the week, and get on my way after they leave. Get my knife in my jacket pocket and my revolver in the other, head downstairs to the lobby, then get the lift down to the subfloors. I flash my card to the bouncer and when I walk in the smell of smoke hits me. In this casino you are not allowed to smoke inside. The highroller floors are an exception to this rule.

I get a glass of champagne off a waitress' tray and find my way to the bar and I sit there for a bit and start yarning with the bartender. The night's quiet, there's not many people in. Most are out at dinner. It didn't get lively until 10pm, and that's when the real fun started. I played a few more games, won $1500, went back to the bar to drink and people watch and wait. Work as usual.

And that's about it. Ended up walking away with a job that night and it was fun! I met people! I socialised! I didn't make an idiot of myself! Yaaay good impressions!

[winterswhite]

Some of my thoughts after rereading the A3! prologue:

Resisting every urge to point out interesting things I'm noticing in A3EN's localization of the prologue with 3.5 more years of Japanese knowledge, this is a reading club, not a translation club

Why is this the only instance of pink text in the game? I think it's really funny how they highlighted important lines in pink here and then proceeded to never do that again

Logistically I know it was only done here as a way of introducing the player to things and it has no real place anywhere else in the story, but it's still funny

Tsuzuru not catching on about the street act is so cute www

I love how you can tell from this very first interaction between Tasuku and Haruto, and then between Haruto and Tsuzuru, that Godza is a kinda messy environment behind the scenes

In retrospect, this was so fucked up of Izumi's mom (I didn't think anything of it back then, but with the knowledge I have now... whew)

hE RECOGNIZES HER

"KYAAAAAAAAA"

BACKHOE

I think it's so interesting that Sakoda was able to get a permit for the backhoe? It's something so small but I think it's fun how we see here that he has the skill needed to safely operate heavy machinery even though he's often seen as someone who isn't good at much of anything, so it really just comes down to his life circumstances more than his actual ability (I mean the kid's just being taught to read at a third grade level, and it's not his fault)

Pictured: The moment it was over for me

This whole scene is such a mess

The way Sakyo implies there have been other plays recently?? If this is Sakuya's first show, how did those work?

Oh Sakuya sounds so awkward it's hard to watch. Shoutout to Sakai for achieving that

Izumi's thoughts as she watches Sakuya perform hit different knowing about her own failures and experiences with theater

This line always, always gets me. Hard work alone doesn't amount to crap in this world. It never did for him. His mother worked so hard and yet they were poor, he worked hard and could never achieve his own goals... hard work never earned him anything. If it did, maybe he could've stood on this stage, too. Maybe Mankai wouldn't have reached this point. Maybe we wouldn't be here.

Honestly, everything here shows how much Sakyo loves Mankai and how hurt he is too

This conversation between Sakyo and Matsukawa is so much, they both care so much about the theater but Matsukawa is so desperately latching onto it while Sakyo has resigned himself to its fate, he's all but given up (just like he has on himself lol <- in pain)

Oh boy Yukio mention (the way he haunts the narrative is so much)

It's funny that Sakyo takes that jab at Matsukawa for wanting to lean on Yukio and count on him to single-handedly save Mankai, considering what he just said about hard work. If Yukio can't be relied on as the "savior" of Mankai (all the actors need to come back and everything needs to be the way it was before) and hard work alone won't do it either... he really has lost hope

Sakyo you fucking tsundere

You're the boss, boss!

Something something Izumi about to lose the last connection she has to her father even if it's not one she ever really had much of a part in before

Oh Izumi you're so bad at this

Sakyo is Not taking this (meanwhile, Matsukawa...) I do appreciate how he still gave her a chance though, however small it was

Honestly I feel bad for Matsukawa here, knowing how he's been trying so desperately just to keep the troupe afloat for eight years even though it clearly hasn't been going well

Obviously there was no way to fit this into the English localization, but I love how Sakuya introduces himself and then tells Izumi how to spell his name in kanji because of the many different ways it can be written (花の咲くの咲也です！)

I also really appreciate Izumi as a character and how real she feels right from the very beginning, from her interest in theater to her hammy acting to her quick thinking skills

Matsukawa you've been at this for years... (also I'm curious about Izumi's old troupe)

I didn't care much for Sakuya when I first read this story, but knowing all that I do about him now, this is all so endearing... he's so sweet in how he's comforting Izumi and checking in on her (and his whole thing about not wanting to lose the troupe hurts)

"Might as well fail like men!" thank you for the encouragement Matsukawa

I honestly think there's so much to be said about Masumi's character right from the beginning, like with him repeatedly asking how his acting was

Tsuzuru the biggest "struggling uni student" mood

Oh Masumi's line about just taking anyone hits so different in Japanese... Maybe I'm just not as good at picking up on certain types of slang and innuendo, but his wording is so much more... questionable in Japanese, that double meaning cannot be ignored.

Oh god I'm thinking about the A3 timeline again. I will once again try to push it back into the furthest depths of my mind because there clearly is no such thing as "time" in this universe and trying to figure it out has given me headaches before.