#I could have written more about things I think are underappreciated about Fates but ah

[loregoddess]

6,7 and 11 for the Fates Ask Game!

6. Who’s your favorite of the Hoshidan siblings? Takumi, to the point where some friends who know me irl and have never touched Fates associate me with him. I really love Sakura and Hinoka a whole lot too, but Takumi's got a special place in my heart thanks to how the narrative messes his life up in nearly every route. (Ryoma's fine too, he just. Isn't as interesting to me as the other three, sorry bud).

7. Who’s your favorite of the Nohrian siblings? Aaaaah, that's hard bc I love them all a lot. Probably Xander? I've really come to appreciate the complexity of Xander's character, and I just love that he's canonically really, really, shy but found a way to put up a façade to live up to being the crown prince, and yet still has all these darker inner struggles while still trying to be the pillar of strength for his remaining family (at least in the Japanese version, but that's actually still what I'm most familiar with).

11. What do you feel is underappreciated about Fates? The, uh...entire game? Which I mean seriously, bc it got a lot of bashing and it's actually a fine game, but "fandom threw it in the ditch" aside, actually my favorite thing about Fates is that they did away with gender-locked classes (outside of like, the butler/maid classes which were "gender-locked" but also essentially the same class w/ a different outfit). Like I was SO excited to see Subaki in the pre-release materials when I was follow the game's launch bc we'd never had a male pegasus rider, it was so neat to see Charlotte as a female fighter even if her outfit put me off at first. When Echoes came out I wasn't too surprised that the gender-locked classes "returned" bc that was a remake of an older game, so like, of course the gender-locked classes returned. But when Three Houses released, and I discovered that gender-locked classes were still a thing, I was like, wait hold up, what the heck? Given how a few other mechanics work in TH, I still can't understand why gender-locked classes were still in place, it's just, frustrating, esp. from a purely game-mechanics level bc like, the characters are just a collection of numbers and pixels to the game code, and classes are just a collection of modifying numbers and pixels in the game code, so why lock certain numbers and pixels out of other numbers and pixels bc of some superficially applied cultural norms? So yeah, Fates made a ton of progress by throwing the gender-locked classes out the window, and that more than anything else is a mechanic I want to return and stay.

ALSO, I was really glad that they did away with weapon durability. Like I'm not sure I personally liked the balancing for the weapons in Fates, but I was so glad that I didn't have to worry about them breaking (aside from staves, @ my healers what are you doing to always break your healing staves?). I think I liked how Echoes dealt with weapons the best, but Fates was the first FE game I played w/ no breakable weapons and I loved it. Also the "hidden" weapons class was really neat, and I'm glad it'll be making a return in Engage in some form.

[eddstreet-askblog-deactivat-blog]

Working Dead

Shift after endless shift Mark is forced to continue working in the hell hole that is his job. After blurting out bits of his boss’ personal life, Hellucard realizes it’s about time they had a serious talk.

Mark tossed down his cloth on the bar counter and made his way over to Hellucard’s office. This was the third time this week he had been called over and he was getting pretty sick of playing his games. Anytime he preached about work ethics, Mark just brought up the fact that if he were to give him reasonable hours and pay he’d gladly start working hard again.

But that only ever resulted in Hellucard yelling profanities and claiming he paid him what he deserved. ‘Bullshit’  Knocking tiredly on the finewood door, Mark waited for the signal to enter.

“Sir?”

“Who is it?” Hellucard taunted.

‘Don’t act like you don’t know you idiot..’ “It’s…Mark.” a soft exasperated sigh left him as it took all his strength to not snap at hellucard.  “You wanted to speak with me?”

“Ah, yes! Come in.”

Mark stepped into the office like a man accepting his fate. If he got fired now, it would be absolutely no skin off his nose. In fact, he wondered why he didn’t just quit. He was sure he saw a few hiring signs down the street somewhere…

“Care to explain yourself Mark?”

“How do you mean sir?” It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep the sarcastic attitude out of his tone and pretend he cared.

“I’m referring to that little stunt you just pulled!!” Hellucard snarled, slamming the papers in his hand down on the desk. “How dare you tell the other patrons about my personal business!!”

“With all due respect sir, I think the customers have a right to know about what kind of man their money is being given to…”

“THAT DOESN’T GIVE YOU THE RIGHT TO-”

“On the contrary, it gives me every right! If my paycheck is the one suffering because you get caught sneaking in through the window, picking locks, and seen leaving with things you were not in possession of before, then I think I have the right to at least express myself a little by exposing you for the CREEP you are!!”

“LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE MISCREANT!!” His seat reeled back with hellucard suddenly standing, both hands on his desk as he glared his employee down. ‘Who does this little runt think he is!?’ “The ONLY reason why you’re not flying out my window right now is because I’m low on employees and I need to make this work right now!! The holidays are practically here and I don’t need to be short staffed right now!! So sit down an–”

“Don’t talk about us like we’re a product!!” Frustration was written clearly on his face, the facade that he was calm completely gone. “We’re actual, living, people. Our working shifts have left us heaving through corrupted lungs because you can’t be bothered to give us a livable wage or reasonable working hours!! Logan got so sick from overworking that he ended up in the hospital and is MORE worried about how he’s going to pay for the hospital bill since he isn’t even insured than his own health!! Ruben had to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital because he seriously almost killed a customer for throwing beer at his face! The only reason he didn’t get charged with assault is because I had to tell the judge that he was not taking his medication!!”

“You lied to a judge in court!?”

“Wh…? NO you idiot! He actually needs medication!! But he hasn’t been able to obtain it because HE isn’t insured either and can’t afford to cover the medical costs!! Not only that, he also hadn’t slept in almost three days because of you!! HOW DO YOU NOT SEE THAT YOU’RE GREED IS SLOWLY KILLING US!?”

Hellucard only stared. He didn’t know what to say… How had he been so unaware of what was happening to his employees…?

“You’re so worried about being short staffed for the holidays.. When you haven’t even realized that half of your staff is already gone…”

A chill went up his spine at Mark’s words. He was right.. Something had to change… And now that he knew what was going on, all those hospital letters and missed calls suddenly made sense. They must have been the doctors wondering why his employees were uninsured… why everytime they must’ve tried to get some billing information out of the two patients and came up with a blank, they had to reach hellucard about it.

This was all his fault… He’d put his company’s needs before his employees and now he was going to pay heavily for it. Hellucard gave a shaky sigh, hanging his head as he backed away and slumped back in his seat. This was a mess… This whole bar was just… Hellucard ran a hand across his face and through his hair. If Mark didn’t know any better, he would think that his boss appeared on the verge of tears.

“Mark.. I’m… I’m sorry… I-I had no idea…” He looked up to see the fellow blonde sitting down and holding his head in his hands. How could he do this to them… None of them deserved the treatment he had been giving them… He at least saw that now. Mark was right. Something had to change. HELLUCARD had to change.

Something had to…

“Alright, listen…I’ll.. see what i can do about giving you all a raise. I promise to work on giving you guys actual working benefits and… And for those two at the hospital… I’m going to personally pay for their medical expenses. But from now on.. None of you will be working endless shifts. I know you especially have been here for a good while now and actually do work really hard… when you’re not in a fit that is… And yes, yes, I realize I overworked you sometimes…! But… If you can promise to leave my personal life personal, I promise to be a better boss. Deal?”

Hellucard stood and extended his arm in front of Mark for a handshake to seal the verbal contract. This was it. He was actually going to start taking better care of his workers and run an honest business he could be proud of.

“R…really??” Mark was surprised to say the least. He didn’t even think he could get out of being fired, much less acquire benefits and a raise out of it. “Hellucard, I mean, sir! That’s great! That.. that would really help all of us out a lot..”

“Well then?”

Something poked at the back of Mark’s mind that told him not to believe his cheapskate boss’ word. To not give him anymore of his underappreciated and undervalued time. To leave now before he was disappointed later. He talked big, but besides his promise, there was nothing actually holding hellucard to make a change.

‘We need this…’

“Deal!”

[axietoh]

Shizaya fic recs

Here are the fics I mentioned previously! These are my absolute faves in the fandom~ Some of them are really underappreciated because of the lack of pairing tag/ mention, but legit qualifies as preslash (which I actually prefer), so do give them a chance!!

Sunrise by Azurelitestar (Lengthy oneshot; Preslash; Was actually written for me and fuck its so good I CANNOT OKAY SHAKES FIST; Feels like a legit continuation from/ extension of the novels)

This is the beginning of an end; an end to the relationship these two mortal enemies once had.

To Try Again, or The Tale of a Family by Threesmallcrows (Completed; Absolutely golden Izaya character exploration, and Orihara family dynamics. Not Shizaya but if you’re an Izaya fan, please read and give it more love!!)

When Izaya left, he ripped this family open. Now, he's back- after a two year absence. And they are dying again, mother and daughters, father and son. Why can't you see what you do to us, Izaya? You shouldn't have come back.

The Mercurial Mask by Karasu Yurei (Completed; THE PLOT MAN THE PLOT; Mild hints of Shizaya preslash)

A new gang comes to town looking for something special, and is willing to turn all of Ikebukuro upside down until they find it.

Lies and Truth by ZS fan (WIP; I literally teared up trying to stifle laughter reading this at 2am ok)

What if you could tell if someone was lying? After an accident, Izaya gains the ability to see lies, which a certain monster happens to be impervious to. Bored with his humans, he decides to toy with the unpredictable man, unaware that Shizuo has secrets of his own. 

Shizuo’s Bow Tie by CRQ (Complete; THE FUNNIEST DAMN THING I EVER LAID EYES ON JUST READ THE SUMMARY NO MATTER HOW HIGH YOUR EYEBROWS GO JUST READ YOU WONT REGRET IT)

Hi, I'm Shizuo's sunglasses. Shizuo's shoes need hearing aids, and his bow tie thinks it's gangsta. But who's this scrawny human with the bitchy jacket? And would somebody please give his switchblade some Xanax?

The sequel: Izaya’s Ring (WIP)

Denial by LadyCharity (Complete; More Orihara family dynamics, Shizaya only at the end. Honestly I don’t really want to spoil it, but I don’t want to put anyone through undue trauma so... rape warning. While the fic doesn’t really focus on it as a core thing, please put yourself first.)

In a twist of fate, Izaya becomes the victim of another's mind game. His sisters' lives are at stake and any choice he makes could end in someone's death. It takes only one night for his entire world to be destroyed.

Not Justice by izanayas (WIP; Quite short but rather recent, hoping it’ll get updated soon! It’s shaping up to look really good, like a legit continuation from/ extension of the novels)

What’s weird isn’t that Yahiro thinks Orihara Izaya should come back; it's that he's not the only one who does. The solution to this problem is obvious to him. But those who share the same idea don't necessarily share the same goals... and Izaya himself is as alive as ever. As destructive as ever. Brimming with potential to make everything worse.

The Gain-Loss Theory of Attraction by caffeinekitty (Lengthy oneshot; great take on the Shizaya relationship, if they do start dating)

In which we value more the things we have to work for.

It Just Happened & May the Best Man Win by ZS fan (WIP; but the plots are tantalizing man; Note - this author likes to write in a style similar to the original novels. It might be a bit hard to get into at first because the style’s unfamiliar and quirky, but I came to enjoy it. I hope you do too!)  

To Hell and Back by Jillyfish (WIP officially, but I think it stopped at the right point and can be taken as completed as it is. But ofc, if there’ll be more, I won’t be complaining at all haha)

It starts with post cards. Izaya has disappeared and gone up on some obscure form of vacation. However, when Shizuo tracks him down to enact a spontaneous whim of revenge, they each have a change in plans. They ultimately end up traveling together.

What they encounter on their journey are people and places that teach them that Ikebukuro isn't the only Hell on Earth. Their experience becomes one about Humanity, whether it be lost or found.

Everything by TastewithoutTalent on AO3 (Seriously, I binge-read everything in like, 3 days its so good)

Mezhdu Dvukh Ogney (Between Two Fires) by Delphicy (WIP; Fandom classic for a reason. ‘Nuff said. Borderline crack, but there’s a hidden reason for it!)

Simon’s ill-fated decision to play match-maker forces Shizuo and Izaya to become reluctant allies. Their goal? To demonstrate what a horrible idea it is to force them into a relationship. Or: how KFC nearly sparked the apocalypse. Now with 70% more arson!

This is an English fanfic about a Japanese series that is riddled with Russian proverbs and Celtic mythology. It's like riding It's A Small World, only instead of animatronics you have violent manchildren and an entire city's unhealthy fixation with their sexual relationship.

Landscape Over Zero (WIP; Izaya and child!Psyche&Tsugaru; Supposed to build up to Shizaya, but didn’t develop that far. My own imagination made up for it though: How did Nebula develop them to look so much like Izaya and Shizuo? I also noted that they never outright stated they were androids; Izaya had assumed that himself... Plus Nebula does have a connection to Shinra, who has access to Izaya and Shizuo’s DNA...... Waggles eyebrows)

Asphyxiation (Short kinky PWP, heehee)

FILL (Short fill; I know it’s actually an untitled fill, but I think the title’s oddly appropriate HAHAHA)

The Morning After.

One Plus One Equals Fun (Short fill; Basically, DRRR the Musical. That last line hit straight home man)

It’s Just a Kiss by Shizayabayo (Oneshot; Cute AF)

“Ah, I hear you loud and clear,” Izaya pauses for a moment. “but, you know...”

Suddenly a tall, lanky man with bleach blonde hair enters the room and lazily makes his way down the stairs.

“I also have my methods.”

In which Izaya finds himself in the middle of a meeting with some very intimidating characters and a pajama clad Shizuo swoops in to unknowingly save the day.

There’re actually quite a few more fics I bookmarked, but these are my faves! Hope y’all get something outta this list!