#I just think it's interesting that in a game where one of the main themes is religiously motivated persecution of The Other

[causeimcrayzeebee]

MAJOR TETRO PINK SPOILERS (for the whole thing basically)!!

wow. this was such a heartbreaking ending. i can’t help but be overwhelmed and emotional about everything that happened today,,,, i have so much to talk about but i just really can’t cover it all so I’m just gonna talk about my main takeaways from today!

i was so convinced it was gonna be tamba and was in hysterics cause i didn’t want it to be her… i am actually shocked hasegawa was the culprit— well, for the most part, save for during the camera discussion where i was yelling at my phone that hasegawa knew they were there (and somehow i was still not convinced he was the killer till the actual reveal), but in all honestly, this was a perfect end for his character. 

it really highlighted the decay of hasegawa ken. pre killing game, hasegawa lived a somewhat simple but comfortable life, with a loving family and a successful career. but of course, it seems he was without friends, coming home from school every day to continue studying in his room. then he entered the killing game, surrounded with 15 of his peers, and only 1 of them really became his friend. kamimura kazutoshi. hasegawa became attached to him, connected with him; he felt a love he hadn’t before. and then kamimura was taken away. the remaining students he was surrounded by were who he believed to be terrible people. now, hasegawa was truly alone. 

in hindsight it’s obvious it had to be him…. he couldn’t escape being suspicious for every damn trial n still survive lmaoo,,, of course he would come up with a convoluted, difficult plan that would’ve gone through just fine if it weren’t for monomoko intercepting.

speaking of monomoko, i was thinking about how tetro is so interesting in the aspect that it has supernatural elements like monomoko. she’s not a real bunny and is some kind of dimensional extraterrestrial being (im not caught up with staffside yet bear with me), but somehow, she’s far from the the scariest and most horrifying part about tetro. the things that are the most realistic and plausible to happen are the most fucked up, horrifying parts. in the words of hasegawa ken, real horror is knowing. knowing that it’s possible, knowing the evils of real people.

endings are difficult. even the best stories can have mediocre or horrible endings. but i have to shout out pink because while this technically isn’t the fully ending, it was such a fantastic end to a long journey. red had me tearing up. i did not expect a whole ass animation at all but it was so very moving. the colors and the shots were just amazing! but mostly what hit was the writing. the prose for that took my breath away, the little red riding hood theme was perfect. hearing sasaki one more time, narrating what could only be something from her journal, was a perfect way to wrap up sasaki’s life, and tetro pink as a whole. 

maybe hasegawa is right— maybe the pink cast are all terrible people. but maybe they’re also just human. maybe that’s the human response to their circumstances. and maybe humans just make human mistakes when pushed to the edge. 

looking at the remaining people was a knife to the chest, realizing it was only 5. and those exit interviews. oh my GOD the exit interviews. they’re both so similar yet so different to who the were before. wada…. oh my goodness wada…. “I’d have killed myself so sasaki could go to sleep” was so raw and filled with pain, i don’t think I’ll stop thinking about that answer. ojima and yanagi were both pissed at the people who took away what little childhood they had left, at the loved ones they took. i also found seki commenting on ojima not losing anyone particularly close interesting, because i think many of us acknowledge the absolute devastation of people like hasegawa losing kamimura or wada losing Isono and Tsuno, but we often forget how this would be for everyone else. ojima was close with everyone; everyone was closer than the average group of people because they were put into hell together. even if a student wasn’t super close to someone who died, that was someone they knew who was murdered. EVERYONE lost the deceased 11 people. tamba and hiroaki are both so much more shaken up, more quiet and more defeated. they went into the game as people who took every opportunity to get the upper hand and be better, but now they’ve been beaten to a shell of who they once were.

so with this, our surviving cast is going home. but did they really even survive? yeah, we have survivors technically, but really we’ve witnessed the brutal killing of 16 students; 16 people; 16 KIDS. and there will be more.

thank you von, the vas, and the editors for working so hard on such a beautiful project. im beyond excited (and terrified) for blue!

[wemlygust]

To be honest I think most of my memory of that game is vibes. It's atmosphere, and little details, and the feeling of it. I loved the game, but I truly don't know which part of the plot you're referring to. I remember whodunit and how at the end, and I remember the political situation, and the union, and the racism everywhere, and the cryptid hunters, but I think I've forgotten a lot of the details of the "main" mystery plot (especially the middle of it) because that wasn't what I was playing the game for, really. The murder mystery was a motivator, but I was busy reading every book and getting encyclopaedia history dumps from the little encyclopaedia voice in his head (I don't remember what skill it was that gave that, but yeah), do a million side quests, and talking to everyone and their dog. Plus so many times the voices in his head would argue, and I'd be thinking about whatever that topic was. I do remember that the world was sexist but... Compared to the politics and the racism and substance abuse, that never felt like the overall focus, to me. It felt famililar to me, from all the times I've seen that kind of sexism depicted in just that kind of setting, and, apart from one character, I don't remember feeling like the game was dwelling on that or getting into details about it. It was familiar just becauseI'm used to seeing sexism depicted like this, but I'm less used to the other things that game depicted, especially to the extent that it did, so I was far more interested in all those other aspects. And the women in the game felt like real people to me (something I do remember and appreciate); the sexism felt like a part of the world, depicted in all its ugliness alongside all the other ugliness of human society, and not like it was sexism belonging to the narrative or to the creators, so I was steamed at the creators in a way that would make me remember either. I do remember feeling like there weren't enough women vs. the number of men to be realistic/well balanced, but, well. I'm unfortunately just used to putting up with that in games. That's a whole other bucket of worms though. If you had asked me to describe the game and its themes in my own words, I don't think it would have even occurred to me to mention sexism. Even though I am a person who tends to notice and mention sexism first thing, when I'm reviewing a game or a book or a movie. It's certainly ruined many a story for me before. I've loved media that explored it well before, too. This one just... didn't do that for me. It is a game that allows a shocking amount of variability between playthroughs, though. I only have played it once, so it's possible I just happened to miss a lot of the things you encountered and remember from the game? Just, the sheer volume of different dialogue and mental voice arguments you can get depending just on the stats you pick and the choices you make is bonkers. So maybe if you play one way, you can find a lot of mysogyny themes that I just didn't run into because I played a different way? But I felt like I understood the murder mystery plot fully, and I don't remember it as being something that happened because of mysogyny. Major spoilers under the break. For anyone who hasn't played the game, please don't read after this point.

In my playthrough, I remember there was a moment where I could have pinned the murder on a woman (the first one you encounter in the game) who was a red herring, rather than the actual murderer (the sad communist sniper); is it possible to do that, conclude she was the murderer, and have the game end on that note? I guess it must be? If someone ended the game thinking she was the murderer, then I could for sure see why that would be what you would be left thinking about after the credits roll. But I also wouldn't be surprised if the explanation for our different experiences is something else/different choices and dialogue/description seen through the game instead. Granted... If this is a game that genuinely lets you pin the blame for a murder on a woman who didn't do it, and let's you be wrong... Just the fact that the world setup creates that situation that allows that to happen supports your argument re. the importance of mysogyny in the game. To be clear I'm not saying people would be mysogynist for getting that ending, what I mean is that the game in that case could arguably be saying something about how hard it is to extract yourself from your own culture/society that is mysogynist. The characters can have the best of intentions, but still draw the wrong conclusions because their entire society is set up to push blame on the women, or to villainize women, and they can only manage to see outside the box if they happen to have the right combo of skills and choices at a crucial moment. Maybe? This is literally the first time I am having this thought about this game, though, so. Unbaked hot take disclaimer here. I also feel like I'm not explaining what I mean very well. And I'm not even 100% sure if the game even DOES allow the player to end with blaming the wrong person; I never looked up if there were alternative endings.

Anyways... Perhaps I'll try another playthrough soon, and see how different it ends up.

literally what is it about disco elysium that inspires so much genderbend art. there are many women and girls who are important to the narrative. there are canonical gay women. the story falls apart if harry is a cis woman. the entire murder mystery—the objective of the game—happens largely because of misogyny. what is going on

[theimpossiblescheme]

I came to a realization listening to the NPC dialogues from Bloodborne. Since we don't have Patches playing his usual role in this game, the Skeptical Man in Oedon Chapel takes over his role of warning us about some of the NPCs. But the key difference is that Patches, despite his smarmy cynicism, is a genuinely good judge of character--every time he tells us not to trust someone, he's right. And most of the characters he accuses are people in positions of power, notably Lautrec the knight who murders the poor imprisoned Fire Keeper, and Petrus the lying cleric who leaves three of his cohort to die. You can argue that in Petrus's case, it's just his bias against clerics talking, but given what almost all of the clerics in Dark Souls preach and who to, it's hard to hold that disdain against him.

But in Bloodborne, the Skeptical Man can never look past his own deep mistrust for everyone around him (again, hard to blame him in a place like Yharnam), and he ends up with the exact wrong read on everyone who accompanies us to Oedon Chapel. Not only that, but everyone he accuses is just as powerless as him: a traumatized old woman, a sex worker minding her own business, and a disabled man who truly wants to help people. The only one he doesn't accuse is Adella, a nun of the Healing Church, which certainly indicates who he's willing to give the benefit of the doubt and who he isn't. And there's also the way he frames himself--while Patches knows that he's a scoundrel, but there are far worse scoundrels than him out in the world, the Skeptical Man clearly thinks of himself as a good and honest man who can see past everyone else's deceit. He's not just wrong, he has to be self-righteous about it.

[merlinmerlot]

I could play one of the most beautiful well crafted video games on the planet and it will never be as appealing to me as one that kind of sucks shit but has soooo much potential

[bweirdart]

EVENT OVER! THANKS EVERYONE WHO JOINED IN U ALL DID AN AMAZING JOB <3 SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT YEAR IN MARCH FOR #mARTch OR NEXT OCTOBER (2024) FOR A NEW SET OF PROMPTS!!!!!

OC-TOBER 2023 PROMPTS!!

general tag: #oc-tober / my prompts: #bweirdOCtober

F.A.Q:

Do I have to draw EVERY DAY?

NO! I highly encourage skipping as many days as you need to avoid burnout! There are 10 main days in the event (marked with a ⭐ star) that you can focus on if you don't feel up to doing every day, or you can choose your own adventure and just do the prompts you personally like!

Do I have to DRAW?

NO! You can also write fanfiction snippets, repost older art that fits the theme, tweet headcanons/backstory, roleplay in-character as your oc ... genuinely anything that fits the theme is OK!!

Can I start early?

YES! I understand some people work at a slower pace and might need a head start! So long as you wait until October to post it, you can start working as early as you need!

I missed the start of the event .. do I have to catch up?

NO! Please don't stress about days you missed, you're allowed to just skip to the current prompt!

RULES:

1. MAKE FRIENDS! The community is the best part of this event .. please try to follow new people, ask questions about ocs you like, compliment people's styles, ask friends to create with you, etc!

2. TAKE IT EASY! Skip a day if you're tired, busy or just not interested in the prompt. You don't have to catch up on it later. This is supposed to be fun, not work!

3. BE KIND! Please think about the people around you - don't give people unwarranted harsh criticism, content warn for themes/imagery in your work that could trigger someone, don't create anything hateful, etc

MORE:

text version / tips and ideas on bweird.art or below ↓

star = main prompts | no star = optional

INTRO WEEK

1: FAVE OC ⭐

-Which of your characters is your favourite right now?

2: NEW OC

-Who is your newest OC?

-Design a new OC right now

3: OLD OC ⭐

-Do you remember the first OC you ever made?

-Is there an OC you haven't drawn in a long time?

4: RE-DESIGN

-An OC who has changed a lot over the years

-Take an old OC and update their design right now

 

BACKSTORY WEEK

5: RELATIONSHIPS ⭐

-Who is important to your OC?

-Do they have a partner?

-Do they have a best friend?

-Are they close to their family?

6: SYMBOL

-What imagery do you associate with your oc?

-Are there any colours, flowers, animals or concepts that symbolize them?

7: PERSONALITY ⭐

-How does your OC behave?

-What are their positive traits?

-What are their negative traits?

-Are they extroverted or introverted?

8: PAST

-What was your OC like as a child?

-Where did they grow up?

-Are there any significant moments from their past that shaped who they are?

9: FUTURE ⭐

-Does your OC have a goal they're working towards?

-What will your OC look like when they get older

-Do you have a planned ending for their story?

PALETTE WEEK

10: pumpkin patch palette

#251604 #1E3807 #5B5E1A #A2A657 #EBA00F #F3ECCC

11: hot cocoa palette

#520B13 #BB382E #E27E6D #88392C #AF5D40 #E1AFA4

12: midnight zone palette

#000007 #000049 #183885 #004D4F #0E8788 #FFF1C0

13: peachy palette

#DE6450 #DB9171 #FFC1AE #FEE1AD #FFF2E0 #D9D8D8

14: haunted house palette

#552506 #6E25AA #ED690B #F925A0 #8F8BA7 #A6C1AA

FUN + GAMES WEEK

15: MEME ⭐

-Post memes that remind you of your OC

-Draw your OC as a meme

-Fill out a character meme (classic deviantart style)

16: FOOD

-What is your OC's favourite food?

-What is their least favourite?

-Can they cook?

17: EYES-CLOSED ⭐

-Draw your OC with your eyes closed! No cheating!

-Write a scene without looking at the keyboard! Keep the typos in!

18: SWAP

-Swap the style or aesthetic of two of your OCs

-Species or gender swap AU

-Invert an OC's colour scheme

19: INSPIRATION ⭐

-Is your OC inspired by any pre-existing characters?

-Are there any particular songs/lyrics that inspired something about one of your OCs

-Do you have a dedicated pinterest moodboard for your character?

20: INVENTORY

-What does your OC carry around with them on a daily basis?

-Are there any objects that have sentimental value for them?

-Loot drop for your DnD OC

 

FRIENDS WEEK

21-25:

There's no specific daily prompts for this week, but here are some ideas you can try ...

-Art trades with friends who are doing the event with you

-Your OC interacting with a friend's OC

-Gift art for someone whose OCs you like

-Work together and collaborate on something with a friend

-Roleplay an OC scene together with someone

 

HALLOWEEN WEEK

26: FEAR ⭐

-What is your OC scared of?

-Draw one of your OCs trying to scare the others

27: MONSTER

-Do you have any monster OCs? (eg: vampires, werewolves, creatures, ghosts...)

-Draw a human OC as a monster

-Design a new monster

28: TRICK

-Play a trick on an OC

-Do you have an OC who would play tricks on people?

29: TREAT

-What is your OC's favourite halloween candy?

-Give an OC a special treat to make up for yesterday's trick

30: MAGIC

-Do any of your characters have magical powers?

-Give an OC a magical or cursed artifact

-Create a magic-using OC like a witch or wizard

27: COSTUME ⭐

-What is your OC dressing as for halloween?

[kakao-lovey]

⁉¿? Wait a minute... Who are you?

Journaling prompts to find your identity when you're drowning in labels and subcultures

Let me be real with you. I'm a teenager, as I assume most of you reading this are (And if you're not, that's totally OK), and trying to find your identity often means trying on persona after persona, hoping that someday something will fit. Which, yes, it will, but I personally believe writing it out and exploring is so much more rewarding (and so much less embarrassing).

۶ৎ Create an overview

This is like writing a discord intro. Include your (Actual, chosen) name, gender identity, and so on, if you would like, but the most important part isn't that obvious.

How do I feel about my nationality? Am I proud of where I live? If I had to choose somewhere, anywhere to live, where would I choose?

What are my feelings towards my assigned gender? Where do I fall on the spectrum? Is my energy more masculine or feminine, or completely neutral?

What is my body image like? What do I like about the way I look, and what do I don't?

Do I actually feel like my bodily age? Younger, older?

Am I aligned with 'Human nature'? Do I enjoy being human, or would I rather be something else?

By taking these traits you were born with and evaluating, you start to get an idea of what you identify with, and what you don't. This is very important, but people often don't question things like this, as they seem a given (But end up unhappy with their view of themselves).

۶ৎ This versus that

Divide your page into a left side and a right side. On the left, write down your real-life answers to these questions. On the right, write what your 100% ideal version of yourself would say. Then compare.

How do I feel about going to school / university / my job?

How do I wake up feeling in the morning?

How do I express myself? (Clothing, makeup, art, music)

What does my friendship circle / lack thereof look like?

How does my brain think people see me? Do I care?

What does my living space look like?

How do I treat myself? Is it fair?

What goes on daily inside my head?

What are my goals in life?

How do I react to failure / disappointment?

What is my main coping mechanism?

What is the strongest opinion I have about myself?

How do my hobbies / activities contribute to my life?

What is my biggest vice?

What am I proud of, relating to my identity?

If it doesn't match up at all, no worries. The most important step to creating an identity for yourself is knowing who you want to be. For a long time I had no idea, and ended up becoming someone I strongly disliked, which is counterintuitive and mentally draining.

۶ৎ Words

Get yourself a blank piece of paper, and write down as many things as you can that interest you, describe you, or that you love. It doesn't have to be cohesive, follow a theme or anything like that, just words on a page. I'll do an example here:

Boba tea, meditation, blogging, Laufey, Cinnamoroll, studying, wonyoungism, skincare, medical dramas, Murakami, dusty pink, journaling, aquarium, cats, that girl/boy, Turkish delight, vanilla

۶ৎ Mood board / Vision board

As a highly visual person, I make collages from Pinterest all the time, and making one or a couple for yourself, or who you want to be, is a great exercise for identity and manifestation. Ideas for what to put on:

Photos related to your aesthetic

Indoor design that speaks to you

Photos of your hobbies

Items you would love to own, or already do

'Goals': photos of good grades, your desired appearance, money etc.

Fashion styles that you wear, or wish you could

Your future occupation

Photos conveying your mood lately

Media (Games, books, movies, shows) that you really enjoy

Your favourite album

An example:

Feel free to reply to this post with your answers!

𓂃˖ ࣪⊹ Kakao

[metalandmagi]

Romance Anime Starter List

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sick and tired of seeing “Top ___ Best Anime of All Time” lists that are nothing but shounen. So, with "My Happy Marriage" getting a little attention from the anime community, I wanted to put together a list of some romance anime that I consider good “starters” for the genre. Because if I were just now becoming an anime fan, I’d think all there was to offer was shounen action series.

And by “starters” I mean basic stuff that’s not too…out there, and actually involves the characters getting together instead of just harems or using romance as a side plot (sorry Ouran High School Host Club and My Next Life as a Villainess). 

So if you’re new to anime and want stuff that’s not just guys beating the shit out of each other (which is also fun, don’t get me wrong), here are some basics.

Taisho Maiden Fairy Tale- When the pessimistic Tamahiko Shima loses all function in his right arm, his family sends him away to live in the mountains with the cheerful, hard working Yuzuki Tachibana…who was purchased by the Shima family to pay off her family’s debts and basically act as a caretaker/future bride for Tamahiko so they’d never have to deal with him again. It’s a more cheerful version of My Happy Marriage (without the supernatural stuff), except in this one, the guy is the one who has massive self-esteem issues and an abusive family. There are still very serious themes, but ultimately it’s not meant to make you cry every episode. I swear it’s so good, but nobody watched it!

Horimiya- A slice of life in which pretty and popular high school queen bee Hori, finds out her quiet, unassuming classmate Miyamura is hiding piercings and tattoos that could get him expelled. The two gradually find out more about each other and get together in the most realistic way I’ve seen depicted in an anime. It’s also fucking hysterical and genuinely emotional.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie- Another slice of life that focuses on two adults who meet in an MMO game without realizing they also know each other in real life. I don’t want to say much more than that. It’s adorable, and the main character is so relatable it hurts.

Love with Yamada-kun at Level 999- Speaking of MMOs, this is a newer series about Akane Kinoshita, a college first year who’s reeling from a bad break up. In an attempt to get back at her ex, she winds up meeting Akito Yamada, a popular gamer who happens to be in her guild in the MMO they both play at an IRL meetup. The two go from acquaintances to something more as they keep running into each other. Even more relatable main characters and just wholesome relationships all around.

Snow White With The Red Hair- A fantasy in which an apothecary named Shirayuki (meaning, you guessed it, “snow white”) runs away from her home in order to escape becoming the concubine of her town’s prince. While fleeing, she is rescued by Zen, the prince of a neighboring country, and she ends up becoming an herbalist to repay him. It's super cute with some genuinely swoon worthy moments and a couple that just works so well together. I have a habit of comparing this to Akatsuki no Yona, even though the two aren’t really that alike. This is more romance driven while Akatsuki no Yona is more of a serious historical fantasy with romance elements (Yona manga is amazing, but the anime barely scratches the surface, so that’s why I didn’t include it).

Sasaki to Miyano- When the shy, easily flustered Miyano meets Sasaki, a cool “delinquent” upperclassmen, the two end up bonding over manga…specifically BL manga. That’s right, Miyano is a fudanshi, but due to his small stature and somewhat feminine appearance, he’s constantly trying to convince others that he’s not interested in having his own love story where he’d be reduced to a stereotypical doe-eyed uke. But as Sasaki and Miyano spend more time together, they realize that what they have is more than friendship, and they have to come to terms with their own perception of gay relationships. This is my favorite romance of all time. It’s a slow burn, but boy is it worth it. Their relationship is so natural and realistic, just like Horimiya. Just two people hanging out and bonding over things the way people do in real life!

Given: The story of some boys in a band with trauma. Enough said. It's great. Go watch it.

Bloom Into You- Yuu Koito is a high school girl who’s been waiting her whole life for her own perfect romance to start…but when she receives a confession, she realizes she doesn’t know how to respond when she’s just not into the guy. And then she gets another confession…this time from the cool student council president Touko Nanami, who basically jumpstarts her lesbian awakening. Very cute story about how we perceive the concept of love vs actually feeling it. Also has a canonically aro/ace side character, so that’s a win for me. Another show like this is Adachi to Shimamura (but I honestly don’t remember much about it. It just didn’t stick with me as much).

Ore Monogatari- Takeo Gouda is a tall, bulky high school first year with a sensitive heart of gold. He wants nothing more than to find his own true love, but most girls are intimidated by his enormous stature, and they end up falling for his conventionally attractive friend instead. That is, until he meets the tiny, adorable Rinko Yamato. He falls in love instantly, but he’s sure she’s interested in his best friend like everyone else, so he vows to help get them together, even though his heart is breaking. Peak himbo behavior. Pure of heart, dumb of ass.

Yuri on Ice- Yes it’s the gay figure skating anime everyone knows. And yes it’s a fucking romance, okay? I will die on this hill. The romance between Viktor and Yuri is just as important as the plot!

Kaguya-sama Love Is War- Two insanely smart high school students both have a crush on the other, but since they’re…you know…high schoolers, neither of them wants to admit it first. So they come up with increasingly convoluted plans to get the other to confess first. This will go down as one of the best of all time. It’s a hilarious yet poignant modern classic.

Fruits Basket- I’ve talked about it before and I’ll talk about it again. A romance “comedy” that slowly morphs into a drama about a girl named Tohru who finds herself living with the mysterious Sohma family after her mother dies. Little does she know, the Sohmas are the victims of a  (somewhat silly, but ultimately tragic) curse that she must fight to break. Even though I’m more into it for the family drama, the romance is still top tier and plays an important role in the story. This is my second favorite anime of all time, and it’s a classic for a reason. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet, GO WATCH IT! IT WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!

Blue Box- A sports romance about an aspiring badminton player named Taiki Inomata who has a massive crush on the girls basketball team's star player Chinatsu Kano. Through a twist of fate, the two end up living together and having to hide it from the rest of their classmates, all while Taiki tries to work up the courage to ask Chinatsu out. It's so sweet and wholesome, and it's a great blend of sports anime and romance that can appeal to anyone who is more hesitant to get into the romance genre. The animation is also so freaking gorgeous!!!!

365 Days To The Wedding- A workplace romance between the two most awkward people you could possibly imagine! The story takes place at a travel company that is about to open a new branch in Alaska, but because our two main characters are...like I said...very awkward, they come up with a plan to avoid being sent to work at the new branch...by telling their boss they're getting married. Because they wouldn't want to split up a married couple by making one move away, right? As ridiculous as the premise sounds, hilarious shenanigans ensue, but there's also a surprising amount of serious discussions about romance and marriage. The main characters also have major autism coding, so if you're looking for a neurodivergent romance, this is it. (There's also an episode that involves a princess wanting to give up the throne to pursue a life with her girlfriend!)

And now for some honorable mentions that didn't quite fit into the regular list:

Ride Your Wave- A movie about a surfer who falls in love with a firefighter……and I’m not going to say any more than that. Go into it blind. If you like stuff like Your Name, this is a good one to watch.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun- A comedy about a high school girl who finds out the upperclassman she has a crush on is actually a shoujo manga artist, and no matter how she tries to confess to him, he just never gets it.

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague- A slow burn slice of life that focuses on a guy with ice powers who has a crush on his coworker. That’s it. That’s the show. When I say slow, I mean SLOW. It’s perfectly cute and fluffy, but my god does it take forever to get anywhere with these two.

Skip to Loafer- A high strung, small town girl decides to go to high school in Tokyo, where she meets a variety of classmates, including the laid back Sousuke Shima. The unlikely pair become friends, and soon enough, she starts to feel something more than friendship. The only reason I didn’t include it in the main list is because they don’t get together by the end of the first season, but it’s still really cute (also canonically trans character for the win!?)

So that’s my starter list. And no, I didn’t include Toradora, even though it’s a classic. I know it’s blasphemous, but I like it more as a comedy than a romance. It kinda lost me with the ending. But anyway, maybe someone will find something they like. Or maybe you'll just want to roast me and my picks 😅

[dekariosclan]

Oh, wise oracle!

I remember reading somewhere that Early Access Gale says or suggests he'd only been with Mystra. Did I hallucinate that?

Ah, Anon! I so appreciate the ‘wise oracle’ greeting, but I do have to protest—I am definitely not the wise oracle of EA Gale! I showed up well after EA, not knowing who this ‘Baldur’ person was or why he felt it necessary to have a gate installed on his property. I then pulled a wizard out of a rock and well…here we are 😂

That being said: thank you for your ask anon! After I received it, I was curious myself as to what EA Gale might have said and if there was more dialogue about his relationship with Mystra. I was able to find this video on YouTube, and it’s a great watch for anyone who hasn’t seen it! It’s really interesting because you can see that originally, a huge chunk of Gale’s Act 1 scenes and his Act 2 romance were lumped together into the Tiefling party. There’s the flirty talk, the Art of the Night, lovemaking, his relationship with Mystra, him getting on his knees and showing Tav the orb, and even a snippet of the morning after conversation where Tav can ask if he still loves Mystra, etc.

This was the first time I ever saw footage of EA Gale’s romance, and I have to say I think almost all of the changes Larian made to it and to Gale’s character for the final game were the right call. Breaking up the scene into more fleshed-out portions and spreading them out over Act 1 and 2 flows much better, making the romance a slow-burn fits Gale’s situation much better, and making him less cocky (though I do enjoy the occasional dashes we see in the video 😂) and more vulnerable were, imho, all great choices that crafted the perfect pixel husband we have today.

But—the one thing I wish they hadn’t changed was EA Gale’s dialogue explaining what happened with Mystra, because it makes it very clear how Gale was manipulated and emotionally abused by her. And even though the essence of what he describes still remains in the final game, the fact that the dialogue was changed to be less direct and more subtle has led to some people incorrectly interpreting Gale’s actions as manipulating/gaslighting Mystra (???) even though one of the main themes of Bg3 is how each origin character is a victim of abuse from someone with power over them.

So I’m going to go over the Mystra portion, not only to answer your question, but also to discuss the dialogue a bit more in-depth.

First, your question: Does EA Gale suggest that he’s only been with Mystra?

When Gale tells Tav that his talents earned him the attention of Mystra, Tav asks what that felt like. Gale responds that it felt like “love,” and then says:

This, I think, is what your question was referring to. This definitely indicated that Mystra was Gale’s first love, and the fact that he was ‘a very young man’ at the time would also suggest that it was his first romantic relationship as well.

I have to say I’m glad that Larian changed this in the final game, with Gale clearly explaining that Tav is not the first mortal he’s been with. I personally think it makes the romance sweeter, because it proves that Gale loves Tav because they’re Tav, and not just because they’re his first mortal lover.

Also, the current game makes it clear that Gale is no longer in love with Mystra (though again, some people seem to misinterpret the fact that he still talks about their past relationship to mean he still loves her?) whereas the EA dialogue had him less certain about being over her. Again, I’m glad Larian changed that and made it clear he only has eyes for Tav.

Now, here’s where it gets very interesting and where I wish they had kept the dialogue the same:

Tav asks if Gale is saying he made love to a Goddess. Gale confirms, then continues:

Tav asks what happened next, and Gale says:

Tav says: “Let me guess: he proposed?” and Gale replies:

Gale then goes into the full backstory of the orb, which is essentially what we see in the current game.

But my god, the Mystra dialogue was so much better here! In the current game, the seduction/manipulation aspect is most clearly explained when Gale says, ‘I was an amusement to her, a mortal to be trifled with, amused, and eventually discarded.’ That line perfectly describes everything that happened, but to also have the EA lines about Mystra’s actions would have, I hope, left a lot less people confused in regards to who was in the wrong:

Mystra sought out Gale because of his talent and because he could be of great use to her

She seduced him, and did so easily because he was an innocent young man and powerless before a goddess’s charms

She toyed with him, let him fall in love with her, then spurned him and broke his heart

She cast him out to die alone after he tried to win her back by proposing to her an with impressive, but dangerous, gift—even though she knew he’d had no idea what he’d done, and he’d only made this mistake because he was a lovesick young man whom she had seduced

And all of that is not even taking into consideration the fact that she later tells him to kill himself in order to ‘earn her forgiveness.’..

Mystra, when I catch you—

So, yes, I do wish they would have kept all of that dialogue in, and for one other reason, too: it makes it even more poignant when Gale attempts to ‘propose’ with the offer of Godhood for Tav in the Act 3 boat scene. Because this dialogue would have made it very clear he’s repeating the same ‘folly’ he made with Mystra, by proposing with an offer of power, because he assumes that’s all he has of worth to offer his beloved. So to have Tav say I don’t want/need power—i just want you—it’s even sweeter after everything Gale has gone through.

And finally!

I loved seeing that Gale is still the cutest cutiepie in EA, just like he is in our final game version:

🥹💜

(Edited to add an important note: If you’d like to read some excellent meta from a true EA expert, please check out @galedekarios’s blog which has a ton of info! She also has a great post on this same subject with a more in-depth analysis of how/why the Mystra dialogue was changed.)

[taddymason]

Thinking about Jay’s role in the team, and I know I’ve mentioned before that Jay’s main themes are family, and that if given the choice between his close circle of loved ones and the greater good he’ll choose the former, but also another thing that sets him apart from everyone else is the reason why he’s a ninja. With characters like Zane and Cole it’s mentioned multiple times that their purpose is to take care of others, those who can’t protect themselves. Nya and Kai also have this duty/responsibility theme that makes a lot of sense considering the circumstances they both grew up in, and that they both have in common that they want to prove themselves at first and then focus on the role that “they’re supposed to” play (aka; Kai accepting that his role isn’t to be the green ninja and that his duty is to protect Lloyd, and Nya accepting to stop being the samurai X which was her way of proving herself even without being a ninja and in the end becoming the water ninja). Lloyd has a mix of all of this because he's constantly the chosen one in every situation since he was 10, and it's all he knows as a way of life, but back to the topic:

Jay has nothing to do with this.

And I'm not saying that Jay doesn't care about helping people, or anything like that. It's just that it's very interesting that he's the furthest away from having this motivation to be a ninja. Even Wu, in one of the books, confirms that Jay in the pilots saw the opportunity to be a ninja as an excuse to have exciting adventures after a rather humble life in which Jay was going from one hobby to another.

And while the other roles in the team always come back to the theme of protecting others and all that, the reason why Jay is chosen instead is because he's a dreamer. In the flashback and the Ninja of Lightning book Wu explains that the reason he chose Jay was precisely because he had this ability to think outside the box and motivate others with his sense of humor. In almost every first season there is an instance where Jay quickly adapts to a situation just by seeing the other side of things that others don't see, and having this amount of skills: He's the one who discovers how to do spinjitzu, who finds the temple of light, who adapts first to space/digiverse, who does best in the Ninja Roll episode, etc. It's not that Jay is the smartest or strongest, but give him anything and the guy, in some unconventional way, will try to take advantage of it and build a spaceship out of literal scrap metal.

There aren't really many examples of this in the later seasons, BUT, it's worth noting that Wu also chose him because Jay knows how to motivate others with his sense of humor. And what does he do in S12 when he's separated from the others and trapped in a video game? He makes a resistence to oppose Unagami and inspire people who were also trapped in that game.

With all that being said, I just wanted to point out how distinct Jay's role on the team is and his motivation for being a ninja in the first place. It's not like he has this heroic duty, or necessarily wants to do justice, he's just a guy with a normal life who wanted to have exciting adventures and tap into this creativity of his and do some good in the process if it ended up working out. Which is sad with how things are right now but whatever…

[thisisnotthenerd]

putting the tl;dr at the top as a poll and the commentary under the cut because it’s quite rambly and it’s also late and i’m tired.

*whether dorian is one of these is up for debate

there’s some discussion of bell’s hells not having the “it” factor for a lot of people. even though it’s my first campaign and the only one i’ve mostly watched live, i kind of have to agree.

there’s a distinctive lack of investment in backstory for the group in terms of what they’ve spent time on in campaign. i think fearne is the only one who’s been done justice, even though we’ve seen other exploration, because they’ve been to her home multiple times, and while her backstory isn’t central to the main plot, it is close. it’s enough distance for her to be able to develop as a character but also for us to see where she came from.

imogen’s is tied directly to the main moon plot, so she’s had screen time aplenty, but less time to develop quietly, as laura does really well. i might argue for orym, but that’s because his is kept simple but with depth. his backstory comes through in the acting because he’s put up against his family members occasionally, but he’s a little guy at root.

for everyone else it’s been short detours. sometimes not even that. the spotlight oscillates between moon plot and god arguments with indecisive wandering in between.

while not everyone in vox machina inherently had a deep personal connection to the big bads of their campaigns, they didn’t need to. they did it for their friends, because they loved and trusted one another deeply. they made decisions about what they were facing and stuck to it, even when it meant sacrifice. they made multiple levels of friendship around and across the table.

at this point bell’s hells has been told a bunch of different things to do. and honestly i don’t know if they ever decided on one.

that’s not the point of this though.

there’s some archetypes or dnd players out there: roleplayers and power gamers. people who are all in it for the story and people who are all in it for the game. and it reflects in the characters they build.

somehow bell’s hells (collectively) is neither.

they don’t have strong investment in the plot collectively. the character concepts range from simple to deeply complex, and i have to say that i think the simpler has worked better for a plot-heavy campaign, because the characters that started simpler had a chance to develop over the campaign rather than competing for time between the plot and their own stories hanging over their heads.

take dorian. he was a humble bard, a former noble, who’s trying to make his way in the world. he refused great power from an evil source and paid the price in the loss of his brother. he fell in love as the world ended, and is still trying to sing the songs of the people he loves because he wants to bring people joy and bring them together. he’s invested in stopping predathos because of his friends, but also to avenge loss, and to protect the people of his homeland and take up his responsibility as heir to the silken squall.

it took a paragraph. but at the table, even when he was with the crown keepers for a few months, he fits right in. he’s had growth while keeping true to his core.

i’m not going to get into the rest now but there’s a definite element of throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks.

anyways, beyond the difficulties of backstory, they’re not super optimized. i’m of the belief that optimization works in tandem with roleplay—the characters are growing and changing over the course of the story, and having the mechanics trace that and make choices impactful is a big part of the appeal of the game.

watching vox machina and the mighty nein fight is a treat because not only are they level 20 and therefore godlike in power, their mechanics support interesting combat where failure hits hard because they’re built to succeed. when someone fails a save or misses it means something. they have options in their wheelhouse but they’ve found their niches and know how to play to their strengths.

bell’s hells is playing high level combat right now, but they have middling stats: lots of dump stats, 10-14s in the middle and some attacks/spell saves that aren’t as high as you’d expect of level 15 characters. they have several characters with perhaps too many options, and have made some weird strategic decisions. they’re indecisive. in combination with fluctuating luck from the dice, there’s times where they can wreck house, but also times of them failing saves, missing on full turns, losing resources, and overall failing more than they succeed.

also bell’s hells don’t make big decisions in combat unless they’re absolutely forced to. in the last arc pre-final battle, the big battles were otohan on ruidus, dominox and ludinus in aeor (+delilah), zathuda and the unseelie in the feywild. with otohan, they were dying all around until fcg’s sacrifice. literally end of the line. then in aeor, they fought to end dominox, got whammied with downfall, and then had the delilah fight, but then her sealing came later. they fought in the arch heart’s temple, but the big revelations came on the heels of that, between the arch heart themself and then zathuda being strung up on the loom.

but of a tangent: i don’t think naddpod and critical role can be fairly compared, because they’re different in tone and telling very different stories. i relistened to naddpod c1 recently along with the last few episodes of c3 as we approach the finale, and while they have gotten more creative on the character building side, the story is still well done and combat is fun to listen to. they have had moments of deep tragedy on naddpod. they’ve had cameos of old characters, and even had one of them as a pc for a full arc mid-campaign 3. they’ve explored the future of the world of bahumia after the events of c1.

and while the story is satisfying and fun, the combat is also satisfying and fun. not just because murph is really good at building combats that are interesting in theater of the mind, but because the characters are built to be good at what they do. and when they go down, when they miss, when they fail, it hits harder. but they bounce back and keep going even when the circumstances suck. and they make narratively important decisions during combat.

with bell’s hells, i have often noted a split between their combat and roleplay. i like matt’s combats. i think they’re fun and make good use of a variety of enemies, terrain, and complicating factors. with vm and mn, it makes for really engaging episodes of combat, where they make use of the environment tactically and get to discover elements of how the field is set up as they go. i’m using the recent examples, which are not entirely inclusive but generally reflective of their combat trends.

vox machina fought their way off an airship, onto a chaotic battlefield, and then stealthed up to the malleus key, where they proceeded to defeat ozo cruth, break the bloody bridge, and get vax out of imprisonment. the mighty nein stealthed around kreviris, met with the volition, zip lined to and blew up the arx creonum, and then snuck through to meet the weave mind in combat. i can recall fun details and clutch moves, big risks including characters dying, and overall, battles that had character interaction.

as i’ve talked about before, bell’s hells gets whomped. they swing for the fences on some things, but when it doesn’t pay off it’s not just a missed opportunity, it’s often an active barrier or a loss of valuable resources that drive them closer to crisis.

imogen’s whirlwind, laudna’s disintegrate, and dorian’s forcecage were all great moves this episode. it also means they’re down some of their highest level spells before they actually face ludinus and/or predathos. granted they have the orb. but whether they can use it will be variable.

[gloomwitchwrites]

Task Force 141 Metal Band AU x Backup Singer Female Reader

Chapter Specific Warnings (MDNI): swearing, flirting, brief alcohol use, suggestive themes, brief dirty talk, Ghost x Reader dynamic

Word Count: 4k

A/N: Part Four of Second Act

After winning the bet, Simon orders you around. Lena and Olivia try to be supportive. You agree to go home with Simon.

Chapter Three // Chapter Five

ao3 // taglist // main masterlist // second act masterlist

NOW

Simon’s gaze is like filtered honey.

Sticky and slow. Lingering.

“You break,” he says, nodding toward the pool table.

It’s a command as much as it is a question. That’s how it’s always been between the two of you. A dare. A push. A fucking power struggle. Even though years separate you and him—separate that summer abroad—Simon is still on that same train.

Pushing. Always pushing.

The thing is, you don’t have to comply. You can always say no. The door is there, open and waiting for you to walk through it. But that’s the whole fun of the game, that you sometimes walk through, that you sometimes don’t do as you’re told.

“You sure about that?” you ask, hitting the ball into Simon’s court.

There’s a hint of a smile. A softening of the brow.

“I insist,” he purrs.

Don’t deny yourself.

For three days, you belong to me.

Lining up your shot, you briefly glance toward Simon. He casually leans against the pool table, his features neutral. Anyone looking at him might think he’s focused on the game, but you see it, the subtle daring smirk.

Go on, love.

Just beyond him—just over Simon’s shoulder—Johnny and Kyle watch with mute expressions. Kyle appears completely passive, as if this holds no interest to him. Johnny on the other hand has a little crease in the middle of his brow. The proposition came from Simon, but part of you knows that any wager involving Simon includes the other three.

But John is nowhere. He is absent from this spectacle, or simply observing from where you can’t see him.

Licking your lips, you return your gaze to the cue ball, trying to pretend that Simon’s confidence holds little weight, or that a lingering softness within you clings to memories of the past. It whispers—inviting in the idea of opportunity.

You breathe in. Out.

Strike true.

The cue ball shoots forward, cracking against the billiard balls, sending them in all directions. You watch them scatter, and then sigh, slowly straightening your spine, making sure that when you finally make eye contact with Simon again, it’s a dare of your own.

Simon doesn’t watch the billiard balls. He’s watching you, and in that look, a bit of your confidence is chipped away. He is a sculptor, and you are the marble in which he’ll make strike after strike, breaking off little pieces at a time until he brings forth what’s hiding underneath.

The rest of your confidence shatters completely when Simon takes position. With one shot, he knocks three balls into the pocket. Fucking three. Whatever chance you thought you had vanishes like cigarette smoke waved off by a wayward hand.

Simon is going to win this.

Easily.

The fact that you believed you had a chance is laughable. Hilarious. Fucking insane.

There is determination and yet complete ease to the way Simon finds his aim. It’s unnaturally good.

Doesn’t take more than a few turns. Simon sweeps the floor with you, never giving you a fair chance, and without ever gloating over it during the whole game.

Simon knew. He knew he’d fucking win.

The bastard. The fucking bastard.

Rage flares then quickly melts to anger, and then simmers down to frustration. Part of you wants to lash out at him, to tell him off even in a room full of your peers. It’s a trick, and you should be upset. But there is no animosity. Not really.

The two of you made a deal.

You agreed to this.

As the final ball rolls into the pocket, your gaze sweeps across the pool table. Simon is bent forward from his shot, not watching the ball at all, but watching you.

He smiles, victorious.

“Oh, fuck,” whispers Lena.

She’s standing to your left, eyes wide with surprise. Even she thought you had a fighting chance.

“I’ve never seen you lose this bad.” Olivia pops up from nowhere. “Oh, well. Best two of out three?” She nudges you playfully with her elbow.

“There is no best two out of three,” groans Lena, pressing her glass to her forehead like she has an oncoming headache.

“Okay,” says Olivia slowly. “It’s just a game. What’s the big deal?”

You and Lena say nothing.

Olivia nods. “Oh,” she says, the word clipped. “I missed something important. Didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” you whisper. “You did.”

Without breaking eye contact with you, Simon holds his cue stick out and Johnny takes it, placing it back in its rack. As soon as the cue stick is out of his hand, Simon stalks toward you.

“I sure did,” whispers Olivia.

Lena leans in, head bent in your direction. “You don’t have to do anything,” she mutters, her eyes narrowing like daggers at the oncoming drummer of Lechery.

“I know,” you say out the corner of your mouth.

“It’s only a verbal agreement,” she continues, her tone more insistent. “Nonbinding.”

The three of you fall silent as Simon comes to a stop in front of you. He hardly gives Lena and Olivia a glance. Like a hawk circling its prey, all of Simon’s attention is focused in on you.

“Those three days start now, love.”

Bold. It’s the only way to describe it. The confidence in which Simon says those words wraps around you. Ensnaring.

“Listen here, pal,” growls Lena. She holds her drink away from her head, her stare a sharpened point. “She doesn’t have to do shit.”

You hold up your hand, but Simon answers her like he speaks for you. “We upped the stakes. Made an agreement.”

Lena blows raspberries. “What agreement? I didn’t hear shit.”

“Oh my god. Lena,” you murmur, resting your hand on her arm.

A few people have turned their heads, clearly distracted by Lena’s raised voice.

She goes all in anyway, showing fang and tooth. “I think you’re forgetting that she left you. She left all of you.”

Simon doesn’t blink. Doesn’t back down. “And now she’s walked right back to us.”

“Give me a fucking break,” snaps Lena. She turns on you, voice firm. “Remember, you don’t have to do anything.

“But she wants to,” says Simon.

Lena points at him with her drinking hand. “If you speak for her one more goddamn time I fucking swear—”

Oliva gasps and jumps forward, placing both hands over Lena’s mouth. Lena keeps talking but it’s completely muffled.

“Best two out of three?” suggests Olivia, her smile fake and forced as her gaze darts between the three of you.

Simon’s gaze shifts back to you. “That’s not the agreement.”

“No,” you agree. “It isn’t.”

Lena leans forward and Olivia goes with her, still hanging on and covering her mouth with both hands. She shoves at her, but Olivia shakes her head. “No! You’ll say something mean.” Lena continues to jabber behind Olivia’s hands, her eyes showing all her emotion.

Several more partygoers have turned their heads, curious. You’re not interested in causing a scene, or making issues that don’t need to be problems in the first place.

Simon, Johnny, Kyle, and John are Lechery.

You cannot change that, and breaking contracts just to save face isn’t optional. And you agreed to the three days. It’s easier to simply play along.

And Simon would never hurt you. Never.

“It’s fine,” you reassure, placing one hand on Olivia’s shoulder and the other on Lena’s. “It’s fine. Really.” You give Olivia a sidelong glance. Olivia grins sheepishly and drops her hands, clutching them to her chest.

Lena takes a dramatic inhale, and whirls on her. “I love you but I will fight you.” Olivia grimaces but Lena is already turning back to Simon. “And you.” You take a step to the left, cutting Lena off. “Bitch, move. I want to throw my drink on him.”

“No,” you correct, reaching for her drink. “You don’t.”

Lena scowls but she allows you to take the beverage.

“Everything is fine. Can I just…talk to him.” Olivia and Lena just stare at you. “Alone,” you emphasize.

Olivia shrugs and Lena purses her lips. “Fine.” She side-eyes Simon, giving him a onceover. “I’ll allow it.” She aggressively hooks her arm with Olivia’s. “I need a new drink.”

You watch them go, waiting until it’s just you and him next to the pool table.

“I’m sorry,” you sigh, placing Lena’s old drink on the high-top table next to you. “You didn’t deserve that.”

Simon shrugs, unbothered. “That’s a good friend. She defended you.”

You lick your lips in nervous agitation. Glancing away from him, you look around the room, avoiding direct eye contact. Simon shifts into view, drawing you back to the one place you cannot bear to look. It’s a brief touch, just the tips of his fingers against your chin.

“There’s always a choice,” he says softly, fingers still lingering against your skin.

It sizzles where it touches, branding you like a tattoo. A little shiver rattles through you as Simon’s thumb traces the curve of your bottom lip.

“Three days?” you ask, and it almost comes out deflated, as if three days is not nearly enough.

“Only three,” he confirms.

Nearly everyone is back to minding their business. No one appears interested in you and Simon and your conversation. Johnny and Kyle have both disappeared, melting back into the party like they weren’t standing just behind Simon moments ago.

You lower your voice, and stare into Simon’s eyes. “It’s just three days. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Simon’s reply comes slowly. His gaze is assessing. For a brief flicker, you worry, but then he speaks, and you know you’ll comply.

“Then you’ll do as I say?”

No. Yes.

“Three days,” you repeat. “And it doesn’t mean anything.” Simon remains quiet, and you cannot help but fill the void. “We go back to our lives afterward. Nothing more.”

You aren’t sure why you’re insisting. If anything, it sounds like you’re begging—pleading with him to listen, to comply to what you think you desire. But when has Simon ever done that? The moment you walked up to him at The Foundry, he decided that he wanted you, and then he decided he wanted to share, and you agreed, falling into a passion-filled three months that only ended with you fleeing.

Simon’s head tilts to the side, his gaze falling to your lips. “Course, love,” he says. “Whatever you say.”

There is no agreement in it. Simon is placating.

With a smug smirk, Simon draws back, arms crossing over his chest. “Grab me a drink.”

You roll your eyes. “No please?”

“No.” He nods toward the bar. “A drink, love. I’m thirsty.”

You want to bite back—to give him attitude just because you know a punishment will come from it.

“Still drinking your usual?” you ask, going for the calmer route.

“What do you think?”

This time you groan, annoyed. “Just answer the fucking question, Simon.”

His answering smile bleeds victory and triumph. The game is in his favor. “Hasn’t changed.”

“Look how easy that was,” you murmur, batting your eyelashes.

“Careful,” warns Simon.

You shrug your shoulders and walk past him, purposefully bumping into him as you go. A little spike of adrenaline surges, seizing your chest and making your skin buzz.

As you walk up to the bar, you lean against the edge of the bar top, using it to steady yourself. There is a nervous itch that won’t go away, like excitement and lust all wrapped up together to the point of tangling.

You’re so focused on the bartender that you don’t notice Kyle standing next to you until he speaks.

“Obeying Simon’s every beck and call means you’re also at our command.”

Startled, you twist in his direction, eyes widening slightly at how close he is to you. With one arm leaning on the bar top, Kyle’s hand is just a breath away from your arm. Just a slight shift, and he’d be touching you.

“I made a deal with Simon,” you murmur.

Kyle’s gaze shifts “Make a deal with Simon and you make a deal with all of us.” Your lips part, a protest on your tongue, but Kyle chuckles, shaking his head. “But you knew that, didn’t you?”

Whatever you wanted to say dies on your tongue, snuffed out like a discarded cigarette. Kyle pushes off from the bar and passes by you without a second glance. You start to turn, to follow him.

“Your drink.”

A soft clink and the bartender has your attention again.

Whiskey double. Neat.

Simon loves Kentucky.

“Thank you,” you murmur, depositing a few pound notes into the tip jar.

With whiskey in hand, you make your way toward Simon. He’s moved away from the pool tables, and made his way back toward the large window that looks out on the street.

You hold out the beverage to him. “Here’s your whiskey, Master.”

With a bland expression, Simon takes the whiskey. “Funny.”

“Aren’t I to obey your every command?”

Simon lightly twirls his glass, the amber whiskey inside swirling slightly against the glass. “You can stop whenever you want.”

“We had an agreement.”

“Yes,” affirms Simon. “But I’m not forcing you to do anything. You’re playing along because you want to.”

“That’s not fair,” you whisper.

“It’s not?” muses Simon. He brings the glass to his lips, taking a small sip. The corner of his mouth quirks.

“Not to your liking?” you chide.

Simon’s gaze shifts to you, sweeping up and down your body in a slow caress. “I can think of a few things I’d prefer more.”

“Not happening,” you mutter, but your body betrays you. A warmth blooms low in your belly, and a slickness begins to form between your thighs.

Simon’s gaze continues to linger. “You’ll stay by my side the rest of the party.”

You blink and then laugh in disbelief. “What?”

“For the rest of the party—”

“I heard you,” you interrupt. “But I won’t.”

Simon appears unbothered. “You will.” He takes another sip of his whiskey. “Until I leave.”

“And what time will that be?”

Simon ignores the question. “Then you’ll come home with me.”

“You’re hilarious, Simon,” you mutter, quickly glancing away from him, that flustered feeling returning.

“Not joking, love. I said three days. And I meant three days.”

Don’t deny yourself.

For three days, you belong to me.

You turn back to him, situating yourself so you can still address him while keeping an eye on the rest of the room. “I can’t go home with you. Everyone here will know what’s going on if we do.”

“And you don’t think they’ll figure it out when you’re glued to my side the whole night?”

“You’re fucking impossible. I might have agreed to three days, but I didn’t agree to be paraded about in front of everyone.”

“Parading you?” jests Simon. “You want to be walked around like a dog?”

“I don’t know, Simon.” You cross your arms over your chest. “Are you going to have me walk around on all fours? Bark at people? Make me drink from a bowl?”

“Not a bad idea. Always found you more attractive when you’re a little worked up.”

“Bite me.” Simon dips his head, and nips your ear. “Simon,” you hiss, smacking at him, quickly glancing around to see if anyone noticed.

“Arguing feels like foreplay to me,” he whispers. “So please, love, keep going.”

The buzzing grows until every part of you tingles with tension. You want to smack him across the face as much as you want to fuck him. It’s ridiculous. Years apart and yet your body still responds to him like the separation never happened.

And this is just Simon.

Kyle’s words resurface, pressing down into your psyche.

Make a deal with Simon and you make a deal with all of us.

But you knew that, didn’t you?

“I need to let Lena and Olivia know. They’ll be worried if I just leave with you.”

“So you do want to leave with me?” he teases.

With a sigh, you start to walk away, to go seek your friends. You don’t make it far. Simon’s hand is around your wrist in seconds, pulling you right back to him.

“Don’t move.”

“Let go of me if you want me to go home with you. I need to talk to them.”

Simon’s hand remains clamped onto your wrist. “Didn’t give you permission.”

“Do I need your permission to breathe, too?”

“This attitude is only going to get you a punishment.”

You’re feeling bold now—fiery. “Please enlighten me.”

Simon’s grip refuses to ease. If anything, he pulls you even closer until you’re nearly flush with him. “I’d start by shutting you up. Give you something to choke on.”

All that heat fractures outward, going from bratty tension to wanting to do exactly as he says. It would be so easy to drop to your knees in front of him and open the front of his jeans.

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” you murmur, the attitude deflating.

“Shouldn’t I?” counters Simon. “I’m no liar. Not to you.”

Where has all your strength gone? When did you so suddenly fold? Is it because you’ve missed him—missed them all this time?

“Let me go talk to them. Please.”

Simon’s thumb brushes against your pulse point. Back and forth it moves, almost smoothing in the way he caresses the spot.

“Later. Promise.”

His grip loosens, and then releases. Your arm drops to your side, and you suddenly miss his touch.

Simon downs the rest of his drink. “I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

He places his hand on your lower back, and you allow him to lead, to herd you away from the large, street-facing window and into the crowd. Simon plays it cool, easing into conversations by introducing you not as someone belonging to him but as a member of the team. With every face you meet, and every person you interact with, they all seem oblivious to how the two of you are inseparable.

And if they do notice, no one says a word.

Olivia and Lena stay away, but you find them periodically, watching from afar, chatting it up with others. Johnny and Kyle keep their distance too, but they watch just as much.

You feel torn open, like a wound that cannot be stitched up.

Or cracked, rather. An egg tapped against a countertop. Broken shell with the contents emptied into a bowl.

There is no mending. No glue. No stitch. No thread and needle. No contract tearing.

This is it. Three days. And then an entire fucking tour. You have to carry on, to pretend that you don’t feel the way you do, and that these men mean nothing.

But they don’t know. They don’t know why you ran. They don’t know what you did.

“Go talk to your friends.” Simon nods toward Olivia and Lena. “And then head outside. We’re leaving.”

He takes a step back, giving you space. Your legs move, heartbeat thunderous.

For three days, you belong to me.

Noticing you first, Olivia comes rushing up to your side, linking her arm in yours. Dragging you toward Lena, Olivia links her other arms with Lena’s, shepherding the two of you away to a quiet corner.

“Spill,” she whisper-giggles, nearly bouncing with excitement as she unlinks your arms and turns around to face you.

You open your mouth. Close it. Sigh.

“Out with it,” prompts Lena, lightly smacking your arm.

“I’m going home with him,” you say quickly.

“Right now?” asks Olivia.

You nod, and the women exchange a look.

“What?” you push. “We made a deal.”

Lena pops her hip, leaning into it. “You want to do this, don’t you?”

“A deal is a deal.”

“Sure it is,” giggles Olivia, nudging Lena with her elbow.

Lena shakes her head. “Oh my God, girl. Just admit you want to fuck him.”

“Lena,” you scold.

“I’ll be happy to yell,” she offers. “Make sure everyone knows.”

“Please don’t,” you mutter, holding up a hand.

“Listen, I still want to punch him in his stupid fucking face,” begins Lena.

“That’s not very nice, Len,” murmurs Olivia.

Without looking away from you, Lena places her hand on Olivia’s cheek and starts to push it to the side. Olivia licks her palm and Lena scowls.

“Like I was saying.” She side-eyes Olivia. “Maybe you need to just…bounce on him a bit. Unfuck some tension.”

I’d start by shutting you up. Give you something to choke on.

“You also haven’t had any closure,” adds Olivia. “Maybe this is an opportunity to talk to him. Talk to all of them. You know…communicate. Like a healthy adult.”

“Don’t listen to her,” says Lena. “I think you should fuck him. Angrily. And with passion.”

You sigh. “Neither of you are helping right now.”

They’re both trying to be supportive in their own way. You can’t fault them for it.

Lena drapes her arm over your shoulder, pulling you in for a hug. “We have location sharing and I know your phone number by heart. We’ll keep an eye on you, and if we notice anything suspicious, we’ll call.”

“Or you call us,” says Olivia. “If you decide you don’t want to spent all that time with him. Though,” she shrugs. “I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to spend time with him. He’s very attractive.”

“Exactly,” smiles Lena. “Fuck him and be done with it. Fuck all of them and then leave. Get it out of your system.”

“Or talk to them,” reminds Olivia. “You don’t have to do anything else.”

With your hands clasped in front of you, you take a deep breath. “So you’re not mad that I’m going with him?”

“No,” says Olivia just as Lena replies “A little bit.”

“But we have to work with them after,” you murmur. “There’s an entire fucking tour ahead of us.”

Olivia shrugs. “It’ll probably be awkward.”

Lena nods. “It would be awkward either way. Either you don’t acknowledge them and pretend they don’t exist, or you face them.” She downs her drink and sets it aside. “And even if you ignored them and just interacted on a professional level, they’d probably still confront you anyway. I don’t think you’ll be able to get around it.”

Whatever excitement you still hold starts to slip, becoming anxiety. Simon offered you the choice to leave, that you don’t have to come along at all. Every choice you’re making is entirely on you.

But you’re still making them.

You’re still following.

You want to know.

And maybe you can eventually speak the truth. Simon was the door all those years ago that led to the rest. He might just be that door again.

“Okay,” you relent. “Okay.”

Olivia grins and clasps her hands in front of her chest. “Have fun.”

Lena squeezes you into her side before dropping her arm. “Make naughty choices,” she sings, giving you a little wave as you walk away.

Each step is sludge and yet completely lightweight. It’s like you’re not moving at all but floating—simply existing with every forward movement. When you make it to the door and then the stairs, reality comes rushing forward to smash you over the head.

You step down. Down, again.

One at a time until you’re on solid ground, the outside air cool against your skin as you step into the night.

You look left, and see no one. You glance right, and find Simon leaning against the brick wall, lit cigarette dangling from his mouth, one booted foot kicked back.

The two of you stare at each other, a thousand silent words exchanging between the two of you in a matter of seconds.

All that running you did, and here you are, facing one of the men you fled from.

Will you understand, Simon? Will they?

Will you forgive me for what I did?

Simon pushes off, takes a long drag of his cigarette, and exhales slowly. The smoke rises and frames his face for a flicker of moment before rising in the air. It curls up and away, disappearing. Simon puts out the cigarette and tosses it into a nearby bin.

He offers you his hand, palm upward and open.

There is no hesitation when you raise your arm, and slide your hand into his.

taglist:

@glitterypirateduck @suhmie @z-wantstowrite @kylies-love-letter @keiva1000

@iloveslasher @ravenpoe67 @sadlonelybagel @nishim @arrozyfrijoles23

@voids-universe @itsberrydreemurstuff @sageyxbabey @glassgulls @miaraei

@weasleytwins-41 @eternallyvenus @chaostwinsofdestruction @cherryofdeath @ninman82

@fern-reads @waves-against-a-cliff @beebeechaos @smileykiddie08 @whisperwispxx

@jianyi22 @sethell @atpeacee @konigssweatyhood @dreamingoftomorrow

@katerinaval @morguethemagpie @galactict3a @sarah-the-bird-nerd @mikachu-bitez

@unclearblur @kurochan3 @sans-chara @all-by-myself98 @hisuccubus

[brawberryz]

Oh! I have a question for your Coraline AU!

You know how in the movie, the other Wybie and Other Father betrayed Other Mother? How both had repeatedly tried to ward Coraline away or give hints on how she had to escape?

Do you think any of the siblings would betray Other Bruce? If not to save Coraline Reader and help her escape, to maybe try to become the new owner of the Other Manor and keep Coraline Reader for themselves?

With the Ghost Children, do they have the same trinkets as their eyes as they do in the movie? Are they all past Wayne's, since it's connected to Wayne Manor?

What trinket would the Reader have to represent their eye? Maybe a pearl, just to mess with Bruce.

Would removing the button and stealing the trinket to the Real World save the Reader?

I wonder if, in a way, only sewing on one button was Other Bruce's way of being Yandere? To have claim over the Reader without killing them. Without devouring them. If he's a spider creature, it'd be really interesting if he started allowing them Other Manor to look more and more like how the Other Pink Palace did, with the insect themes. Or the descent in the Other Families appearances. If Bruce starts to stretch and look more starved. While in the movie Zelinsky was rat themed and the twin performers were fish like Pieces, would the Other versions of the siblings be animals? Though, Other Father in the movie was pumpkin based. Or would they follow being insects like Other Bruce?

(Though, if Other Bruce was a Bat, that'd be interesting. But then it'd be all birds and bats in the Other's themes.)

Does Other Dick play into the circus themes and the real one being an acrobat? Play it up? Maybe one of the ball rooms is also like the inside of a circus tent? Having Zitka the Elephant as a part of the act. (Part of me would say he's a Springtail, but a Click Beetle would be more fitting, given it's a great predator and acrobat.)

Other Jason cooks and bake with Other Alfred. Though, occasionally is in garden areas and the animal pens where Other Damian keeps his 'pets'. He sticks to the Library when not 'patrolling'. (I imagine he's kinda like a wasp, patrolling and guarding areas.)

Tim always seems to be around every corner. Stalking the halls. Only one without a themed room Reader can enter. Though, that would either mean his room is essentially connected to the Bat Cave or he doesn't have one. (Perfect for a Praying Mantis and their camera like eyes paired with swivel neck.)

Other Cassandra is obviously going to do ballet. Maybe have a stage to perform on? (A Photuris female Firefly. Very good at mimicking, luring, and body language.) But I'd imagine Other Stephanie sticks close by with her theme being 'pranks'. Maybe she shares a room with Cassandra? (A Robber Fly would probably suit her.)

Other Duke is constantly in the gardens trying new sports, playing pranks with Stephanie, and is the most personal feeling one of the lot. His main area being a game room that has a bunch of different box games, card games, and other such things. (While a Lightning Bug would be the obvious choice, I might go for a butterfly. He's eye catching. Doesn't seem predatory, at first. Almost comforting. People forget they literally drink blood, sweat, and tears.)

Other Damian obviously has animals and art though his main place would be with the 'animals'. Which are obviously acting as cameras. Maybe he cares for Zitka the Elephant when Dick isn't running his act. (It'd be interesting if he was a Tarantula, given how close it is to spiders and the fact some do keep pets.)

Dude...

what did you write 💔

you literally just figured out 70% of the things I had prepared for the next (and future) chapters

I don't know if I should feel surprised or scared with your imagination

I'll just say that some things you said are right, maybe I'll even be adding some things from the original Coraline book

although I'll be honest, your idea was very good, I'm not going to lie😭🙏

[quenthel]

Ok so I saw some people being confused Abt Avowed, claiming that it's themes are similar to recent fantasy games, and being upset that it's not like regular (western European medieval) fantasy.... And it's crazy to me.

Like both Pillars games and Avowed too are mainly stories about colonialism. These stories focus on these themes admittedly to a fault (the gods are more stand-ins for an ideological weapon as a tool of colonialism that they are gods in a religion ppl are part of, so we don't actually see religious people in this world where gods are extremely important) but that's the main focus.

In pillars one we see the aftermath of a failed colonial project and the political and religious fallout caused by this.

In deadfire we see an ongoing colonial struggle where multiple large empires are wrestling with each other for the privilege to exploit the natural resources and the people of a less technologically developed culture.

In Avowed you see the very beginning of a colonial struggle where a large empire is setting up a large landmass inhabited by smaller fragmented communities for a potentially hostile takeover.

Like this is the political set up of the setting. It's not medieval fantasy because it's not medieval at all (there are guns...) it does not take place in a Europe looking place bc the main theme IS colonialism and colonialism never took place in western Europe.

I don't really think the themes of colonialism are something at all explored in other triple A fantasy games. At all. Much less this explicitly.

I understand the world of Eora can seem confusing bc it's dense. There are a lot of different countries and empires with various geopolitical ties to one another AND with their specific national struggles bc this is a setting that is more concerned with exploring a more "realistic" approach to fantasy politics and nation making and whatnot. Like there are no ethnostates here. There is no international one currency.

The other main theme I would point out w Avowed is that of discovering a lost culture which got destroyed by the overt ideological war machine left behind by an empire whose legacy still shapes the world. Something new and different became real in a very isolated place under very specific circumstances and precisely bc of that imperial powers destroyed it all.

For new players who are a bit puzzled by the setting I can only suggest: stop relying on your previous knowledge of what fantasy is like ( like in DND etc.) and treat this setting as a backdrop for stories that are interested in our human history and wish to reflect on it. If you abandon those pre-concieved notions it might make understanding easier. Or you might discover this type of shit is not for you and leave it at that.

Imo eora is one of the smarter and more unique fantasy settings out there, and it's existence itself is just very very cool. It's a lot smarter in it's construction and exception that most other stuff you can find out there so it's worth exploring and enjoying. Even tho Avowed is not as good as the first two pillars games and even tho it's a more expensive game, I think it's enjoyable and an overall good time.

[magda-kb]

Character Analysis Of Luis Serra:

I just think someone needs to do this here on Tumblr so here we go…

Born in the remote and devoutly Catholic village of Valdelobos, Spain, Luis grew up in a reclusive, pre-industrial community that shunned modernity. The death of his mother during childbirth left him in the care of his grandfather (Man in the picture above together with Luis), a hunter whose wisdom and love shaped Luis’s early years.

From a young age, Luis displayed an insatiable curiosity and intelligence that set him apart. While his peers clung to the village’s traditions, Luis dreamed of the world beyond its mountains, finding solace in fairy tales and stories, particularly the adventures of Don Quixote. His grandfather recognized his potential, lamenting the limits imposed by their isolated life.

Later on his grandfather was attacked by a wolf and succumbed to a mysterious illness. Rumors of madness swirled, and fear gripped the superstitious villagers. The village’s chieftain, influenced by paranoia, ordered the family cabin to be burned to prevent the spread of the supposed "infection." According to the texts found throughout the game, the boy stood outside the house the whole time watching the flames, the next day he had disappeared from the village and nobody knew where the boy was.

In the modern world, Luis thrived, earning recognition as a prodigy in biology and securing a position at Umbrella Pharmaceuticals. Despite his remarkable achievements, including work on groundbreaking research, his tenure at Umbrella left him disillusioned. For example, we know that he was an employee of Project Nemesis (note to Racoon City - Nemesis T-Type).The corporation’s ethical compromises clashed with Luis’s growing moral awareness, leading to his resignation. This decision underscored a recurring theme in Luis’s character: the struggle between ambition and conscience.

Luis’s return to Valdelobos in 2004 placed him at the center of a nightmare. The village had fallen under the control of Los Iluminados, a cult manipulating the villagers’ religiosity to propagate a parasitic organism known as Las Plagas. Saddler, the cult’s leader, enlisted Luis for his scientific expertise, tasking him with enhancing the parasites. Initially compliant, Luis became horrified upon realizing Saddler’s true intentions. His guilt over his role in the cult’s atrocities drove him to seek redemption.

This is where Luis’s complexity truly shines. Torn between his past mistakes and a desire to atone, he takes enormous risks to undermine Saddler. Partnering with Ada Wong, Luis orchestrates plans to escape with the cult’s critical research sample, the Amber.

Here, too, I would like to emphasize a particular passage from the Separate Ways DLC that was already a bit of a foreshadowing of what his fate would be: Namely, during the scene in which other village members fell victim to the cult, Luis spoke of the fact that the next dance would be his… It should also be noted here that the already deceased was lying in exactly the same posture as Luis will later do… So it really was his “last dance”, so to speak (You can see it a little in the photo below, but it is clearly visible in the game itself)

Luis’s interactions with Leon S. Kennedy in the main game reveal yet another layer of his character. Despite their initial mistrust, Luis proves his worth as an ally, displaying a blend of wit, vulnerability, and a desperate need to make amends. His decision to assist Leon and Ashley, even at great personal risk, underscores his transformation from a man driven by self-interest to one guided by selflessness.

Ultimately, Luis’s arc concludes tragically yet heroically. Fatally wounded by Jack Krauser, Luis uses his final moments to ensure Leon and Ashley have the tools to fight back against Saddler. His death is not just a sacrifice but a culmination of his redemptive journey—a final act of defiance against all the things he did in the past. There is also the fact that Luis has doubts. Mainly about the things he himself has done in the past - And it is precisely these doubts that seem to characterize his last moment.

Something I would like to add: Krauser threw his knife directly into Luis’s spine. I mean clearly he aimed to kill. When a victim is stabbed in the area of the spinal cord, the spinal cord can be severed, sheared, torn, or otherwise damaged. This will result in a loss of function below the point of injury. That’s why it’s so impressive and powerful that Luis was able to muster up the last of his strength and force his hand to shoot at Krauser-hitting directly at his knife that could have killed Leon. That would now also explain why Luis can’t properly use his lighter and needed Leon to do it for him. Because after the lighter drops we can not see him move his body again…

Luis Serra is a character defined by contradictions: a brilliant scientist haunted by his complicity in unethical experiments, a dreamer shaped by the harsh realities of his upbringing, and a man who ultimately chooses redemption over survival. Something I would also like to point out is to link the whole story to Don Quixote. Because just like the self-proclaimed knight, he also had this urge of idealism throughout his life - which also led Don Quixote to make mistakes in the end and ultimately to his death... But in the end he became a hero and more or less passed on the title of knight to Leon...

[lizardanya]

a lot of people have already pointed out how totk has a lot of themes of imperialism and generally leans conservative ideologically, but what i think is interesting is how totk subtly redefines what a “researcher” is.

zelda wants to be a researcher in botw, and what this means in the context of botw is largely someone who works with sheikah technology. she wants to figure out ancient sheikah tech, she has an interest in botany and otherwise nature and biology (the whole silent princess and the frog thing), robbie and purah, the two characters who are the closest to us seeing what a researcher in the context of botw is are basically inventors. in totk, however, the main researchers who are presented to us are all historians.

this is an interesting pivot, because in botw zelda is not really interested in history. if anything, the one who’s deeply concerned with history is rhoam, wanting to preserve historical tradition and his uncritical reliance on said tradition and historical precedent is what leads them to their doom. in botw, zelda is narratively opposed to history, if anything, all the ancient tech backfires on them and traditions fail to awaken zelda’s power. zelda’s urge to be a researcher is in wanting to understand the world around her, not just blindly follow ancient plans but rather have agency within them.

totk, however, is obsessed with ancient plans. the only real moment where zelda gets to geek out in totk is her getting all giddy about finding out more about the divine origins of hyrule. all the researchers in the game are concerned with finding out more about the zonai. since all the mentions of ancient sheikah technology are scrubbed from the game purah and robbie read more as strange outliers, the sheikah slate is no longer, now it’s the purah pad, a product of purah rather than something larger. the whole game is literally about following an ancient plan, a plan most characters don’t fully understand as they sign up for it. totk’s main story is built on confusion, on the characters not knowing what’s fully going on but having faith in ancient sages telling them what to do. in botw, following ancient plans you don’t fully understand was the thing that doomed you. in totk, following ancient plans you don’t fully understand is the gimmick.

that juxtaposition between the two games has an ideological through line: botw posits that progress is necessary. mindlessly relying on tradition doesn’t work. prophecies are omens, not instructions. history must be learnt from, not repeated. the ancient sheikah aren’t a group to be emulated, but rather to be learnt from, considering their machinery backfired and the royal family betrayed them. totk, however, is obsessed with the mythical history of hyrule, a time where everything was idyllic until one bad man showed up, a time we must emulate in order to win. i already talked about how the past in totk is zelda’s life pre calamity but better here, but that also plays into the idolisation of that era and its royalty. in botw, even the myth of the first calamity preserves the fact that the yiga clan has origins in the royal’s family persecution of the sheikah, even the time when they successfully held back the calamity is tinged with mistakes that still affect the world ten thousand years later. in totk, ganondorf’s origins are nebulous. nobody provoked him, nobody did anything wrong, he’s just evil because he is.

a lot of right wing ideologies are hinged on preservation, but more than that: the belief in the nebulous mythical past in which everything was better. “make america great again”, the fascist’s idolisation of ancient rome which is represented largely inaccurately, look at any conservative rhetoric and you’ll see people complaining about how things nowadays are ruined or are being ruined, how in the past things were this way and they’re not anymore, which is bad. the belief in the fact that in some past period we were great and are not anymore, and the strive to emulate that past is a trait highly typical of right wing ideologies. and in totk the past as a great era is an idea presented completely uncritically, the narrative is entirely controlled by the game and doesn’t dwell on any of the inconsistencies in this idea.

now, obviously, not every story in which a great ancient era exists is fascist, right wing or conservative. but to me what’s interesting specifically in totk is this shift between the two games: botw is critical of the past. it’s critical of arrogantly repeating history, it’s critical of having blind faith in great relics of the past. totk isn’t. totk idolizes the past, totk tells legends and tells you to believe them without any doubts. botw believes researchers are those who seek to understand the world, innovate it and solve problems without relying on ancient ways. totk believes researchers are those who discover ancient instructions, ancient ways and relay them to great men in the present to be followed. the four mainline regional quests in botw are about discovering four ancient relics that are terrorising the land and fixing the mistakes of the past. the four mainline regional quests in totk are about discovering four ancient legends are true, and receiving instructions from an ancient sage on what to do.

totk is not simply neutral, it is ideologically conservative in stark contrast to botw, because of the things it chooses to leave uncriticised, notably the things botw was very poignant about examining critically. the way totk redefines what is a researcher is indicative of this, indicative of the way it chooses to idolize or present as an unexamined good that which was nuanced in botw. totk isn’t just conservative in the sense that it presents uncritically a “good king” and “evil conquerer”, it goes deeper, it’s notable because botw was starkly opposed to the thematic axioms totk presents.

i just think it’s very interesting that they made a sequel to botw, and completely redefined or otherwise ignored botw’s thematic core.

[writer-freak]

New year | Twst x reader

Characters: Leona, Rook, Vil, Idia, Lilia and Malleus

Warnings: Gn reader, fluff, english isn't my first language, written quickly

A/n: Another small thing before the new year that I have written pretty quickly. Just some first thoughts that came to my head about them. Also I'm thinking about opening requests next year, but we will see if that works out

Leona Kingscholar

Leona is not really a fan of the loud noises or the effort it takes to set up fireworks. If you want to see them, he’ll suggest watching from a distance, maybe from a rooftop or through a window.

He’s more interested in spending New Year’s Eve relaxing with you. He might claim to "accidentally" fall asleep, but when the clock strikes midnight, he’ll lazily pull you close and mutter a soft, “Happy New Year, herbivore.”

He’s likely to enjoy stargazing more than fireworks, using it as an excuse to be outside in the cool night air with you.

If you do manage to coax him outside to watch the fireworks, he’ll bring a cozy blanket and claim it’s “for you,” but you end up sharing it anyway.

Leona loves the quietness after the fireworks are over, just enjoying your company in peaceful silence as you settle down to sleep.

Rook Hunt

Rook absolutely adores the whole spectacle of fireworks! He’ll insist on finding the perfect spot to watch them, probably somewhere high up with a great panoramic view.

He might even prepare a poetic monologue about the beauty of the fireworks and how they remind him of you.

He’s full of energy and excitement, making sure that the night feels magical. If the fireworks aren’t enough, he might bring along sparklers or even suggest setting off a small display of his own.

Along with sparklers, he might bring a camera or a sketchbook to immortalize the beauty of the moment, with you being his main muse.

As the fireworks burst in the sky, he’ll take your hand and kiss it, proclaiming how this year will be one filled with endless romance.

Vil Schoenheit

Vil appreciates fireworks for their aesthetics but prefers to enjoy them from a more stylish setting, think a private balcony or an elegant private rooftop.

He’s the type to dress both of you up for the occasion. Doing skincare together before he does your makeup and hair. And finally you would put on your slightly matching clothes.

As the clock strikes midnight, Vil will look at you with an affectionate smile, saying something sweet about how he’s grateful to have you by his side for another year.

Vil might coordinate the timing so that you’re both in the perfect spot for a breathtaking photo with the fireworks in the background, making it look like a glamorous movie scene.

At midnight, he may lean in and press a lingering kiss to your forehead, whispering about how much brighter his life has become with you in it.

Idia Shroud

Idia’s not a fan of the loud cheers and crowds associated with fireworks. He’s more likely to watch them through a livestream from the comfort of his room. He might grumble about the noise outside but secretly enjoy the colors lighting up the night.

His idea of a perfect New Year’s Eve involves gaming with you. If you end up gaming together, he might try to pick a co-op game that has a winter theme or even a story with a fireworks scene. It's subtle, but he’s trying to make it special.

At midnight, he might get flustered but muster up the courage to thank you for being the highlight of his year, all while trying to hide his red cheeks behind his hair.

Ortho might pop in, surprising you two with glowing lights or little holographic displays to celebrate the new year, much to Idia’s embarrassment but your delight.

After midnight, Idia might awkwardly hand you a small, thoughtful gift he’s been holding onto for the occasion, mumbling that it’s “no big deal.”

Lilia Vanrouge

Lilia loves fireworks! He’s the type to suggest setting off your own or finding a lively festival or crowd where you can celebrate with others.

He’s really playful and mischievous throughout the day, teasing and challenging you to try strange 'New Year’s snacks' he prepared (which may or may not be entirely edible).

When the clock strikes midnight, he’ll scoop you into a spin, laughing joyously as he wishes you a happy new year.

He might pull you into impromptu dances under the starlight, spinning you around as he hums an old melody from his youth.

As the trickster he is, Lilia can’t resist surprising you with a sudden New Year’s kiss just as the clock strikes midnight.

He pulls back with a cheeky grin, claiming it "didn't count" because you didn’t reciprocate properly. With a teasing glint in his eyes, he declares that you’ll need to initiate the next one for it to be a proper New Year’s kiss.

Of course, every time you lean in to fulfill his request, he finds something “wrong” with it, too quick, not dramatic enough, or lacking “passion.” It’s an obvious ploy to steal as many kisses as he can, his laughter ringing in the air as he continues teasing you

Despite his antics, there’s a softness in his eyes that betrays just how much he cherishes the moment with you.

As the night comes to an end, he’ll suggest sitting down next to the fireplace, just cuddling and chatting about the year before them.

Malleus Draconia

Malleus has mixed feelings about fireworks. He’s fascinated by their fleeting beauty but he’d much rather light a single sparkler and hold it with you than deal with an overwhelming display.

He prefers a more quiet celebration, perhaps a walk under moonlight with you through a snow-covered garden. The calmness of the moment is what matters most to him.

Malleus might surprise you with a delicate charm or trinket imbued with his magic, a symbol of his wish to keep you safe and close to his heart throughout the year.

He’d present it shyly, almost uncertain, before explaining its meaning, hoping that you would also wish to stay next to him.

At midnight, he’ll look deeply into your eyes, quietly vowing to protect you and cherish the time you have together in the coming year.

He might create a private fireworks display just for the two of you using magic, ensuring it’s quiet and perfectly tailored to your taste.

After midnight, he’ll offer you his coat or cape to ward off the cold, taking your hand as he whispers a promise to make the coming year as beautiful as this one.

Divider by: @cafekitsune