#I want it to actually affect the narrative in game like with the shadow and light alignment introduced many years back

[frameconfessions]

I hope the protoframes remain relevant even after this story arc for the Drifter concludes, but I also recognize how complicated things would get with how many characters they could keep trying to make stay relevant, leading to a Konoha 13 Naruto type situation where we have too many relevant characters from Umbra & Ordis all the way to Kaya Velasco.

.

[yanderslutt]

"…𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀?"

yandere ! mei mei , soft dom! utahime , dom! shoko x reader | jjk female harem

pt 1

cws ; this story is intended for mature audiences 18+ only and contains explicit sexual content, strong yandere themes, and psychological manipulation. the narrative includes elements of emotional coercion, possessiveness, and a female reader caught in a complex, obsessive harem dynamic involving yandere! mei mei, soft dom! utahime, and dom! shoko.

expect scenes involving stalking, mind games, and power imbalances. utahime exhibits a soft, nurturing dominance, while shoko leans into a more assertive, commanding dom role. mei mei’s affection manifests through intense obsession, calculated control, and manipulative seduction.

the fic explores dubcon-adjacent dynamics, jealousy, rivalry tension, restraint, and power play. readers can also anticipate voyeuristic moments, intimate grinding, oral (f!receiving), and a general atmosphere of dark, romantic thriller energy. if you enjoy slow-burn tension, psychological seduction, and dangerously possessive love, this one’s for you.

summary ; three women. three obsessions. one dangerous heart caught in the middle. you never meant to become the center of their attention—never asked for the lingering stares, the twisted affection, or the secrets whispered in the dark. but now you're theirs, whether you want to be or not. mei mei watches from the shadows, a predator cloaked in silk and sharp smiles. she doesn’t ask for love—she takes it. your time, your choices, your body… they belong to her. utahime touches you like a prayer, all soft control and whispered promises. gentle on the outside, but underneath… she’d burn the world just to keep you safe in her arms. shoko doesn’t play nice. she smokes like she breathes boredom and fucks like she owns you. she doesn’t need to chase—you always come back, aching, confused, addicted. caught between their games, you're forced to make a choice. but when every option is obsession... do you really have one?

--

The envelope was heavier than usual. Ivory, smooth, and sealed with a crimson wax insignia that looked like it belonged in a movie—not real life. My fingers trembled a little as I tore it open, heart knocking inside my chest like it already knew what was written inside.

Congratulations.

I read the first line over and over again, barely processing the rest of the letter. But once the words sunk in, a small breath escaped my lips. Relief. Then joy. Then something else—something sweeter, lighter. Hope.

I got the job.

A financial specialist. Full-time. Benefits. A new city. A fresh start.

My smile grew so wide it hurt. I turned in a small circle in my tiny apartment, clutching the letter to my chest. Sunlight poured in through the half-open blinds, casting golden stripes across the room, and for the first time in months, I felt like everything might actually be okay.

After everything I went through with him—after losing my job, my peace of mind, my entire sense of self—I had finally carved out a new path.

I sank into the couch, still grinning like an idiot, and pulled out my phone. My fingers flew across the screen as I opened my messages.

Me: I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!! 😭😭😭

Utahime’s name lit up almost instantly.

Utahime: Drinks.. on me?🍷💅

I laughed, clutching the phone to my chest. That emoji combo was so her. Sassy, celebratory, and just what I needed.

I typed back quickly, still giddy.

Me: YES. I’ll meet you at our usual place. First round’s on me.

The truth was, I didn’t know exactly what this new chapter would look like. But for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t scared of the unknown.

I was excited.

Ready.

The bar was dim and warm, the kind of place that always smelled like honeyed whiskey and lemon peels. Our favorite spot. The string lights overhead glowed amber as I pushed through the door, eyes already scanning for Utahime’s familiar figure.

She was already there—tucked into a booth near the back, two drinks waiting on the table, her lipstick perfectly applied and barely smudged at the edge of the glass. She always looked effortlessly put together, even when she swore she wasn’t trying.

I smiled, walking over quickly. "You beat me."

Utahime stood, wrapping me in a hug that lasted a beat longer than usual. Her arms were warm, grounding. For a second, I let myself sink into it—into her familiar perfume, the soft press of her cheek against mine.

"You got the job, of course I beat you here. I had to celebrate properly." She grinned, stepping back as we both slid into the booth.

"I still can’t believe it," I said, reaching for the drink she’d clearly ordered for me. My favorite—gin, citrus, sugar rim. "It feels surreal."

"Well, it’s real now. You’re officially out of the hellhole."

I laughed, nodding. "God, yeah. Out of the city, out of the mess, out of his shadow."

Her smile faltered just slightly, but she covered it with a sip of her drink. "You deserve this. Every second of it."

I watched her for a moment, suddenly aware of the way her fingers curled around the glass, her nails painted deep red to match the tint of her lips. She looked tired, but beautiful. The kind of beautiful that didn’t need effort.

"So," she said, leaning in, "what’s the plan? Are you finally going to let loose a little? Maybe start dating again?"

I groaned, leaning back in the booth. "I don’t know. The idea of dating still makes me want to break into hives. I just want to exist without anyone else trying to control my every move."

Utahime chuckled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. "Fair enough."

We talked for hours—about the move, my new job, the chaos of the summer. I told her about the time I got caught in the rain during a thunderstorm with all my boxes half-unpacked, how I lived off gas station snacks for a week, how I cried the first night I slept in my new apartment because it was the first time I felt safe.

She listened to every word, eyes soft, smile wistful. She always listened like that. Like everything I said mattered.

And somewhere between our third round of drinks and her story about a botched first date she never followed up on, something shifted.

She looked at me, really looked at me, her expression more serious than I was used to.

"I’m really proud of you," she said quietly. "You made it out. You started over. You’re... brave."

I felt my stomach twist in a way I didn’t expect.

"I wouldn’t have made it without you," I replied, my voice just as low. "You were the only person who stuck around. I hope you know how much that means to me."

Utahime looked down, brushing a thumb over the rim of her glass. "I was never going to leave you. I couldn’t."

There was something unsaid in the silence that followed. A glance. A flicker. A feeling I couldn’t quite name.

But before I could ask—before I could say anything—she laughed softly, shaking her head like she had just remembered herself.

"Come on," she said, raising her glass again. "To new beginnings."

I clinked mine against hers.

"To new beginnings," I echoed, pretending I didn’t notice the way her gaze lingered just a second too long on my lips.

The air outside was heavy with summer heat, even as the sun dipped past the skyline. We were both a little buzzed—okay, more than a little. Tipsy giggles spilled from our mouths as we stumbled side by side down the quiet street, shoes clicking against pavement and arms occasionally brushing.

"Your place is closer," Utahime had said, cheeks flushed, her voice a little breathier than usual. "And I’m not in the mood to fight off creeps tonight. Let me crash with you?"

"Please," I laughed, nudging her playfully. "You say that like I’m not secretly obsessed with our sleepovers."

Her smile faltered for just a second. A flicker. Quick. If I hadn’t known her for years, I might’ve missed it.

The walk was short, filled with laughter and off-key harmonies to some song we made up mid-step. When we reached my building, I unlocked the door with a dramatic flourish, grinning back at her as I swung it open.

"Welcome to my kingdom," I announced, voice still drunk on gin and nostalgia.

Utahime walked in slowly, shoulders tense beneath her cardigan. Something about her demeanor shifted. The air around her went quieter.

"You okay?" I asked, toeing off my shoes and heading toward the kitchen. "I’m grabbing us some water before we turn into dehydrated zombies tomorrow."

She mumbled something I didn’t catch.

I turned back, the fridge door still open, and stared at her.

She was standing in the middle of the living room—perfectly still. Her arms were wrapped around herself, and her gaze was fixed on the floor, not meeting mine.

"Utahime?" I asked again, gently this time. "Hey… what’s going on?"

She blinked quickly, like she hadn’t realized she was being watched. Then her eyes met mine, wide and glassy. Her lip quivered slightly before she forced a half-laugh.

"Sorry. I just..." She shook her head, the corner of her mouth twitching like she wanted to smile but couldn’t quite pull it off. "I think the drinks are just hitting harder than I thought."

But I knew her better than that.

I walked over slowly, water bottles still in hand, and offered one to her. "Sit down. Breathe. You don’t have to explain anything if you don’t want to."

She took the bottle but didn’t sit. Instead, she looked at me for a long, unspoken moment. Her fingers gripped the plastic tighter than they needed to.

"You always make it so hard to forget," she whispered suddenly.

My heart stopped.

"What?"

Utahime’s cheeks burned. She took a shaky breath, eyes darting to the side.

"Nothing. I mean—forget I said anything. I just meant..." She paused again. "You don’t see it. And that’s fine. It’s always been fine."

I stepped closer, heart pounding, something electric and unfamiliar stirring under my skin.

"See what?" I asked quietly.

She looked up at me then, finally. And in her eyes was everything she’d kept hidden for years.

Me.

“N—nothing.. I’m tired.”

The apartment was quiet now. Just the hum of the fridge and the soft flicker of city lights spilling through the blinds. I handed Utahime a pair of spare pajamas—an old oversized T-shirt and shorts—and she took them with a small, grateful smile, still a little pink from the alcohol.

I peeled off my jeans first, not thinking twice about it—we’d known each other forever. She’d seen me hungover, heartbroken, sick with the flu, even mid-sob after my ex ruined everything. This wasn’t new.

But tonight… something felt different.

Her gaze lingered longer than usual as I slipped out of my tank top, swapping it for a soft, worn sleep shirt. Her hands fumbled a bit with the waistband of the shorts I gave her.

"You good?" I asked playfully as I slid under the covers.

Utahime froze in the middle of tugging her shirt down, eyes wide and face flushed like she’d swallowed fire.

"You look like you’ve seen a ghost," I teased, laughing as I fluffed my pillow and patted the empty space beside me.

She let out a shaky breath and sat on the edge of the bed, water bottle abandoned on the nightstand. Her shoulders were tense, her hands twisted in the hem of her shirt.

"Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly, her voice softer than I’d ever heard it.

I blinked, nodding. "Of course."

"Have you ever… been with a girl?"

The question made me pause. I sat up, brushing hair from my face.

"Besides that one time I kissed one at a party for a dare?" I chuckled. "Not really."

Her head tilted, eyes locked on mine.

"But have you ever wanted to do something with a girl?"

I shrugged, watching her carefully. The strap of my tank slipped from my shoulder, but I didn’t fix it.

"I don’t know," I said with a slow smile. "Depends. Why?"

Utahime’s eyes dropped to the bedspread. She exhaled again, still pink, still a little too still.

"Because… I haven’t. Kissed a girl, I mean.” She lied.

That made me laugh, maybe more than I should’ve. "Wait. Never?"

She rolled her eyes, clearly embarrassed. "No. But I’ve always wanted to try."

The laughter cooled in my throat.

She wasn’t joking.

I shifted on my knees, facing her now—our thighs almost touching, breath mingling in the quiet tension of the room. I looked at her closely, really looked. She was nervous. Blushing. Vulnerable in a way I’d never seen.

And maybe the alcohol was making me bold. Or maybe something in me had always wondered.

I tilted my head, lips curling slightly.

"Well," I said, voice lower now, more careful, more curious. "As your best friend… do you want to try?"

She looked at me—eyes wide, mouth slightly open, stunned into silence.

And the space between us felt like a spark waiting to catch fire.

The room was quiet, suspended in something fragile and heavy. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, feel the warmth of the moment pressed against my skin like silk—unspoken and intoxicating.

Utahime didn’t look away.

So I leaned in.

Softly.

Tentatively.

Our lips met in the middle—slow, warm, a delicate brush that made my stomach twist with something I couldn’t name.

She exhaled against my mouth like she’d been holding her breath for years.

The kiss deepened almost naturally, like we had both been waiting for it longer than we realized. Her fingers reached up, trembling at first, then steady as they cupped my cheeks, pulling me closer.

That’s when her tongue slipped past my lips.

My mouth parted in surprise, and she took the opening—curious, gentle, but hungry.

The taste of her. The rhythm. The heat of her hands cradling my face like I was something fragile—something she didn’t want to break.

I didn’t stop.

My body moved without thinking, climbing into her lap as my knees sank into the bed on either side of her hips. Her breath caught when I settled above her, our chests almost touching. Her hands fell to my waist, riding up the edge of my tank top, her fingertips grazing bare skin.

Still, I didn’t stop.

And neither did she.

There was no fear in it. Just curiosity. Just something real and raw and so undeniably present.

She looked up at me with lips parted and eyes heavy, her thumb brushing just under the hem of my shirt like she was waiting for permission.

But I gave her none.

Because I didn’t need to.

My hands slid into her hair, my hips shifting slightly in her lap, and I kissed her again—slower this time, like I wanted to remember how it felt to be wanted like this.

Like we were finally letting go of everything we were too afraid to say.

Just two girls in a quiet room, hearts loud, hands curious—finally trying something we had only ever dreamed of.

Her lips parted from mine with a soft, breathless sound.

The air between us crackled—thick, warm, trembling with tension. I stayed in her lap, straddling her, chest rising and falling beneath my tank top as we both tried to catch our breath. Utahime looked up at me. Hair tousled. Lips swollen. Eyes wide and glassy. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to.

I saw the question there, lingering in her gaze, begging in silence. Can I?

She was asking. With a glance. With the way her hands hovered at my ribs, unsure, reverent.

I nodded slowly, breath caught in my throat. And then I reached down and lifted my tank top over my head, tossing it somewhere beside the bed. The cool air kissed my skin, but it wasn’t enough to cool the heat rushing to my cheeks. She swallowed, hands trembling slightly as they reached behind me. I felt the soft pull of my bra strap, the subtle snap of the clasp unhooking.

The straps fell from my shoulders. Then the fabric. And suddenly, I was bare in front of her. Utahime just stared, stunned into silence, her breath shaky and slow. Her eyes traced every inch of me like I was something sacred. Then—hesitantly, almost shyly—she leaned in.

Her tongue flicked out, soft and wet, brushing over one nipple. A sound escaped my mouth, sharp and airy. I hadn’t meant for it to—but I couldn’t hold it back. My hands flew to her shoulders for balance as I bit down on my lip, head tipping back slightly.

Her mouth closed around it gently, suckling, teasing, exploring. My face burned. My body reacted without thought, grinding subtly into her lap, hips rolling forward in rhythm with her touch. "Utahime," I whispered, my voice cracking as I fought to stay composed.

But I wasn’t. I was unraveling in her hands. And for the first time in a long time… I didn’t want to stop.

Clothes came off like they were made of smoke—tossed, discarded, forgotten. The alcohol buzz had long faded into something warmer. Heavier. Real.

Utahime was on top of me now, breath shaky, her skin flushed and glowing in the soft light. Her hands explored like she had waited forever—eyes locked on mine as her thighs slid around my hips. She hovered above me for just a second, then slowly, deliberately, lowered herself until our bodies aligned.

The moment our heat met—skin against skin, slick and bare—I gasped. My hips jolted upward on instinct, chasing the friction.

"Wait," I whispered, breathless. My brows pinched slightly, eyes searching hers. "Have you… done this before?"

She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she leaned in, cupping my face with both hands like I was something she’d been desperate to touch her whole life. Her lips brushed against mine, soft at first—then firmer, hungrier.

"Shut up," she whispered against my mouth, and kissed me again.

And then she moved.

Our hips pressed. Rubbed. Slid.

Her clit against mine in a slow, fluid grind that pulled a strangled cry from my throat.

"Oh—"

I arched beneath her, my hands gripping her waist, fingers digging in for something to hold onto. The sensation was sharp, overwhelming, completely unlike anything I’d ever felt. It wasn’t just pleasure—it was electric.

Utahime moaned softly above me, forehead resting against mine as our movements synced. Her breath hitched every time our bodies met in just the right way.

I couldn’t think.

Couldn’t speak.

Only feel.

This wasn’t something I wanted to suppress.

This was something I wanted to drown in.

And as our bodies moved in perfect rhythm, heat building fast between us, I realized…

Whatever this was—whatever it became—it wasn’t just an experiment.

It was real.

The room was heavy with heat and breath and the faint hum of the city outside, forgotten somewhere beyond the fogged windows.

Utahime gritted her teeth as her rhythm faltered—hips grinding against mine one last time, her body trembling with release. I clenched my thighs tighter, holding onto her with everything I had, feeling the sharp, warm unraveling burst through me like lightning in my veins.

It was wet. It was messy.

The sheets beneath us were damp with our slick, our thighs slick and trembling, hearts pounding against the silence.

Utahime collapsed forward for a moment, her breath shaky against my collarbone, her hair sticking to her cheek. I just stared up at the ceiling, chest rising and falling, lips parted, dazed.

This really happened.

She slowly sat up, flustered, brushing her hair behind her ears as she avoided my gaze. Her cheeks were stained deep red, a bashful smile tugging at her lips as she shifted beside me on the bed.

I turned my head to look at her, eyes still wide, my body still warm from the aftershocks.

"...Are you into girls?" I asked softly.

She sucked in a breath through her nose, then laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck. "Yeah. I mean… I knew back in high school. You know how it is—softball girls, team sleepovers. And then I started experimenting a little more when I got older."

She shrugged like it was no big deal, but her face was bright pink. "Honestly… I think I always knew when I was younger. But it’s whatever."

I snorted, pulling the sheet up over my chest as I stretched out beside her. "Mhm… so you lied to me earlier. You didn’t just want to kiss a girl—you wanted to do all that, too."

Utahime rolled her eyes but smiled, biting her bottom lip. “Okay, maybe.. just maybe your right.”

"Uh-huh," I teased, nudging her with my foot. "Well, now you’ve kissed a girl… and done a lot more."

She let out a dramatic sigh, flopping back beside me. "I mean, sure… maybe a little fingering in college. But this?"

She turned her head toward me, smirking. "Let’s just say… it looks like I turned you out."

I laughed, loud and shameless, the kind of laugh that felt real—unfiltered.

And maybe she did.

Maybe I liked that.

—

A week passed.

Seven days since Utahime and I blurred the lines between best friends and something else entirely. But surprisingly… it wasn’t weird.

There were no awkward silences. No stolen glances. No tension dripping off the edges of our conversations.

In fact, it felt like it never even happened.

Utahime was still her usual self—sarcastic, loud when drunk, loyal to a fault—and I? I threw myself into prepping for my first real assignment at the new job. It was easier to focus on spreadsheets and balance sheets than decipher what one night under the sheets meant.

Everything was good.

Peaceful.

Until Monday.

I walked into the sleek, glass-paneled building of Kyoto Metropolitan Enterprises with a tote bag over my shoulder and fresh nerves bubbling in my stomach.

The lobby gleamed like polished chrome, and the scent of expensive cologne and too-strong coffee hung thick in the air. My heels clicked with each step as I followed the signs for the Finance Department.

That’s when I met her.

Black hair, short and blunt, tucked neatly behind her ears. She had thin-rimmed click glasses, dark brows, and an expression that didn’t change when she saw me.

"Maki Zenin," she said flatly, extending her hand. Her grip was firm—borderline aggressive. "Assistant Supervisor. You're the new advisor, right?"

"Y/N," I replied, giving my best polite smile.

She nodded once, eyes flicking over me with a quick, unreadable scan. “Try not to be useless.”

Before I could ask whether that was a joke or not, she turned sharply on her heel and started walking.

...Right.

So that’s how it was going to be.

I followed her down the hall, the tension sharp enough to slice through the marble walls.

"You’ll be reporting to me directly for daily tasks," Maki continued without looking back. "But the department head is Shoko Ieiri. She’s in her office."

My stomach did a small somersault at the mention of the Shoko Ieiri. I’d heard the rumors.

Intimidating.

Unfiltered.

Smoked indoors even though she wasn’t supposed to.

But also one of the best forensic accountants in the country, with a reputation for keeping this department from collapsing in on itself.

Maki pushed open the office door without knocking.

"New hire’s here," she said, stepping aside.

I peeked in.

Shoko was sitting with her feet kicked up on her desk, cigarette in hand, a thick folder resting on her lap. She looked up with the laziest eyes I’d ever seen on a professional.

"Ah. You made it."

Her voice was raspy, tired, but… not cold.

There was something distant yet oddly warm in the way she nodded at me.

"Welcome to hell," she added, exhaling a long stream of smoke out the cracked window. "We’re glad you’re here."

And just like that, I realized—

This job was going to be everything but ordinary.

Shoko finally sat up straight in her chair, stubbing out her cigarette in a tray already crowded with others. The haze of smoke hung in the air like a warning, but she brushed it away casually as she reached into her drawer and pulled out a shiny new name badge.

"Y/N," she said, flicking the badge toward me. "Welcome to the Finance Department at Kyoto Metropolitan Enterprises. Try not to drown."

I caught it with both hands, smiling and bowing respectfully.

"Thank you, I won’t let you down."

She studied me for a moment, head tilted slightly to the side like she was trying to read more than just the nervous smile on my lips. Then she leaned back, arms crossed.

"Good. Because we’ve got our first financial proposal meeting next week with corporate. Big pitch. You and your team are responsible for presenting the strategy and breakdowns."

My eyes widened slightly. That was fast.

"You’ll be collaborating with some of the leads across departments. They’ll report to you for this project."

She handed me a tablet with the roster. "Maki’ll walk you through the prep docs, but meet your team today. Get them aligned."

I glanced at the list on the screen. Familiar names—some of them surprising.

Team Lead: Y/N (Financial Specialist) Team Members:

Yuji Itadori — Data Compilation Analyst

Megumi Fushiguro — Legal Budgeting Coordinator

Nobara Kugisaki — PR & Image Consultant

Toge Inumaki — Expense Forecasting Assistant

Panda — Risk Analysis Tech (AI interface consultant?)

I blinked. "Panda?"

Shoko gave me a knowing smirk. "You’ll see."

The open workspace was buzzing with chatter when I walked in, tablet in hand and nerves bundled tight in my chest. Maki had disappeared somewhere with her arms full of binders, leaving me to introduce myself on my own.

I spotted a pink headband first—Nobara, laughing as she leaned back in her chair with her boots propped up on the edge of her desk.

Next to her, a serious-looking guy with dark spiky hair—Megumi—glanced at his screen with a furrowed brow.

Across the room, a tall guy with pink hair—Yuji, I recognized him from the internal org chat—was balancing a coffee cup on his head while trying to type.

Behind him, a… very large panda. Typing. On a laptop.

I blinked. Hard.

He looked up and waved. "Yo. You the newbie?"

"...I guess I am."

I cleared my throat and took a small step forward, voice steady despite the chaos around me.

"Hi, everyone. I���m Y/N. I’ll be your lead for the upcoming financial proposal. I’m looking forward to working with all of you."

Yuji stood up instantly, grinning wide as he offered a handshake. "You don’t look scary at all! That’s a great start."

Nobara smirked. "Better than the last lead. That guy cried on day three."

Megumi gave a silent nod in greeting, while Toge—quiet in the corner with a tea thermos—just gave a thumbs up.

"Panda’s a risk analysis beast," Yuji whispered conspiratorially. "Don’t let the fur fool you."

I chuckled under my breath. This wasn’t what I expected.

But as they all turned their attention toward me, waiting for direction, I realized—this team wasn’t just quirky.

They were sharp. And if I played it right, we were going to crush next week’s meeting.

"Alright," I said, rolling my shoulders back with a small grin. "Let’s get to work."

—

"You guys already started on the mock proposal?" I asked, reaching out to grab the first stack of binders Yuji handed me. They were thick, color-coded, and already kind of intimidating.

"Yeah," Nobara said, chewing on the end of her pen. "We pulled data from last quarter and started formatting the layout. Fushiguro took lead on budgeting."

"Of course he did," I muttered, flipping open the first binder.

I started reading, letting my eyes scan over the numbers. The deeper I got, the more my brows began to knit. By the third binder, I was visibly squinting, my fingertips flipping faster, my pulse picking up.

"This is way out of budget," I said flatly, holding up one of the pages. "Like… way out. We can’t afford half of this. Who did this section?"

There was a long pause.

All fingers pointed—directly at Megumi.

He didn’t even look up from his seat. He just rolled his eyes, arms folding across his chest as he muttered, "What do you know? You’re just starting."

I turned to him, blinking slowly. "You gave the PR department a fifty-thousand yen margin for uniform aesthetics and an eighty-thousand yen surplus for—what is this—interior mood lighting for client ambiance?"

"It’s called long-term image projection," Megumi said, cool and unbothered.

"And I get that," I replied, holding up the original proposed budget side-by-side. "But not when it’s four times the pre-approved cap. The numbers don’t lie. We need to scale this back before corporate laughs us out of the building."

I exhaled slowly, then dragged over a whiteboard and clicked open a marker.

"Let’s go piece by piece. First: cut the lighting surplus by 60%. We’ll reclassify that as optional aesthetic additions under quarterly review. Second: uniforms stay, but custom tailoring? Gone."

Everyone began scrambling—typing, scribbling, highlighting as I listed item after item. For the next several hours, we tore through every line.

By the time the sun dipped low and the overhead office lights dimmed into a soft golden hue, it was just me and Nobara left in the conference room.

Shoko popped her head in, holding her usual cigarette in hand.

"You two better leave soon unless you want to get escorted out by security. They’re jumpy after hours."

"Right," I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Just finishing the last couple slides."

Nobara yawned dramatically, slamming her laptop shut. "I’m getting instant ramen after this. I deserve it."

I chuckled, grabbing my bag. "Bathroom first, then I’m heading out."

The hallway was quiet, lined with glass offices and dark-tinted doors. I moved quickly, but halfway there, I slowed.

Because someone was coming toward me.

Two women.

One of them—gorgeous.

No. Unreal.

She had long, snowy white hair, cascading in soft waves down her back. Her figure was all sharp curves poured into a wine-colored dress that hugged her hips and cinched perfectly at her waist. Her heels clicked elegantly against the floor, and her scent—God—was floral, like jasmine and warm honey.

We passed each other, and just before she turned the corner, her eyes met mine.

A pale violet color. Hypnotizing.

She offered me a soft, amused smile—knowing, like she’d caught me staring—and continued her conversation with the woman beside her like it was nothing.

I blinked, heart thudding, before rushing to the bathroom with my cheeks burning.

I slammed the door behind me and leaned over the sink, trying to catch my breath.

"Why are all the women here so hot?!" I hissed to myself in the mirror, running cold water over my wrists.

This job was going to be dangerous—but not for the reasons I thought.

--

THE LACK OF WLW INN JJKKK AAAAHHHHHH. I got bored.. so imma make a unhinged insane smuutty sexyyyy harem.. cuz free will. enjoy this new series!

[radicaldreemurrs]

krissociation theory is crazy to me. in a very good way. i just got here so forgive me if i ramble excessively.

it's like... it's like the joy of new chapters coming out... maybe the biggest thing i was looking forward to (and absolutely got) with 3&4 was the character development and getting that little bit closer to understanding the big mysteries of the game. reading your krissociation posts made me feel the same joy of characters getting fleshed out and their actions and choices and situations making a lot more sense in hindsight. it all makes me have much more appreciation for and attachment to deltarune. and it makes so much sense!!!! i would have never considered any of this but it also fits so well with the narrative!!!

okay for an actual ask-type thing that's more interesting than just showering praise... i started a new deltarune playthrough a few days ago, with the intent of making kris as happy and safe and free as possible because i "felt bad for them for being possessed." i take dodging very seriously because if i fail to dodge, someone will get hurt, and it won't be me so i'll never know how painful it feels. i feel bad for sprinting everywhere because it might be really exhausting for them or hurting their legs or something and i'd never know. i'd planned to try to beat the knight without the mantle, because the sword route caused them so much distress but i'm still hoping the shadow crystals will lead to a better ending. i always try to pick the silly dialogue options to give them joy. and so on.

so after reading this it makes me think about how different players and different choices affect the characterization of the soul/"you". the soul is not a player insert, but it is the player character and i think it's interesting how alternate playthroughs/routes tell multiple different stories. what do you think?

yeah!! that's the whole appeal to me, the way the SOUL provides these branching paths that all lead to characterizing kris in different ways, but they're all still kris. when you play DELTARUNE, you're limited to choices kris would make, but the range of those choices is still quite broad, because kris is ultimately a very complex and multifaceted person who is struggling through a period of great change and still figuring out what they want to be. of course their SOUL would be all mixed up about it, it's how they feel! the culmination of their being is in a state of flux because they don't know what “kris” is to them, only what it is to other people — what others project onto them, what others assume of them, what others think they know about them. their struggle is in the fact that nobody is interpreting them correctly, nobody understands them, and their biggest fear is that if they were to die for good the memory they'd leave would not paint the full picture of who they really were. they want to express themself.

[justiebunch]

I’m a genuine believer that Vampire is ABSOLUTELY one of the smartest cookies and best strategists in the games with my basis being his “Insouciant King” costume in Ovenbreak, his leaked line for the affection system, AND the Sibling Rivalry? story in Kingdom

In the chess costume set alone, he is one of if not the best chess player in the lineup

Why do I say this, you may ask? Because Alchemist admits that she would need to make something new just to check him

And btw if you click on the highlighted “king”, it takes you to his costume, further emphasizing that she’s talking about him

Also, he actively implies he doesn’t need any sort of luck to win in chess and he’s skilled enough to dodge every check (or checkmate) from an opponent easily

As for Sibling Rivalry?, in case one might need a summary on it, the whole thing revolves around Vampire pranking Alchemist by acting as though he was “turned smart and motivated” by one of her potions and Alchemist doing everything in her power to change him back

What I’m focusing on is the fact that throughout the story/prank, Vampire was seen doing alchemical formulas and experiments, something of which he’d be unable to do as flawlessly as he did if he didn’t know the material in the first place

Also, the whole story shows that Alchemist feels threatened by Vampire actually using his smarts. It’s the clearest when her narrative says she doesn’t want two alchemists in the family:

(Also note: what she emphasizes is hard to believe isn’t him being smart. It’s him being DILIGENT. MOTIVATED. ACTUALLY WORKING)

So she’s well aware that if Vampire were to use his smarts, he wouldn’t only be as good as her, no. There’s a chance he could surpass her, and she doesn’t like that

AND THE PIÈCE DE RÉSISTANCE

One of the leaked Vampire lines for the affection system is, AND I QUOTE,

“I’ll have you know I was actually called smart as a young cookie!”

It was practically handed on a silver platter

With all the previous things in mind, the line makes it seem like he used to flaunt his intelligence more. It isn’t that he grew dumber, it’s that he stopped flaunting it and began to hide it more (he explains why in the Crunchy Dreams event in the Gnome Uprising story. He likes to keep people’s expectations of him low so he isn’t asked to do anything)

TL;DR: Vampire Cookie is an academic and strategic WEAPON and it’s been shown several times except nothing is done with it. And it makes me sad because he has sooo much potential as a character, yet he’s treated like comedy relief in every line he gets. Also his own sister is his biggest opp when it comes to him actually using his smarts and I think that’s even more tragic

Also he could totally beat or at least be an extreme challenge to Shadow Milk in a game of chess but shhh

[habitual-truant]

"Naoto isn't trans! Kanji isn't gay! You obviously don't understand their character arcs at all!"

I'm allowed to be critical of the homophobic and transphobic narratives that are in persona 4. Obviously in canon kanji is straight and Naoto is a cis girl, but it pisses me off when people decide to say "you don't understand their character!" because I do. I KNOW Kanji's arc was about toxic masculinity. I KNOW Naoto didn't like being a girl because she wasn't treated fairly and taken seriously for it. I KNOW they aren't queer. But they should have been.

Throughout persona, a person's shadow has been some part of their unconscious mind, the exact part varying from game to game, but the general consensus being that it's the part of the self that's unknown for whatever reason. In persona 4, its the part that is repressed and rejected. Characters defeat their shadow and gain their persona from accepting that their shadow, a manifestation of the things they hate about themselves, is in fact a part of them. It's not exactly the same for Kanji and Naoto though. Kanji's shadow is the result of internalizing what others say about him as the truth, and Naoto's is the result of rejecting what other people think of her, and repressing the reasons why they think those things. Unlike the other characters who's shadows entirely come from their own emotions and thoughts, Kanji and Naoto's shadows come from how other's perception of the two affects them.

Kanji's shadow is a "gross pervert" that lusts over men. Based off of the other characters and how they defeat their shadows, you would think he has internalized homophobia, and that by accepting his shadow, he accepts being gay. But, its the opposite. Kanji accepts he's straight despite liking feminine things. He accepts that he's NOT gay. I understand the intentions. I know his shadow was the way it was because he was accused of being gay and made fun of for liking girlish things, and he internalized it. I know his arc is about toxic masculinity and unlearning it. But Kanji was attracted to men before his arc. He all of a sudden magically becomes straight after accepting his shadow. "But he had a crush on Naoto, who ended up being a girl!" Yeah, I understand. Doesn't change the fact that Naoto presented as a boy, and was completely socially transitioned. At that point, Kanji had literally no reason to think that Naoto was a girl, he completely saw her as a boy. The writers backpedaled on his attraction to boys. It implies being attracted to the same sex is something you can change, and that it's worth changing. Not to mention, his entire arc is played off as a joke. his shadow is a "pervert queer" because its "haha funny" for a masculine man to like men. It's a mockery.

Naoto's shadow isn't nearly as insulting, showing the main focus of Naoto's arc; nobody respects her as a detective because she's a teenage girl. However, Naoto herself says she doesn't like being a girl when her shadow reveals the fact that she's a girl. Yes, it's because she's ridiculed and disregarded because she's not a man, but she's still uncomfortable as a girl and actively chooses to present as a boy, even after gaining her persona. She is undeniably transcoded, at the very least, before she accepts her shadow. She accepts that she's not taken seriously, that she IS all the things that people look down on her for being, and that she IS actually a girl. Again, while not doing a complete 180, the writers back out of Naoto wanting to be a boy. Even though her arc isn't as abysmally insulting as Kanji's, it still sells the narrative that trans people need to accept that they "aren't trans, just pretending,"

No matter how you look at it, the "moral of the story" for both Kanji and Naoto is that being gay or trans isn't something you should accept about yourself. Both Kanji and Naoto have queer themes in their stories, even if the writers backed out and effectively gave the opposite message. They're queercoded, end of story. For us queers to reject the homophobic + transphobic themes and decide "no, actually these characters ARE gay" is completely reasonable. Who are you to tell us that we aren't allowed to reject the honestly disrespectful writing from a triple A game franchise? Why wouldn't we dislike the way the characters are written? And why do you only complain when its the two characters that are so close to being queer rep?

I 100% understand and respect people who disagree with the headcanons, but those who mock and make fun of people who do consider Kanji and Naoto to be queer? That's something I can't accept.

TL;DR: People choose to interpret Kanji and Naoto as queer because of the queer themes in their arcs. The same themes that the writers completely backpedaled on, and ended up implying harmful things on instead.

[zafulz]

Regarding SotE's ending.

Spoilers ahead, rant.

I'm a dissappointed on the fandom always wanting to take sides for the most nuanced narratives ever written in games, sometimes it feels like we play different games at all. They want to excuse other demigods and put the blame on the ones who wanted to changed the status quo, when we all should realize how the Greater Will and the Outer Gods had influence and have been the ones to actually be playing chess with their tragic fates. Radahn and Morgott wanted to keep and perpetuate Marika's / Golden Order rule, Miquella, Ranni and Rykard wanted to get rid of all the Gods (using the Stars/Moon, destroying gods or becoming God themselves), and Mogh, Malenia and Godwyn had their fates taken by Outer Gods/Plots. They were all played and incited by the horrors of Marika, under the Greater Will. Remember that Marika shattered the Elden Ring to rebel against the Greater Will due to all the grief and most recently Godwyn's death, so we can guess she realized too late.

Then, it surprises me how easy we are to label Miquella as a villain without taking all that into the equation. The game changers, following up Ranni's statements, were only Miquella, Malenia (as she was almost ready to become a goddess even before Miquella), and her. Ranni, probably the one who knew all of Marika's record and was already done with the situation of her family and the Lands Between, started this first with killing Godwyn. Miquella just could not keep at delaying the facts during the time he tried to revive his brother and revert his twin curse, leading to despising the Greater Will and deciding to ascend having learned the horrors of the Lands of Shadow and the current state of the Lands Between. The actions taken by them can't be honestly judged at certain human moral standpoint, since we are talking of literal demigods, SOME of them supporting the current status quote where Omens, Demi Humans, Albinaurics, Giants where OBLITERATED to keep the Golden Order's rule. The DLC covers the process in which Miquella decided to walk the same path as Marika, probably for similar "better world" goals, but Marika just followed the Greater Will. Miquella decided to become a god and strip himself from all essence, without any guidance. Is not a mending rune to keep the Elden Ring somehow. The story trailer show us how Marika called the Greater Will, now dried up after thousands of sacrifices, Miquella becomes a God by stripping himself of what attaches him to the world (reminds me of Tales of Symphonia, where Colette is loosing all senses to become an angel or the Avatar State) St. Trina asks us to kill him, because she understood this path will only create another Greater Will-like God, no feelings, just cold stare and control, a caged god.

Now, somethings that aren't clear is how the affection compelling powers works. Miquella shattered his own rune knowing this would remove his "charm" from others. Why he did that? What's the vow Radahn and Miquella made? The cutscene crystal clear shows Miquella is afraid of becoming a god, but taking that decision on this vow.

Probably a fight with Malenia before becoming Lord. Whispered this part on his ear like normal.

A LOT of information is missing, but the point was that there are no " villains" in this game, BUT THE GODS. It is a Man vs God narrative that is very nuanced. Thanks for your time.

Ps. Did you notice this?

Grace and the Gods influence reflect in the eyes. Messmer is final proof of it when he breaks his Grace and Serpent appears isntead, or Miquella showing up with eyes shut, becoming a God himself. Ranni Melina I wish we could have more dialog options and reactions from what we did in this DLC :')

[mama-qwerty]

Sonic 3 Review

Okay guys, I'm still gonna do some breakdowns of scenes and characters (feel free to keep sending in asks if you have something specific you want my take on), but wanted to get my thoughts on the movie out there.

Keep in mind that I came into Sonic through the movies, and have never played or watched any cut scenes from the older games. I have no idea the actual plot and specific details of any of them, just a vague "this happened in some game or another" in the broadest of senses.

So I didn't come into Sonic 3 with any preconceived ideas about what should be in it regarding Shadow's story. The movieverse is a separate universe (as are all Sonic media, in my mind), so even if there were some things that were different, I took them in correlation with what's been established, or what can be done under the rules and physics of the movie's world building.

Obviously spoilers ahead:

All in all, I found the movie fun, and it told a good story with good characterizations. The action started quickly and kept steady through most of it. We had an exciting introduction to Shadow at the very beginning, when he woke up and chose violence, and it was a good way to start things off.

Yeah, it was a little goofy in some parts, but this is a movie made to appeal to children, so Jeff and Co. couldn't go all into the angst for the whole thing. There were some parts I would have done differently, or omitted entirely, but if you look at the more weird parts of the movie as kind of along the same lines as Boom (especially for the dance number in the laser hallway) you can roll with it.

There were many moments that tugged at your heartstrings, and a few very powerful moments that I've already talked about. There is a much more emotional impact in this one that was missing from the first two, as our boys struggle with their actions and how they affect others. They were all handled very well, with each having a good role to play in the story.

The climax was great, and it was exciting to see Sonic and Shadow working together.

As I said, all in all, a really fun ride and my whole family enjoyed it a lot.

That said, let's look at a few of the points that I see some complaining about, and my take on them.

Not Enough Wachowski Family Moments

Okay, this one I will kinda agree with. We got a teeny peek into their dynamic is a family at the beginning, right before Rockwell showed up to whisk the boys away to clean up their mess. It would have been nice to see them all interacting more, to see how Knux and Tails have fit into this dynamic.

Devil's Advocate - There's only so much screen time available, and we know they're a family. We don't need to be bludgeoned over the head with fluffy scenes of the boys doing chores and having group hugs and all that. It would have slowed the narrative, and in the end, all that would not further reinforce the idea that they've come together as a family any more than their camping trip and celebration for Sonic's "B-Earth-day" already established.

Shadow's Origin Change

In the movieverse, Gerald claims that Shadow came to Earth encased in a meteorite. His energy readings were off the scale, so they took him to a facility to study him. He was not originally created by Gerald, and was simply an alien come to Earth and then taken to be studied.

Devil's Advocate - I have no opinion regarding this change, as the movieverse is different from any other media. They've already altered backstories where they needed, to make things at least somewhat 'realistic' and allow the boys to exist in 'our' world without major complications of Sonic just running around as a child fighting Eggman, and Knuckles being the last of his kind and having thousands of years separating him from his closest ancestors. (Not to mention the size change of the Master Emerald - having one the size of a VW Beetle would have been a little hard to hide or cart around.)

Having Shadow arrive kinda like Stitch is fitting in this version of the Sonic verse, as going into a lengthy explanation of how Gerald could manage to create a space hedgehog from scratch, when Angel Island may or may not exist, would have pushed suspension of disbelief a little much.

Maria's Not Sick

I thought the whole "Gerald takes her with him everywhere" thing for Maria seemed a bit flimsy, especially since she wasn't sick and in need of him to find a cure for her. They were in a super high security facility and there's this girl who's just allowed to wander freely simply because she's the granddaughter of the lead scientist?

I would have liked to see more of the reasoning behind her being there. And more of Maria and Shadow's relationship, especially from Shadow's side.

Devil's Advocate - Despite my comments above, I actually liked that they didn't make Maria's defining factor be her illness. She was a character in her own right, and befriended Shadow out of her own kindness, and not simply because he was created to cure her, and thus they were kinda forced to be together. She reached out immediately, and essentially kidnapped him from his tests to show him how to have fun. She showed him kindness, not because he was supposed to be her 'cure', but because she saw this little boy, all alone, and treated as a thing by the scientists, and took it upon herself to show him that he was more than that.

Too Much Gerald and Eggman Screentime

I will admit that sometimes it did seem like they were focusing a little too much on the Robotniks. We were subjected to a montage of Eggman living out little moments of childhood 'milestones' with Gerald, and that aforementioned dance number in the hallway was reminiscent of the dance battle in the second movie. Kinda silly.

Devil's Advocate - I think these scenes were to delve a little into Ivo's character a bit. It was established in the first one that he was an orphan, and through the second it reinforced the idea that he thought he didn't need anyone. He pushed people away, built his walls, and hid behind his bots. But now that he's faced with an actual blood relative, who seems to want him around, all those walls came down and we saw the hurt little boy within Ivo. This only made it hurt all the more when Gerald turned on him. And damnit, I actually felt bad for Ivo in that moment.

The Master Emerald/Chaos Emeralds

There is some confusion as to how these things worked. At the end of the 2nd movie, Sonic very distinctly sent all the chaos emeralds away. Knuckles reformed the Master Emerald without them. But in this movie, Sonic went Super with the Master Emerald, and somehow the chaos emeralds were still within it.

Devil's Advocate - Yeah, I got nothin'. 😆 Not sure if there was a deleted scene explaining that or something, but it seemed a pretty glaring continuity error.

But, whatevs. We go with it. 'Cause dis is how we roll.

And as an aside WHY DO YOU HATE WADE, JEFF??? Seriously, there were so many other ways to handle that scene, and you did THAT to him?? UUUGGGGHGGHGHGHGHh

Sonic Didn't Call Tom and Maddie "Dad and Mom"

Okay, yeah, I agree with this one. He called Tom 'Dad' at the end of the 2nd, meaning he finally accepted them as his parents. They call themselves a family. And yes, I will accept that he may slip back into their names during lighter times, when it's an emotional scene, he should call them "Mom and Dad". Such as in the cave and when Tom was hurt.

Devil's Advocate - Yeah, no, I can't argue with this. You can't have him call Tom 'Dad' in the last movie and then never touch on that again. The boys didn't even call each other 'brothers', for crying out loud! The perfect place to do that would have been the cornfield, and it was still 'friends'. THEY ARE BROTHERS YOUR HONOR AND TOM AND MADDIE ARE THEIR PARENTS

~~~

I'm not saying the movie was 100% perfect. There were things I found silly, or unnecessary. Things I would have done differently.

But taking a step back and looking at the full picture, and not just the individual brush strokes, it was entertaining, fun, and had more than a few moments that I found really powerful, much more than either of the previous ones did.

I'm excited to see where they go in the next one. Things are really ramping up.

~~~

Check out my other Sonic 3 analysis posts

[theflowergothic]

Okay, I'm Back (Kinda)

First lesson of the day is I apparently can't spend a lot of time away from y'all. So I'm back! 😂

I might as well give a recap of what happened for those unaware:

Long story short, one of Kelly's fangirls attempted to dox me. Apparently my work (and promoting said work) hit so hard she decided the next logical step was to try and contact my parents and my job.

Because nothing screams “healthy parasocial response” like going nuclear on someone who made a video essay and wants it to be successful. 🫠

The person behind it is someone I’m familiar with: Elisabeth/ formula1bliz/tothegrandprix. I know it’s her because she uses the same pfp for all her accounts. A truly masterful game of disguise if you want to be found out immediately.

She’s been unhinged about my content for a while now... quote-retweeting me from the shadows, trying to "discredit" my work through by giving long diatribes to out-of-context scenes, and framing public receipts as private attacks.

But I kind of forgot she existed until last week, when she showed up in my Tumblr askbox. 😂

But on Monday, things escalated.

That morning, I officially opened applications for people to translate the full exposé. It got a lot of attention (and a LOT of applications, my goodness!).

What did Elisabeth do? She then posted on her story encouraging people to mass report my accounts. Because of course she did.

(We’ll get to that email later lol)

Let's pause and take this in: she got blocked for boundary crossing behavior, and her response was to… threaten more boundary crossing behavior. And what the hell i she trying to even accomplish here? Prove that I have a public email address where I take YouTube inquiries?

But then... Elisabeth escalated. She posted my last name (which while it's an open secret, is not something I utilize in my public branding), my parents’ names, and my employer. She encouraged people to contact them.

Let me be really clear: this was a deliberate attempt to incite harassment, compromise my safety, and try to silence me through fear. And that’s not activism. That’s not even messiness. That’s targeted cruelty.

Also, remember how I said I’ve been doxxed before? Long ago? Luckily, I knew exactly what to do. I contacted my friends to ask them to report the content, flagged everything I needed to flag, took screenshots, and filed formal reports where appropriate. I didn’t spiral. I didn’t panic. I didn’t let them rewrite the narrative.

And before you say "But you're doing the same thing by operating hate accounts!!!" I'm not. Not even close. What I do is not harassment. It’s not about inciting a mob, revealing someone’s location, or endangering their job or family. I critique a public figure based on public behavior, using public records and public platforms. It’s cultural commentary/media analysis with a hint of performance art. If you can’t tell the difference between that and a targeted smear campaign designed to endanger someone in real life, maybe the issue isn’t my exposé. Maybe it’s your media literacy.

The most ironic thing, at least in my opinion, is their attempt to contact my family over my content. Why? They’re already well aware of what I do! My dad was the mandatory reporter I consulted for the exposé parts detailing Max’s childhood. My brother LITERALLY VOICED MAX IN THE VIDEOS.

Here’s what happened when someone actually tried to follow through on contacting my family: I got a text from my dad. Not because he was shocked about my content, but because people started bothering him directly. He wasn’t upset about what I said. He was worried about the lengths these strangers were going to to silence it. He was worried about how it could affect ME.

But I’m not going to walk away from this just because some insane Kelly fans don’t like the fact I post a lot of samples from my work (alongside other projects). That’s not how I work. The abridged exposé is still coming out as scheduled. The translations are still underway. And I have my future plans set in stone.

I'm slowly going to return to my normal posting schedule over the next week or so. Just know that I'm okay and nothing happened to me or my family.

And a note to anyone else who thinks weaponizing personal information will stop me: all you’re doing is proving my point. You’re confirming exactly what the exposé laid out. You're proving how power defends itself through deflection, coercion, and intimidation.

F

(PS: The dox did get deleted as far as I know, but Elisabeth then sent me this weird email yesterday morning. Make of it what you will.)

[twst-hottest-takes]

Something that has been annoying me about the fandom as of late? Apologists immediately ravenous defending and coddling Malleus whenever someone says that he should've been held accountable after the events of Book 7, especially since his actions weren't contained, being known to the public, and he is a fucking prince with an image to uphold. (Him getting his horn sliced off doesn't count, because the narrative treats it like a good thing.)

Malleus' treatment by this section of the fandom reminds me of the "Griffith did nothing wrong" meme you see floating around in the anime community. Except it's completely unironic. These people love him so much that they don't want to have the game treat his actions realistically or have any fallout over what he did.

Yes, your fave did something wrong. That's okay. Malleus has flaws just like everything else.

No one is saying that Malleus should've sent to the Shadow Realm for eternity for what he did. Just that having him make actual steps to amend those broken relationships and not hand waving his actions by having everyone unrealistically off the hook would've been nice. Him inviting the people of the town, STYKS and all of the others he hurt to that party at the end instead of a few NRC boys would've been a start.

Hell, ALL of the characters should've gotten this treatment a long time ago. Me and a lot of others aren't saying this just about him. The lack of any meaningful consequences hurts Malleus and everyone else, because it makes it so the characters can't learn from their actions and grow like well written ones should.

I'll reiterate that all of the Overblotters should have gotten more consequences, Malleus just happens to be the one we're dealing with right now.

I had my long screed about this already, but the fact of the matter is that what Malleus got is the bare minimum of what he deserved. Malleus was overblotted for days in game and a year's worth of game updates so I think it's worth mentioning that people would be more upset because of how long it lasted and how many more people got affected, and of course the fact that Crowley couldn't just sweep this one under the rug so the public didn't see.

But do you want my hot take response to this hot take?

. . .

Some of us come across as being harsher on Malleus because we're jealous that he got some half-decent writing and so much potential for character growth. Some people are too caught up in the consequences calling it "dismemberment" and "disability" to realize that he's the first Overblotter to actually have a tangible character change. And as Anon pointed out, it's a net positive, not even treated like a punishment in the story so it becomes a different kind of frustrating.

(Like, Riddle at least has the resolve to become better, but we don't really get to see much on that front. Everyone else is basically given the choice to learn a lesson and change to be better, but since they're villains and the game has a status quo to keep up they just choose to stay terrible people and it sucks. ["Terrible People" being a relative term.] You get what I mean though? Everyone should feel bad or have consequences that affect them moving forward and change the trajectory of their characters because acting like their Overblots had no effect on them is LAAAAAAMMMEE.)

Thank you for your take.

(With some luck this will be the last bit on this topic for a while.)

[relleytrots]

On Understanding and Enabling the Hecata

How To Enable A Hecata In Play

You won't believe how easy it is to solve a murder when you can just ask the victim.

OK, you know how the victim died. Now get someone else to believe it. Now get someone else to accept what a Giovanni told them, and not ask "are you being played by those sultry Italians?" Now realise that there is no due process among the Damned, and the Prince doesn't give a shit who really killed Mrs. Mosschild - they will decide who killed Mrs. Mosschild, and their decision is law, and what are you going to do about it, neonate?

In a detective story, "solve the murder" is the ending. In a Vampire chronicle, it's the beginning.

You handle necromancy by not making it the clan's entire hat. The Hecata is a family cult that worships death, and money, and blood - not even necessarily in that order. Your Hecata characters don't have to sully their hands with necromancy at all. I've run a Dunsirn baron with two dots: Ashes to Ashes so the bodies go away, and Fatal Precognition so he knows where the next one's coming from.

You have the option of not taking any Ceremonies at all. Just keep Oblivion as the discipline of weaponised entropy, sickness inflicted, rot unleashed. Ashes to Ashes, Fatal Prediction, Aura of Decay or Touch of Oblivion, Necrotic Plague, Skuld Fulfilled or Withering Spirit. A 1-5 progression, with options, and you can splash in some shadow flavour if you don't like the effect at a given tier. Think chill of the grave rather than spoopy darkness.

But let's say you're gonna go there anyway. Let's talk zombies, first. The zombie horde of pop culture necromancy is trouble waiting to happen - it doesn't technically breach the Masquerade, but it makes a lot of noise and gets people investigating. One zombie, around the house, perhaps ridden by its original spirit, as a weird-ass Retainer who can't get out much? That's workable. Scale it down. Softly, softly.

Now ghosts, the thing that seems to cause most practical problems for Storytellers. Ghosts are, in mechanical terms, a supernatural Retainer (three dots, or even four if you're picking up that one Giovanni Loresheet ability that gives you a bound spectre). They're very hard to detect, they can usually affect the physical world in at least one way, and there's a constant dramatic tension depending on how hard your necromancer is treating them.

Are they Summoning an irregular ally and negotiating with them? Are they Compelling a slave on pain of fetter destruction? Are they Hosting for a power up, or Binding a prisoner? Are they Passion Feasting on a ghostly Herd so they don't have to hurt the living with those wicked chompers? The further you go into Necromantic Ceremonies, the worse a person you have to be. That's the dramatic hook, that's the personal horror that's on the tin.

For mechanics, hit up Cults of the Blood Gods. There are four statblocks and power spreads for ghosts in that book (well, three statblocks: annoyingly, one of them's duplicated). Those are the numbers your Hecata's ghost Retainer has. Finding a use for that Retainer is now on them. Players can lift the burden of narrative too!

You could also hack the Allies background, if you wanted. The two part structure of effectiveness and availability actually works really well for an entity which has to be summoned into the world with a spell and might have its own ghost shit going on. But the Retainer option is the most straightforward, and it shuts down ghostly diversions when you're trying to tell a vampire story.

If It's That Easy, Why Do Folks Hate Them?

Giovanni were, for the longest time, a collection of stereotypes and accusations: mobster incest necrophile lol. There was always more there, but - perhaps that's me seeing what I wanted to see, projecting eighteenth century literature and twelfth century war profiteering in to polish a turd. Doesn't help that the game was often in on the joke (see also, how the Giovanni are framed in Bloodlines, which has been the gateway drug for quite a few players over the years).

Aspects of their setup are a bit silly (there is. no skyscraper. in Venice. fuck sake.) or difficult to Storytell (people always think they have to run a Wraith crossover, and the Revised Clanbook didn't help by leaning into that so heavily).

The Independent clans as a collective tend to be pushed off and forgotten about as either antagonists or service providers, when the "main story" is about Camarilla, Sabbat, maybe Anarchs if you're lucky, and who gets to run the clubhouse and whose club gets to run the city.

People are really squicked out by the necrophilia and incest, and it doesn't help that the rules have leant into it (gangraping a corpse for +1 to necromancy rolls. fuck sake.). Or they're really into it in a way that becomes everyone else's problem, which gives Giovanni players and fans a bad name.

As for the others: Cappadocians are, with the greatest of respect, even worse off than the Giovanni. They're here to go, created so they can be destroyed, everything about their setup feeds into or draws out of grand-scale loopy-loo metaplot ideas, and it's a constant struggle to drag them back down to where your average player character is at. Nagaraja have always been weirdly popular and possibly one of the less stupid bits of the Black Hand. Samedi are definitely also there, one of those concepts that's cool on paper and just... lazy racial profiling in practice?

The Hecata represent an opportunity to cinch all that off and say "hey, this is the Clan of Death now - a sprawling family cult that worships blood, money and death, not even in that order, and is basically the Swiss Bank to the rest of Kindred society. Neutral third party, go-between, handshake across the battlelines." Except it was overseen by a developer who, god love him, is a professional lore spod and can't bear to let anything go, so all that old baggage was dragged forward too and presented as part of the whole rather than what Loresheets should be, strictly optional opt-in references to stuff that doesn't really matter unless you want it to.

[thydungeongal]

I'm finally starting to think of the RPG idea I started thinking of a few days ago and how to actually design it.

At this point I'm not married to any system for the game. I'm simply going to be thinking of what I want an average game session to look like, what the expected gameplay experience and emergent narrative will be, and identify what I think would make for the most interesting decision points to actively engage players with making mechanical decisions in that narrative.

Even though the genre is going to be "fantasy adventure" it's not going to be a dungeon crawler. The manga Berserk is, as always, a big inspiration for me, as it is an extremely emotionally resonant story set in a dark fantasy world. I want a game that can at least somewhat emulate the action and character arcs of Berserk with actual mechanics in place to create player incentives for playing their characters as conflicted, multi-faceted people (Keys, a mechanic borrowed from Lady Blackbird and The Shadow of Yesterday, is, heh, key to this.) and to give characters rewards for living according to their internalities (while at the same time giving incentives for changing as people, which is exactly what Keys do as a mechanic).

Anyway, once I do identify what I want to be the interesting decision points for players I do need to ask myself where I want fortune to come in or if I even want fortune to play a role. Let's be fair, though, I don't quite trust myself to design a diceless RPG as my first proper RPG design project, so it's probably best to assume that the game will have fortune in some form. While I did recently have lots of thoughts about cards in RPGs, dice are ultimately easier for me. So it's safe to assume that dice will be used.

And I can first start with a very simple principle in those decision points:

When the outcome of something (a character action, some variable in the situation, a random event) is unclear, present it as a yes/no question and roll d6. On 1-3, no. On 4-6, yes.

I've actually basically made a universal resolution system, but everything has a 50% chance of either happening or not happening. It's a good enough starting point, but for each specific situation I can ask some further questions:

Should the probability be somehow affected by a character's capabilities? To what extent?

Should the probability be affected by external circumstances?

Should the probability be affected by something in the GM's prep?

Is there something players can do to manipulate the probability?

Does this situation warrant a more finely grained spread of results than yes/no?

And once I have answered these questions I can start to look at how I want the probability to look like for that situation. Eventually I can start grouping similar situations together (for an example, if I have decided that both combat and exploration and interaction should all be affected by character capabilities I can start thinking of whether they could be all arranged under a system where a character's stats are used to alter probabilities one way or another) and turning one-off mechanics into more broadly applicable ones. And once I've done that I can start thinking in reverse, at how to extrapolate more specific mechanics out of those more broadly applicable mechanics.

This is, of course, not the only way to go about this. I could also start with a mechanic and then think of a way how that mechanic could be turned into an interesting source of narrative and conflict in game. For an example, I could start with the following Key:

Key of Guilt Your character has a guilty conscience for transgressions they have committed, either real or imagined, and it informs their every action. Gain 1 XP every time the character helps someone in a situation that reminds them of their past. Gain 3 XP every time the character's past comes back to haunt them and places them in harm's way. Gain 5 XP every time the character saves someone from the fate they inflicted on someone else. Buyoff: Your character absolves themselves of their guilt and chooses to start living again.

And think of what types of situations a character with said Key would be cool to see in and what kinds of action that situation could contain. (I'm not entirely happy with the above Key, but it's a starting point.)

[itlivesproject]

Hello,

I have played It lives Within uncountable times and am constantly amazed by all the care put into the game. From the customisable mc to our choices actually affecting the game. Not to mention how complex the storyline seems. It is truly a marvel of fan work and in all honesty, it has been inspiring me lately into daydreaming about a possible Most Wanted continuation or a The Crown & the Flame tribute.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am not asking you guys to do those. I have read through all your posts and understand that this was a passion project and how rude it could be to demand anything more. However, I would love it if you have any advice for me on how to develop a project like this.

Thank you for your time and possible help :)

Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad it's had such an impact 💕

A lot goes into a project like this. Honestly looking back on it, I think ILW was a bit of a miracle. I happened to gather to right team at the right time, we were able to work well together, and we had an amazing fandom supporting us and helping to motivate us through to the end.

To do a project like this, you need a team of programmers, artists, and writers who feel passionate about the project and proud of the work they do. Then you need a visual novel engine. All the Choices fan projects around use Ren'Py, I'm pretty sure. Our code was closed, but I've been thinking about opening it up so people can see the programming themselves, use it to help them make their own games, and even put their own assets into ILW like custom outfits/mc edits, if they want. (lmk in comments/reblogs/asks if that's something you'd be interested in to see if that's something we should bother with).

And uhhh yeah once you know how the VN programming engine works, it's just about understanding interactive, choice-based narratives and branching, and how it goes into telling a story. A technique I really like to use, which we employed in ILW, is a limited but distinct personality system for the MC, and a "loyalty" path that is impacted by choices throughout the game (in ILW blood vs shadow), and affects the resolution. But there are a lot of things you can do with it.

Sorry, this is more rambling than advice, but I hope some of it was helpful.

[eatmangoesnekkid]

Accidental Post Deletion —4 Parts

Part 1

Ya’ll are asking incredible questions in my inbox which helps me to refine what I write and teach to support other women in the future. I am taking a week or two off these apps but please keep your questions coming mm. For now I leave you with a quote by Nicole Daedone. I just finished two books in her series “The Eros Sutras” —even if you are like me, and are non-hetero—it’s definitely a gate opener no matter your sexual desire. But if you are heterosexual, how lovely, because her books speaks more from that lens. FYI—This is a long post! 

“….This is the type of sex where it feels as if she and her partner are possessed by something deeper from the bowels of the earth, something from her own body and consciousness that comes through with voraciousness and a self-less benevolent agenda. Both parties can let go entirely without feeling like the other can’t fiend for or handle themselves. This is a very uncommon channel for a woman to open but when she can and does, it is a sign that she has built a high level of power.” —Nicole Daedone 

My God. I don’t read books that are similar in coding to my own forthcoming books but decided to pick up her work and read them in two days! Yes Nicole all of this —that’s it ! I highly recommend her books to you loved ones but not because I agree with everything she writes(nor do I need to in order to love it/something) but mmmm I do adore it alll —so good ! 

I speak about sexual desire often because it is the most valuable and powerful resource received from truly living connected to our body that affects our creativity (health and wealth) in clandestine ways that this world wouldn’t dare speak about. And because we live in a female body that contains an organ whose only purpose is to generate pleasure, we were divinely architected to feel arousal energy simply because we feel the warm sun on our face, taste yummy homemade food on our tongue or see our lover walking towards us in the distance. In addition, to live pleasurable everyday lives (which is not to same thing as being pleasure-seeking in a hedonistic way or addicted to peak states from plant medicines) has to include the ability to repair and regenerate our tissues through skillfully mastering the “darker” aspects like our ego, thoughts, beliefs, and unconscious fears, shadows, and triggers, and sexual creative life force energy we were taught to distrust, shun, and repress but actually permits our energy to flow better in brighter healthier thriving ways, from darkness into light. In other words, you will be 80 year olds and deeply self-regenerative and alive and thriving in your tissues, you see.

But I have to give it to you from behind in plain layman’s terms so that you can fully grok what I’m conveying. You should feel the desire to want to fuck for no reason at all even if celibate and going on your morning walk in the sun on a beautiful day and not only feel desire when your lover is sucking your breasts. “Feeling delicious in your female body” not because, but just cause— is the key to winning at this game we are playing. Feeling good, however, doesn’t bypass experiencing denser emotions like yearning, anger, loneliness, or sadness but welcomes them, whatever is true, without you needing to run away and push them down. Regeneration is only possible with the refined skills of alchemy and integration, where base metal turns into gold wings, you see.

Like me, I know many of you are creating your own new body and life narratives, even if they are as simple as waking up on Monday mornings slowly and rested without an alarm clock and doing what the fuck you want to do with your day, no longer pigeonholed into following the status quo outdated script that looks like …..

wake up with an alarm and rush off to work; sit in traffic with a compressed spine; eat crappy cafeteria food at lunch that messes up your digestion (which impacts your mental clarity and ability to merge with quantum information (divine energy) and procure and digest new narratives); come home exhausted because you felt you had to give all your life force in exchange for money to men at the head of a corporation who could care less about your wellness; and unbox a microwave meal because you are too tired to chop for real nutrition (or to make love with your Beloved). Then cap off the night by watching TV until it’s time for bed and do the same thing the next day.

This is the pimp-prostitute archetypal pattern of a typical Western household and as Sylvia Plath alluded to “you can’t feel reality, only a weariness and longing…” where the only solutions are addictions and coping mechanisms to numb your body from feeling and detecting its own lack of fulfillment and accompanying heartbreak. And I want you to know that I have been there before when I worked as a corporate accountant in my 20s —that’s why I can write about it so well. I had the same common, conditioned Westernized struggles. In some way, we all do, until we wake up in this game and get free.

I have lived in a state of constant and deliberate creation since I was in my late 20s and started studying/integrating the mind-biology connection and witnessed how the quality and impact of our future/creations are influenced from the inside out by the quality of our mind and health. It is also why I have lived a quality of life over the last 15 years that most people can’t fathom or believe is possible. If we are to be artists, teachers, dancers, mentors, athletes, entrepreneurs, etc. , we must amplify our sexual energy in order to create in epic ways because this is exactly what billion dollar corporations do when they extract nearly every drop of life force from its employees that not even a six-figure monthly salary could ever make up for. If you do work in a corporation, how lovely but you must also be so strategic and masterful in how you experience your job every single day like a martial artist in order to not get sucked in as a pawn in their system and as a result, too tired and drained to do the magical and miraculous with your own divine-given energy or LIFE or too fearful to consider other possibilities beyond working hard day in and day out for someone until you are 60 years old or become unwell. You must be strategic in not giving all your life force away to the company you work for every single day you log into their system.

What my first book “You Look Like Something Blooming” modeled is that we can create sustainably and live beautifully in atypical ways. We can create imperfectly and even have typos, yet our work/book still massively sells on its own 15 years later without advertisements. And no one really knows our secret sauce because it all happens so calmly, quietly, and humbly through word-of-mouth without our need to track it or shout in order for it to be seen. That’s the level of freedom, resourcefulness and deliberate creation we must stimulate passively in different ways in this new earth.

It is not enough to merely create something —you must create what has its own pulse and heartbeat and can drive and influence this world without you having to exhaust yourself by convincing others to purchase. That means that you have to 1. open up the congestion in your body with care, stretches, yoga, breath and consistency. 2. Hold, amplify, and channel your sexual desire. 2. Reconcile your fear programming around sex and have really passionate sex if you are not celibate or in a period of fasting and channel your sexual energy into higher frequencies as a way of life 3. Then boom —you create soulfully at astronomical levels.

Part 2

There is so much power hidden in the depths of the female body that wants to come through and heal and advance us all and this world. Being in Milano and drinking organic juices, eating fruit and reading The Eros Sutras on relationships and intimacy in warm sun on a balcony with very little blue light screen time has been uplifting and soul-opening. Healing, mental clarity and manifestation are simply the release of deep congestion in the body (often inherited ancestral imprints or religious, cultural, or social conditioning and programming and the accompanying ideas of who we “think” we are). 

Basically it is a ferocious ego death that happens over and over again in different ways and at different times. As the congestion releases in increments overtime, now you start to rebirth and truly feel, sense, intuit, move, inhale deeper and open your hips, back, etc., with a little more ease than before, experience miracles, and create at a higher level in other ways as a result, no matter what that creation looks like for you. As souls living in human bodies, the success we desire in life always begin in the liberation of the female body. Those are my words/sensations I write here that moved through me after reading.

I was a little down in the dumps before coming to Milano. I am spending part of my vacation alone in the quiet doing nothing but reading, feeling, stretching every few hours, and making my homemade purple sea moss and aloe soap topless in panties in 90 degree weather. Even though my preferred state is butt-nakedness, there is a large window the tenants across from me have a clear view to see inside and I refuse to close ‘not narry’ curtain or window. I am also unwinding some old stories I continue to grip hold of but need to let go of as my next step right action. All of this may feel strange and self-indulgent to some people. This says to me that western normative culture is not only difficult to be healthy in but also toxic to how we think, perceive, listen, and create from living in cultures whose neural and structural frameworks are “go go go…just do it…fuck your body and your feelings. ”

I read the other day how women are pulling back from the workforce on average 15 years earlier than men because of their debilitating moon time and menopausal symptoms effecting their hormones, libido, and quality of health. In other words, we either change or the earth forces us. 🫀🫀🫀🫀

part 3

My main critique of Nicole’s work: if I could edit my comment I would say my eros is “not ONLY” about my attraction to same gender but about my embodied relationship to my divine energy.” Gender is so tricky and complicated to me because I have never felt that any of my female lovers have been the same gender as me—two females are far too vast in their frequencies to be the same—we are wholly multidimensional and diverse like our individual gut microbiology. I truly believe it is up to us to clear these kind of flaccid miscalculations and computations on what it means to be a sexually liberated woman and wake up to the erotic power in our hearts, hands/fingers, etc …but I digress 🥰🕯️🤲🏿

Part 4 And lastly but most importantly —you must kill that archaic shame living within your body parts. This was my very first time practicing this choreo and the teacher called me up to be a lead and I accepted without hesitation. What I learned in this class is that I don’t have a lot of shame living within my body parts. I will high-tail myself right on up to the front of a dance class if I am called up there and smile every bit of the way even though I have no idea what I’m doing or what the steps are. This was a liberation dance for me. I hung in there like a prayer flag, smiled my ass off and even sucked my finger because I was feelin’ the light of love from shaking so much! 🕯️💡⚡️ 🤣 —India

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A post shared by India Ameye Author +Female Mentor+ Soft Life Pioneer Since 2009 (@india.ameye)

[vampiricsheep]

What's Banni's best and worst relationships, and what is their view on it vs yours?

What's Brans favorite vacation spot?

What kind of fish would Quincy be if he was in the open ocean instead of a secluded swamp?

Ollie's favorite prank?

Shadow's favorite dream (for each form)?

What's the best job Lily's ever worked?

Tell me in general about Bogg I know nothing of this rat!

Banni -

hmm, that first is a difficult one because they've been in many relationships of many flavors, many of which ended in disaster. While not the worst relationship independently, I think their first might have been the most damaging - a closed relationship with a very possessive and demanding person that didn't really put much thought into their needs - because it served as the set-up to assuming all relationships were supposed to hurt, and started to shape their views of how they were supposed to act and what they could expect in life. (If you asked them though, and i would agree as an isolate instance, the relationship that followed may have been one of the absolute worst, for reasons i will not detail here bc theyre pretty dark.)

For a more abstract category rather than specific situation, the worst kind of relationship, to them, is a closed relationship with a very distant / detached partner. They're a very physical person that craves affection and physical intimacy, and they're naturally polyamorous, so monogamy makes them feel like they have to lock up their feelings and not get close with anyone other than their partner. Their ideal relationship, naturally, is an open one with a partner that is also very physical. That's probably the direction things will go if Banni and the teragriff (name pending) do get together for more than a brief frenzied period! I'll also say they have a good thing going in the timeline with @/dissidiacloudstrife's Vale :>

Bran - good lord the man does not take enough vacations. While I always think climate first, I have to remind myself bran isn't actually the outdoorsy type and wouldn't have fun camping, so he'd want somewhere with clean water, a cozy bed, and no disasters to tend to. Maybe a return to one of the villages in the greener areas of Elona without the forged and awakened to contend with would be a good fit? Rose would like the climate too!

Quincy - TOUGH question, there are so so so many saltwater fish and I know so few of them. Honestly, though, some variety of shark seems fitting, not a dysphotic zone species though, something that could surface to watch boats. (I am, however, suddenly enamored with the thought of him finding one of those remote sea floor exploration devices and just. grabbing it and looking straight into the camera)

ollie - yknow thinking about this i think they need to learn ventrilloquoy just to fuck with people

shadow - hmmmm, I think as a human, it's probably something as mundane as playing a card game or something similar with a group of friends somewhere cozy where they don't have to worry about interlopers, plenty of drinks nearby and a general sense of silly camaraderie. He hasn't had that very often, and while the guild was a disaster to meet, I think it reminded him how much he missed / longed for just having a group of friends to be stupid with. (It should come as no surprise that bodacc's upbeat attitude combined with being just a bit weird made him really enjoy her company!)

As a jaguar, life is full of different but equally simple pleasures. I think perhaps taking down a drake that wandered too deep into its territory was a special treat in its own way, the satisfaction of taking down an unusually large and dangerous opponent unscathed, a very large meal, and reinforcing its claim on the area. Perhaps if it had made a ranger companion that would have changed the narrative, but I think you'd be hard-pressed to tame it!

Lily - He likes an easy job with good pay and no chatter. Someone once paid double for discretion just because they didn't want word to get out that they were skipping out on their duties to fish, and they hired lily both as cover and to make sure that they didnt end up dead in a tragic fishing accident never to be seen again on account of nobody knowing where they were. It was...weird, but it fit the bill, and now Lily has a story she can't tell for discretion's sake.

Bogg - OH GOD I FORGOT ABOUT THE BUG-EYED DORK LMAO, he was made as a companion to alex (bird-bureau)'s Fenn based on a joke about krewemates wanting to rip each other's throats out over the "are chak and karma related" debate. It is important to note they both study them and have differing opinions. They have a third unnamed krewemate that loves to stir the pot just to see them go at each other (or rather, vibrate in place trying not to kill each other and instead having uh. "heated debates")

[theaudiofiend]

Writeblr Introduction

Hello everyone! This is a bit of a different Writerblr introduction. I wanted to join this wonderful community and chronicle some of my writing projects that I plan to one day turn into an audio roleplay series, maybe even a book, who knows. I'm a Voice Actor and you can call me Fiend. I very much enjoy creating supernatural worlds and am inspired by podcasts like Welcome To Nightvale and The Magnus Archives.

About The Writer

Bisexual with nonbinary tendencies

He/They Pronouns

Three and a half cats in a trenchcoat, actually

I enjoy puzzles and tactical games

I'm Autistic (creating magic systems is one of my special interests, actually)

A world history and mythology nerd

Lover of videogames (RPGs, horror, souls-like)

I could talk for hours about Dark Souls. Days and months even, if you ask me about Bloodborne. Tread carefully.

I enjoy writing about supernatural mysteries, mythology, gay monsters, GNC characters, philosophy, unique magic systems, character-driven narratives and also building complex worlds.

About The Projects

I have created a multilayered Universe for my projects, in which I write different character-driven narratives that affect a world consumed by mystery and the supernatural. These are meant to be interactive stories, so each character interacts with the listener and will be voiced by me in my upcoming audio series!

Beast Beneath The Moonlight: A story about Gabriel, an idealistic intern at a hospital whose life goal is to save as many people as he can. He is turned into a werewolf and is then forced to confront his inner beast, contemplate mortality and understand the true meaning of strength.

Written in Blood: Killian, a very old vampire from a bygone era, struggling to cope with the death of his lover centuries before, trying his best to live his remaining days in peace until his very bloody past starts to catch up to him.

Fiends With Benefits: Levi, a half-demon caught between the Mortal and Supernatural world, expected to be the best by both worlds while not being accepted by either. He lives under his predecessor's shadow until a plot that could unravel Fiend Society is brought to light.

There will be more stories within this world, so stay tuned.

General Aesthetics and Tropes

Urban Fantasy, Hidden World, Supernatural Creatures Are Among Us & They Are Incredibly Hot, Magic is Real, Angst, LGBT+ themes, Bi Vampires, Dark Romance, Sexual Themes, Monsterfucking, Understanding the Nature of Humanity despite not being Human, The Struggle between Logic and Emotion, Found Family, Actually Horrifying Vampires as Well as Stupidly Sexy Vampires, Lesbian Victorian Ghosts, Werewolves but Not Always Wolves. Wait, there's more... Fate Doesn't Exist, God Isn't Real but The Devil Is, Interconnected World where Magic and the Mundane meet, Cosmic Horror, Religious Horror, Body Horror, Death and What Comes After, Interpersonal Drama, Introspection, Tarot-based Characters, Slight Anime Vibes (Gasp), Paranormal Mystery, Hidden Worlds within the Hidden Worlds, Mythology is Real, Man is the real Monster, Dark is Not Always Evil and Light is Not Always Good.

[revoltingbones]

Can we please talk about how weird the Halsin-raised orphans would be?

Of course, through no fault of their own, they're survivors of the unimaginable so a little strange umami is expected.

A wall of text awaits you under the cut. Gird your loins.

They would all have some serious trauma before even meeting Halsin due to the invasion and whatever else led them to be orphaned, then after the game he whisks them away from the city almost immediately.

Mind you some of these children may have been BORN in Baldur's Gate, and others may be refugees who spent gods knows how long just trying to get Baldur's Gate. I can understand that the city isn't a safe place for them anymore, and moving is a necessary evil, but that won't change the fact it may affect them.

Now Reithwin does seem rather close to Baldur's Gate in the grand scheme of things, the game implies it's only a day's journey apart. I'm aware the forced long rest once you reach the city is for narrative purposes, but it still gives the impression it's a day-long walk. The journey should be relatively uneventful from the view of outside threats, but moving that many children for long periods will be taxing on everyone. Assuming no one is lost or has a serious meltdown.

The cracks would begin showing immediately. Now, raising kids isn't easy and Halsin knows he's in for yet another uphill battle. However, the practical reality is that raising a child takes way more than love and good intentions.

Odds are that Last Light would become the first place the commune would set up due to its relative lack of corruption. They have rooms and supplies, and the building is in decent enough condition. There would be next to no privacy, however. Not due to anything nefarious, just simply due to how many people would be in such a small space.

Would these kids have time and space to actually process everything? Or would getting them settled in a fixer-upper situation where all hands must work to succeed keep them in survival mode for longer? They're safe, sure, but not thriving yet.

Now let's finally discuss the adults in the room.

Daddy Halsin, of course. He has a lot of love to give, and frankly, his own wounds of losing his family have also never fully healed. Wounds like that rarely do. No doubt he feels a great sense of empathy and kinship with these children.

However, he didn't exactly thrive as Archdruid. Through his own admission, he was too quick to absolve himself of responsibility. Granted he never chose to be archdruid, unlike how he chose to become a father figure, and intent can change what someone is willing to endure. The fact remains that raising wagonloads of children is a far heavier responsibility than being the leader of a small religious community of ADULTS.

Even if he were to forgo hibernation (which he almost certainly would, he doesn't have the same biological pressures of actual bears, even if the HC of him being a werebear is true) and limit how often he tranced (more dangerous to be sure, but many parents have to live in states of extreme sleep deprivation for a time) are there even enough hours in the day to attend to each child personally?

The other adult in the situation would be Art Cullagh, assuming he survives and is in any state to help. He's an interesting case because he has no obligations to help, from his perspective they just showed up at his door and moved in because Halsin said so. He'd be well within his rights to want to distance himself. The terminally ill rarely have the energy or time to raise children. It's a heartbreaking reality for many families who lose a parent while still having children in the home, but these aren't Art's kids.

Despite that, I believe he'd step up to the plate as best he could. He spent a century warped by shadows and torment, but his biggest concern was Thaniel. Granted, Thaniel was a magical entity that had protected Art, but that doesn't change the fact Art seems aware that Thaniel is just a boy. Art is a good man, practical, humble, and kind. He'd see the same wagonloads of scared, lost children that Halsin sees and would understand that standing by and doing nothing would be unthinkable.

But what could he actually do? He could offer emotional support, an ear to listen, and perhaps music lessons. Outside of that, his condition poses a serious impediment to being more hands-on.

He will also, realistically speaking, be the first death the kids experience in their new family after the move. The kids who have all already experienced the loss of their parents, now lose another parental figure.

Now let's discuss provisions.

In the modern day, it's easy to sometimes forget the truly Herculean task of feeding people is. We have massive farms, and legions of underpaid and often exploited workers to keep said farms functioning. We have fleets of transporters, on land, air, and sea to get the food where it needs to be. We have refrigeration, preservatives, and irradiation to make our food more nutritious for longer. I'm not here to discuss the negative ramifications of this right now when the game is making sure the population has adequate calories.

We also have a large portion of our society dedicated to food preparation. Every factory worker is who involved in making processed foods, and prepackaged foods. Chefs, school cooks, hospital canteens. There are people in the grocery stores who make hot food, or cut and prepare cold foods for consumption. Past all the people professionally involved, we also have societal pressure on women (predominantly) to be competent cooks, as many women are expected to cook for their whole families. In the modern day this pressure has lessened slightly, but historically we subjugated a whole gender to just ensure everyone could eat.

WHO IS GETTING FOOD FOR THESE CHILDREN? Is it Halsin? Because that also cuts into his availability for the children. Is it Art? Given his poor health, I highly doubt it. Thaniel may be able to supply the raw ingredients needed to sustain life, as nature does provide, but raw fruit and veggies alone aren't the best diet for growing children.

Odds are the burden of the eldest child will simply be shared among the oldest, or rather most grown children. They will have to step up and help care for the younger ones. Even if Halsin doesn't ask them to, most children can see suffering in others and are motivated to help. Some may resent it, but there will be many children who feel responsible for their new less grown siblings.

Now let's discuss species and how they age!

We all know the various species of the Forgotten Realms age wildly differently. Goblins cap out at a 50-60 year lifespan if memory serves, Elves can live over 700 years. These children won't all reach maturity at the same time. Some of the kids could live, marry, have kids, and die before their adopted siblings are old enough to even start dating properly. Some could have entire generations before others even have the nerve to leave home.

The children who mature faster will gain responsibilities faster, that's normal and natural, but the forced parental duties would simply be a part of it. Even if it is needed to ensure all the kids make it, it's hardly fair for the children pressured into caring for others. This is another burden people in our world have to shoulder, and we know the price they pay isn't insignificant.

I've more to say, but for now, I've said enough. I adore Halsin, I do think this is what he thinks is his happy ending. I also do believe that this fate is better than being left on the streets of Baldur's Gate, but let's not ignore the realities of what would happen. I tried to keep my headcanons to myself and instead focus on just asking questions, but I do have MANY headcanons.