#Maybe I could do a nice guide how I see it but I genuinely don't have spoons and this is mor like spur of a moment thing

[perelka-l]

different anon from the “can draw him through art block” guy. HOW THE FUCK DO YOU DRAW THE HAIR OF THE DLC CHARACTERS HOW DOES KIERAN’S HAIR WORK HOW THE FUCK DO I DRAW THE T O O T H P A S T E

Oh gosh I have so many anons these days you guys are specifying who you're not.

I have seen some studies and speculations done by Japanese artists on twitter of those two and it's been a while ago so. Chances of finding those again are a bit low but I can try and show what I learned. Sorry for shitty calendar sketchbook page and bad handwriting. I have more thoughts but that's what I managed to fit on page lmao

[cyberm4n]

could you pls do lucifers' oldest daughter x adam, and lucifer disapproves of it and adam rubs it in his face and the reader is innocent and has no idea whats going in between them and is absolutely in love with adam, and smut and possibly daddy kink if possible??♡♡

combined these two cause they work together really well! im so glad i got adam requests cause i am in LOVE with his man rn

cw: daddy kink, smut, readers first time, reader doesn't know of the history between lucifer and adam and i don't explain how, mentions of past tense bad father lucifer, adam is a little shit, not proofread

adam with lucifers oldest daughter reader!

■ OKAY FOR STARTERS

■ if Adam is genuinely interested in a relationship with you, like it's not just to get at lucifer then he's the biggest softy

■ im a firm believer he is a sweetheart in private moments in a relationship

■ to everyone else he's a total jackass but when you two are alone?

■ he's so respectful and loving to you

■ but if you're innocent

■ this man has the biggest corruption kink in the fucking world and the fact he gets to have his way with the daughter of his "enemy" satisfies him more

■ but it does make him feel a bit warm when it becomes obvious just how in love you are with him

■ and anytime you tell your dad about your boyfriend he lights up! so happy his daughter has found someone :)

■ but shit goes down when he asks to finally meet him, he figures if his daughter is in love he should definitely know him

quick recess from that train of thought

■ adam! who's got you laid out on his bed, working his shirt off

■ adam! who hears your little murmur about being a virgin

■ adam! who is immediately rock fucking hard at the fact he gets to take that innocence from you

■ adam! who hovers over you, kissing your neck as he helps you out of your pants, his other hand tugging impatiently at your shirt

■ adam! who can't get over how fucking beautiful you are, all other motives thrown out the window, he just wants to make this good for you

■ adam! who growls when he works a finger into you, feeling how tight you are and hearing you whimper

■ "princess you gotta relax, gonna stretch you out. i know baby, i know. just let me make you feel good"

■ adam! who scissors his fingers in you, desperately trying to make this easier for you

■ adam! whose cock makes you tremble when you see it finally, he's big. i think he'd be above average, 7-8.5ish inches, girthy too.

■ "baby don't worry ill make it fit, daddy's gonna take care of you, okay?"

■ adam! who audibly groans after you don't even bat an eye at his slip up

■ ugh he'd be so sweet as he's guiding it in you, kissing your face, maybe even rubbing your clit to try and get you to relax

■ but just as he's about to bottom out hears a little "s'too much daddy" from you and he swears he could have cum right there

■ if this wasn't your first time he'd be pounding the shit out of you now

■ but he's gentle, at least at first

■ "okay sweetheart, i need more, can you do that?" he'd murmur, so sweet.

■ and then he fucking rails you

■ HEAVY BELIEVER he's gonna try and go atleast 2 rounds with you, maybe more

■ you're just too perfect he can't help it

ANYWAYS

■ so like, you're really oblvious to the beef between your dad and adam

■ like it's just never been expressed

■ plus lucifer doesn't have a great relationship with his kids!! so the fact you've even told him about your boyfriend makes him happy

■ so you go out for dinner! it's a classic! you have no idea why you're boyfriend is acting so weird!

■ what does NOT make lucifer happy is seeing you walk in with adam, his arm slung around your waist

■ he's in denial for a moment, standing from his spot as he meets you halfway

■ "dad, meet my boyfriend, adam!"

■ there's a beat of silence, and you're not sure why

■ but lucifer extends a hand "adam, it's so nice to meet you" he says through gritted teeth

■ tbh both are pretty quiet, only exchanging niceties until you leave for the bathroom

■ adam squeezes your hand as you stand up, watching you walk off.

■ then he turns back to face lucifer, a smug smirk plastered on his face

■ "you motherfucker" "well actually technically im a d—" "shut up, shut up, shut the fuck up"

■ lucifer genuinely has to convince himself not to fucking kill adam right here. reminding himself that his daughter is in love with him.

■ lucifer decides he doesn't have to like adam for him to support you

■ but adam is such a little shit, once you get back to the table he will not shut the fuck up

■ but you seem so happy, lucifer sees the way you look at adam. he sighs.

■ even when adam tugs at your collar a little "fixing it" supposedly but lucifer knows it's definitely just to flash that little love bite he left there

■ and to you it seems like your boyfriend and dad are getting along great! you're so happy

■ at the end of the night your dad pulls you aside, doing the whole dad talk thing.

■ "if he breaks your heart.."

■ but you hug him for the first time in a long time, and he decides he can tolerate this for as long as im happy.

■ your dad loves you, maybe not your boyfriend, but you.

■ and adam.. deep down knows there's a little bit more to his facade. he cares about you, how could he not? this started out as just a way to get under lucifers skin but he's found himself genuinely hoping your dad doesn't try to sour the relationship

■ so when you take his hand as you part ways with your dad he sighs in relief

■ you're all his, and he wouldn't want it any other way <3

taglist: @reaper-of-light-12 @mxxny-lupin @wisteria-songs @t3llas

[curapicas]

Oh look, the donghua is doing the heavy lifting for me and juxtaposing them on its own volition. (kind of a continuation of this)

Plot-wise, Li Tianchen's relationship with Lu Guang hinges basically on trying to manipulate and hurt Cheng Xiaoshi to do his bidding through hurting LG (worth noting this implies an understanding of such attachments, and the viciousness stems from a certain resentment of it + his twisted personality). I don't even remember if he's aware LG also has powers.

but tbh the funniest thing coming out of LTC vs CXS&LG is that, in a weird way, he was actually letting off his anger on the "right target", kinda? Technically? Of course I'm not saying LG deserves it nor that LTC was being anything but unhinged. But I do believe there's more than meets the eye (and probably informs the ways Lu Guang can be confronted on the narrative, more on that by the end)

Bc this show is competent, many characters have parallels with each protagonist, and LTC-LG are no different. There's a post I couldn't find that went on their reactions to their most precious people dying in front of them: whereas LTC loses all hope, LG has the means to go back, and thus doesn't even try to let go. Alas, they're both tacticians who, despiste meaning well for LTX and CXS, end up manipulating them into inaction/ignorance;

And they do so bc both feel adrift and out of options - but the show focus a lot on how powerless LTC feels about his life for it to not be a big factor. LTC fights so hard for a modicum of control that I don't even think it registers how he impacts LTX, meanwhile LG has so many variables stacked against him and his empathetic partner that he ends up prioritizing CXS' survival, even above their connection (he keeps to himself Emma's death, for example)

In the twins past, LG was the one that guided CXS into staying on task. And before that, he hid the photo even from the police. Tbh he'd never see it that way, but isn't this accidentally the best revenge for his stabbing? lol

Either way, LTC loses his hope, blames CXS and believes him to be what LTC hates the most, a nice guy who's secretly a jerk. Except. Who is actually closer to this description? A guy who can be polite but will stay passive if that affects CXS too much, to the point of lying about saving Chen Xiao's mom?

Curious to me he was also pretty straight forward in calling LG a jerk, and maybe it's just because LG botched his kidnapping attempt. But maybe he has pretty good instincts bc I don't think he even knows why he hates the man so much, lol. After all, for all Li Tianchen knows, everyone is a jerk who stands by and watch.

And maybe it makes him even angrier because he finally met someone who also has powers and is willing to call him "friend" and "play" with him. Considering his one friendship was with Liu Xiao, someone he's aware has plans, he might've even considered to have his own pet project on CXS. But the thing is, this person already seems to have a way more genuine friendship, and it's with LG.

Summary: LTC, if only he knew, would hate LG for not changing his past + being a guy who's very much capable of standing by and watch + having an actual friendship with CXS

DISCLAIMER: I think on his own right, Lu Guang values kindness in general. But LTC's vision is too black and white to even account for that.

While I'm on the topic of LG: while his passivity keeps him from being of any effective help to the twins, he's also keenly aware of the butterfly effect and that he could possibly make things worse instead, something CXS has been confronting throughought the story.

And yet. His objective is what ultimately makes us see this approach as instead of wise, more akin to the desperation of a grieving man - not unlike LTC who by the end of s2, gives up altogether of hope and follows the Big Bad. Besides, it somewhat clashes with the fact CXS actually does make a difference for the clients, be it by making the past more tender (Chen Bin's wife has sweeter memories, Dou Dou's life was actively made less worse) or the present better (lesbian noodles make up, Dou Dou's father and Qiao Ling reconcile), which is also something LG is aware of, since he agreed to deliver Chen Xiao's messages. So far I don't personally see a clean, objectively correct approach, thus I'm willing to bet it'll be whatever is diametrically opposite of Liu Xiao's, lmao

-kinda unrelated, but I've seen people mentioning an interview where Li Haoling-laoshi (aka the director) said he tweaked a little with Li Tianchen before s2, and he was meant to be (even more) obsessed with Cheng Xiaoshi, making this whole post even more hilarious

[crossdressingdeath]

I knew it would be risky to give one of the netherstones to that loose catapult Orin, but when I look in her eyes I feel something, though I'm not sure what to call it - and after all, what's the point of a grand alliance of the Dead Three without old Bhaal? I thought I could depend on that aged stump Ketheric, however, it never even occurred to me he could be brought down by a random collection of shabby adventurers. Obviously, possession of the Weapon, but do the vagabonds possess the Weapon or does the Weapon possess them? It's just as the great sages say: a plan will take you only so far, and then you have to fall back on principles. And inasmuch as control is the guiding principle of the committed Banite, it's axiomatic that I must be in control of all three netherstones. The solution is obvious - pit the vagabonds against the loose catapult, and once they bring me the other two netherstones, we'll find suitable positions for them in the new order to follow. Not the illithids' Grand Design, of course, but the Golden Reign of Gortash. Yes, that has a nice ring to it. Then we shall deal with our naughty Absolute brain and its growing propensity to throw petulant psionic tantrums. It's no accident that I chose to place it in a domed cavern beneath the Upper City - the location is perfectly formed to concentrate the psychic force of the netherstones, concentrate it to such a degree that not even our Netherese-enhanced brain will be able to resist my commands. Once I control all three netherstones, naturally, and the sooner the better.

I can only assume this was written in the period between Ketheric's death and the start of act 3 cutscene where Orin reveals that Durge survived and is leading the "shabby vagabonds" who brought him down. I don't think Gortash would've been so dismissive in his writing if he knew his favourite assassin was on their way. Also, he clearly doesn't yet know about how one person alone can't control the brain. It's interesting seeing him talking about how he does in fact intend to stab his remaining ally in the back so that he could control all three Netherstones and the brain when he seems to have genuinely intended to rule with Durge (at least given him being genuine when he re-offers an alliance at the coronation).

It's fascinating seeing Gortash's response to the alliance with Orin as Bhaal's representative versus his response to having Durge as Bhaal's representative. Like... the alliance only exists because he really really liked Bhaal's Chosen. Having him now kind of lightly complaining about having to include Bhaal and talking about how he thought he could rely on Ketheric is absolutely bizarre when you know that all evidence suggests that he had to be forced into letting Ketheric into the alliance because he was entirely happy with it just being him and Durge. The tone of this also doesn't match with how pleased with their partnership he is when he's telling Durge about their plan. Maybe I just have Durgetash brainrot, but it really does feel like some of the spark went out of the whole thing for him once he wasn't going to be ruling with Durge.

Interesting that he seems to have always intended to uphold any bargain he made with the party, even before he realized he'd need at least one co-ruler to keep the elder brain under control. He wasn't going to rule with them, but he wasn't going to kill them either. It's also still very funny that he dropped the elder brain in a place accessed from right beside the Temple of Bhaal while grumbling about not being able to find the temple. And I love him calling Orin a loose catapult, because obviously cannons haven't been invented yet. The etymology doesn't really work (the phrase "loose cannon" refers to a cannon that's come untied and is now rolling around the deck potentially crushing people and breaking shit, which doesn't really happen with catapults), but it's still fun.

[anamericangirl]

It drives me kind of crazy how often I see you having to argue the same points over and over with people. It seems to me as if I should just be able to scroll your blog a bit, get a good idea of your feelings on things, and then know everything I need to know about how you'll answer. How do you deal with this strange, perverse popularity you've garnered? How many times do you think you'll have to tell people that an unborn baby is a person and entitled to all the protections any other person should be? Every other 'gotcha' and nice and narrow circumstance that someone could possibly ask about abortion should be a 'don't make me tap the sign' moment, right? Yes, aborting a child conceived of rape is bad because the baby is innocent. Yes aborting a child because the mother's circumstances changed is bad because the child has a right to life too. Yes, when you fuck someone you're consenting to the risk of bringing a new life into the world, and you don't get to revoke that consent later for any reason. I can't help but think these people keep trying to mental-backflip their way into a position where their beliefs aren't barbarically monstrous has to be coming from some feeling of guilt. At some point in their lives they coerced someone to kill their baby, or maybe they killed their own baby, and if they confront the idea that they took part in killing an innocent person they will burst into flames or something. They're desperate to try to convince people that they're actually a good person, that they're not monsters, and that they don't need to repent for the lives they've ended.

I'm convinced that most people are motivated by compassion, but it's so devilishly easy to trick and coerce people in misdirecting that compassion towards evil means. Change the lens and perspective on a situation and you can find someone gullible enough to believe what they're advocating for is good and righteous. When compassionate people are confronted with the notion they've been tricked and used for evil, I think they tend more often than not to break. They have to twist themselves back up into a deluded mindset to defend their minds and souls from the pain of admitting they were used, and in the process they only perpetuate more evil...

Anyway, I think you're great. The only thing we seem to be able to do with these people is to be a wall they can't break down or climb over. We have to be like concrete, so when they slam into us they only cause themselves pain. There can be no bending or breaking in the face of people that will take any sign of weakness as an indication they are right. If there's any chance of them coming back from where they are, then walls like you need to help guide them along the right path as they seek to slam through you.

I think you are pretty much right. Some of it might be guilt, some of it's misguided and warped "compassion" and some is just straight up indoctrination. That's why for the majority of them, once they make their initial argument they can't engage with you in an intellectual discussion after you challenge it. All they know is the line but they can't rationalize it because they surround themselves in echo chambers where they don't have to rationalize things. They're not used to engaging in discussion with people who don't just nod in agreement with them or don't accept what they say at face value.

And, like, yeah it does get a little tiring to have to say the same things over and over again when it's not hard to find my answer by taking a quick glance at my blog. I've literally addressed every single pro-abortion argument in existence at this point I think lol. But on the other hand I don't mind especially if it seems to be someone who I haven't interacted with before and is genuinely curious (even if it's something I've answered before) versus someone who keeps asking me the same things over and over again and is just completely ignoring my answer or thinks if they slightly change the scenario my answer will be different. And sometimes it's hard to differentiate between those two types of people lol.

For whatever reason, they just can't accept that there's never a time where you have to kill a baby. And that might be where a little bit of the guilt comes in. They see me and others say that and they immediately start trying to invent scenarios (some completely outlandish) where it's necessary to kill a baby. Because if they can't find an exception then that means they have actually been advocating for something truly horrible this entire time and none of them want to admit they've been doing that.

Thanks so much!!

[tokillamockingbird427]

If there was a Ghosts reboot today, what do you think would be changed? Obviously there would be graphics/programming improvements; I’m thinking more about keeping Logan as a silent protagonist/more sympathetic Federation/rewriting history/etc.

-🃏

I agree with you that they'd do graphical improvements and that, but I'm not exactly sure what they would do. I have more ideas for what would be fun for them to do, which range from what I consider fairly realistic to ridiculous.

This is going to get long. "Read More" of mercy upon ye.

Like, I think it would be cool if they added more moments to use Riley. We got so few missions with the boy! I'd love to see more of him. In combat or even on a tracking mission or similar. And I really enjoyed the mechanic of being able to sic him on people.

Along those lines, I think it would be interesting if you could also command the human Ai. Not quite giving orders because you (As Logan) aren't in charge, but just having them cooperate with you like the team you are. "Enemies over there!" kinda thing, so you can guide their attention towards areas you wanna push. Would make playing on harder difficulties not only easier but more satisfying IMO.

More emphasis on the STEALTH part of the Ghosts would also be nice. It does get shown in the game, like during "End of the Line" and especially during "The Hunted" but at some point you always go loud. A mission where you go in and get out without anyone knowing you were there would be awesome.

On the topic of stealth, a mechanic similar to the Assassins creed games where the Enemy Ai slowly catch on that you're there and THEN attack if you suck at sneaking would be interesting. But I wouldn't like it as much if they relaxed entirely and gave the all clear (after a full alert) just because Logan hid in a patch of grass for five seconds. (Or a closet.)

Maybe a dumb idea that wouldn't be executed well but a wave mode which takes place in the hospital Sand Viper took place in (So it's like you're one of the Proto-Ghosts.) where you just fight to see how long you can go would be fun. Extinction still being there would be sick too, just add the wave mode and don't replace the prior.

Story wise, because I've been speaking more mechanics/gameplay shit, I'd enjoy more sibling moments between Logan and Hesh. The moment in the start of Brave New World where Hesh lets Logan sleep in is CRUMBS and I want/need more of that. Aside from them cooperating in field I want to see Hesh worry about Logan and the same in reverse. Have them check on each other. Have them attached at the hip. Have both of them ready to ride or die!

Along the same lines (Again.) more dad moments from Elias. The reason I want this is rather evil... I want him to be so likable it genuinely breaks peoples hearts and traumatizes them when he dies. It hurts already because I get attached to pixels easily but like. I haven't cried. Make me cry.

An actual funeral scene for Elias that isn't Hesh narrating over a dramatic visual please. I love Hesh's tendency for dramatic narration (Which he got from Elias) but I have a limit. Even if it's also a cut scene and not entirely intractable, I think it'd add some more oomph to the clear drama/angst they wanted from Elias's death.

Make Rorke's intelligence more obvious. I feel like it's a part of him that gets missed because people tend to focus on his cruelness and strength but his intelligence is what makes him a real threat. Through the game he is constantly a step ahead, which is obvious in some pats, but less so in others. (Obvious: Federation Day. Less obvious: Birds of Prey/The Hunted. Non obvious: Into the Deep. In all those missions he knew the Ghosts were going to be there and had contingencies. The only time the Ghosts get ahead of Rorke is when Logan and Hesh storm the train. Which I thinks speaks to their skill and his unfamiliarity with them.)

Following the above, I think it'd be neat to have Logan match Rorke in intellect. The sneaky crafty kind of intelligence that'll get you like a knife in the back. Would also be a good way to make said intelligence obvious, if Logan is the one to point it out. The reason he even knows it's there is because he recognizes it. It's familiar.

Give Logan some speaking lines. It's fine if he's still a majority quiet and prefers to let Hesh be his voice but just a few... Let the guy have some agency. And you do have to admit the era of silent COD protagonists is being phased out or is over. A relic from a bygone era...

More of Hesh being a fucking menace, please. Please please please. Begging on my knees. Him going "Checkmate" was the coldest shit ever, and he SCARED/SURPRISED Rorke doing that. I need more of it. (Another example: He just smacks the shit out of a Fed in the Luxor WITH A GUN rather than using it to shoot the guy. Menace behavior.)

Give Logan the ability to use his throwing knife skills more. He does it ONCE in Federation Day and that shit was so clean. MORE.

I actually really enjoy the black/white animated cut scenes between ops more than the ones in (for example) the Modern Warfare games where it's mostly satellite images. They did some pretty cool transitions a few times. Even if Hesh or Elias's narrating annoyed the shit out of me.

GIVE LOGAN A RORKE FILE. Hesh and Elias and MERRICK get one but not my boy??? LET HIM COOK! (I have a soft spot for the Rorke Files, I just think they're neat.)

Make Rorke and Elias gay for each other. Divorced. Toxi old man yaoi in my COD game? Sign me up. (This is the "Ridiculous" end of the ideas spectrum.) I don't care if it's only implied, I'll take ONE line where Elias admits that he and Rorke were closer than a Captain and Lieutenant should be and that's all I need.

Keegan and Ajax also Gae Confirmed please and thank you. I just... I need it. Also don't kill Ajax. I like him and if they do the Confirmed Gae it'd be another case of "Burying Your Gays" and I don't need that. Coma or smthn but no death.

More POC characters. Ajax is the ONE black guy and they kill him. Like are you kidding? Fucking hell. I hc the Walker boys as mixed White/Hispanic, I hc Keegan as Pakistani, Neptune as Korean/American, like c'mon I'm fighting for my life over here. Give me a fucking hand. Jesus.

Make the Ghosts scary. Gimme a mission from the enemies POV (Weather the player knows it or not) where you're just getting hunted in some Insidious-esque bullshit the whole time. Put the "Stalker" back in Ghosts. (Because their official name is STALKER)

I probably have more but I can't remember/think of them at the moment.

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

Oh my god Dandies in Danger just hit me in the heart again- and no I'm not gonna stop posting about it because the audience is so small and I want to take a megaphone and just scream out to the entire world about how good this is-

There's a scene in Episode 14 of Arc 4 that I just finished that genuinely made me emotional in a very personal way. It's a scene between Liam and Adrian, who have been friends for a long time, where Liam apologizes to Adrian for taking him on a 5 hour shopping spree. Now, Liam is a very kindhearted, enthusiastic, social butterfly type, who was very excited to go get some nice clothes and even more excited to hang out with Adrian. Adrian is a very moody poet who (I don't know if this is intended, but still) comes off as probably being autistic. He's very blunt, he's hyper-aware of how other people are perceiving him and his actions, he tends to directly describe his feelings when he pushes himself to be vulnerable with his friends, he's prone to sensory overwhelm, and ect. Some of these traits probably overlap with his clear depression and anxiety as well. He likes Liam a lot, he's definitely his best friend, and he chooses to go shopping because he wants to go hang out with Liam. But the streets are very busy and loud and there are a lot of people, and by the end of the outing he's utterly exhausted. Unfortunately they end up getting swept into an adventure the same day, which involves so much socializing and dancing and investigating and it's a lot.

In the middle of this adventure, Liam and Adrian find some time alone, and Liam stops to check in on him. And he says that he's sorry for not considering Adrian's feelings during the shopping trip. He got caught up in the excitement of it and forgot that this is very overwhelming for Adrian, and he wanted to make sure Adrian knew that it wasn't on purpose and that he didn't want it to happen again. And Adrian says

"It's fine. I know most people can do this every day of the week. Well- maybe not the- the adventure thing- but-"

"I understand. But perhaps next time, if you do want to go with me again on a shopping trip, we spread it out a bit."

And like. Y'all. I damn near teared up. I'm a person with an incredibly low social bandwidth. I have very few friends that I keep very close. And this reminded me so much of how of my own friends have reacted to me when I expressed my own struggles. Or more accurately in some cases, when they noticed the struggles I was failing to express. Especially when I was worried that they would be offended or put off by those things. Things like a friend guiding me by the hand in a crowd because I was so overwhelmed by it all that I was literally shaking and could barely move. Or a friend readily accepting my rejection of a hug and instead thinking up a silly handshake we could do with our jacket sleeves on the spot so that I would feel included without being uncomfortable. And just- jesus christ. It's one of the single nicest feelings I've ever had, and it was deeply cathartic to see that kind of relationship in this show. These characters have become very important to me in such a short amount of time, and I really think that's a testament to the ability of their players. So, thank you Dandies Team. You made me feel very seen :)

[bonefall]

So way back in the day on the original Warriors website, there was an area where you could submit questions about the series that the Erin's would answer and then post the question and answers on a FAQ page. Someone asked about prefixes that the Clans don't use because they're considered sacred, and the answer had been iterations of Moon-, Star-, or the Clan names themselves, so Sky-, Shadow-, etc.

Obviously this isn't true for canon anymore, if it ever actually was (citing here: lack of continuity between the Erins) but I'm curious to know if your AU has any prefixes that the Clan's absolutely refuse to use for one reason or another? Whether they be sacred or maybe they're considered "cursed", like perhaps a particularly evil cat has tarnished the prefix forever. (Such as the lack of Maple- prefixes in canon books post-Mapleshade! Maybe not intentional, but a cool world-building detail nonetheless!)

Stemming from that, do you think any prefixes would/could be turned into insults/curses later on down the line? Basically, what's the culture like for names? My favorite part of Warriors has always been the names, and the Erin's had such a nice thing going until it was tossed out the window. The system you use with Clanmew and all is super neat and I'd love to know more about Clan naming traditions! Also how each leader names cats - idk if it was you or someone else that I follow, but I saw a post talking about how each leader has a distinct way to name their warriors.

(Also small fun fact while on the subject of names, a friend of mine submitted a question asking about who Bluestar's parents were, and the answer was Duskflower and Stormtail. This was a few years before Bluestar's Prophecy was published, so she was very upset over them changing "Duskflower" to "Moonflower" when it did finally come out!)

The Duskflower thing is actually a misconception: What happened was that in a field guide, the Erins wrote that the name was "Moonflower," and then felt that "moon" should be sacred. That's when they started using "Duskflower," until Bluestar's Prophecy came out and they agreed with the editors that the older information should take precedence

(Rare anti-retcon win)

But anyway I have no banned or sacred names! I don't like that concept! Possibly because I am from an old fandom era of 'traditional namers' that just used it as an excuse to bully people and have bad taste. Hawkfrost's name ROCKS MY SOCKS and they all died mad while I'm still here.

My rules with namings is that EVERYTHING must make sense in-universe. So I don't like lyrical naming very much... names like "Friendlyface" or "Empyreanmist" are funny, but I don't see how a kitten would end up with those names unless every cat in their Clan stopped taking their lives seriously

(Or are in WarriorClan. BB!WarriorClan renamings are going to look WILD)

That also means ecologically invalid names get cut or end up being translation quirks. Names like Cypress, Olive, Myrtle, etc.

I don't ban "insult" names either, but I do rule that they are typically ShadowClan. They have a very dark sense of humor.

And yes I am the one with leader naming styles! So far these are the styles:

Bramblestar: terrible. Doesn't consider names beforehand, often comes up with titles that are awkward or unimpressive

Harestar: Reverant and thoughtful, tries to name based on friendships, interests, and quirks.

Mistystar: Names litters according to 'themes,' often sharing suffixes or picking similar ones.

Brokenstar: Only ever gives "cool" names with deadly and strong connotations.

Firestar: Names awkwardly, but genuinely. Surprises his Clan constantly with banger names (Lionblaze) or shockingly uncomfortable ones (Brambleclaw).

Onestar: Names practically, trying to limit suffix repeats and tonguetwisters.

So on.

[events-in-the-velvet-room]

Author Guessing Post!

So for our first annual New Years Community Prompts, we had 6 lovely contributors!

NextTrickAnvils ( @nexttrickanvils )

Ravenoftheskyes ( @ravenoftheskyes )

Oceantoast ( @ocean--toast )

marshie_marshmallow ( @purplespacefairy )

shadow_reader (I don't know your tumblr, please send an ask or DM me so I can add you if you want)

a_salty_alto ( @yusuke-of-valla ) (aka me)

They contributed 11 wonderful works!

All I Want For Christmas is Yu

Nanako wants nothing more than to see her big bro come home for Christmas. But unfortunately, that’s not happening.

But maybe the magic of Christmas can help…?

Countdown

Happy New Years from Toshiro and Takuto!

Cracks in the Stained Glass

Yusuke finds himself in Ueno, staring at that genuinely bright portrait being subjected to the harsh artificial brightness of the spotlight. It feels so hollow here, surrounded by other works of art and gawked at from afar rather than being the quiet fireplace it had been in LeBlanc. Yusuke wonders how long it had been there without him thinking anything more of it than the pedestrians stopping and passingly mentioning its beauty before moving on.

How easily he had fallen into the same blind contentment as Eve. Allowing Maruki to guide his thoughts as far back as October, easing him into the idea that he could be happy being so divorced from the art that inspired his career path like this

glory and gore

The Metaverse is amazing. She can move just as well as- no, even better than Kasumi. Feats that no human could ever actually pull off are possible in this world. She has power running through her veins and she can do anything.

And it’s the one thing that Kasumi doesn’t have.

A Leg Up

The Metaverse starts taking a toll on Ryuji’s leg.

make me feel something

Toshiro meets a strange man at a bar

Oh Captain, My Captain

Toshiro gets bullied into confessing his love for Eri by a 19 year old boy he met two minutes ago.

Operation: First Date

Yosuke wants to ask Labrys out on a date, there were just a couple hurdles for him to get through.

Really bad day in Mementos

A day where things go very, very poorly for the Phantom Thieves.

Prompt:

Characters getting afflicted with some of the weirder SMT status conditions such as Vamp, High, Drunk, Guilt, puppet, etc.

Red Alert!

Rise finally hits the button.

Self (in Approximation to Others)

All she’s ever wanted is to be loved the way that Kasumi has been. The way that’s been afforded to her for just existing in a way that Sumire was never good enough for. Not even good enough, just never enough to deserve.

“I know I don’t say it enough but that’s one of the reasons that I love you, Sumire.”

Her red bangs fall in front of her face and her glasses clang on the tile when she lowers her chin. Her jaw tightens and her hands ball into fists. She thinks she hears Akechi but she can’t understand a thing that he says. “Shut up.”

If you still want to have some fun, you can guess in the comments and tags of this post who contributed what!

Ground rules:

No guessing on the fics themselves, because it'll be awkward if you're wrong.

Be polite! If you don't have anything nice to say, you don't have to say anything at all!

If you can, comment on the fics themselves! They turned out great!

If you don't want to comment, share this post so others can see everyone's hard work

Authors will be revealed next week, so let's start off the year with some fun! Good luck!

[lumeha]

I've just gotten the Switch Online Expansion Pack because it gives me a year's access to a bunch of games, including Fire Emblem the first. I know you like the series and I don't know much about it - can you sell me on FE1?

I, hm. I do wish I could sell you on FE1, but I will be honest - I don't think I can ?

I have it on my Switch and never finished it myself, and I haven't even been able to play the remake (my DS copy just... freezes, woohoo). And... I would say, for a contemporary player, it's probably a super rough place to start the series. You don't get a screen giving you information before you start a fight, for example, which means you need to know your units stats AND the enemies stats before you attack them /o/ (<- that feeling when you started with GBA emblem that gives you everything all laid out nicely). Hell, I'm not even sure I checked where I can find the different weapons stats. Which. Maybe it was in the manual and I don't have that habit any longer, it's been a while ?

I do want to say, I don't think it's a bad game at all, quite the contrary, especially from its era. The series has a whole has inherited a lot of the bones and blood of the first game, and I found it surprisingly agreeable to handle when I played it ! I suck at it and should probably check a guide to get advice on how to beat it, but it is genuinely quite nice to handle and play, the graphics are genuinely charming as all hell (it's that NES charm), the music is also really nice, and. idk. idk how to say it, but. While I didn't go super far into it, I think the story is really charming, Marth is a character I enjoy, and there's something just fun (as a fan of the series) to see where so many archetypes of the games started.

But, uh, yeah, I don't think I can recommend it as a first game to check the series out (that would be my beloved Sacred Stones - I think it's a fantastic introduction to the series thanks to the difficulty curve and I love the story), and I'm not the best to sell it to someone, mostly because I, myself, struggle quite a bit with the game itself ^^;

(... I will sell you on the Sacred Stones if you want to ahah)

[parttimesarah]

💜 My immediate takeaways from WWDITS 5x1&2 💚

First off, I LOVE how much we are seeing the production crew of the documentary so far! I love the mockumentary format and acknowledging it more just adds to the comedy for me!

Ending that first post-Derek-bite scene with Guillermo saying "There's no turning–" !?! I mean, that has to be foreshadowing!

I know we all said we want to see more jealous Nandor, but him not knowing that he should be jealous is going to be SO delicious!

Introducing the idea that Nandor has been trying to get in touch with his feelings and acknowledging the work that others do as "OK" is a lovely first step towards him genuinely appreciating Guillermo.

The face Nandor initially made when Guillermo said he wasn't going to be around all the time! 🥹 Reality is going to breakthrough for him, I can feel it!

The look of the vamps is on fire! Laszlo's hair is a bit longer and he is wearing the hell out of those clothes. Nandor is looking slightly tan, which is nice, and his beard looks a bit fuller. Nadja is gorgeous, as always! Guillermo without glasses was cool, but I'm also kind of glad he will be keeping the fake lenses.

POOR GUIDE! She is such a sixth wheel in the vampire residence, but I am so glad she's there as a female presence alongside Nadja again. And she got a picture in the credits!

Seeing Nadja get energized by reconnecting with her heritage was awesome. I'm not sure I'm totally onboard with the hex subplot, but Nadja focusing on kindness to get rid of it will be enjoyable and makes sense as a character motivation for a number of episodes.

I'm not sure where the doll subplot will lead outside of the information we can glean from the teaser footage (something to do with helping the doll lose her virginity?), and I'm not sure exactly how much I'll want to keep returning to that plot.

Colin is back on form with his adult energy-sucking ways. I particularly enjoyed him with the other vampires. I missed that dynamic last season. I do hope the election sub-plot doesn't feel too forced when it shows up.

The idea that Guillermo can heal himself, be out in the sunshine, eat regular food (especially tons of protein), and maybe have other elevated senses, could actually make him the most powerful character in the whole show and I'm all sorts of here for him realizing that!

I LOVE The Barren/Baron and the Sire being introduced already, I hope we see them again. Using them as the sages who have the most vampire lore but are essentially an old retired couple is such a sweet idea.

Derek being a friend of Guillermo's throughout more of this season would be so great. Guillermo hasn't really had a platonic friend so far in the show. I think Laszlo and he are getting there, but their relationship is SO much more complex.

Seeing just how in touch with his own emotions and vulnerabilities Laszlo has become is lovely. Seeing him holding hands with Nadja on the couch was so sweet. It makes him keeping Guillermo's secret that much more believable. Guillermo confessing to him (even though he believed Laszlo knew already) shows that Guillermo feels like he can trust Laszlo too.

Laszlo saying that he might be able to convince Nandor to bite Guillermo?! I'M SORRY, WHAT?!

And finally, can I just say, LASZLO ALL ANGRY AT GUILLERMO AT THE END BUT STILL CONCERNED FOR HIM WAS SO FLIPPIN SEXY!

That's all I got for you for now! Two rewatches tomorrow when I stream it for my friends who don't have cable, then GIFs to follow! Let me know if you have GIF requests!

Here's to theories and imaginings for the next week! xx

[lostcauses-noregrets]

Was it ever confirmed Mari was in love with Erwin? Is there any more sources about their relationship? From tiktok to twitter, people always say Marie was in love with Erwin but Erwin turned her down and she settled down for Nile. But I never got any confirmation for this and it always sounded like a headcanon, if it is, it doesn't sit well with me that fandom loves to paint a female character who has her own family and children like someone who was always in love with another man and not her husband because she was rejected especially after how Historia and Mikasa are treated every day.

PS. I know Erwin wrote love letters to Marie for Nile but it doesn't explain anything to me since she was thinking Nile wrote them to her, he was whom she was picturing. I don't know a lot about smartpass aus and character interviews that's why I am asking about additional Marie info.

Thank you so much and I hope you are having a great, Eruri filled day <3

As far as I know there is nothing in the manga, the Smartpass stories, or the supplementary guides to suggest that Marie was in love with Erwin. We don't even know if she knew that Erwin had feelings for her. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. The only information we have about Marie is the conversation between Erwin and Nile in the carriage in chapter 53, and the two Smartpass stories Erwin’s Letter  and  The Incident of the Scout’s Mysterious Advertisement everything else is just speculation and headcanons.

I think it's because we have so little information about Marie that so many headcanons have grown up around her. She's a useful blank slate that fans can project all kinds of personalities, theories and ideas on to. I'm guilt of this myself. I've written Marie into numerous fics where she appears as Erwin's former fiance or lover. My headcanon for several modern AUs is that Erwin had a relationship with Marie and genuinely loved her, however he realised they wanted very different things from life so he chose to split up with her, rather than committing to a life that would make them both unhappy. This is from Sealskin for example:

It had hurt. It had hurt more than Erwin could have believed possible. And what hurt the most was that he knew he had been right. He had loved Marie, there was no question of that, but he also knew, had known for years in fact, that he couldn’t give her the life she wanted, with the nice house and the nice car and the nice kids. The very thought of such an existence was anathema to Erwin, like being trapped for life behind impenetrable walls. It wasn’t fair to Marie, to promise what he couldn’t give, so Erwin had done the decent thing and ended the relationship. Marie had been devastated of course, so Erwin could hardly blame her when she sought solace and a shoulder to cry on from one of their friends. And when his former fiancé got together with his oldest friend, Erwin had been genuinely pleased, he’d even toasted them at their wedding six months later. If he had felt the loneliness seeping into his bones when he had returned home from the marriage celebrations to his empty apartment, he silenced his doubts by telling himself that he had done the right thing, the honest thing, the only thing that was fair to Marie.

As far as headcanons go, I don't see any conflict with Marie falling in love with Nile and marrying him after splitting up with Erwin, that's just something people do. I am very much not a fan of scenarios where Marie is shallow, vacuous, or vindictive because that just smacks of misogyny to me. To return to canon, all the information that we have suggests that Nile and Marie were very happy together, regardless of any past history she may or may not have had with Erwin. Bless them.

[halfdead-halfskeleton]

Notes:

You have a burnout and Rook is comforting you.

"Melancholic" once again, so maybe a bit OOC? HCs/fic/whatever it is too.

I don't know how to deal with burnout effectively and properly, so don't take it as a guide or anything like that.

Let me know if you want to see my hcs about how Rook deals with his burnout.

One day, instead of going to NRC like usual, you studied from home using one of Idia's spare tablets. Nobody knew why you suddenly decided to do that. You didn't look sick yesterday, you didn't say you felt sad or exhausted. Your friends just thought that you probably caught a cold again or simply wanted try out the tablet. But Rook, on the other hand, was more than aware something was wrong, even if he couldn't say exactly what at first.

You looked so cheerful the day before it seems suspicious to him. Rook decided not to comment on that back then just in case you genuinely felt so happy.

But when you didn't show up to classes in person he knew it wasn't the case.

So, he decided to secretly leave you some gifts in the afternoon!

Your comfort food, some favourite sweets and drinks, even photos you took together while exploring woods behind the campus.

It did surprise you at first, but you immediately could tell it was Rook's doing. He wasn't nearby so you thanked him in your mind. "I'll do it in person later," you thought.

While all of these gifts were great and they did make you happy at first, your mood suddenly went down.

You felt guilty for making him worry. And you knew these presents won't give you energy to go back to college to socialize and study with barely any breaks. And don't forget about cleaning up everyone's mess...

In a few days, you stopped showing up. At all. You didn't even use that tablet. You couldn't bring yourself to get out of bed, let alone study. You tried to get up but kept falling back, if your body even tried to listen to you in the first place. But a sudden loud phone call managed to get you up instantly.

You picked the phone in panic, your heartbeat was so fast you could hear it loud and clear in your head.

The person who called you was Rook. He paused before speaking so you could catch up your breath.

"Good morning! Hope you're doing better, we all are worried about you here. If you need medical help, I can bring you to the nurse office at anytime."

You reluctantly responded, "I'm glad to hear that but... I can deal with that myself."

"Can you? You're going to overwork yourself again and burnout even more. So please, let me lend you a hand."

"I don't need to go to the nurse though, I'm not doing that badly."

"But are you taking care of yourself?" You didn't respond. You genuinely forgot or just didn't have energy to do your daily routine. You even forgot to eat some of the sweets he gifted you. "I'll visit you once I'm done with my work, alright?"

In the evening, when Rook entered your room his eyes were locked on you. You looked clearly exhausted, half-dead if you will. You didn't even brush your hair this morning. Yet he still found you beautiful.

He kept murmuring compliments while brushing your hair. You smiled out of reflex, even though you didn't feel super comfortable. You were so used to taking care of others, it felt so weird to be taken care of.

"This sweet little smile of yours is just so magnifique! You know how to charm people in an instant."

Rook even did your makeup! And helped you to get in warmer clothes, as it was a bit chilly inside your room.

Afterwards, you had a nice dinner. He made sure to choose something both healthy and what you would've liked for 100%.

When you said you didn't have much appetite and left a bit of food untouched he understood that. You kept feeling like you forgot something important and just couldn't make yourself eat because of that.

Suddenly being taken care of like that was pretty overwhelming to you, so you asked him to leave for a while. "I'm genuinely sorry, but... I really need to stay alone for a while. Could you go outside for some time? You're a vice housewarden, I'm sure you have a lot of work. There's no need to spend so much on me anyway."

"Non, your well-being is one of the most important things for me! But I will leave for half an hour or more, so take a good rest. I'll knock on the door when I come back, agree?"

You nodded and he soon left. It was hard to relax, yet you tried. You lied in bed for who knows how long, staring at the ceiling and not moving. As you began to doze off, Rook gently knocked on the door. Wait, was it really half an hour already? Oh. It was almost midnight.

You quietly said "Come in" as you couldn't get up and open the door yourself. Rook entered the room with some papers. Was it notes for your classes? Yeah, it was.

He cuddled with you until you fell asleep despite trying to stay awake. You remembered what you wanted to do and why you didn't really have appetite earlier. In the end of the day, you still didn't thank him! You began to speak but only a barely noticeable "Rook..." left your mouth. And so, you feel asleep in his arms.

It will take a lot of time for things to go back to normal. And yet, despite everything, there's someone willing to be with you when you feel like an empty shell of your own self. "Goodnight," he softly kissed your forehead before falling asleep as well.

[dragon-appreciator-fray]

Hey.

Willow here.

I'm about to take up a lot of space.

For those of you that don't know us well, hiyas~! 'm the one who picked the name Static Chorus to represent us as a plurality.

Irene and Ire would frame me as the thoughtful one.

I love the big comfy sweaters and crave the unfeeling robot gender. I wouldn't frame myself as the least expressive. But I am definitely the least emotive.

I'm the one responsible for the character Nadir in Weight of Broken Promises: The shadowy mom with neopronouns.

Verity from Ruinous Hearts is... probably also mine.

Of the three of us, I am the one that identified with the nonbinary character in the game that cracked our egg.

I crave being... ill-defined or outright antagonistic.

The moment something starts to feel like a confining box, I want us out of it.

It's taken forever for us to settle on some idealized self perceptions.

But we feel like we're there. It's just I am only really starting to communicate with my headmates and loved ones about what some of that means.

I see myself as a Hell Hound. More scaled than furred. (Can be smooth to the touch if you stroke them one way. I somewhat fondly recall touching snakes to have the best point of comparison.) Dark sclera. Bright eyes. Sharp teeth and claws.

We have always described Ire as the one who keeps us safe. But Ire doesn't see herself as the violent one despite being the only one we trust with violence as a topic. She keeps us functioning in social situations. Ire is who we trust to turn the rest of us off and guide us with a steady head.

I'm the one we really don't trust with external violence. (Irene can speak for herself about the internal stuff.) Anyway... I conceive of myself as an absolutely damned monster.

Not going into the Catholic trauma here.

But I'm someone who took that and learned about my religion out of spite. I made being Christian miserable for everyone around me. My family stopped going to church for literally 80% of my childhood.

I was... unpleasant. Still can be.

To me, Verity was a howling storm of a character who would only ever be able to find peace if she isolated herself from anyone she could hurt.

That is genuinely how I saw myself.

Eventually I realized that the little parts of her that didn't suit her just... weren't me.

If you've had us be sweet and bright and cheery in your DMs, you know how much of a delight Irene can be.

The moment we realized we were trans, I wanted to just... back off. To let her be the one who signs the legal name and be the bright identity we face the world with.

It is an endless relief to know that the part of us that most wants to live could explode into being as wonderful as she is the moment we realized Irene has always been a girl.

But I've kinda gotten bitter about it. I'm the one who kept us going in the depression hoodie forever. I got us this far, but I still kinda delight in existing in context to negative emotions. It's what I know best and most want to explore creatively.

Unfortunately it has become me who, in my most guilty of moments, wants to give up on existing.

We know how much that sucks to hear. We've never wanted to feel smaller or hide more than putting these thoughts into words and share them.

I... genuinely regret telling just one of the people I love this.

And now here I am doing it for everyone.

But I'm the best and most articulated self we have. Gardenia was a cute lil name. Irene can keep it if she wants.

But I want to put Irene Verity Fray down as our full legal name. I wanna live too. As my whole truth.

The Hell Hound has gotta go. But I think I could get used to as being thought of as a Dragon. Means I get to keep the features of my self image I like best.

Anyway. Hi.

For now I'm still Willow.

Nice to meet you.

Maybe one day I'll go by Verity proper.

But I'm just not there yet.

I've got a lot of unpleasant things to work through first.

I think Depths of Promises Sworn is going to become the place for that. But that will mean guiding that story into far more traumatizing and upsetting content than we ever wanted for it.

It means introducing an unpleasant and ungrateful character who still receives the love and affection most of the cast will not think they deserve.

But I got it.

And I'm turning out to be a bright spot in the lives of an alarming amount of ppeople.

So you're stuck with me.

Just know that if you ever want to put down Depths of Promises Sworn, I don't blame you. I certainly wish I didn't have to live through so much of what I have.

But I just can't envision ourselves writing froofy and safe trans content.

We want it slow and messy. Full of backsliding and doubt. I want to trans the monsters or the girls into monsters.

I'm not gonna pull my punches on account of Irene anymore unless she asks me to.

I'm gonna strive to push this system to live its unapologetic truth. All of the good and all of the bad. For whatever that framing is worth.

Probably gonna start by pushing out out of bed when we wake up to go clothes shopping.

It's too hot for us to be running around in pants at work.

There is nothing redeeming about suffering. I will fucking cut that Catholic nonsense out of you if you disagree with me.

[monobmp]

No I completely understand… there’s a lot that could be done with canon that could be really interesting… and I know exactly what ur talking about when it comes to the awkward social interaction margarita LIKE ITS SO PAINFUL IN A GOOD WAY sinks my teeth into them and shakes them around. I think why Bill is so out of pocket with the kids is that they don’t have as much uhh how do u say it.. like they’re kids and no one outside of the know would believe them.. but also like they don’t have the adult brains that go “I’m just gonna ditch this and run as far away as possible” if that makes sense??? Like an adult typically has much more resources. I think Bill was also just genuinely invested in keeping up appearances at first and see how far he could sink his claws into Ford… I always thought that Bill would have a very far removed POV on human socialization and use it like a reference guide on how and what buttons to push, which is really fun bc my major uses a similar perspective to examine human social behaviors

Also I understand the Ford dislike bc I’ve been down bad for him since middle school but dear god he’s an asshole basically for the entirety of the show. Legitimately the only person he’s consistently nice to is Mabel, which to me is interesting when you put that next to his interactions w/ Dipper before weirdmageddon. I suppose it clarifies that he doesn’t really have any disdain for people who aren’t like him, just some really outdated beliefs. But it’s ok I can fix him

There is!!! It's just I'm not really much of a writer though, unfortunately, I love consuming the content, but it's hard to think of suitable content yourself 😔 it's tough 😭😭😭

And YEAH that honestly makes sense. It's giving "I'm the creature your parents warn you about if you don't brush your teeth before going to bed" but no physical harm, maybe just trauma though.

And Bill keeping up the "muse" appearance 💕💕💕💕💕 I still find it crazy Ford calls him "My Muse" and had all that Bill memorabilia 😭 ALSO I really like the idea of him using memories as a reference guide for human socialization, even if he doesn't fully get it. I love it a lot actually, I love learning an outsiders perspective on understanding human mannerisms and dissecting the deeper meaning of it. Like sure he's a little freak in a human POV that aligns dead rats into Ford's name for his birthday, but that means a lot to Bill in his own way, right? Smiles

I DON'T HATE FORD ANYMORE, I'm no longer a young idiot that didn't have the concept of media literacy and can understand more on why Ford was so mean </3 but also he was like, gone from human civilization for 30+ years and was being chased by a triangle for that entire time. Just give grandpa some time to get adjusted again 😊

[wakinguponsaturday]

In lieu of a joke post about how people who choose to do "evil" playthroughs have much greater willpower than I can ever aspire to (was in turn based combat against Wyll with tears in my eyes), I gotta say I'm disappointed with the evil route, at least insofar as it manifests in act 1.

Not in that you lose some companions for attacking the Grove - there should be consequences to suddenly turning on a bunch of innocents - but in that aside from bloodlust or rp'ing that your character hates tieflings, there isn't really a compelling reason to do so. What does siding with the goblins offer? An easier fight, technically, but on paper beforehand you're told to go after 3 people that can each be isolated in the goblin camp, versus the entire druid grove, so why would the player assume the latter would save time or effort? Conceivably they could offer information about the Absolute, but it doesn't feel like there's enough dialogue to justify that - what with Gut trying to kill you almost immediately and Minthara going straight to demanding your obedience. Why do you have to default to an avid worshipper right off the bat, when it would be perfectly reasonable to play into your ignorance and gather information about the Absolute from her followers first, with the promise of more if you gain their respect? I'll admit that this could be difficult if True Soul is already a position of authority, but these interactions could feel a bit more tit for tat by laying out some lore breadcrumbs to pique interest. Or I'm imagining if there were some sidequests or even conversations like that with Rolan, Cal and Lia with the goblins that could lend them some character traits beyond violent and happily violent.

After the raid, you're given the option when speaking to Volo to say that you had to convince the goblins that you were on their side. But when did you decide that would benefit you. What [PERSUASION/DECEPTION] dialogue options or discussions with other party members lead up to that. If Wyll and Karlach are going to advocate for eliminating the goblin leaders, who's playing goblin's advocate? The motivations don't need to be laid out as plainly as the narrator going 'hey, this could be manipulated to your benefit', but it would be neat if everybody had something to say about the possibility of the raid before it actually happened.

I tend to style 'evil' characters as being self-serving and spiteful rather than bloodthirsty for the sake of it, and maybe that's on me for just looking for things the game isn't designed for. But from that perspective, the most in-character choice seems to be skipping out on this conflict altogether. Which I would think most people are disinclined towards in favour of seeing as much of the game (and gaining as much XP) as they can. I would love to have Minthara as a companion, but my power-hungry wild magic sorcerer isn't going to be convinced into some quick genocide on the hunch that she'll prove more open to sharing later. If you're playing a Dark Urge and leaning into it, this probably works well, but it doesn't seem well suited towards other interpretations of what evil entails.

(Also seen other people point out that the druids have some not at all subtle racism going on, and as a tiefling it would have been nice to have the option to save the tieflings and leave the druids to fend for themselves.)

For anyone out there who has sided with the goblins, would really love to hear your thoughts on it/what guided that decision! Or if there's some dialogue that I'm missing out on! I want to like it, but it's looking like a lesser alternative right now. I'm genuinely debating going back, getting Halsin and then leaning into the Absolute with Act II with the rationale that they're presenting an obvious way to get through the Shadowlands. Once it becomes clearer what the Absolute is/how much danger they're in in trying to stand against it, then I can see the characters playing along, but in Act I the motivation feels weak.