#Rune Factory Nicholas

[runefactorynonsense]

Cozytober - Day 9 - Hay Ride

[hug-kiss-marry-kill-farm]

[gentle-giant-swag]

HELLO EVERYONE! I SHALL NOW REVEAL THE BRAKCETS

First up

Wait

MOST FUCKABLE GENTLE GIANT

The A bracket (finished)

Battle 1-16

(most submissions in form 1 and most submissions in form b)

Starts Friday the 9th of June. 5pm CET. The brackets will be posted between the 9-10th of June.

Side A, 9th of June. 5pm to 8pm cet

Raphael Hamato (rise of the TMNT) vs Totoro (my neighbor Totoro)

Heavy (team fortress 2) vs Big Friendly Giant (BFG)

King Dedede (Kirby) vs Scorpia (She-ra)

Bismuth (Steven universe) vs Susan Murphy (monsters vs aliens)

Fezzik (the princess bride) vs Dick Gumshoe (ace attorney)

Master Chief (halo) vs Bumblebee (bumblebee)

Big Macintosh (my little pony: friendship is magic) vs Massimo Marcovaldo (Luca)

The titan (the owl house) vs Tyson (Percy Jackson)

Side B, 10th of June, 5pm to 8pm CET

Ivan Bruel (miraculous ladybug) vs Asahi Azumane (haikyuu)

Takeo Goda (ore monogatari) vs Caduceus Clay (critical role)

Milly Thompson (tri-gun) vs Sandy (Lego monkie kid)

Jaguar D. Saul vs Jean Bart (one piece)

Komamura (bleach) vs William Ellis (identity v)

Beelzebub (obey me) vs Kazanari Genjuurou (symphogear)

Senri (plus anima) vs Murakumo (rune factory 5)

Holly (super lesbian animal rpg) vs Brutus Feels (Kane and feels)

The B bracket (finished)

Battles 17-32

Characters who have returned from the spring bracket and from fandoms I’ve personally interacted with. So the spring bracket but we blacklisted big man

Date: Tuesday 13/6 to Wednesday 14/6, between 5pm to 8pm CET

Side A (Tuesday)

The iron giant vs Baymax (big hero 6)

Gonta gokuhara (danganronpa) vs Jonathan Joestar (JoJo’s bizarre adventure)

Dj (total drama) vs Yasutora “Chad” Sado (bleach

Muriel (the arcana) vs Jasmine (total drama)

Subject Delta (bioshock) vs aaarrrgghh (trollhunters)

Klaus Von Reinherz (kekkai sensen) vs Asterios (fate grand order)

Hunk (Voltron) vs Gooliope Jellington (monster high)

Dragonite (Pokémon) vs Asgore Dreemurr (undertale)

Side B (Wednesday)

Alphonse Elric vs Major Lewis Armstrong (full metal alchemist)

Urbosa (legend of Zelda) vs Glamrock Freddy (five nights at Freddy’s)

Milla Vodello vs Helmut Fullbear (psychonauts)

Dedue Molinaro vs Raphael Kirsten (fire emblem: three houses)

Winston vs B.O.B (overwatch)

Kanji Tatsumi (persona) vs Common Wubbox (my singing monsters)

Mordecai vs Muarim (fire emblem: gay rights path of radiance/radiant dawn)

Minsc & Boo (baldur’s gate) vs Big the cat (sonic the hedgehog)

C BRACKET (ongoing)

Battles 33-48

Those who fell in between the A and the D bracket. So this one has some pretty chaotic matchups

Date: Sunday the 18th to Monday the 19th, 5pm to 8pm cet

A bracket: Sunday

Nicholas St North (rise of the guardians) vs Grear Danes (irl)

Falkor the good luck dragon (the never ending story) vs Susan Strong (adventure time)

Grandpa Max (Ben 10) vs Cerberus (Greek mythology)

Kiryu Kazuma (yakuza) vs Dr Joshua Strongbear Sweet (Atlantis)

Fatgum (my hero academia) vs Takashi Morinozuka (ouran highschool host club)

Will Powers (ace attorney) vs Luther (Detroit: become human)

The Tick (the tick 1994) vs Evan Buck Buckley (911 on fox)

Riki Nendou (saiki k) vs Hearts Boxcars (homestuck)

Side B (Monday)

Shirahoshi vs Tony Tony Chopper (one piece)

Jetfire/skyfire (transformers) vs Indus Tarbella (epithet erased)

Sisyphus (hades) Vs Grog Strongjaw (critical role)

Hugo the abominable snowman (looney tunes) vs Aone Takanobu (Haikyuu)

Android 16 (dragon ball) vs Tiny (ever after high)

Wrecker (Star Wars: the bad batch) vs K (virtues last reward)

Goldlewis Dickinson vs Potemkin (guilty gear)

Yasha Nydoorin (critical role) vs Lily Bowen (fall out)

D BRACKET

Battles 49-64

Aka the one where the contestants sadly got the least amount of votes)

Date: Thursday 22/6th to Friday 23/6th 5pm to 8pm CET

Side A: Thursday

lain chu (dragon hunters) vs Panda (tekken)

Isaroth (genshin impact) vs Bizarro (DC red hood and the outlaws)

Jienji (Inuyasha) vs Jackie Wells (cyberpunk 2077)

Looks to the moon (rain world) vs Jogu (naruto)

Bane Perez (identify V) vs Zinnia (super lesbian animal rpg)

Vulkanon (rune factory 4) vs Argus (Greek mythology)

Mountain (ark knights) vs Taiga Saejima (yakuza)

Abbi (Omori) vs Gorem (bakugan)

SIDE B: Friday

Junko (storm hawks) vs Hajin (monstress)

Gylph (super lesbian animal RPG) vs Bongchun (Bongchun bride)

Fitz Fellow (detective grimoire) vs Bubbles (questionable content)

Dubo (omega strikers) vs Bob the titan (Percy Jackson)

Otto the giant water dog (wondla) vs Kurita Ryoukan (Eyeshield 21)

Mele the Horizons Roar (ishura) vs Gentle Bear (dog island)

The Selfish Giant vs Banjo Lilywhile (the hogfather)

Livio the double fang (trigun) vs Hank McCoy (x-men)

I will make propaganda master posts and if you want to add, just use the ask box or dm me with propaganda for one of the characters who’s going to participate. But that’s all!

May the best gentle giant WIN!

SECOND CHANCE BATTLES FOR ROUND 1

27/6, apricot bracket

Battle 1

Battle 2

Battle 3

Battle 4

29/2, shavedown of the apricot bracket

The battle

1/7, blueberry bracket

Battle 1

Battle 2

Battle 3

Battle 4

3/7, shavedown

The battle

4/7, citron bracket

Battle 1

Battle 2

Battle 3

Battle 4

5/7, shavedown

7/7, durian bracket

Battle 1

Battle 2

Battle 3

Battle 4

8/7, shavedown

The (un)official GGSmod messed up someone’s name post

The crime list

Ask game

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

Part 4 links below the cut!

Evrard from Long Live the Queen VS Mori from Tri City Monsters

Quest from Blooming Panic VS Cliff from Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town

Ashley Wolf from Arcade Spirits VS Kagetsu from Fire Emblem Engage

Lysander from My Candy Love VS Helene from Potion Permit

Yoosung Kim from Mystic Messenger VS Priya from My Candy Love

Seven Lawless from Infamous VS Yuri from Coral Island

Ais from TOUCHSTARVED VS Gus from Cryptid Crush

Shinjiro Aragaki from Persona 3 VS Brocifer from Romancelvania

Fogado from Fire Emblem Engage VS Liam de Lioncourt from Monster Prom

Clive from Heart Fragment VS Mi-an from My Time at Sandrock

Lae'zel from Baldur's Gate 3 VS Rodion from Villainess Idolized by Everyone

Sofia de Sainte-Coquille from Rune Factory 3 VS Mercedes von Bartels from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Arsène Lupin from Code: Realize VS Asmodeus from Obey Me

The Emperor from Baldur's Gate 3 VS Lord Nicholas Acewryn from How Not To Become A Queen

Impey Barbicane from Code: Realize VS Baxter Ward from Our Life: Beginnings and Always

Eli Ryder from Untold Atlas VS Seteth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Syo Kurusu from Uta no Prince-sam VS Julian Devorak from The Arcana

Jeritza from Fire Emblem: Three Houses VS Muriel from The Arcana

Canus Espada from Café Enchanté VS Sol from Romancelvania

Aloth Corfiser from Pillars of Eternity VS Libra from Fire Emblem: Awakening

Sera from Dragon Age: Inquisition VS Hifumi Togo from Persona 5

Kuras from TOUCHSTARVED VS Amir Naltheri from Tri City Monsters

Saeran Choi from Mystic Messenger VS Rock from Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life

Sawyer from Boyfriend Dungeon VS Nakedtoaster from Blooming Panic

Liam from Sun Haven VS Wyll from Baldur's Gate 3

Harvey from Stardew Valley VS Seven from Boyfriend Dungeon

Merrill from Dragon Age 2 VS Artem Wing from Tears of Themis

Karlach from Baldur's Gate 3 VS The Wraith from Hooked On You

Alessa from The Golden Rose VS Mammon from Obey Me

Sam from Stardew Valley VS Chloe Price from Life is Strange

Aela the Huntress from Skyrim VS Jaehee Kang from Mystic Messenger

Akello Jones from Tri City Monsters VS Ashe from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Most Datable Datable Character 2: Round 1 Matchups

Part 1 links below the cut!

Qiu Lin from Our Life: Now and Forever VS Ai Mikaze from Uta no Prince-sama

Pashet from OZMAFIA!! VS Aigis from Persona 3

Flannan Mac Lugh from The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) VS Fenris from Dragon Age 2

Flint from Postknight 2 VS Theo from Titan Arum

Fall-from-Grace from Planescape: Torment VS Xiao from Potion Permit

Rise Kujikawa from Persona 4 VS Kurt from GreedFall

Triss Merigold from The Witcher 3 VS Halsin from Baldur's Gate 3

Rowan from Boyfriend Dungeon VS Yuri Leclerc from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Hook from A Villain's Twisted Heart VS Teo from The Ssum

Edelgard von Hresvelg from Fire Emblem: Three Houses VS Judy Alvarez from Cyberpunk 2077

Tae Takemi from Persona 5 VS Silas from Fire Emblem Fates

Alistair Theirin from Dragon Age: Origins VS Rachel Amber from Life is Strange: Before the Storm

Grim Reaper from A Date with Death VS QueenBee from Arcade Spirits

The Spirit from Hooked on You VS Jynx from Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers

Vetra Nyx from Mass Effect: Andromeda VS Felix Hugo Fraldarius from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Lucifer from Obey Me VS Wakuu from Coral Island

Leviathan from Obey Me VS Allen from Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning

Curtis from Pokemon Black and White 2 VS Imtura Tal Kaelen from Blades of Light and Shadow

Rhapsody from Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers VS Jakob from Fire Emblem Fates

Haley from Stardew Valley VS Cameron from Trouble Comes Twice

Victor from Mr Love: Queen's Choice VS Mary Brown from Romance Club Arcanum

Linhardt von Hevring from Fire Emblem: Three Houses VS Ryoji Mochizuki from Persona 3

Caleb Zheng from Gilded Shadows VS Beelzebub from Obey Me

Sebille Kaleran from Divinity: Original Sin 2 VS Zoe from Monster Prom

Dorian Pavus from Dragon Age: Inquisition VS Felicity from Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning

707 from Mystic Messenger VS Loki from Romance Club Path of the Valkyrie

Lucifer from Romance Club Heaven's Secret VS Joyce from //TODO: today

Stephanie from Trouble Comes Twice VS Edel from Thorn for the Villain

Mitsuru Kirijo from Persona 3 VS Shadowheart from Baldur's Gate 3

Gale Dekarios from Baldur's Gate 3 VS Bernadetta von Varley from Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Elliot Damiani from Changeling VS Jeremy King from XOXO Droplets

Jax Argo from Later Daters VS Bella Goth from The Sims

[zweinai-art]

Expectations vs Reality (it was then when Jake realised he was in love)

An addition to the Yue/Jake, Cecilia/Nicholas comic I drew the other day!!! I felt like drawing soft colours and I had some free time today so I did this!! I feel like Yue is probably super strong from all the stuff she has to carry everyday and Jake loves it ofc

ngl I’m actually so invested in Yue/Jake now, what a plot twist ahaha.. 

[smol-rune-factory-blog]

[forestofbeginnings]

[ Rune Factory Comic Anthology ]

Comic Five

[belleofhell]

Day 2 of @rfweeks RF4S Release Week: Exploration

Pairing: Cecilia/Nicholas

Hope you all enjoy! <3

[amethystmoon420]

You said farewell,  and I thought we’d never see each other again. I’m so glad fate thought otherwise.

Joined @runefactorysecretsanta again this year, and got to work on some Nicholas/Cecilia for @unapologeticbisexual! I hope you like your gift!

I had a lot of fun drawing these two! \(^o^)/ They’re super adorable together. It makes me wanna try and finish RF1 again just to see more of them interacting. 

[angelsarts]

Harvest moon characters? Or Rune factory?

This took me a day and a half to do but it was SO WORTH IT!!

[runefactorynonsense]

Spooktober - Day 1 - Ghost/Mist/Fog

Costumes for everyone!

[writings-from-the-wolf-den]

Exhaustion was clinging to her muscles and bones like a second skin. Alianna knew that it would be better for her to sleep considering just how late it was. It may be Summer outside, but if she stayed up too late then she may develop a cold. That being said, she didn’t have to actually wake up at the ungodly hour of six in the morning like she’d had to in the past. It would be nice to sleep in properly -especially so since she had been given an extremely nice bed to sleep in.

Well, actually, the bed was nice and all but not the one she wanted to sleep in. The castle was too quiet. After all of the noise of the party, the energy of dancing and chatting with so many people, and finally having a relaxing shower to calm down from it all, everything was just too...quiet. She could only hear the insects outside if she opened the doors to the balcony where she was staying. At her house she had been able to hear the insects all of the time due to being so close to the forests and ground.

Despite the exhaustion, Alianna found herself leaving her bedroom and padding silently down the hallway. When Nicholas had set her up in one of the guest rooms he had informed her that the royal wing wasn’t too far away. It was “just down the hall and then turn right twice”. She knew that he had been giving her directions to his room specifically. Still, she thought with amusement, it would be funny if instead she walked in on Gramps or Cassandra.

She hadn’t gotten to talk to either the King or the Princess for very long during the party. Much of her attention had been taken up by Nicholas for one reason or another. She knew Nicholas had many questions for her, but it had been neither the time nor the place to discuss what needed to be discussed. Instead she had chosen to help keep any suitors away from Nicholas through the skills of devious Trampolians.

Not that she didn’t have a selfish desire to do so as well, but it had been tiring and time-consuming to dance and fend off suitors for the course of the night.

Alianna knew that she would have time to talk with the King and Princess tomorrow at breakfast. They were holding off for the sake of the Prince. Alianna had seen the burning questions in Cassandra’s eyes as Nicholas had introduced Alianna to his family. At least the Princess had some tact to hold off on questions.

This was the right hallway Alianna was in, but which door was the right door? Nicholas had told her to turn right twice, so was it this first door on her right? She didn’t know. She knocked hesitantly on the door.

“Just a sec!” Alianna breathed a silent sigh of relief to hear Nicholas’s voice. She heard movement from within the room plus something whispered that was too low for her to hear. However, she did hear the flap of wings a short time later. She smiled to herself. He was sneaking monsters into his room again.

The door opened then and Alianna had to catch her breath quickly. Nicholas was dressed in his night clothes as well compared to the gorgeous finery he had been wearing at the ball. If Alianna was actually used to looking at Nicholas rather than just through his eyes, she would almost think it was intimate to see him so dressed down from the usual. As it was, she wasn’t even really looking at his outfit. She still needed time to get used to connecting a face to the voice she had always heard.

She knew that Nicholas was attractive, but not that attractive. His hair was that sun golden that Alianna was well-aware ran in the family (but the gene had practically disappeared by her generation), but his eyes were the teal undertone of an ocean in the sun. His skin was browned from his Years working in the field, but his face still held the boyish quality that he didn’t seem to have grown out of. No wonder everyone flirted with him.

Nicholas smiled at her, and she could read the relief in the softness of his eyes easier than she could read a book. Was he always this open with his emotions? “There you are. I wasn’t sure if you would visit.” He held open the door and stepped aside as a silent invitation. She gladly took it up.

“I was enjoying the amenities.” She confessed, amused. She gazed around the ordinate room. Compared to her guest room, it was much more homey. She could see many of the personal possessions she was familiar with from Nicholas’s Trampoli home scattered around. Picture frames, prizes won from contests, and trinkets that had been gathered or made over the course of time they had been in Trampoli covered most of the surfaces. There were also weapons and accessories propped up against the wall and over near a crafting table. The gentle musk in the air mixing with the Summer breeze coming in through Nicholas’s windows combined with the welcoming sight of old possessions and filled Alianna with a fondness that was so powerful and fluffy that it was nearly unbearable.

She couldn’t help her large smile.

“There’s definitely perks to being royalty.” Nicholas agreed as he closed the door and wandered into the room. Alianna watched as he dithered while he apparently tried to decide what he wanted to do before he sat himself on his large bed. Alianna cheerfully took the spot next to him. Nicholas shifted a bit, making Alianna aware that she had sat close enough to him to brush their arms together. “I do miss my house, though.”

“Yes, but you love being back with your family.” He didn’t need to tell her this for her to know. She knew how much he had missed them during his time away. “And you don’t have to work the fields to keep your house anymore.”

“I miss the fields.” Nicholas denied wistfully. “I guess that’s what happens when you have Earthmate blood.”

“It runs strong.”

He gazed at her and her blood warmed. His very presence was familiar, but she wasn’t so sure she would adjust to being able to look him in the eye while talking any time soon. Judging by the way his eyes kept darting around her face, he probably felt the same. She wanted to kiss him, but restrained herself.

“I still think it’s funny that you wear glasses.” Nicholas reached forward and pulled off her glasses. She didn’t like that her vision was blurred. It wasn’t like that before she had lost her body. She supposed it was a small price to pay. It wasn’t like her body wasn’t undamaged in other ways.

“I do miss having your vision. But I will have the last laugh as your vision goes bad when you get older.”

“My vision’s pretty great.” He purposely ignored her latter comment and placed her glasses back on her face for her. She knew they were both sitting far too close to be considered just friendly with each other. She wondered how aware of it he was. “So...what should we do?”

Alianna yawned and rolled back onto the bed with a stretch. It was hard to keep her eyes open. “Personally I want to sleep until lunch tomorrow.” She confessed.

He laid down beside her, rolling on his side and propping himself up on his elbow. “Noon? That’s ridiculous!”

“I hate getting up early.” She complained. “You’re the one who forced me awake each time.”

“You slept even when you were in my body.”

“That hardly counts as sleep. Those felt more like comas.”

He laughed, pressing his face to his bedspread quickly before lifting it again. He watched her long enough that the playful atmosphere quietly dissolved into something more serious. She could tell by the look on his face what he was going to ask next. She was not expecting him to reach forward and to gently cup her cheek.

His fingers brushed her skin and pushed her hair away as she turned her face into his hand. It was so warm and bigger than she thought. She hadn’t realized over the course of the night just how much bigger his hands were compared to her own. She could feel the calluses that had pressed themselves into the skin of his palm.

In the warm lighting of his bedroom, Alianna could see how Nicholas’s cheeks had darkened some at the sight of her. She couldn’t breathe properly. She desperately hoped that he would kiss her. She may have to do it for him if he didn’t.

“Alianna…” He breathed, and Alianna instinctively shifted her legs on the bed. Surely he must realize what he was doing to her. Her feelings couldn’t possibly be unrequited. He couldn’t be that dense. “You...Where have you been?”

Alianna bit back the immediate disbelief and annoyance and scolded herself before she could voice her complaints aloud. He deserved his answers. Everything else could wait. It really could. No matter how much she really wished it didn’t have to wait.

She rolled onto her side so that he was forced to break contact and she didn’t respond until he was mirroring her. The atmosphere was still far too charged. She wanted to let the magic that was responding to her emotions loose. She was sure it would play interesting music if she did. She wanted to sing.

“I mean,” Nicholas continued when her silence prolonged itself, “you’re...you should be...you told me yourself that you couldn’t stay.”

That was news to her. “What?” She asked, startled.

His brows furrowed some at her confusion. “When you were...fading away. You told me you couldn’t stay because you didn’t have a body to return to.” He pressed a hand to his chest, frowning. “You sharing my body had been a fluke that you couldn’t recreate...so your soul was just going to fade.”

“I...don’t remember this at all.” Alianna sat up on her elbow, staring at him. “The last memory I have before I returned was down in the icy labs when I was ripped from your body. I spoke with you?”

“Yes. You said goodbye at least before you were gone.” She could see that it was a painful memory for him. The scar of her death and disappearance hadn’t healed enough. That much had been obvious at the party, but seeing the constant reminder of just how much pain Nicholas had been in just caused her to hurt as well. She wished that her presence with him was enough to heal everything, but she knew it wouldn’t be enough.

“Amazing!” She breathed. “I would say that I wish I could remember, but I think I’m rather content with not remembering.” It was bad enough imagining the pain that would have been present on his face at that time. She didn’t doubt that he had been crying.

Nicholas scoffed, but it came out as more of a huff as he properly sat back up and ran a hand into his hair. He had cut it since Alianna had been with him, she realized. It wasn’t long enough for him to tie back into that small ponytail anymore.

“I’m just glad you’re back.” He confessed. His hand searched reached for her before hesitating. Alianna didn’t bother with his dithering and sat up before taking his hand and squeezing it. She liked the roughness of it as it corresponded with her own calluses. A mixture born of both of them being swordsmen as well as farmers.

His face softened at her touch. Alianna felt her heart thrum in her chest. She wondered if she would have the courage to ruin the companionship between them to kiss him herself. She didn’t know if he actually felt the same as her, though. He acted so similarly with various women -including her- but their situation was different. How much of how he was treating her was because of the personal boundaries that they didn’t have between them due to her having shared his body, and how much of it was because she was special to him romantically? She didn’t know.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to get used to looking at you when you talk. It’s good to put a face to the voice in my head.”

“It also must be nice to not have to worry about bothering me while you masturbate.” She couldn’t resist saying.

Immediately his face turned bright red as he cried out with wide eyes. “A-ALIANNA!!” He groaned and dropped his face into his hand. “Why must you say things like that?! Must you be so...so…!!”

“So truthful?” She teased. She rather liked him like this, she realized. It had been fun to poke fun at his sensibilities when she had been sharing his body, but it was much more amusing to see it happening right in front of her face.

“So CRUDE!” He denied. “Honestly, that’s something I did not miss about you!”

“I have to keep you on your toes.” He hadn’t dropped her hand yet, she noticed. She adjusted her grip in his. “Besides, I’m not the one who invites women into her room while only in night clothes.” She motioned to herself. She was only wearing a nightgown, after all. Nicholas himself was wearing familiar short-sleeved matching pyjamas though.

This only seemed to make him more flustered, but he didn’t try to push her out the door. He just groaned again and dropped his head. “At this point I don’t think there’s much you don’t know about me.” He muttered. “I think it’s only fair you start to return the sentiment.”

Was that flirting? “Are you implying you want to be in me next?”

That was his limit, it seemed. “That’s it!!” He yelled and climbed further onto his bed, grabbing his comforter and wrapping himself up in it with haste. “I’m done! Good night!”

Alianna’s laughter finally burst from her chest as she giggled with a mixture of glee and devious delight. He was so fun to tease! “You don’t have to be so shy!” She told him through her laughter. “Like you said, there’s not much I don’t know about you!”

“Good night, Alianna!”

She followed him onto the bed, shaking him while he was in his cocoon of blanket. “Come now, Nicholas! Do you need me to leave? Do you want some private time?”

“I want some peace and quiet!” He sat up quickly before suddenly throwing his arms wide. The blanket flipped up around him like a cobra’s hood, making Alianna gasp at the sight, before he tackled her onto the bed. She only laughed louder as the two of them struggled in a mixture of wrestling and attempting to escape the confines of the blanket. “You are the most ridiculous woman I’ve met!” He told her through the fighting.

“And you are-” she grunted as she received a knee to the stomach that Nicholas quickly apologized for- “the most prudish flirt I’ve ever met!”

“How many others could you have possibly met? You were sharing my body!” She hooked her legs over his hips and attempted to pin him down to the bed, but his movements were too quick and he disappeared again into the blankets. A hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked her deeper, making her squeal.

“You would be surprised how many people I’ve met now that I have my own body.” She sniffed even as she gripped his shoulders and pushed up with her feet. He yelped as he was flipped over her and disappeared, dragging half of the blanket with him with a loud thump. She gasped and crawled up the bed, exposed now, to find him in a heap on the floor. His stunned face only made her giggle breathlessly all over again, burying her face into his sheets.

“Ow.” He complained with joy in his voice before he too began to laugh. He had to cover his mouth to block the noise as he scrambled back onto the bed. His hair was a fluffy mess and his red face was covered with sweat from the exertion of their play-fighting. All of his boyish charm became even more prominent. “Shhh!!” He hissed through his chuckles. “My sister is right next door!”

“Then you shouldn’t say anything incriminating.” She grabbed his blanket and yanked him back down onto the bed before falling to lay beside him. The two of them panted, feeling the thick summer air coming in through the windows to cool them off. A couple of Runeys had floated into the room humming softly. Alianna considered telling Nicholas that she could understand their songs now, but decided it was for another time.

Instead she asked, “Are you planning to return to Trampoli?”

Nicholas kicked his blanket fully off of his body. “Yes. I’d planned on returning eventually...but it’s been too painful to do so.”

“Will you be moving back?”

“That depends on if Gramps will let me.” He grumped. “I am the heir to the throne.”

“Your sister would enjoy it more. You don’t even want it.”

“I know. They know it too. I’m sure he’ll let me go. He did so once already.”

Alianna’s hand found his again, linking her fingers with his. It was pleasantly warm now that her body had cooled off. It was warm enough to not really need a blanket, although Alianna craved to curl against her companion. She knew that he enjoyed cuddling just as much as she did. If she stayed there, would they move towards each other in the night?

“Come back with us when we leave, then.” She suggested to him. “Since we’re only staying a couple more days.”

Nicholas didn’t immediately reject the idea, which meant he was honestly considering it. “I’ll have to think on it.” He finally said before he yawned and stretched before slumping back onto the bed. “It would be nice to go back, though.” He murmured softly.

She squeezed his hand but didn’t speak anymore. She could tell he was just as exhausted as she was -if not more. She allowed the sleep to pull at her consciousness but didn’t release his hold. She turned her face towards him and listened to the gentle humming of the Runeys as they brushed against her skin and floated away. They were as inexplicably drawn to her as they usually were.

She had a lot more she needed to tell Nicholas. She really should have gotten into it, but the night seemed to have other plans. It didn’t matter, she supposed. There was time. She could tell him everything later. She couldn’t wait to begin. Tomorrow wouldn’t come soon enough, but at the same time the night was perfect as it was. She could wait this much at least.

[gentle-giant-swag]

ROUND 2!

We’re now down to 72 (64 plus the 8 to return from the second chance battle. Those 8 will have an * next to them)

TIME TO SEE HOW IT WILL LOOK FOR THE NEXT FOLLOWING WEEK!

APRICOT BRACKET

Date and time: 11/7, 5pm GMT + 2

Battle 1: Totoro (my neighbor Totoro) vs Big Friendly Giant (BFG)

Battle 2: scorpia (she-ra) vs Bismuth (Steven universe)

Battle 3: Fezzik (the princess bride) vs Master Chief (halo)

Battle 4: Massimo Marcovaldo (Luca) vs Tyson (Percy Jackson)

Battle 5: Asahi Azumane (Haikyuu) vs *Dick Gumshoe (ace attorney) vs Caduceus Clay (critical role)

Battle 6: Milly Thompson (trigun) vs Jaguar D. Saul (one piece)

Battle 7: komamura Sajin (bleach) vs *Heavy Weapons guy (team fortress 2) vs Beelzebub (obey me)

Battle 8: murakumo (rune factory 5) vs Holly (super lesbian animal rpg)

Blueberry bracket

Date and time: 12/7, 5pm GMT + 2

Battle 9: the iron giant vs Jonathan Joestar (JoJo’s bizarre adventure)

Battle 10: Muriel (the arcana) vs Dj (total drama)

Battle 11: Subject Delta (bioshock) vs Klaus Von Reinherz (kekkai sensen)

Battle 12: Gooliope Jellington (monster high) vs Dragonite (pokemon)

Battle 13: Alphonse Elric (full metal alchemist) vs *Chad (bleach) vs Urbosa (legend of Zelda)

Battle 14: Helmut Fullbear (psychonauts) vs Dedue Molinaro (fire emblem: three houses)

Battle 15: B.O.B (overwatch) vs Kanji Tatsumi (persona 4)

Battle 16: Mordecai (fire emblem: path of radiance) vs *Asgore Dreemurr (undertale) vs Big the cat (sonic)

Citron bracket

Date and time, 13/7, 4pm CET

Battle 17: Great Danes (real life) vs Falkor the good luck dragon (the never ending story)

Battle 18: Cerberus (Greek mythology) vs Kiryu Kazuma (yakuza)

Battle 19: Takashi “mori” Morinozuka (ouran highschool host club) vs *Tony Tony Choper (one piece) vs Will Powers (ace attorney)

Battle 20: The tick (the tick 1994) vs Nendou Riki (the disastrous life of saiki k)

Battle 21: Shirahoshi (one piece) vs Jetfire/Skyfire (transformers)

Battle 22; Grog Strongjaw (critical role/the legend of vox machina) vs *Nicholas St North (rise of the guardians) vs Aone Takanobu (Haikyuu)

Battle 23: Tiny (ever after high) vs K (virtues last reward)

Battle 24: Potemkin (guilty gear) vs Yasha Nydoorin (critical role)

Durian bracket

Date and time, 14/7, 6pm CET

Battle 25: Panda (tekken) vs Bizarro (red hood and the outlaws)

Battle 26; Jineji (Inuyasha) vs *Hank McCoy (x-men) vs Looks To The Moon (rainworld)

Battle 27: Zinnia (super lesbian animal rpg) vs Volkanon (rune factory 4)

Battle 28: Saejima Taiga (yakuza 5) vs Gorem (Bakugan)

Battle 29: Junko (storm hawks) vs Gylph (super lesbian animal rpg)

Battle 30: Fitz Fellow (detective Grimore) vs Bob The Titan (Percy Jackson)

Battle 31: Otto The Giant Waterbear (wondla) vs Gentle Bear (dog island)

Battle 32: Banjo Lilywhite (the hogfather) vs *Mountain (Arknights) vs Livio the double fang (tri-gun)

Things to check out

(Damn, I can’t hyperlink)

CRIME LIST

[benisasoftboi]

Gushing time.

Rune Factory 4 Special arrived a day early, so my entire day has been consumed in nostalgia. The original Rune Factory 4 was the first video game I ever bought on release day - I remember saving up all my money and making my mum drive me to like three different shops trying to find one that had it. I was already a fan of the franchise - before then, Rune Factory 3 had been my favourite video game, across the board. Aside from a playthrough of the first game last year, I haven’t played a Rune Factory game in a long time, certainly not RF4. But just starting up the game and hearing the music again, it was like it was suddenly seven years ago. Running around Selphia and seeing all the characters again - I love JRPGs, have played a lot of them, and I can think of very few that have characters that have stuck with me this long. And the aesthetics - the best thing about the Rune Factory franchise has always been the aesthetics, the music, the scenic and character design, just the general world. It’s a beautifully whimsical balance of urban and fantasy, and it’s the only JRPG world I think I’ve ever come across that I would genuinely want to live in. Rune Factory may no longer be my favourite game franchise - but I don’t think there has ever been another series that has felt so much like home to me.

Here’s a very long selection of personal highlights from the art book (by which I mean photos of the art followed by my rambling opinions):

Yeah, see, here’s the thing - Rune Factory 1 is not a good game. I could write an entire essay on why it’s bad (I actually started and got pretty damn far before realising no one’s interested in my two thousand word review of a game that came out over a decade ago - the short version is ‘Misty Bloom-fucking-Cave’. Anyone who’s played RF1 knows exactly what I mean). Don’t get me wrong, it has good qualities - excellent boss fights, for one, and also, as with the rest of the franchise, it is aesthetically wonderful. But ultimately, it feels less like playing a video game, and more like playing a proof of concept for a game. Which I guess it kind of was - and I can’t hate it because we wouldn’t have the rest of the series without it.

But it literally ends with a dragon spewing plant breath on a tank to make a turnip grow out of the gun. ‘Profound’, my arse. 

It’s Raguna! The “master sowrdsman!” (that is not a typo on my part that is a direct quote from the ending of Rune Factory 1 this game’s script had so many issues-). And Mist! My favourite of the ‘canon’ love interests!

Best girl! When I was a kid, my favourite love interest in RF1 was Rosetta. As an adult, it is Tabatha. I don’t know what it is about her that I find so likeable (she’s as lacking in personality as any other RF1 character), but... idk, I just like her a lot.

Camus’s big ambition is to leave town like even once. He will never achieve it

Fun fact about Melody is that she’s extremely depressed, a fact that comes up once in an optional side quest and is never addressed again. It’s incredibly dark for an RF game

Fun fact about Lukas is that he sucks (he’s one of those ‘obsessed with talking about how hot all the girls are’ characters, an archetype that thankfully doesn’t show up again in these games). But also, interestingly enough, thanks to one of RF1′s many, many script errors, if you marry Rosetta (the girl Lukas is the most obsessed with), he’s supposed to express disappointment that he lost her to Raguna - but instead, he implies that he’s disappointed to have lost Raguna to her. The translators typoed their way into giving him a sexuality change. Which is honestly kind of amazing.

LOOK AT THIS SLIME THIS IS SUCH A COOL SLIME LITERALLY EVERY OTHER JPRG SLIME GO HOME DRAGON QUEST GET FUCKED (jk I like Dragon Quest a lot and its slimes are cool too). Wish you could see in-game that this is what they’re meant to be like.

I just generally love the monster designs, they’re really charming

Rune Factory 2! The RF game with the most weirdly mundane protagonist name (Kyle. In the main four games of this franchise we’ve got Raguna, Micah, Lest, Frey... and Kyle). The two generations thing was actually very cool, but when they say ‘each chapter captures a different lifestyle’, what they really mean is ‘the first half is a weak Harvest Moon I’m sorry, STORY OF SEASONS game, and the second half is a pretty good Rune Factory game’  

lookit this little fuck

Yue Yue Yue! I love Yue so much, she’s great. She’s kind of like a much chiller version of Anna from Fire Emblem.

It’s really cool that we got to see grown up Cecilia (she was in RF1). I have this silly headcanon that if Kyle doesn’t marry Mana, Nicholas (her friend in 1) comes to visit Cecilia one day in the hazy-post game future, and meets Mana, and they get together. While Yue is my favourite, I do genuinely like Mana a lot, and I just want her to find love, I guess.  

Here’s original Barrett! There’s a reason he was popular enough to make a reappearance (well, aside from the whole grumpy pretty boy thing he’s got going on) - he was a great character in this game. His and Dorothy’s relationship is also definitely the most compelling of the rival romances. Bonus Max, who also has a little shout-out in RF4 (check the diary in what will become Dylas’s bedroom at the start of the game)

Ray is male, but apparently he was originally going to be a female character, as he has an unused portrait in a wedding dress. My friend and I agree that this makes him a Trans Icon

Monster designs remain excellent. Especially the goblins

Skipping over Frontier (and also Oceans later), as I never got to play it growing up due to not having a console, and still haven’t got around to it - might try this summer. Except I do need to point out that these guys should be memes. I don’t know in what way. But they should.  

Rune Factory 3! My first RF game. The transformation thing was very cool, even if it was basically useless outside the main story. My friend and I spent hours mucking about in the WiFi dungeon. I loved the desert settlement and all of the dungeon designs in general, and man, RF3 is just great. I hope it gets a remake one day.

Raven Raven Raven! I LOVE Raven (as do most). Her story with Micah is the first time I can remember getting genuinely invested in a video game romance. I’m so glad she cameos in RF4. I love her. She’s wonderful.

I have an odd fondness for Marian. When I was about twelve, I decided to do a playthrough where I deliberately romanced the least popular bachelorette. After poking around on forums, I determined that character to be Marian, and did a run with her. And... I actually came to really like her. I find her endearing. I get that people find her annoying and don’t like her... unethical medical practices, but doing that run has still made me a pretty protective of her. It’s been a long time since I played RF3, so maybe I’d change my mind if I replayed now, but currently, as far as I’m concerned,  Marian’s a good’un.

I think I also used to low key ship her with Collette lol 

Pia’s official art has always been super weird to me because it’s so not what her character is like in-game. She’s a ditzy airhead. This makes her look so serious

RAINBOW! Another character whose art makes them look way more serious than they actually are. Daria is great and would be a meme if this game was more popular. I think she’s also implied to be a relative of Margaret. 

I’ve always been super confused about what Kuruna’s skirt is meant to be. Is it fur? Is it part of her shirt? Is it even a skirt at all?

Check it out, it’s the guy everyone would ship Micah with if this game was more popular

I want Zaid to make a reappearance and interact with Doug. Pretty sure it’s canon that they’re from the same clan? Think it would be very interesting.

RF3 definitely had the coolest farm. Also, still love the desert settlement.

This is from Oceans, so I have no context, but it’s just so cool that I had to share

Rune Factory 4. Culmination of the series is right - when I was playing it for the first time, I remember being blown away by just how much it is a true love letter to the franchise. I have never come across another game series that so consistently grew and improved from entry to entry. RF4 was a perfect ending.

Not that I’m complaining about getting RF5. Quite the opposite.

But if it had been the end (as we all thought it was until about a year ago), well, like I say. Perfect. 

Well. Aside from soda can nipples. Can’t believe they didn’t fix those. Though in some ways, that would have made me sad too

Dolce has such a cool design, in both human and monster form. I’ve always kind of crack-shipped her with Margaret, for no real reason at all

Vishnal! I love Vishnal. Vishnal is pure as heck. Marrying him this time around.

Doug! My choice from last time around. Another character who looks more serious in his official art than he is in-game (well... most of the time)

And then there’s Dylas, who looks much happier here than he does most of the time. Kind of looks like he and Doug swapped bodies, actually. There’s a fanfic prompt for you.

Their ship name is Dyldo. I love them

Leon is nostalgic for me mostly because my friend and I used to get into a lot of arguments about whether or not he’s the hottest character in the game. She maintains that he is, because muscles. I maintain that muscles aren’t actually that attractive. It is a rift that divides us to this day

(He looks oddly... younger in this art though? Weird)

Sechs Empire is such an unfortunate name. Seriously. How rushed was RF1′s localisation team? All those script errors, and then this (the Sechs were the antagonists in the first game, and were only referenced in passing in the rest until RF4 - so it was a bit of a ‘sins of the father’ situation by then).

Seriously, try saying ‘Sechs Emperor’ out loud and tell me you can take this man seriously 

I??? Love??? Them???

I??? LOVE??? THEM???

Still confused as to why Kiel, Xiao Pai, Arthur and Margaret are on the cover now. Don’t get me wrong, I like them, but... Amber, Dylas, Dolce and Leon made way more sense? Even the Archival Cover makes more sense (Vishnal, Clorica, Forte), as those three are all kind of Lest/Frey’s servants (well, Forte for the whole town, but still). Of those first four, all but Arthur basically lift right out of the game with little-to-no impact on the story

NO HAT TABATHA NO HAT TABATHA

I’ve always really loved this Raven picture

And I am thankful for you <3

[zweinai-art]

An Unlikely Friendship ! Yue/Jake Rune Factory 2

I played around with the Nicholas/Cecilia AU idea I had for last year’s RFWeeks and came up with a silly comic about Yue and Jake. It always made no sense to me how he ended up marrying Yue while still hating humans (and let’s not talk about Orland if Yue’s his mom), so I played around with the idea of them meeting and Jake realising humans are actually not that bad. 

Excuse the messiness, I got really tired by the end and just wanted to finish it asap. I never have enough patience for these things ahahaha. 

[sharance-maze]