#and I'm like. oh. the game needed to expand on that bad

[ministarfruit]

for AASiblingsWeek23 day 4: free day!

[anonyanonymouse]

I'm so disappointed I won't be able to immediately tune in on the twst update like usual 😭 I'm pretty sure this is the first time I won't be watching it right after it's up, and not only that, but my early morning obligation preventing me from enjoying the update is going to last FIVE hours 😭😭😭

[nitrowyverine]

I thought playing Obscura would help me get rid of my brain worms. no, it just gave me new ones. For Obscura, specifically.

I'll be adjusting the format from my TOUCHSTARVED expanded thoughts post. Brain dump after the cut!

[Demo/CH 1 spoilers are included]

(Header Image from Itch.io page! All images in this post are either from there or the Rotten Raccoons tumblr page)

Design/gameplay thoughts:

In full honesty without fluff: this game fucks immensely.

The setting for Obscura might be my new all-time favorite, like, ever. Mystery underground scandalous marketplace??? Under a mountain???? it's a diverse and vast city that's still elegantly contained and claustrophobic, but in a spicy way. The worldbuilding and flavor is excellent. I really want to run a TTRPG in a similar setting now, since its an area with so many possibilities.

CH. 1/the "demo" has a LOT of meat on it. It's got different endings, variations, a whole soundtrack. Speaking of sountrack-

Obscura is also one of the few games I've put on the soundtrack to just to vibe to. The soundtrack is SO good, and sets such a strong mood/tone. I think it complements the game perfectly.

Allot of people have mentioned it, but I am also a fan of the Safeword pause menu. It's a nice and comforting touch, especially when the game can get so intense. It lets players take a breather if they need it, but also doesn't interrupt the intensity/mood of the game for someone who doesn't want a break from the narrative.

Now, onto character specific thoughts!

Cirrus:

IN MY HOUSE WE DON'T BELIEVE IN NOT STARTING OUT STRONG

Shout outs for having your asexual option in the dating sim be. The kinkiest guy there

Cirrus is a bit too intense for me, however, that is NOT a bad thing in the slightest. I think his route is well done for those who are up for his brand of intensity.

I might still play his route because. damn this boy's issues got me curious about his backstory. ($10 on mommy issues)

I had the hardest time getting to Cirrus's good end during my playthrough because having pretty much any self-preservation instinct around Cirrus gives you a bad/neutral ending. He's the only one I had to pull the guide out to get the best ending. (I think I'm just too sassy)

I get medusa vibes from Cirrus. The snake imagery is more likely tied to the lunar church, but his staunch reluctance to take his own mask off makes me wonder (this is mainly referenced in asks answered by the Rotten Raccoon studios). Refusal to let people see his eyes + snakes + power + slightly unnatural abilities to influence is, something.

I am shaking this man like a snowglobe WHAT IS YOUR DEAL I MUST KNOW MORE

(I am. metaphorically shaking him like a snowglobe. I would never shake this man im terrified)

CONCLUSION: Most likely to shame you for your anime choices. Least likely to be normal about it when you ask for help peeling an orange.

Keir:

HERE COMES BIG MAN

yeah he's tied for favorite right now. the slow burn in his plot is just too good? big man....freckles...secret soft side...im weak

he's so nice I keep forgetting. He kind of kidnaps you? not even kind of he just drags you off the street and goes "you live in my house now". Even Griff calls MC a stray early on. My man really said "Here's a convenient lost human I'm dragging them home now"

oh my GOD they were ROOMATES

I definitely was too nice to him in my first playthrough until I realized he does need (and want) to be sassed to death.

this man is like 6'6 and the canon-ish Vesper height from the CG is 5'4. THE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE. This kills the man (me)

The sprite of Keir's ears blushing SENDS ME INTO A FRENZY

I quite liked the gameplay style of Keir's route. I was so focused and invested as soon as I realized I needed to remember specific directions to save the heist group during timed decisions

Something I haven't seen discussed yet: I'm mega curious about the dagger Keir has on his outfit. It's specifically pointed out in text that it's high-quality, and I vaguely remember an ask that Rotten Raccoons answered that said it's a status symbol. (The dagger also just looks SO cool. and....it looks like Francesco's...?)

(My bet is that he either 1. stole it. or 2. got it from Oleander during their tryst (WHICH WE ALSO NEED TO TALK ABOUT-))

CONCLUSION: Most likely to be gifted a "WORLD'S BEST DAD" mug from his similarly-aged peers. Least likely to live down that one time he ate soap because he thought it was edible.

Francesco:

someone keep the "silver dust" away from this lad im scared

Originally, I was least looking forward to playing Francesco's route since I just wasn't interested in his initial concept. After playing his route though? It was excellently done, and I genuinely had fun. It was refreshing to have a character more naive than Vesper, so more cultural aspects were explained and we got a good alternate perspective on the marketplace. Also, it got REAL spicy in new and exciting ways the other chapters didn't. I'm really looking forward to the next chapters with his route!

I totally love the contrasts in his design and his character. He's got both bright red and blue highlights in his design, his outfit is very pointy and angular while his hair/smile is soft and flow-y.

And in his personality, he's both sweet and open, but extremely cagey about some information, and quite pragmatic when he wants to be. I think he's way smarter than he lets on.

that doesn't mean I don't want to bridal carry him and tuck him into bed at night after a all-nighter party

I do think Fran's slightly looser demeanor could lead to him being even more brutal than the other LI's. Remember that one anime clip (Found it, it's this one from Danshi Koukousei) where a group of friends wants to fight for fun, but one of the friends asks why they need rules in a fight? And said friend is shown like secretly holding a rock and was ready to use it? that's Fran. He would not have chill and does not heed the rules.

"Protect the boy", but mostly to prevent him from tasting blood. Because if that happens we're all fucked

CONCLUSION: Most likely to eat that M&M off the ground because you dared him. Least likely to beat the puppy allegations.

Oleander:

Oleander is tied for favorite with Keir. Oleander is just *chefs kiss* LOOK AT HIM. inscrutable......

Somewhere in an ask answered by Rotten Raccoons studio, they mentioned that for Oleander's route, they were going for a "Sexy boss situation that doesn't feel like a work safety violation". They hit that right on the nose; there's intrigue and a power imbalance, but in a non-restrictive or terrifying way.

I love being involved in the business part of his route. I keep making decisions like "Hmm yes my primary goal is to romance Oleander. But what would be the smartest business move here? How do we advance our agenda?"

Also, I do love playing a sexy evil secretary in a vn. love having a job and being evil at it AND being paid money. 10/10

That dance scene is everything I could have ever wanted no notes

I am fascinated to find out more about what he's been up to since his last trek into the marketplace. Seems like people are trying to kill him all the time anyway, so what would be enough to cause him to leave?

he's like an angler fish, but the lure is his booba

I relate to Oleander in that. I have too many online usernames because I can't stick with one. People get my 800 online names mixed up often. He has the same problem, we're basically twinsies

This man is pretending to be a himbo like his life depends on it (It probably does). He's too smart though, I know for a fact he has at least three different schemes going at any given time.

CONCLUSION: Most likely to be able to help you properly lace a corset (this man knows the boot-to-the-back necessity of the process). Least likely to be allowed to be banker during monopoly night.

Vesper:

black mask enjoyer 4 life

(all three are good I just wanted to say which one I picked. And to add my conclusion section)

CONCLUSION: Most likely to get their shit rocked by a falling piano. Least likely to survive an argument about pineapple on pizza.

Concerns:

With how separate the four routes are, the game could potentially feel like four separate visual novels all in one universe. Maybe I haven't played enough VN's, but there is a feeling of separation between the routes.

In the very beginning of the game, when you're picking your route, I wish there was a bit more heads up/information between who you're picking. For example, I had a rough idea that going into the church is where you'd find Cirrus, but only from information outside the game. I didn't know sticking around for the brawl would push you into Kier's route. It's overall pretty vague to which route you're going based on only in-game information.

Misc thoughts:

Vesper: "How are you going to keep me?? ;)" Keir and Oleander: "crimes" Vesper: "Wh-" Keir and Oleander: "you're an accomplice now congrats we're in this together. wanna get drinks"

catch my socially anxious ass wanting to be under the mountain and wear masks so I don't have to make eye contact with strangers all the time. at least its a fun thought to have when I mask for covid

OKAY FRANCESCO AND KEIR'S DAGGER MATCH? AND ARE RED/BLUE LIKE FRANCESCOS OUTFIT? DOES IT MEAN ANYTHING??? probably not but I do like the pretty knives....

For real, I got the brain worms for this game, I'm on the edge of making a big ol playlist. the headcannons? They go on my friend. they go on. I'm laying awake at night thinking about what each character would order at a coffee shop

by the time I publish this post. I did start working on the playlist

yes, I've also designed my own vesper, its such a prime opportunity for character design.

Obscura also may or may not have inspired me to get involved with an otome jam game team, more on that in the future possibly.....

OVERALL: I got the first chapter/demo of Obscura for free from Itchio/steam. High marks for writing, sound, art, game design, all of it! I am on the edge of my seat waiting for CH2.

TL;DR: If you haven't played it, and love spicy and dark stories, go play it! Part one is free! and fantastic.

Itch.io

Steam

[thecoolerliauditore]

Pls tell me about Scott's views on women in general pls I'm begging you

o7 and I'm sorry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

fyi, the post itself isn't NSFW, but I'll be getting all gender theory in this bitch so I'll be referencing a lot of things and putting in pictures of naked ppl sometimes. maybe skip this one if you don't like that

(long post)

Disclaimers

An explanation for the tweet up there

I usually don't write these because I assume the people on my blog have enough sense to realise when I'm talking about the characters vs the CCs or are comfortable enough being a little confused, but I feel the need to extra-clarify here and expand on how I specifically view C vs CC because I think it differs a little from the average person.

To me, C and CC are two separate entities but not entirely disconnected. What differs (e.g. the exclusion of irl relationships -- their wives, kids, etc.) is poignant enough to severely detach them from the people they originated from, at least in my eyes, but there's also the fact that these are not scripted characters, just creators being themselves with a hint of behind the scenes drama-adding and improv thrown in.

For example, CC Pearl is a car nerd. So I assume her character is too.

This is where I state very clearly that yes, a lot of these thoughts come from things I've seen on Scott's twitter, which is undoubtedly the CC and not the C. However I, to me, am still talking about the C because any observations/judgments I could make on actual irl youtuber CC guy Scott Major would be tabloid at best and slightly invasive at worst. I'm seeing these statements within the context of "the death game guy would say this too and I'm writing this based on that", not "this is the inner psychological workings of the youtuber because I, as a fan, can totally tell".

TLDR I don't consider this post RPF but you might. This is a little more RPF-y than my usual stuff. If you don't rock with it we cool.

Everyone is weird about women, and that's okay

One short-hand I've used in the past to talk about Scott and women is just by saying that he's "weird about women" which I'm sure isn't exclusive to him.

(shitpost I made awhile back)

I see a lot of people now who love "villains" and "evil" but when it comes to any traits resembling real life evil (e.g. misogyny in this case) they suddenly become insecure. Just a couple of days back a saw a post on twitter essentially asking for permission to continue liking CC Scott in spite of the "bad things" he did.

And I think, in order to present an analysis like this, I must address that mindset first.

This is not a judgment on Scott's morality, nor is it trying to dissuade you from liking him. This is not saying that he is any more misogynistic than any other player in the series. This is just me pointing out Scott's attitude towards women and what I read it as, nothing less or more.

The feelings that me pointing these things out - be they apathy, disgust, anger or, what I would hope to see most, interest - are your own. I'm not here to tell anyone how to feel and never will try to police that on my blog.

Scott's Relationships with Women

aka. oh yeah this is about minecraft.

Scott and Cleo || "Yeah, you can kill me."

Scott and Cleo's alliance is arguably the strongest in the entire series, spanning through all five seasons and remaining unbroken with no (serious) drama attached. You'd expect from this that they two have a very settled and stable understanding of eachother, yet this isn't a case.

Their power dynamic shifts dramatically from one season to the next.

3L's initial Widows Alliance began on fairly equal footing, built on the mutual agreement that they were waiting for their respective partners to die. Both understood they were eachothers' "plan B" and felt comfortable in that arrangement.

Come LL, Cleo does what she couldn't in 3L, and initiates that plan, going to Scott after her last alliance, the fairy fort, fell apart. Scott requests nothing from her in return.

DL is the longest the two spent as eachothers main ally. Cleo is the one who initially proposes teaming up to spite their "cheating" soulmates and Scott agrees. Cleo admits to Martyn in private that she's aware she's taking advantage of Scott (which I've always interpreted as her talking about all seasons, not just DL). Due to the time they spend together, it's here where it becomes apparent that their initial assumptions during 3L were not entirely accurate, as Scott shows a level of gameplay competency much higher than Cleo's (e.g. teaching her how to axe-crit) but despite this Scott never berates her or thinks any less of her value as his ally.

LimL is probably this pairing at their most unhinged, as Scott, despite once again asking for nothing (or very little -- I'll be honest I'm a bit fuzzy on this) in return from Cleo, allows them and their allies to butcher him repeatedly for time. He gives more time to the Clockers than he does to Martyn, his closest ally that season. Despite this, Scott is never ever considered as a "family member" by the Clockers, despite them giving that title to even temporary allies (like the Bad Boys being their cousins) -- even Martyn gets a title with Scott completely unattached.

SL is relatively more chill, but shows that the two inevitably end up teaming together even despite their oath to avoid eachother that season.

The point being -- again and again, we see Scott literally and metaphorically making sacrifices for Cleo, with the only real transaction he requires from her being that she continues having his back when times get rough. This is despite that he's aware she isn't any more capable than he is and the fact that so far it has only been Cleo in rough times (LL, LimL and SL) and never Scott.

Speaking from a purely transactional perspective, Scott is not getting a bargain here -- and even Cleo seems acutely aware of it, judging by her comment during DL as well as the way she tends to speak of her survival capabilities very lowly in general ("rubbish pvp skills and spiffy one-liners"). I'm speaking in this sense because I've seen discussions in the past about the transactional way Scott views relationships but rarely does Cleo get brought up.

This is at stark contrast to how he treats Jimmy, whose predicted death was what spurred on Scott and Cleo's alliance in the first place.

Scott assumes Jimmy is "incompetent", where he assumes Cleo is capable. When Jimmy messes up, he reprimands him, when Cleo struggles to crit him, he patiently teaches her. When LL begins, Scott's first instinct was to look at Jimmy's lives and note that he was "useless to (him)", but holds no objections to Cleo joining his alliance despite her already having enemies being a potential liability. In SL, he jokes about how Cleo and him being allied is a given and pretty much expected of them, whereas in LimL he explicitly requests from Jimmy a recognition that he still cares ("say love you back!") before he will help him.

Scott and Gem || "You HAVE TO kill me, Gem,"

In SL, Gem settles in very easily in a leadership position within Gem and the Scotts due to her trying to live up to her reputation but also due to Scott and Impulse's more laid back, passive playstyles.

Both Scott and Impulse let Gem kill them for extra health this season, although Scott is arguably much more subservient than Impulse is, with him not only insisting that she kill him in the final episode but also not fighting back (and only yelling for her to stop) when she starts hitting him with a sword during the episode where her task was to literally kill everyone on the server.

Once again comparing her to Jimmy, Scott in 3L had a tendency to brush aside Jimmy's concerns over alliances (e.g. Jimmy questioning if they could trust Cleo) while in SL Scott runs his plans by Gem (and Pearl and Impulse) in terms of who he wanted to team up with (specifically excluding Joel from the potential mounders alliance) implying he held her opinion in some form of regard.

Before this becomes less of an analysis of Scott's treatment of men vs women and more of Scott's treatment of Jimmy vs everyone else, I think it's notable enough to mention that he and Martyn also lacked this sort of communication in LimL. He would inform Martyn of his plans, but rarely was it ever framed as a request.

SL almost feels as if Scott has slid Gem into the slot he had previously designated for Cleo in 3L (his girlboss ally) as he provides her and pretty much forces onto her by the end the acts of service he'd become accustomed to performing for Cleo.

Scott and Lizzie || "You killed her! I don't.. I don't know what to even say!"

Relatively shorter section because this is the one woman he hasn't teamed with, but there's still some interesting stuff I wanted to touch on.

In LL, one of the first thing Scott does is yell at Pearl to revenge-kill Joel for boogey-killing him. Pearl does as she's told and Joel's wet miserable pathetic LL life gets worse from there.

Several episodes later, the roles are reversed -- Lizzie lies to both of them and manages to isolate and boogey-kill Pearl. Scott, instead of reacting with the anger he had for Joel, is almost in a state of shock as he asks Lizzie to let him down so he could collect Pearl's belongings. He doesn't act aggressively towards Lizzie at all, with his most antagonizing act against her being to lie about his intentions when giving her a wither skull.

In SL, he's the only one aware of her early permadeath, but keeps quiet about it almost as if he's in a state of shock akin to when he saw Lizzie kill Pearl in LL. It's not until the others have noticed when he finally brings it up.

Scott and Pearl || "Tilly death do us 'part"

I wrote a whole post just for their relationship alone so for the sake of my sanity I'll be leaving this here.

So now I get to dedicate this section to the meat of this post -- how the way Scott treats women in general impacts his relationship with Pearl and how I view his heel-turn on her as seeping with relevance to Pearl's perceived gender.

In all three of the previous sections, the running theme is that Scott is 1. kinder and more patient with women, regardless of their competency and 2. someone who likes to be in a supporting role to women, occasionally aiding them more than he aids himself and his closer male allies (e.g. Jimmy and Martyn). As shown with Cleo, he assumes that girls have it together, but even if they don't it's not a big deal. When a girl's actions are truly disastrous, such as with Lizzie's, he goes into a state of shock and doesn't really react, preferring to swallow it down and not acknowledge it.

With the amount of times he sacrifices himself, I don't think it's a reach to say that Scott values his own life less than he values the lives of his (female) allies. This specific point actually does extend to his male allies too, shown when he's happy when Martyn literally backstabs him in LimL, but just as with the Martyn post where I point out his victim status-ing doesn't end at only women but includes all the women, Scott has pedastal-ed all the women he's teamed with.

Lizzie is, once again, the exception here due to his limited interactions with her. However that's actually somewhat patched over if you look at adjacent series (such as x-life) where he definitely shows her a level of admiration and respect.

Back to Scott and Pearl.

Their relationship during LL is very standard of how Scott treats women. While the power dynamic between them is obviously more caused by the initial life trade agreement, I don't think it's a far reach to say that Scott is somewhat comfortable in the arrangement.

However, this is also the first thing that sets their relationship apart from Scott with Cleo or Gem -- Pearl is the one making sacrifices, not Scott. She is the one "sacrificing" her lives to him, just in a more non-violent way as allowed by the season's mechanics.

When viewed through this lens, Scott trying to make it up to her and wanting his effort acknowledged makes even more sense. This is suddenly uncharted waters for him. His assuming that Pearl doesn't value him as a person goes hand in hand with him valuing himself less than her.

What Scott has with Cleo or Gem, situations where the other party is clearly uncomfortable with how he treats himself (Gem) or actively aware they are taking advantage of him (Cleo), is equalized to him because he is inherently worth less. What he has with Pearl, on the other hand, looks more equal to most people (lives vs labour) but is wildly imbalanced to him.

It's one of the many factors I see going into Scott's weird decision to abandon her in DL.

An Interlude, Before We Get to DL

La Pieta, Michelangelo

So this has been a lot of words so far and some of you might be wondering at this point: why say Scott is "weird" about women when so far this has been describing how he values women more, is kinder to them, is more patient with them, etc.? How is any of this behaviour remotely misogynistic?

And I would feel horrible if I forced you to read through all of my DL thoughts before I clarified this -- Scott is not your classic wifebeater "women are lesser" misogynist, Scott is someone who subscribes to misogynistic schools of thought and probably considers himself an ally to women, when in reality his beliefs are still rooted in dehumanizing them and these beliefs end up harming the women around him as well as himself.

After all, seeing women are your superiors is still not seeing them as your equals.

I know it's a bit of a meme on this blog at this point. But. Sigmund Freud identified what we know refer to as the "madonna/whore complex", which he described as a pattern of behaviour in men who separated women into being madonnas (pure, holy and admirable) and whores (debased, sexual, deviant). We'll be focusing on the former, the madonna, as it is more relevant to Scott's character.

Freud proposed that the madonna figure was something men projected onto women as a replacement for maternal love. These women are sacred and untouchable, literally as the projection of the maternal role onto them also makes it so that the sufferer cannot feel any sexual attraction towards her (keep this in mind for later).

Scott projects the madonna figure onto his female compatriots -- they are to be protected, served and supported. They are goddesses, queens, but they are never human. The madonna role in of itself is not inherently harmful to the woman, as seen with Cleo who takes control and advantage of it. However, it is enforced, as seen with Gem who at first revels in the superiority but almost breaks down when Scott offers him up as her sacrificial lamb one last time.

I linked this Utena AMV awhile back when vaguely talking about Scott and women, and this was the point I was alluding to.

Girls are beautiful and pure. They don't spit on the street, they don't piss on the street, they don't build hierarchies -- they subvert all the expectations of masculinity that I hate having to deal with. They are my escape.

But what about the girls who do spit on the street? The girls who piss on seats? Who build social hierarchies, who size up their competition?

The girls Scott interacts with are all painfully human. Cleo weaponizes his beliefs and take advantage of him. Scott is smart enough to know and accept this. Gem's playing into a role she has been assigned into by not only Scott but everyone around her. Scott supports the character she plays. Lizzie reflects traits he hates in Joel and Jimmy, but for her, he looks the other way.

Are they "demons", as the song says, or are they no longer girls at all?

(demons, gods, but never humans)

Weaponized Femininity and Women In Total Control of Themselves ;)

Hylas and the Nymphs, John William Waterhouse

Historically, weaponized femininity I'd argue is one of the oldest tropes in storytelling. Whether it's nymphs or sirens or witches or succubi or even more roundabout cases like Helen of Troy, there's countless stories of men's sexual attraction to women leading them to disaster.

One way to view these stories is to see them as warnings, don't let womens allure be the end of you.

There's a lot of good writing done on the femme fatale trope both in the context of weaponizing femininity and as a sexist way to argue against victims of sexual assault, as these stories often say that men who experience attraction to these "evil" women no longer have agency over their own actions.

Look at the painting above, for example - is it the nymphs who are responsible for drowning Hylas, or is Hylas climbing into the lake of his own accord?

Despite the fact we all know sirens, nymphs and succubi aren't real, the belief that men will simply lose control of themselves when encountering a particularly alluring woman persists to the modern consciousness. That there's something inherently dangerous about women and attraction to them.

(this is not 100% applicable to Ninja saying he won't stream with women, but it's the real life example I felt most comfortable putting in here)

Now, let's combine this with what's been said so far -- let's say you don't hate women. You love women, in fact, and you hate the way men treat women. You hate men, in fact.

Yet, you still believe in this inherent power women hold by being female and the loss of agency that men experience when attracted to them -- how disgusting.

It quickly becomes easily to not only demonize men for sullying the holiness of women, but also men, masculinity and attraction to women as a whole.

(apologies for using twt discourse in the meta post but this flew by my TL and i had to grab the irl example of mens non-violent attraction to women being used to frame them as misogynistic before the stupid app refreshed and i lose everything forever)

"To Venner" is a student film exploring a world set within this belief, where all the women have vanished and the men have become monstrous figures as a result of their pent up sexual frustration. fyi this is one of my favourite student films (and ive watched a bunch), but I do think its messaging is worth breaking down (especially its juxtaposition of dirty horrible monstrous sexuality vs pure and beautiful romantic love)

NOTE: this film is super graphic, lots of violence and nudity. have fun. or not

I admit this section is a bit hard to gauge as everyone in the series is gay as fuck. The closest in-series example I can think of is Scott reacting to Martyn's antics in DL with a sort of indigence but otherwise I can't really think of an example of a man expressing attraction to a woman at all, let alone one Scott reacted to. However, I do think it's still worth talking about because it opens up some interesting trains of thought in regard to Scott and Pearl.

For Scott, he himself has never been part of the picture. He's gay, after all, which gives him an edge over the bad straight men who objectify and assault women. Likewise, there's little evidence to suggest he finds the expectations of masculinity frustrating, but I don't think it's too far a reach considering how common of an experience that is for gay men and his adapting of more feminine mannerisms.

Double Life and Corruption

As mentioned in my previously linked post about Scott and Pearl's relationship, I do think Scott experiences what he would name as attraction towards Pearl, so my writing will reflect that.

Pearl is. ahem. not like other girls.

Not actually. But to Scott, she probably isn't like other girls.

She remains unaware of his different standards for her (how could she when she had nothing to compare them to), she acts out, sometimes violently, against Scott's urging (such as when she stole from Scar's wagon). She maintains their already irregular dynamic, and while she appreciates his care for her, she never quite falls into seeing him as a source of subservience the way Cleo or Gem do.

At the end of LL, right before the 1v1v1v1, she monologues to herself that she no longer has to feel bad for killing Scott. Which, in turn, implies she expected Scott to give it his all against her as well.

She entirely fails to embody the madonna with her immature naivete and her questionable morals. She is unpredictable, she doesn't take what she is owed, she is a monster in a lot of ways.

Scott, too, is a monster, to himself, for how he feels about her.

The very foundations of your understanding of yourself being ripped apart aside, let's rewind to the madonna/whore complex. To sexualise the madonna is to corrupt her and make a monster of yourself. Suddenly, you are no better than the men around you, the ones you've grown to hate. Suddenly, you are the grotesque figures in films like To Venner. You are Hylas and she is the nymph. And you are so stupid. Your worldview crumbles around its flawed foundations.

Scott is, however, immune to this corruption. This is a theme that appears in Empires as well, but throughout the traffic series he's prided himself on being loyal and kind and good. His monologue leading up to LL's 1v1v1v1 summarizes it quite well.

He can't let himself or anyone else see this side of him, but the energy needs to go somewhere. To defy fate, abandon your soulmate, is to admit you had a fate in the first place, is to acknowledge that she was your soulmate in the first place.

I've previously talked about how fate and romance are very ingrained in Scott's belief system, if it was anyone else it would've been amazing. He could've been like Bdubs and Impulse or Ren and Bigb, diving into domestic life and performative romance with a stranger. Or the world could've made his happy ending from 3L real, as he got to be Jimmy's husband all over again. I think it says something that he accepts Cleo as a "soulmate" before Pearl.

So what do you do with all that energy and tension, clearly apparent to yourself and everyone else, when you can't let them observe your feelings?

You project them.

Shout-outs to @/legally-allowed-to-slime for pointing out Pearl's comment early on in DL that she "feels like (she's) been broken up with" confirms she never saw Scott in a romantic sense. The "crazy ex-girlfriend" and "this is why I'm gay" comments really did come out of thin air, or perhaps insecurity.

Pearl is the crazy one. She's insane, because she wants me. She wants to be with me, so she does all this crazy stuff. She's lost control of herself because she wants me. She's disgusting.

I mentioned before that Scott is not your classic misogynist, but this is where the gears start turning. Scott's views of Pearl echo that of other players, most prominently Ren and Martyn, that Pearl has been overcome with some sort of corruption. She has become the witch, the demoness, the whore, in their eyes. Scott does not want to be the same as these men and I think his overcorrecting his behaviour in SL makes sense when you view it from this angle, but for now he has to rely on more traditional misogyny in order to navigate this new obstacle.

"Corruption" also implies that she had to have been pure (or at least pure-er) beforehand, something Scott personally knows is not true, but it falls in line with defaulting women to being "madonnas".

This is a Scott post but. shout outs to Ren for being all of this about Pearl but without the complexity of Scott like he literally accuses Pearl of seducing Bigb what the fuck man.

Pearl is, of course, none of that. But she plays into the role of being the witch much better than she fared playing into the role of the madonna.

Sidenote: I know I'm looking at this from a Scott/Pearl POV but I do feel like you can omit Scott's attraction if you look at it from a purely "pearl not performing to standards of femininity I expect and she makes me realise I don't view women as a whole as human which makes me feel weird so now we have to do this" POV. Like idk I think the exact reason he abandoned Pearl is going to be lost on everyone forever so any analysis I could perform is going to suffer at least a little bit of making-shit-up-itis.

I do also think there's something to be said about Pearl being pushed until she performed a role, any role and generally failing at Being A Girl tm but that's another post i think. yknow shes um. a bit. 🏳️‍⚧️ (but also very much not at the same time idk that's gonna need its own post)

anyway yeah uh the minecraft movie looks crazy huh

[misshoneyimhome]

i LIVE for dad willy!! imagine willy taking his little baby to the all star game. getting to take the baby on the ice and hanging around w his teammates. i can’t it’s so cute

Oh darling, I hear you 🤗❤️

Now I might have accidentally mixed up my own timeline, my bad 🙈 but I attempted to incorporate it into this 「Dad!Willy x reader」 (I'm not saying my manifestation worked, but my manifestation worked 🙌🏼) and simply expanded upon the plot - and yes, we're embracing the Star Wars order for this one 😂

But I sincerely hope you enjoy it, love 🤍

Word count; 1.2K

・✶ ｡ﾟ

Hey now, you���re All Star 🌟 I William Nylander [Dad!Willy]

Being pregnant was likely one of the toughest things you've ever experienced, maybe only surpassed by the pain of giving birth. But fortunately, that part tended to fade from memory, thanks to the brain's chemical magic.

Yet, what proved even more challenging was when William hit the road with the Leafs, leaving you alone with your newborn. Thankfully, both your mum and William's mum came to your aid during the team's first week away since your son's birth.

Still, it was tough. You simply wanted William to fully engage with his new role as a parent. That meant waking up in the middle of the night when the baby cried, handling round-the-clock feeding, and changing diapers. Naturally, William wasn't too thrilled about those tasks; they weren't exactly his favourite types of duties.

But whenever he was home in Toronto, though, you made sure he took on his fair share of parenting responsibilities – minus the breastfeeding, which had to do with formula. And surprisingly, William embraced the father role quite adeptly. He was even amazed at how fatherly he felt.

In the last months of your pregnancy, William had a bundle of concerns about the impending chapter in your lives. But fortunately, the other fathers on the team provided ample support, guiding him through the typical worries of first-time fatherhood. And when Eliot finally arrived, William felt well-prepared for his new role.

He proudly took Eliot to the rink to introduce him to his teammates, carrying him around and even skating a few rounds, while you nervously watched from the side-lines. Nothing went wrong; and it was utterly adorable, almost enough to make your ovaries applaud.

And the first hockey games with Eliot were memorable too. Snuggled up in a blanket with oversized headphones on his tiny head, you watched as the Leafs hit the ice.

Then the first offseason came, and it was exhilarating as you both embraced your roles as full-time parents. Travelling back home to visit your parents and heading to Sweden to spend time with William's family were cherished moments. And upon returning to Toronto, you settled back into your routine, with William focused on hockey, and you splitting your time between fellow hockey mums and juggling remote work.

Easier said than done, though. Despite Eliot being a sweet child, being alone with a new born wasn't always a stroll in the park.

So, whenever William had a day off, you made him take over parenting duties so you could catch up on some much-needed sleep. And as he, too, needed the rest after days filled with hockey games and training, eventually, you settled disagreements on who should take the parenting reins with mature rounds of rock, paper, scissors.

The holidays were the next highlight on your calendar – the first Christmas together as a small family of three. And it was absolutely wonderful. Eliot was, of course, spoiled with presents, and you went all out with Christmas decorations. It was a wholesome experience, with most of William's and your family members visiting, some attending hockey matches, while others helped care for Eliot and prepare dinner.

And after the holidays, you returned to the routine of everyday life in January – or as "every day" as life could be as a hockey partner. Just a week into the new year, William's contract extension was in its final stages, and you were beyond excited about the outcome. Naturally, you’d followed him everywhere, knowing that being with both him and your child was essential. But when the contract negotiations concluded, you were beyond thrilled that your family would remain in Toronto for the next eight years.

In your mind, this stability meant Eliot could enjoy a solid childhood without frequent moves. And it was no secret that it held special significance for William, given his own experience of not staying in one place for long during childhood.

To add to the excitement, William was gearing up to participate in this year's NHL All-Star Game events, an extra special occasion as it would be hosted in Toronto. Fans had voted him in, marking his debut as one of the players on the ice. It was an event that everyone looked forward to, though you were also slightly jealous of hearing the other wives were talking about finally having some time off with their husbands. 

Yet, the All-Star Game turned out to be a fantastic event.

The NHL had gone all out in preparations for the All-Star event – red carpets, journalists, countless interviews, and interactions with the Toronto community. William, alongside Auston, Mo, and Mitchy, was in the spotlight. And naturally, your man had to make his entrance with nothing but style.

You could almost sense how many people were admiring him, but as you stood there holding Eliot in your arms, all you felt was pride. Only one person felt prouder than you: William.

At the first opportunity, he scooped up Eliot and proudly showcased him to the cameras. Everyone commented on how stylish the little Willy Styles lookalike appeared, and you couldn't help but beam as William posed with him.

Even during interviews, Eliot sat contentedly in William's lap. Luckily, he was a well-behaved child, sitting still while William answered questions.

Then the main event began.

After the drafting ceremony, you quickly found matching jerseys for you and Eliot to support the blue team. The then the All-Star challenges began. William of course excelled in almost all the disciplines, and the blue team even secured a victory in the end.

Yet, the most amazing part of the weekend wasn't just witnessing William's stellar performance on the ice. It was the company of other partners, combined with the electric energy from the fans in the arena – an experience beyond imagination if you hadn't been there. You had the chance to mingle with other players on a friendly level, given that it wasn't part of the regular season. And meeting unexpected celebrities added to the overall fantastic atmosphere.

Then came the moment that melted your heart all over again.

William skated back onto the ice, this time holding Eliot in front of everyone – the fans, fellow hockey players, and cameras. And he exuded nothing but pride. William was thrilled to showcase his first-born son, a moment he hadn't expected to experience so soon in his life.

It was incredible how Eliot could sleep through almost all of it – a clear testament to who his father was, something you couldn't help but find incredibly amusing.

And after the time in the spotlight, you caught up with two of William's sisters, Michelle and Stephanie as they, too, were thrilled about Eliot, playing the role of the young and energised aunts. Which allowed you and William to have a brief moment to yourselves.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?" William smiled, finally able to hold you closely with no cameras around and no baby in between you.

"Not nearly enough," you chuckled before pulling him in for a heartfelt kiss.

The kiss deepened a sweet and intimate moment that spoke volumes without the need for words. You both relished in the tranquillity, grateful for this stolen moment of connection amidst the whirlwind of events. As you pulled away, there was a shared understanding that, amid the exciting and busy life you led, these quiet moments together were the ones you cherished the most. With a lingering smile, you and William rejoined the company of family and friends, appreciating the joyous atmosphere surrounding you.

[thechekhov]

Hello! Just wanted to say I love all your content but I wanted to ask if you had any advice/tips for running curse of strahd? I'm working on getting ready to run it with some friends/my partner and while I've run a fair amount of homebrew stuff this is my real first attempt at a legit module so I was curious if you could share anything since I believe you also are running/had run that module as well?

Thanks for asking! This is a very fun question!

I have indeed run Curse of Strahd. It was my first foray into long-term DMing and my team and I finished that campaign a little under a year ago. It was awesome, and I'm always excited to talk about it. Curse of Strahd had be a great game if everyone is on the same page!

First of all, I'm gonna say

Having Experience with Homebrew will be a huge boon

When I ran CoS, I followed the actual module about... 60% of the time. It was good... as a baseline/blueprint. But the reality is that I changed up a lot of the details. Either because I didn't like the vibes of the story, or because the plot points were antithetical to my team's goals. I changed up an entire floor of Ravenloft. I threw away a whole storyline for a major NPC because I felt it was too boring.

I think most people who run Curse of Strahd do this, actually. I've heard countless tales of how others Homebrewed their own meat onto the skeleton, and still came out of the campaign with an awesome, Strahd flavored experience. So don't worry about that part.

Here's my advice:

1. Everyone should vibe with what Strahd IS as a game.

Strahd can be a lot of things - you can Homebrew your own motivations into him, or make him a her, or change the history of his castle if need be. But if there's one thing Curse of Strahd is... it is DARK.

The Venn Diagram of Parties Who Understand That Suffering Can Be Fun To Roleplay and Parties Who Had A Good Time Doing CoS is probably a circle. You cannot do this adventure with a group of people who just want to hit monsters a whole bunch. It's an inherently 'oh my god this SUCKS' adventure. That's the main theme. Your players need to be able to enjoy that sort of game, otherwise they will just be miserable.

One of my players, upon arriving in Barovia, immediately said 'I hate it here' and then continued to say it for the rest of the campaign. That is kind of the catchphrase of CoS. Your players need to be comfortable with that sort of bleak horror and overall misery. It makes the end and the potential to finally end Strahd worth it.

That being said, Strahd can also just be... a lot. It has death and torture and psychological horror in there. KIDS DIE. Please discuss this stuff with your table, and remove elements if they guarantee a bad experience for everyone!

(Yes, you can trim down some of the viscera if you need to, that's fine. But keep in mind it will still be tragic. It SHOULD still be tragic. I set some boundaries for myself, but I also killed a whole town in an avalanche. It happened to be the only town my players had grown to like. It was a dick move. It was exactly what you would expect to happen.)

2. Read ahead - A LOT AHEAD.

For a self-contained world, Barovia isn't actually that big. It's a very small map, compared to some that span continents. That means you have the ability to flesh it out, as it were.

To add to that... some areas are... severely underdeveloped plot-wise. Sometimes there are places your players will go where it FEELS like it should link up to another point in the game but it just... doesn't. There is room to expand there. Use your Homebrew skills to connect the dots that the module doesn't!

I greatly recommend taking the time to either read through the whole adventure OR listen through some video-essays. There IS some cool stuff that comes in in the later game that you can grab and put down breadcrumbs for from day one. Or add to your own story twists.

My recommended resource for this is the Curse of Strahd DM's Guide video series.

...and to that end...

3. Start living in Ravenloft Castle WAY before your players get there.

Listen..........listen. look.

Look at this, and suffer as all GMs have suffered.

Castle Ravenloft is unarguably the biggest, stupidest, most architecturally ludicrous hurdle when it comes to GMing CoS. And I am here to tell you - IT IS DOABLE.

You can understand the castle, you can grow comfortable with it. But you need to start early. Hell, I think I began to set up Ravenloft maps before my players even knew it existed. Then I stopped, because I was scared.. but then I went back, and I.... roleplayed SOLO on my off-days! I set up little scenes between Strahd and others and imagined him setting traps, and doing other things. It helped me understand which staircase led to where, and what floors were accessible from which angles.

A part of me actually thinks that there should be a mini GMs-only class where a more experienced Strahd GM takes some time with other GMs to guide them through a map of the castle. A CoS Learning Oneshot, if you will.

There's also a LOT of talented mapmakers that create beautiful, digital CoS maps! Here's one:

Even if you are playing analogue, at a physical table, I greatly encourage you to check it out for reference. The official CoS maps are bleak and a little bit more... rustic? Than they are gothic.

Anyway, in order to avoid talking your ear off, I will end it here.

My last bit of advice is... to have fun!

Yes I know I just said that Strahd is an inherently bad-vibes game. But it's actually GOOD to let your players goof off now and then. Don't be afraid to let them do shenanigans. It builds character, and allows them to regain the energy they need to role-play properly heavy elements later.

My group did a whole bunch of funny stuff. They felt so bad about losing Ireena that when they saw Ismark, instead of explaining themselves to him they cast Darkness and tried to scramble away. There was a running joke that the cleric was too good to know about sex, so they used the euphemism 'play cards' around her, much to everyone's amusement. They got kicked by a walking house once and never forgot nor forgave. And finally, they defeated some Flame Skulls by putting them into a bag of holding.

Anyway, the point is... have fun! I wish you and your party the best of luck. :)

[mdhwrites]

THE. HERTA.

The writers from the Intelligentsia Guild wanted to give me an extra title. Something like "Herta Prime" to separate me from my puppets. How banal. Are the puppets not "me" as well? So, I gave them a suggestion — if they dared to write that, then I would call myself THE Herta. It's short, simple, straight to the point, and elegant.

Esteemed member #83 of the Genius Society, human, female, young, beautiful, attractive. It's said that she lives in the far edge of the Cosmos, almost never leaving. Sounds like her appearance this time... must be to deal with an issue that has to be handled herself, right?

Image and above text taken from Hoyo's English account on Twitter.

OH MY GOD I'M HYPED! And just this alone already feels right. I'll admit when I first saw her I went "Teen Lisa" at the design... But it's a teenager which is kind of major to me. Framing her that young fits exceptionally well with who she has been throughout the entire game. Hear me out:

When we first meet her, she's a petulant, uncaring brat who just wants to play with her toys and hardly cares for people who don't make her life more fun. A bad ending to Star Rail's beginning is sticking around and Herta losing interest in you because of the lack of change. All she cares about is her simulated universe.

By the time Ruan Mei is there though, she's spent a lot more time at the Space Station than she ever has before. She now has a group of peers she has been working with for a long while, something implied she hasn't done really, much like Ruan Mei. But instead of just taking charge and telling the others what geniuses they'll recruit, she's asking for input, wanting their thoughts, stuff like that. She is learning her game is more fun with more players.

A sidequest in Penacony pushes her the next step where she is given a heavy weight. A weapon used to destroy entire star systems. She doesn't mock the scientist, the gift or the weapon like she might have at the start. She treats the Stellaron in us as just a weapon to be played with after all. No, she solemnly tucks it away for later, respectful of the wish that someone who can maybe use it for good have it. It's a responsibility that she must accept, properly, with no one like Asta to shirk it off to. Instead of trying to ignore it though, she treats it with respect.

Finally, we have the Unknown Domain which has a LOT to it about Herta potentially opening up due to it being about something so critical to who she is... But the one I want to zoom in on is the ending. For someone who saw themselves as so high and mighty, who theoretically treats the universe as a curiosity to be replicated, who can only be interested in the strange and unknowable, the curiosities of existence... She gives a mundanite comfort. Thanks someone who could never approach her understanding for giving her the first step into being who she is. She knows it's a simulation but she feels that weight enough to feel the need to thank the simulation regardless.

And now she deems something so important that she comes herself? What could that possibly mean? She needs to kiss Ruan Mei? I can't even begin to properly guess but I am excited to put it mildly because we have gotten to see this teenager, some loli bait doll, become a young woman and now we'll get a physical manifestation of it and I LOVE IT.

Also, just a shout out to the description perfectly explaining why she's Ice Erudition again. "The puppets are me." So why would she be anything other than just a refined, perfected version of the puppets? Also she uses a keyblade/staff which makes the Kingdom Hearts fan in me happy and I'm just SO curious what we're going to see with her. A Herta who summons other Hertas? Does she spin with the key? Is the portal cat an actual thing to her? GIVE ME MORE INFORMATION STAR RAIL!

But for now, I am just excited to let my mind expand thanks to this first turn of her key to let us see who she will be. I just hope it's as exciting when she opens the door properly. See you next tale.

======+++++======

A reminder my asks are open and I'd love questions about Star Rail or even story ideas! I struggle more with concepts to write about for Star Rail far more than I wish I did and I'd love to hear your all's thoughts for a font of inspiration.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[talaok]

In another life || Spencer Reid x Unsub! reader

warnings: smut (oral sex - m receiving- , unprotected p in v sex, soft dom! reader, praising)

"We know you killed them"

"No" you smiled "you don't"

he sighed, clearly mad "this is you leaving the hotel the night Alex Diley was murdered"

A photo appeared beneath your eyes.

The curve on your lips remained "Oh yes I remember that one"

"It was a nice hotel"

"too bad it's gonna be closed for a while now" you pouted, your fingers tapping rhythmically on the metal table as if you were lost in your thoughts.

"This is you driving away from another crime scene," the other man said "just minutes after Richard Melton was shot in the chest with a 28' caliber"

Another picture, another grin

"Richard Melton" you repeated the name "no, doesn't ring a bell" you shrugged apologetically, the fire inside of you only expanding as the more muscular one passed a hand on his head, his nostrils flaring in anger, while the other one was avoiding your glare.

This was fun.

"And what about Marcus Alvin?" he asked "shot three times in the chest, head, and groin"

You winced "he must have made someone mad"

You took the crime photo in your hand, attentively examining it "that's a shame" you exhaled "he was handsome"

your eyes found his.

"much like you" your teeth caged a smirk from breaking free "Spencer Reid, is it?"

He tried not to look like it, but he was surprised.

You knew his name, of course you knew his name,

It stunned you they thought you would have ever come here without knowing everything you needed to,

but then of course, they had no real idea of who they were talking to.

"Oh I'm sorry" you laughed softly "Doctor Spencer Reid" you corrected yourself "I heard you don't like it when people forget it"

His eyes glanced at the "mirror" behind you, and you couldn't help but smile.

You noticed how it took him a moment to get back to normal, like he had gone somewhere else for a moment "This isn't a joke miss y/l/n, you're the prime suspect for a series of murders" he urged "we have photos of you in compromising situations"

"Miss y/l/n?" you cocked an eyebrow "please call me y/n, Spencer"

his cheeks got pinker

"alright y/n" the one you knew was named Morgan said like you were talking to him "where were you yesterday night?”

You smirked “I was with a friend, we were… having fun”

“And who’s this friend?” Spencer asked

“Why?” You bit your lip “are you jealous doctor?”

You swore you saw it.

His lips twitched for a moment too long into a smile before his face went back to stoic.

“I need the man’s name to verify your alibi”

“Do you?” you asked way too playfully considering the position you were in

“I do”

You took a deep breath, contemplating what to do “Simon” you said “Simon Miller”

“He’s gonna confirm your alibi?”

You raised an eyebrow, tilting your head challengingly “you think I’m easy to forget Spencer?”

“No” he admitted “I don’t”

You took him in, your eyes traveling up and down his tall figure until the table hid his body.

He was handsome

What was a man like that doing working for the FBI?

For the “good guys”?

He would have had more success on the other side, on your side, and undoubtedly, a lot more fun too.

He frowned "why are you here?"

He anticipated your own question

" What do you mean Doctor?"

You pretended not to notice the shift in his eyes every time you called him that.

"you know what I mean Y/n"

It seems two can play a game

You had to admit,

his name did sound extraordinarily good rolling off his tongue.

"Well I realized you were gonna want to talk to me sooner or later," you said "and I'm a woman who likes to be in charge"

He swallowed, his adam's apple slowly bobbing up and then down, a hint of panic in his eyes

Oh you so had him

You smiled

"What time is it?" you reached your hand out to him, expecting

He glanced at you before obliging, resting his arm on the table, as your fingers slowly grazed his skin, to show his watch.

It didn't take you that long to read it, you just liked having your hands on him.

"As much as I'd like to stay here and talk to you Spencer" you sighed "I'm expected somewhere"

Was it disappointment you saw flash behind his eyes?

You hoped so.

"Well you're free to go," he said, clearing his throat "Just keep yourself available"

You reached for the doorknob and turned "for you Doctor" you said "I'm always available"

__ __ __

"hello doctor"

"Wha-what are you doing here?" He stuttered, shocked

"I wanted to apologize about today"

"How do you know where I live?"

You just smiled, and made your way in, his gaze following you.

"I know a lot of things" you shrugged, passing a finger through his overfilled bookshelf.

The house was him, absolutely, completely him.

Even the smell seemed to resemble his being

"You-" he stopped a moment " you cannot be here," he said, more like he was reminding himself.

"why?" you asked "I'm not doing anything" you shrugged, taking off your coat to reveal the very tight red dress underneath.

You smiled as he took you in, his eyes stopping a moment too long on your cleavage.

"you have great taste" you referred to the books

"I like a man who knows his classics"

"t-thank you, but you should go"

You liked the way he was shier now, like the mask he wore at work had dropped and you had caught him just as it had fallen.

"Why?" you pouted, taking a step towards him "you don't believe in all the things they say, do you Spence?"

"I-" he gulped "This isn't right"

"Spencer" you sighed, your fingers tracing his tie "I'm just here to talk" you bit down a grin "unless you have other things in mind"

"I don't" he answered immediately, like he was convincing himself more than you.

"you're still wearing your work clothes," you noticed

"I just got home"

"you work too much Doctor" you feigned worry "you should relax more"

you undid his tie, his body stiff under your fingers "I know some great ways how"

"y/n-" his eyes danced between yours

"yes, Spencer?"

"you should go" he tried to let the ounce of common sense he still had, prevail, but even he wasn't convinced.

"And you should sit" you murmured, pushing him towards the couch

He did, staring up at you like he was terrified

"Relax" you smiled "I won't bite"

"unless you want me to" you winked, kneeling down in front of him, your hands on each of his thighs.

He was only able to whisper your name shily as you undid the zipper

You shuffled his pants down together with his boxers, and he could only watch, hypnotized.

"aw baby" you cooed, taking his painfully hard cock in your hand "you're already leaking baby" you gently stroked it " let me take care of you" you kissed the tip "let me help you relax"

He only whimpered as you took him in your mouth, gently hollowing your cheeks to please him even more.

"f-fuck" he spat out, making you grin internally.

You kept going, bobbing your head up and down, as a lewd noise filled the room.

"oh my god" he mumbled, his hand absentmindedly going to move some hair out of your face.

"shit this is-" he tried, but he was talking as if he had just ran five marathons "you are-"

"you like it?" you asked, leaning away a moment but continuing to let your hand do the working

"I do" he confessed, breathlessly "I do"

"That's good spencer" you smiled, kissing his tip "I do too" you took him in again, the head hitting the back of your throat as you forced yourself soo deep your nose was against his groin.

He groaned loudly "fuck" he murmured, gripping the cushion beneath him, as his head dropped back.

You did it again before pulling away.

"take off your shirt baby" you ordered, standing up, and he hesitated a moment before obliging.

You grinned as he looked at you expectantly.

he looked so cute there, underneath you, his hair all messed up, his chest inflating and deflating way too quickly- he was just so adorable.

"You're really pretty Doctor" you couldn't help but confess, making him blush "Do you want me to take care of you some more?"

"y-yes" he nodded shamelessly "yes"

You hid a chuckle.

Mr. "you should go" seemed to have changed his mind.

"mm" you hummed, reaching underneath your dress to take off your panties " is this what you want?" you asked straddling his lap

"mh-mh" he breathed,

"words Spencer, use them" you whispered as you kissed his neck

"yes"

You smirked "good boy," you said, taking his dick in your hand to position it at your entrance.

The mixture of both your loud moans bounced off his apartment's walls as you slowly sank down on him.

"God baby" you laughed softly, feeling ecstatic "You feel so good"

He really did.

He was stretching you out in the perfect way, and you could feel it all over your body.

"shit" he whimpered "you too y/n"

His lips were looking particularly tempting right now but you didn't wanna kiss him, you couldn't.

That would have been intimate, and this wasn't.

This was just sex.

Sex with a handsome, gifted in many ways, interesting man.

that's all.

So you went for his cheek instead, leaving a quick kiss on it, and a trace of lipstick, before you started moving, pushing yourself off and then down his dick faster and faster, until he was hitting that spongey spot inside of you each time.

His mouth was gaped open, ragged little breaths escaping it, and while your eyes were to his face, his were somewhere else,

somewhere much lower

"you wanna see them, baby?"

"I-" he gulped "can- can I?"

"of course spencer" you kept moving as your hands left his chest to move the dress's straps off of your shoulders and your dress down onto your torso, releasing your tits.

His eyes immediately fell there, a cute moan leaving his throat at the sight.

"you can touch," you said, but he didn't even give you time to process it before his mouth went to your nipple, starting to suck and kiss passionately as his hand groped your other boob.

You couldn't help but stifle a giggle at the sight, but soon, the newest pleasure he was provoking mixed with the one of his cock, caused the knot in your stomach to tighten.

"fuck spencer" you moaned, and he just whimpered against your boobs.

"Baby I'm coming" you whined

"you gonna come with me?"

"gonna be good and come deep inside of me?"

He nodded eagerly and you bit your lip as you placed a hand on his shoulder to get even more leverage to quicken your pace.

The knot was ready to break down, you could feel it.

"come, baby"

"fill me up Spencer" you moaned loudly as your orgasm burst inside of you like a fire, spreading all over in a matter of seconds.

You felt him follow just after, his head falling to your chest, one of his hands still on your tits as with a loud groan, he filled you up completely.

"god" you said breathlessly, getting off of him

"Yeah," he agreed, glancing over at you.

"Do you-"

"I need to go" you interrupted him.

"I have to go Spencer, but I really enjoyed this"

"Oh, ok" he nodded, and you felt your heart break, but it was for the best,

you had felt something, something strong, and it wasn't only that it scared you, it was that it had absolutely terrified you.

Whatever it was, it was dangerous,

and you needed to get away from it, from him, as soon as possible.

You dressed yourself quickly and he did the same, only managing to slip on his boxers.

"you were amazing doctor," you said, turning to him as you reached for the front door "I'll see you again" you smiled, reaching to stroke his cheek "either soon or in another life" you kissed it briefly, not giving yourself time to look at him before rushing out of the door.

Your heart was beating fast as you reached inside your bag.

All this, all this time in this business, all this time perfecting the art, and all it took was an FBI agent to fuck it all up.

You held your breath as you reached for your phone, and as you looked down at it, the recording still going, his face flashed before you, and as you turned back, his door closed, him on the other side, you took a decision.

One every part of you was against.

Another life it was.

[bananathebookworm]

TLOVM S3 Eps 4-6 Ramblings

Ep. 4

Ashley is just... so good at what she does...

Hell is disgusting. I love it.

I know splitting the party is almost always a bad idea in D&D, but I really like how they've done it in this series. It helps to get through so many important plot points. (And also makes it easier on the animators to have less characters involved in each scene.)

The concentration check fail to drop their disguises is a nice touch

I like that we get more about the NPCs stories simply because they introduced things like EXU later. They expanded on lore that didn't exist when this campaign was originally played and it's really cool to see. I'm only disappointed we didn't get to see Senokir.

Loving this card game between Pike and Zerxus.

I really want Bell's Hells to go to the Hells and talk to Zerxus. I mostly just want Luis back at the table. Let him take over like Abu did.

Also the Aabria, Brennan, and Matt in the stained glass pictures while Zerxus is retelling of his friends during the Calamity is phenomenal.

"Do you want your family here?" Damn Pike. Get him.

"We all have blindspots." I refuse to believe that wasn't a deliberate reference to Ashley's show. Especially after Scanlan's reference to Phoenix Wright a few episodes ago.

I need a mini-series of Zerxus life in Hell please.

Ep. 5

Kima and Allura being badass is always a plus. I want a mini-series of their adventuring days.

I wish they had included Scanlan slaying the pit fiend with Mythcarver. It was one of the only times Scanlan used his sword and we got one hell of a cutting words song from it. And also no one but Keyleth saw his victory which would've added to the "Scanlan is not appreciated enough" story.

"Let's get weird." I love that they throw in the various player phrases too. Not just the one-liners from characters, but the actual quirks of the players at the table that span all characters.

Kaiju battle! The only thing missing is Pike's Divine Intervention punching Vorugal out of the sky.

The Magnificent Mansion baby!

Ep. 6

Chateau Shorthalt! Love it.

Okay, but the cannonball contest is one of my favourite downtime moments. I know it was probably passed over for time, but I'd love to see it animated.

Oh god, the bath scene. I knew they wouldn't pass it over just because of how everyone reacted to that moment, but I wasn't sure how they were going to do it. Welp. Here we are. Fucking hilarious as always.

I love these moments of character bonding so much. I know we can't have as many of them in the series as in the game, but it's good that they include at least a few.

Oh this scry is rough... Scanlan is not well.

Well shit. I didn't think he'd leave at that moment. Though I do like that Pike both knows and encourages it because Ashley wasn't there for this whole thing. Sam said that if she'd been there Pike would've been the only one that could've convinced him to stay. I'm really curious if we're still going to get the "What is my mother's name?" breakdown.

Are Kash and Zahra going to return? I know they were there for at least part of this lead up to Thordak.

I really love how these different battles are choreographed. I love that they can combo and support each other's abilities now that initiative order doesn't need to be tracked.

General

I'm really enjoying this season so far. So many important character things are happening both independently and as a group.

I don't necessarily love the pacing, but I also understand that condensing a 500 hour campaign into seasons that are about 4.5 hours long total is a fucking behemoth of a task. Like even if we go two more seasons, that's only 20-25 hours total. So much has to be cut and reworked to make a coherent story.

[howlonomy]

Oh? What's this? A frame from a silly little thing I'm working on? Well then, let's take a look an-

Oh... oh dear...

Don't expect this one anytime soon, because this is frame 166 out of who know how many (probably, like, 500 or so). And that's with skipping ahead in the whole ass MONOLOGUE I wrote for this (with a grand total of THIRY FOUR LINES), five lines ahead to be exact, which I am writing two characters at a time to try and make it seem like in-game dialogue. Thankfully when I get to this line, I can just work backwards and delete the characters that I don't need at that time

OH, and this is only part 1 of 2 because they each have different aspect ratios. I COULD have had them be the same, but then I'd have to remake each sprite I used to scale them up or down depending on which one I would have decided on, and there is no way I'm doing that even though it would, technically, be easier

Yeah this one is definitely gonna be an on-off sorta thing while I work on the rest of the Clovers. I am sooooo dreading part 2 (which is where I got the idea for this) since it will have so many complicated things to make

Gonna be honest, I never expected to have this many silly ideas for you, so thanks for expanding my creativity at the cost of my own sanity. However, I would gladly go insane for The Goober

OH MY GODD!??!? A WHOLE SEQUENCE ARE YOU INSANE???!??? WITH DIALOGUE AND EVERYTHING HOLY SHIT

I KNOWWW THIS SHIT IS GONNA HURT SO BAD AAUGH I WILL BE WAITING ANXIOUSLY FOR THIS OH MY GOD

this si so evil and you areso powerful for doing all these auagwjag

[epicspheal]

Where's My Sister's Purrloin!? A Hugh Analysis

"Yeah… OK! Let's go get your Pokémon! There's something I have to do! And to do that, I need someone I can trust besides my partner Pokémon. A person I can trust! That's right! I'm talking about you! You seem like you've got good instincts!" <- Meeting Hugh outside of Aspertia City

Oh Hugh! Definitely one of the most misunderstood rivals. Also one of my favorites (also that seems to be a trend with the characters I like but that's a topic for another day). Hugh is our sole rival in BW2 and he's a rival with one of the most unique motivations for a rival character in the franchise.

Let's start by looking at Hugh's name which is rather straightforward. In all of the translations it's a homophone for the word Hue which is a major property of colors in color theory. He follows the naming conventions of Cheren and Bianca in that there all color themed which harks back to gens 1 and 2 where the main characters have color names (which makes sense as gen 5 was a bit of a soft reboot to the franchise in some respects). Of note his German, Spanish and French names of refer to the famous painter Henri Matisse who was known for his Fauvism style which opted for strong colors, again reinforcing the color symbolism. Interesting to note that Hugh as a given name that has mix of Irish and Germanic origin meaning "mind, intellect and spirit" with it actually being an anglicized version of Gaelic "Aodh" which means "fire". Hugh is certainly very intellectual, spirited and fiery especially when it comes to getting his revenge on Team Plasma and getting his sister's Purrloin back.

Next to look at his team. Like many rivals, he gets a traditional starter, but it's one that he raised from an egg. One that's actually stronger than your starter on the type chart. But honestly I think his signature Pokemon (based on what we see in Pokemas) is his Bouffalant. Bouffalant is described in a few Pokedex entries as be wild and reckless charging at everything. Which is quite reminiscent of Hugh during much of the game when it comes to Team Plasma. Indeed when you take a look at the rest of his team members you'll see that often times Hugh opts for high-risk, high reward moves such as Wild Charge on his Eelektross and Bouffalant (which gives recoil), Giga Impact on his Unfezant (forces the user to not use any move after atacking, leaving it vulnerable), Fire Blast/Hydro Pump/Leaf Storm on his starter (high powered but not 100% accuracy).

Which when you look at his character overall, makes a lot of sense. He's very passionate but the passion veers into recklessness in many respects.

Hugh gets a lot of flak from the community for going on and on about his sister's Purrloin. But people do that forget this is his driving motivation. And also most Pokemon characters tend to repeat themselves (which is less a symptom of them being bad characters, but of the writers not knowing how to vary dialogue that gets the point across without being repetitive).

But yes Hugh's very unlike most rivals in that he really isn't concerned about the rivalry. It's not that Hugh is a jerk. He's very kind to the player and generally respectful of others outside of Team Plasma (to whom he does not show a lot of mercy to in the beginning). It's just his primary goal isn't besting the protagonist. Rosa/Nate just so happen to be friends that he challenges to see if they can keep up with him while he takes down Team Plasma. In many ways he expands on the role carved out by Silver, who also was more concerned strength for the sake of defying his father than dealing with the protagonist but just didn't mind antagonizing them when they crossed paths. And Gladion and Marnie also fall in this trend as being more concerned about a goal that's not just "I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was".

"You're a little worried? Are you KIDDING me?! Your Pokémon might be lost forever! Whatever! I'll look! ! Help out!" <- On Flocessy Ranch

This a line that sticks out to me as it occurs when the owners of the Floccessy Ranch lost their Herdier and Hugh is extremely upset…more upset than Herdier's actual owners. At this point in the story he hasn't revealed the whole bit about his sister's Purrloin but this line is good foreshadowing to the eventual reveal. He's seen the trauma first hand of a stolen Pokemon can do and it causes an immediate reaction

"Shut it! You guys are the worst! You talk about saving Pokémon, but you're just Pokémon thieves! Don't think I'll ever forgive you!" <- Meeting Team Plasma in Virbank

Now I know Pokemon isn't known for writing but I honestly feel like they were doing a good job in slowly revealing more about Hugh and his motivations as we continued to encounter him during the journey. Once again we're adding more to Hugh, that not only has he probably seen a Pokemon get stolen, but that Pokemon was stolen by Team Plasma. But more importantly you can see a major flaw of his. That he is struggling with forgiveness as we see that he constantly references not forgiving Team Plasma throughout the game

"Five years ago… Team Plasma stole my little sister's Purrloin. It had been given to her as a present. I was only a little kid… I couldn't do anything… So… So that's why I have to get stronger!" <- Nimbasa City

And here's the big reveal. Now what sticks out to me is how powerless he felt. Of course this is a common trope with young characters who have been in serious situations to feel powerless and become hellbent on getting stronger to the point it kind of blinds them in a way (cough Paulo cough). But it's nice to see this in Pokemon with Hugh. It fits into the underlying theme of BW2 that deals with progression and how the region of Unova as a whole progresses from the events two years prior.

Given that Hugh states that Purrloin was taken 5 years ago that means that Team Plasma had been starting their public operations 3 years prior to the events of the original Black and White Games (we know of course N had been groomed by Ghetsis to be king as a young child but this gives us confirmation of them starting more public operations earlier in the timeline). Hugh, his sister, and countless others in Unova had been suffering the loss of their Pokemon for half a decade and that's heartbreaking.

Hugh: "Wait! I just remembered. Clay… Why? What's the reason? Why have you forgiven Team Plasma?" Clay: "There's always room for folks to grow and change, ain't there? And, if ya only go after what ya think is right, ya might end up rejectin' all thoughts and opinions other than yer own. That's mighty dangerous." Hugh: "Hmph… Is that one of those compromises adults are supposed to make? Whatever! I'm gonna fight Team Plasma! Oh yeah, what were you wanting to show us?" <- Clay and Hugh after the player wins the Quake Badge from Clay

This exchange is really important as while Hugh at the moment isn't truly ready for forgiveness from Team Plasma…it's shows he's not so closeminded to the idea as if he were, he wouldn't have even asked Clay why he had forgiven them. He's still resistant to the idea of forgiving Team Plasma as we see in later moments he's vary wary of working with ex-Team Plasma members to fight off Neo Team Plasma, but all hope is not lost. This is an important first step in his overall growth.

"That's the ONLY Purrloin in the world that my late grandpa caught for my little sister!" <- On the Plasma Frigate for the second time

This is a huge line for me. I've seen one too many people joke over the years "It's just a Purrloin, LUL. Why can't he just go get another one for his sister" and it lowkey irks me. Like his late grandfather went out of his way to catch that Purrloin for his sister. That's special. And even if their grandpa was still alive, or if someone else had of caught it, it doesn't change the fact that Hugh's sister bonded with that Purrloin. That's not a bond you can simply replace. Who knows if another Purrloin and his sister would've bonded the same way. It shows a great deal of maturity on Hugh's part to understand what that Purrloin meant to his sister compared to those (both in-universe and out) who say it's just as easy as replacing the Pokemon with another one.

"Wh-what? Don't mess with me… That's someone else's Pokémon!" "Sorry… This situation is messing with my head… I just don't know what to do… I finally found my sister's Pokémon, but now it's glaring at me… Why?!" "… … Hey… … If we let Team Plasma do whatever we want… There'll be more sad Pokémon like Purrloin and Kyurem…" <- On the Plasma Frigate for the third time upon finding his sister's Purrloin

This is such a poignant moment in BW2 for me because Hugh finally finds his sister's Pokemon…only for it to glare at him because it's now used to being under the Shadow Triad's control. You can feel his hurt through his words because this was his goal. This moment. And now he's not even sure he can bring this Purrloin back to his sister. Give Hugh a hug because he deserves it.

"Thanks to you, I accomplished what I set out to do during my journey! I wish I could've shown you my little sister's huge smile! This is my thanks!" <- Victory Road

We get a chance to meet Hugh in Victory Road and we get to hear some good news. His sister and Purrloin have been reunited! It's really touching to see such a good ending for him and his family. Hugh's dialogue is also much more relaxed in Victory Road now that his mission is over. It's good to see him more at ease after him being so wound up the majority of the playthrough

"What? I heard that Team Plasma left many Pokémon behind when they fled. And I'm helping find their real Trainers… That aside… Since you're here, you should have a battle with me before you go!" <- In Driftveil for postgame rematches

And even better? Hugh's begun to forgive Team Plasma (well at least the part that was genuinely following N). This is a huge step forward for someone who was pushing Team Plasma grunts out the way earlier and being hellbent on vengeance. Hugh honestly has one of the most satisfying conclusions for a rival in my opinion. He gets his goal, he learns a valuable lesson in accepting that (some) people can change, and he doesn't have to feel inferior to the player who is constantly beating him.

But Hugh's not done there! When he arrives in Pokemas we get to see him featured in two prominent stories. The first one is Revel In Rivalry where he gets into beef with Bede. It shows that while he has grown he still is a bit quick tempered seeing how easily provoked by Bede he was. But he learns to calm down and come to a truce much faster than he did with Team Plasma (granted there were more dire circumstances there) showing how he had grown from his journey.

Then of course there's the Unova Villain arc where this time it's Hugh that has his partner Bouffalant stolen. And to make matters worse he's been captured alongside N. What I loved about the Unova Villain arc is the focus on Hugh's growth. Yes, he's still very hotheaded. But he's learned to trust and forgive seeing as how he figured out N's identity well before Ghetsis told him in an attempt to break the partnership the two had formed while in captivity. Pre-character development Hugh would've flipped his shit on N. But hearing him talk about the people who spoke so highly of N (referencing the fact that Hugh works with the good part of Team Plasma to get the stolen Pokemon back to their trainers) and him saying he trusts N shows how much he's grown. It's really heartwarming to see him and N team up against Ghetsis' sorry ass.

So yeah, Hugh's a great character that I feel like needs more love in the fandom.

[wildflowercryptid]

Hope its okay if I ask about your versions of Florian and Juliana, thanks ^ _ ^

- Are they siblings?

- What are both their personalities?

- Were they actually raised in Paldea? The MC's in the game are implied to originally be from Galar so I was just wondering that

- Which storylines from the game are each the of them the main character of?

I'm so sorry if I've missed out an info sheet on them hhhhghg

Thank u again!

oh, it’s more than okay to ask about them! i actually really like talking about my interpretations of the pokémon characters, but i just struggle to articulate my ideas a lot of the time. or forget to share them. i’ve been meaning to drop lore for these two so i’ll do that now!

( putting the answers under a cut because i kinda ended up rambling. oops. )

are they siblings?

yes, they are! juliana is the older of the two, but they’re actually super close in age ( with jules not even being a year older than florian. ) because of that, they’re pretty close and sometimes get mistaken for twins. they still bicker and annoy each other like any other typical sibling relationship, but they respect each other a lot and consider each other their greatest confidant. their relationship kinda ends up paralleling carmine and kieran’s own dynamic as siblings, with juliana and florian seeing each other as equals while the same can’t really be said for carmine and kieran.

what are both of their personalities?

while they’re both pretty level-headed, juliana is definitely the more outgoing and confident of the two. florian is more of the reserved type, someone who typically keeps to himself and would much rather wait in the wings than be center stage, ( too bad he’s basically the major protagonist of the story. ) they’re both fairly friendly, but he struggles connecting with others more when compared to his sister. essentially, they’re kinda like a dialed-back version of mabel and dipper pines. florian generally is a very sweet and open-hearted kid who tries to see the best in others, which often leads to his kindness being taken advantage of and getting pushed around easily, ( i.e. carmine convincing him to keep the secret about ogerpon from kieran. ) because of that, juliana is a little protective of him and isn’t afraid to step in when he struggles to stand up for himself. and while she does like to be seen as reliable, that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t encourage florian to be more confident and advocate for himself more. he does end up growing more of a backbone during the timeskip, which makes her very proud. meanwhile, juliana is a lot more outspoken and doesn’t hold back when things need to be called out. she’s still just as compassionate as her brother and is extremely reliable, along with having a very strong moral compass. she definitely fills the cool, reliable older sister role pretty well.

were they actually raised in paldea?

they grew up in galar like what’s implied in canon, but the details are a little different. they’re actually paldean on their mother’s side, who was originally from cabo poco herself. their family decided to move from wyndon back to her hometown after their father lost his job at one of macro cosmos’s now defunct finance subsidiaries. luckily, he was able to land a new desk job in medali and now larry’s his boss. ( the two get along well, they talk about their kids during lunch breaks. )

which storylines from the game are each of them the main character of?

juliana takes on the victory road and starfell street storylines while florian tackles the path of legends and filling out the pokédex, with both of them coming together for the way home. initially, i conceptualized them as co-protagonists and they still kinda are… but florian has definitely taken on the role as primary protagonist with how much shit keeps on just happening to him. i would expand the specifics of how the path of legends plays out for florian and how his friendship with arven develops, but i’ve already rambled enough so i’ll try to talk about that in another post.

hope this answers all your questions and sorry if it's a little long, i've just gotten attached to these kids and have a lot to say about them.

if you have any other questions ( about the paldea kids or mjverse in general, ) please feel free to ask them! it might take me a sec to reply, but i'll try my best!

[efingart]

How do you came up with Mila’s story? I have to say is one of the best Bell stories I have ever read. Very cool.

Hello! Oh my god thank you so much!! It makes me so happy when people like JWIN 💙💙💙 I know it's a beast of a story and still going lol. (Also I'm going to refer to Bell as she here to make it easy)

How did I come up with it? Well, it all started with Cold War and Frank Woods kicking a Soviet Guard in the face 😂. That was the moment when I realized that Frank Woods was my guy. (I played Cold War before BO1 & 2 I knew nothing.) Also, given that before that mission, Frank was the first person in the Cold War crew with whom I felt any kind of genuine camaraderie. He's the first person who gave Bell a real compliment and then he rescues her like that?? Be still my heart.

The gears really started turning when Bell and Woods got to the fake American town. And of course, there was that memorable moment when Woods jokes around about loving Bubby, the Burger Town mascot (I think his love of Bubby/Burger Town is something more, it's about small joys. I could write an essay on it, but that's not the question here). Anyway, yes, this ALL is part of it I promise. So I had this idea in my head of Woods and Bell going to get burgers after their mission.

And that idea stuck with me after the end of Cold War. I just felt sad for Bell. I wanted her to have some nice moments amidst all the bad. Because I liked all the Safehouse characters I wanted to see them and Bell having human moments. And I firmly believe that Woods and Mason didn't know what was going on with Bell (they just don't act like it and that is another essay lol).

And then I went back and played Black Ops 1&2 because I loved Woods and Mason so much. And damnit if Black Ops 2 wasn't a gut punch. It hurt so much to see that after everything he went through Woods was alone. Not that anyone has to be in a relationship to be complete in life, but I was feeling sad about Bell already and now Frank. It just felt natural to me to bring them together.

My first approach to telling the story was through a comic. I started with the Burger Town story. But when I got to what would have been the final page of that part I realized I didn't want to just tell a story about happy memories. She was suddenly so alive to me. And while Bell's status was basically certain since they didn't cover it in the MP (and still haven't covered it in 6) - we didn't see her die so I can explain around it.

At that time, a comic took far too long to produce, so I decided to just write the story. And at first, I thought JWIN would be maybe 6 chapters. It would still have the structure of memories plus "present day" but Frank would have saved her faster. BUT THEN I realized well shit what would Frank's motivation be?? Sure they spent a night together before either of them knew anything, but now she's his enemy! So I had to figure out a way to plausibly get these two together and also redeem Mila.

From there, was (and still is) a lot of research about Soviet activities during the Cold War to see what would work for Milas past. I wanted to write the story in a way that Mila's memories or any other action sequences would fit well into a Black Ops game. I know Black Ops will grab things from history and expand on them to create a well-rounded story so that's the approach I wanted to take. And I want things to at least sort of make sense. The last thing I want is for a reader to be pulled out of the story for something like that.

It's also very important to me to stay true to the characters. I refuse to compromise a character for the sake of the story. To me it's part of the challenge of a fic. If there's something I want them to do I need to set up the story to direct them there or they just won't do it and I'll have to figure something else out. It was also important to me to have the other characters grow and reveal things about themselves.

Also, I don't like to compromise on canon. JWIN fits in the spaces between canon. So yeah, I was biting my nails before BO6 came out and MP does have me a little on edge but, I can get back to more regular updates. PHEW

I hope that answered your question. If you want me to expand on anything or if you have any other questions feel free to ask! I so appreciate you reading and enjoying JWIN and taking the time to tell me. 💙💙💙

[kooki914]

I AM HERE

More incorrect quotes except there’s a few more characters! A few are from me and my friends

~~~

Spade: Never eat the ashes of the dead

Queen: I will

Spade: Nuh uh. I already did. I used them as popcorn seasoning

Queen: FORBIDDEN PEPPER

—

Asgore: Hey guys what should I eat?

Spade: Newborns

—

Spade: Go fuck yourself.

Asgore, smugly (and also probly drunkly): Sure, but only if you watch

—

Toriel: You're a lying piece of shit!

Asgore: Oh yeah? You're the idiot that thinks you can get away with everything you do, WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!

Spade: I'm leaving and I'm taking Queen with me!

Rudy, gathering cards: Aaaaand that's enough Monopoly for today.

—

Asgore: Team A will consist of myself, Spade, Toriel, and Rudy.

Asgore: Team B will consist of Queen.

—

Toriel: If you put a milkshake in one yard and crack open a cold one in another yard, which yard would the boys go to?

Asgore: Schrödinger's boys.

Spade: FUCK!

Rudy: What about cracking open a cold milkshake?

Queen: As we all know, the milkshake brings the boys to the yard. The presence of the boys is a prerequisite for the cracking open of a cold one, but cold ones do not have any inherent boy-attracting abilities. Milkshakes, however, do.

Queen: All else being equal, the boys would proceed to the milkshake yard. While it is possible to announce the presence of cold ones in the hope of attracting some boys, the pull of the milkshake is much more powerful by comparison.

Toriel: ...

Asgore: ...

Spade: ...

Rudy: ...

Queen: Mind you, all of this nonsense hinges on whether or not the boys are back in town.

—

Queen: What makes you all smile?

Toriel: Friends and Family.

Rudy: Snacks.

Spade: Victory and success.

Asgore: Face muscles.

~~

He needs help

~~

Queen: What did you guys get in your yearbook?

Rudy: 'Prettiest Smile'

Toriel: 'Nicest Personality'

Spade: 'Most likely to start a bar fight'

Asgore: 'Least likely to start a bar fight, but most likely to win one'

—

Toriel: If you took a shot for every time you made a bad decision, how drunk would you be?

Rudy: Maybe a bit tipsy?

Queen: Drunk.

Spade: Wasted.

Asgore: Dead.

I actually got a bunch of ideas for the monopoly one so I feel the need to expand on it: Rudy takes the role of banker out of necessity, as no one else wants it, not even Queen, who can do all the necessary math in less than a second. Spade tries to cheat at multiple points in time but Rudy and Toriel keep catching him, Asgore is none the wiser. Because of this, Asgore is the first out of the game due to bankruptcy. While Queen's busy laughing at him, she ends up getting ousted from the game too, betrayed by her fellow queen Toriel. Rudy is just playing to survive while Toriel and Spade are at each others throats. Neither of them are letting up. Spade's been in jail more times than he can count but somehow it's not slowing him down. Toriel is beyond pissed. Insults start getting thrown, mostly by Spade. Queen and Asgore get caught in the crossfire. Rudy's the only one still staying at least Somewhat lighthearted with all of this. Then Toriel and Spade start screaming at each other:

In other news here's the yearbook shitpost that I included someone else into as well whom i will post about in the near future I Hope.

And last but not least:

[lightandfellowship]

In honor of the finale anniversary coming up, I’m sending you a deep question:

What do you think is the main theme/message of Dark Road? Or, alternatively, what theme of the story resonates with you the most?

That's a good question. I can't say I'm the best at identifying this sort of thing, but I'll try.

I see two main themes. The first is what I believe to be the more overt "thesis statement" of the game, the one line of dialog that both references the title of the game (and a good title will usually try to convey a facet of the Main Theme of the work) and also is telegraphed as being really significant because it gets said directly before the title card.

"Your world can change in an instant. Sometimes all it takes is a single step." [fade to black] KINGDOM HEARTS —Dark Road—

I have a post sort of outlining the various ways this idea manifests in the game, but at its core I think it's just saying that your worldview can be drastically altered (for better or for worse) if you just take the initiative to seek answers. I think you see this theme reiterated by Heimdall and Baldr near the end of the game, too. Heimdall: "Your lives are not ours to judge, but yours to lead. Broaden your horizons and find your own answers." Baldr: "Seek answers...to the unjust ways of the world...to the darkness." Considering this is the Xehanort game, having the thesis statement revolve around self-determination, expanding your world, and the pursuit of knowledge makes sense.

As for the second main theme, probably something along the lines of: "light and darkness aren't so different but the continued belief that they are results in an endless cycle of unnecessary conflict and tragedy that could've easily been avoided if people were just more open-minded and tried to better understand each other." Like almost every awful event that happens in this game can be traced back to this flawed belief causing the characters to act in a certain way that seals their doom.

Eraqus is openly and unashamedly anti-darkness in front of Baldr which seems to make Baldr's anxiety about his sister abandoning him grow. Baldr being scared of what might happen to him if he's left alone with his darkness, along with feeling like Hoder's light is the only thing redeeming him, causes him to chase after her into Enchanted Dominion, subsequently getting her killed (in a situation that wouldn't even have existed had Hoder not made the rash decision to go after the dark being, Maleficent, all by herself). His utter dependence on her now-extinguished light makes Baldr's darkness spiral out of control and primes him to be manipulated by a dark being who's taking advantage of his vulnerable mental state to further its own goals. Oh, and Odin kept Baldr isolated in what appears to be solitary confinement for a week because of his darkness situation, which just made everything ten times worse. Baldr's grief and directionlessness makes him decide that the world is too rotten to exist anymore, which compels him to kill all of his friends in order to destroy that world and end it all. And things get so bad that a brother and sister who love each other feel like they have no choice but to kill each other because their differences are just too large and they're never going to understand. Literally all of this could have been avoided if Hoder wasn't tasked with being this "flawless and pure" beacon of light and Baldr wasn't made to think his darkness was Bad and Scary and Unacceptable.

Then there's the upperclassmen. Hoder, Heimdall, Helgi, and Sigrun dying to darkness is what convinces Vidar, Vala, and Vali that darkness is absolutely evil and needs to be destroyed forever via Kingdom Hearts (with the added benefit of Kingdom Hearts hopefully purging the darkness out of Baldr and sparing him). And they're so focused on their plan to summon Kingdom Hearts and destroy darkness that they don't even care that innocent people and entire worlds might get hurt in the process. Nor do they even care to ask Baldr if he wants his darkness to be purged (given what happened to Ven when Xehanort removed his darkness, it's not exactly the type of thing you should forcefully do to someone.) Which, it turns out, summoning Kingdom Hearts wouldn't have destroyed darkness anyway, at least according to Darkness Baldr, so it truly was a pointless endeavor that was only going to cause harm. Again, the upperclassmen might not have pursued such a misguided and extreme plan if they hadn't been convinced by their upbringing and circumstances that destroying all darkness was undeniably a Good Thing.

In actuality, this second main theme isn't just implicitly conveyed by the plot's events, it gets stated pretty directly by Heimdall, Helgi, and Sigrun during their conversation with Xehanort and Eraqus in the Underworld. They talk about how, after they ended up in the Final World without their bodies, they realized that the darkness and light in people's hearts might not be so different after all, and that everything is a matter of perspective and personal beliefs. Quite a change of heart coming from people who were raised to believe the exact opposite, especially Helgi who was the most vocal about not approving of darkness and who was willing to use brute force against those he disagreed with (you see the "seek answers and your worldview might get drastically altered" theme crop up again here.) It's hard not to believe them when they experienced something as spiritual and eye-opening as the afterlife, which gives credence to what they have to say about light and darkness, and emphasizes all the more that the narrative is using them to convey a Truth to the audience.

Anyway, it makes sense that these two concepts would be major themes of the game since there's some synergy between them. The answer to the question "how do you prevent the tragedies caused by the light vs. darkness stuff" is...knowledge. Expanding your world. Connecting with others. Being open-minded and compassionate. Taking the initiative to try new things. Being committed to seeking truth/letting your worldviews be challenged instead of stagnating in your biases. Characters like Eraqus embody the opposite of this and are examples of what not to do. Eraqus refuses to open his mind or budge from his beliefs. He takes almost no steps to change for the better (or rather, doesn't understand what the right steps are.) His world is small, and as a result he unknowingly causes harm to the people he cares about to a catastrophic degree, perpetuating the cycle.

Xehanort sort of has the opposite problem? He lets his experiences and the MoM's influence change his beliefs for the worst, losing a lot of the nuance and integrity he already had in his youth. Any pursuit of truth gets twisted and replaced with him selectively believing the things that support his condemnation of the world and prop up his status as the chosen one ("[People] believe what they want to believe.") He starts to see "change" as being the only way to save the universe, but specifically the sort of "change" that means destroying and recreating the universe entirely. He succeeded in broadening his horizons and explored the entire span of the world, yet deemed it rotten to its core, unfit to exist. The knowledge he gained became a reason to feel superior to everyone else, instead of a reason to feel kinship. His ability to empathize just became a way to manipulate others.

[krisfaeley]

Fell down the depression hole and paper is now sPoOpY again, so I'm trying to crawl back to drawing the way I did last time, since that worked wonders. Not all that sure what it's good for, but I do manage to give it proper time and attention, which is an improvement over just lying around feeling bad for myself. Welp!

Largely finished with Steel Legion, but far be it from me to actually wrap something up and put a bow on it, nope! Started doing Krieg and opted for the blue color scheme, partly because OpenXcom has shite selection of greens, partly because it makes them look more French/less German, which has some people acting funny.

For the most part, it was just keeping me occupied and my mind off things, but there did rise a challenge; my BRILLIANT alternate sprites for 2x2 tile bolter units didn't actually adhere to the bounds by which the game uploads images. Sure looked like I'd have to scrap them, but that would break my freaking heart, so instead I went and broke them and voilá! I DID IT!

Huge thanks to Filip H for introducing me to a tool that dumbs down sprite-sheet cutting to a level even I can't mess up!

Meanwhile, Steel Legion has received a variety of Sentinels, new skins for mechanized units and unique heavy weapons teams. What remains is to do SL-unique Squats and Ratlings, and probably some CODEX arts to go with some of the items. Oh, and Orc Hunters! Mustn't forget the Orc Hunters.

In case it needs to be said, I can't code for jack, so none of this would be any good if not for the hard work of Leflair, Surrealistik and others of the Rosigma community who jumped on this without even needing to be asked. Thank you guys!