#and tbh so far the romance in this game has not been good

[rowanisawriter]

man the problem is i can’t resist a love story lol i can’t resist romance at all i have zero resistance, even if the story itself is bad i look at it like im in love with it, all the ugly edges are blurred and blunted and only the shining heart is visible 😭😭😭

[pinkaditty]

He Knows

(Subaru Kagami x MC X Haku Kusanagi; Tokyo Debunker)

omg guess who's back!!!!! im posting porn as per usual. 2day's porn is about tokyo debunkers!! recently started playing that game and WOW haku kusanagi has stolen my heart holy shit man. i picked him and then proceeded 2 watch him jump off a burning ledge it was really something!!! anyways the more of him i saw the more of him i just ended up liking. like when i found out he's left handed i jus melted on impact bro wtf's wrong with me. anyways here have the result of my 72 hour long haku kusanagi brainrot: porn.

summary: haku's been avoiding you. it's because you're with subaru all the damn time. it's only at a party where you're in close proximity that things get... interesting.

a/n: note that the tokyo debunkers characters have no confirmed ages. i am running on the assumption that, since they refer to themselves as adults in the game, drink, smoke, and gamble that they are at least in the college student age range. also, i have never heard of a high school with a chancellor. typically it's universities that have those. i am running on the assumption that all characters are at least 18 years of age. if canon ages come out and turn out to be lower, i will delete this! thank you <3

cw: MINORS DNI, suggestive, no real smut happening but u get kinda close, mostly buildup tbh, self-indulgent (pls like this i spent hours writing it), gn!mc bc mc isn't described physically at all, strongly implied sexual relations, semi-public?, slight cucking if u wanna call it that?, subaru x reader x haku yea

MINORS DNI!!!!! PLEASE RESPECT MY BOUNDARY. THANK YOU.

Casino parties in Sinostra were a lot different from Frostheim parties. 

Where Frostheim parties were the peak of elegance; blue and white and silver, the mood just as frosty as the scenery, the dress code limited to the finest silks and satins, the food limited to the neatest hors d'oeuvres, and the conversation limited to humble whispers; Sinostra parties were the peak of gaucheness; all colors gaudy and neon, the mood joyful and jubilant and raunchy, the dress code ranging from evening dresses to last week’s uniform, the food being whatever was served at the nearest table, and the conversation loud and constantly overlapping. If you asked Haku, he didn’t have a preference. Parties were parties. It didn’t matter what kind.

He was here to have a good time. That was somewhat dampened when he realized he’d have no choice but to hang around you. He’d been avoiding you for a reason, after all.

It had been recently when he realized why his heart thrummed like a drum when you were nearby, the beat loud and monotonous in his ears. It was an unfamiliar feeling, one he’d scarcely felt, and when he realized what it was, he almost didn’t believe it was genuine. Sure, you were attractive, but all his flirting was, at best, to get your attention and to mess with someone cute. Who doesn’t like attention from an attractive person? He blew it off for the longest time, chalking it up to nerves at how you would respond to his brazen flirting, or perhaps surprise when you would talk to him with a sincere glint in your eye. It was crazy, falling for someone who might be doomed to die, but it was like he couldn’t help himself. Something about how you kept going, even despite that, accepting your potential fate but seeking a way to rewrite it all the same—it impressed him. You had the resilience of a ghoul, a will strong enough to devour a curse. So be it. He promised to himself from the moment he saw Taiga attempt to throw you out of the train window that he wouldn’t let you succumb to such horrors just yet. He had thought that, with the mesmer matches, his promise would be fulfilled. But when your eyes shined with recognition upon meeting his gaze again on that train, he knew he’d bitten off far more than he could chew. So be it. His fate was sealed, as it always had been. 

And, of course, like any romance story, you’d gotten quite close with another guy, Subaru. The odd pangs in his heart rang quite clear through his head when he saw the two of you walking together on campus yet again, or sitting together at mealtimes yet again, or when you’d come by Hotarubi to visit him yet again. He felt childish, feeling an odd jealousy bubbling up in him that he immediately tried to tamp down. He didn’t like feeling that way, not at all. He figured he’d have to rid himself of this somehow, so he distanced himself. Yet, the pull towards you was still strong and hard to ignore.

And then he started falling for you, harder, even after he’d implemented distance, completely unplanned. So, yeah, being here with you after weeks of attempting to avoid your presence after such a revelation was something of a downer. And, super awkward. But whatever, he could take it. He didn’t want to walk aimlessly around this party and see something he shouldn’t, so he was stuck with his dormmates, particularly Subaru, who was stuck—albeit, happily—with you. 

The party was going alright so far. The alcohol had given him a light buzz, enough to at least alleviate his nerves, and relax just slightly. He sank into the couch he sat on, adjacent to the bar. Next to him was Subaru, next to Subaru was Zenji, and next to Zenji was you. At least there was some distance, but his eyes met yours in fleeting glances quite often. It was minimally frustrating, but the buzz helped him ignore it. You were engaged in friendly, flamboyant conversation with Zenji, Subaru seemed a little shifty, though that could be chalked up to being in a loud environment, and Haku was leaning back, swirling his drink in his hands. The endless noise of loud voices and gambling wins and losses echoed in his ears as he did all he could to refrain from indulging much more. But your presence wasn’t exactly helping. 

He turned back to you, to give you another fleeting glance, but his eyes landed on Subaru instead. He seemed a little out of it, his skin shining in the low light with a thin layer of sweat, his breathing heavy and laboured, his face flushed a bright pink. Haku stared at him curiously, concern creasing his eyebrows and quirking his lips downwards. He reached a hand out to gently pat Subaru on the shoulder, who flinched suddenly. Haku looked at him quizzically, his eyebrows furrowing further. “You good?” He examined Subaru’s condition further, noticing his bangs beginning to stick to his forehead from the sweat. “Do we need to leave?”

Haku’s mumbled queries gained the attention of Zenji, who glanced over his shoulder. Upon seeing Subaru’s state, he frets, turning towards him and grabbing his chin, tilting his head back and forth. Haku wished he wouldn’t do that, and hoped onlookers assumed Subaru was just shaking his head. Not that anyone would be looking in this direction, anyway. He notices you curiously peering over Zenji’s shoulder. You showed no signs of concern, rather interest.

“Oh my! Are you alright? You’re quite flushed!” Zenji’s voice was pitched with worry, as he further examined Subaru’s face. “Did you perhaps—ah, but you’re not holding anything…” Zenji tapped his fingers to his lips, his eyebrows furrowing with concern. Subaru shook his head at both Zenji and Haku, and waved his hand.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Haku heard a slight tremor in Subaru’s voice.

“Are you sure?” Zenji pressed, leaning towards Subaru, his eyes searching his face for any signs of further ailment.

“I’m fine! Please, enjoy yourselves.” To his credit, Subaru hid the tremor this time, but Haku could still sense something was wrong. However, he decided to let it go, assuming that they wouldn’t be here much longer. 

He took note of your lack of concern. He found it odd, but didn’t think on it much. You were close with Subaru, but maybe not as close as he thought. He hated how the thought of the two of you not being as close planted a seed of hope in his heart. Still, wasn’t concern a normal reaction to a friend being ill?

Haku let it go. They’d be out of here soon, anyway. 

Time seems to crawl by and speed up at the same time, the chaotic haze of the party warping his perception of time. Before he knows it, he’s on his second drink, even after internally swearing he wouldn’t overindulge. And before he knows it, he’s lost count of how many times he’s glanced your way, each time holding your gaze longer than the last. His pining was ridiculous. He felt like a teenager. And the drink in his hand was only a reminder of his low self-control, further shaming him. He sighs and places it down on the table in front of the couch, promptly leaning back in his seat. Once he falsely settles in, his finds his eyes drifting to you again. He quickly snaps his gaze away, but not before he spots Subaru’s quivering figure out of the corner of his eye. He turns to him again, concern once again etching itself into his expression. 

Subaru was trembling now, slouching just slightly, which was unlike him. His chest heaved with the effort to breathe normally, and he was sweating more now, more of his bangs stuck to his forehead. Instead of the modest blush pink his face had been before, he was now a bright red, color spreading from his cheeks to his ears and even to his neck. Alright, this was too much. Even Haku knew Subaru was pushing himself too far. He sat upright and gently placed a hand on Subaru’s back, to which he flinched again. Haku’s concern quickly turned to worry, and his hand moved to Subaru’s shoulder instead, leaning closer to him. He could feel the heat radiating off of him. “Hey, Subaru.” Subaru turned to him, still heaving and blinking at him blearily. “...We should go.” Subaru promptly shook his head, despite his body still trembling. The movement alerted Zenji yet again, who turned to Subaru, noticing his trembling form.

“My goodness, look at you!” Zenji grabbed Subaru’s face, squishing his cheeks. “Are you well? Do we need to take you to Montkranken?” Haku sighed as Subaru shook his head again, stubborn as a mule on this.

“N-No, I swear I’m fine, truly.” His voice shook audibly. Haku had half a mind to take him to Montkranken by force, but knew that no good would come of making Subaru any more uncomfortable. 

Zenji hesitantly let go of Subaru’s face, staring at him dubiously. He carefully inspected him, checking his complexion and forehead. As Zenji flitted back and forth around Subaru, Haku found his gaze once again slipping towards you. This time he didn’t stop it, deciding to let it go so he could hold your gaze at least once more before he shifted his full focus to Subaru. However, he notices you aren’t looking at Subaru, or Zenji, or him. You’re staring off to the left, as though watching the people of the party. He’s confused. Why are you so nonchalant about this? Even before, no concern was on your face, mere interest. And now, it’s like you couldn’t care less. It didn’t seem quite like you not to care about one of your friends. It was quite confusing and frustrating, watching you act so nonchalantly, hardly noticing Subaru’s ailment. But, whatever. Maybe you were just distracted. As he turns his gaze back to Subaru, about to gently encourage him to stand so they could leave, he notices your hand moving out of the corner of his eye. Your hand disappears into your pocket and shifts a bit more. Simultaneously, Subaru lurches forward, grunting. His whole body was trembling now, and his fingers dug into his arms as he desperately tried to keep it together. Zenji immediately leans over, placing a hand on Subaru’s back. Haku feels a rush of panic and leans towards him. “Subaru! What’s—”

Haku stops in his tracks. On the side of Subaru’s neck, facing Haku, there were small red and purple bruises. For a moment, Haku’s confused. What are those markings on the side of his neck? And what’s got him so—

Out of nowhere, something clicks. 

As Zenji continues fussing over Subaru, Haku slowly lifts his gaze to you. He finds your gaze boring straight into him. A shock runs down his spine. 

No. No way.

Haku watches as you smirk at him and you pull something out of your pocket, purposely angling the object so only he could see it. It is something very closely resembling a remote. His eyes flick between the remote and your face, your eyes still holding him captive. He tears his gaze away from you and the remote, and turns to Subaru’s trembling form, Zenji fussing over him. He turns back to you, observing the wicked smile on your face. This can’t be real, right?

He watches as your smirk widens, and you press a button on the remote, slipping it back into your pocket. 

Subaru groans, crumpling further forward, immediately pressing a hand to his mouth to muffle his voice. Haku studies him carefully, watching his expression. Subaru’s eyes roll back just once and the corner of his lips turn upwards in a smile, peeking behind his palm pressed tight against his mouth. 

Oh. Oh god.

Something akin to heat pools in Haku’s lower abdomen. He finds himself gripping the cushion of the sofa he’s sitting on so hard his knuckles turn white. Haku swallows thickly, and jerks his gaze back up to you, finding your gaze boring straight into him once again. Subaru’s muffled grunts grow louder, and now that he knows it’s out of pleasure and not pain, Haku feels the urge to squirm. He feels warm all of a sudden, his own body beginning to tremble with nerves and heat. His lips part as he breathes heavily, his gaze flickering from you, to your pocket, to Subaru, and back to you. Maybe it was a bad idea to have so much alcohol. Your gaze, the knowledge of what was really going on, and Subaru’s grunts—which were quickly evolving into moans, further confusing Zenji—all made quite a potent concoction, and with the alcohol running through his system, it really only served to shame him further yet again. 

Shame is all he can think about… Even as a tent forms in his pants.

a/n: YIPPEE!!!!!!! i finished at long last

also here have this fuckass meme i made thinkging abt all the fics im writing atm:

i guess i have a niche. my roommate literally asked me as i was telling her abt this fic "is it gonna be cuckold" and i was like "WHATEKSLSJK?!?!?!??!" and then i realized. i write a lot of these fics and call them all self-indulgent. is something wrong with me?

anyways wrapping this up!!!!!!! note that i appreciate likes, reblogs, and comments!!! please, tell me all about how much you enjoyed my work, if you did!!!! i really like when people tell me they loved it bc it encourages me 2 keep going ahhhh!!! until next time, readers!!!!!

[yuri-is-online]

TD anon here, I do feel you on the "torture" scene with Taiga, I didn't want my last ask getting any longer lmao.

While the scene definitely made me squeal, for me personally it was undercut by the emotionally charged scene that happened immediately after with Romeo lmao. It's exactly how I felt with Frostheim too, being excited over the dance with Jin, and then immediately after we get the cigarette kiss scene with Jin and Tohma LOL. But it only makes sense, MC has only just showed up at the school, not enough time to bond, and honestly with these kinds of joseimuke games I don't have much expectations of interactions between the cast and MC so in TD she's already much more involved with the whole comic thing anyways.

Eating the Like Dove raw... was really a raw scene lol. He seems to be attracted to blood for some reason? Since he paused when MC's cut started bleeding, I think he was about to lick the blood tbh.

And yeah I do wonder if his shoddy memory has anything to do with his deal's cost. Another vibe theory time, I feel like his fear of the Like Dove might've been... ingrained in him somehow? Maybe he had a run-in before but can't remember it. The reason why I think this is because when MC met him alone, when she reminded him that she was the Honor student, his response was "Oh no wonder I didn't kill you on the spot", he literally forgot about her but his body/instinct made him aware she's someone he's not supposed to kill.... if that makes sense?

He feels like an even bigger enigma than Towa, I'm curious to know what's going on in his head in the moments he goes eerily quiet. Not to mention he's the poster boy of the game, has to be a reason. Luca feels more in line to be the poster boy but it's Taiga...

I enjoyed Haru's drunk spiel about how helpful MC is lol. Also my eyes going wide when Rui said he wants to know what she's made of too... what does that mean....... I need more Rui content, I love his blatant flirtations lol. I got a campus event with Rui, Haru and Romeo in the bar before I even read the chapter, their unexpected friendship is very cute ngl.

(sorry in case this is sent repeatedly, smth wrong with my net atm)

Generally speaking I have found tumblr doesn't post or send things twice but it sure as hell reblogs them with the same tags 42 times making me look like some sort of freak

for me personally it was undercut by the emotionally charged scene that happened immediately after

Yeah I get this. The cigarette kiss with Tohma and Jin took me off guard, but that was mostly because I thought this was an otome game? Come to think of it I don't think we've had confirmation of the whole joseimuke v otome game thing beyond the existence of the like dove and individual character affinity... Well and that when this was announced it was supposed to be an otome game. I know that the otome games subreddit has been having some, shall we say spirited? Discussions lately about how players feel about ros getting into relationships with each other. The general opinion was that a lot of times the ro x ro relationships feel more fleshed out that the ro x mc ones, and I agree. I actually stopped writing something I wanted to be an otome game because the story started shaping up to be more about the mc's mentor than them, and I personally do not think that is very fun. People do like laid back mcs, they do not like mcs who have no place in the narrative, and some writers aren't good at balancing that. TDB mc is doing pretty well when it comes to interactions with the main cast compared to something like Twisted Wonderland if what you want is explicit romance, so far it feels like Season 1 of og Obey Me! from what I remember of that game, so we'll see.

I didn't get the same level of intimacy from Romeo and Taiga as I did Jin and Tohma? But I think that's because in both cases I thought the like dove had appeared before Romeo got there and was talking to Taiga and the second scene made me think Taiga was angry at him for interrupting his "fun." Whatever that "fun" was going to wind up being because yeeeeeah he seems like he has a blood kink of some sort. I think he was going to suck on it and bite her a bit, but licking seems like a logical first step and less influenced by what's wrong with me. Like I said over here the scene with the Like Dove fascinates me... it says more about Taiga than any other character in the game that we get to see the dove twice and that when given the chance he shoots and eats it... if that isn't a metaphor for denial and emotional repression then I am not sure what is.

he literally forgot about her but his body/instinct made him aware she's someone he's not supposed to kill…. if that makes sense?

YES. I wanted to talk about this but it sort of got into conspiracy theory territory and my answer was getting long. I don't know if anyone remembers, but waaaay back in Book 1 when mc tries to escape the school she isn't able to get anyone's attention. It's like they don't see her, is that because of her curse or is it because of preventative measures put in place by the school? I want to lean towards the latter because it makes more sense BUT I also want to be delusional and say that it's part of mc's curse. There's something about Taiga's instinctual fear of the Like Dove and his comments to the mc that make me think his body knows her but his paranoia and memory issues keep him from knowing it.

This is just me writing fan fic... but Taiga is technically the first ghoul you meet. He is the poster boy of the game, he is the first person to bring mc into the main loop and tell her there's a spy. I want so badly for him to have known her at some point but to have been robbed of his memories... Romeo seems to think he is trying to forget stuff on purpose "gone off the deep end" and "escape reality" are both things he says to describe him though granted that last one was due to a misunderstanding about what Taiga was trying to do with the anomaly. Something real bad happened last year, something I feel like Taiga doesn't want to acknowledge unless he can get revenge on whoever caused it. I mentioned in another post, but I sort of want MC to have something to do with Clementia and that's why she's there at the dorm beyond it just being empty due to the clash. (I do get why Luca isn't the poster boy; he's not a dorm captain and those seem to be what the game wants to push. well them and towa lol)

Haru and Rui

Rui is a bar tender who is described as being "popular with the female students" probably because of how flirty he is ha. I love his dynamic with Haru and Romeo, just a barman and his two favorite customers shooting the shit and trying to relax. Rui is cursed to kill whoever he touches, so I think he wants to talk with MC more because he can relate to her in a very unique way. And he got gate kept from doing so by Haku in book one so he's extra curious now. I have his SR so I'll put him on my homescreen for a bit and see what voice lines I can shake out of him. For the little bit I did have him there he called him and mc "curse twins" which I thought was very cute. In a dark sort of way. The entire section at the Obscuary bar endeared me to all three of those idiots.

But especially Haru. He called Peekaboo his child this chapter too ;-; he's such a good dad. I wonder if he is going to show up next books at all? Or if it's going to be like the previous books and we'll instead see Taiga and maaaaybe Towa? Since he's friends with Zenji. Nothing to do but wait for May 0-0

[if-rambling]

My mc for @collegetennisoriginstory

Name: Kenji Tanaka

Height: average

Build: Toned and athletic

Pronouns: He/Him

Orientation: Gay

Romancing: Sam

Nicknames: Space invader, Hulk, Captain America, mon étoile, Bailaor, and doctor

Major: Film

Extracurricular: Photography

Playing style: Aggressive baseliner

Backhand style: Double-handed

Dominant hand: Right

Singles rank: No. 4 position

Doubles partner: Rayyan

Main stats: Strength and Tactics

Lowest stat: Serves and volley

Character traits: intense, flippant, friendly, genuine, and Cocky. Also very charismatic and tricky

Kenji on and off the court are very different. Off the court he’s very friendly and easy going but On the court he’s completely focused on winning and does not go easy on his opponent

Won all the challenges except for the Devil’s dozen I believe is the name

It’s kinda funny how similar he is to Rayyan I would just say Kenji is much friendlier and was trying to be understanding of why rayyan was upset. Also Kenji loves lying. Still chose to push him up against the lockers though just for the tension

Honestly he probably does not shut up about how much he misses Sam

I like to imagine he has complicated feelings about his mom. He’s upset with her but he still enjoys photography because of the time they spent together

Kenji fucking loves to play tricky tbh. It’s just so fun to play a character who is very good at strategies. Sorry to Diego for having to sacrifice you that one time though

You know he wore Sam’s jersey to the game. Probably uses it as a pajama shirt tbh

Has won all matches he’s been in so far

He is very determined to befriend rayyan. He respects him a great deal especially with how similar they are.

The picrews i used to make Kenji

This if is like one of my first major choicescript games. It’s so much fun and I definitely enjoyed the other game made by the author “merry crisis”. Honestly the author does such a great job at writing engaging and interesting characters that I had so much trouble deciding who would be my main RO. My friends to lover bias ended up winning in the end. I always just enjoyed tennis in passing but god this game was so fun

[daylighteclipsed]

What's it about cloti that you like? I'm curious, bc we otherwise tend to ship the same things. I love both cloud and tifa, and they have some cute scenes, but I don't feel it with them. Idk if it's because of the truly awful shippers, or something else. For me it feels like sokai in kh 1, I see why ppl ship them and that the narrative is pushing for them to be together, but i don't really care about that aspect of their relationship. Your answer doesn't have to be elaborate or anything, it's genuinely only curiosity on my part. Other than that, how do you like rebirth so far? I know some ppl dropped it pretty fast, bc they didn't like the crazy amount of mini games. Which I get, bc some of them were a hassle, but all in all i still had fun.

Short answer: I really like their individual characters and their complicated friendship and past that Rebirth starts delving more into, and that’s made me warm up very quickly to the romance between them.

Long answer: Cloud and Tifa’s dynamic is so interesting to me in Rebirth. I feel like the game does a good job of pulling back the curtain on a relationship that up to this point has been summed up as “childhood friends” to reveal how much more complicated it is than that. Imo, these are two people who have always yearned to know each other but never really have. They were friendly when they were very young, it seems, like under the age of 7. Then, Cloud started pulling away, and Tifa has never understood why. And they haven’t been able to really reconnect since then, made all the more difficult by Sephiroth and Shinra.

FF7 pushes romantic angles with both Tifa and Aerith, which I don’t really love tbh. I do wish it was a little more toned down and optional. But I really like the sense of yearning and desire to connect that threads Cloud and Tifa’s entire relationship — and the consistent symbolism of reaching for each other, trying to bridge that physical and emotional gap between them (usually when one is about to literally or figuratively fall), that goes with it. I like watching them bond and get to know each other now, so many years later, as best as they can (considering Cloud’s memories and sense of self are all screwed up), while navigating the unique trauma of being two of the only survivors of the massacre of their village. I like their mutual support, how they take turns supporting/grounding/saving each other.

I like that memories play such a big role, that they both have precious memories of each other that are key to who they are and which no one else knows. Fucking love when Tifa falls into the Lifestream and she realizes Cloud tried to save her from crossing the metaphorical bridge of death/falling when they were kids, and you see how much the past seems to parallel the present with their roles reversed this time. I want to see the whole memory so much. I don’t know if we ever will, but man. I really feel like even if Cloud couldn’t stop Tifa from falling, he must’ve saved her from drowning. There’s a river below that bridge, right? She hit her head and presumably passed out — someone had to keep her head above water, and he was the only one there because he refused to abandon her… I think, metaphorically, that’s pretty much what’s gonna happen in the game. I don’t think Tifa is gonna be able to catch Cloud from falling, but I think she’s gonna hold his head above water when they hit the bottom.

Sorry, I’ve been thinking about this part so much shsbdbsbs I just feel like it’s so interesting and crucial to the story. I think it really helps Tifa understand what’s going on with Cloud and Sephiroth on a level the others don’t. She’s much more conscious of Cloud’s behavior and notices the distinctions between Cloud and Sephiroth. She’s usually the first to notice when something’s not right and intervene.

I like that Tifa is established as the truth to Sephiroth’s lies and the one who can kinda “wake” Cloud up because, unlike everyone else, Tifa was there when Sephiroth (and Zack and Cloud) came to town and Tifa has seen what Cloud was like before the Jenova cells/false persona (even if she’s never been able to fully understand him). She’s the only one stopping Cloud from losing complete touch with reality, which is why Sephiroth is trying to undermine her credibility and eliminate her.

Like it’s really obvious, to me, that if Cloud and Tifa could properly reconnect by finally understanding the past and each other, Sephiroth’s manipulation wouldn’t work. Like, you know in the Loveless play how the bad guy’s weakness is true love. And then the hero (Cloud) and whoever is playing the princess (I had Tifa) try to declare their love, and it doesn’t work. The bad guy just laughs and says their love is an illusion or whatever? That’s what’s going on in the game, I think. I do think they love each other, but they don’t understand each other yet, Cloud isn’t even sure who he is, his identity is scrambled eggs, so it’s not a complete or true love. They have to bridge that gap, discover the truth and really meet. You know what I mean?

I still haven’t talked about the actual romantic stuff fbdbdbsbe I’m sorry, romance is usually always secondary to me. Um. I like that Cloud initiates a lot of those intimate moments with Tifa. Other people usually invade his space and make him uncomfortable. But Tifa’s patient with him and doesn’t pressure him. He reaches out to hold her hand and hug her and stuff. He opens up to her about his doubts and fears. It’s sweet how bashful they are, how realistically awkward they are sometimes. Yeah, idk, I just think they’re neat. I want them to understand each other, finally like really know each other, and I like when they hold hands.

As for how I’m enjoying Rebirth as a game (as someone who has never played the og FF7): I’m really loving it. I think it’s so much more fun and interesting than Remake. Love the open world, the different regions, the exploration, side quests, party bonding and banter, chocobos, whatever tf is going on with those protorelics and the Queen’s Blood creator, the battle challenges, Chadley (I know he was in Remake, but I grew more attached to him in this game), the return of other old NPCs, the new ones, the fun silly stuff like the segways in Costa del Sol. Rebirth fleshes the whole world and characters out, and I’m never bored. I have very little complaints. If it sticks the landing, it might be one of my favorite video games. Rip to the mini game haters, but I’m different. (Except the piano. The piano can go fuck itself.)

[wizardsvslesbians]

Isaac here, with another recommendation response masterpost! It's a long one!

Anon said:

oh my godyou guys HAVE to cover metal from heaven by august clarke as the next thing to add to the list i just saw the reviews and it literally looks like main wizlez for the first time in quite a while

We actually have had an ARC of this one for some time, and we were intending to cover it! And I bounced off it real hard. So that's on me. Once it comes out properly and there's an audiobook I'll take another crack at it.

Seiya said:

“A Sweet Sting of Salt” by Rose Sutherland is for all the girlies who read Charity and Sylvia and wanted more of that. or, 19th century Nova Scotia selkie lesbians. the wizard is less a wizard and more a condemnation of the selkie folktale in general, but also the vibes are nice and this was a nice book

We're going to need a vibes are nice book - the vibes have been either rancid or very complicated for too long and I'm missing the simple days of boat lesbians and The Duke. Also it would be nice to follow up "Selkie Stories Are For Losers" from our last short story roundup.

Spiralochete said:

Not wizlez, but if you're ever in the mood, I would love to hear you guys discuss Borne by Jeff Vandermeer. It features a non-narcissistic parent of an extremely monstrous child, and I think it would produce interesting discussions in conversation with some of the previous entries in the podcast. I also think that the ecological themes would be an interesting change of pace. There are no prominent lesbians, but there are definitely wizards. If either of you have bounced off Jeff Vandermeer previously (I know that some people do), it's definitely a bit more accessible than the Southern Reach Trilogy.

I liked Annihilation! Then Authority bored me enough that I never bothered to finish it, so I'm, like, medium interested in this as a concept. Sounds like a guest episode, and so we'd need a guest who wants to cover it.

Anon said:

i think i might have just watched the first actual bona fide wizards vs lesbians film i've ever seen other than adolescence of utena, and i'm shocked i never heard of it before: harmony (2015), but for the podcast you guys might be more interested in the novel of the same name it's based on by project itoh (who i believe is also famous for having a kojima game dedicated to him posthumously). the novel is less explicit in the romance between protagonists (antagonists?) tuan and miach, which might be a point towards reviewing the film rather than the book, but it's up to you guys! really, really interesting stuff from this film, despite its flaws. it's good scifi

Any skepticism I might have had about this went out the window when I saw that Michael Arias co-directed the film. He directed Tekkonkinkreet, which is one of my five favorite movies of all time, one of the only pieces of media that makes me cry no matter how many times I go back to it, so I, at least, will be giving this a shot. Can't guarantee any more than that.

Anon said:

i know you only rarely cover graphic literature but tbh the more i think on it the manga land of the lustrous not only counts as (enby) yuri but also absolutely fits in the lesbian space atrocities/wizlez genre, the tragedy and war and double crossing and mental illness stuff with the initial motivation for everything being a gay crush that ruins everything.

I'm gonna be real with you: I had such a viscerally negative reaction to the anime when it came out that it would take a lot for me to dive into the manga. Toooo many lovingly rendered amputations.

Anon said:

have you guys ever read stuff by qing jun mo xiao? her baihe serials all are very much in wizlez mode as far as i can tell - clear and muddy loss of love has a full english translation available online, i dunno about female general and eldest princess but it's getting english volume releases!

There is an english translation online, but it's definitely fanwork, and with all respect to the person who made it it's probably best if we wait for an official release. When that does happen, I'm all for it.

Short recs:

the passion by jeanette winterson is a vintage wizvwlw novel i found recently which is magical realist napoleonic wars in venice - it might be of interest to you guys

On the list it goes!

the women could fly by megan giddings def looks like wizles, maybe it's worth checking out since it looks pretty interesting

On the list it goes!

i've not read it, but the light brigade by kameron hurley looks like interesting wizlez to me if you wanna check it out

I suspect we haven't done any Kameron Hurley books yet for a reason, but on the list it goes!

And finally, presented without comment:

Look I'm aware that due to the time commitment which is on par with reading Homestuck and the audio format it's basically impossible to cover all of it. But fellow wizards vs lesbians listeners should know that the magnus archives probably counts as wizards vs lesbians. There are a million wizards, women fall in love, and lesbians definitely attack the wizards. plus there's an assortment of bad mothers and monstrous children. It somehow has a coherent plot and themes by the end as well, if you can stick with the motw format long enough. However it's mostly wizard pov

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @fatale-distraction  |  AO3: Fatale_distraction |  Wordpress: History Will Say This Was Just a Book Blog

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have! 

Woman single-handedly ruins decades of work using one simple technique you won’t believe!

Fataleity and Dema talk rarepairs, Swayze-coded Cullen, punk rock Solas, and Shenanigans

Dema: Starting very, very basic: how long have you been in the DA fandom? What about it inspires you to write?

Fataleity: ​​Gosh, it’s probably been around fifteen years or more? I played DAO not too long after it originally came out and while I haven’t always been active in the fandom, I’ve been a fan since then. I’m super inspired by the characters and the lore, in particular anything relating to the elves. I love that the DA universe took typical elven lore and kinda flipped them upside down.

Dema: Do you have a favorite bit of Elven lore? Or if “favorite” isn't the right word, a piece of lore that particularly struck you?

Fataleity: Along with everyone else atm, I am really fascinated by the Evanuris and the idea of Ancient elves like Abelas and Felassan. I also love that each Dalish clan has different customs, different levels of knowledge, etc, but are still connected by a common history and language, lost as they might be, and try to lean into that in my writing.

Dema: So, you played all three games more or less as they came out, but when did you start writing fic for DA? What prompted you to start?

Fataleity: It’s been a while, but I believe it was around the release of Inquisition that I started actually posting. As far as writing, it would have been from the start in private notebooks or sharing with a friend of mine. Inquisition’s release was when I started getting into the tumblr fandom and seeing others posting their work, and figured if others were going to, why shouldn’t I?

Dema: Oh wow, right from the beginning! You’re an OG! What was your first published DA fic about?

Fataleity: It was a short one-shot of Leliana and Zevran during Inquisition. They crack me up as a couple. It was mostly banter and porn tbh, very little if any plot, lmao.

Dema: Oh my god, this was a pairing I did not know I needed until this moment. Fabulous, thank you.

Fataleity: You’re welcome. It’s a good one.

Dema: So do you tend to be more inspired by the canon characters or by your OC's? Or if not "inspired" per se, do you write more of one than the other?

Fataleity: I wanna say it's about even? I’ve noticed that recently I’ve been writing more from the perspective of canon characters than I did when I first started writing, even when writing about OCs. I think it's fun to try to emulate their voices, and also their reactions to some of my OCs ridiculous behavior.

Dema: Who is your most ridiculous OC?

Fataleity: My Inquisitor for sure. She’s the youngest of a very large Dalish family so she’s a little childish for her age, very affectionate and kind, but she has a powerful sense of justice. She’s best friends with Sera and the Chargers, so she gets herself involved in all kinds of shenanigans.

Dema: Gotta love the shenanigans. Did she romance anyone?

Fataleity: She romanced Solas primarily, but I have also shipped her with Krem and Fenris. I did a few OT3 fics of her, Krem, and Solas that I think came out pretty sexy. 

Dema: Krem is under-shipped, I fear.

Fataleity: I do my best to fix that. I’ll put him with anyone who will treat him softly. Or not. Depending on his mood I guess. He deserves the world and more.

Dema: Thank you for your service. This is like asking for your favorite child, but do you have a particular canon character you really love to write?

Fataleity: Krem for sure. Great narrative voice, great jokes, and since he’s not as canonically developed as other characters, there’s a lot to play with.

Dema: Do you do anything in particular to get into the heads of the canon characters? I find that's such a challenge (a fun one!) to adopt the voice of a character I didn't create, and am always curious how other people do it.

Fataleity: Getting super familiar with the source material is obviously very important. For some characters that’s easier than others, so I will also rely on similar characters from other media that I feel resonate strongly to the character I’m trying to portray. Also simply putting myself in the character’s shoes. “If I was this particular character with this particular background, how would I react to this particular circumstance based on my prior experiences?” I feel like I’m also pretty influenced by whatever media I’m consuming at the time. For instance, writing 90s Cullen around the same time I rewatched Dirty Dancing, he ended up VERY Swayze-coded.

Dema: Omg, incredible. Is there any non-DA media inspiring your fic for the Bang?

Fataleity: I’ve been listening to AURORA’s newest album a lot. My partner and I are also watching a lot of comedic detective shows recently, so I feel like that sense of humor is going to be a big influence by the time this is done.

Dema: Man, I feel like any follow-up I ask to that question will have to be redacted, ha! What's the most out-there piece of media that has inspired a fic for you?

Fataleity: I don’t recall if there was a particular piece of media that inspired this, but I created a Y2K dragon age AU specifically so I could cram the characters into specific period-appropriate outfits, specifically young Solas as an early 80s late 70s punk kid. I think It might have stemmed from rewatching That 70s Show. This is also where Swayze-Cullen came from.

Dema: Was there a musical number. Please say yes. 

Fataleity: I tried to shoehorn my Lavellan into having a band on top of everything else, so there were definitely musical numbers. Krem was playing the solo from Freebird. ABBA was involved.

Dema: Amazing. God, I am dying to see some Solas 80's punk fanart now.

Fataleity: I would die. I would pay blood, sweat, tears, money, and my first, second and third born children.

Dema: Anarchy patch on his leather jacket…

Fataleity: Piercings. The piercings alone, man. I made him a college professor so he got rid of most of the piercings, but he kept a few. “The ones that would hurt most if I wanted to get them done again.”

[Dema and Fataleity have an increasingly suggestive emoji exchange.]

Dema: Sorry, I'm incorrigible.

Fataleity: As am I.

Dema: Do you find you write a lot of AUs?

Fataleity: I think I imagine more than I actually put down in words. My favorites are definitely different time periods. I’m a sucker for costuming.

Dema: Same. Costumes tell you so much about the culture and the characters! Do you tend to have visual references when you are writing, beyond what is provided by the games?

Fataleity: If I have a particular outfit or setting in mind, especially for AUs. For those I’ll have Pinterest boards or the like. If I’m doing something more based around existing settings, I’ll look up a reference as needed, but I don’t tend to have, like, a vision board or anything for those.

Dema: If you have any visuals for your Bang fic, will you give us a teaser? 

Fataleity: https://unsplash.com/photos/purple-flowers-near-mountain-during-daytime-S73YlRU8hy0 

Dema: Oohhh the vibes! I’m looking forward to it. On a very different note, if your bang fic had a clickbait title, what would it be?

Fataleity: “Woman single-handedly ruins decades of work using one simple technique you won’t believe!”

Dema: Perfect. Thank you for your time, Fataleity! 

Fataleity: Of course, this was fun! 

[dramalets]

Jen's ultimate rank list

For whatever reason the brain weevils have taken over and I decided I wanted to properly rank every Y series I've watched thus far. Why am I doing this? I really don't know. It just felt like a good use of a dreary Sunday. These will be split by region and I'm not including Western stuff because it doesn't, for me, fit what I think of when I think about a Y or BL series. I've not been analytical about a ranking system, it's mostly based on rewatch factors and how much it stuck with me after it ended. Some dramas I'll rewatch but they're not dramas I'd consider in my top list so just vibes also had to play a factor. (My MDL list isn't to be trusted. Girl, why did you give My Engineer a 9. What were you smoking?)

Thailand

Moonlight Chicken

Be My Favourite

Bad Buddy

Cherry Magic

We Are

Bed Friend

My Only 12%

Not Me

Vice Versa

SOTUS/SOTUS S

My Ride

Dark Blue Kiss

My School President

Theory of Love

A Tale of a 1000 Stars

4Minutes

Last Twilight

Laws of Attraction

Knock Knock, Boys!

Dangerous Romance

Naughty Babe

KinnPorsche

Pit Babe

Only Friends

Wandee GoodDay

Monster Next Door

23.5

The Eclipse

Between Us

The Middleman's love

A Boss & A Babe

Two Worlds

Never Let Me Go

I Told Sunset About You

Together with me

Why R U

My Engineer

This love doesn’t have long beans

Cooking Crush

Love in the air

The Sign

Cupid's Last Wish

My Gear & Your Gown

Star & Sky: Sky in your heart

Only Boo!

The Rebound

Still 2 gether

Tharn Type

Love Sea

Dear Doctor I'm coming for your soul

Cutie Pie

2 Gether

Hidden Agenda

Love By Chance

Venus in the sky

Wedding Plan

Beyond the star

WaterBoyy

Phillipines (Consider any of these tbh)

Just Like in the movies

Marahuyo Project

Gameboys (1,2)

Pearl Next Door (This is a GL but shh)

Hello Stranger (Series & movie)

Boys' Lockdown

The Day I loved you

Quaranthings

Your Home

Boyband love (Honestly this is terrible don't watch it.)

Taiwan

Unknown

The On1y One

Kiseki Dear To Me

HIStory 3: Trapped

First Note of Love

You Are Mine

We Best Love (2)

We Best Love (1)

HIStory 4: Close to you

VIP Only

My Tooth your love

Japan (it must be said that none of these are truly bad. Even the bottom ranked.)

Our Dining Table

Pornographer Series

Old Fashioned Cupcake

Tokyo in April is

What did you eat yesterday (s1,2 & movie)

Ossan’s Love

Perfect Propose

Love is better the second time around

One room angel

My Beautiful Man (1,2 & movie)

Mr Mitsuma’s planned feeding

The Man who defies the world of BL (s1&2 &3)

If it’s with you

Although I love you, and you?

Living with him

I became the main role of a BL drama

Kabe Koji

Mr Unlucky has no choice but to kiss

Takura-kun & Amagi-kun

My Personal Weatherman

Candy Colour Paradox

I cannot reach you

Senpai this can’t be love

Korea

Love in the big city

Semantic Error

Boys be Brave

Our Dating Sim

Jun & Jun

The Tasty Florida

Where your eyes linger (this put me off K BLs for 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴)

All countries top (no particular order just the tippy toppy faves.)

Moonlight Chicken

Just Like In The Movies

Pornographer series (Particularly Mood Indigo)

Bad Buddy

Be My Favourite

Our Dining Table

Unknown

Game Boys

Marahuyo project

We Are

The On1y One

Love in the big city

If you actually read until this point thank you very much you're clearly amazing. Maybe give this a try for yourself? It was an interesting experiment.

[polin-erospsyche]

Alright! Let’s talk about those rumours for part 2. First I'll preface by saying these are rumours, nothing has been confirmed, so let's all breathe before we jump to conclusions.

So rumours come from an article are circulating and people have been speculating that he will go back to the brothels or that he will (in whatever way) look at someone else. So here is my TED talk as to why this would be worst writing decision they could ever make and thus will probably not happen unless they want to intentionally shoot themselves in the foot.

So from what I know from spoilers and such, part 2 mirror part 1, just things are more ramped up and the stakes are higher. So far they seem to have the same beats at the same place. Episode 5 sets things out, episode 6 is fun and games until it all comes to a grinding halt when Colin learns of Pen’s identity so episode 7 is dealing with the fallout of that and episode 8 is the resolution. Seems to me like the Lady Whistledown reveal beat is paralleling their first kiss beat. Episode 3 now for me was the most chaotic, because what do you mean they kiss each other like that and it takes them two whole episodes to get their shit together? Ah yes, it’s all the awkwardness and lack of clear communication. Now if in ep7, he thinks of being unfaithful at any point it would mirror him going back to the brothel in ep 3 and honestly I would personally feel like it is lazy writing (not that the writing is stellar by any stretch of the imagination to start with).

So let's get into ALL the reasons why Colin cheating on Pen in ANY way is like the worst writing decision (tbh I can't even believe I wrote out that sentence).

This is a romance show, catered I'm guessing to a large female audience and in which they sell us the male lead as the epitome of "down bad crying at the gym" as soon as they realise they have feelings for their counterpart. Colin, from what I understand, represents this more than any of them. So not only would that decision be so incredibly out of character, it would also essentially ruin the Bridgerton experience and what we're paying for. There is literally no realities out there where cheating would ever be perceived as sexy or attractive. It would be drama for the sake of drama and it would be badly handled drama because they'd only have 1 episode to save the thing and make us believe in their love story again.

It would kill their male lead. And that is just laughable. A romance show building up their romantic leads, having to deal with backlash, having to deal with an audience which they know is already, even before the season started, angry at Colin, only to kill him in the second to last episode. I'm sorry but this is just plain stupid and it's not selling me a romance show, maybe a drama show at best. I was the first one jumping at defending Colin when the first rumours of brothels came out before part 1, defending intimacy and the difference between those and his scenes with Pen. I was in fact correct. But this? In part 2? When a lot of people are still dissing on Colin? It's character and season suicide. No one, not the fans nor the general audience would ever forgive him.

It would be against everything they have sold us so far. They’ve been selling us something incredibly romantic and swoon worthy. This choice would be the complete opposite of those things. It would make no sense whatsoever. So unless they find it incredibly amusing to sell us something and giving us the opposite of what they have tried so hard and spent so much money on building up, it's not happening.

Now I think it’ll be incredibly angsty and with good reasons. He has every right to feel betrayed and cheated. The women he trusted and got vulnerable with and was honest with 1) hurt him badly, 2) didn’t dare show the same level of honesty. And that’s why it just doesn’t sit well with me that we get a reveal at the end of ep 6. We’re running out of time to deal with a lot of things and it will not help the choppy or rushed feeling of this season. And do I trust them to give us a scene where they have clear, honest, open communication? Not really no, because for some reason show runners think that a scene without drama is a boring scene. Although that conversation is really what is needed. So I know we’ll get an angry and incredibly hurt Colin. I’m hoping we’ll get arguments. Hell even a moment of doubt where the engagement is put on the line, because yes it would make sense for them to go « Do we keep going? Is it worth it? Are we going to work? ». The distance will add to the angst. And for something much bigger than them (the queen, the crown) to push them back together. And for Colin to decide that he will see this from her perspective and even if he doesn’t agree with it, she’s still Pen, and his Pen and she tried the best she could given the circumstances and that her actions, no matter what they might have been, still came from a place of love.

I’m ready to accept a lot from this season but cheating or god forbid someone spoke of rough sex is out of the question. It’s not them and it’s not what they’re selling us and it would be character and season suicide.

[necrotic-nephilim]

What are your opinions on Casstim?

i LOVE CassTim. i've actually written a CassTim fic that's mostly just fluff and smut, but i have a lot of ideas/thoughts about them that play with the more complicated aspects of them.

i'm of the opinion that Tim and Cass were a potential romance that DC left the door open for before Tim got adopted by Bruce. (and tbh, even after he got adopted there were certain interactions in Red Robin (2009) that felt romantically implied) a lot of their interactions have implied feelings on both sides so of all Batcest ships, i think this one has a *lot* of genuine canon backing despite it being one of the most underrated ships of the fandom.

the dynamic between Cass and Tim is really interesting to me because Tim doesn't want to be Batman in any capacity and thinks that goal is actually incredibly unhealthy and unachievable, whereas to Cass it's the thing she strives for the most and if anything she wants to be even more than that. (Batgirl (2000) #59 actually has a really interesting discussion about that and that whole post-War Games arc is fun for understanding how Tim and Cass feel about each other) so a lot of their interactions clash because of that and they can't always see eye to eye on what vigilante justice and Batman's vision should look like. their relationship with each other is always going to be dependant on their relationship with Bruce first, as well as the Batman mantle as a whole. so for them to love each other (which, they do without a doubt, romantic or not) they have to accept where they don't agree with each other.

there's such a gentleness to CassTim, i think? not because i think Cass (or Tim tbh) is gentle, but i think for the exact opposite reason. there is this fullness and drivenness in the way she loves and her undying devotion to them. she would do anything to protect her loved ones. and when you combine that with Tim, who's pretty self-sacrificial at his worst, you have some interesting conflict because they're both too-willing to die for the other. their lives are defined by violence, *especially* Cass', so for her to finally let herself be loved and protected by someone else as much as she loves others is something that simply makes me feral.

they've both been trained by Shiva, which i don't think gets explored enough because it's fun for exploring the way they fight and think in a fight being potentially similar. Cass is *far* smarter than anyone gives her credit for being, and has detective skills on par with Tim, in my opinion. they balance each other out in a lot of ways. they're two people who have *chosen* this fight more than a lot of the rest of the Batfamily. being Batgirl is so important to Cass and it's something she chose because of her desperate want to be good. and Tim chose to be Robin because he knew Gotham and Bruce needed that. while they don't always agree on it, i would argue Cass and Tim understand the nuances of the Batman mantle and what it represents deeper than almost anyone else. because of that i'm particularly interested in a future CassTim, where Cass becomes Batman and Tim is in a weird limbo where he wants to stop being a vigilante but can't seem to quite let go of the life and how they end up meeting in the middle of that. i think it could be really fun with a lot of complicated arguments between them that end in a slow burn romance.

idk man this is baseless rambling, but tldr i love them so dearly and there's so much that can be explored between them. also, i think TimKonCass should be a thing. i like KonCass more than most people do (why do y'all hate this ship it's so good pls hear me out-) and i think as a complicated weird throuple they'd be fun.

[ritens]

yay more tag games, more opportunities to wrangle dd2 Rau lore. Looking forward to tormenting Lane some more in the future too tho, he is the blorbo.

❖ The Basics:

Name : Raures

Age : 123 (is there any concrete lore about how elves age and even reproduce because??? making shit up as i go here)

One good trait : Easygoing

One bad trait : Gullible

❖ Habits:

One bad habit : Easily disposes of items he doesn’t need at the time but ends up requiring later. The opposite of a hoarder.

One good habit : Has pretty good hygiene even when out camping. Thank you, elf life. (on another note, managing to wrangle pawn Lane into having frequent baths has been a massive feat as well)

One habit they can’t break : Q-tips in ears.

One they’ve broken : not dressing up before going out. Yeah there was a time Raures would go to the market to fetch some fresh breakfast veggies in naught but briefs.

What they’re afraid of : The possibility that he might be on the wrong side of history. He worries about being neglectful.

❖ Family: 

Their parents names : Father Rhodan, Mother Khlystre

Their siblings names : n/a

Other relations : Uncle Woulle back in the Arbor

Favourite childhood memory : He loved spending time together with his parents, picnicking out in the meadow. When the sun shines through the leaves of trees just right, he tends to stop for a moment to savour the memory in his mind.

Favourite childhood toy : His first set of wood carving tools. A present from his father. He carved lots of things. Who needs house borers when you have a child with the less hazardous version of a knife running around.

Embarrassing story : Messed up a lot when learning human tongue. Once told a merchant they should consider trying soup made of old boots. He was trying to buy potatoes and cabbage for his parents for the veggie soup they were making. He attempted smalltalk. It was his first time practising the language with strangers.

Favourite family member : both of his parents were inseparable and he did not separate them in his mind either. They were constant in his life unlike most other people he’d met along the way.

A story about that family member : Khlystre once played a prank on her husband and son. She knew about other races more than the other two and was their walking encyclopaedia. She made up a nonexistent human holiday. Both Rhodan and Raures believed her and then wished human villagers a good ‘fish and chips’ day.

❖ What they prefer:

Coffee or tea ? Tea. Chamomile or Linden tea specifically.

Showering in the day or night ? Both tbh. He will wash up whenever he feels like it.

Taking baths or taking showers ? Bath. I’m not sure showers even exist in this world. Haven’t seen any. Then again the npcs seem to shit on the streets as the only toilets I’ve seen so far are in watchtowers and in JAIL of all places.

Writing or reading ? Reading. Especially letters and papers, diaries he has no business snooping through.

Platonic or romantic love ? Raures dreams of romance but has trouble committing knowing he’d outlive his potential partners.

Iced tea or lemonade ? Iced tea given the chance. Puppy eyes at random mages and sorcerers to put a little ice in his cup.

Ice cream or smoothies ? Smoothies. REFRESHING

Cupcakes or cake ? Cake if it’s got fresh fruit in it. And the thicker the frosting the better.

Beach or mountains ? Tough choice. Probably the beach as it feels more like home to him, despite the brine looming in the water. Easier to gather filling meals from waters also.

Tagged by @arisenreborn

Going to pass this onto another fandom- Tagging @alteredsilicone bc it’d be lovely to read more casual stuff about Viri or Temi <3 also @riftwalker-limbro if you ever feel like further fleshing out Vince or whoever you feel could work for this.

[shai-manahan]

Hollowed Minds Progress Update 5/08/23

Hi! I know I failed at making a progress update last month, so first of all, apologies for that! Things have just been busy tbh and life has been too stressful that at some points I just couldn't write. It's why I've been a bit inactive here as well, and why I've been barely answering the asks I've been receiving.

I cannot report yet how many words I've written for the update so far because I haven't really taken a look at it myself, but I will do so at the end of the month if there's still no confirmed schedule by then. My eye health has just been very consistent at making my life harder as well until recently, and here's hoping I'll at least be able to function properly for a whole month🤞

Some things that will be in the next update:

For Chapter 2's Part 2:

Everything still goes as planned, except now both routes are expected to be fast-paced and action-oriented, though one is still more intense than the other.

This will be a massive one, not because of the word count but because of the variations that will play out. There won't be much issues in arranging the transitions to Chapter 3, so there's at least that, but your choices will matter a lot. So you might have to be careful with them.

One of the routes gets Alonzo actively involved, but please be assured that this doesn't mean you have to romance them. I actually encourage you all to check out both routes once they come because you'll gain more discoveries that way. 👀

Alonzo's route will be so memeworthy, I have to admit. Please try it.

There's an info dump in Chapter 2's Part 1 that I'm not really a fan of, so I'll be moving some of those to this part instead if needed.

For the overall IF:

Alex will now have a set skin tone if a lighter one is chosen for the Ripper. I will discuss this in detail soon, but I just wanted to emphasize that Alex and Ripper's mother are canonically PoC.

You will have options for your Ripper to wear contacts or glasses (or neither ofc).

You'll be able to bring a weapon with you in Chapter 2 depending on your choices so far.

You might remember a section of Chapter 1 where you can choose what your Ripper had been doing for the duration of the five months. I might reduce it to a few, just so I could have them properly recognized in the story.

There will be a couple of changes in the character descriptions in the game's stats page, with plans to make them shorter, too, for easier readability.

I will make sure you'll have saves at the end of this. So please don't be surprised if there'll be more page breaks in the future, as well as more choices (that are still as meaningful.)

In connection to above, I also plan to make the in-game descriptions snappier and easier to read while still maintaining the quality they should have. Your feedback will be very important for this, and this also applies to the beta testers (sorry I've been so silent. I swear I'll get back to you all soon lmao)

Not really too related here, but I also plan to be more consistent with my updates in the future. It's just that my irl schedule is still a huge mess, and it's very hard to be consistent when that happens.

Just a last piece of my mind. Some anons have been very aggressive with harassment the past few months, and I really have no interest for more drama right now. So if you have issues, if you think you can back your own words, send them through a DM or at least turn off anon so we could have a proper conversation.

It's honestly tiring. Being an Asian in this community can already be so tiring, so I am begging people to be mature and responsible with their words. After all, I've repeatedly said that you can always come to me with your concerns or whatever you have against me. As long as we can actually talk about it.

Anyway, that's all, and I hope the week will be good for everyone :) I have a few more things to post on Patreon tomorrow, so if you're a current patron, do look forward to that!

[samuelroukin]

hi! not here in favor of you making Actual Books (i don't even read any of the newly published books anymore for reasons and reasons and reasons), just complimenting your work in general

i dont really care for cod at all but i really enjoy how you write the characters!! and tbh the only reason i watched some playthroughs of the games was so i could understand your work better. sure, fandom is the main reason people click in, but it's definitely not why they're staying. and it's not why people are writing paragraphs of praise to your stubborn ass even though you work so hard to never listen to any of it 💖

also id be enchanted to hear more about your ocs on future works or even here on tumblr!! you're great at creating made up people that actually feel real. they're pretty round (funnily enough that is the actual technical term), even when you don't tell us a lot about them

also 👀👀 say you have original stuff in mind?????? i would love love love love love to know more about that!! you're getting pretty darn good at worldbuilding and ambiance. better with each update now that you're trying out this AU thing. it would be infinitely interesting to see what you come up with when working with your own stuff only

anyway what i mean is. even though I don't quite believe in Published Books on this day and age, please know that your writing is definitely good enough for the editorial market (even more so now that those dark romance things are going mainstream and a lot of them read like the stuff 12yos post on wattpad. what tf is the deal with that? but I digress. out of those circles your work is still definitely good enough) it's legit like Good Work, even if the tiny mean bully whispering in your ear disagrees. it's good realism. good introspection. good porn and also good narrative and great junction of those. it's lovely seeing how far you've come in so little time and we're excited to see you reach new heights in the future (because you will, with absolute certainty, unless you stop. but i don't think you could really stop yourself at this point lmao)

and please know that achieving that level of quality with no help or instruction or training in so little time is a grand fucking accomplishment

point is: Who Care? We Care (even if we're not an enormous audience)(...yet?). and not just because it's cod

it's def a nice compliment to get thank u 🙏💖

and so is you reading my stuff without caring much for cod! though i wouldn't be able to write this much about them without (clearly) being completely insane about Them and the basis the games laid (haha laid) because without them i'd be nowhere at all, these characters are so. well they clearly took over my brain lol, though i worry a Lot about them being ooc when i write them 💀

i actually feel like my guys are so barebones and one dimensional rip, which is fine since i mostly created them as little more than a joke and they're just being used as set dressing, so that means a lot 🙏

my Main story is this sprawling urban fantasy thing, which if i ever did write it would need serious adjustments since it's. old and not aged very well. the gist of it was the main character (30 year old barista) has Visions, cue road trip with his bestie (ex bf from high school that he reconnected with years later) to figure out The Deal after they suddenly get much worse. it's about that on the surface, and below about dealing with missed chances and not living up to ur potential. it sounds stupid but i've been Thinking about it since i was like 14 so cringe is to be expected lol

lsklhkjhffghst yeah no offense to them but despite this fic being what it i i wouldn't really want to fall into that category even if that sound like i think i'm better than them (i'm not it's just not my thing. or i guess it is and i just have a superiority complex. anyway) um thank you once again 🥺i def feel like i haven't improved a lot but you're dead on about not being able to stop myself anyway lmao

idk why you're being this nice to me but 💖💖💖

[sarasa-cat]

My on-and-off twin first play throughs of Stardew Valley continue.

Have been playing more on my ipad late at night as a bed time wind down activity so that farmer -- my disaster farmer whom I started first -- is now a few days past the autumn harvest festival.

For some reason, I haven't had success triggering heart-scenes with some of the characters (and not ready to look at the wiki to find out why) but, between this playthrough and the other on my PC (currently in late summer), I've seen everything up to 6 hearts for Shane and for Sebastian (plus anyone else at a lower level I'm forgetting). More on that in a bit.

It took me a lllloooooonggg time to successfully get the community center quest rolling and, tbh, I think the ipad version had a bug that made a certain something in the community center ignore half the clicks/taps on it. Anyhow, that's now in the works.

Lots of thoughts about this game and how relaxing it is. But not a relaxing that quickly becomes boring and I'm the sort who gets bored really easily. The game's constraint of a ticking clock that force me to decide what I will do each day (so many choices, so little time) mixed with me doing short term and medium term goal setting combined with no such thing as a game over or a "bad" choice makes it all very relaxing. Plus, the game is very pretty with its saturated pixel graphics and the music is pleasant. And, while some players might opt to craft more stuff ASAP that makes farming "easier," I am finding the first year (first three seasons) of farming to be fun as a haphazard, simplistic, hands-on horticulturalist. This is very chill in a good way. Although, lol, so much watering by hand when it doesn't rain. ;)

Also: why must my cat insist on repeatedly BLOCKING my progress when watering? Such a cat. SUCH A CAT.

Orange cat. Lol.

But it is all part of the charm of the game. Which makes it relaxing.

Fwiw, Verdi the disaster farmer (who lives on my iPad) has no intention of marrying Shane --- and after the 6 heart event I fast-scrolled-vaguely-spoiled myself on the rest of his story, huge emphasis on vague --- and I do give CA credit for writing this character in the way that Shane is presented.

Must say that I am infinitely amused by the recipes (and other letters) that Shane sends to the farmer. His story contains a good deal of content for a game like this.

I think my plan for Verdi is to be very easy-going and thorough with the game --- after all, it is a perfect game for the iPad mini which just adds coziness on top of more coziness. I think I'll have her level up all of the romance-candidates to 8 just to see their stories and get to know them before making the decision that is right for her. If that takes a long while, perfect. Her game wants to go on for a very long time.

As for Violet, on my gaming machine (which is a far less cozy place to play), who is very spreadsheets and wiki pages strategic, she decided shortly upon arriving in that town that Sebastian was her INTEREST. I think once I have seen enough of the game from Violet's POV, I'll start messing around with mods and so forth.

.

As per earlier conversations regarding some of the characters feeling young, at least for me the implied youth of 4-out-of-8 romance characters doesn't really bother me or affect my decision making. I can imagine my player characters as younger or older, as per who I feel like RPing. Overall, just not fussed about that, and I like the fact that the game has romancable characters who feel like they span a little bit of an age range.

.

Have been amused with how the rhythms and messages and vibe of the game have leaked over into my day-to-day life.

Not quite ready to put it all into words but the cozy good feelings are good.

[redlyriumidol]

"Connor will not remain passive forever!" / "Go to the tower quickly then. The longer you are away, the greater the chances of disaster."

I wish so badly they'd followed through on these warnings during the Redcliffe quest. It's just cowardly in terms of writing. The fact that you can go to the circle and do the entire mages quest spending 287485 hours wandering around the fade and when you get back the demon's just chilling and nothing has changed.... It should have forced you to kill Connor upon returning because the possession was too far gone. That would have been fucked up yes but it would have been a realistic consequence. Like what is morally grey and difficult about the choice if there's a clear best option and 0 repercussions for taking it....

Tbh I pretend the Circle option doesn't exist in every single playthrough. Alistair's disapproving dialogue after you sacrifice Isolde is really good and imo it's an important moment in the developing friendship between him and my Wardens- it's more realistic for them to have ups and downs and difficult moments amidst all the grief and fear and pressure they're both facing. That scene always reads as him taking out his feelings of powerlessness on the Warden without realising; the cunning option that mitigates approval loss points out that it's really more about Alistair's feelings towards Eamon than it is about the Warden's choices- which he basically admits. Idk it's a great little character moment for Alistair, it was very intense going through it the first time, especially as I romanced Alistair and had to build up the relationship from there. This moment of tension made it feel like a realistic relationship that progressed naturally as the game went on.

[loveofdetail]

@sigilmint oh friend this comment made me so 😍

Short version: As far as in-game actions, really all you need to do is initiate his romance, betray the grove, roll to convince him to stay in the party, then continue his romance, roleplaying the situation however you want from there.

Long Version beneath the cut—this has a lot more to do with how my own out-of-game decisionmaking got me here, and how I interpret the macro-arc of my party/character.

My first bg3 campaign is a co-op game where we are mostly trying to do Good Route Things. Gale has been stuck in camp permanently because I was dead set on playing a wizard myself.

So I started my solo campaign with the vague notion of doing a Full On Evil Run. My character, Vuei, is a disillusioned and broken oathbreaker paladin. I was planning to romance Minthara because if she's only available in the evil route, might as well go all the way.

But I recruited Gale and immediately had a category 5 "Ohhh I can't not fuck him" moment.

Now, at the time I thought that betraying the grove would straight-up lock you out of his romance. Tbh I'm not sure why I thought this? But somehow that was the impression I'd gotten, so, I promptly jettisoned all my Evil Plans in favor under Get Under Gale's Robe ASAP.

I got all the way into Act 2 like this. Defeated and looted the whole goblin camp, made it to Last Light, all that.

Then one night I wanted to play but I was feeling too mentally wiped to make real progress and real decisions, so instead I loaded a save from right before saving the grove. I figured I would see what it was like, get to hear some Minthara dialogue, that would be that.

Instead I got one of the most immersive emotional rollercoasters a video game has ever given me.

I failed some rolls to deceive Minthara and started spinning a narrative where Vuei, who has recently lost everything and everyone they thought they valued, just... panics. Doesn't see a way out other than bending to Minthara's demands. Goes reflexively numb and nihilistic because apparently this is just the way the world works.

From there, the entire sequence from the combat itself, to Karlach (who was in my party) leaving me, to the reactions of various people at the party... it was just Moment after Heartwrenching Moment. I'm leaving some details out here because they really deserve to be experienced first-hand but at the end I was like. Staring at my ceiling processing all the implications for the characters.

Gale specifically delivers one of the Verbal Smackdowns of All Time to you afterward. You have to persuade him to stay.

But he does stay.

This was the point when I started getting the feeling that maybe his romance flag was still active? And the implications of THAT... my mind just ran wild with them. Who was this guy who would bitterly, righteously tell you that you're making him worse, then give you a second chance, secretly thinking maybe he's Not Actually So Different, then fall in love—ACTUAL love, not just 'I don't deserve better' resignation—with you despite it all?

I never reloaded my original save.

The game doesn't actually let you have any additional decompress-and-discuss dialogue after persuading him to stay, but in my imagination what I filled in was: a really painful heart to heart where Gale and Vuei agree Never Again. Where they are both at a loss as to how they can even go on from this. But they have to. So they will. At least they know the other feels just as guilty and ashamed as themself, and that counts for something.

It also made me think, why the pure black and white Evil Run/Good Run dichotomy? I really, REALLY latched on to the story structure of a party that makes One Huge Ruinous Fuckup at the very beginning that colors all their further attempts to Do Better, and that's how I RP'd going into act 2.

For instance: we couldn't rescue the tieflings but maybe we can extend the same grace to Minthara that we hope might be extended to ourselves.

In terms of game mechanics I actually took quite a hit here. Karlach took a bunch of great gear with her when she left (this may not happen in the current patch? unsure) and I decided my characters would not have it in them to go back to the goblin camp just to completionistly gobble up loot.

It felt like penance. The very beginning of the tangible consequences of the thing my character will regret most, for the rest of her life.

I felt closer to my remaining companions. Bound by atrocity. The last ones standing. By the gods it shouldn't have happened this way but after that we will NEVER doubt that we have each other's backs. I put Astarion in my party for the first time ever and this is when I began warming up to him as a character. Eventually when Shadowheart killed the Nightsong, it was like Vuei (and Gale) deeply disapproved but couldn't bear to cast judgement. The only thing to do is be there for her and hope she does better next time. We are all just hoping we'll do better next time.

The morning after our lowest point, we trudged resignedly to Rosymorn monastery. The stark, sublime grandeur of the landscape was a slap in the face. It was wrong that such beauty could still exist as though the world was indifferent to what we'd just done. It was wrong that we could literally climb above the ruins we made and in the distance they're just... another part of a breathtaking view. But here we are, standing on this cliff, somehow still able to feel wonder.

The new dawn imagery was both a lash and balm.

We carry on. We find a way.

OH ALSO I gave Gale Volo's eye and continued making Alterations to him as things progressed. Being vague because that's quite a bit further in but yeah, Gale Undergoing Changes is another big part of my vision here. It's All Connected.