#anyways. these aren't all the games i play. there are probably more i'm forgetting.

[druizard]

Alright so, I'm going through my thousands of BG3 screenshots. I tend to snap pics of conversations and dialogue that I like or find interesting and then ultimately forget about them cuz my brain is mashed potatoes half the time.

ANYWAYS, the scene in act 2 when you save Rolan and he has a breakdown has a lot of lines that I adore but also they break my heart because not only do I love Rolan, but I also relate to him in a few ways. At least on the self loathing part.

Right off the bat, this is what he says after you rescue him. There are so many things he has done right, but he cannot see them, not past his failures, no matter how small.

I particularly LOVE how Larian wrote extra lines for different classes in conversations!! I don't have lines from all of the classes I've played (I'll probably add more to this post later if I end up grabbing more screenshots of em) but I do have a few of my favorites. Here we have my origin Gale, telling Rolan, "A good wizard knows when to ask for guidance - for help." To which, Rolan replies.

Heart-wrenching. And if you ask him, "Should I have left you to die?"

(excuse me while I cry)

My Druid/Bard, Aislyn, in another play-through, tells him, "If it helps, when I re-tell this story, I could say you killed all the monsters?" His response:

While he is speaking to you in this scene, he starts off angry and venomous but very quickly his tone shifts and his voice begins to quiver as if holding back tears. (Bravo, George Taylor) He talks a big talk in Act 1 at the grove, but he really did mean it when he said "I care about our lives, our futures!" He says his greatest ambition is to become the greatest wizard in all of Faerûn, but it all means nothing if Cal & Lia aren't there to share his future with him.

Their family bond is so important to all three of them and I only wish we had more backstory. I want to know what happened to them and what happened specifically to Rolan in his past that made him feel this way about himself. I love seeing everyone's headcanons, but I'd love to know what the writers had in mind when they wrote him into the game.

Anyways, I love Rolan, Cal and Lia, maybe more than anything else in the entire game, thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[tarotbiscuits]

ℌ𝔬𝔴 𝔡𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔶 𝔣𝔢𝔢𝔩 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲?˖°𓇼🌊⋆🐚🫧

Hey guys, long time no see <3 i was at the beach this week and got inspired by seashells to make a beach themed pac! It was supposed to be 9 piles, but i got sunburned🥲 anyway, maybe there's a message for you in one of these piles. This is going to be short and sweet🩷

Pile 1 (brown seashell)

(devil horizontal clarified by seven of wands rx and queen of cups, nine of cups rx, seven of cups clarified by nine of pentacles rx, ace of pentacles)

They feel very unhappy with themselves and their life, so they often daydream about you to forget reality. They can't make up their mind if you're bad news or not, pile 1🤭. I see that you've treated them well, you showed them that you have feelings for them, perhaps you offered them something without asking. They feel like it's "too good to be true" and what if it's all just a facade? "What if pile 1 is playing with me in order to get something?" They might have been deceived in the past, so they find it hard to believe your kind nature to be genuine. They see you as very feminine and nurturing towards them. If you're in NC, they'd like to start fresh with you. If not, they wish they could spend more time with you

Pile 2 (small grey seashell)

(three of wands rx clarified by king of cups rx amd temperance rx, page of wands horizontal clarified by judgement rx, two of wands and queen of wands rx, the star clarified by three of swords and the wheel of fortune, eight of wands horizontal, high priestess horizontal)

This is my exes pile😬. Pile 2, i'm sorry but your person is a coward lmaoo. You two have history, you have either been in a relationship with them and broke up OR you were in some kind of situationship that had a painful ending. They don't want to reach out to you because they know that they need to level up and show you their true feelings without playing games. They know they have to make a decision tho. "Should i try rekindling things with pile 2 or not?". They feel like your ending was fated, so they hope that the stars will align again to bring you guys back together. If they would listen to their intuition, they would text you already, but they're such a loser damn

Pile 3 (pale seashell)

(three of swords horizontal, two of cups rx, the sun rx clarified by three of wands rx, page of swords clarified by page of wands, king of cups rx and temperance rx)

This pile is similar to pile 2, so if you felt drawn to it, maybe there's a message for you in pile 2 too. Anyway, this is a romance that went sour. Things ended between you two because they wanted to play the field. Since you two have parted ways, they feel very depressed about you. They feel like they didn't explore your connection to its full potential. They have a lot of "what ifs" moments. Unlike pile 2, they are likely to reach out to you in the near future to rekindle the connection, but beware, pile 3! If they previously were emotionally unavailable or they showed signs of emotional immaturity, they haven't changed. Despite having feelings for you, they are not very sure about your connection

Pile 4 (black seashell)

(ace of wands rx, ten of wands rx, nine of swords horizontal, death)

They aren't interested in you, period. I feel like your connection was a burden on them and they feel better off without you. I see that at night, they overthink your connection. "What if i made the wrong choice in letting pile 4 go? ..ugh, i should go to sleep". They probably feel like they made the right choice in ending the connection, but they will truly realise this only later. They believe your connection has reached its course and there's nothing else to explore, discuss or repair

[allykakamatsu]

Playing XC2 if you played Torna first is a very different experience

Aka, a rough list of all my reactions to things that I shouldn't of reacted to on a first run cause I played Torna first-

(Note, I played both games for the first time years ago, this is just a recreation of my reactions.)

(Chapter 1) Aww Azurda has new adopted human and this one calls him Gramps that's adorable!

meeting new Torna for the first time Aww it's a cute Gormotti girl-! Why is Malos here-?! JIN WHY ARE YOU WITH MALOS WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!

Okay so Malos has a blade now, checks out given that his core is probably wrecked after what Mythra did to him but I guess Aegis's can be Drivers now.

JIN WHY DID YOU STAB A CHILD WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?!?!

Oh, so Pyra is Mythra's new self. She seems sweet but I want my sassy girl back.

(Chapter 2) Yay Gormott! Glad to see it's not burned to the ground anymore.

If I had a nickel for every time Brighid attacked us thinking we were criminals I'd have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's funny it happened twice.

Why isn't Pyra's fire affected by the water- oh is it cause of Mythra?

Oh, so Mórag is Brighid's new driver. Should've figured that out sooner but they're a cool looking pair. Wonder where Aegeon is though.

(Chapter 3) Hey Cole's scar kinda reminds me of Minoth, wonder what happened to him.

In between my tears over what just happened MYTHRA'S BACK FUCK YEAH!!!

(Chapter 4) Addam why the hell are you wearing a cloak you weren't wearing it in that scene.

MYTHRA I GET THAT YOU'RE UPSET AND PROBABLY STILL DEPRESSED OVER MILTON I AM TOO BUT I'M SORRY!!!

Wait.... COLE WAS MINOTH?!?! Jeez man what happened? I know you said you were a failed Flesh Eater but I didn't realise that meant this...

Also Minoth man, I love you but I think old age has made you senile why the hell are you sending us to Amalthus?

get's control of Mythra YES!! And omg her specials are her old arts that's adorable!!

Oh so this is the 'Evil Tifa' I've heard people joke about- wait.... MIKHAIL?!?! MY SON?! Okay this means you survived whatever the hell Amalthus did that's good, but it's been 500 years how are you still alive regardless? Also he's evil now which is bad but at least he's with his dad Jin.

WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME FIGHT MY SON GAME?!?!?!

Okay upside, Brighid's back at least and yup she's still awesome. And her specials are her old arts too that's still adorable.

Haze my babygirl you're back-! Wait, Fan la Norne? I'm with Mythra on this one when did that happen? And why is half of your core gone?

(More under cut)

(Chapter 5) Okay yeah I'm doubly with Mythra something happened to Haze and I am concerned.

Okay I can see why Addam picked this place for the Tornan refugees this place is beautiful.

Wait, Zeke's the Prince of where? I have not heard of Tantal before, is it new or am I forgetting something? (it was in-fact, relatively new)

in the same tone of 'Dinkleberg' Amalthus..... I can't prove it yet but you're the one behind Haze's missing core aren't you?

YES!! REX!! AMALTHUS WAS MALOS'S DRIVER DON'T TRUST HIM!!

Jin, I again ask what the hell happened to you?

Empty Moment- OH GOD THAT'S HIS LEVEL 4 I DID NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT FELT LIKE AAGGHH!!

Jin what are you doing- HAZE NO!!! JIN I KNOW HAZE HATED AMALTHUS AND HE PROBABLY DID SOMETHING TO HER BUT WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!?!

after I'm finished crying Oh, hey Aegeon, was wondering when you'd show up. And that's the Emperor of Mor Ardain? Aww, he looks like an even more baby Hugo-! Wait... Hugo.... oh no.

(Chapter 6) Niall what are you doing no no no-! NOT AGAIN!!!

Okay, Nia, thank you for stopping history from repeating itself.

The Tantalese are descendent from Addam, that can't be right Addam went to Leftheria-! Zettar started this, didn't he?

No tier lists I don't care if Aegeon sucks I'm gonna use him anyway because I am biased.

'Cadet Branch of the Royal Family' Yup, Zeke is descendant from Zettar, RIP my man having to be in the same bloodline as him.

GAME WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME FIGHT MY SON AGAIN-!! WHY DOES MIKHAIL HAVE A CORE CRYSTAL?!?!

Pyra Mythra no no no you two aren't just made to destroy don't go with them no no NO!!!

(Chapter 7) Ah, so this is where Addam hid the third sword. 5 minutes of gameplay later I can see why he hid it down here, this place would drive anyone mad.

Is this what it feels like to be on the receiving end of Addam's talent art? Cause all these reinforcements have to be equivalent to being perma toppled and launched with how long this takes.

Addam drop the hood already.

Malos you fucking bastard when I get my hands on you....!! Jin you can stay but you're on think fucking ice pardon the pun.

YES!! REX GIVE THOSE GIRLS THERAPY THEY NEED IT!!!

(Chapter 8) You know, I'm pretty sure most people picked Pyra here calls Pneuma Mythra but I am not most people

YAY!! I can play as Jin again! And he is somehow even more overpowered than before!

Jin why are you lying to Brighid, she's more mature but she's otherwise the same.

Jin... ate.... oh... I should've.... figured but.... oh god.... I just thought loosing Lora messed him up but having to eat.... yeah between that and Amalthus no wonder he's like this.

Torna......

Aww, nice Jin's still in there, he let us go and told Brighid the truth.

(Rest of the game cause I love it but I forget the chapter markers) So.... um.... Jin I'm glad you were able to find love again after Lora but why did it have to be Malos? Like this is weirdly sweet but this is a weird progression.

AMALTHUS I KNEW YOU WERE THE ONE WHO MESSED WITH HAZE MALOS YOU ARE OFFICIALLY PRIORITY 2 THIS BASTARD DIES FIRST!!

Okay that's how Mikhail survived this long so I guess Amalthus was good for one thing.

No no no no no no no- MIKHAIL!!!!! Why.....?!?- Oh god they're showing the scene where he met Lora and Jin again GAME WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?!?!

Okay I wanted to help Jin and stop Amalthus anyway but now I'm doing it for my baby boy.

Don't worry Jin I've got your back. THIS IS FOR LORA HAZE MIKHAIL AND EVERYONE ELSE YOU BASTARD!!!!!!

...... J... Jin...... chapter 9 is living up to it's name because I was a rainstorm of tears after this

Malos for Jin's sake I don't want to kill you anymore can you please stop- damn it!!

Never thought I'd be sad to see Malos go but, here we are.

Pyra, Mythra, what are you- no no no no NO!! POPPI I KNOW YOU'RE KEEPING YOUR PROMISE AND WE HAVE TO LEAVE BUT LET ME GO I HAVE TO SAVE THEM!!!!

bawling crying until the two come back and the tears become happy tears Heh... thank god....

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

As time goes by, I realized Ace is always left behind from Deuce, Yuu,and Grimm whenever something seriously happened. In Glorious Masquerade, Deuce was chosen and Yuu and Grimm were invited because of Grimm begging which left Ace behind in school not knowing they were in serious danger. In the White Rabbit festival, Ace was too busy to come to Deuce's hometown which made him the only member not to join in. The starlight event has Yuu,Grimm, and Deuce help with the wishes. And let's not forget that the second Halloween event in which Yuu and Grimm aren't that active where Ace has to rescue his friends only to learn about Malleus being behind it with the help of Yuu and Grimm even to the point that Ace looks deeply upset and felt frustrated that everyone forgotten about what they done and just party.

Sure there are times where Deuce was left behind while Ace isn't but it is shorter compare to the reverse. Like Ghost Marriage, Deuce volunteer only to be slap by the ghost and gotten himself stun which is only a short time they were seperate, Fairy Gala is more of a what if scenario. The latest stitch event seems to one event where the danger is high without Deuce and include Ace given they were trapped in the book. But if you compare to Deuce and Ace, seems like Ace is always left behind and that times in seriousness is Yuu and Grimm mostly with Deuce than with Ace.

Unless the Pinocchio event will have Ace join in with Deuce, Yuu, and Grimm (Given the chance he might have the event card since he wasn't included in the Masquerade event or the possibility that Ace is still not included but more in his perspective like the second halloween event), seems like Ace is a bit left behind.

I mean... maybe so (although personally, I don't see it)?? But I don't think it's with any malicious intent or to indicate that Ace isn't important to the friend group. It's probably just the devs having to come up with excuses or circumstances (ie "Ace was given an invite, but has basketball practice so he can't go with them to White Rabbit Fest") due to the predetermined limitations placed on the game (ie "welp, we already have our 4 limited characters for this event, so no space for Ace"). All of the examples mentioned were events, which are pretty limited in the boys that can be included as the themed cards. Some of the event stories just wouldn't play out as well if Ace is expected to swap in or to be present every time Deuce or Yuu/Grim goes somewhere. (That would also just unfairly give Adeuce more event cards than any other boy.) Yuu and Grim didn't even necessarily spend "more" time with Deuce in some cases (they went around checking in with every group in Glorious Masquerade). I also think Ace's absence in that particular event was well-utilized for a funny punchline, so it's not as though nothing came out of his exclusion. I'm sure his role and Deuce's will eventually zero out anyway, since the next Halloween event will give him some screen time (although not necessarily glued to Yuu/Grim at the hip). If you think about the events Ace or Deuce have been features in, they often being up the other boy or actively go out of their way to get a souvenir for them—the other guy is out of sight, but definitely not out of mind. I don't believe Yuu, Grim, and Deuce were always necessarily caught up in "serious danger" or high stakes either (Wish Upon a Star and White Rabbit Fest, for example). In the case of Endless Halloween Night, Deuce was possessed by a ghost and was also separated from the others (with Ace as a rescuer and Yuu and Grim as part of the pranking group). I think Ace's frustration in that event wasn't even totally directed at his friends for "leaving him behind". In Ace's Halloween vignettes, he expresses upset at Malleus for not understanding the gravity of the situation and for making him worry about the safety of his friends. (We also see many instances of Adeuce, Yuu, and Grim hanging out on a regular basis in these vignettes, which clues us in to just how much time they already spend in each others' presence. A few events apart isn't a big deal compared to how often they see each other regularly.)

Ace definitely does get his own moments to shine (Ghost Marriage, Lost in the Book with Stitch, and Fairy Gala: If to a lesser extent; he even gets to meet Yuu and Grim in the prologue before Deuce does), whether that's in the presence of Deuce, Yuu, and Grim or not. I don't think the others' absence really adds or takes away anything from Ace's character.

Just because the group splits up sometimes or aren't always depicted together doesn't detract from their friendship or mean one person is being neglected. The characters are all individuals, not monoliths expected to always hang out with the exact same people. It's nice to see them as a unit, of course, but everyone needs time apart too. I don't even know if "left behind" is an apt term for most of these instances; most of the time, the characters are not traveling super far away or deliberately leaving Ace out from the festivities. He's still around, just not playing as big of a role due to how the events are structured.

[pillarsoflove]

can i request sleep over hcs with any characters? can be platonic or romantic!

hi! yes! sleepovers are so fun 🫶 sorry these are short, I couldn't think of much :(

gn!reader, they/them if any

characters: march 7th, dan heng, sampo, stelle (f!mc), caelus (m!mc)

up for interpretation of platonic or romantic!! fluff 🫶

March!

first off, definitely the type to forget to give you a blanket

but don't worry!! she has a lot of those soft decorative ones, so you aren't short on options, she just forgot

"this is a sleepover! you think you're supposed to sleep??" fr

if you are just friends, she definitely asks about who you're romantically interested in

gossiping about your trailblaze missions!! giggling about some people you met, thoughts on what happened, I'm ngl y'all definitely smack talk people you don't like too

hello!!! dress up?? yes

she doesn't typically like people close to her face, but if you two are close enough to have a sleepover she trusts you enough to allow you near her face! so you can mess with her hair or do her makeup

you both eventually knock out with the lights still on

Dan Heng!

if you have a sleepover you either don't live on the express or it was an accident

in the accident case you probably wanted to spend more time together and ended up falling asleep in his "room" (the archives), or you had a nightmare and being in the same room as him calmed you down

offers you his bed and he'll sleep on a pallet on the floor – it isn't much different from his makeshift bed already – just less padding

if you end up falling asleep after trying to spend more time with him he'll carry you to his bed, not wanting to risk waking you up by carrying you to your room if you live on the express

idc how big you are, he's stronger than he looks, he has hidden muscles similar to swimmers thanks to his weapon!

sampo!

good luck man, I don't think he has a house

just hops from one hotel/motel to the other

so you're either sleeping in your room, or in a hotel room

if you're part of the astral express, the hotel room is probably the better option considering the hate dan heng and March has for him

and the others probably will as well ngl

anyway! he will offer to sleep in the same bed if the room only has one bed as a joke

(platonic only, or romantic but haven't slept in the same bed yet ->) insult is probably what he's expecting, if you want to catch him of guard, accept, it's funny bc wait?? what?? deadass??

if y'all are friends he's trying to explain it was a joke without sounding like a loser 🤧

probably snores

if you wake him up bc he's snoring too loud he's gonna go on about how he needs his beauty rest so excuse you

stelle!

honestly, I think she would enjoy chill nights

like she's everywhere all the time during the day, so calm nights are a nice break, plus she's tired from the day

you two do some small activities, like maybe playing a game, or reading, or just talking, maybe watching a movie

the room lights are dim too! off during a movie :)

I feel like she would have a seal plushie..

won't go to sleep until you say when because she doesn't want to make you feel pressured to sleep at the same time as her

though if you take too long she'll probably nod off in a beanbag

offers you her bed too! let's you sleep with her seal plushie if you want (if you have plushies then let her sleep with one at the next sleepover pleasee)!!

skin care together!! you can use each other's headbands for the night, just for fun :)

caelus!

he also doesn't say when he wants to sleep because he doesn't want you to feel pressured

plus I feel like it's hard for him to get to sleep anyway, so it's not hard for him to stay up

will take an interest in your items if you brought any knick knacks over

like a ring holder, music box, fidget toy, figurine, etc etc

he wants to see what it does and know the story behind it if you have one

honestly, just wants to spend time with you, doesn't care what you do, so it's up to you!

be warned, if you do each other's nails, he's not great at it and will end up getting quite a bit on your skin and the polish on your nails might (will) be a big lumpy

but he does his best! might even try to make a design on it if you ask, though it comes out unrecognizable (he's still happy with it if you are, also, gets happy if he sees you still wearing it a while after!)

once it's time for sleep he'll turn out the lights and plug in his nightlight (apologizes profusely if it bothers you, he can't sleep without it though)

sleeps on a pallet next to the bed while you sleep on the bed

also has a plushie! it's a grey cat

it typically sits on his desk, he only sleeps with it if he's having a particularly hard night, so you can sleep with it if you want

just make sure to put it back on the desk tomorrow though

[rotting-ink]

Will Mc be able to have piercings/tattoos?

Bc I was wondering how the Ro's would react to finding out a shy little witch having their nipples pierce 👉👈

So, Regency era (also im being such a shit head naming the period regency era but shhh ehehe) could get their ears pierced and little else. A few years later the Victorians got on board with nipple and genital piercings, fun fact.

So, piercings wise, I'm going to be a shit because, not-such-a-big-surprise, this is not historic Regency era. At all. It follows roughly the same fashions and trends as historically accurate England in Regency Era, but nah, history is different. There is a mad monarch and a regent in charge currently but that's where the history stops being similar.

So honestly? Why not, piercings will be a thing. As well as tattoos, but the Witch hasn't been able to get any yet. They have to do that in game.... If they dare.

ANYWAY:

L Rawlins: Oh dear lord. They're not a swooner, but that would take them WAY off guard. Stares. Going to be a struggle not to bite.

S Della Rovere- Oh, matching! Let's rub them together and make them clink!

Z Chambers- Open mouth. Stupidly, would ask "That's allowed?" Before their face crumples in mortification that they asked such a dumb thing. Starts grumbling and instead latches on to make you forget what they said.

V De Winters- Smirks and playfully flicks them. "Oh, look at you. Was feeling brave one day, hm?" Gonna tease them into oblivion.

Seir- Were probably with you when you got them, ngl. Either way, grins. "Bet these are all the more sensitive, hm?" Sometimes grope them semi publicly because they're the worst.

Saleos- A bit surprised. "Oh, look at you. All adorned, ready for me." Is going to be the one who wants to find you other piercings that are bejeweled, reds and golds.

Starling Knight- Blinks. One gloved hand coming down to squeeze gently. "Hm. Pretty." Then, in the meanest way, pinches your nipple, their eyes crinkling a bit. "What? Testing how sensitive you are."

A Lancaster- Depends on when you have sex with them for the first time. At the first opportunity? They're ripping at your shirt a bit more and stares. Blinks. Growls, "Obviously, I've misjudged you badly" and going to fucking bite at them. Later on, in a relationship? "Now, did you do these yourself? Because I refuse to believe you did these with someone else's help." Flat, but a small smirk playing on their lips.

E Rawlins- Eyes get all wide. Pupils large and black. Licks their teeth. Usually they leave hickeys on your neck and thighs but yeah, your chest is going to be COVERED.

Quincy Beaumont- Grins. "Awh. Was just thinking about getting you these. Beat me to it, hm?" Leans in to whisper, "Little harlot, aren't you?" And flicks them.

D Woolf- Goes the brightest red you've ever seen. Stutters. Makes a soft whining noise. "Can I....?" Wants to suck them so badly, nuzzling into them.

[ahamkara-apologist]

All right gonna be going ham on this one for the character asks:

4, 14, 16 for Eramis

21, 22, 23 for Taniks

9 and 26 for Misraaks

MEGA ASK GAME SO I CAN PROCRASTINATE ON WRITING MY FIC YIPPEE!!

Eramis:

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

-Oh gosh, this one's difficult. I think, if I could choose, my first thought would probably be a book, because it allows for a lot more explainations and insights into her actions than what's apparent in game; just look at how stellar her lorebooks are for explaining her POV and her actions, and how many people in the fandom/playing the game still have zero idea what she's about because of it. For a second, though, a longform tv series would be stellar, because I'm fucking obsessed with all her little mannerisms and speaking inflections and a longform tv show would also allow for the nuances of her character to shine through in a way that isn't so easily ignored. But, since she's a morally grey lesbian, I feel like she'd be shit on and ignored anyways, because there's no winning with fandom

(I AM thinking about potentially making a lore video explaining Eramis's motives pre-Revenant, but given my lack of a professional microphone, editing skills, and time, that...may be a problem. But I want to do a lorevid explaining her character one day bc damnit she's D2's most nuanced and interesting antagonist apart from Savathun and I want to explore that)

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

-I know jack shit about fashion but she's a leather jacket motorcyclist 100%. Just look at her and try to tell me otherwise. You can't. Maybe she's got a side thing of spikes and collars and whatnot but she blends fashion and utility extremely well in her canon getup, so I can't imagine it would be much different otherwise

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

-I don't really think I have a least favorite ship, tbh- there's just not enough shipping for her to begin with. Maybe her x male characters* or her x anyone romantically after losing Athrys? But that's less of a dislike thing and more that with my hcs for her (+ her being canonically only attracted to women) and the fact that I just can't see her with anyone after losing Athrys. Too much trauma, depression, and rage for any relationships to bloom, her heart is salted soil, it just doesn't work

*I know I've said that I like the thought of her and Taniks as fuckbuddies before, but this is explicitly from the perspective of my indulgence hc that Taniks is closeted genderqueer (he/she), and that Eramis sought him out for sex explicitly because she wasn't attracted to her, so she wouldn't get flashbacks to Athrys mid-fuck. I would not call this any form of shipping as much as it is me being aro and trans and craving nonromantic sexual intimacy in fandom bc I'm frustrated about how difficult it is to get irl

Misraaks

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

-Jaxx ur trying to get me to talk more about the eggfic aren't you. Anyways my fav thing to write is Putting Him In Situations (of any kind!), while my least favorite thing to write is his dialogue. I keep forgetting that Misraaks has an Eliksni-accented way of wording things compared to, say, Eramis or Eido, and that trips me up when writing him- which is ironic, bc the way he speaks in canon is how I like to write a lot of my own prose, lol

WAIT THIS WAS FOR TANIKS MY BAD. Misraaks I'll get back to you in a bit bud

Taniks

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

-HIS MANNERISMS!! I love how ruthlessly fucking wild and feral he is in canon, enough that you'd think he's just off the shits insane, and yet the one (1) lore entry we get from his perspective indicates that he's actually a deeply cunning, intelligent, and proud Eliksni with a very strong (if twisted) sense of right and wrong and a deep disgust for the power structures that have brought his people to such lows. The face of Taniks that we see as the Young Wolf is that of a mindless, sadistic monster, but the one that we see when he's speaking to other Eliksni is a guy that I'd happily call comrade, would he not beat the everloving shit out of me for it. I love everything about the scraps we get of him in canon and I enjoy trying to fit those two sides of him together to get a nuanced individual who's still a guy that's basically an abused ex-circus chimp on ketamine while also giving little hints as to why he's Like That. Monsters are made, not born, and Taniks is not as much of a monster as we think he is.

What I don't like, like Misraaks, is writing his dialogue- albeit for different reasons. With Misraaks, what I worry about is getting his dialogue right, while for Taniks, it's getting the length of it correct. Like I said before, we only get one lore entry where we actually know what he's saying, so I don't actually know how talkative he is. So far, what I've been doing is having him monologue a lot when he's hyped up on something and near-silent when not, but I'm not quite sure if that's right. He spends way too long roaring unintelligibly at us in canon for me to know if he's actually chatty or just unimaginably furious at our existence

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

-Buddy I don't think there's enough fics out there for me to have gathered anything I might dislike from them. I'm just happy to find one where he's in it, and actually plays a real role in things. I guess the closest that I can say is that I dislike how much of a niche character he is, because he's genuinely so fucking interesting, but he tends to get relegated to just a meme character and nothing more

23. Favorite picture of this character?

-This one. I love how he looks like a lazereyes reaction image sjkhfdgbksjdhfg. He's so fucking done with our shit

okay, now time for Misraaks

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

-Honestly yeah, I probably could. Misraaks just seems like a really chill guy to live with though, and Eido is an absolute cutie who's just like me in that she's ravenously curious about everything. I do think we'd butt heads a bit about letting her participate in potentially-dangerous scenarios (mostly bc I grew up with an overprotective, paranoid father so I feel Eido so hard), but he's a respectful guy and I think he'd understand that I need a lot of alone time to not go insane. The culture sharing would be a blast and I think that he's like me in that he hates drama, so apart from debates over Eido and him being all ashamed of his sordid past (which I don't give a shit about), we'd be cool

The hardest part would be not jumping his bones. I don't know if I could be normal about that. As I said before, I'm an aro trans man who craves a form of contact that isn't socially acceptable or easy to find among humans, and Misraaks is a big sweet calm nonjudgemental alien dilf who probably thinks all humans look weird, trans or not. The temptation is obvious here

26. What's something the character has done you can't get over? Be it something funny, bad, good, serious, whatever?

-HIS OBSESSION WITH ASHER MIR. IT WAS SO FUCKING FUNNY DJHBDGH. That and his friendship with Saint and Osiris (old man gang go!) and his hatred for Eramis are all things that I absolutely love about him. He's just a big reverent nerd of a man who doesn't want to talk about his college age years and I love that about him so so much

Character ask game here

[destinygoldenstar]

🍀Money Isn't The Only Victory🍀 - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 2 Episode 7 “Not As Easy As It Seems”

Hi.

So you may not have expected this because of... what happened...

But I wanted to react to this show and keep doing it. As a way to... you know... distract, from recent events...

Anyway, let's just go right ahead and jump into it.

"I'm putting together the platforms for today's challenge. Can't you see?"

Oh I don't like the sound of that...

"Didn't you have an intern to take care of these things?"

"Ever since Nina was kidnapped, I swore that I would never let her go for a second."

What exactly is your relationship with this puppet... demon... thing?

"That means this is our chance to get Riya's perfume back."

Oh yeah I forgot about that!

"I used her personal bathroom awhile ago and she didn't even notice."

OKAY LAKE, YOU REBEL.

"Okay, let's split up. That way it will be faster."

That doesn't look like splitting up to be chief.

"I must thank you again. What you are doing for me, I really appreciate it."

Awww

I am liking this Best Girls Alliance.

"Now I see why it is important. Those perfumes are really expensive."

"'Passion Of The Red Lady'. Mom and all her friends use that same fragrance."

Oho. Riya's fancy.

I know she got it from Connor. But she gonna be fancy rich with a million dollars.

"With a million dollars, I will always have the smell of my friends!"

I mean I don't want to THINK that, but think about it. Riya's a broke-ass actress who can't get a role, and is outside of her country with no relationships. And she's in a reality show where the value is money.

"If I was rich and famous, I'd have lots more friends and be lots happier!"

"Well, some people connect so well that when they separate, they feel empty. It's not common, but it's real."

Yeah, I know people like that.

Empty HOW, exactly?

"This brought back some memories."

Oh?

"When I was really stressed out with my homework and started losing my hair... mom took me to the wig shop. When I arrived, I saw a beautiful wig with red hair... but they didn't let me choose it. Mom was very upset with me because of my baldness. So she bought me this... she said it made me look like a good girl."

Awwwww

WEAR IT.

BECOME A REDHEAD. COME ON.

I WANT REDHEADED LAKE NOW.

YEEESSS!! REDHEADED LAKE! LET'S GOOO!!!!

I'm gonna have to get used to it. BUT LET'S GOOO!!!!

"First, you will have to play the classic dodgeball."

DODGEBRAWL.

At least NOW there's an in story reason for it, as she's Chris McLean's daughter and Total Drama is canon.

NUT SHOT!!

WE HAVE A NUT SHOT!!!

"Oops! I'm sorry!"

Oh, Rosa, don't apologize! You're too nice!!

NO ROSA!

OH GEEZ I THINK YOU CONCUSSED HIM.

"What kind of a bum can't blow up a ball properly?"

James, you can say asshole. It's fine.

Even a six year old has more guts to cuss than you.

"Actually, mine works."

"Forget it."

😂

OH MY GOD

THAT HAD NO RIGHT BEING AS FUNNY AS THAT WAS

😂

I'm SORRY

"Team A wins by default!"

That doesn't sound fair at all. You don't want to let Tess cook?

"That's not fair."

Even she agrees.

"Player 2? Who's Player 1?"

Oh I didn't think of it like that.

"He was my grandfather... everything I know about video games, he taught me."

Aw.

An ELDER teaching the YOUNGER generation about VIDEO GAMES? WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?

"Until three months ago, when he died of lung cancer."

Aw...

YOU AND JAKE WOULD BE BEST FRIENDS!!

"I was super close with my grandparent, and they died."

"OMG ME TOO!!"

"I didn't leave the house for a long time and I cried every day... that's why I decided to audition for this show."

OH GEE, A CHARACTER WHO CAME TO THIS SHOW FOR THEIR GRANDPARENT.

WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS BEFORE?

If Allyson and Jake aren't friends, I'll probably sue someone.

"Life can be crap, right?"

Tell me about it.

"It's enough to take a step forward to see that life has much to offer."

That an AWKWARD way she said that line.

Oh welp. That was easy.

"You see, he's been very good to me these last few days... but I'm worried about trusting him and that he will disappoint me again."

Fair.

I mean just because a guy is sweet in the tent ONCE doesn't mean you can negate all the toxic behavior before.

I mean, I know there's such thing as redemption. I need to see it and be proven it first.

"What he did to Yul, it didn't seem like it was part of a strategy."

Oh no, THAT was different. THAT was personal.

That was just bias against Yul right there.

"Rather, I would say that he was protecting you."

Yeah, that too.

But mostly bias against Yul.

"If what he wants is an alliance, wasn't Yul a better option?"

HELL NO.

IN WHAT WORLD WOULD YUL BE A GOOD OPTION FOR AN ALLY?

"Maybe he likes you."

"You mean like... he's in love with me?"

I mean... DUH.

But I think LUST is a better word than LOVE. You know what I'm saying?

"The way he kissed you, the tone of his voice, his body movements when he is around you..."

Yeah, lust. That's just proving my point.

COME ON LAKE! YOU CAN DO IT!!

YUS LAKE! GET IT GIRL!!

XD

OUCH. That looked like it hurt.

YEEESS!!

OH COME ON THAT'S BULLSHIT

THAT WAS ON THE POLE!

"Congratulations Hunter! You have won the challenge and immunity."

OH THAT'S BULLSHIT!!

"I mean that we can be friends again and even vote together."

When were you guys friends in the first place?

"But if you have any plans or something, no matter what, I'd like you to tell me and keep me in mind."

I can work with that.

If James is gonna keep his word on that.

"So can we take pictures together again?"

Oh geez, so THAT'S what he was worried about XD

"Hey gang! Me and my boyfriend got back together! Hashtag reunion!"

"I think we should vote for Tess or Ally."

Oh, so we're strategizing.

Yeah I kinda felt like one of them had to leave at some point.

"Hunter's alliance has dominated the game since day one. The only loss they've had was because I set Yul to your team."

That's fair logic.

"So bow down to ME! I saved y'all from the bigger threats here! I am a QUEEN! SHOW RESPECT!"

OOP. BUSTED.

SHE'S GONNA SPILL.

"There's still a long way to go before tonight's elimination. So we can spend the afternoon relaxing and playing video games."

Wow. You guys are ASS strategists, aren't ya?

"Guys, there's something I want to tell you."

"We are SCREWED. Nice knowing ya."

"I just want to say... thank you."

Oh? Awww...

"Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you for insisting on reaching out to me, even though I'm a mess. I was horrible to you, and yet you treated me with kindness, patience, and love. I... I am very, very happy that I came to this camp. Despite many horrible things I've been through.... meeting you two has been on of the best things that's ever happened to me."

AWWWWWW. HONEY. OH MY GOSH...

I'm actually touched. SWEETHEART.

"Yeah, I could have told them that I was sure Ally or myself would be voted out at the end of the night. But what for? I... I prefer to spend these last few hours together without worries."

Awwww...

So she's just deciding to quietly accept her fate.

I get it. Honestly? I do get it.

For THIS character specifically, I get it.

Well, we know the outcome here.

'James'

Huh. I thought they'd vote Lake. Since, you know, she was the closest to winning immunity.

'Tess'

Op. I knew it.

'Ally'

Wait what?

I thought y'all were voting together. Why'd you split?

'James'

'Tess'

'James'

'Tess'

I knew it.

She accepted her fate.

What I'm wondering is who the fuck threw their vote on Ally?

"Damn! I knew that if Yul left, attention would fall on us!"

XD

I love that his response is to blame Yul.

It's YUL'S fault that Tess got eliminated here.

I don't care what everyone says. Hunter said it. BLAME YUL FOR TESS GOING HOME.

"We must have thought of a plan or something!"

I mean that's on you guys. YOU'RE the ones that said 'nah, let's party!'

At least Tess CHOSE to let it happen.

"At the end of all this, we will meet again and we will be together."

As a polycule!

It goes full circle!

Awwwwww

Bye, Tess! Have a good one!

That's a good end for that character. I will give her that.

Could Tess have strategized to save herself? Maybe???

I don't know, honestly. I don't know what she COULD have done in that situation. Those five were pretty sound in their logic against her and her alliance, so it's not like she could've persuaded them to flip.

And they didn't have any blasted idols, so yeah, that was inevitable.

And if not in that episode, then at some point it would've happened anyway.

So I'm actually okay with it, because you know what?

TESS WON.

Okay? SHE WON.

I said this in a post about Total Drama before. NOT EVERY CHARACTER GOES ON THESE SHOWS TO WIN.

Some of them came here for the experience. Or to get away from bad life circumstances.

TESS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS.

There was nothing in her character that read to me that she was on the show to win the money.

If she won? Great. The money is a bonus.

But what she was REALLY after was to be on that show for a fulfilling experience. Which she NEEDED due to her depression.

AND SHE GOT IT. SHE MADE FRIENDS. SHE GOT A LIFE-FILLED EXPERIENCE. SHE GOT TO BE HAPPY.

THAT IS THE VICTORY THERE.

TESS WON.

So it didn't matter to her that she gets eliminated. As long as she gets to keep her friends by the end. That's what matters to her.

GOOD FOR YOU, TESS.👏

[onelastskip]

Just out of curiosity, how many MCs did you make for Keyframes? Can you tell us a bit about them? I'm interested to know :D

OMGGG HAIII!!!

Technicallyyy 4? I played through the game on all seasons but my other MCs aren't as fleshed out (and I haven't drawn them...) — but I'll talk about what I have anyway!

So obviously Chi was my first baby girl, autumn, romancing Percy straight away, I yap about her a lot already but here's a fun fact I haven't mentioned yet, her full name is Chi Huệ Aubade, very cool!

My next mc was Mika (she's sort recycled from olba, sorta not because I hate the idea of being unfaithful to cove, idk if that makes sense just the way my brain works) she's a summer and... well I was supposed to romance Elio... but then the Percy summer meeting hit me like a truck and I went for him again... now she probably won't get fleshed out but I'm thinking of doing a male mc elio summer run (for real this time, no percy shenanigans)

And then I have my spring mc, Nari, and- I will admit I was very close to reromancing Percy but no! they are a Jamie romance (slowwburn tho) cause I found the cupcake confrontation was so good with a spring personality. So they're uh, well to describe them, in a word, they're self-assured (technically two but semantics). They're extremely competent and they know it, they have a big ego and tend to be overconfident, brash and competitive. Andd they also have a crippling fear of emotional connection and an avoidant attachment style. love my little guys who are so smart yet so very stupid. Anyway their dynamic with Jamie is sort of teasing? They were expecting to be annoyed by him bcos of his reputation but they ended up liking him more than they thought. They have a sort of "people disappoint me" expectation, a lot of the friends and relationships they've had in the past were shallow (not for lack of trying? but nari really didn't put any effort in) they only really mesh with deja and cam and don't even try to form deeper relationships with others, the boys are the first friends they've made in a while, and their first time besides with cam and deja actually trying to connect with people. They're an ISTJ and fun fact about them theyyy are very good at chess.

And lastly my winter mc, Yumi (name pending.) they're my no romance route (or slowburn? it depends how it plays out I guess). They're... to describe them in one word. Chill (lol). They're an artist turned law student and they are very go with the flow. They are also doing a minor of sociology! They stopped painting in their last year of highschool because they were told they needed to start taking things seriously (they had pretty bad-average grades before). While they're generally patient and relaxed, when they do get angry, they are no holds barred, cussing out authority figures, not a single thought in that brain, they get very passionate when they're being confrontational. They're an INTP and fun fact about them they know how to skateboard.

WAIIIIT- I'M GONNA USE THIS ASK TO YAP ABOUT THE ENNEAGRAM (sorry anon my attention span is kinda fucked, ADHD ramble incoming)

Okay I've mentioned before Chi's a 2w3, little lore drop, she's got family issues (eldest daughter in an asian family /hj) but yeah there's a lot of pressure from that direction, that's part why she's doing a law degree (polisci? I forget how it is in america), she was rushed into picking a degree and just went with what she was best at. Anyway I should probably explain the enneagram oops, OKAY, so she has a type 2 fixation, which basically means, she's got a gaping hole where her self esteem is and she tries to patch that up by creating relationships (people pleaser...), that's why she tries to be as helpful as possible all the time, she's got a deep seated fear of abandonment and feels like she can only be loved if she's providing some sort of support (usually as an emotional dumping ground) to the other person.

Buttt, thankfully when she got to college she met Deja and Cam, who did NOT fuck with that kinda behaviour so she's slowly getting better, I imagine over the course of her time at college she gets better at loving herself and sets boundaries with her parents, fixes the relationship (the other drama is she has younger siblings who are still with them and yeah) idk I just like writing character arcs like this it helps me understand my ocs better I think

onto my other mcsss:

uhh Mika's a 7w8, but I'm gonna skip her since she'll probably get reworked into something else anywayyy

so Nari has a type 5 fixation, their whole deal is they need to feel competent, need to feel like they understand the world around them because it's a scary place and if something doesn't fit in with the way they understand things that means they understand nothing. Anyway, their little character arc would actually be centred on the relationship, it's a story about them accepting emotional vulnerability, letting down their walls, losing their rigid world view, and choosing to trust in another person and fall in love :3

Yumi (name pending) has a type 9 fixation, their problem is... well basically, on the surface, they're confident, calm, collected, composed (heh alliteration), they really seem like they've got it all together but internally they've resigned themself to being another cog in the machine. They've lost their passion in life and they're stuck in the pit of "it is what it is". Their character arc would probably involve them dropping out of college and pursuing something they actually care about, that being art.

[ghost-bison]

I noticed something today: there's something so striking and powerful about the mundane.

Like, for example, I saw a post about Palestinian people from 2013; they were enjoying a day at the beach. You can see a father playing with his baby and there's a big crowd behind them, and they're all smiling. It reminded me of my childhood summer holidays.

And it impacted me so much more than all the traumatic pics of children bleeding out in their crying parents' arms.

Now, don't get me wrong: triggering pictures have an impact as well. But is it always a good/helpful impact? This is what happens when I see those: it terrifies me, angers me, saddens me, which is what it aims for, shock value.

But then, I stare, my heart starts racing and I get sick, and I turn off the Social Media and reflect in silence and eventually, I don't do anything because my brain would rather forget. This is selfish, this is human.

Because I can't relate to it, and what I can't relate to I can't understand. And it's so hard to do something about what you can't understand, isn't it? I mean, what kind of a person would treat a child like that? Would even think of doing something so awful, or, on the contrary, think so little about the result that in the end, they choose to do it anyway?

Then, I saw that happy, mundane picture, which is such an unusual way of sharing awareness because people assume that you will want to think about that video of a child bleeding out long enough to do something about it. Which doesn't happen because if it did, then we'd probably get results.

I'm not guilt-tripping/gas-lighting anyone, cause those posts are still important. Everyone has different reactions to everything. So keep posting those, keep sharing and reblogging those. But don't stop there.

I haven't been happy in such a long time. Summer holidays at the beach when my father was still an important part of my life? Those I can relate to. Cause they remind me that what the Israeli government is doing to Palestinian people isn't happening on another planet. They remind me that they're just like us: they had happy days and now it's all gone to shit. Except that their bad days aren't just bad days, they're Hell on Earth.

On another note: pro-Israeli should really stop treating this genocide like it's a football game, and anti-semites using the pro-Palestine "title" to "justify" their behavior/opinions.

[silkendandelion]

My Own, Distant Home (Completed), A Fears to Fathom: Ironbark Lookout fanfiction

Chapter 2 (END), ao3 link

Jack Nelson x Connor Hawkins Words: 16.6k Genre: Horror, humor, smut

"Jack thinks him a good guy, Connor, despite what others probably thought. He wasn’t particularly friendly, a bit of a short fuse, but he took his job seriously, and didn’t forget to wish Jack well, even among his rush for a solution. Some people would call that dedication. Jack decided, as he tied his boot laces, that it was endearing."

Or

A romantic, creepy, canon-compliant retelling of the game's narrative where Jack and Connor are more fleshed out characters, and not immune to falling for a voice on the radio—until they aren't.

Rated Explicit for sexual content, strong language, horror elements, frightening imagery and descriptions of violence.

Cross-posted to ao3, same username, here.

Cheers to rarepairs, and to all the people who had a crush on Connor during the game: I have heard you. If you like Firewatch, or Do You Copy, check out fears to fathom, you could play the entire series in a day but I liked Ironbark the best. Even if you haven't played the game, I'm sure this can be read alone for people who like horror and making love in a thunderstorm 💙

Chapter 1 (Below)

It was only a transfer.

Not usually a big deal, this other park needed to fill a lookout position urgently, and Jack was probably the best suited for it. Not only because his coworkers spoke highly of him, but because he had the RV, and relocating was as easy as driving down the road. When you’re this free, no wife, no friends, no obligations, 2 hours is nothing to go to the next job.

Yeah, he thought as his eyes wandered off the road to the side mirror, the endless blacktop behind him, the empty road in front of him. No obligations. Free.

So why did driving up to the trail-head make his stomach ache?

He blamed it on his last meal in civilization for the time being: a perfectly greasy, buttery cheeseburger, no doubt made by a certified home-cooked chef with hairy arms. He wasn’t used to eating out, eating so much, and in hindsight, the large coke was a bit of an Icarus move.

Just a bit of indigestion, nothing to worry about.

Not at all related to his walk to the gas station next door for cigarettes that was interrupted by a creepy local. The one leaning against his car and mouth-harassing his own hamburger, gossiping cryptically about big foot and missing kids like he was a Stephen King minor character. Real “you wanna watch out for that road” stuff.

The same missing kids on the poster across from the gate office. Gone without a trace, with no more search parties willing to keep looking after they lost some of their own people to what witnesses called “strange whistling in the dark”. Anyone saner, smarter, might have gotten back in their RV and not looked back. But Jack loved nature, and liked his job. Until he heard this strange whistling for himself, he had bills to pay and a guy named Billy to see for check-in.

The light to the guard shack was on, the door unlocked as he turns the handle. Worn out and road-fatigued, his brain hardly lends him the advice he should have probably called out to see if anyone was inside. His eagerness earns him a twin-barrel to the face, and a rightfully earned yell from both of them.

“You scared the piss out of me!” The ranger scolded him, and Jack fired back—

“Do you shove a gun in the face of everyone who sneaks up on you? What if I was a camper?”

“You can’t be too careful out here. There’s bobcats, bears and—wait, you say you’re not a camper? What are you doing barging in here anyway?”

“I’m Jack Nelson… Your new hire? Tower 11?”

“Well,” the mustached man regarded him with suspicion beneath his black cowboy hat. “Tower 11 is empty, but I didn’t hear about any new hire. Give me a second.”

“Oh,” Jack refrains from saying anything nasty, regardless of his fatigue, and puts up a patient, half smile. “Sure. Take all the time you need.”

He wandered out of the shack, back to the billboard with the missing poster, only half-reading the posted copy of the trail map he already owned when Billy came back out.

“You’ve been vetted. Sorry about all that, I don’t check my email as often as I should. You must be tired from driving, I’ll just take a copy of your ID and get the gate open so you can start the hike up to the tower.”

Billy was gone for only a minute before he came back, enough time for Jack to get his duffel and lock the RV. He handed back his ID, and pushed open one of the arms of the gate.

“… Hey.” He called before Jack could get passed him.

“Tower 12 is your closest neighbor, call him if you need anything. And don’t—I mean, do NOT go out further than maybe a 1/4 mile north of your tower on foot. Got it?”

“Uh, sure?” Jack gapes at him, unprepared. “Why?”

“It’s dangerous out that way. You’ve got bears, bobcats, all sorts of stuff.”

“Right… Thanks again, Billy. Goodnight.” He waved, eager to make some distance between him and this newest creepy local, and start wearing down the trail to his tower.

Did everyone in this town take etiquette lessons from a paperback horror novels? They were at least in the same book club, which actually wouldn’t be weird for such a small, quiet place.

The walk to the tower is easy, if a little cold by the time he crosses the creek. Tower 11 sits up against a nearby radio spire, lit up red and guiding him to the foot of his home for the foreseeable future. He knows to gas up the generator and crank it before he starts up the long flights of stairs to the top, and the tower cabin, small but not cramped, is a welcome sight.

The sheets on the bed are clean, free of holes and smelling of cheap detergent (ocean breeze something, he guessed), and the good burn of a wood fire seems to be baked into the panel walls and secondhand furniture. All his needed tools are haphazardly scattered but identifiable at a glance, and the fridge, beginning to kick on, is filled with old, freezer burned food.

Not rotted, there’s no unpleasant smell besides stale, and the room is otherwise well-kept, but he can’t help feel that the last occupant left in a hurry. Beside the bed lay a pair of abandoned wool slippers, and those go in the trash too.

All he needs to do is lay out his blanket and pillow to call himself moved in, and getting a fire going is even faster. He’s tying off the trash, waiting for the microwave to finish heating up a cup of coffee, when his radio, boxy and cumbersome on the little desk, clicks to life.

Static greets him before another male voice, deeper than his own.

‘I saw the lights go on. You copy, new guy?’

“Yeah, hey. I’m Jack.” He squeezes the receiver on and off as he sits in the old, steel chair in front of the desk, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow with the back of his arm.

‘Connor, Tower 12. Your new neighbor, I guess.’

A beat of silence, and then a click. “Billy mentioned you, just not by name. Nice to meet you.”

He hears Connor hum into the receiver, distantly wondering if it was a sound of irritation at him or something Jack couldn’t see. ‘Well, you got a fire started, that’s good. It’s good to see Tower 11 alive again.’

With a pause, his voice was friendly again, like whatever he was worried about suddenly resolved itself. ‘Anyway, don’t let me keep you. Oh, and don’t forget to submit your report before you go to bed.’

Jack suppresses his yawn with a wince—half headache, half ready for bed, and clicks the receiver. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

‘Get some rest, new guy, don’t let the bed bugs bite. Over and out.’

“Over and out.”

The radio dims with no open connection, and Jack forgets his coffee in the microwave when he can’t manage to avoid dozing off in the chair.

A few hours pass, midnight rolls upon the park and an unintelligible static rouses him from his sleep. He wants to investigate, his instincts whispering to him that something was wrong, something lurking in the forest beyond his tower, but an ache in his lumbar and the pressure in his bladder leaves no room for anything except the urgency to get comfortable quick. He stretches until his back gives a satisfying crack, and with a quick leak off the railing of the tower, he falls into bed without another thought.

NIGHT 2

On nights like this, Jack can imagine being a lookout forever, nipped by the last throes of winter on a chilly wind yet cradled safely between the warmth bleeding out of his tower and the hot coffee in his hands. Perched up high, nearly brushing against the clouds, the sunset seems brighter than down on the trail, all melted pinks and oranges that don’t begin to betray how in less than an hour the forest will be all but black.

The static of his radio breaks the silence.

‘New guy, this is Connor from Tower 12. Do you copy?’

He drops his empty mug among the dirty dishes from dinner when Connor speaks again. ‘Tower 11, do you copy?’

“Tower 11, I copy. What’s up, Connor?” Jack answers before he eases himself into the desk chair.

‘Son of a bitch! Nobody bothers to get a camping permit anymore. Do you have eyes on the smoke north of your position? Looks like it’s off the Lacey Trail.’

“Give me a second, I’ll check.”

He grabs his binoculars, is almost out the door when Connor’s opening the line again. ‘I need you to confirm.’

“You can hang on, it won’t kill you,” says Jack to himself while peering off the railing. Exactly as Connor described it, north of his tower, and near enough to likely be off the Lacey trail—a closed area—he spies the telltale white smoke of a campfire.

‘Do you see that smoke up north?’, comes the radio again and Jack answers with what he hopes passes for patience.

“I see it.”

‘Shit. People like that don’t clean up after themselves either, and fire risks are high this season. Do you mind checking it out?’

“I’ll head up there, and report back anything I find.” He rises to get his coat and boots.

‘Stay safe out there, new guy. Don’t forget to carry your bear spray. Over and out.’

Jack thinks him a good guy, Connor, despite what others probably thought. He wasn’t particularly friendly, a bit of a short fuse, but he took his job seriously, and didn’t forget to wish Jack well, even among his rush for a solution. Some people would call that dedication. Jack decided, as he tied his boot laces, that it was endearing.

Lacey Trail was several miles away on foot, no matter how close the smoke had seemed in the binoculars, and he pocketed both his bear mace and his flashlight before leaving the tower.

~*~

Unseasonably cold air nips through his fleece jacket, fingers already red around the knuckles as he fumbles to zip himself up. The beam of the flashlight bobs about over the dark trail, “3.2 miles” the optimistic sign had declared back near his tower. Only, the longer he walked, surrounded only by the icy wind biting on his ears and a deafening chorus of insects, the more it felt like “ETA unknown”.

A campfire lights the path around a bend in the trail, a match flame at the end of the path.

Whatever he wanted to call out, “hello”, or “get lost”, was cut off by the unmistakable sound of a man’s scream.

He makes no attempt to call back, taking off in a sprint towards the glowing campsite. The campfire in the center of a couple picnic tables and a tent illuminates the entire clearing between the trees, fresh wood popping, what must have been tossed in only minutes ago. But the campsite is empty. The tent’s open flap reveals a rumpled sleeping bag, the tables are crowded with an oil lantern, a battery-powered radio, and heaps of fresh food—but completely empty.

“Hello? Where are you?” He shouts into the dark with no answer. On the side of the clearing closest to the creek, a closed gate and red sign read ‘No camping allowed’.

“Are you hurt? Where—oh!” Jack coughs out a startled grunt, nearly tripping into the dirt over what he discovers is an abandoned flashlight.

His blood chills, colder than the unseasonable weather. Beyond the cautionary signs, where the darkness swallows the unkempt trail, drifts up the sound of a whistle. A human whistle, devoid of any recognizable melody.

It’s all he can do to stagger back, swipe an empty dinner pot from the picnic table and douse the fire with cold water from the creek. He tosses an unseeing glance over his shoulder, and is hoofing it out of the campsite and up the trail before the campfire has even stopped sizzling.

The cold air stings his lungs as he runs most of the trail back, hot blood thrumming into his ears and all but drowning out the insects. Were he less panicked, he would have heard over the sound of his own breathing that the insects had actually stopped, startled to silence by the looming shape in the treeline.

~*~

The glow of his tower beckons him home, and he scrambles his faculties to remember to grab firewood before climbing the steps, as well as relieve himself in the portable toilet beside the stairs. With what he witnessed, too vivid to not want to trust his own eyes but too strange to possibly be real, he wasn’t sure he would have the nerve to walk back down before dawn.

His radio flashes with an open channel, presumably Tower 12, and he sits heavy down in the metal chair. “Tower 12, do you copy?”

Beats of silence remind him his blood has yet to warm up.

‘Loud and clear, new guy. Sorry for delay, I was just cooking up some hot—’ Connor pauses, too much like Jack did when he thought he was being boring.

‘Nevermind that. What did you find out there?’

“The campsite was abandoned. Not a soul around,” Jack said, pushing down his nausea and the phantom sound of an eerie whistle.

‘Are you—’ A loud clang in the receiver, like a fork dropped in a bowl. ‘Kidding me? Son of a bitch. People like them are part of the problem, and on top of everything they run off.’

Jack fingers the sleeve on his jacket, realizing suddenly he had been too worked up to shrug off his fleece or his boots when he came inside. “I put out the fire, but there’s nothing else we can do tonight.”

‘No no, I get it… Thanks for checking it out, Jack. Tomorrow morning, I’ll report it to the authorities and they can take care of it.’

The words are out of Jack’s mouth before he can scold himself for being frightened in front of someone else. “I heard a scream. Honestly, I feel kind of bad for not sticking around to look harder.”

‘A scream? Probably just a red fox, they sound almost like a screaming lady when the rest of the forest is buzzing.’

Jack clamps down on a protest that it was a man’s scream, clearly no fox, then Connor is speaking again.

‘This is the third time this month. Ever since those kid’s went missing, there’s all sorts of rumors about the area being haunted, and we just can’t keep people out. Well, maybe I could, but not from this tower. I’ve got a job to do.’

The whistle is back in his mind, as vivid as Connor’s voice over the radio but, again, Jack keeps that to himself.

‘Well.’ Connor breaks him from his thoughts. ‘I’ll let you get to dinner, or whatever it is you do after you log off. Goodnight. Over and out.’

“Goodnight, Connor.”

2:27AM

He can’t explain what wakes him.

Nothing immediately seems wrong but he can’t begin to trust his senses, not with the greasy film that smudged his eyes no matter how hard he blinked, the heaviness of his limbs, and a sluggish mind at the helm, ripped from the deepest parts of his sleep cycle.

But even blind, dumb, and lame—he knew he was being watched.

Weak hands scrubbed at his face, trying to clear the sleep, until the room came into some kind of focus. Moonlight drifted in the one open panel behind his computer desk, casting the upright shadow of a—

His heart all but stopped. He squinted, unbelieving, blinking more at the peculiar silhouette painted across his front door. Unclear if it was man or beast, the sloped shoulders suggested humanoid but the shape of the head, wide with points that could be horns or ears in the dark made him unable to do anything more than stare.

Struck by a sudden wave of courage, he leapt up from the bed, throwing the blanket aside without certainty his legs would support him, and dashed to the light switch.

The shadow vanished with the incandescent bulb over head, banished by the light but lending no evidence as to whether it was some paranormal, hungry entity vulnerable to light, or something more secular afraid to be caught. Jack didn’t know which was worse, and standing alone in the center of his floor, he could finally hear how fast his heart was racing.

Whether by insanity or curiosity, though they hardly seemed different from where he stood, one of his shaking hands grabbed his bear mace while the other went for the door. The abrupt quietness of the night lent him courage where it shouldn’t, and upon venturing outside he was horrified to realize he was truly, tragically alone.

Or he was now.

Against the railing, and almost disturbed by the bear mace that clattered to the ground, was a skull.

Goat, from what limited knowledge he had, flanked by a few, worn, lit candles, and smeared across the ivory forehead with a red symbol he refused to get closer to identify either it’s shape or composition. He resigned to shove the door shut, slamming the lock’s hammer in place with no regard for the bear mace he abandoned.

“Tower 12, come in.” He tries the radio receiver, met with static. “Tower 12, can you hear me?”

More static and another beat of silence makes his stomach ache. “Connor, I need you to wake up.”

He’s never been so happy to hear the quiet click of another radio opening the line.

‘Do you have any idea what time it is?’

“This is an emergency.”

‘Are you okay? What’s happened?’ Connor immediately sounds more awake, like he’s sat up straight.

“Someone’s been on my tower, I woke to—I heard footsteps, it woke me up.”

‘Are you kidding me?’ Less composed now, angry but not nearly as when he vented about the campers earlier that evening. Though it was easily explained by the remnants of sleep clinging to him.

“I think they’re gone now.”

‘Did you see what they looked like?’

Jack’s mind raced back to the shadow, the beastly silhouette, and the footsteps that seemed to vanish when they passed by his door.

“N-No, but they left a skull on my doorstep. An animal skull, goat or—something, with candles, what looked like blood. Sick shit, Connor, I don’t—know—”

‘Take a deep breath, new guy. Let’s think about this rationally. You went and investigated a fire tonight, right?’

“… Yeah.”

‘So we know there’s unregistered campers in the area who don’t care about rules or regulations, probably bratty kids or college students. Suppose they wanted to get back at the fire watcher who doused their evening, it wouldn’t be that far of a walk. It’s just kids, Jack, don’t let it bother you.’

“You—” He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “You’re right.”

‘Did you happen to get a photo of the thing?’

“I didn’t think about it.”

‘No shame in that. It’s all right to be riled up, but it’s not okay to panic. Lock your door, try to get some rest. Take a photo in the morning, and we can file a report with the authorities.’

But no sooner was Jack beginning to calm down, the hairs on the back of his neck began to rise, his stomach tightening with the idea that Connor was only coming to the conclusion of what limited information he had.

“Connor?”

Sleepier now, the other man’s voice came back a bothered rumble. ‘Yeah, Jack?’

“What if it’s related to the disappearances? At the campsite tonight, sure, it was empty but I heard… I heard whistling beyond the barriers for the closed trails. It’s a heck of a coincidence, don’t you think?”

For all his neighbor’s frustration at being woken so suddenly, there was no doubt that he was fully awake now, deliberately staying quiet on the other end of the line as Jack waited for any kind of answer.

‘New guy… You don’t believe all those rumors, do you?’

Behind his ribs, Jack’s heart is back to hammering. “Nah. No, I mean. You’re right, it’s gotta be kids.”

Connor didn’t seem convinced, even for a disembodied voice. ‘I’ll tell you what. I’ll send someone to check on you tomorrow. For now, try to get some sleep, new guy. There’s nothing we can do in the dark.’

“Yeah… Thanks. Of course.” He rakes his hand through his hair like if it might knock his anxiety loose. “Goodnight, Connor.”

‘Goodnight, Jack.’

~*~

The skull was gone when he awoke the next morning. Nothing ever came of the report, and for a short time, the forest was quiet.

He’s gotten quite used to this little routine: submit his report, have dinner, say goodnight to Connor, bed.

Check the weather, put dinner in the oven, submit his report while talking to Connor, bed.

So they continued for days, falling into the comfort of predictability and looking forward to their goodnight radio checks.

‘Honestly, I envy you a little bit,’ said Connor one night while Jack posted himself up beside the radio, blanket around his shoulders and holding a hot mug of coffee. Probably not the best idea before lights out, but the warmth in his core more than made up for what his little wood stove lacked in power.

“Envy me? Why?” Jack sipped quietly.

‘You’ve got the RV, you can literally just pick up and go wherever you want. Hell, you did it once already when you relocated out here.’

“It’s… lonelier than I like to admit.”

Down in his cup, Jack could see the undissolved granules of his coffee lying along the bottom. With a quick swish, they’re gone and Connor speaks again.

‘While Tower 11 was empty, I forgot how nice it was to have someone to talk to.’

“You must really be desperate if you’re enjoying my company that much.” Jack found himself smiling, a bittersweet thing.

‘I should be the one saying that to you. Every day I call you to vent about these fucking campers, leaving their trash and shit. And you answer for me every time.’

He chuckled, unaware Connor was also smiling on the other line. “It’s kind of my job.”

‘Ouch.’ They laughed together this time. ‘You’re not supposed to agree with me.’

“Then maybe you should be nicer to yourself.”

‘You first, Jack.’

A comfortable silence falls over both sides of the radio transmission, twin smiles and the warmth of more than quick and dirty coffee between them.

‘You still with me? Sounds like you’re about to go any minute now.’ Connor said, soft and slow. If Jack kept his eyes closed, he could have imagined he said those words beside his ear.

“I think that’s all I’ve got, Connor.” He scrubbed at his eyes. “You get some rest too. Goodnight.”

‘Night, Jack.’

BETWEEN 2 AND 3 AM

A hand over Jack’s mouth bolts him awake, his entire body tensing as he grabs at the arm that holds him.

“Shh! Shh, Jack. It’s me… Its Connor.” He hears a familiar voice somewhere above him, and the blonde man comes into focus as Jack blinks away the last of the sleep. Moonlight shines through the open paneling, illuminating the side of his handsome, worried face, the width of his broad shoulders in a thin t-shirt.

“There’s something outside.” He looks briefly to the window. “Scoot over, Jack.”

He hardly has time to obey, let alone time for rational thoughts like What’s outside? and How is us both getting under the blanket supposed to help? before the other man is climbing into the single bed and pressing against him from the shoulder down.

“What are you doing?” Jack half demands, half pleads.

“Shh.” Connor hushes him, and he wants to relent—almost does—under such dark eyes, close enough to see they were brown in the dim light. “We have to be quiet, or they’ll hear us.”

“Who will hear us? Connor? What’s happ—mmf! M-mm,” Jack moans, startled, when their lips meet, smooth and wet like Connor had licked them before he leaned in.

His belly twinges, toes curling from only a kiss, and he might have been embarrassed if it weren’t for the hot outline of an erection digging into his hip. Connor’s tongue tastes of instant coffee, no doubt he himself tastes like cigarettes, but Connor doesn’t seem bothered. Not with how hard he is and the firm grip of his palm on Jack’s ribs through his old shirt, the way his thumb flicks at his nipple with little regard for how it makes him shake.

Teeth rake his bottom lip when their kiss turns deeper, hungry, panting hot into each other’s mouths as they work together to yank their sleep pants down to their thighs. A whimper jumps up between them as Connor’s hand clasps around them both, and Jack realizes it must have been him because when his thumb slips in the pre leaking from his tip—he makes it again.

The hand retreats long enough for Connor to lick his palm, but Jack knows he’s getting wet enough for the both them, so long as those capable hands keep pulling needy noises from his lips, pulling on his cock like that. Just like that, just how he likes.

“They’re gonna hear you, baby, you gotta be—quiet,” Connor pants against his wet lips. Jack wants to kiss him back, needs it, but he can do little more than leave fervid little moans against his tongue, joined by the spit-slick sound of Connor’s hand, warm and tight around them.

“I’m—s-sorry, Connor,” Jack fusses when the tightness in his belly finds the next gear, and for all his warnings, Connor is doing nothing to help him make less noise when he leans down to suckle at the side of his neck.

“Come on, baby, you’re almost there. Say it again,” he whispers warmly into his shirt collar. The rumble of him speaks to control, all whiskey and smoke, but Jack can feel how the rhythm of his forearm waivers, how the leg he has threaded under Jack’s begins to shake.

“C-Connor, get something to—Connor—”

Jack’s eyes throw themselves open on a gasp when he wakes, startled from the dream by the warm wetness seeping into the front of his underwear. He tries to sit up as best he can but his stomach quivers, heart thumping, as wave after wave of pleasant ache widens the stain on his sleep pants and steals his breath.

“For fucks sake,” he sighs, letting his body flop back to the bed when the feeling in his hands returns.

Awareness follows right behind his mess, and he flips the blanket away to hopefully spare himself the further embarrassment of taking the damned thing to the laundromat. But, even that was better than doing a spot wash in the sink, and having to tell Connor it was an Italian food incident when he sees it draped over the railing to dry.

First his waking hours, now his dreams. Connor filled his mind with thoughts of normalcy, the lingering ache of loneliness, and the insane idea of enjoying another person’s company. Such a luxury eluded him most days, a comfort he hardly believed could be found in these ominous woods.

Between distracting daydreams, some salacious, some sweet, and his immersion in his work, he almost forgot to be afraid.

~*~

The days that follow are easy but hardly quiet, not with Jack’s brain torn and oscillating between the paranoia of the encroaching forest—and his growing crush on his neighbor. His heart struggled under the stress of peering over his shoulder in the dark woods at every broken twig, just to be riled again by his nightly check-in. He began to sympathize with the rabbit his sister had when they were kids, perfectly still for all their fervent affection, until their veterinarian explained it’s early health problems were stress-related: poor creature was unable to distinguish their childish, heavy-handed petting from the musings of a predator biding it’s time to feast.

People had already disappeared. How long did he have until he was eaten too? Swallowed by the woods until all that remained were the tenets of skeptics and a ghostly whistle.

He busied himself with maintaining the tower, hammering down loose boards and checking the horizon repeatedly until the sun was long gone and the eerie quiet had settled it’s blanket across the forest.

“24.4 knots…” He murmured to fill the silence, as a flare lights up the north. Before he can go for his binoculars, the radio flicks on with an unfamiliar man’s voice.

‘Hello? Is anyone there?’

“This is Tower 11.”

‘Oh! Oh, thank god.’ The voice, a young man, shaking and unsure, comes over the line. ‘I’m lost and—I’m really starting to freak out.’

“Take a deep breath,” said Jack, his free hand opening the trail map on his computer. “Can you tell me where you are?”

‘I don’t even know where to start. I went out exploring and lost track of time. Everything looks different at night. The uh, the last trail marker I saw was by a stream, but I couldn’t read it from where I was. I’m walking west because I remember walking east to get here but… I’m definitely lost.’

“What equipment do you have?”

The hiker ignored his question, excited to finally be somewhere familiar. ‘Oh, man. I found the fork in the trail. But, I don’t remember if I’m supposed to go right or left to get back to the trail-head.’

“I have a map, let me take a look.”

‘Thank you.’ He says, but only lets Jack look for a few seconds before trying again. ‘Hello? Are you still there?’

“One more second, it’s all right.”

‘Oh. Oh, I see you!’

Jack looks to the radio, shocked to silence while phantoms of a predator’s fingers slip up the back of his neck, loosing shivers in his warm tower.

“What? What do you see?”

‘I hear you. You’re whistling to me. I’m right here!’ The hiker shouts, surely waving his hands above his head to welcome the unknown danger, and Jack’s thumb nearly cracks the receiver.

“Hey, HEY! That’s not me, I’m—”

‘What do you mean? You’re starting to freak me out—’ The transmission ends early, no crackling, no screams. Only silence, save for Jack’s breathing, his pounding heart.

Fuck.

He shoves the desk chair away, jumping up to grab his flashlight, and was two hastened footsteps from the door when a knock startles him almost to shout. Whatever possessed him to wrench open the door without a second thought, he hoped a well-aimed flashlight is enough to take them down.

“The hell are you doing in there? I’ve been out here knocking for awhile.”

His heart jerks, relieved, having never thought Billy would be the cause. “S-sorry. Was helping a lost hiker.”

“At this hour? Lord have mercy,” he drawled, his perpetually rumpled mustache shifting across his troubled frown. “Anyway—here’s your supplies. Just the essentials.”

“Thanks.” Jack turned away to set the box on the counter, when Billy spoke again. “I hear you been a little stressed lately. Everything all right?”

He never considered himself a liar, but Jack liked to think he knew how to pretend well enough to avoid suspicion about most things. Especially in regards to his own well-being. The smile that slips over his face is practiced, appropriately tired for the time of night. “It’s taken me a little longer to adjust to the new environment than I thought, but I’m getting there. Thanks for asking.”

Address the question logically, formulate a response from a half-truth. Acknowledge their concern. Easy.

Billy is so willing to not push the subject, it’s almost too easy. “That’s the spirit. Well, I won’t keep you. Get some sleep, Jack. Don’t forget to submit your report.”

He leaves as fast as he can without falling down the stairs, and Jack is happy to clap the door shut behind him. In the back of his mind, routine called to him, rubbing on his shoulders and offering him a cigarette after an exhausting day.

“Firewood, dinner, Connor in bed—THEN bed. Firewood, dinner, talk to Connor, respectfully, professionally, finish my report. Then bed.” He waved the flashlight back and forth anxiously as he wandered down the stairs, single-handedly determined to not have anything scary happen for the rest of the night.

If only he hadn’t gone for firewood.

The pile in the shack isn’t dwindling as fast as he anticipated with the weather warming up, and he makes a mental note to skip chopping more wood tomorrow. He balances the wood under one arm, flashlight tottering in the other as he leaves the shack—straight into another man.

“AH—damn! You nearly gave me a heart attack,” he pants when the bald man in clean coveralls doesn’t immediately move to disembowel him.

“No need to be afraid, son… I’m a worker, here for some routine maintenance on the radio tower over there.” The man’s flat, almost drowsy cadence is anything but comforting, too close to Jack’s liking of what he imagined a wax figure or mannequin to sound like, speaking slowly and quietly to not arouse suspicion of their sentience.

“Thought I would say hi to the new guy everyone’s been talking about.”

“… What’s your name?” Jack said as his hands flexed on the firewood, itching to run.

“Names can be deceiving. Call me Silas.”

“Do you always work so late?”

“Every Sunday.” A strange thing to admit, rather than lie about being up on the mountain so late for something so menial. “Just trying to keep the communication lines open. We must ensure the right messages meet the right people, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Right,” Jack said without hesitation, though he doubted he and Silas were talking with the same subject in mind.

“Absolutely. You watch for fires, but some fires are meant to burn. And no amount of prevention can stop them.”

His fingernails ache from holding the firewood throughout their conversation, and he can feel his heart beginning to thump against his ribs. “… It’s late. I should be going back. Goodnight, Silas.”

“Nature has plans,” he called after him, the intonation of his voice carrying without having to shout: an orator’s calm, suffocating inflection. “Ones even you can’t control. It will be cleansed.”

Upstairs, Jack shoved the firewood into the stove, both to relieve his stinging arms and to burn away the creeping dread that prickles at the back of his skull. Something is wrong with these woods, wrong with the people, from the supervisor who seems to have had his tongue stapled to the roof of his mouth, to the radio repairmen who spouted doctrine with the affect of a puppeteered corpse.

When had the woods he found such comfort in become so grim, promising only death to those who didn’t know when to run?

‘I can see the smoke coming from your tower. Don’t tell me you’re not in there?’ Connor’s voice, unbothered and probably craving his evening small talk, laid a calm over the quickly warming cabin.

‘Jack? Come in, new guy.’

“Here, Connor.” He lowered himself into the metal chair, pulling his jacket over chilled fingers.

‘Finally. Where you been?’ If Jack concentrated hard enough, perhaps he could sponge his blissful ignorance, or at least pretend to take refuge in the wrap of his arms. He couldn’t remember the last time he hugged anyone besides his sister, and most recently was still months before he left for the middle of nowhere.

“I went downstairs for some firewood and ran into Silas.”

‘Who?’ He says, half-muffled like he’s sat at the radio with his dinner.

“The guy who maintains the radio tower. Creepy as hell, spoke in riddles—I don’t think I actually saw him blink.”

The silence over the channel lasts long enough Jack reaches to flip the receiver on and off, hands skimming the metal casing for any sign the call had been disconnected, then Connor scoffs with some one-sided realization.

‘Is this about the other night? Tryin’ to yank my chain?’

Jack has to bite down on his lip next to bleeding to not fire back “I am not nearly funny enough to yank anyone’s chain, and if I was going to pull on anything of yours it would be your—”

‘That radio tower’s been out of service for ages now.’

His heart drops into his stomach. When he doesn’t answer, Connor continues to explain as if Jack wasn’t reeling, two seconds from puking into the receiver. ‘It was closed down right after I got here because a lightning strike fried it’s systems. Mitch said he would get it fixed next time there was room in the budget, but—well, you know how that’s going.’

“Then who did I just talk to?!” Jack shouts, too frightened to be embarrassed for his volume, and only hoping it didn’t hurt Connor’s ears or break their speaker.

‘Easy, Jack,’ replies Connor, too cool for the pounding in his ears. ‘Hey, you’re okay. Listen to me. This isn’t our first run-in with pranksters, is it? They got you again, but that’s all they can do. They’re not gonna hurt you.’

“He called me Jack.”

‘He knew your name? Do you think he’s been listening?’

“I don’t know, maybe?” He ran his hands through his hair, hoping to dispel some of the compounding anxiety of an imminent death.

‘Either way, we need to report this. Next time you see him, get a photo or his ID and anything else we can use to identify him. We’ll figure it out, Jack. Don’t worry.’

“Thanks, Connor.” His hands scrub down his face, he can not keep up this pace of being frightened and then having to convince himself nothing’s wrong just to keep from running into the woods and not stopping until he sees the road.

‘Call me if you have a nightmare, all right? I’ll put you back to sleep.’

“You asshole.” He can’t help the chuckle that sputters from his suddenly warm chest, hearing Connor’s smile through his cheeky tone.

‘Got you to laugh, didn’t I?’

Jack’s face is hot, he knows he’s blushing hard, and he summons the strength to not say anything too embarrassing (like “come over”) with a shuddering sigh. “Goodnight, Connor. Thank you… for everything.”

‘So sentimental. I like that. Night, Jack.’

The line clicks closed before Jack can chase him through the line, demanding to know what he meant, why his voice had to drop into the register that made his stomach flutter before disappearing from the face of his very, very small world. His suffering sigh rattles from his chest.

“I need to go to sleep.”

2 DAYS LATER

If it rains any more, his tower might flood.

All day, all evening, Jack had spent the majority of the day watching the shower soak the forest, ignoring the chores he tended to avoid anyway, and drinking far too much instant coffee because it was his only alternative to water. Although, he did get the spray duster out from under the counter, just to say he did.

“Maybe I’ll ask Billy to put some teabags in my next resupply,” he said, pouring out the last of his cup into the sink and picking up his cigarettes to take with him outside.

The forest below should look half-drowned after drinking all day, but it only sways elegantly in the gentle wind, not strong enough to push rainwater over the railing where it might disturb his smoke break. Tower 12 stands in the distance over the treeline, the soft, golden lights in the window suggesting Connor was taking a lazy day too.

Was he reading a well-loved, dog-eared novel? Cooking something warm and spicy? Maybe he fell asleep, belly full of warm food and blanket curled around his legs as the novel slips forgotten to the floor. Down into a deep sleep, the kind of rest what leaves him too warm when he wakes, hair rumpled and shirt risen over his middle to bear birthmarks or a secret tattoo.

“Jack, come back to bed.”

“Ah,” he grunted, sudden static from the radio ripping him out of his daydream. He presses out his cigarette, kicking over the ash tray as he hurries to his feet.

“This is Tower 11.” Silently, he congratulated himself for sounding perfectly professional and not guilty in the slightest.

‘This—does it—damn.’ Connor’s voice over the radio is smothered with screeching electronic snow, laced with intermittent words of increasing urgency.

‘Can’t—need h—Jack—can you hear—’

He whipped around to the window. The lights of Tower 12 hadn’t dimmed, but the persistent static and ominous, disconnected message chilled his blood. He gave no further thought to logical explanations, common sense could hike up the mountain with him if it really cared that much—and ran from the tower without changing his jacket to something waterproof and only his flashlight to protect them.

Above him, the rain pounds down harder, deafening as it pushed through the treeline to soak him, splattering over his trousers with every puddle he stomped across to get to Tower 12 as soon as he was physically capable, or sooner, even if it wounded him.

He reached the bottom of the tower not long after nightfall, expecting to be met with some sign of a struggle, but found nothing. Apart from the generator flashing a yellow warning light and the stack of firewood down nearly to nothing, there was no ripped grass, no gashes in the mud to suggest there had been anything unsavory in the woods that night. He tore up the metal steps anyway, two at a time, not convinced and not bothering to knock before he threw open the door—

And found Connor at the sink, half-dressed, the last dregs of shaving cream on his cheeks in thin stripes, steaming rag in hand.

He just stared at him.

Jack stared back.

“Can I help you?” Connor broke the silence, wiping his face clean and grabbing the henley draped over the back of his chair.

“You’re alive.”

“Jack?” He gaped at him, blonde head popping from his shirt’s neck hole to piece together the voice he knew with the grainy, black and white photo he had glimpsed on the staff directory website.

“Yeah that’s… that’s me.” Jack’s voice muddled down to a tiny murmur as the embarrassment threatened to melt him into two humiliated puddles inside his boots.

He really ran here, never-mind the several miles, ran here in the rain, dragging in water and mud like he was going to self-promote from fire lookout to ghost-buster with just a flashlight and some home-grown, grass-fed nerve. Death would have been kinder, he thought.

“God, you’re soaked. Here.” The towel that flies across the room to slap gently against his face smells like their cheap, provided laundry soap, with a thin vein of cologne, sharp and clean, a smell Jack suspected was baked into most everything fabric Connor owned.

“Sorry about your floor.”

“If I actually cared, I’d make you clean it,” Connor smirked at him, rummaging through his open duffel on the counter to hand over a sweater, boxers, and a pair of sweatpants of the same brand as the ones he wore himself. “Put these on, I’ll hang up your clothes by the stove.”

Jack changed obediently, careful not to spread his mess any further than his little corner by the door, and sheepishly offered his wet clothes for Connor to thread over hangers.

“You’re a mess.”

He thought to protest, finding he could only continue to rub the towel over his hair, a little like a nervous tick. “Feels like it.”

“So. You gonna tell me why you tore across the mountainside and threw yourself into my lap half-drowned?” Connor said as he leaned against the counter, arms—nice arms—focus Jack—crossed over his chest. But, for all his posture and words that spoke to some degree of scolding, he could only find warmth in his gaze, patient enough to hear every word of his reply with grace and an open mind.

“The radio…”

“The radio?” Connor went to flip it on, demonstrate how it crackled and sputtered before coming online, green light ready.

“My generator started giving me crap a couple hours ago, I thought the power surge might have killed it so I tried to call you. You didn’t answer, I thought you just couldn’t hear me.”

The embarrassment releases him in an instant, he’s suddenly back where he had been an hour ago, disoriented and tearing down the trail. “It was terrifying, you sounded like—you weren’t making sense from the words that did get through. I didn’t know if you were being murdered up here and calling for help.”

He scoffs, then turns away from him, towards the window. “Is this about the missing campers again? Because I’m not willing to entertain all of your theories right now, all right—”

“I was worried, Connor. Scared the shit out of me.” His words left him in a rush, hanging between them, the only sound among the hum of the fridge against the wall.

“… You came all the way up here—in a storm—because you were worried?”

Jack couldn’t bear to look up to see the extent of the confusion he heard in his voice. “It’s—just a shower, really. It’ll stop soon and I’ll get out of your way,” he mumbled and rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Weatherman says it’s gonna get bad. You should stay.”

The timber of his voice, softer, almost nervous, had Jack raising his head to meet his eyes.

“I’d like you to stay.” He offered, and the nervousness turned out to be more uncertainty, testing a boundary he wasn’t sure would welcome him on the other side. “I’ll feed you. There’s soup, a couple beers left in my stash. What do you say?”

Jack’s hands tightened in the damp towel, suddenly he struggled to breathe.

“I’d like that.”

Chapter 2 (END)

[sapphire-weapon]

👻 monster symbolism anon here. That course sounds so cool!

That makes sense that they’re more homages. Like I didn’t entirely think the zombies represented anything but also sometimes coding or symbolism happens anyways. Sooo I figured that whether intentional or not, the zombies still end up representing the same fears they usually do.

But the bosses not having symbolism do make sense. I didn’t think there were any but horror is so steeped in it I thought I just must be missing it.

But the homage thing makes so much more sense considering Evelyn’s final form at the end of re7 is literally the final form of the demon in evil dead 2. It wasn’t even a subtle homage. I love that game because it’s basically an evil dead game. How did I forget that fact 😭

But as for eight I should replay that and look into the symbolism. My brain stops at classic horror archetypes.

We got Frankenstein, we got basically a ghost lady and a creepy doll, werewolves, the creature from the black lagoon, and a witch. Personally I like big lady Dracula and the three daughters, because technically speaking the three vampire ladies/the weird sisters, are never listed as his brides in the Dracula story. They’re just kinda there. And some people do actually think they’re his daughters or sisters. And then she gets to turn into a dragon because she lives in a castle and also Dracula kinda means son of the devil but also it can mean son of the dragon so really it all comes together. And then that’s where my brain stops.

Should have found a way to work a mummy and the phantom of the opera in there Capcom.

so i actually want to tag @friedesgreatscythe in this just because she knows a ton of japanese horror folklore, and the monsters in RE8 aren't just classic monsters.

the whole thing with the beneviento house probably was inspired by the history of japanese ghost marriages -- especially considering, you know. the doll is a bride.

i don't know a whole lot about it, but i do know that it is a thing LMAO to the best of my knowledge (and i could be wrong), this became a thing around the WW2 era when a lot of promised men went off to war and died. the marriage was still expected to happen to honor the promise to the family, but a doll would stand in for the bride in order to marry the deceased.

again, i'm not a super expert on this, and i really don't know RE8 well enough to go through a whole rundown of it in context, but. there's stuff at play in RE8 that goes way beyond classic monsters.

[only-by-the-stars]

more little NL vs NH thoughts because I can't stop playing NL again and apparently can't shut up about it (it is so important to me okay?)

-villager dialogue is just so much better in NL. I've heard people complain about the villagers not being mean anymore in that game like in older ones, and I have little opinion on that, but whew can I ever see the downgrade between NL and NH. the regular dialogue is so bland, and there's fewer options for when they have something to ask you for. in NH, it's:

wanna come over/can I visit your house RIGHT NOW? I had a fight with [other villager], can you deliver this gift? I'm trying to sell stuff, will you buy this from me?/here's a random item (this always happens when I'm digging up clams and need empty pockets...) can you catch this bug/fish for me? (very rarely) want to play a treasure hunt game?

whereas with NL it's:

wanna come over/can I visit your house RIGHT NOW? wanna come over/can I visit your house later? can you take this gift to [other villager]? I'm trying to sell stuff, will you buy this/can I trade you for item in your pockets? can you catch this bug/fish for me? wanna play hide and seek? can you bury/dig up this time capsule for me? can you bring me a piece of fruit? I need to speak to [other villager] but can't leave my house, can you bring them here?

I'm probably forgetting something, but you can see the disparity anyway. regular dialogue was generally more interesting too. I also like that you had to bring a sick animal medicine for *three* days instead of just one, it felt like nursing a sick friend back to health instead of one and done and was more rewarding.

-speaking of more rewarding... SHOP UPGRADES, MY BELOVED <333 my file has T&T Emporium, and it is SO NICE, OMG. ;w; I loved the process of working towards the shop upgrades and seeing it become gradually bigger and with a better item selection. ALSO I MISS YOU, GRACIE. </3 the fact that NH has the nerve to try and sell me ridiculously expensive furniture without the GracieGrace brand attached, smh.

-it was the Bug Off today! if I'd realized, I would've prepared last night, but oh well. I still got to get a couple cute furniture pieces and I think I'll place first, so that was fun.

-doing item customization yourself is more convenient (because you can see what things will look like without using a guide) and faster, but... I actually still like using Cyrus? I know he's at the co-op on Harv's island if you shell out enough cash, but that's so expensive and his prices have gone up. customization kits aren't cheap either! in NL you paid less, and had to wait a half hour for an individual item to be ready, but I like that. I like going a bit slower. NL in general is slower and so much more relaxed and relaxing, I like walking at a normal pace and getting to soak in the atmosphere and music.

-as much as I appreciate getting to hear Blathers blather about the donated stuff, I also like the convenience of getting to look at the info in the museum itself without having to bring him another one. it's part of what makes going to the museum soothing, despite that there's no wow factor in the design of the exhibits.

-Main Street in general is just so nice to have, and it makes the actual town feel bigger. I do like being able to decorate outside, but... at the same time I like the simpler feel here and the PWPs that we had. and remodeling town hall and the train station was so neat!!! why can't we do that in NH???

-GOD I MISS THE LEGEND OF ZELDA ITEMS AND VILLAGERS SO MUCH.

-the music. again, the music. NL remains one of my favorite video game soundtracks ever. when it hit 7 PM last night and The Song started playing... oh man... ;w; will we ever have that level of music quality again?

-cannot stress enough how much I miss Tortimer Island. the minigames! the easy access to summer bugs and fishing! AAAAAHHHH

-I... forgot what the Aquarius Urn looked like in this game and now I'm annoyed all over again at the blandification of the Zodiac series in NH. IT WAS BLUE AND FILLED WITH WATER. I COULD'VE. IT WOULD'VE LOOKED SO GOOD AS PART OF MY ZORA-THEMED AREAS. AAARGH!!!

-odd little discrepancy, but why is it when you talk to Gulliver to try and wake him up in NH you have to put away any tool you're carrying, but not so in NL? weird.

-I like the hyacinths and windflowers, but I also miss the violets and carnations. the purple roses were also a LOT prettier in NL.

-also, for all that NH offers more freedom in some aspects, it really took a big step backwards in house customization??? you can't even GET a different exterior until you have ALL the rooms, and you have NO CONTROL over the room size??? and the exterior options are all SO BLAND. you could be way more creative and aesthetic in NL by choosing which rooms to have, how big they were, and you had way more and more interesting exterior options.

-sure were more events and generally things to do in NL. :< the only part of winter I liked was playing snowman bingo and trying to make the different snow people for various rewards! and they took THAT away too! there was more charm, too, I loved the coziness of the "small forested village" that I got in NL, and I prefer taking the train to flying everywhere, and the post office was so cool, and I liked the reliability of taking Dr. Shrunk fruit to learn new reactions. I really hope the next game is a return to form and not more of the same problems that still plague NH...

[holly-fixation]

Ever Crisis Tips!

For anyone who started this game or wants to know what the best way to use your time/resources is, here are my tips to get stronger faster:

1: They recently added a 9x stamina option. This means 9 times the rewards with 9 times the stamina, but you save so much actual TIME. This makes grinding for everything a lot easier.

2: Give yourself a specific goal for anything that uses stamina. These will keep you from going insane. "I'm going to max out Aerith's exp." "I'm going to get all the highest weapon materials." "I'll get all the ice materia materials I could ever want!" "I'm going to max out Zack's Ifrit rarity!"

3: Use auto battle. Specifically, if you don't want to be in the top 1,000 of the dungeon rankings (that takes so much time and I am also convinced it costs money), only play levels you do not need to pay attention to. This still applies for stamina cost battles only. Your life will be so much easier if you passively get stronger through a bunch of auto battles than forcing yourself to pay attention.

4: Check on the Cetra Tower every once in a while. You will probably forget about it. If you give it a couple of tries and realize you aren't getting any closer to winning, LEAVE. It's not worth the heartache.

5: When gaining weapon materials, all the metal cubes can be broken down to the smaller ingots and such in the Exchange menu. NEVER waste your time playing early weapon material quests when you have access/can reliably complete the difficult quests. - Even for later materials, you will always run out of the rarest first. The genome pods and such cannot be broken down, but you will not want to either.

6: Weapon enhancement (grindstones) same deal: always play the highest level for the best rewards.

7: I suggest having an A team for difficult battles, a B team for when the A team maxes out, and a C "this team is my lowest level" for daily missions. You might not like everyone, but it feels like you're still making progress even if your A team is maxed out.

8: If there is a free draw, try to remember it with everything you have. Free draws are rare and incredibly useful.

9: Personally I always keep 36,000 crystals on the back burner in case a specific costume I really want appears in the next banner. It is incredibly difficult to maintain crystals if you want something from every banner. The real money option is incredibly expensive. Be careful.

10: Try not to forget about the dungeons, especially early game. But also don't hurt yourself on the crisis dungeons. If you feel like you're hitting your head against a wall, it's not worth the medals yet.

11: You will reach a point where the only thing stopping your characters from growing stronger is the weapon rarity. This will suck. The best you can do is gain materials for other uses.

12: Materia in the microwave: try not to forget but not the end of the world either. I suggest cooking up 3* of every single materia type you have access too. Don't worry about the 4* and 5* materia until everything at least has 3*.

13: Speaking of materia: focus on Ruin when you're bored. They cook fast and since almost every boss requires them, it's better to do more damage in those required levels with higher stars *.

14: Summons: Very hard 1 is the only very hard you should ever do outside of coop. Only complete this to unlock the summon stream/stronger attack. Since Auto battle can't complete them, don't repeat these levels.

15: Double speed is great, but if you lose a level, try turning off double speed. The game won't register certain attacks that should go through on double speed. Normal speed can actually be your key to victory, since all attacks that can go through will.

16: Coop sucks. We all know it, but the rewards are incredibly useful. Usually just doing the event coop will cover the weekly requirement, but check the items available anyway. Item drops increase for coop levels.

17: Save 40 stamina potions before an event begins so if you have time or really want the rewards, you can blow through it. Any more than 40 will become 99 WAY faster than you think it will, so try to use stamina when YOU have time.

18: Yes the phone version drains battery life, but it's also easier for multitasking. I play while folding my laundry or watching youtube. If this is impossible, there is also a steam version. And you can link your account so you won't lose any progress!

Good luck! Hope this helps!

[scramble-crossing]

2 3 10 12 13 for the ask game!

2. A headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like! Ok this is hard to answer because I forget what's canon and what's intricately-woven-into-my-brain headcanon but I'll say the "Kariya was an Angel" theory! I never disliked it, but I never liked it more than the simpler explanation of "Oh he's just been around the block a couple of times, that's why he knows more than the average Reaper but still couldn't pick out Joshua as the Composer-that stuff's above his paygrade." Even now it's not "canon to me" level of headcanon, but I can see the appeal and really I appreciate anything that inspires people to look a littler closer at characters like Kariya or Uzuki. Also it's really good when played for comedy. His ass is showing up at the Angel convention, stealing as many appetizers as he can, and bouncing before anyone can point out that he got fired 30 years ago for skipping meetings to go play Tin Pin with random Wall Reapers.

3. A character that fandom has helped you appreciate It's too easy to say Coco so Beat! It's embarrassing to admit but I kinda had a bone to pick with him when I was first getting into the series for sorta "replacing Sho" in neo. I didn't think he was as interesting (and to be fair he really isn't in neo until you take his relation to Rindo's arc into consideration; he works wonderfully as a back for Rindo to hide behind even if his own story was very much concluded by the end of the first game. Then there's also his dynamic with Neku, which is very very good, but he didn't need to be a player character for that. Anyways). Beat analysis posting made me actually pay attention to him while replaying the games and realize how much I'd missed skimming over him in W2 (the poor guy's really gotta try to compete with fan darling Joshua and Sho, aka the loudest fucking man alive, for screen time). His stint as a Reaper is incredibly fascinating. I forget who, but I always distinctly remember someone talking about Beat getting prepped to try and deaden his heart and become as brutal and merciless as a Reaper is supposed to be before ultimately choosing kindness in both his siding with Neku and sparing Kariya and Uzuki in W3 and man.....yeah. He's just such a good guy. He's easily in the top 10 favs now, if not the top 5

10. A blog (mutual or one you follow) that has made your fandom experience brighter Well....yknow....

There are a LOT of others and I'm too shy to tag but goldensunset (incredible analysis) playtwewy (fav fics ever) sho-minamimoto (awesome art + sho headcanons) dj-of-the-coven (made me love beat) purplelea (also incredible analysis) bitternami (very kind and wow I read a fic of yours once and it blew me away...I will remember to find it and leave a comment soon) leonvilasi (always leaves fun and interesting comments in my notes) off the top of my head and a whole bunch of people who aren't as active in the twewy fandom anymore or whose art I love and the people I always see leaving funny tags in my notes you're all awesome <3

12. Compliment someone else in your fandom AUGH HELL ON EARTH!!! dandelion2302 I absolutely adore the way you draw Sho your art is amazing.................

13. Your favorite type of fandom event (gift exchange, ship week, secret santa, prompt meme, etc) Yknow I've never actually done any fandom events before twewy! I had a blast during the twewybang and while I probably won't participate again for a while (I'd rather finish the fic I wrote for the 23 one first) it was a wonderful first experience with this sort of thing :]

[neptune-scythe]

thinking about Buck's relationship with Hen and how he probably gravitated towards her over everyone else when he first joined the 118 because she reminds him of Maddie.

like obviously they are very different people, but they're probably around the same age, both strong but in a very nurturing and protective way. and it is safe to say Maddie is the only meaningful relationship in Buck's life until the 118, but at that point he hasn't seen or heard from her in two or three years, so he probably (subconsciously or not) gravitated toward Hen to fill that void.

And Hen fills that position in her own way that's very different from Maddie but still giving sibling energy. which yes she is just naturally a very nurturing person and very protective of her friends and family, but she has a special genre of protectiveness and love for Buck; even as early as the first episode when she's the only one that says anything to him after he gets fired. which if I'm remembering correctly she says something like "we're all sad to see you go" but like ... she's the only one that actually says so to him.

I'm sure there's other instances in seasons 1 and 2 that I'm forgetting (tho tbh that scene in season 1 when they're playing video games is just so sibling coded it's ridiculous in all the good ways), but especially the whole first half of season 3 really highlights their bond.

when everyone is talking about how Buck is moping around his apartment and not doing anything and how he needs to get back to living his life, Hen is the only one who is advocating for him; which is not at all to say the others were attacking him or anything like that, but they did disagree with his choices and Hen was at the least trying to get the other's to see his perspective more and sympathize.

and after the tsunami, the way they hold onto each other

y'all

makes me so feral

but it's the way Chim just had one hand on Buck's arm and Buck was just sort of vaguely holding onto his arm too, but then Hen comes in with both arms around him, and Buck holds her arm with both hands and is low-key resting like his entire body's weight on her because she's the only one he can really lean on in that way because he and Chim aren't really that close at that point and he's always subconsciously or consciously trying to prove himself to Bobby and make him proud and Eddie is paying attention to Chrisopher and Buck's had to be strong for everyone all day and then Hen is there and she catches him and supports him and he just lets her because he doesn't have to pretend around her and jqndkdnskfjskjfksjfkdd

anyway

but then how she's the only one who welcomes him back on his first day and gets him a cupcake that "bleeds when you cut it" and is just being so casual and normal about him being back and the lawsuit and the blood thinners like it's just any other day and no biggie when everyone else is acting differently towards him in some capacity, mostly negatively (or at least he perceived it as negative).

and the way Hen was the one that convinced Bobby to let Buck out on calls, and was like the first person to just drop the whole lawsuit issue and be like nah it's whatever's welcome back bro

and several smaller instances in later seasons as well,

their conversation in the ambulance in Buck Begins "if you guys hadn't come in when you did" "but we did, and we always will"

Buck going to Hen over literally everyone else in his life including Maddie and Eddie for advice about the sperm donor situation

when they went to the Renaissance faire together with Denny??? mad sibling energy there like that was actually insane

the very specific way that Buck greets her in the hospital after the coma. idk I could be trippin bout that one but its just so soft and completely different from how he greets everyone else and more in line with how he is around Maddie in that scene and when they get back to his appartment

Hen wiping the blood off Buck's face when she's literally concussed and in much worse shape than him and trapped in an ambulance about to fall off an overpass girlie was insane for that

and yeah we all knew Buck was gay, but it's the way Hen knew ... which, gaydar canonically exists among the gays and I can sniff em out a mile away, but I'm just choosing to call that the fact that Buck is Hen's lil brother and she simply knows him in ways no one else does

anyway they are simply siblings and they are so special to me and it's making my brain go feral it's all I can think about I will be posting about it for days just you wait