#because we are after all playing a game where different decisions can lead characters to different paths

[mercymaker]

this has been on my mind for literal months now, resurfacing, then floating around that pool a bit and then sinking into the depths again, but maybe i should just write it down and get it out of my system idk

but i always found it a bit chilling how once ascended, astarion calls tav the consort, the closest thing to a family he has. sort of.. painting them as 'the wife' or 'the husband' and i know that a lot of people find it endearing and as a sort of a 'proof' that he still loves them and trusts them, yet all i can think about hearing those words (especially with the context and other things he can say to spawn tav) is how cazador called the seven spawn his 'children'.

how he created this 'family', specifically named them as such (when he could've just as easily treated and called them as what they truly were to him, just his slaves), only to then horrifically abuse them, shape them into what he wanted them to be through torture, both physical and psychological. this sort of.. oxymoron in motion. and if it wasn't bad enough with all the abuse, he knew (for hundreds of years) that these poor souls, his children, are going to be consumed for the ritual to grant him the powers of the vampire ascendant. the sort of.. devouring and annihilation of his own 'family'.

and it always made me wonder if that's the eventual story for spawn tav and ascended astarion as well. if them being 'the consort', in the whole picture, means the same thing 'children' meant to cazador? if he could heartlessly torture and abuse his own 'children', then astarion could eventually do that very same thing to tav?

[uriekukistan]

JJK 265: The Role of a Sorcerer

one of the focal points of jjk since the beginning has been the roles and responsibilities of jujutsu sorcerers. it's a question that gets thrown around a lot between different characters: as sorcerers, what is the right way to live? it's a driving force behind many of the major events of the story, and the cause of fragmentation, where different paths could have been taken, but weren't. and in one chapter, yuuji dismantles it all.

as much as i'd love to talk about this when it comes to every character, i picked a few that i think are interesting (to me) and carry a lot of weight throughout the story to discuss, including gojo & geto, megumi, yuuta, and, of course, the man of the hour, yuuji.

Gojo & Geto

the main difference between them right from the start is the way they view their roles as sorcerers, and this fragmentation influences their trajectories going forward, and the trajectory of jjk as a whole.

at the start, geto believes that his role as a sorcerer is to protect non-jujutsu sorcerers. as someone who is strong, he must protect those who are weak, and he must keep those who are also strong in check. he accepts this as his role without much question, and he takes it seriously.

in contrast, gojo thinks that idea is, well, garbage, and he argues with geto about it, calling him self-righteous for thinking that way. where geto focuses his concept of his role on those who are weak, gojo focuses his on those who are strong. his role is simply to be strong. he acts to get stronger and prove that strength.

another place where their opinions diverge in conceptualizing their roles as sorcerers is when it comes to finding meaning in their actions. where gojo doesn't think there needs to be meaning in their actions, geto disagrees.

ultimately, his search for meaning leads to his downfall, as he reaches the conclusion that being a sorcerer is a thankless job, cleaning up after and saving the humans from their uncontrolled cursed energy. he decides that sorcerers are the ones who need protection from humans, because they are subjected to the horrors that humans generate, while those humans live in ignorance.

meanwhile, as gojo matures, he doesn't ditch the idea that strength is what matters as a sorcerer, but he shifts his idea of role to raising a generation of strong sorcerers who can rely on each other. and ultimately, these leads to his downfall too. thoughts on this here under point 1.

regardless, their ideas of their roles are major driving factors of their decisions, and therefore the plot of jjk. their roles are what doom them to their respective fates.

Megumi

megumi has made damn sure we know what he believes his role is. he's a sorcerer, not a hero. he doesn't save people because he has to or because it's the right to do. he saves the people he wants to save. that's all.

he uses his conscience to decide who he wants to save, and that is his decided role.

and this is what dooms him too. his decision to save yuuji is what left him vulnerable to sukuna, and his desire to save tsumiki from the culling games left him open to be manipulated by yorozu, as she pretended to be his sister in order to take advantage of what megumi was willing to do so she could play her own version of the culling games. that shock and hurt is what let sukuna latch onto him so easily, and submerge his soul in the depths of his body.

Yuuta

yuuta decides that his role is to not let others be alone. of course, this is most notable when it comes to gojo, but it's shown throughout jjk0 as well, such as when he refuses to let inumaki go against the curse that geto planted alone.

he also expresses this to yuuji after he fake executes him. he makes sure yuuji knows that he isn't alone in his feelings, and that he's not to blame. empathy is one of yuuta's strongest traits, and he makes it his role.

this is why he is willing to go as far as taking gojo's body, because he knows how gojo has to toss aside his humanity to fight all of these special grade curses (for example, when he used his domain expansions while humans were around despite knowing it would cause damage to them), and he doesn't want him to be alone in his inhumanity.

and while yuuta isn't dead yet, his role has doomed him, because, well...

Yuuji

now we come to yuuji, the sorcerer who shakes this concept to its core in jjk 265.

he's someone who'd decided his role before he even became a sorcerer. he wants to help people, and he wants to guide them to proper deaths.

he also accpets his role as sukuna's vessel, and tries to maintain those two parts of his chosen role simultaneously. however, as we know, he fails to balance being sukuna's vessel and saving people in shibuya (i hesitate to use the word fail because it was not a failure of yuuji's, but i hope you know what i mean).

this causes a shift in his idea of his role, especially once megumi asks for his help in the culling games. he embraces this role as a cog. he will help out fushiguro, he'll help unseal gojo, and then he will die. that is his new role.

quote from yuuji in 265:

until recently, i thought i should simply live to fulfill my role as i understood it. i thought if i died like that, i could at least consider it a proper death. but now, i feel like that's not entirely right. ... just the tiny fragments of memories that make up a person drifting elsewhere give value to a human life. ... people aren't tools. we aren't born with any set roles

yuuji completely rejects the idea that people are defined by theid roles at all, whether they are jujutsu sorcerers or not. he sheds his mindset that he needs to help people, or give them proper deaths, or fulfill a role than die in order to be worth something. instead, he accepts the value of his life as a collection of all the things he's experienced and the people he’s known.

and in doing this, he shakes the world of jujutsu kaisen to its core, and creates another crack in the cycle.

[estcaligo]

Problematic post, dark content, if you don't like dark topics - skip this

I have this absolutely masochistic desire to read a series of fics with each twst character, theme: rejection. + upd:some general headcanons

Reader conferences to them and they reject prefect's feelings. 100% angst, no comfort, some disturbing warnings too.

Specifically I want to see :

Hanahaki with Sebek. He wants to be with you but can't because duties. OR he doesn't even want to, he's 100% focused on duties and you're a nuance, go disappear, useless dirt. (I have 10000+ sad scenarios for Sebek...)

Humiliation, degradation, bodyshaming with Vil aka "Have you even seen yourself? What was going on in that ugly head of yours that you could even consider such possibility? No, don't touch me with those ugly fingers."

"You're not a match for me" with Leona.

"Very funny. But I AM a prince after all. What can you offer me? Are you an important ally? A monarch from any country? Maybe you're a valuable business partner? No? Didn't think so. Now move, you're blocking the sun."

"We belong to different worlds" with Malleus. Everything here screams doomed romance. Your life is so short - it's like a second for him. He's a prince, the heir to the throne, a powerful fae, the mighty dragon and one of the strongest mages in the world. And you? You're a grain of sand in his life. Useless, bleak, weak grain of sand.

Manipulation and gaslighting and even enslaving with Azul. Manipulating you into dating, making you fall for him and then sign a bunch of horrible contracts. The contents of those contracts? Trust me, you don't want to know....he makes you do horrible things. Disgusting things. Truly sorry for you.

Public humiliation and playing with your feelings - Ace.

"I was just messin' with ya. Did ya think we were a thing? Are you that naïve or actually stupid? Nah why r u crying rn. It's not my fault you're so fucking stupid lol"

Ghosting with Idia. It was clear from the start - it wasn't going to go well. You're too different… No, it's him who doesn't deserve you. You tried to make it work, but… Idia just can't communicate well. And you're kind of tired of it, too. At first, you did try to reach out, you asked him to talk about it… but he just kept ghosting you. Not a single word to explain why he doesn't want to see you anymore. It's unfair. It hurts.

Jack? Your presence makes him uncomfortable. You just irritate him. You're so unserious. everything is a joke to you.

"Even now you're joking, right?" he said when you tried to confess to him. "I will never think of you as my partner. You're not a match for a wolf. Not with that attitude. I bet you can't even imagine what a lifelong partner means." He didn't mean to be rude, just clear. But it hurts, because you truly love him. And yet, he will never even look at you that way. The best decision would be to never see him again.

Lilia is mischievous, everyone knows that. But you didn't think he would do this to you. Play with your feelings just like that. All that occasional teasing, random hair stroking, small kisses on the cheek… he made your heart flutter every time. But when you decided to confess?

"Fufu, young people are so hopeless these days. Sorry, little bat. I'm not interested."

Not interested. That’s what he said. After doing all this to you. Luring you in and then breaking your heart like it was nothing.

Spoiler: it leads to suicide and not Lilia's.

not rejection, just some headcanons

Floyd - Kinda dating but with much much physical abuse. Domestic violence. Rape too. You're bruised 24/7 in those relationship. Consent? Never heart of it. He's touching you where he wants, when he wants. Your opinion doesn't matter. Say a word and he'll break your ribs again. You're so annoying, jeez. You were supposed to be fun, why're you nagging all the time...Blood suits you now, dear.

Jade - Oh, he he was so charming at the beginning. And by charming I mean fucking mind games, but it was so captivating and you just couldn't resist his charm and by charm I mean manipulation. In the end - makes you his test subject. He kills you and grows mushrooms on your corpse. Scary but eco friendly!

Rook - It started with stalking. He followed you everywhere, he "occasionally" stumbled upon you in every corridor. You constantly felt someone's gaze wherever you went. Eventually, he confessed, but you made the mistake of rejecting him.

"Sorry, Rook, I think Cupid's arrow missed this time" you tried to joke. Too bad.

"He might miss sometimes, but I don't."

Yes, he shoots you because "if you don't want to become 'us,' there will be no 'you' at all."

[amber-jinx]

Me again (:

Your posts always make me feel better, particularly the ones on Rachel. I need it due to the recent loss of a family member which is why I haven’t been around as much. That said, thank you for being so positive and supportive. ❤️

A question that has been lingering in my mind is why do you think Rachel is hated so much in the fandom? She was flawed, but I seriously doubt she was this monster that others make her out to be. To some degree, I can relate to her. Not on the daddy issues per se, but more so of being misunderstood.

Hey! Apologies for the delay in answering, really hope you're healing up well. And your GIFs are always so goofy they bring a smile to my face. Thank you so much for your kind words-- they remind me that my posts about Rachel aren't meaningless 🧡

Now getting to this very valid question-- why is Rachel, & by extension, any flawed character without a crystal clear definition like her, hated on so much??

1. Because she is ambiguous. Rachel is viewed in the 3rd person perspective-- either Max's or Chloe's; We never got to know what Rachel was actually thinking, how she felt and what lead to her decisions. All that we've seen in the game are after-the-fact and through varying third perspectives talking about the Rachel Amber, without actually knowing 100% who she really is.

This leaves room for the truth to be bent so severely that people barely scratch the surface of Rachel, and are basically blaming & hating on someone that is not her.

I bet if we got to play her version of the story from the start & experience all the mess from her pov, some players might just choose to hide from Chloe in order to protect her before anything comes to fruition, which can be very much justified in her position imo. Who knows? We could very much be jumping for Jeffersht's trap of an opportunity to get cash so that we can leave town with Chloe. It's all about the context & the framing.

2. As mentioned before by other bloggers, some fans focus too much on Chloe & her narrative that they judge Rachel solely based on Chloe's very biased narrative. I've noticed that quite a lot who appreciate/like Rachel played BTS first without much impression of who this girl is, which offers a very different experience as compared to playing the OG then BTS.

Chloe's outburst after finding out about Rachel's involvement with Frank (the words she used, "lied" "betrayed" etc) left such a deep impression in people's minds that after years of having played the game, continued to influence their perspectives.

Instead of taking account into other details where Rachel cared more for Chloe & was always prioritising her over Frank, and particularly due to the lack of major evidence of her being loyal to Chloe (which is mostly present in the unseen/untold, besides Joyce's remark that they were "joint in the head" and "chloe could never piss Rachel off"), folks now have a magnified impression that all Rachel ever did that's worth noting is her "betrayal", is her supposed plan on leaving Chloe without telling her, which could very well not be the case, but is kinda made harder to argue given Chloe's rage & us not knowing Rachel's side of the story (aka, in her defense), especially with her missing/out of the picture.

Therefore it's so easy for many to simply jump on the Rachel hate train in their almost blindsighted sympathy for Chloe. They might also:

- ignore that Rachel's a victim & instead assume 100% autonomy in her choices, when she was under influence & potential coersion / "it's too late to back out now" state

- ignore her age & circumstances, judge her like a grown mature adult who has good parents to guide her & wise friends to consult with

3. Inspired by your earlier comment! Most people who played the OG did it when they were pretty young & immature without much life experiences -- & so judged with their idealistic expectations, perhaps from the comfort of their homes/lives.

It can be hard to change your own views that's been set from so long ago. Takes some effort to replay the game, re-examine the evidence & admit to oneself that they were probably wrong. Understandable, I've been through the same.

And I've also seen those who have gone through their own messes, met their own supposed "Rachel Amber" irl and proceeded to project the toxicity & hurt they've experienced onto this teenage video game character, when in fact they're not 100% Chloe Price and the other, not a Rachel Amber and more of a subjective projection.

This isn't fair for the character, but then again like I've said, there's a thousand Rachels in a thousands eyes. We just have to keep in mind that whoever they're hating on is not the same as the character we adore 🤍

Thanks for this! I gotta try finding all your asks & make a master list at some point xD they're so good they can form a thread on their own 🌛 psst I am customising a Rachel plush, will see how well it goes & if more can be put out for orders. Unconfirmed stuff, more of a bonus if you've read this far ;)

[temporalhiccup]

I'm trying to write about this without getting emotional, but it's pretty hard! Hah!

But it's been officially announced so I can finally talk about it! I'm the Lead Designer (damn) on the official Tomb Raider TTRPG (double damn). Shadows of Truth has a public playtest coming up soon, and I'm excited for folks to see what we've been working on!

It's been a wild ride and a fun time, but this is also the biggest challenge I've had to face as a ttrpg designer. Like many indie folks I've drawn inspiration from the media we love (Apocalypse Keys is proudly Hellboy-inspired, among other things!) while still making it our own unique thing.

Tomb Raider has been completely different, in that I have to do my best to translate some awesome video game history into a ttrpg experience. And I gotta be as true to the source material and experience as possible, while still centering what makes ttrpgs great!

Tomb Raider is also a franchise that's been around for almost 30 years and is a HUGE DEAL. It's hard to describe how much of an impact it's made on action-adventure video games, repeatedly! Lara Croft is easily one of the most iconic characters in video games and the genre, and her Adventures include (several) dinosaurs, wild transhuman demonic Atlantean stuff, and apocalypse-inducing artifacts.

But Lara to me, especially since the 2013 game, has been a truly amazing and conflicted heroine. The last three games that grounded her and made her vulnerable, while still creating intense experiences, really hooked me. I really wanted to honor the journey of Tomb Raider and make a really fun and thrilling ttrpg for folks.

But anyone who knows me, knows that anti-colonial design is in all my games. It's just who I am, and it's not something I consciously did at first. It wasn't even until I started designing ttrpgs, in my 30s, that I realized how important my personal decolonization process was, and a lot of that has helped me discover new aspects of my identity (including being a transmasculine person).

So, I don't need to tell you that a franchise called Tomb Raider has some colonial implications, right?

As development goes on, folks have asked me "How is the game anti-colonial?" or "How are you addressing the colonialism?" I want to start off by saying as a team we conceptualized what that could mean while still being true to the franchise. But since then, as Lead Designer, I've had to make hundreds of decisions that are reflected in countless design and structural choices. I can point to dozens of mechanics and things and describe how this is my personal attempt to present anti-colonial gaming, and I'm grateful for the help our team of consultants and playtesters in guiding me.

It's kind of wild, but in chasing after and reaching for anti-colonial design, I've had to figure out how to implement great tech from other designers, but also come up with lots of new stuff too. There's some really cool Adventure design stuff that is really hard to pull off in a PbtA framework where you play to find out. (Arguably, PbtA itself has a lot of anti-colonial play about it compared to mainstream ttrpgs and it's one of the reasons we used PbtA as a design framework but that's a whole other conversation)

I'm really so grateful for the support from the team! It's hard to feel like I'm good enough and can measure up to Evil Hat's faith in me, but they've been incredibly supportive and open, and it's been stellar. Crystal Dynamics has also been amazing to work with, especially because it was important to me that while we honor how awesome Tomb Raider is, we don't downplay the difficult truths of colonialism and its ongoing effects. And they were so incredibly on board for that! It's so rare for a marginalized person like me to be granted an opportunity like this, and I am determined to give it my all.

We've built a team that's been amazing to collaborate with, and @ostrichmonkey-games has been doing incredible work alongside me. I'm really proud of what we're doing as a team! I can't wait for folks to see it come together.

You can also check out the Polygon (!!!) article about the game, which gives you a sense of some of the cool mechanics at play!

I know it's easy to write off an IP ttrpg based on a really big franchise (and for good reasons, unfortunately). But I really do think we're doing something special here! I hope y'all will give the game a chance and check it out when the public playtest starts up!

[tigreblvnc]

BLUE LOCK MATCHUP — m1ckeyb3rry

Your match WAS...

— Nagi Seishiro

✦ Well, I didn’t think about it for very long :D

✦ I was waiting to read the part about the traits you like in the other person and… Well, honestly, I hesitated for a moment but still brushed it off, thinking, "meh, it's part of life."

✦ So here’s our most motivated player from Blue Lock :)

✦ (No.)

✦ And I have to admit that Nagi isn't a character I can easily place because he's so unique and not at all receptive to anything related to human relationships. I even think he belongs to his own manga, within the manga itself.

✦ That’s probably why we end up with a movie named after him and a series of mangas dedicated to him.

✦ For me, what creates a funny and unusual chemistry right away is the fact that you’re extremely different… but that you connect on very specific details that form a common bridge between you two.

✦ Example: "I’m also pretty quick-witted and good at thinking on my feet BUT I’m kind of judgmental." Without saying Nagi is the most reactive guy in the world, in moments of despair (lol, going straight to the tough stuff), it almost seems like he doesn’t think and manages to instinctively react to anticipate a decisive move on the field. Stimulated correctly, he unleashes potential that, in my opinion, is unmatched by anyone else. He’s got this ON and OFF mode! Most of the time, he’s sleeping, slacking, or playing games; but during very specific key moments, he wakes up and breaks all performance records. It’s almost like it doesn’t require any effort, you know? It’s just an aspect of his personality that awakens under certain conditions, but it’s part of who he is. Meaning, he didn’t really have to work on it beforehand to possess it. Some like to call it "genius."

✦ And I see that trait in you when you explain to me, "I’m quite smart but I don’t really try to be?? Like I mostly play on my phone or watch shows/read in my classes but I have perfect grades anyways."

✦ It’s both awesome, and it can also attract a lot of jealousy. Those who work hard but end up with average or even bad grades, while you don’t need to spend time studying; you succeed no matter what.

✦ I can see my duo of prodigies :)

✦ "It’s hard for something/someone to keep my interest for long, but when it does, I am SUPER into it, so I’m really good at pursuing goals and whatnot!!" Yes, it’s the same for Nagi. You both need a goal that makes sense to you to become productive. A discipline in which you can excel once you get into it; but also one where you become passive once an activity loses its appeal. A downside that’s not easy to manage, on top of driving those around you crazy, who see your potential but feel like you’re not using it to its full extent.

✦ "I’m pretty cheerful and kind for the most part, and I’m a chronic people-pleaser, so I’ll bend over backwards to help out people I don’t know that well/to be agreeable, but when I know a person super well (ex. my family), I can def be kind of demanding/picky." For Nagi, it’s really the opposite, and it causes him problems in the other direction; he cares too little about his surroundings and what others think to even react accordingly. Which leads people to label him as heartless and selfish, something he doesn’t deny but doesn’t really approve of either.

✦ I’ve often observed that people who expect a lot from their surroundings are those who don’t let just anyone into their personal space, out of a need to protect themselves. This involves a very meticulous and sometimes extreme filtering process, often demanding a lot and becoming tough or guilt-tripping others when they don’t meet those expectations—sometimes unrealistic ones.

✦ But this behavior wouldn’t last with someone like Nagi, from whom you really can’t expect anything, absolutely nothing. Even Reo, who might be the character who knows Nagi the best, experienced his worst moments of doubt because Nagi didn’t quite meet his expectations—the one of staying by his side no matter what. What seemed obvious wasn’t true, leading to a violent disillusionment for Reo.

✦ So, I think it’s a match that could be complicated because it’ll require both of you to make efforts to step out of your comfort zones and accept each other’s flaws, but it could be extremely rewarding and fulfilling. I’ll come back to explain with some MBTI, but you’re typically a duo where almost everything contrasts.

✦ "As for what people tell me… I guess that I’m super confident, funny, kind, trustworthy (I was the one in high school who knew ALL of the tea because people would just tell me their secrets unprompted)." Yes. Really, with EVERYTHING in contrast.

✦ Side note, but when I read texts, certain words have colors, sounds, and sensations for me. They give off something, and when I read your whole section of likes, I see springtime paintings, sweet, fragrant scents. I see lots of nature, countryside, flowers, I feel silk, the smell of books, the careful unwrapping of packages to keep in a drawer. When I read the word "pomegranate," I see the fruit and feel the texture and hear the flowing, viscous sound of its seeds. All of this gives me a very colorful overall vision, and I think it’s the complete opposite of what I feel when I read about Nagi, who for me is very monochrome, on the same horizon line.

✦ "Traits I like in others: people who are passionate about things, people who are very kind/gentle." Well, you can see why I hesitated, right? :D

And that’s when I stopped everything to rewrite it all. The ""real"" matchup is right here.

© TIGREBLVNC 2024 | SEPTEMBER '24 MATCHUPS EDITION.

[someoneyoullknowsomeday]

Sunny (during the events of the game) is as in the dark to things pre-incident as us

@woodchipp's assessment of Sunny's character has some points that rely on the in-game options. We HAVE to walk away from Basil and Hero, we have the choice of walking away from Basil's suicide, we have the choice to close the door on Kel. And then because we can choose to do those things, they're a viable option to Sunny as a character. But doesn't this make Sunny (during game events) something of a self insert to the player? After all, the player is the one weighing their options to make a decision. Shouldn't this apply to the player's discoveries during the game as well? Of course, I'm talking about a first time player and not one doing another play through

It'd explain why Sunny doesn't feel any guilt regarding the incident in game, why he runs away from Basil and Hero and why he stabs Aubrey.

Sunny's meant to feel how you feel as a player. When you stab Aubrey, you do it in reference to the previous battles you had in game, ending with you in shock upon realising what you've done. Likewise, Sunny stabs Aubrey in reference to the mechanics he had in headspace. He's not fully aware that things are different yet. When you're forced to leave Hero or Basil, it's Sunny wanting to approach but being held back, either by him being unsure if he can even help, or by his fears that even he doesn't know where they come from.

That's why the fight with Basil is the way it is. You need to make a choice to save your friend, and once you enter, Something blocks your way, because it's part of that deep-rooted guilt you feel that won't let you lose another friend. Won't let Sunny lose another friend.

It also explains why Sunny never confessed the truth earlier. Much like how the twist is a shock to us, it's a shock to Sunny as well. It's something he buried deep in his mind, barely clawing itself out once he reunites with his friends. And once he does know it, he either kills himself so it never escapes or confesses, because it's his responsibility for everyone to know that they were never responsible for what happened at all, he is. In doing this, he sacrifices any chance for him to keep in touch with anyone, because even if he moved, his friends still wanted to keep in touch. This is why Basil's suicide's Hikikomori route is probably the most selfish because it's more than likely that despite what's happened he'll still manage to keep his friends.

But why would Sunny care about them? Because we do. Sunny's losing his friends so they can get closure. Sunny's becoming alone again so they can stop thinking that they lead to Mari's death. To root against Sunny is to root against everyone getting what they deserve.

Tl;dr: Every emotion we feel while playing the game for the first time is something Sunny feels.

[gay-jesus-probably]

Ngl my best friend and I are doing a kind of rewrite of totk for fun and like. We had a more nuanced story in around thirty minutes, and I kind of want to work on it more. Here's the thing though, it's so easy to write this as a good story because it has so much potential, and it's like you said!! Taken at face value it's so boring!! I'm genuinely so frustrated with this!!

I know, right? Something I've noticed is that like literally anytime I mention the story being kinda shit, it takes like maybe a minute for people to look at the existing setup and think of something more interesting. Like, I briefly complained about the boring writing in a youtube comment, and I've seen three different people reply to that with more compelling takes on the story using very minor fixes. There's just so many bad decisions in the writing, I have no idea how the fuck Nintendo thought this was acceptable.

I mean goddamn, even putting aside all of the Everything with the imperialism in the memories, the memories existing at all is a horrible decision! They seriously made a role playing game where 95% of the story occurs in the past, where the only involvement the player has is our character being namedropped a few times. It worked in BOTW, because Link was there the whole fucking time, and also the memories WEREN'T the story - that was everything leading up to the actual plot kicking off! If a player just totally ignored the memories, the only real consequence was that you didn't really get to know Zelda! If you ignore the memories in TOTK, you are missing the entire fucking plot.

It's such an easy fix too, I mean ffs if the ancient past is where everything interesting is going to happen, just send Link and Zelda back in time together. Link can actually interact with the story and characters, he can develop his own beef with Ganondorf instead of them literally having nothing to do with each other beyond other people saying they should fight, and it'd fix the gaping plot hole of literally all the Sheikah tech being gone - none of it's been built yet. The story could take Link through working with the Sages, finding a way to heal the decayed Master Sword - fuck, he could even wield the ancient Master Sword in its place while he's in the past! They fight Ganon, seal him away, then for the grand finale Link and Zelda return to the modern day Hyrule shortly after they left, and discover it's basically an apocalypse kicking off, because why would Ganon bother to just wait for his enemies to get ready to stop him, he can just go apeshit the second he's free of the seal. This works in story, but also excuses the finale having some railroading - the chaos of the apocalypse stops Link from going off track, ensuring the devs don't need to put in the entire BOTW map just for that one finale sequence. Link retrieves the formerly decayed Master Sword from wherever he left it to heal for the last ten thousand years, and then him and Zelda go fuck up Ganon together, for real this time. Bam, problem solved. Link's in the actual plot, Zelda gets to actually exist for more of the story than just the ending cutscene, there's a reason for the map being completely different, and the Sheikah tech isn't just retconned into non-existence. Fuck, they could explain the runes being gone as just Zelda dropping the Sheikah Slate in the chaos before being yeeted into the past, or the slate being hit by Gloom and destroyed as well. Also, the expanded list of monsters and old monsters having different designs to include the new horns makes sense; they're ten thousand years in the past, of course things are different. Yeah it'd suck that we wouldn't really get to see the characters from BOTW, but... come on. They barely did anything with them anyways.

Alternatively, they could just do the story in the past with Zelda as the player character, if they're that hellbent on ensuring Link isn't allowed to do anything. It'd be a really cool twist! They wouldn't even need to change the gameplay that much, it's been years since the Calamity and Zelda's been travelling around with Link the whole time, it makes perfect sense that she would have learned how to fight over the years, and Link teaching her would give her a very similar fighting style.

It would have been so easy to give the game a more interesting story, it's just embarrassing that they fucked it up so badly.

[yuurivoice]

Hi! I don't know if this counts as profound but I got stuck in my creative feels so figured I would share. I create a different kind of media to your awesome work, but writing's still involved.

When I start out with a story idea, I often find it being completely derailed by the characters, the more I write them, the more I get to know them, until they eventually start writing the story themselves.

Does this ever happen to you? And if so, how do you stop them from running away with it a little too much?

That's a great question, and I've talked about it a bit before because it is definitely not the way I think most people expect writers to write, I think. lol So for me, BitterSweet is a great example of how sometimes I let my stories reveal themselves to me as I go. I may go into it with a rough idea and an outline, but BitterSweet started off as "Rival for listener's affection arrives in town, creates conflict, leads to two different routes people can listen to." and we ended up nowhere NEAR that.

As I was writing Seth's introduction to the listener, it was the first time I was sinking my teeth into him and getting to know him. Up until that point it was just "he used to do crime with Alphonse and he feels like he got sold out" but I'm big on motivations, set ups, and payoffs...and his arrival didn't have enough stank on it. lmfao

As I approached the "I don't hate him, I love him" reveal gears just started turning and ideas started flooding into my head and it was exciting. Writing, sometimes, is sorta like playing a rogue-like game for me. Never know what loot you're gonna get, or what is behind the next door. At least, when establishing the story and characters.

Once I got to BS3 I was much more deliberate and my process was outlined pretty thoroughly. I made some detours (background on Charlie wasn't planned, but people's interest in him made me pivot to an entry with the Al/Seth/Charlie story) and ran into some massive decisions, but those were all primarily choices left up to me vs. letting characters show me the way.

I don't think I've necessarily ran into any character running away too much, or straying so far off the beaten path I felt like I had to wrangle them. Even if sometimes it's inconvenient for me, they haven't led me astray yet! The issue I find is that sometimes I am too ambitious in scope, or underestimate the time and effort required to see things through to the end. Sometimes that's just on me being exhausted and struggling mentally, sometimes I just get bored, sometimes I need to move on to other stuff because of timing.

So, when I'm first learning a character and discovering what makes them tick and how they fit into what I'm trying to do they definitely get in the driver's seat for a while. Once they're well established in my head though, I'm much more likely to outline, write, perform, and post without having to make many adjustments.

Now, in terms of structure and plot, that also changes as I go sometimes. For example with the spooky season AUs, I outlined three parts for each boy, and basically after the first script in each I was like...yeah okay so this needs to be tweaked. It wasn't entirely because of character, more so I didn't really know what I wanted to do with those stories until I was in the thick of things. I might go in with a plan, but as I discover what characters really want to say, how they want to act, etc. it might not necessarily reflect what I thought the plan was. Thankfully it's never TOO far off from where we were trying to go, so it's just a matter of shuffling and planning. The AUs probably didn't help a ton because while they're familiar characters, they're also entirely different in terms of motivations and situations so I have to familiarize myself with them as if they're new.

tldr: Yeah I'm changing and adapting all the time to what the characters want to do vs. what I thought we were going to do. From little things to massive things like...oh, they were lovers, oh they were best friends, oh he nearly killed someone for him, oh he's terrified of who he was and has a shitload of trauma, oh he's healing because he's been shown unconditional love, oh he's learned how to show that love to others, oh they're like a little family now.

It's beautiful because it's coming right out of my heart and soul, rather than my brain. The deepest parts of me wanted to tell that story and I didn't even know. That's art, and I didn't even know I could do that.

[error480p-ch3]

Retro Review: Fable

One of the best Adventure Role Playing Games on Xbox, Fable is a beautiful open-world fantasy game with elements that couldn’t compare to other games. Fable was so unique where almost every move you made had its own consequences good or bad. You truly molded your life with the actions you made from a child to an elder.

Humble Beginnings In the world of Albion there’s always evil about, whether it’s your average everyday bandits stealing goods from the farm, giant hornets terrorizing a picnic, annoying hobbes causing havoc and chaos, or an even greater evil that threatened all of the world and only one hero could take them down. Although there are many heroes in the world of Albion, some heroes can turn out to be great and powerful, evil or good, arrogant or modest. In fact there is a guild of heroes where people train and learn how to become heroes, but even if you are a student from the guild you still must prove to people that you’re a hero, you must earn their respect. As a child growing up you already make small choices that can lead you into becoming an evil or good hero, eventually growing up and either correcting the evil of your ways and becoming more good or vice versa.

Gameplay Fable’s gameplay is intensely different compared to most roleplay games. As simple village boy making ‘innocent’ decisions can lead to you becoming evil or good, from smashing a farmer’s barrels or protecting them. As you get older you’ll see there are even more elements that lead to your rise as an evil or good person, such as eating live chicken or being a vegan. Seriously, eating tofu and vegetables will lead you to being a good person, but eating well also leads to being physically fit and well. As your character ages, you see their hair becoming grey and skin wrinkling, sunburns and battle scars.

The armor you wear affects villagers. Will they fear you, or look up to you or even love you? The ladies seem to love your mutton chops and bald head, even some of the men. You can perhaps gift a special lady some flowers and even propose to them. Fable is literally a role playing game, you create a life with your hero and you watch them grow as they get through their mission and fulfill their destiny. Battles are engaging, fun, and intense. You fight your battles in your own style, are you a rogue who can sneak past enemies and get a perfect headshot on them with your, maybe you’re a warrior who’ll hammer their heads open, or perhaps a mage who can unleash their fury electrocuting every enemy rapidly. Of course why not be all three. You level up depending on three major factors, skill, strength, and will. Depending on how often you use the factors you gain more experience in that area. For example, if you plan to become an all powerful mage, using willpower as often as you can will lead to you gaining more experience in that section along with general experience which can go into all three factors while leveling up. Each factor has so many different options while leveling up and it almost feels endless.

What Makes Fable a Classic? Something unique about Fable was when choose side quests, each quest had a good version and evil version. If there is a quest to protect a farm from bandits, you also had a choice to help out the bandits instead. You were also able to boast or bet with villagers and do daring things such as go into battle with armor for extra gold and more attention which is crucial as hero. After some quests you received a trophy whether it was the head of your enemy or a special item from someone, you’d have to show it off to villagers so they know that you were the one who slayed or conquered something. It was never a situation of you’re the hero and everyone knew that, you had to earn that respect by protecting people or killing them and shoving it in their faces.

Fable is definitely different than the Fable games we have now, and because of that it’s worth checking out. It’s quite a gem, a good one at that. This was one of the most amazing role playing games I’ve ever come across as a gamer. Creating your own hero good or evil, earning your respect instead of just being ‘the hero’ that everyone supposedly knew. Villagers with interesting quirky personalities, stories that traders would tell you as you protected them, an intense storytelling that felt vivid and caught your attention. A roleplaying game at it’s finest at its time and still is today. While you can still play the Xbox Original Fable, If visuals matter to you or it’s more convenient for you, there is Fable Anniversary which is basically an HD Remastered Fable done in the unreal engine.

[single-malt-scotch]

ok well. floodgates opened.

​tbh the main things thats been on my mind in terms of meta discussion has been how Gem talked about how much of a 'yes and' guy Bdubs is and how hes good at it.

i donno man! i donno why this is so on my mind. of course i love Bdubs so any compliments towards the man makes me happy. but from my view of 1) writing fic 2) breaking down meta 3) analyzing how he acts in settings esp Life series..... the blatant compliment and acknowledgement of his improvising nice but also interesting to hear! Honestly there is very little said openly about 'improv' in these things (Impulse mentioned it in his behind the scenes stream too). something i wish was talked of more as i would love to hear their thoughts (....esp Bdubs)

and taking a look at Bdubs specifically to apply this knowledge to.... I think me and many others are pretty aware of how much Bdubs puts on an act. He's not a character in that sense of different name/history/personality/etc etc. He's Him, he's Bdubs, and hes outstanding at playing his role. But what I like to think about is- where is the line between unexpected reaction and willing improv? Gem goes into Limlife knowing it'd be funny to say Scar is her favorite son, and do so more as Bdubs gets annoyed. Okay, yes, they're all playing their little family game and of course Bdubs knows Gem is doing A Thing by saying Scar is her favorite.

But you know we know it's not just one and the other right? What is so lovely about the format of MCYT that you struggle to get anywhere else is you don't know half the time which is which because they fade into eachother constantly. Maybe there was a laugh at the initial 'scar is my favorite', but maybe then there was a genuine 'hey hold on why are you only talking about scar?', and a realization of 'oh okay, ill play into this'. That is the flow Bdubs can fall into so naturally. Gem knew she was giving bait, and Bdubs took it because its what he does best.

Last Life has so many examples even if it may seem like Bdubs is leading many times. From their arguments in the snow fort to Grian's conversation leading to "he loves me". His outbursts and impulsiveness and every seemingly stupid decision. To be clear, its not the 'yes and' attitude making him do something stupid, its the 'yes and' that follows after. He slides into it so well. Ren the king arc? oh don't even get me started.

And.. honestly? Etho's whole dynamic with Bdubs IS a "yes and" to me. The whole thing. Bdubs will ALWAYS fall back to Etho because Etho's actions offers up a "yes and" in Bdubs eyes that he will have to feed on. With every tease, every comment, every push. Its like Bdubs has to run with it every time because its what he does from his perspective of improv. and theyve been friends for ten years. and they just cant not fuck with each other. the cycle.

ok i think thats enough

[ga-yuu]

This thought suddenly just came to me... You know how in old times not just in japan - education wasn't available for everyone. And that some grows old illiterate? I'm curious about the academic background of the ikegen characters. Or simply saying how smart they are, not just the street smarts or relying on luck. But in the academic aspect. What do you think? Do you think you can judge suitors on their intelligence - am I using the right term? I hope I don't sound offensive.

Of course I already know the likes of Yoritomo, Kagetoki, Akihito and Yasuchika are like super smart. But I'm curious about the others.

Education is something that is not very clear about the characters so this is based on what I found when I played through the stories and different story events. Also, note that I don't know much about the Japanese education system now or what it was like during the Heian period, so I'm basically guessing here.

So let's start with Yoshino. Since she is a commoner, she is only provided with basic education like reading and writing. In addition to that, she used to be an apprentice pharmacist (which was mentioned in the prologue) and learned medicine. In the game, I think it's common for commoners to be illiterate because there is a scene in Akihito's route where Ibuki finds Yoshino reading a history book in a library and was quite impressed that she can read. Yoshino doesn't really know that much about politics or arts or even poetry or music (basically these were the things people learned during that time), so usually Kagetoki educates her about war and how they do things. Not only that, but he also educates her about the history of the Shogunate, how samurai came to be, military tactics etc etc etc...you can see that in many routes. So in a way, she is knowledgeable. We don't see her strategizing for war and all like Kagetoki does or playing political games like Yoritomo, but in her own field, she is very knowledgeable. I'm talking about her medical field.

Yoshitsune was raised in a monk temple. He received his swordsmanship and martial arts training from Kurama as they explained in his story but I'm sure Kurama isn't really bothered about teaching him how to read or write. So I guess he got his basic education from the Monk Temple where he was living because Buddhist temples are one place where education takes place in the Heian period. After he came under Yoritomo, I feel like while living with him, he may have learned a thing or two about politics by reading books and consulting Yoritomo. So yeah. Although not good as Yoritomo, I think Yoshitsune is smart in strategizing war-related stuff. I've never seen him do anything politically related, so I can't say how good he is in that department.

Benkei could be same as Yoshitsune. He used to be a monk at first, so he must have received his basic education there. Later I guess he got more experience after he started going to war. He's able to make smart decisions and strategies things. I think 'experience' play a big role for almost all the characters.

In Yoichi and Shigehira's case, I think they both received their education from their own homes and monk temples. I can't think anywhere else. Although, Shigehira to this day, still learns new things about politics and military strategy when gets free time because he wants to revive his clan from the dead. Kagetoki is also his teacher and in return, he teaches Kagetoki how to play biwa (which will make your ears bleed)

Sueharu.....um...I don't know.

Morinaga....it's not so clear tbh. So my guess is again.....monk temple? I'm sorry, I know it feels like I'm trying to escape your question by using 'monk temples' for every single character...but I don't know for sure because they don't make it clear. Every character's past involves them being related to another male lead and that's it. For some characters, they don't even show their own family, for example, Morinaga has a family (parents and siblings), they mention it but they don't show them. Ibuki also I guess, has family. They mention it but they don't show it. Akihito also has a family. They mention it, but they killed his father and....I guess that's good. But that at least show that Akihito received his education in private under his great-grandfather's orders. He also had a private tutor. So yeah. They don't necessarily show their educational background that much. And I'm not going to start talking about the demons. They learned on their own I guess. I'm they have centuries in their hands, they can learn whatever they want.

So my final conclusion is all the characters a basically smart in their own field, including the MC.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

Here's mine!

Rook: Juniper Aldwir, a dalish elf mage, I mostly went for the direct/aggressive dialogue options with a few of the more positive/nicer or joke-y options in companion convos. I went with the spellblade specialization and ended up loving it after a rough mage start. I also played arcane warrior/knight enchanter my first DAO and DAI runs though so. lmao. i have a type.

Faction: Veil jumpers! How could I not go with the scientific study of weird magic group... I've decided she's more on the geography and cartography side of the profession rather than mechanics/tinkering like Bellara, which is why she's not the one fixing the broken objects you encounter herself. I imagine she's the one drawing maps of all the places you go, making notes of interesting landmarks/items, etc. the crossroads drives her insane (bc it drives ME insane) because of the weird half reality half fade logic to the locations, travel, etc.

Companions/NPCs: My go to companion squad was Lucanis and Davrin or Taash for the best combos/fighting, and Emmrich because I enjoyed his comments/character a lot too. NPC wise, of course finally seeing FELASSAN!!! was great and he got so much more content and dialogue than I expected. was cheering every time i found another codex entry from him, and the Betrayal fight ruled. otherwise, like most everyone else i LOOOOVEEEE Teai & Viagos Divorced Energy... i'm obsessed. And then Antoine & Evka for actually wholesome, and Vorgoth bc idk wtf is up there but its sexy. but also THE CARETAKER what IS it... i have so many questions... that i will be filling in with weird headcanons probably. I also liked listening in on the two fledgling crows on the balcony who have a ton of unique banters, and a couple other npc banter points idk how to describe lmao. Some of the spirit ones in the crossroads I wish we got more of.

Romance: Lucanis my BELOVED obviously i am doing... an insane amount of lucanisposting lately... yeah I've got the full brainworms. even though the game itself was lacking in content my neurons are instead working overtime to try to fill in everything the game left out

Major decisions: I saved Treviso because Minrathous JUST had its turn being saved, shouldn't they like??? be mobilizing the ARMY they actually have over there by now??? they should have been better prepared idk what else to say. insane it got hit a 3rd time at the end anyway so i stand by my choice in picking Antiva. As for the companion endings, I felt most didn't really make a difference to me, with the exception of Emmrich. I kept manfred on this run becuase I was NOT ready to say goodbye to my gentle skeleton son 😭 next game i will romance Emmrich and make him a lich tho. As for the ending... I sent Harding to lead the second squad and Neve was the one who got mirror-kidnapped. Whcih did leave for an absolutely devastating post-Nightmare-In-Dreamland fade sequence where Rook suddenly had NONE of the companions she started the game with. Getting hit with losing Harding, losing Neve, and then the realization that Varric had been dead the whole time definitely makes for some angsty roleplay opportunity, though I do wanna replay it with Bellara in the final position just so I can watch her stand up to the gods, because i think that'd be pretty great. Ending-wise: I'm a Solavellan fool who's been pining for a real life decade now almost so I of course went for that lmao. I will play through all the other options just for the drama of it all, and probably come up with some adjusted exact sequence for how things go as a headcanon, but yeah.

again pls feel free to reblog & add yours, i've really liked reading about the couple who've answered so far :))))

ok i know ive been doing a lot of bitching about the game etc but putting that aside for a moment. Now that more people have finished Veilguard, I'm curious about people's first playthroughs!

What kind of Rook did you make (lineage, class, dialogue personality options, etc)?

What faction did you play as?

Fave companions and npc's?

Who did you romance?

The major choices--what'd you do? (which city, saved, notable companion routes you strongly prefer, what went down in act 3 and endgame...)

Any particular missions/lore you were excited about?

you don't have to be a mutual to reply to/reblog this! im just curious what we all veered to for the first run. i'm doing a second one now making different choices but it's interesting to compare people's first instincts.

[newronantic]

HAIKYUU!! FICS

so this is mostly gonna be for myself to keep track of my favorite fics i’ve read, but hey if anyone else wants to check some of these out then thats great

MHA one is up!!

ill keep updating this as i read more, feel free to send me suggestions!

KageHina

plain as day - emleewrites

In which Hinata has spent the better part of the last twenty years putting his heart and soul into volleyball, hoping to be recognised, to be noticed. And yet he spends all these years also thinking of himself as rather plain, beyond his lack of height and bright hair, and not really noticeable at all.

In Transit - Mysecretfanmoments

Hinata finds that he likes standing close to Kageyama on buses and trains. It doesn't mean anything--probably. Maybe.

I like the way your clothes smell - Mysecretfanmoments

Power outages, ghost stories, and the presence of a certain orange-haired boy lead to bad decision-making on Tobio's part. He'd planned to keep his crush a secret; the universe has other plans.

Chaotic Neutral - akaraka

Who's this Kageyama person on twitter and is he gay?

1: Anonymous: see title

2: Anonymous: curry king

3: Anonymous >> 1: It's the curry king, obviously. Have you been using his memes this whole time without knowing who he was?

4: Anonymous: 1) Hinata Shouyou's boyfriend 2) See above

jellyfish - mysterytwin

At the beginning of his last year at Karasuno High School, Hinata Shouyou starts a list and calls it THINGS TO DO BEFORE GRADUATION, all with high hopes that he’ll be able to complete it before his time runs out.

TsukkiYama

Try This On For Size - CloudMonsta

A lot changed for Yamaguchi Tadashi over the course of high school. He started trying on dresses, for one.

The Great Yamaguchi-Tsukishima Split (Capitalization Necessary) - WyYeuw

"But no, the current situation isn’t normal. This situation requires the full attention of the team.

No, what’s really concerning this time around, is that Yamaguchi is the one ignoring Tsukishima.”

Yamaguchi confesses. Tsukishima fucks up—like, really fucks up. The volleyball club notices and loses a week’s worth of practice.

IwaOi

Terrarium - sausaged

He's practically a professional at being proactive (lies, lies, and lies when it comes to Iwaizumi).

At this point, is he really happy with just staying best friends forever? Will he be writing journals and collecting rocks forever (he will, he knows, but that is aside from the point)?

Can he really tag his Instagram photos with #YOLO if he doesn't actually put that phrase into practice?

A story about Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime, plants, and rocks.

They Say it Rain Diamonds on Jupiter - exsao

"You're in love with him."

Hajime considers denying it. He considers deliberately choking on his drink to express surprise, to create a distraction by spitting onto the man in front of him's pristine white shirt and causing a commotion. Instead, he swallows his mouthful of soda and heaves a small sigh once his mouth is free.

"Yeah," he says instead.

He's never been good at lying, anyway.

bait and switch - Stylographic_Blue_Rhapsody

Oikawa's university volleyball team knows he's in a long-distance relationship with someone from high school. They imagine a sweet-faced girl that matches his sarcasm with patience. They are so incredibly wrong.

my heart is where it’s always been - foreverautumn

Iwaizumi places his phone down carefully.

Oikawa. Pining after someone. There’s no way.

(Iwaizumi knows he shouldn’t care who Oikawa might have feelings for, but within the span of three days, it’s somehow the only thing he can think about.)

KuroKen

Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life - todxrxki

Kuroo Tetsurou runs a private Twitter account where he's constantly tweeting about how desperately in love he is with Kozume Kenma. Little does he know that Kenma sees all the tweets and keeps referencing the account in an attempt to get Kuroo to confess to him. / Or, five times Kuroo didn't notice Kenma hinting about his private Twitter account, and one time he finally did.

the things that get caught in the valves of his heart - ghostpot

Emotional competency is not exactly Kuroo's strong suit. Kenma finds it quite amusing.

Accidentally In Love - todxrxki

Kuroo frowns, but then slowly, the corners of his mouth lift up into a smirk. "Well, if it's so unbelievable, why don't we give it a try?"

Kenma glances up at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Let's do the 36 questions to fall in love," Kuroo says, still smirking stupidly. "If we don't fall in love, then you're right, it's bullshit. But if we do somehow..." Kuroo waggles his eyebrows. "Then I win." / Kuroo decides he and Kenma should do the 36 questions to fall in love as a joke, but they both start to realize they might actually be in love already.

the galaxy is endless (i thought we were, too) - cosmogony

TW: major character death

Kuroken AU where the last words your soulmate will say to you appear on your skin when you turn 16, and how Kenma and Kuroo learn what this means over the course of their lives

even if you’re ahead for a bit, i will catch up - ghostpot

Kuroo first confesses when they're sticky-fingered, wide-eyed kids, and subsequently every day after that. Kenma takes a while to come around.

you’re the brake lines failing (as my car swerves off the freeway) - ghostpot

Kenma thinks that Kuroo looks ugly with his head bent against the arm of the couch like that. Then Kenma thinks that he wants to marry him, and is promptly thrown into the 5 stages of grief.

teach me the way home - icespyders

“Don’t go far off, not even for a day, because —

because — I don’t know how to say it: a day is long

and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station

when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.”

Kuroo and Kenma grow up in transit.

in this universe - crossbelladonna

Living with Kuroo is sometimes, just like this. It always feels surreal like he's living half a world and a lot of things rush by too quickly. Kenma feels like he'd watched him come and go in a blink, eyes wide and wordless as the shared space went snug in an instant and far larger in the next.

All this, and a glass of water.

Beginning’s End - todxrxki

Somehow over the course of Kenma's lifetime, he’s never really had an opportunity to miss Kuroo. He’s always been there. Even when they went to different schools, Kuroo would meet him afterwards so they could walk home together, shoulders brushing, Kuroo occasionally taking the opportunity to guide him when his nose was buried in the newest video game. The thought of Kuroo not being there anymore is uncomfortable, to say the least. / Kozume Kenma's third year and the changes the year brings in himself and his relationship with Kuroo Tetsurou.

All I Want for Christmas is You - todxrxki

“Kuro,” he says. “You’re a single guy.”

“Yeah, great, thanks for pointing that out.”

“And my parents already know you, plus they already know you like guys or whatever so… what if you pretended to be my date for Christmas dinner?” / In which Kenma recruits his housemate and best friend Kuroo to be his fake date for Christmas.

BokuAka

just to miss the sun - rosevtea

Everything begins to implode when MSBY Jackals outside hitter Bokuto Koutarou crashes Akaashi's livestream.

Operation BokuAka - kazzydolyn

After spending two whole years watching Bokuto and Akaashi pine for one another, the rest of the Fukuroudani Volleyball Club has had enough. When everyone meets up for a reunion dinner, the team decides to play matchmaker and finally get the two of them together. Unfortunately, their plan starts to fall apart when they discover that Akaashi is already dating someone. And apparently so is Bokuto. What a strange coincidence.

bitter - silvercistern

He accepted his classmate's chocolates gracefully, then declared his lack of interest with as much dignity as he could muster. She deserved the courtesy. At least she'd acknowledged that Valentine's Day was all about her, and not about him in the slightest.

Because if any of these girls had taken the time to actually get to know him, they’d quickly realize something even more important than his lack of interest in girls.

And that was that Akaashi hated sweets.

In Another Life - LittleLuxray

TW: major character death

Sleeping didn't come as easy as it used to. Bokuto knew this, and now Akaashi did, too.

The hospital AU that no body asked for, but that I took upon myself to write.

120% yes - pissedofsandwich

TOKYO FRANCHISE COMING SOON @OnigiriMiya

in reply to @bokkun_official 

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Kissing Ace - karasunovolleygays

It happens right after training camp.

Akaashi Keiji has a secret he has guarded since he was a child. He won’t go so far as to call it a fear, but more of an aspect of himself of which he is horribly mortified. No one on the team knows about it, and Akaashi does his best to keep it that way.

But years of dodging hugs and casual contact come to naught in the blink of an eye and the swipe of a hand.

daisy rings and frivolous things (i am deliriously in love with you) - gabstar

Akaashi Keiji is in love. Bokuto Koutarou is a star. Everyone on Fukurodani has a gambling problem.

SakuAtsu

The MSBY Black Jackals Read Thirst Tweets - isaksara (syailendra)

Sakusa’s eyes are very dark naturally, sucking in all surrounding rays of light and crushing them in his pupils. For an athlete, he is rather pale. His lips look very pink in comparison. Atsumu is suddenly catastrophically aware that in this instance, ‘accent’ is a euphemism. “Good enough for your Olympic-size ego, Miya?”

(In which Atsumu realizes that he is attracted to Sakusa Kiyoomi in the most inconvenient way possible.)

A Liar’s Truth - internetpistol

In which Sakusa Kiyoomi is raised to believe that gay people go to hell but then takes one look at Miya Atsumu and thinks, then why the hell did God make them so fucking hot?

[writerofthecourt]

reciprocal

pairing: sakusa kiyoomi x reader

summary: for the past few days, the injuries on sakusa’s body couldn’t just be attributed to his soulmate’s clumsiness anymore. it was up to him to figure out the truth of the matter

warning: some references to bullying, some blood and injury

a/n: if this story seems familiar to anyone, it’s because i had a quotev account back in the day that used this same premise with different haikyuu character

Bruises and scrapes were a common sight that littered Sakusa’s body. With a soulmate such as yourself, it was no surprise to anyone that Itachiyama’s ace was usually painted black and blue from his injuries.

Soulmate bonds were both a blessing and a curse. To be so intimately connected to someone to the point of sharing and manifesting their pain was the tragic beauty of having a soulmate. Some people found this to be romantic, while others found it to be a liability. For Sakusa, it was more of a nuisance than anything, considering your unique ability to be so undeniably clumsy.

For the past few days, the injuries on Sakusa’s body were becoming much more frequent and annoying, especially since they were starting to become a hindrance during volleyball practice. When he had asked you about this issue, you had just smiled and pretended to be clueless. His worrying only lessened once you had repeatedly assured him that you were fine and sent him off to practice with a peck on the cheek.

Of course, everything would have been fine if it wasn’t for the pain now igniting from his right shoulder. The pain was so great that Sakusa felt his knees hit the floor, his hand clutching the spot where the pain was radiating from. Practice immediately halted as his teammates gathered around in worry.

Komori was the first one to reach him as he kneeled next to the ace. “Are you all right, Sakusa?”

“I’m fine,” Sakusa managed to say, though that was a complete lie. His shoulder felt like it had been set ablaze, and the wince on his face wasn’t convincing anyone.

“Maybe you should sit out for the rest of practice, Sakusa,” Iizuna calmly suggested.

“I said I’m fine. Let’s just get back to practice.”

Reaching out for Komori’s hand, Sakusa hoisted himself back to his feet and returned to his place on the court. Soon enough, everyone else began to follow his lead.

“I wonder what that was all about,” Sakusa heard his captain mumble.

“[Y/N]-chan probably fell or something,” Komori tried to rationalize before noticing the confused look on Iizuna’s face. “Oh, [Y/N]-chan is Sakusa’s soulmate, and she’s super clumsy. Don’t worry, this is normal for them…I think.”

“If you say so…but make sure Sakusa checks up on his soulmate. Just in case.”

Sakusa couldn’t help but scoff as he tuned out the rest of Komori and Iizuna’s conversation. He didn’t need to be told to check up on you, he was already planning to have a ‘little’ talk with you sometime tomorrow, and he was expecting answers.

Returning his attention back to practice, Sakusa tried to focus on his spikes and not the wave of concern that washed over him when his mind drifted off to the thought of you.

At the beginning of lunch the very next day, Sakusa promptly left his seat and made his way down the hall to your classroom. Loudly sliding the door open, a few students jumped in surprise and fear as Sakusa glared into the room, searching for his target. Spotting you at your desk, he quickly marched in and took a hold of your wrist, dragging you away to a remote corner of the hallway.

“Kiyoomi, you’re hurting me!” you said as he trapped you against the wall. Realizing that the pain was beginning to manifest on his own wrist, Sakusa immediately let go of your arm, but his glare stayed ever present.

“What happened?” he demanded more than asked.

“I-I don’t know what you mean.”

Not wanting to play this game, Sakusa brought up his hands and started to undo the first few buttons of your uniform top without a single word.

“Kiyoomi!” you whispered indignantly as your face began to heat up in embarrassment.

Ignoring your protests, Sakusa pulled the sleeve of your shirt down to reveal your right shoulder. His eyes widened in shock before anger overtook his pretty features. Your skin, once beautiful and perfect, was now decorated with a dark purple bruise. He had seen the same discolouration on his own shoulder earlier that morning when he was getting dressed, but he didn’t want to believe it.

He raised a hand to gently brush his fingers against the injury, but he immediately retreated once he saw your face contort in slight pain.

“I guess there was really no point in trying to hide it, huh?” he heard you say.

“What happened?” Sakusa repeated in a lighter tone this time, now looking at you with gentle concern.

Sakusa saw something spiral within your eyes before you diverted your gaze, suddenly finding the floor to be much more interesting. He lowered his hand and laced his fingers with yours. If not for the current situation, he would have mused about how perfectly your hand seemed to fit in his.

“[Y/N], tell me what happened.”

“I-I bumped my shoulder against a shelf while cleaning up my room yesterday,” you mumbled as you started to play with your sleeves, a habit of yours whenever you lied.

“You don’t get a bruise this big just by bumping into something,” he reasoned with a frown.

“It just happened, okay?” you snapped quickly.

“I don’t see why you just won’t tell me!” Sakusa retorted angrily, now matching your tone. “You’re supposed to-”

“Kiyoomi!” you shouted, and Sakusa felt himself slightly taken aback with shock. “Just trust me, okay? I can handle this myself. I don’t want to keep relying on you for everything, so just trust me!”

“…Fine,” Sakusa conceded after a moment of silence.

Feeling agitated and defeated, Sakusa backed away from the wall before letting out a frustrated sigh. As he began to walk away, he suddenly felt something knock itself into his back. Your arms locked around his stomach as you leaned your head against his back.

“Thank you,” you whispered. “Thank you for trusting me, Kiyoomi.”

Turning around to give you a proper hug, Sakusa securely wrapped his arms around your waist and rested his chin on top of your head, not at all minding the possible germs that came from this interaction. You were always worth it.

“You really are a lot of trouble, you know that?” Sakusa sighed while rubbing circles on the small of your back.

“I love you too,” you giggled.

Using the tip of your toes to reach him, you pulled down Sakusa’s mask and gave your soulmate a quick farewell kiss. After fixing his mask and your shirt, you sent Sakusa a small smile and wave before walking off to class. On the way back to his own classroom, Sakusa couldn’t help but wonder if he had made the right decision.

“No,” Sakusa tried to convince himself. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

Sakusa hated days when you had cleaning duties. It meant that you couldn’t walk with him to practice. His schedule was always busy, so Sakusa tried to spend as much time with you as possible, even if it was something as simple as holding your hand while walking to volleyball practice.

“And then he said, ‘What will you have after 500 years?’ And Mark was like—you aren’t even listening to me, are you?” Komori asked with an exasperated sigh, finally noticing that Sakusa’s attention was elsewhere.

“I can’t find my math notebook,” Sakusa replied plainly, still focused on rifling through his bag.

Komori paused for a moment before snapping his fingers in realization. “Didn’t you lend it to [Y/N]-chan at lunch today?”

Sakusa’s eyes lifted from his bag when he realized he had lent you his notebook. It wasn’t in his character to let anyone borrow his belongings, so whenever he did lend you something, it usually escaped his memory.

Sakusa muttered a low curse. “I’ll be back in five minutes.”

Komori only grinned in amusement before walking off to the gym on his own. “All right, I’ll see you soon.”

Nodding his head, Sakusa turned back towards the school. If he had to guess, you would have to be done cleaning up the classroom by now, meaning that he’d have to hurry if he wanted to catch you in time.

Hurrying down the halls and up the stairs, Sakusa soon found himself turning the corner that led towards the second year classrooms. Although there was no one in sight, Sakusa picked up on the quiet murmur of some voices, along with girls’ laughter. He thought nothing of it until a large crash captured his attention, and everything turned dead silent. At that moment, Sakusa felt the air being knocked out of his lungs as pain jolted throughout his body, and he almost staggered off his feet to the ground.

That could only mean one thing.

Running to the classroom, Sakusa saw a sight that had his blood boiling like never before, and he felt his mind go numb. He didn’t even notice how his nails were slightly drawing blood, as he only felt rage at that moment.

You were lying on the floor, blood pouring from the cut on your head that you had probably received from being pushed against the desks. Three girls surrounded your unconscious body, looking around frantically and panicking at the turn of events.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Sakusa managed to shout out.

“S-Sakusa-san!” one of the girls jumped. “W-we were just playing around, honestly! We never meant for this to happen!”

“I’m not in the mood for your excuses,” he said before his expression turned dark. “Leave, now.”

In an instance, the girls were gone, shivering in fright as they ran off. Sakusa felt himself calm down a bit after releasing a shaky breath, but he soon felt his rage reignite when he saw that the wound on your head was still bleeding profusely.

Kneeling next to your body, Sakusa hoisted you up and began his trip to the nurse’s office. In the middle of his maneuvering, you had quietly woken up and reached for his forehead where blood was spilling from the same wound.

“Kiyoomi, you’re bleeding…”

“And why do you think that is?!” Sakusa snapped at the mention of your matching wounds.

Ignoring his comment, you chose to ask where you were going.

“The nurse’s office to fix your idiotic mistake,” he replied harshly.

After arriving at the office, the nurse gave you and Sakusa a questioning look, but she said nothing as she swiftly wrapped and bandaged your injuries. She soon left for a faculty meeting, leaving you at the mercy of a very angry soulmate.

You sat against the headboard of the office’s medical bed, while Sakusa stood across from you with his arms crossed and a glare on his face. His mask was no longer present, having been abandoned, as it had been contaminated by the blood of his injury.

“So,” you began. “Lovely weather we’re having…”

“That’s not funny, [Y/N]. Now, start explaining.”

“All right, all right,” you sighed. “I guess it started a few days ago. At first, they were small favours, like buying them a few drinks. Then the favours became more demanding…I tried to tell them today that I wasn’t going to be their little servant anymore, but you know how that turned out…”

“So the bruise…?” Sakusa asked inquisitively.

“Yes, it was them,” you answered quietly.

You said nothing as Sakusa continued to frown before he eventually asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because,” you started. “I knew that you would worry. You’re already so busy with school and volleyball, I didn’t want to add to your list of worries…”

“…You really are an idiot,” Sakusa mumbled before running a hand through his hair. He soon moved to sit next to you on the bed and took a hold of your hands in his. “I’m only going to say this once, so you better listen carefully. We’re soulmates for a reason. We’re supposed to be there for each other. Whenever you have a problem, we’re supposed to solve it together.

“I know that I don’t always act like it, but I care about you, a lot. So just like how I can trust you, you need to know that it’s all right to trust me. You can always depend on me to be there for you.”

When he was done with his rant, Sakusa felt his cheeks lightly flush red as he saw your blank expression. He hoped that he didn’t say too much.

“All right, Kiyoomi,” you finally said, a smile beginning to appear on your face. “No more secrets.”

Smirking in approval, Sakusa leaned in and lifted a hand to tilt your pretty face so that you were staring directly into his eyes. His voice was low and seductive as his thumb lightly brushed against the corner of your mouth.

“Good. Because the next time you keep a secret from me, I’m going to have to punish you.”

[hopeymchope]

That’s (mostly) a wrap on Buried Stars - some final thoughts

I’ve now reached the endings for Routes A, B, and C in Buried Stars, the mystery game/suspense visual novel which I previously wrote about in this post here. I guess there are additional “tweaks” I can make to the endings by going back and adjusting certain levels of affinity to get slightly different epilogues, but I don’t know that I have the patient to actually do all of that. I really wish someone out there had just... collected all the possible endings/epilogues into one video or something. Alas, you can barely even find videos of people’ who’ve played this game at all! So uh, I guess I won’t see any additional epilogues/ending variations beyond what I’ve already seen. I got a couple alternate versions of the endings to Routes B and A before nailing the “best” outcome, but I didn’t get all of them.

And it especially sucks because UUUUUUUUUUUUNNNH I loved this game. It’s one of those games that gets me feeling depressed and lost when it’s over, because it’s SO good and SO engaging that suddenly being without these characters and their drama has me weirdly bereft. Suffice it to say that this was another game that left me dying for more content. If there was an actual fandom out there, I’d think I’d even write fanfic for it. It was SO good. 

And even without containing nearly as much humor, I think it’s an easy contender for the “If you like Danganronpa, you might like... “ game list.

All my homies are paranoid and depressed.

In particular, I’d like to see a fic that explores the aftermath and impact of Route B’s ending. How do the eventual revelations affect the survivors, why did certain characters make the decisions they did, etc. I think that’s the most compelling Route in terms of where it could go and what exactly is going to happen.

Random aside, but I find the opening screen of the game funny with how it’s like “This game bears no resemblance to real persons living or dead, and also our pretend social media platform isn’t based on any existing real social media platform either.” Because “Phater” is quite BLATANTLY Twitter.

In fact, I have SEVERAL questions still rolling around my brain after wrapping things up. 

SPOILERS FOR ‘BURIED STARS’ BELOW THE CUT.

In Route B, what the hell was in the culprit’s note? What was his request for Do-yoon? I assume it was something like “Tell people the truth about what I did and explain the following things” or some damn thing, but I don’t know. It could’ve just as easily been the opposite and said “Tell everyone else this fake cover story for me, and then privately apologize to Hyesung.” It’s deliberately left wide open to interpretation. All we know for sure is that, whatever it was, Do-yoon didn’t feel like he could actually do it. He opted for silence and inaction. And given Do-yoon’s strong leaning towards wanting THE TRUTH and being unable to let go of knowing THE TRUTH in Route A, that feels like a weird character choice. Maybe he just lacks the confidence to face the truth in Route B, but Route A drove him to carry more strength. Even though he saw a lot more devastating things in Route A...

What the actual fuck was Route C?! I guess that’s not a serious question; I just wanted to express my irritation over how it was ultimately just nonsense. I thought it was really atmospheric and disturbing for a short while, and then it just... decides it’s never going to adhere to any logic, internal or external, and do whatever it wants. And when that happens, I rapidly lose interest in what you’re selling me. It shifted from “creepy/disturbing” to “oh, this is just random bullshit. How boring.”  Among the issues are how these hand-things don’t act like any kind of supernatural entity I’ve ever heard of, the final scene is one of those “what really happened?!” vagueass things, and — most notably to me — the whole “Repurposed Pharmaceutical Lab” angle that leads you into this Route is ultimately completely unimportant! This building could’ve just as easily been a bar/pub prior to being made a concert venue, and it’d change nothing about this route.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I realize the answer to this is probably very similar to the answers that we got for “Who is S_Seungyeon” and “Who is PlugHole,” but I still wish we’d received some answers about who Inha’s stalker actually is/was. All we know for sure is who it isn’t. I suppose that plot point was just there to serve as a red herring, but given how we wrap up damn near every other open question that’s ever raised by any of the cast, it feels weird to not have this one reach closure.

Why doesn’t anybody fucking give Seil a hug?!  He’s constantly depressed and on the verge of mental breakdown, people! Including well before anybody was grumpy about his past actions! But most especially in his best Route B epilogue. The man needs it SO damn bad.