#but mysterious because I never thought I'd an encounter a character like this ever

[taralen]

◉‿◉

To the [[ones]] out there who say all Spamton fans will move on once the new secret boss is out—let me say this:

Deltarune's next secret bosses could be the sexiest [[mfers]] I will ever lay my eyes on, but absolutely none of them will top Spamton.

Spamton is the [[near]] perfect blend of everything I like in a character and then some. A character that inspires and connects with me at a level this deep is not one easily replaced.

Will some other fans move on? Yes.

But not this one.

8^)

[deliciousangelfestival]

Let Me Love You | 3 - B. Barnes

Character: college!Bucky x Female!Reader

Summary: On a mysterious, rainy night, Bucky witnesses a distressing encounter involving his crush.

Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5 , Chapter 6 Chapter 7 ,Chapter 8.

Main Masterlist || support: Ko-fi

Thank you to everyone who has read this chapter. What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment; I'd love to hear your feedback. Thank you once again.

You and Bucky sprinted away from Lloyd, hearts pounding in sync with the rhythm of your hurried steps, the adrenaline coursing through your veins dulling the ache of exhaustion.

Pausing to catch your breath, Bucky turned to you, concern etched on his face as he asked, "Are you okay?" Your response was worn as you admitted, "No, I'm not okay. I'm exhausted. I just want to go home and hide under my blanket."

Ever the caring friend, Bucky offered to drive you back to your apartment, a gesture that elicited a heartfelt "Thank you, Bucky" from your lips.

Upon arriving at your apartment, after Bucky had kindly dropped you off, the sound of a knock on your door sent a shiver down your spine.

'Knock,Knock,'

Fear gripped you, your mind racing with thoughts of Lloyd's relentless pursuit. However, to your immense relief, Bucky stood on the other side of the door.

Returning with a thoughtful gesture, he handed you something, saying, "For you. Good food could make you feel better." Before you could utter a word of gratitude, he swiftly turned and disappeared, leaving you standing there with a mix of emotions swirling inside you.

You carefully examined what was inside the plastic, finding a comforting sight—a steaming bowl of chicken soup. Gratitude washed over you as you realized how much you needed this warmth to soothe your empty stomach.

Recalling past instances, you couldn't help but contrast Bucky's thoughtful gesture with Lloyd's indifference; he never once checked on you when you were sick. Shaking your head, you pushed those memories aside, recognizing that they belonged to a time that was now behind you.

After luxuriating in a revitalizing shower to refresh yourself, you set about warming up the soup, eager to savor its nourishing goodness.

As you took the first sip, you felt the dizziness that had plagued you begin to dissipate, replaced by a comforting sense of relief. You made a mental note to express your gratitude to Bucky again the next time you crossed paths with him.

Just as you settled down to enjoy your meal, the shrill ring of your phone pierced the air, signaling an incoming call from your mother.

'Ring'

Setting down the soup spoon, you take a moment to sip the warm water, gathering yourself before answering the incoming call. With a deep breath, you bring the phone to your ear and utter a tentative, "Hello?"

On the other end, your mother's voice, Cecilia, sounds immediately concerned, "Don't tell me it's true you broke up with Lloyd?"

You let out a weary sigh, not wanting this breakup to escalate further, especially given your mother's fondness for Lloyd. "Yes, it's true."

Cecilia's tone turns to disapprove, "How? And Why? Don't let him get away, he's our golden ticket to get out from this town."

Your headache, which had just subsided, returns with a vengeance at her words. "Mom, he cheated on me."

Cecilia brushes off your concerns, "So? It's normal for a man with a bright future like him to have many women chasing him. You should've turned a blind eye. I heard from Lloyd's mother that a coach from the NFL league is recruiting him."

You exhale heavily, frustration bubbling up inside you. "I've worked tirelessly and studied hard to maintain my scholarship. I don't have time to watch whatever Lloyd does behind my back."

Cecilia's tone takes on a hint of resentment, "Oh, I see. Just because you became a St. Louis student, you think you're better?"

"That's not what I meant," you interject, feeling the conversation spiraling out of control. "You know what? I don't have time for this. Goodbye, Mom."

With that, you end the call and power off your phone, feeling drained. Glancing at the now unappetizing soup, you realize you just want to retreat into the solace of sleep.

The next day, with no classes scheduled, you requested a morning shift at work, preferring to avoid staying at your apartment to prevent any unexpected visits from Lloyd.

Today, you find yourself assuming the role of kitchen manager, a position you've earned through over a year of dedicated work, earning the trust of your manager. With the usual kitchen manager on leave due to health reasons, you've been tasked with overseeing operations for the day.

As you busy yourself assisting the cashier, your attention is drawn to the entrance by the familiar sight of Bucky and his two friends strolling in. Steve's grumbling about hunger prompts Bucky to suggest a visit to WHAM Burger, their usual haunt. Bucky insists on the visit rather than opting for delivery, eager for the chance to see you.

Welcoming them warmly, you greet them with a smile. "Welcome to WHAM Burger. What would you like to order?"

Observing your tired demeanor, Bucky admires your resilience and spirit. "Three cheeseburgers, three orders of fries, and three Cokes, please."

"Alright," you reply, masking your fatigue with determination. "You guys can take a seat, and I'll bring it over to your table."

As they settle in at their table, Bucky notices you approaching with their meals. However, his attention is caught by the unexpected addition of 12 chicken nuggets on the tray. "Y/N, we didn't order these," he points out.

You wink playfully at him, a gesture of gratitude. "My treat. Thank you for your help yesterday, Bucky."

Bucky can feel his cheeks flushing as Sam, seated beside him, notices and flicks his ear.

"Ouch," Bucky exclaims, rubbing his ear sheepishly.

Your laughter rings out at Bucky's reaction, adding a lightness to the atmosphere.

The light atmosphere in the restaurant swiftly turned dark as Lloyd, accompanied by Nicky and the rest of the football team, entered the establishment. A smirk adorned Nicky's face, her presence feeling like a taunt as she appeared to flaunt her newfound proximity to Lloyd.

Lloyd's casual remark did little to ease the tension as he addressed you, "Don't mind us, we just came here for a quick breakfast."

With a flourish, Nicky produced her black credit card, offering to foot the bill, "My treat." The football team erupted into cheers at the prospect.

Lloyd, with a smile playing on his lips, added, "Great, and we could use Y/N's employee discount."

Nicky's gaze shifted to you expectantly, awaiting your confirmation "Really?"

Raising an eyebrow, you couldn't believe the audacity of the situation. "That discount only applies to me," you retorted firmly. Working here, you've always utilized the employee discount, which Lloyd had benefited from in the past.

But to expect it for a party of 24 people? That was pushing it. You knew that allowing such a large discount would likely result in repercussions from your manager, perhaps even costing you your job.

You felt the weight of 24 pairs of eyes bearing down on you, and under their collective gaze, you couldn't help but feel small. Even the manager's expectant look added to the pressure.

Then, a comforting hand gently grasped your arm, and you turned to see Bucky standing beside you. His reassuring nod gave you a sense of calm amidst the chaos, "It's gonna be alright."

"Huh?" you uttered in confusion.

As Lloyd crossed his arms, his disapproval evident, he glanced between you and Bucky with a dismissive "Tsk," unable to comprehend your choice.

However, before you could respond, the manager, Thesa, intervened. With a professional smile, she addressed the football team, acknowledging their presence with gratitude.

"Thank you for coming to WHAM Burger, our football champions. It's an honor to have you here. As a token of our appreciation, today's order will be on us."

The unexpected gesture elicited cheers from everyone, except Nicky, whose opportunity to embarrass you had been thwarted.

Feeling a wave of relief wash over you, you couldn't help but feel fortunate for the turn of events, even if you weren't entirely sure what had transpired.

Thesa's call snapped your attention, and you nodded in response. "Sure," you agreed before casting a quick glance at Bucky. "I'm needed in the kitchen. See you guys at the uni." With that, you hurriedly made your way to the kitchen, leaving the dining area behind.

As you scurried off, Bucky watched your retreating figure, a sense of concern etched on his features. However, his attention was soon diverted when he felt a gaze burning into him. Turning, he found himself locking eyes with Lloyd, who radiated hostility.

Beside him, Steve noticed the tension and issued a warning. "You better watch out, punk."

Bucky simply nodded in acknowledgment. "I know," he replied, his tone resolute.

Sam, ever observant, chimed in with a question. "Did you help Y/N just now?"

Before Bucky could respond, Steve jumped in. "Of course, he did. He can't let his crush get bullied like that."

The word 'bullied' lingered in Bucky's mind, igniting a protective instinct within him. He vowed silently to ensure you never experienced such treatment, especially not within his domain.

Indeed, while only a few people on campus knew, within WHAM Burger, everyone was aware that Bucky Barnes was the son of the owner of this famous food chain restaurant.

Yet, despite the recognition that came with his lineage, Bucky remained grounded and humble, striving to earn his place through hard work and dedication rather than relying solely on his family name.

And now, upon discovering that his number one girl is being underestimated like this, Bucky feels compelled to protect her.

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Author Note:

Hey friends,

If you've been enjoying the content, I've set up a Ko-fi account. Your support through tips would mean the world and help me keep creating. Only if you feel like it!

Here's the link: Ko-fi

Thanks a bunch for being fabulous followers!

[eastern-lights]

Ok so we all know how amazing Baldur's Gate 3 is. I could talk for hours about everything it did perfectly.

But rn, I want to talk about what I think Dragon Age Inquisition did better. And this is not to judge which game is better overall, but what still makes DAI so special to me despite its flaws.

1. Voiced protagonist

Yeah, starting off controversial. I know some people prefer silent protagonists, but I just find myself wishing we could have a fully voiced Tav, even at the cost of fewer dialogue options. I'm sorry, but Tav's silent indifferent face just always breaks the immersion for me, especially when contrasted with the award-worthy acting and animation of the characters they're speaking with. In DAI (and DA2, although to a lesser degree) your character could be heavily customized, but they were always an actual person who fit in with the rest of the universe and flowed seamlessly with the story.

2. Mystery and dread.

BG3 is full of heavy, scary, traumatizing stuff hidden all over the place (or in plain sight). But it can always be explained in some way. There are dreadful things in Faerûn, but we always know what they are (mostly due to most of them having to have precisely given stats as the result of being based on DnD). We know what happens after death and what we can do to bring people back from it. The closest you get to truly dread-inducing mystery in BG3 is "Do Illithids have souls" and "where do illithids come from" and (at least in Act 1) "who is the Absolute".

In Dragon Age, the whole world is made of existential dread. What happens when you die? Dunno. Is God real? No idea and if He does, He hates you. What is the Blight? Are all darkspawn capable of independent thought? What is lyrium singing about? What happened to the titans? What happens when all of the Old Gods die? And this is just the Big Questions. There's a myriad of small things, small mysteries you encounter that just have no answers. Stuff that reminds me of those creepy Goldshire children forming a pentagram in World of Warcraft. While having an explanation for everything makes for deeper worldbuilding, a world full of mysteries without answers makes for a much scarier and, in some ways, exciting experience.

3. Group dynamic and party banter

I enjoyed the party banter in BG3. Hell, it had some of the funniest lines in game. But it didn't do enough to make the group dynamic feel any less Tav/Durge-centric. You hear the companions exchange banter, but you never get beyond stuff like "Karlach and Shadowheart both enjoy wine" and "Gale enjoys Lae'zel telling him about the Astral plane". The protagonist forms amazingly written relationships with each of the companions, but they never seem to have such a bond with one another. The closest we come to what I'd like to see is Karlach and Wyll's friendship, but even that's kind of shallow, I feel. The companions do comment on the others' personal quest, but it's always one sentence reaction, before going right back to being mostly indifferent. DA2 had the same issue, if to a greater extent (srsly, the companions had the same attitude about one another over the span of 10 years)

The banter in DAI was superb. It told a story. It had arcs. You could watch in real time as Solas and Dorian became friends over their shared magical nerd-dom. You could even take part in it, such as when telling Blackwall to stfu about jousting for a moment, or telling Sera that what you and Solas do in private is none of her business. You could see Dorian and Bull fall in love. You could watch Varric slowly chip away at Solas' worldview until he arguably came closer to changing his plans than Lavellan ever did. The relationships grow over the course of the story and by the time of Solas' betrayal, you're not just sad because he betrayed you, you're sad because he betrayed Varric, Dorian, Bull, Cassandra and everyone else. Because you saw how they cared about him, each in their own way.

There is nothing more heartbreaking than Varric's "Chuckles, what have you done?"

In BG3, the relationships are mostly left to your imagination, which has its perks, but still, the group dynamic feels more like a wheel with Tav at the centre rather than a web.

4. Having limits on the romance options

Let me start by stating what I am not saying: I am not saying that bi and pan people shouldn't be represented. Far from it. But I don't think making the whole group pan is the way to go about it. I can't help but feeling it is, in a way, pandering to players, making every single companion interested in them as long as they have a sufficiently high approval.

Making some companions explicitly bi, pan, gay or straight made for a more real experience. Getting rejected by Sera on the grounds of "We have a lot in common - we both like women" felt disappointing, yes, but also real. This also allowed the writers to make the characters' sexual/romantic preferences a part of their, well, character. We got Dorian's personal quest, which I think is great. Limiting Solas' options to just Lavellan allowed the writers to make it about him realizing that his people are not mere shadows. It allowed them to write the Vallaslin scene. None of this could have been done if he were romanceable to all races.

When you have diversity in romantic attraction among the companions, suddenly the pan and bi characters (in Bull and Josie respectively) feel like their orientation is part of who they are, rather than a game mechanic to prevent players from missing out on content.

[juniperhillpatient]

ok, besties I'm used to writing summaries pretty early on for AO3 so now that I'm more than halfway done with this original project I decided to write a summary but I'm not sold on it. the working title of the story is "A Stairway to Nowhere" BTW (which I'm also not 100% sold on). anyway, if anyone is curious about what I've been working on since I took a break from fanfic this is a sneak peek/summary -

There are places where the veil between our world and the spirit world is thinner than usual. This creates a rift – an opening for forces outside human understanding to influence our actions and thoughts. In these liminal spaces, there is the opportunity to harness forces beyond human comprehension. Such power, however, always comes with a price. When their parents are killed in a tragic and mysterious accident, Nick Carver finds himself with sole custody of his teenage sister, Chris. Struggling to stay afloat in a studio apartment and failing to make ends meet, the siblings cling onto what appears to be a lifeline when they inherit an estate from their Great Uncle Charles, whom they’ve never met. Elderwood Manor is tucked away in the deceptively quiet, small town of Baren Lake, Ohio. After a series of bizarre and disturbing encounters with things that don’t belong, the Carver siblings investigate the history of their new home, only to learn that the manor itself is home to a dark and checkered past as gory as the history of the town itself, which is built on blood, lies, and betrayal. Back in nineteen ninety-six, a serial killer dubbed the Butcher of Barren Lake ravaged the town and was never caught. When teenagers in Barren Lake begin to turn up slaughtered with an axe, speculation runs wild that the butcher is back with a vengeance. Nick and Chris must decide among their new friends and acquaintances whom to trust and whom to stay away from as suspicion and accusations flood the town and secrets and betrayals years in the making bubble to the surface. Can the ghosts of the past help unravel the mysteries of the present, or are the Carver siblings caught reckoning with forces that should have never been tampered with? Will the Butcher of Barren Lake ever be brought to justice, or is the town doomed to an endless cycle of violence? As Barren Lake is flooded with rumors of dealings with the devil, graverobbing, and witchcraft, no one is safe, and everyone is a suspect as the bodies pile up and tensions rise among the residents of the once sleepy town.

I also have a rough idea for the table of contents based on what I've written & outlined so far -

Chapter 1: Ekal Nerrab Chapter 2: Nothing Ever Changes Chapter 3: Something Wicked This Way Comes Chapter 4: Eleanor's Body Chapter 5: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Chapter 6: Pray for Us Sinners Chapter 7: Doomed by the Narrative Chapter 8: Memento Mori

Something about this summary doesn't sit right with me but IDK. I guess I don't like it because it doesn't even mention some of the core characters by name but 1. I don't want to give away too much & 2. The summary is supposed to be eye-catching, not tell you everything to expect, right?

So, I'd love feedback. Like, if you saw this summary for a book in the library, would you check it out?

[hottakehoulihan]

Setanta

Characters behave recognizably canonically: Yes Not abandoned incomplete: Complete. Engaging (Funny/cool/thoughtful/feels): Yes. All. Do I recommend it: Absolutely. Curbstomp, Cuddles, Crack, Cyoot: No. Maybe call this "artfic."

This is a post-GM fic that was written prior to Ward being conceived. It's canon-compliant. Also? It's great stuff. I'm not sure what my top wormfic would be if I ranked them, but this is probably in my top three.

This story focuses on original characters in the Worm setting. Only a small handful of the parahumans from Worm get roles in the story. You'll see a fair bit from Tattletale, Bitch, Defiant, and a dozen others you'll recognize (or could recognize), but the protagonist and his inner circle are different people.

The stakes are still high, though, and this story aims to be a serious work of fiction with the same blend of tragedy, adventure, comedy, and thought as usual.

I could use fluff after this last week, but I did enjoy having a work with substance. ...and it's also substantially lengthy; it has multiple arcs. I've been reading it at bedtime for a few weeks now.

Baseline premise is that our protagonist Jordan--who has some injuries, neurological and physical--from a period of his childhood he can't remember well and who got lots of medical aid at The Orphanage school (a pretty great place, sounds like) which helped him break out of his catatonia.

Jordan's focus since that point has been devoting his every effort to becoming A Hero, and he's what some might call inhumanly good at it because he's got his own mind broken and reformed in ways that help.

Alas, he doesn't seem to be triggering with parahuman powers. Frustrating, that. Still, he's remarkably effective. ..and there are some shadowy forces that have plans for him, which will eventually have world-shaking consequences.

...

This work is VERY good--IMHO--and it is sometimes fun. That is praise, and it is also a caution. I read much of this at bedtime (I've been busy) and, well,

I encountered an advice-to-authors once that said "if you're leaving clues for your readers that you intend them to pick up on, a good rule of thumb is to leave three times as many clues as you think they'll need. ...because you're the author, so the clues stand out more obviously to you than they will to the reader."

(and also, the days of reading as Nabokov would have us--with a dictionary, a pen and notepad, and a good memory--are not days most of us are living. I do not take notes as I read for fun, and I do not control the remember. If I always use and seldom need a dictionary, it's only a fruit of my misspent youth.)

The author (Ritic) also doesn't intend you to pick up on some of the clues. Like, ever. Just as IRL; some things are destined to be mysteries.

Anyway.

I read this on SpaceBattles and that's what I linked because I can't easily find this story on WordPress where it ostensibly primarily resides. For some reason it's not on AO3, which is what I'd otherwise urge people to read it on.

My 'rating system' for these wormfic reviews is sort of a four-star system, I guess, with zero, full, or half marks for one of the four (green) categories I've chosen to measure. ...but if I were giving this story marks on a percentage scale? It'd be at or above 90%.

Just recall that it's trying to be both a spiritual and a canon-compliant successor to Worm. You'll have a use for popcorn, but also for your staring-into-space-dumbly couch. (You have one of those too, right? It's not just me?)

Ah; I'm never gonna be a good advertiser. I sincerely endorse this story. As another bit of praise? I seldom was able to consistently predict what the story was about to do. I don't hate predictability--and indeed the next wormfic I read I hope will be fluffy and predictably squee-inducing--but this was a pleasantly mentally-engaging romp that had me gasping out loud sometimes at various surprises.

4/4 and I'll reread it eventually. ...and it's not impossible I'll take notes because there are things I'm still trying to figure out.

[lexsnotdead]

I absolutely loved BG1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights Hordes of the Underdark and Neverwinter Nights 2 too are among my most favourite RPGs. But Larians writing, particularly in D:OS2 turned me off so much :( How different is BG3?

big wall of text under the cut and before anything else i want to say that criticizing a game does not equal not liking it

i thought a lot about my response to this ask, since i must admit i have never played bg&bg2 and jumped straight into the hype train of bg3. and i'm genuinely curious what exactly about dos2 turned you off that much. here's what i personally think:

i played d:os1 and d:os2 and while i'm a big fan of the latter… dos1 couldn't keep me entertained even when playing with a friend in coop, which shows just how exhaustively boring and unmemorable it was. i really love dos2 and despite what i will say next, nothing is gonna change my love for this game. but. imma be honest, it was 3 and a half characters that kept me playing. i love sebille and lohse, i love malady — the mystery around her has its own appeal, but it's still a huge miss not to expand on such intriguing character as herself. i slightly care about ifan and fane, i couldn't give a lesser fuck about beast, i fucking hate the red prince and his writing is one of most unlikable from any rpg game i ever played (i can elaborate. but that's a post for another time). in short: lack of memorable characters, and those who are there have to make up in quality rather than quantity.

and larian is still... larian. their ambition makes them bite more than they can chew, you don't need to be nitpicking on purpose to notice just now empty act 3 of d:os2 was compared to fort joy or driftwood. in similar-ish way act 3 of bg3 feels less polished in terms of performance and content. like they even had to add an alternative ending to karlach's quest only after the game's release lol. there are quite a lot of bugs and players who are doing an "evil" playthrough like me found themselves deprived of content — sometimes you're just locking yourself out of quests, encounters, characters entirely because of decisions you made, quite literally making the game harder for yourself.

another important thing that i'd point out that dos2 felt kinda lacking in terms of the character creation because ocs always felt less immersive and shallow compared to the playable origins (i had the time of my life playing as lohse, tho). i know people who managed to have fun filling the blank spaces with their imagination, but i'm not one of those people, unfortunately. when i tried creating a drow character in bg3, however, every third npcs made sure to glare at me distrustfully and be fantasy racist towards the drow. like really? thanks for noticing! this might sound weird, but i liked that. it enhanced my feeling of immersion thus making it more satisfying to play. like yeees... yes... i indeed am a drow!

i'd rather stop focusing on its shortcomings because it feels unfair to larian when they are listening to the playerbase and trying their best to deliver patches as quick as possible. after all, what makes a good dnd adventure for me is always the story and characters — banal it may be, as long as it is fun, it is a good dnd game. and bg3 is very fun and addictive. there's this unique feeling when you're planning your next playthrough and considering what you would've done differently when still doing your first. i like it more compared to dos2, because... i'm not sure why myself? interpersonal interactions just feel a bit deeper, and i actually care about almost every companion, even the ones i did not expect to care about (like gale, astarion, shadowheart). and variety of the character creation, of course. and i can bet on bg3 being next the goty haha

to sum this all up:

if you like dos:2, you will like this game

if you like dnd e5, you will also like this game

if you like bg1 and bg2 then i genuinely don't know i'm sorry

[aetheternity]

I got to finish playing through Fontaine today! Here are my thoughts cause a while ago ya'll loved hearing me speak on things. (Spoilers under the cut obviously)

~ Lyney and Lynette 🥺 I didn't expect to love them as much as I do 😭😭 (Freminet too though I liked him as soon as I saw him) though I do find it annoying how much slack the fandom has allowed those two to get seeing as they both lied to the Traveler and put them on the spot during an important trial. Traveler thought of them as good friends and decided to support the two of them out of the kindness of their hearts because Lyney helped them out previously only to find out they'd hidden a possible trail breaking secret if Furina hadn't mentioned it they probably still wouldn't have said anything the only reason they did was because they got cornered. If we're being real Traveler could've just walked away right after that confession but they not only stayed but made sure that Lyney and Lynette would not get charged for something they had nothing to do with. Traveler doesn't have to be friends with literally any of the people they encounter and that includes Lyney and Lynette. Just cause ya'll love them doesn't mean Traveler has to as well a sad backstory doesn't make up for betrayal and in regards to people who keep bringing up Traveler being buddy buddy with Childe. Childe has A, been in the story way longer, B, Traveler knows who Childe is and despite how close ya'll think they are Traveler is wary of him too. A couple updates ago he was making sure to warn Yomiya not to put all her trust in Childe let's stop acting like Traveler loves Childe and thinks he can do no wrong in comparison to Lyney and Lynette. Traveler just knows what Childe is capable of in comparison to Lyney and Lynette who they've known for what like two days.

~ Never has an NPC's death shaken me that hard before. In any game! I literally went 😦 when that cutscene played.

~ It was so amazing getting to find evidence and pick apart details of this case then have Neuvillette explain the whole situation out in full to the audience again. I especially enjoyed the drawings of each scene from different characters perspectives.

~ Furina is my girlfailure wife and she has been placed under Venti for second favorite archon. 💕💕 She's so bratty, cute and dramatic I wanna breed her 😩

~ I was not expecting to like Neuvillette and Navia as much as I do now! Especially Navia who I adore whole heartedly now that's a girlboss.

~ Every time she started crying I wanted to hold her.

Honestly this region was perfect for me. I love mysteries and I rarely ever found myself uninterested or bored with the story like I have with every other nation. I love Navia's character, her relationship with Traveler treating them like her partner and relying on them the way she did while also keeping them safe was so so cute and sweet and if I could draw I'd draw the Traveler I picked (Aether) with Navia as partners in detective work (Sorry Heizou you've been replaced..) I can't get enough of Furina and I can't wait for her first story quest, the leaks of her playstyle and more from her. I wanna see what kinds of things she says to her people outside of the courtroom/opera house. I wanna see her more vulnerable side shine out a bit more often. I wanna hear every voiceline she has more than once. I'm normal about her.. (I spent all night thinking about how gorgeous she is..) I want her. I hope Lynette gets a hangout soon she's so cute but I do think she needs more personality outside of her brothers.

Fontaine is also so so beautiful 😍 the underwater mechanic is surprisingly not as annoying as I thought it would be to navigate though I do find it a little annoying that we can't fight using our characters skills. I get why I just don't like it. I wish we'd spent more time in the underground because it's amazing and the way it all looks is so impressive also wish we could buy food and things from the vendors down there.

I beg of Hoyo to give the Fontaine characters even half as much screen time as the Sumeru gang cause I have to say I am far more interested in all the Fontaine characters with only one patch of them then I ever have been with the Sumeru mfers.

[moonspirit]

Hi! Hope you are having a great day! For the autumn ask game: frost, harvest, amber, spice, maize!

Helloo!! thank you!

frost - if you could give some advice to your younger self, what would you say? I think it would be to be more weird and true to myself. There was a lot I wanted to do when I was younger, but never did because people made fun of me and I had no friends xD I should've been braver, and less worried about what others thought.

harvest - what fictional character do you most identify with? Why? Armin (without the brains tho) xD I have all his self-worth issues and whatnot. Yato too, maybe (without the godliness) - mostly the abandonment issues and loneliness.

amber - share an unpopular opinion that you may have. Another one huh T^T Idk if it's unpopular, but most of the murder-mystery crime thriller novels that are most ranted and raved about these days are... quite bad #_#

spice - have you ever encountered a house that you believed to be haunted? Not personally! But my mom lived in such a house before she got married. Everynight there were sounds of very human footsteps running up and down the open terrace, and whenever she closed her eyes to sleep, she'd feel like someone was hovering over her face and watching her closely lmao. Absolutely don't know how she stayed there for a month. Nerves of steel I guess.

maize - share the weirdest encounter you’ve had with a stranger on the street. This happened during my exams earlier this year. I'd just finished and left the exam centre, and was waiting for my metro home, when this guy from the Netherlands asked me if he could borrow my internet connection so he could call an Uber. Then while he waits, he starts telling me all about why he's here visiting my city - he's here to display his art in an art gallery and then takes out his prints to show me - they're all memes. fucking. memes.

[parkerlyn]

I love ur characters and world building sm! I really want to try out doing a fantasy story but I'm not sure where to start. Do you have any tips?

Hi! Oh, where to begin haha. I think first of all I'll caveat that I'm no expert and that there's no one-strategy-fits-all. But I can at least give what my experience was at the high-level when starting The Nameless!

I would say the first thing for me is thinking about broad strokes - i.e. theme and tone for the story. Are you writing epic high fantasy? Low fantasy? Urban fantasy? Alternate history? Are there huge, overarching themes you want to write about? Is it a serious, more "mature" adventure or something more whimsical and relaxed (though not to say you can't explore serious themes in those sorts of stories too!) What is the scale of conflict you want to write? Do you want to write a happy ending? A tragedy?

Predictably because I refuse to shut up, this turned into a novel so more under the cut:

Asking these questions doesn't mean you have to have a ten-point bulleted plan for each one, but at least helps to steer you in the direction you want to go. Keeping high level, then, I can say for The Nameless I went into worldbuilding in regards to culture first. In my case, there's a major theme I've always wanted to explore that's [spoilers]. So I knew I wanted to incorporate that and it's been a crucial driving point for the plot. Then I took a lot of inspiration from D&D and fey-related tropes and stories, which led to the thought of how a culture might shift if fey/sheevra deals were a lot more prevalent and well-known vs more mysterious and less-encountered. The world formed after that thought, and I'd definitely recommend looking at some world-building questionnaires or guides out there, even for topics that probably aren't going to be relevant within your writing.

It will almost definitely never be mentioned in the game, but someone asking me about how farmland and agriculture worked in a significantly barren world led to me thinking more about the food culture of each of the four cities, or travel between them i.e. the Crossings vs the river entrances, and more about weather and trade. A lot of random questions here on tumblr have also helped nail down other details! I've also been lucky enough to have a close friend and my SO absolutely pick apart my story and ask random questions which made me think, so don't be afraid to talk through things out loud even when you don't have everything completely fleshed out.

Again - not that I'm expecting to go into a biosphere breakdown or trade laws of each city ever in game, but it did really help to make it more real in my head. More...lived in. And that helps with finding your characters and their motivations too. Obviously having the major goals or alignment of a character are vital for determining who they are at their core. But being asked "What's [character's] favorite meal or drink" or "What is their favorite time of day? memory? person?" or "What does their room look like" really helps to make them come alive for me, at least. I love the grand adventure of fantasy stories, but I love the small moments and details equally and in my opinion they're just as - if not even more - important.

Along that line I will say take notes!!! Write shorts that are smack dab in the middle of the story!!! Jot them down in your phone!! Write them on the back of a receipt!! Even if it's incoherent later (RIP 🤝 ajfdksalj), anything can help jog a memory or an idea, and like any craft, writing takes practice. Re: apps available, I use Scrivener more now to combine both writing and note-taking and it's the easiest for me to switch/sync between my main devices (aside from my base game folder in Visual Studio Code that's synced to my Dropbox, but I can't open that on mobile). But there are lots of wonderful free alternatives like Obsidian and Evernote (Evernote is free on a limited amount of devices, then goes into paid plans), and many more!

There's also another piece of advice I've heard which is to know how your story is going to end before you get too far. I waffle a little on recommending this one because I think half the fun is the journey to get there, and sometimes the end takes a bit to form. I do know how The Nameless is ultimately going to end, but there are still pieces missing in the middle and definitely more I want to finesse. So I'd say at least start with an idea of what sort of ending you want like in those initial questions - this will really help with your direction and determining a goal for the characters - and iron out the details as you go.

General advice outside of writing tools is to not expect or hold yourself to perfection and to not compare too much to other peers. This is so hard to do sometimes because I do want things to come out well written the first time around. But there's no way I'd write something without reading through it again, and that's what editing is for! That's what everyone has to go through! Take advice and do writing practices based on what you like from other author's writings who inspire you, but at the end of the day, your voice is your own.

Lastly the most important piece of advice I have is - at the core of everything - to write the story you want to tell. Write for you. This is also something I think can be hard to hold onto, especially if you do put a WIP out into the black hole of the internet and update it like an IF game.

Yes, if you're trying to make a living off writing or wanting to build a community around a story, the unfortunate reality of it is that that particular "success" criteria can sometimes depend on who likes it or who promotes it or how/how often you promote it, etc, if you're going purely based on interaction or follower counts or what have you. But honestly, there's always going to be someone who likes and even loves your story, and someone who can't stand your story or just can't get through it. And that's perfectly fine! But I mention this because if you try to write the story you think others want, then it'll impact your writing - whether it's not your voice anymore, or less lively or less enjoyable.

Don't get me wrong, there are absolutely times when I want to yell and groan and rip my hair out over something that doesn't sound right in The Nameless, and there's always going to be lows and highs in any pursuit. But at the end of the day, it's worth it because I know this is the story I want to write and share, and I hope it comes across how much I genuinely love this world and its characters.

Anyway! That's my long ramble for the day (and sorry this took so long to respond to). Again, this should definitely not be word of law, but just my experiences so far with writing. I hope it helps and good luck with your story! I'm sure it'll be amazing. 💖

[moodys-art]

I finally thought of my request!! Hopefully 3 characters aren't much of a count !! :"D how about headcanons for Diavolo, Risotto, and Prosciutto with a femme fatale reader? (She/her please ywy. Also she's not entirely their s/o or a part of la squadra!! She's just this mysterious mafia member no one's heard of. I'd like to see how they'd fall for her charms.) (U can look it up if you aren't familiar with the term :^) hopefully this won't be nsfw. If it is feel free to ignore this ask!!)

Thank you again :^}c

Yes, I was looking forward to your request ! I am a bit familiar with the theme, I think I get what you mean and the overall aesthetic of femme fatale, there's a lot about the subject and it can no doubt be sfw ! Notes in the tags 💗

Risotto, Prosciutto and Diavolo falling for femme fatale reader

Warnings : a bit of stalking and creepiness for Diavolo's part, but you know, typical Diavolo behavior...🙄

Femme fatale, definition : « an attractive and seductive woman, especially one who is likely to cause distress or disaster to a man who becomes involved with her.»

Risotto

No need to say, Risotto has noticed you. After all, he's a very observant man, and a very good Capo as well, so it's only normal he's aware of his surroundings and the environment in which his team works.

However, as he doesn't know anything about you, he thinks that it's only a matter of time before he has to introduce himself to you and try to assess if you're an enemy to his team or not. He's fairly comfortable with the idea of going up to you and engage in a conversation, but is reluctant to use his invisibility powers to spy on you, as you could be an ally.

Risotto isn't one to be easily attracted to people, but he has to admit that your extremely elegant and sharp looks is something he doesn't see quite often. He's really quick to guess that this is also a way for you to assert dominance in whatever mission or deal you may have to complete; you're in the mafia, after all.

He comes up to you on an ordinary day while you are out in the park, profiting from the shiny sun of the early afternoon. Risotto stays very diplomatic, sitting accross from you on the bench, introducing himself very clearly. "Should my team be involved in any business with you, and/or your teammates if you have any on your side, I sincerely hope it will be from an ally perspective." It could sound like a threat, except that the man is lightly smiling at you, meaning that he truly looks forward to seeing you again, and that if your businesses were to mingle, he hopes it wouldn't end up in you being his enemy. After discussing with you for a moment, he realizes that you're quite appreciable.

If you, on your side, make him know that you're willing to help him get some missions done - you're quite powerful, after all -, he could be interested in the offer. If it means his team can make more money, and gain an ally, why not ?

Your newly born 'work-mates' relationship is something that Risotto really appreciates, and not only that, but he also has a deep respect for the way you accomplish your work. It will maybe take a time before he finally decides to ask you out - on the account that you've already made him know that you're interested -, but it'll get there. Even Risotto cannot resist your charm.

Prosciutto

It's been a quite a time since Prosciutto noticed you in the streets of Napoli. Whether he was out in the evening, eating in a restaurant, or taking a stroll after his mission while smoking, it was difficult not noticing you.

You had an outstanding attitude, a proud look on your face, along with a very nice shade of lip color that looked like dark cherry. Prosciutto knew, someway, that you were part of the mafia as well, but he'd never heard about you in his team's reports, nor in the discussions he oftened like to partake in with a few other gangsters outside of La Squadra. No, he didn't know who was that mysterious, charming woman he'd seen several times before, but he was sure annoyed by that.

Prosciutto likes to assess people's personalities by looking at them first and foremost. Hence, that is with no surprise that both of your gazes come to meet each other a few times during the week. Except, Prosciutto holds himself to that. No more. He knows he shouldn't get involved in any other thing than work with another mafia member, as he's part of a team that has its own interests. So, no place for romance...

That is until one evening, you both end up in the same bar, sat next to each other due to nothing else than pure fate. So now that you're both here, why not seize the day ? Prosciutto thinks.

After having assessed your willingness to get involved in a talk, he'll engage in a conversation. "I've seen you around for quite some time now. What does a person like you does while wandering the streets of Napoli on her own?" It's up to you to answer him, but Prosciutto lives for quite mysterious auras like yours. He will not hesitate to make you know that he's interested.

Your bold and confident personality surprise him, in a very good way, and he doesn't refuse the drink that you offer him. Witnessing your seductive and charming manners, he can't help but to look at you, admiring how you present yourself.

If you two decide to follow-up on that encounter and to see each other more often, he's surely not against that. As the gentleman he is, one day will come when he'll be happy to invite you to eat in a nice, classy restaurant.

Diavolo

Well, it's a tricky situation, because first of all, in no way Diavolo would allow himself to let any person stay in La Passione if he feels like they are in for power and have too much ambition. Although he doesn't recruit members -as it's the job of a Capo,not a Boss-, he likes to do his own research on who is in the gang. He needs to know who could become a potential threat to him, after all.

After having spied on you from afar and collected some information on you as he does for everyone in the gang, he's a bit relieved. But for heaven's sake, he's Diavolo, so let's not forget that he still doesn't trust you, let alone anyone really.

The fact that you often encounter this pink-haired man at your local bakery is no coincidence. After a while, he'll come up to you to ask about the kind of bakery he should consider buying, because you seem like a regular here. The way you carry yourself is something that intrigues him more than anything, and maybe so much to the point of him being willing to consider letting you in in his life, - a very small part of his life at least.

Diavolo will not introduce himself. Even his outfit, for anonymity purposes, will be as discrete as possible, a dark costume and an ordinary hat. However, it will really be him, and not Doppio, unless he comes here a few times to look at you from afar. Diavolo will do everything in his power not to be noticed, or at least to be considered like nothing more than a civil; but he will allow you to ask him some questions as most people that come to you are usually from La Passione.

If you're risky enough to flirt with him, he'll maybe consider taking you out on a date. But you've got to be aware, that if you get to see his face, you'll no longer be ever alone in the streets of Napoli, and always looked over - if things turn to good, or to bad.

You two really make a classy and powerful pair. Your daring and smart looks is the spice to his overly secretive life. Watching you reapply your signature lipstick to readjust your femme fatale look makes him think that maybe, maybe, he could trust you enough to let you in the Unità Speciale and know that you will do a wonderful job.

[moonmothmama]

i swear to christ i've fallen in love with Cain and Abel all over again every single time i've encountered them.

years ago when my brother recommended i read Swamp Thing, do you know what i came away from it with? i mean i enjoyed it. but what really burrowed into my brain were these two fuckin' guys from ONE scene, a dream sequence, and i knew there was more to them, i didn't know what it was referencing but i knew it was referencing something, and i had to find out what, i wanted more of them

and it's interesting because i had run into Cain and Abel before, briefly; in the tie-in comic book to Batman: the Animated Series. it was an issue about Scarecrow. on one page there was a sequence with two men talking to Professor Crane about a work release therapy thing. and it stuck out to me because, just like the Swamp Thing appearance later, i could tell it was a reference to something. i didn't understand the reference but i know how that shit goes. they were way too detailed and distinctive not to be someone. i couldn't look it up back then because like..... it was a long time ago. it's not like i could just google shit the way we can now.

anyway. i read Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing- which predates Sandman as i later found out- at my older brother's behest, and as i said, i walked away with a burning curiosity about two characters who had appeared once in a main character's dream.

so. typical me.

and when i looked into it, i found something that fucking delighted me: that their origins were in old horror comics. that shit was RIGHT up my alley. so i dove in, and fell in love with them again. for real, i love those comics. first off the art! AUGH the old comic book art, i live for that shit. older comic book art is so gorgeous. and i love horror! i don't care that they were a lil corny. i have some of the collected volumes of House of Secrets & House of Mystery and god i wish they were in color.

anyway there was no repetitive reenactment of the first murder going on between them until Swamp Thing. they had a pretty typical mildly antagonistic sibling relationship as far as i recall (i have to go digging for my books); Cain teased Abel, and they were a bit competitive with each other, but iirc that was about as far as it went, aside from maybe a few quick gags. although, idk, would they have been doing that back then if they could've gotten away with it? hmm. food for thought.

what was i saying? right right. falling in love with Cain and Abel for the third time: watching Sandman on Netflix. by the time i heard that was gonna be a thing i already had a deeply established affection for these guys, although i'd never encountered them in the Sandman comics (the only sandman things i can remember reading are Death: The High Cost of Living & Endless Nights. if there was something else i've forgotten it). all the same, though, i was creeping on the news about it because hell, what chance am i ever gonna get to see Cain and Abel onscreen again? i mean a gal can dream. (hah) and they were a huge deciding factor in me watching.

and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa

they're so good i love them so much

particularly, watching this reminded me how much i enjoy Cain. is it weird that i feel a little guilty admitting that i favored Abel?? almost feel like i should apologize, lol (sorry Cain. mea culpa). but i love both of them. and i love them as a pair. and i am SO HYPED at the prospect of seeing more of them next season. PLEASE let there be more Cain and Abel next season.

[gingermintpepper]

After thinking it over for a bit, I've decided that I might as well do a proper underrated 3DS game rec list. I'm a bit of an ATLUS junkie and that's gonna be pretty disgustingly apparent in this list, but it's not my fault that they released hit after hit and all of them were duly ignored.

Due to tumblr's 10 image limit (and my struggle to keep motivated to do one thing for more than three hours) I'm definitely gonna have to break this up into parts and I'm fairly certain one of these lists is just gonna be MegaTen games lmao but I'd like to let people know about these excellent titles and see if I can't at least get people interested in them so they can get more traction.

So, without further ado:

Some 3DS Games that were criminally slept on (part 1)

Monster Hunter Stories

God, where do I begin with this game. Well, the basics: It's a JRPG spinoff title of the now widely successful and popular Monster Hunter series featuring a different take on interacting with the varied and intricate monsters populating the world: Riders.

Yep, instead of hunting the beasties, you play as a young rider who's completed their intiation ritual and can now bond with 'Monsties' as they've cutely labelled the usually ferocious monsters of the wilds. The great thing is that you still fight Monsters--tons of them in fact but this isn't a paid review and in my humble opinion, the most impressive thing about this game is the visual style. The landscapes, the armour, the way they redesigned and 3DS-ified the classically hyper realistic and monstrous beasts to not only be absolutely adorable but still capable of being intimidating when the time calls for it, the stellar animation of special moves and combination attacks--it's delicious, nutritious, stupendous, I can and will consume it like it's part of my recommended caloric intake.

It's very akin to Pokemon in the way its basic gameplay premise is set up, however, instead of catching--or even indeed befriending--the Monsties in the game, you rummage through their nests and steal their eggs, later hatching them and getting yourself a brand new lightly kidnapped monster pal!

Other general things about the game:

Pros:

The armour and weapon sets for both male and female characters slap along with the general character customisation options. They're incredibly diverse (though limited in body type) and you can switch around traits and features whenever you want from your house.

The POGS--these porkers are everywhere and they serve as tiny little achievements for exploring every odd and end of the world. Also they have little outfits. They're so cute. 🥺🥺

You can actually ride the Monsties. All of em. Or, at least the ones that you have available to be your buddies. They all have exploration skills and traits that not only make exploring much more interesting but encourage you to swap out your active Monstie and play around with your options a bit.

Y'all breeding Monsties is complicated and I live for just how intense and ridiculous you can get with optimal builds for these things.

The story is really competently put together! The characters, character designs and even the internal conflict with your starting trio of characters is really compelling along with the mystery of the blight that's infecting Monsters across the world. It's not anything worth awards but it's compelling and it makes you care about the characters if that's what you're in the market for.

Amazing sound design, expansive world, everything about the presentation of this game oozes that Monster Hunter charm even if the art is cutesier than usual. You'll never get bored of its stellar visual presentation!

Available for around twenty quid on the Google Play store, so if you want, you could actually get the full game on your smartphone or tablet. Note though that it would be a battery nuker.

Cons:

If you're on a regular 3DS, frame rate drops are a given. This game kinda pushes the visual capabilities of the 3DS to its absolute limit--a lot like Okamiden did back on the DS.

One save file :( It's pretty much for the same reason as above but still.

If you're playing as the girl, you can't get male armour and vice versa. Since there's only one save file, you'll never be able to have all of the armour sets in a single playthrough and that's criminal because both of the sets for the genders are absolutely breath-taking, thank you.

I 👏can't 👏make👏my👏 own 👏Palico👏

Multi-player for this game is pretty dead seeing as it's almost five years old by now and never got much press or traction. Usually this wouldn't be an issue - this game is 99% singleplayer and you don't really need to fuss about with multi-player to have fun, but if you want to collect all the Monsties, you'll need it since the only way to get Glavenus is through pvp achievements. :/

Final thoughts: Play it if you find yourself getting tired or disappointed with 3DS Pokemon games but still want something that feels as fantastical as Pokemon. It outshines the 3DS Pokemon games at every turn and I will never be over just how thoughtfully put together and fully realised these games are. Of course, if you've ever played Monster Hunter, then you know just how intensive these games are with the lore, biology, cultures and world of their Monsters but seeing that translated into JRPG format was just very sobering and it's a game that, to this day, continues to awe me with just how much love and attention went into it.

Last note: If you're still unsure about it, there's a demo available on the e-shop of the 3DS that allows you to play through the entire initial area of the game. Your data does carry through to the full release and to give you an idea of how much I've been able to squeeze out of it - my playtime for that demo is currently sitting at 22 hours. Make sure to get a hold of that Cyan-Kut-Ku!

7th Dragon III Code: VFD

The title may sound intimidating but the premise is not! A mysterious disease called Dragon Sickness spread by the Dragonsbane flowers that have cropped up all around the world. You and your team are recruited by the Nodens game company after you display extraordinary prowess in their hit virtual reality game 7th Encount. As you go through the adventure, you are tasked with finding out the truth behind the Dragon Sickness and asked to stop both it and the Dragons that are destroying the world.

This game is fun. It's another turn-based JRPG however, in this game you create all of your characters yourself from the myriad of classes available to you from the jump. Different classes of course have very different specialisations - Samurai focus on high powered cutting damage with their swords, Duelists are summoners who can influence the element of the battlefield as well as summon monsters from each element, Agents can hack into your enemies and inflict a barrage of nasty ailments, just to name a few - and you are given three teams of three characters each to experiment with different team comps and find the balance that works for you. There's also a wide variety of Dragons to hunt and kill in the game, which directly affects how infected your world is with the Dragon Sickness causing Dragonsbane. Along the way you will also come into contact with many interesting characters, concepts and confrontations that will make the task of saving the world all the more imperative.

Pros

1. The character creator and differing classes give way for tons of experimenting and playing around with your own unique approach to combat and carrying out your missions. Granted, 'character creation' is generous, it's little more than palatte swaps but the classes are really where VFD shines. Eight main classes may not sound like a lot, but the expaniveness of the character skills, their synergy with their fellow classes and the uniqueness of some of the classes in and of itself allows for so much flexibility and creativity in approaches to even tougher bosses. It also encourages the switching about of your party members to really finagle with the options available to you.

2. God this game is pretty. The locations, the character art, the creature design - all of it is gorgeous and this game capitalises on every bit of the 3DS's presentation limitations as it can.

3. You can romance anything and everyone - yes, you can even be gay/lesbian/poly in this game. In fact, one of the main characters - Julietta - is gnc and he's a constant source of joy as well one of my personal favourite characters, right behind Yuma.

4. Exploration is very very forgiving as the game has healing spots and teleport nodes all over the world to allow for quick, seamless travel between quest points without feeling like anything is too much of a hassle. There are also special enemies that allow for quick grinding as well as quick farming of money. In general, the game does a really good job of making sure that the grind is never unbearable or inconsiderate of your time.

Cons:

1. This is the fourth game in a series the West has never seen any other title for, and from the looks of it, will probably never see any other titles for. Because of that, there are some elements that may seem confusing or revelations in the plot that may seem to come out of nowhere.

2. While the visuals are great, the OST of this one is pretty short making for a lot of reused soundtracks that can get really annoying if you're like me and need your audio to be interesting or consistent so it doesn't distract you too much.

3. This one isn't really a con but it is divisive: This game gets pretty difficult at times. A few of the main dragon enemies including and especially the final boss can give you a serious run for your money in the annoy-o-meter in terms of the kind of absolute JRPG fuckery they can pull out of their magic bag of bullshit movesets and while I generally enjoy that kind of thing, I know it's not for everyone. Most regular combat shouldn't be too tricky once you have a team comp that works well together but you also need to pay attention since the same team that carries you to victory one time might be worth beans against another dragon.

Final thoughts: This is... a really good game. Interesting story, really interesting characters, pretty world and a battle system that really makes you sit down and think. There's also a demo for this available in the e-shop and while your data doesn't carry over - you do receive multiple perks for carrying over your demo data including some exclusive items that, while not game breaking, do help a ton in the early stages of the game.

This isn't a final list by any stretch of the word; I only have the energy to do these two right now, but the next games up for coverage are Ever Oasis and Stella Glow! If you're interested in my full plan of games I want to cover here then my current lineup includes: Theatrhythm: Curtain Call, Project Mirai: Deluxe, Culdecept Revolt, Alliance Alive, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, Etrian Odyssey V, Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse.

Finally, if anyone has played any of the games I mention, cover or plan to cover PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME, I AM SO LONELY IN MY FORTRESS OF SAND. On a serious note, I'd love to hear what other people who've played these games think!

Thanks for reading,

-Ginger

PS: @feralpeacock Because a million years ago, on my first underrated games post, you asked that I remember you. :D

[smeraldos]

In Which You Meet a Wizard Without Knowing

gif: @bts_westv on twitter

↬ characters: taehyung x reader

↬ genres: fantasy, adventure, a 'lil fluff. Howl's Moving Castle!AU

↬ words: 1.5K+

↬ summary: While your sisters dreamt of success and affluence, you stuck to what you knew. It was better that way. Less risky. For any who inquired, your hats went out into the world for you.

What you didn't expect was to encounter a mystery of a man, and along with him, a misadventure for two.

In all his years of drifting, the spirit has never met someone who sought him out. Some took a little coaxing, a little dangling of the fruit, and others took a slight push off the edge, but this.

This boy was ripe for the taking. He wasn’t innocent, no. He knew what he’d come for, and that pleased the spirit. He shrunk himself into the size of a kumquat and leapt into the boy’s hands. 

Once the deed is done, he began, there is no undoing.

The boy told him he knew. He was very solemn about it. He had the face of someone who could have become a great man.

The spirit looked at him with an expression often mistaken for pity. Then he told the boy to swallow him, and the boy’s heart was no more.

The rumors flying about the wizard V are quite sensational. 

They give him flair; an air of dark, beguiling intrigue he does not wish for, yet welcomes all the same. They give him a character to play. And now, he’s landed the part of a dashing escapee, leading his pursuers down a network of sharp turns and secret alleys. 

Ahead, the sun gleams like a penny scrubbed to shine. The sky is sweet and rosy. A guard courts a young lady…how trite. V would have left the two alone had he not noticed the lady, no lure of a smile or blush upon her cheeks.

You back away, your dress blending in with the wall. Your eyes search desperately for an escape, eventually finding his. Well. He sighs. It wasn’t as if he was planning to leave you be. That would be quite heartless.

"I'm late, aren't I?" V asks, announcing his presence. "Forgive me, I lost track of the time. To the theatre?"

You accept his proffered arm, hesitant. He can tell you're a bit wary, and rightly so.

“And where do you think you’re going?” The guard demands, blocking his exit. “The lady and I haven’t finished our talk.”

“With all due respect," V says, suppressing a scoff, "I think you are.”

In an instant, the guard stiffens. His eyes widen. “What--” He starts, but marches off before he can finish.

With that pest gone, V turns his attention back to you...who really can’t be more than twenty. You look dreary in your choice of attire -- gray shawl, gray dress, dull hat over a meek face. If it were not for your stunned look, he’d say you lacked spark. Yet his business lies not in assessing your appearance. He's running short on time. “Do you mind telling me where you’re headed?”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll be your escort for the evening," he explains.

“Oh,” you blurt out, letting go of his arm, “thank you, but an escort won’t be necessary.” With a hasty dip of your head, you leave, bumping into a woman in the process. When you move to apologize, you realize she has no face. 

Just a dark head and a liquid, convulsing body.

"So where to?" The gentleman asks, and this time when he approaches, you don’t hesitate to take his arm. 

"Cesari's," you murmur, lest the creature hear you. It’s where your sister works, and you've been worried enough as it is.

He guides you briskly down a cobbled path. "I'd advise you not to look back."

In the distance, you hear a collective groaning, the crack of wood splintering. Low at first, the groaning rises steadily in pitch, the crack of wood quickening like strikes of a whip drawing blood. Your heart drums fast. Suddenly, a dark creature swoops toward you, screaming shrilly. V turns you abruptly to the right. 

Phantoms lurk around the corner, shrieking as they lunge, but the next alley leads to a wall. Your breath catches. From the cracks burst out more phantoms, and you grip the gentleman's sleeve, squeezing your eyes shut.

The next moment, you can't feel the ground. The howling and screeching fall away, growing softer and softer until you can hear them no more.

You venture a look.

"Careful," the gentleman warns, a second too late. "We're quite high up."

Quite high up? You'd have to be -- you don't know, geography has never been your strong suit -- a few hundred meters above the ground! You're flying. There’s nothing to hold onto except the gentleman's bejewelled hands, and while the view of Market Chipping is beautiful, you're going to fall.

"Are you mad?" You ask, trying not to panic. 

He laughs. "I'm surprised you didn't notice. Now take a step." 

Your first one is shaky. Without any surface to step on, it feels like you're sinking instead of floating. 

"Imagine you're taking a stroll," the gentleman suggests. "Look, there’s the patisserie, the flora, and the...fauna. Strange, that shouldn’t be there.”

To your horror, his grip on you loosens just a bit, and you yelp, prompting his attention. 

”Why don’t you think of a song?” He asks.

“A dirge, you mean. A funeral song.”

“I know what a dirge is,” he snaps. “You, on the other hand...”

It didn’t work.

V thought he could distract you with a squabble, but your palms are still as clammy as ever.

So to pacify your stubborn fear (so tangible he can feel it), he coaxes you into giving him a tour of Market Chipping. At first, you insist it's been quite some time since you've set foot outside and you're likely missing a place or few. How long is quite some time, he asks, mostly in jest, and is surprised when you tell him. He doesn’t show it. Instead, he assures you it’s of little import, because really, he's just settled in, so do you know any merchants who sell paintings? He's been itching for something to spruce up his residence -- the walls are bleak and empty.

By the time you reach Cesari’s, the stars are just beginning to shimmer. Night falls rapidly over the horizon, and you're surprised at the sudden desire you feel to prolong the conversation. 

"Would you like to come in for biscuits and tea? Surely Joy can get us a discount--" You catch yourself, noting the lustrous gold winding his velvet cape, the violet glint of sapphires dangling from his ears. "Not that you'll need it."

"No," he says, releasing your hand gently. "But I appreciate the offer. I must get going."

"Good night, then," you say. "And thank you for escorting me. I enjoyed your company."

He smiles a soft smile, his most disarming one yet. "The pleasure is all mine." With a slight bow, he vanishes from sight.

The sweet scent of cinnamon and sugar beckons you into Cesari's, yet you feel no urge to enter. Lingering by the balcony, you watch the festivities below, the lights and colorful dresses appearing small and whimsical, a bit like you’re peering through a snow globe. For the first time in a while, you feel a childlike wonder. You hadn't realized you missed it.

Too late you realize you should have asked for the gentleman's name. 

"Who was that?" A bright voice, clear out of nowhere, asks. "I didn't get a good look."

"Joy!" You exclaim, recognizing the fair features of your sister. Although she seems a bit thinner. It worries you, but you bite your tongue. Joy, after all, doesn't take to chiding. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting some fresh air." She stretches leisurely, a mischievous grin on her lips. "So imagine my surprise when I hear my sister offering a discount without consulting me first."

"You heard that?"

"The pleasure is all mine," she mimics, putting on an exaggerated, deep tone.

"Well, I suppose it serves me right."

"Please!" Joy laughs. "You shouldn’t be so proper. What are biscuits and tea compared to your happiness?"

"Not as--"

"No," she interrupts. "Don't answer that. I'm doing well here despite the amount of pesky suitors. They're nothing I can't handle, so j...just let me help you thrive, too. So long as it isn't V you're handing your heart to."

You miss the awkward falter in Joy's words, touched and baffled as you are by her sentiment. "Doesn't he only eat the hearts of beauties? I'd be more concerned if I were you."

"Or," she muses, "he feeds on beautiful, innocent hearts, and we've been fools all along." 

When she looks at you, chills creep up your spine. "Are you trying to frighten me?"

"Well, do you have a beautiful heart?" She retorts.

"I don’t know."

"Exactly," she says. "And no one can fathom why V chose to stay here of all places. That's why we--"

"Joy!" Someone shouts from inside.

"I'm on break!" She shouts back, but the woman calls out to her again. Joy pulls an annoyed face, and for a second, you think you see a bit of Irene in her expression. Then she breathes and returns to her pleasant self. "Come in." She twists the doorknob open. "I'll finish telling you later." 

As you follow her, a creature slithers under the balcony, quiet for now.

It's dark and pulsing. 

[randomsnakesimp]

So, one more thing from the witchversary prompts I'd really been wanting to talk about but kinda didn't have time was mystery.

Now, right off the bat, I think both the show and the comics (Arc 3 and onward, I still don't think it's a coincidence only the first arcs were adapted, as they have a different overall feel than the rest) handled mystery worse than just about anything I've ever witnessed, and while I know that this is an opinion, I will be quite direct in my criticism of the writing. If you ever feel personally attacked, feel free to inform me about that, as that is certainly not the goal of this post.

Now, in the show, why mystery was never a thing can be summed up with two words: Caleb and Yan Lin.

Almost every time the crew encountered anything that could be mysterious or throw up questions, one of these two just spawned and started throwing exposition at people, and in the very few cases they did not, the audience was still fed the explanations via the things they saw from the villains' perspective.

In the comics, this was somewhat of an issue - a lot of times, people would just feed the girls such a ton of exposition - but I feel that here, the incredible discrepancy between the potential for and the actual existence of mystery had a more broad range of reasons.

One of these is the fact that, similar to the show, what mystery was left was often completely eradicated by just showing the villains and their plans, only this time, it was made EVEN WORSE because comics have thought bubbles.

Second, you can't exactly have mystery when the entire world feels progressively like a bunch of drunk teenage fanfiction writers fought over whose idea would be the next to be half assedly handled over a few issues before joining Orube and Tibor in the ever-growing abyss of forgotten plot elements. Mystery is nice if it fits into a world, and feels surprising yet consistent, and especially in the case of a mystery enemy, the reader should be able to guess along, which they only can do if the plot makes sense and the world has some sort of rules. Sadly, that was less and less the case, until finally, the grand finale had the girls merge into Robo-Cop and each be handed a sense to control with negative five payoff unless you count toxic relationship enablement via supernatural forces as a huge win. Which brings me right to the next point:

If anyone can deus ex machina whatever, and at the same time, no one questions jack shit, then why should I care about any mystery? It's not like whether or not the characters predict it change anything.

Next, a lot of the "mystery" is just so poorly handled, especially regarding questionable alignment. Honestly, for any plot with a character whose alignment or motivation is supposed to be a mystery (see Erin, Cedric, Dr. Folkner, Nash,...), it's on par with the traitor in a game being the one undateable NPC. I honestly found myself mispredicting peoples arcs because the writing felt so on the nose or cliché I thought they could not possibly be serious.

Then, the girls themselves are either dumb as a loaf of particularly nutritionless toast or just don't give two shits about anything, often making the real mystery when they will finally reboot their obviously crashed brain computer. Like, they literally put massively more effort into washing Blunk in the cartoon than they put into supervising Cedric in the comic, and then they're actually surprised he's not sitting still? And in the Ragorlang Arc, with the white mask people, they literally admit they have not clue how to look for evidence, call out TV shows for making the characters find them per accident and simultaneously stumble across hints accidentally - which would be a fun moment if they didn't accidentally half their entire successes. Heck, in the Ludmoore Arc, they just gave up after realizing they needed Dean and Mrs. Junior Poetry League to plot convenience them through the first riddle and then had the book point them along the map and just be surprised at what hints the riddle gave them about the guardian once they found out anyway - which is a magnitude of retroactive down dumbing that should only, if ever, happen in one medium of storytelling: a pen and paper campaign. If you want to make a reader care about a mystery, make the characters put in an effort, and make them solving or not solving it matter. Especially don't put up the riddle and then make them stumble across the solution instead of finding it through their own effort.

Lastly, the comics just don't take the time to build up some form of mystery. Everytime a good, solid storyline starts putting up riddles, it's like the producers got over exited and couldn't wait for the end.

Now, just for fun, let's take a look at what is still, despite somewhat hating it, my favorite Arc, the Ludmoore one, and go through what I would have changed.

Firstly, I would have dumped Cedric off on earth an Arc early, and made him a suspect in that as well, maybe even leading to him being a reluctant ally, so the girls have already wrongfully accused him once. Let him off-handedly mention going to an old villa to salvage some books before it is torn down, but otherwise just partake in whatever story happens around him without showing any signs of a plan.

Now, when the actual element arc begins, keep the stuff about the eye watching them, but don't show if and how Cedric is involved in any of it. Maybe just let him mention some headaches or feeling unwell, but don't show his thoughts - leave it open whether it's an excuse or a genuine thing.

Then, when Matt is sucked in by the book, have Cedric tell them, like he did, that he warned him and Matt wouldn't listen. Have the girls be torn and maybe even fight over whether or not they should trust him.

Now the book starts spewing riddles, and only Cedric can understand them. Have him be cooperative, and let them all together find out Ludmoore was from Meridian and that he opened the portals. Maybe even let Cedric give out some of what he knows about the portals. Throw in some comments on how the elemental guardians work, and manipulate people, and have each riddle and guardian and stone be just a little more figured out by the girls themselves, and make the manipulation a bit more subtle. Definitely keep the switching patterns of who gets manipulated.

Finally, when they get to the book, let them put two and two together in there. The heart of Kandrakar is not the final stone from the legend - that final stone is the eye, and it has been controlling both Cedric and Ludmoore, maybe even one of them, the entire time, and has now moved on to Matt.

Now, I know this was less constructive, but I truly feel this is where w.i.t.c.h. massively falls short. I probably even missed half a dozen other reasons their mystery plot elements never worked for me. Feel free to add or disagree if you like!

[bobsie]

First kiss

Summary: of all your 21 years you've been lonely of love but you never thought it will change just from an encounter of a stranger

Hey i am sorry for not posting much lately i haven't been feeling well and I have tons of ideas but zero motivation to write them so I am sorry if this turned bad

Romance was everywhere, whenever you looked there are always a couple showing love to each other either by holding hands, hugging, kissing it was like the universe was laughing at you

Being 21 and the only one in your group of friends that never experienced love is kind of sad but you never thought about it because you always thought about studying studying and more studying

So while your friends were experiencing first love, first heartbreak, being confessed to, get rejected and all of that you were studying to make sure to not let your family down but that left you with a great lack of love experiences and a university you hate so much

And you started to regret everything when you saw how happy your friends were in their relationships, they have always told you to go easy on yourself and experience live a little but you were so stubborn and now you wished you had listened to them

You put on the final make up touches, your model friend had her birthday party held in a hotel you thought it was too much but it was her agency that held it because they want her to get to meet designers, photographers etc and that made you a little anxious because that means there will be many people that you didn't know and it didn't make you feel comfortable

At the same time you kept thinking that you have to look your best because professional people will be there and they will judge

You put on your most comfortable heels you so you won't suffer for the rest of the night even you knew your feet will still hurt but at least they won't hurt bad

You then took a quick look in the mirror before you started to head out you were meeting your other friends so you can go to where the birthday party was held

As expected it was loud and crowded you had met your friend earlier and told her happy birthday but then you lost sight of her in fact you lost sight of all your friends so you did the only thing you can do stand in a corner and try to finish the drink you had

But your plans were disturbed when you felt a tall figure standing next to you, you looked from the corner of your eyes and cursed under your breath immediately from the handsome man that was standing next to you you felt him turn his head towards you so you immediately looked somewhere else taking  the whole drink in one sip which made you choke

"Are you ok? Do you want a drink?" The handsome man sat his drink down and went immediately to help you

"I am fine" you coughed again "I am fine thank you" it finally stopped so you looked at the starnger's eyes and you felt like the world had stopped his eyes were so charming and so beautiful

After moments you realized you were staring at him and that you even made him blush so you stood up and took a step away from him and you were sure that your face was red because you felt heat all over your face

"What were you doing standing alone?" The mystery man asked

"I could ask you the same thing mister handsome" the man chuckled which made you realize what you said you cursed yourself for that, two drinks in and you started to talk nonsense

"Well my name is Asahi Azumane and well my agency wanted me to come for relationships works and other stuff but honestly i don't like crowded places" Asahi Azumane why does that ring a bell and after hearing his name you now think you met him before "now can you tell me why are you here alone"

"Well I don't like crowded places too and besides I can't find my friends"

Asahi smiled and you two stood there for a moment looking at each other it was kind of awkward you wanted to say something and not leave it like this but you didn't know what exactly to say

"I didn't get your name btw" his smile was sweet, charming and some what comforting

"Oh I am sorry my name is y/n l/n"

"Well y/n can I get you another drink then we can maybe go outside to talk away from the people"

"Sure"

You waited for Asahi outside on the terrace because he insisted to get the drink for you and so you went out first your body had goosebumps from the first blow of cold air that hit you as soon as you stepped out 

"Here is your drink" you smiled at Asahi as he handed you the drink you took a small sip not wanting to get drunk quickly

"So y/n what do you do?"

"I am on my last year on University and you must be a model right?" Asahi chuckled at your said question and moved his hand to his nape

"Actually I am a designer not a model"

"Oh" you started to put pieces together and now you knew it you knew why his name sounded familiar and why you felt you have seen him before

"Oh my god you're the Asahi Azumane, oh my god that's why you were so familiar" you said a little too loud for what you wanted your voice to be grabbing Asahi's attention

"The Asahi Azumane?" Asahi asked confused

"Yeah the ace that played with Karasuno when they finally went to nationals after a long time"

"wait you know me? But I don't remember seeing you at school"

"No unfortunately I didn't go to Karasuno at the same time as you but my brother was a second year and he was a friend with your libero so he took me to your game against Shiratorizawa and that was onw of the best games I have ever seen it made me so attached to volleyball and I even saw all your games in the nationals you all did great"

"I umm thank you" Asahi's cheeks were red you didn't know was it your compliments that caused it or the cold or the fact that he's almost done with his drink

"It feels like forever since that I still wish I can go back and experience this again"

"I wish I can go back and change some things too"

"what would you change if you went back in time?" You let out a deep sigh as you took a long sip from your drink finishing most of it

"I would take it easy maybe join a club, fall in love"

"fall in love?" Asahi turned his body towards you to give you his full attention you turned to face him too feeling a little shy of what you were about to say

"yeah I never experienced love at all no one would be interested in a shy girl who only thought about grades right? And I guess even after highschool no one has shown interest in me you know I am just like these background characters who doesn't have anything go on in their life" the corner of your lips turned into a small smile you looked away from Asahi embarrassed from what just left your mouth looks like the drink took control of you because you could have said it in another way that doesn't make you look this pathetic

"Well I know if we were both in Karasuno at the same time I would be interested in a shy girl who was thinking about her grades" you immediately looked up to meet Asahi's face he had the sweetest smile you have ever seen it made you get a weird feeling in your stomach

"th..thank you Asahi"

"I really mean it y/n" Asahi took another step towards you

"Huh?!" Your eyes locked together his hand slowly moved to hold your chin careful as if he could break you you could feel how sweet he is even from his touches

"Y/n this is probably me getting a little tipsy but do you mind if I was your first kiss" Asahi had kept fair distance between you two but you thought despite that you think he can hear how loud your heart was beating as it was about to break your ribcage and explode

"It's ok" it came out like a whisper but it was enough for Asahi to hear and close the gap between you too in a soft and sweet kiss you his hot breath on you sent shivers down your spine Asahi broke the kiss smiling as he looked at you but this wasn't enough for you, you pulled asahi closer to you and your lips met again in a more passionate kiss this time, this time you both were hungry for each other, hungry for the other's lips your hands ran through his hair while his travelled through your body

It felt like only the two of you were there and it felt like as if it was a fairytale to you

You both broke the kiss heavily breathing for the lack of air in your lungs Asahi rested his forehead against yours, your noses touching and smiles not leaving both your faces

"Would you like to go on a date Asahi?"

"I'd love that y/n"

the first kiss, the butterflies you get when Asahi looks at you, the feeling of love and being wanted everyone told you about falling in love you heard about it many many times but experiencing it with Asahi was different it was better than what you imagined

And you finally got to experience love with the best man you've ever known

[citylightsbooks]

The Motor of the Essay: Rachel Kushner in Conversation

This is an excerpt of a free event we held in conjunction with Litquake for our virtual events series, City Lights LIVE. This event features Rachel Kushner in conversation with Dana Spiotta celebrating the launch of The Hard Crowd: Essays 2000-2020, published by Scribner. This event was originally broadcast live via Zoom and hosted by our events coordinator Peter Maravelis. You can listen to the entire event on our podcast. You can watch it in full as well on our Youtube channel.

*****

Dana Spiotta: I know that everyone's going to ask you these questions about writing fiction versus nonfiction. And I read somewhere that you said, with your novels, you begin with imagery more than an idea or a character. With the nonfiction, there is a range of pieces about writers and specific books to journalism--like the prison story and Palestine--and then there’s the ones that are personal essays, right, like the girl in a motorcycle. So I guess they might all have different origins. But where do you begin with that? And how is that different as a process from what you write in fiction?

Rachel Kushner: Yeah, so it is kind of a different process for me, although I sometimes feel guilty to try to make declarations about which is harder, or how one does one thing, because you know, for some people, the essay is what literature is.

For me, fiction is more difficult. And so in a certain way it's what I've signed on to do with my life, because the process can be so mysterious and fickle and unreliable. And I'm waiting to catch a wave, or get the drift and then try to figure out how to sustain it, and then how to change it in order to sustain it. Managing so many different things at once is a very curious hermeneutic, because you need to know where you're going.

But then you also need to let happenstance inform you. I think some of the ways that we are challenged, and how we learn in our lives and also as writers, are by having encounters that we did not anticipate or predict, and that happens in fiction. And then you're kind of in a "taking mode" and you know exactly what's for you and you go with it and you run.

Essays are a little different for me. I mean, obviously. Time is shorter. But usually the motor of the essay is a sprung sentence. I come up with one sentence that is doing something in the syntax and it's making something sort of declarative. And it's kind of a gambit. And it needs to be followed by another. And sometimes I'll have a whole paragraph like that. And those paragraphs will just be floating in the void of the potentiality of the essay that I haven't written yet. And I don't sweat, like, "How am I going to link this to that?" yet. Because I just know by instinct that they're both going in. And if I put them in the essay, then they are interrelated by virtue merely of their proximity to each other. Then I start to build links.

Some journalism is a very different process. Like you mentioned, for the piece that I wrote, originally for the New York Times Magazine, about prison abolition and the carceral geographer, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, they said it can be any length and made it long. So you know, it was like 20,000 words. And it was my version of that essay, and it probably was a pretty good essay. But I think the weakness in it was that I was not speaking to their audience. And they really--you have written for the New York Times Magazine--they want to be able to countenance everything you say, sentence by sentence. It's not like writing an op-ed, where you just say your thing and then people can fight it out in the comments. They want to be fully on board. And I wouldn't want to have to do that all the time.

It's extremely difficult, because you have to keep remembering how to bring in somebody who may have wildly different ideas about how society should be organized, and not seem polemical, not seem pushy. It's a kind of seduction I think that really benefits from collaboration with an editor. It's arduous, it takes time. That essay took two years to write, but because the subject matter was important to me, ultimately, I decided it was worth it.

Dana Spiotta: Yeah, it's such a great essay. And I learned so much from it.

Peter Maravelis: When you're writing about events and feelings from decades ago, how do you return to the experience? What takes you back?

Rachel Kushner: That's a really great question. So, you know, with some of these essays, like the first essay in the book called “Girl on a Motorcycle,” which is about the Cabo 1000--a no longer existent, illegal motorcycle road race where you span the Baja in the course of a day--was the first thing that I ever published and I wrote it 20 years ago. And after looking back over it, in order to put it in this book and to improve upon it, I opened it up; I wrote a new beginning and a new ending. There are so many details and scenes in that essay that I never, ever would have remembered had I not written them down when I was much closer to the meat of that experience.

But there are other essays like the title essay which I just wrote quite recently. I'd put the book together, and I knew it was going to be called “The Hard Crowd.” And then I just basically sat down and wrote this essay. And I think, you know, as maybe you're telling a story, or going through your life, sometimes things really do sort of trigger the release of a memory. And Proust has this conception of two different kinds of memory that he calls voluntary memory and involuntary memory. And voluntary memory is the kind of fixed story that you tell, you know, "Oh, he's telling that story again," meaning it's a kind of sclerotic, hardened account that, for Proust, doesn't really have any real artistic or intrinsic wealth to it. Whereas involuntary memory is maybe when you would smell a perfume that you haven't smelled in 30 years and it reminds you of this or that. And I think that writing itself can activate involuntary memory, because you start to see into spaces you haven't seen in a really long time.

Like when I was writing this essay, I somehow ended up talking about Terence McKenna, and remembered that I'd seen Terence McKenna give this lecture at the Palace of Fine Arts. And then I saw the Palace of Fine Arts and him on the stage and where I was sitting, and who was in the audience. And so then I mentioned in the essay that this noise musician who I don't know, but I knew who he was, was sitting right in front of me. And that was a funny thing because the New Yorker called him and asked, "Were you at a Terence McKenna lecture in 1991." “Yeah, I was.” I mean he probably thought like the FBI is after him or something. I can start to see things and details in pretty haunting detail, particularity once I'm starting to build the framework that will allow those kind of involuntary memories to come up to present themselves.

Peter Maravelis: Do you feel that maybe kids who grew up in a certain era share communal memories, like growing up in San Francisco in the 70s is full of shared moments and scenes?

Rachel Kushner: Yes, I do feel that, but I would maybe even particularize it to not just an era, but to kids who grew up in a certain world within San Francisco. And I'm going to just be blunt: it's the kids who went to public school in San Francisco in the 70s and 80s. We all traversed a world together, and the particularity of that world. I'm not saying that it's special or different. Everybody has a world that they traversed, and that stays inside of them as memory. And ours is ours. And those who experienced it do feel bonded, I think, for life, in a way. And it's something I've thought about a lot since that essay was published in the New Yorker because of the number of people who reached out to me and wanted to talk about their own memories of this same world that we shared.

Peter Maravelis: In the New York Times review, Dwight Garner mentioned the phrase: “At the party, she was kindness in the hard crowd," from the Cream song "White Room." Is that in fact where your title came from?

Rachel Kushner: It is. I mentioned that in the title essay, it all becomes clear, or at least somewhat clear where I heard that song, and why I made it the title of this book. It's a good line.

To see upcoming events at City Lights bookstore in San Francisco, check out our complete calendar.