#but then i compare that with other players who have had similar stories…and i feel like i do have the perspective here���

[rolandkaros]

one day we will talk about how tennis fans talk about/treat players they find attractive versus players they dont…………

[bunabi]

I finished Veilguard btw so here's my long thoughts (be warned I've been writing notes during my entire playthrough so this is very long) for folks who want it:

My favorite parts of DAV:

Best level design in any DA so far. The platforming grew on me, and I think the levels were well-thought out and mostly fun to navigate. Arlathan Forest was exhausting but other areas felt nicely balanced with branching paths, hidden rooms, etc. Exploration in smaller contained maps done right imo.

Mage combat is really satisfying at higher levels. Pure ranged combat is totally impossible unless you have Davrin and Taash popping taunts back to back, but dropping a massive AOE while fighting close-range feels good too.

Being able to auto-equip and compare new gear is great.

Same with the codex entries. Not having to hunt down whatever note I just picked up is a huge improvement.

Upgrading equipment via duplicates incentivized treasure chest hunting, which I would have otherwise skipped lol. It really helped me slow down and take time exploring areas, and I appreciated that.

The final act didn't make the previous 70+ hours feel better, my fault for spoiling most of it for myself, but it was neat. Cool set pieces, cool fights. I was worried Elgar'nan was gonna have the same moveset as the Regrets, but his final battle was great.

Oh, I forgot Felassan! His notes were a tragic delight. Such a good man. Funny too. They didn't need to kill Varric to make Solas less sympathetic...I think Felassan's betrayal(s) serve that purpose well already.

Rook & Their Faction:

Without rehashing what I've said over the past few weeks: this is my least favorite protagonist.

Being a funny and sarcastic and irreverent hero in a DA game is not new. Not having a choice in the matter is. The Inquisitor was pretty fixed in their tone too (cant even choose a personality for them in CC) but even they had better aggressive options available.

Folks say not to judge Rook's depth by a Lord of Fortune playthrough but since factions are asymmetrical on purpose here are my impressions:

The Lords of Fortune didn't contribute to my run in any meaningful way other than getting Emmrich hot which is not unique, as it turns out, to any particular background. In fact, learning Natalene was a galley slave as an aside detracted from my experience. Being a former galley slave, former Circle mage (again: Rivain doesn't have Circles), semi-Dalish city elf with DIY vallaslin is unreal. Especially as characters continuously imply Rook is a young 20-something. The fact this wasn't immediately caught and course-corrected shows -- to me -- how hectic and spread-thin DAV's development really was. :(

Story & Antagonists:

Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain have cackling witch disease. No motivations outside of power. That was a little disappointing. Was also hoping they'd at least comment on Rook/Davrin/Bellara's vallaslin but they're too busy plotting world domination to really notice. Love their designs though. I'd love to hear a deep dive on how they animated Ghil's tentacles.

Veilguard feels like an immediate follow-up to Trespasser, not the ten year timeskip it says it is. I wonder if that's a symptom of adapting the live service story (content that was likely meant to stretch, similar to Anthem and Destiny, over a decade) for single-player.

I miss the politically-motivated meddling. Every villain is allied with the Evanuris. We needed some that aren't. The Right and Left Hand of the Black Divine, corrupt brothers of the Imperial Chantry, the agents of the Archon, a Minrathous street gang, some Rivaini pirates, anything, anyone.

It's crazy how all elven resistance seemed to evaporate with the dissolution of the Dread Wolf Army. As much as I'd hate seeing them duped and betrayed by Solas…I prefer that to just pretending everything's fine now. I could easily see alienage elves and slaves take Cyrian's path, desperate for change no matter the source, especially since oppression is all they've known and there's no end to it in sight. Especially with their gods confirmed as the source of the blight. All downhill from here I fear.

The Butcher. Would. That voice and that frame....it purred I fear. But even he was not immune to cackling witch disease. Wish he stuck around longer for personal reasons. My South is under siege and I aint talking about Ferelden.

Combat:

I found myself switching builds a lot, which was nice and kept things fresh. That being said: DAV needed loadouts for skills and equipment and a menu showing active passive skills + enchantments. A QOL update for this stuff would have been amazing. I want to try an archer run, but I dread (🐺) fussing with skill tree nodes again.

After fighting Mythal (my first full dragon fight) I was disappointed how all dragons share her same attack patterns. They didn't have to reinvent the wheel or anything -- this was the case with dragon battles in DAI and I thought it was fine -- but Mythal of all enemies should have been unique.

High-level demons are limited to Rage and Pride. High-level darkspawn are limited to Ogres. I miss those little scrungly lookin' despair demons and nasty ass hurlock emissaries. After 60 hours I did get a little tired of the same handful of mobs over and over.

Companions & NPCs:

The Veilguardians feel like my kids. Except Emmrich who's absolutely convinced he's in an age-gap relationship with my older lady Rook. It's not that they're uniquely dependent or rudderless, it's that their struggles are solved with nurturing pep talks. Reaffirm their worth, give them a hug, and all that inner turmoil is cancelled. Rich coming from the 'I should have been able to influence my companions more in DAI' girl, but Rook's impact on the Veilguard, the way their doubts vanish completely via some life coaching, feels off.

Speculation: I think the companions were originally planned to be NPCs. Their written banter in some of the notes, their verbal banter throughout the Lighthouse, they feel like they're meant to stay in the hub and act as quest-givers in the live service game. Especially with how Rook is excluded. That's fine btw it just helps explains some things. (Just remembered something else: when you talk to quest NPCs out in the world and the camera focuses in on the conversation, you can't see your companions. They chime in with disembodied voices, always hidden out of frame. That also gives me the feeling they were added later. Not confirmed btw just my hunch!)

Torn about Taash. I love them for breaking the 'agreeable companion' monotony but hate the ~animalistic race~ tropes they were saddled with. I've had issues with Weekes' handling of race and culture in the past. I'm disappointed to see it continue a decade later. I'll leave it there. Sten cannot smell ovulating coochie!

I tried to kill Lucanis during the final assault. Had full faction strength but I didn't complete his personal quest. It didn't work. Sorry Zevran!

Shathann's VA was acting her ass off. Great performance. Absolute bars from Taash's VA during their scenes too.

I dreaded (🐺) opening the Lighthouse map to see who wanted to talk. I usually love chopping it up and getting to know my party; that's my favorite part of any DA game. But so many conversations were just spent restating the obvious (Bellara is worried about The Gods and her brother, Harding is worried about her powers and Solas, Davrin is worried about the griffons and Gloom Howler, you know like in case you forgot). Running person-to-person-to-person and feeling no sense of accomplishment or progress for it seriously drained me.

The Inquisitor… I assumed vowing to stop Solas would block my Lavellan from pining and questioning herself after a decade apart and two very clear rejections. She kept asking whether he could still be reasoned with even in the midst of the final operation. I'm disappointed how little that choice mattered in the end. The second-hand embarrassment was crazyyy.

Romance:

Now this part is a little unique. Sorry for what I'm about to say about Emmrich. If it helps: I found him the most fun of all the companions. He's handsome, thoughtful, and has a fascinating past. But I ended up being dissatisfied by the end, and not just because of being soft-locked into a May-December fling, cringe commentary from Rook, and feeling like I was straight-up harassing Emmrich in early flirting dialogue.

The main issue: I don't care for the Mourn Watch. I like the Mourn Watch characters, but the organization makes me crazy. We hear so little about how they function in the context of an Andrastian nation like Nevarra. Summoning the dead in a world that still believes souls join the Maker's side in the Fade is huge. I wanted to really dig into discussions on the afterlife but in the end I'm supposed to go 'waow cool skeletons' and forget that religion is such an important facet of Thedas. I was so bummed!

I made him a Lich because he didn't seem to care either way. Reuniting him with Manfred is morally good, turning him into an eternal protector of the Necropolis is morally good. Emmrich is happy with whatever, so I gave him whatever, and I said 'whatever' when it was all over. My god is that man cute, but the romance overall just didn't do it for me.

Should've known when I saw his rotunda lol Bioware you sly dogs you got me again!

Personal final thoughts:

Well? I don't think I'm sad anymore, but I am left with complicated feelings. Obviously things are a little different for me being an EA Partner and getting an idea of just how much work has gone into making the game exist period. And I think because I can't blame it all on one person, shit all over it, and move on that these feelings are just kinda churning with nowhere to go.

Things could have been handled better. Didn't like the attempt to hide the world states until launch, or the dismissive comments from writers about it. Didn't like the AMA answers. And this isn't really my business but I'll say it anyway: I feel like the community council was thrown to the wolves, having to base their DA4 impressions around the sliver of content they were allowed to see, and having a much more hands-off role than implied.

I hope DAV is taken as an opportunity to refocus, double-down on what makes Dragon Age so beloved, and lean into those strengths unapologetically. Easier said than done -- as much as I loved Swen's speech about creating games free of marketing expectations and mimicking the latest trends that's often times impossible -- but I want to believe it can be done in this case.

Anyway both Sabine & my antibiotics are complete and I'm overcoming my moodiness and getting back to work on commissions! I've cured the Blight in more ways than one! 😄

[reidsmanuscript]

Seven Seconds

Summary: when Katie Jacob's gets abducted in a Mall, setting the clock for the BAU, who needs a legal favor, and it's been a year since the A.D.A. has know anything about Spencer Reid. Pairing: Spencer Reid x lawyer!reader Genre: pinning, SLOW BURN, maybe right moment?, angst bc i love angst wc: 4.6k! (i know so small comparing to part 1 bear with me) TW: cm canon typical violence, set in 05x3 "Seven seconds" (obviously lol), sexual violence, implied reader's dark past, glimpses of female rage. A/N: my idea for the serie is be taylor jenkins reid and have you question if lawyer reader exists or not (delusional bitch), english is not my first language and let's pretend it's proofread part I - part II - part III - part IV

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Spencer sat on the park bench reading a book while playing chess with Ethan, brilliant kid for his age and good opponent, not good enough though because when he cheered “I see checkmate in 5, What do you see?” It took Spencer one glance to calculate all the movements necessary.

“I see it in 3” he answered looking at his book again, the kid turned around the board and moved the pieces

“We've missed you out here” he said, staring at the board amazed.

“Thanks. I, uh, I had to take a little break”

“How come?” His hands froze on the book for a second before closing it.

Spencer had been clean for over a year now, it was 14 months and 2 weeks ago that he had freaked out after noticing his stash of Dialud was gone along with his needle. Where could he find more? Who knew about his addiction? Where was his stash? Who the fuck is Dr. Fitzgerald? Did you report him?

His first instinct was confronting you, given that you were the only person who found out his drugs that he knew, the first days he was a complete paranoid, he jumped every time Hotch called his name, or that Gideon looked at him a little too long.

At the end of the week he was thinking where he could find more, and when that thought scared him, he called the number of the card you had left in the same pocket his drugs used to be.

“Hello this is Dr. Fitzgerald” said a calm voice, it was 10 p.m. so there was a higher chance of going to voicemail, but he got an answer and the tremor of his hands got a little worse. Was it the anxiety or the withdrawal?

“Umm hello.. this is.. Dr.. this is Spencer Reid and someon-""I've been waiting for your call Dr Reid” the other line interrupted, he froze for a second.

“I used to play with a co-worker friend of mine. He's probably the best mind I ever went up against. One day, he just decided that he didn't want to play anymore.”

Fast forward, she helped him get clean and stay clean after Gideon left, getting tested regularly, and gave him the contact of the help group of FBI addicts. He was better, he was alive.

“So you gave up, too?”

“Just the opposite. I attempted to play Through every permutation of moves on a chessboard.”

“That's an infinite number of games.”

“It's not infinite. It's just- it's exponentially large.”

“You couldn't have played through them all.”

“There's an average of 40 moves per chess game, And I'll tell you something– the more I played, The more I realized that every single match every single chess game, Is really just a simple variation on the exact same theme. You know? It's aggressive opening, Patient mid-game, inevitable checkmate, And I realized why my friend quit. He was tired of repeating the same patterns And expecting a different outcome.”

“That's because you haven't come up on Fridays or Mondays in a while” the way his eyebrows went up along his voice tone made him feel like he knew something that he didn't.

His eyebrows furrowed “What do you mean?”

“There's this great player who comes around those days, she even brings the best pastries, and her games is similar to yours, always two or three moves ahead, she always beats everyone here… i think her boyfriend called her Buzz or something like that, like the Toy Story character”

“Buzz?… i don't really remember anyone with that nickname”

“It’s probably not that one but you don't know her because she started coming like 8 months ago.. I'm sure you have a lifetime of chess strategy in your head that you're just sitting on, but when you meet her?” He made a dramatic pause “You'll have to play it.”

He glances at his watch to realize his 15 minute break is coming to an end. “I still use it. I just, uh... I apply it differently. I have to go. It's good seeing you.”

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That evening, the BAU was called in for a local case—a little girl, Katie, had been kidnapped from a busy mall. A week earlier, another girl had been taken from the same location and found dead hours later. Now, they were all racing against the clock.

Katie’s parents were desperate. As any parents would be in this situation, right? But when Hotch asked the father if either of them was having an affair—a routine question in abductions—the man took offense. Deep offense. So much so that he refused to let the FBI search their house.

Now, what kind of parent refuses to help the police find their missing child?

In a small surveillance room, Morgan and Reid sat with Garcia, who was visibly frustrated by the mall’s ancient security system. They were surrounded by screens displaying grainy footage from different angles—well, almost every angle. They had a single glimpse of Katie in one video, and then, seven seconds later, she was gone.

JJ and Prentiss were with the mother, aunt, and uncle, trying to get a read on the family dynamic. Meanwhile, Morgan and Reid had conducted a cognitive interview with Katie’s cousin. It had led nowhere.

“The family has refused permission to search the house,” Hotch announced as he stepped into the room.

“What do you mean they denied?” Morgan’s frustration was evident. “Your only child goes missing, and you refuse to collaborate?”

No one disagreed. They were all thinking the same thing.

“The cousin didn’t say much,” Reid added. “He was too distracted in the game room to notice anything.”

Hotch exhaled sharply. “I’ll speak to the detectives, see if we can get a warrant.” His tone was firm, but they all knew time wasn’t on their side.

Garcia adjusted her glasses. “Sir, I mean this in the best way possible, but it’s almost 8 p.m. I don’t think-”

“I’ll handle it,” Morgan interrupted.

All Reid and Garcia turned to him with identical looks. What do you mean you will handle it?

Hotch’s eyebrows furrowed, but after a moment, he gave a small nod and walked away. Morgan was already pulling out his phone.

“I have a contact,” he explained, dialing.

He put the phone on speaker. It rang once. Twice. On the third ring, a voice answered—sharp, direct, and all business.

“A.D.A. Woodvale.”

Reid went rigid.

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It was late in the office; most people had already gone home, including your assistant Molly. All but Austin, who was still there because he had a lead on one of your cases. You knew he was still hanging around because, over a year ago, when someone had snuck into your office to harm you, you’d become a little paranoid. You’d gotten better, but Austin insisted on keeping you company, especially since your car was in the mechanic’s.

You were reviewing a legal brief, pen in hand, skimming the margins to jot down notes when the desk phone rang. Without looking up, you hit the speaker button with the tip of the pen.

“A.D.A. Woodvale.”

There was a beat of silence before a familiar voice cut in—smooth, direct, urgent.

Morgan called your name “Hey. We need a warrant. Fast.” You blinked, setting the pen down.

Reid and Garcia exchanged glances as Morgan jumped in without hesitation.

“Katie Jacobs. Eight years old. Abducted from a mall earlier tonight,” Morgan started, all business. “Another girl was taken from the same place a week ago—she was found dead hours later. We’re working against the clock.”

You frowned, swirling the pen, going through the multiple scenarios. You had heard about last week’s case, and how slow the police had moved back then.

“We’ve got mall surveillance footage,” Morgan pressed. “At first, we thought she just vanished, but Garcia finally pulled something from one of the side corridors. Katie wasn’t taken by force—she was walking calmly with someone.”

Your fingers tightened slightly around her pen. “Someone she knows.”

“Exactly,” Morgan confirmed. “That narrows it down to family or close acquaintances.” They all shared a silent thought. Family.

We know they’re hiding something,” Morgan corrected. “We just don’t have the probable cause to kick the door down.”

Garcia watched as Morgan paced slightly, his tone firm but urgent.

“That’s thin, Morgan,” Your voice came through the speaker, steady and unyielding.

“We don’t have time for airtight,” Morgan countered.

Your jaw tightened. “You don’t have time for me to get laughed out of a judge’s office, either. Refusing a search isn’t a crime, and suspicion alone doesn’t cut it. I need more.” You understood where the suspicious came from, how are you supposed to help them if they had nothing?

There was a pause. A beat of silence. Then, another voice—one you hadn’t heard in over a year.

“99% of abducted children who are killed due within the first 24 hours” He cleared his throat, willing his voice to stay even. Spencer Reid. “75% within the first 3 hours, and what only law enforcement knows is Jessica Davis joined the 44% of children who are abducted and killed within the first hour. We’re already past the three-hour mark. If we don’t act now, statistically speaking—”

“The likelihood of recovery drops exponentially,” You sighed, already standing up, ignoring how his voice sounded. So different. So… clean.

Your gaze flicked to the clock. 8:06 p.m. Damn it.

You grabbed a blank warrant form from her drawer and reached for a pen. “Send me the address and everything else you have. Give me 20 minutes.”

Click. You didn’t have time for goodbyes.

Austin raised an eyebrow from his seat. “Guess you’re not going home anytime soon.”

You didn’t look up as you started writing. “I never was.”

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The courthouse was mostly deserted at this hour. The fluorescent lights hummed quietly, and the stillness of the evening was only interrupted by the sharp click of your heels on the polished floors followed by Austin’s boots toward the judge’s chambers.

“You sure you don’t want me to take this one? Sweet-talk her maybe?” he teased.

You shot him a look. “You think Judge Holloway is the type to be charmed? Plus, you’re a private investigator, not a lawyer.”  

“She’s not gonna like you showing up this late.”  

You didn’t miss a beat. “If she’s still up, she’ll make time for this.”  

Taking a steadying breath as you stopped in front of the door, you quickly ran through your notes, making sure you had every detail in order. Then, without hesitation, you pushed through the heavy wooden doors of Judge Evelyn Holloway’s chambers.  

Inside, the judge barely glanced up from her paperwork. “You have two minutes, Woodvale.”

Stepping forward, you set the warrant request on the desk. “Your Honor, I apologize for the late hour, but we have a child abduction case we’re working against the clock. A young girl, Katie Jacobs, was taken from a mall over three hours ago. We’ve obtained surveillance footage showing her walking with an individual—someone she likely knows. We believe the family is withholding information, and they’ve refused to allow us to search the residence.”

The judge narrowed his eyes, folding her hands on the desk. “And what do you propose I do about it? What evidence do you have to warrant a search?”

Alex kept her voice steady. “We have footage of the girl with someone who wasn’t a stranger, Your Honor. The parents are refusing cooperation, and the father was evasive when asked about possible affairs, which raises red flags about his involvement.”

Holloway sighed, leaning back in her chair. “That’s thin.” You were ready for that.

“I have the full footage from the mall security, including a timestamp showing the precise time the girl went missing. She is last seen walking calmly with someone she knows, most likely family.”

There was a brief pause, and for a second, you thought you were about to lose her. So you pulled Reid’s words from memory, adjusting them just enough to make them your own.

“Time is working against us. Statistics show that 99% of abducted children who are murdered lose their lives within the first 24 hours 75% within just the first three. And only law enforcement-”

She cut you off with a raised hand, signaling you to stop.

The judge exhaled through her nose, it was late and you were rambling about statistics and you knew she wanted you out as soon as possible when you started citing numbers. So pushing himself out of her chair with a slight groan. “Fine. Get me the paperwork. I’ll sign it—but you better have your ducks in a row.”

You nodded, her demeanor unflinching. “Thank you, Your Honor.”

As you turned to leave, you couldn’t help but feel the weight of the hours ahead of you. But you were used to this—fighting against the clock.

“Let’s move,” motioning to Austin. He gave you a small nod. “You got it.”

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Exactly 15 minutes after the call, 5 minutes earlier than promised, Morgan’s phone rang. He answered it without even looking. 

"You got your warrant. I'll meet you there," Alex’s voice came through, crisp and businesslike, just as expected.

Morgan exhaled, his relief barely hidden. "Thank you, Woody."

He paused for a moment before adding, "I owe you one," then hung up, turning to Reid.

“Tell Hotch we’re heading to the Jacobs’ house,” he instructed, already moving toward the door.

Spencer had been timing her. It wasn’t the first time he'd gotten caught up in the tense waiting game of law and order, but the pressure of it had a different weight today. The memory of your voice, clear and resolute, echoed in his mind, sharper than before.

For Reid, part of getting clean wasn't just the physical withdrawal—it was the emotional weight of confronting his mistakes. The memory of how he'd lashed out at you a year ago still haunted him. How could he have been so cruel? The hurt in your eyes, the way he dismissed you, the way it all spiraled… it wasn’t just the drugs that had made him say those things. And the fury he saw when you looked at him, Dialuid in hand, how you looked like a timing bomb when he was trying to see if he could talk to you, the tension in your shoulders, the lock in your jaw, the grip on the file. He’d been battling so much more since then, in his mind, you saved his life by doing what he couldn't do.

He’d rather die than relive that moment again, than say those things. And yet, here he was, standing in the middle of another chaotic case, still carrying that guilt with him. He stayed behind Morgan for just a beat before pushing down his feelings and moving quickly. 

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The engine of Austin's bike rumbled to a stop as they pulled up in front of the house, where Morgan and Reid were standing in front of the black SUV. You slid off the back with practiced ease, taking off the helmet and letting your hair fall loose.

Austin followed your lead, taking his helmet off with a groan. “So, what exactly are we looking for?”

You shot him a quick, sidelong glance, handing him the helmet, keeping your expression flat knowing he’s about to be a drama queen. “You’re not coming inside. The warrant’s for FBI and police only. Not P.I.s included”

Austin paused, a mock pout crossing his face. “Excuse me? I just got you here, through all that traffic, risking myself to get a speeding ticket and now I don’t get to search? This is the second time in the night that you P.I. shaming me. Do you hate me?”

“If I hated you I wouldn’t have bailed your ass out of jail… twice” you remark the last part. He had a talent for sticking his foot where he shouldn’t be, maybe that’s what makes him good at his job.

“You act like you wouldn’t do it a third time” he was mocking, but he was right, something you would never admit to him. 

You start walking to the house “Mhm.” you hum rolling your eyes, heading towards where Morgan and Reid were. 

You didn't expect him to be there, or maybe you did, maybe you wanted to see him and know what had happened to him since the last time you saw him. They were looking at you, Morgan with a curious already-profiling-you stare, while Reid expression was more… cautious. He looked so different, his cheekbones were prominent in an attractive way and not sickly, he had put on some healthy weight and was not fidgety. You were not mad anymore, because of course at the moment the hurt had turned into rage like it always does for you, but it was more because of phantoms than anything else. 

“Got your golden ticket” you said, avoiding Reid’s gaze as you pulled the warrant from the inner pocket of your gray coat and swung it toward them.

Morgan nodded “You staying?” He gestured with his head to Austin who was leaving.

“I have to make sure you find something, otherwise the judge will have my head for this,” you said dryly, shrugging as though the threat didn’t bother you, but there was a flicker of seriousness behind your words. You were only talking to him, which felt rude because Reid’s stare was locked in your profile. 

Reid was thinking how pretty you looked, how the black vest suited you, and he couldn’t ignore the fact you had changed your brown bag to a black one that looked nothing like his. Your white shirt and gray coat gave you an older, wiser look, but as Reid analyzed your features, he realized he didn’t even know how old you were. You couldn’t be older than him. Serious, sharp, and young... How was it possible for someone that young to be the A.D.A.?

Reid’s mind couldn’t let go of the numbers. The average age of an Assistant District Attorney in the U.S. is 36. You couldn’t be older than 25, and yet you were already in that position.

You glanced at him for a moment before stepping inside the house, feeling the weight of his stare. The look made him snap out of his trance-like state, and of course, his eidetic memory hated him, because for that brief second, he remembered how you had looked at him a year ago.

Morgan nodded and thanked you again before he and Reid walked into the house. You left the warrant on the hall table with a deliberate touch, your fingers lingering for just a moment—as if to remind yourself that you weren’t entirely done with this.

“Somebody lit a fire last night,” you heard Reid say.

“Well, there are dirty dishes for three in the kitchen, so they eat together as a family.” Morgan’s voice carried from the other room as they moved through the house, taking in the details.

If Katie was in danger, the signs wouldn’t be in plain sight. You had to look where they hid—where children kept their secrets. Their bedrooms.

“Hey, my favorite movie from when I was a kid.” Reid held up a DVD, turning it in his hands before pulling it from the player just as you passed by him, tugging on latex gloves before heading upstairs, you did feel a little guilty for not even looking or talking to him, but it was something you did unconsciously. 

“So they watch movies together, too,” Morgan mused. They were starting to build a picture of the family’s dynamic.

“By a fireplace in a house that’s straight out of a catalog,” Reid added. “Norman Rockwell couldn’t have painted this any cozier.”

“That’s what worries me.” There was weight in Morgan’s voice. A tension that sat between them.

Upstairs, you searched through the rooms with careful precision.

When you first became a lawyer, you made a promise—never ignore a sign. Since then, you have gone further. You didn’t just refuse to ignore them; you searched for them. Hollow eyes. Unexplained bruises. Small bloodstains. You looked for them in teenagers, in young adults, in the elderly. But nothing—nothing—was more painful than a child who couldn’t speak up.

Because they were small. Because someone older, someone stronger, was hurting them. There's nothing more hurtful than not being able to speak out, to say something and stand up for yourself. Except when someone did—someone saw the bruises, the fear, the signs—and they looked away deliberately. Because a child’s pain was inconvenient. Because it came with a mountain of paperwork no one wanted to touch.

You had spent your whole life making sure you never looked away.

That’s why you were hunched over the small desk in Katie’s bedroom, flipping through her drawings when Morgan and Reid entered the room. They started searching, their movements efficient and methodical.

“Katie’s been wetting her bed,” Reid said as he lifted the duvet, inspecting the mattress beneath it.

“A lot of six-year-olds do. Could be bad dreams,” Morgan replied, crouching beside you as he sifted through a pile of toys.

You considered that possibility—it was perfectly logical. In a perfect world.

“Some kids won’t get up at night because they’re afraid of the dark,” Reid added, his tone careful. Almost knowing.

“Or it could be a lot more complex than that.”

Morgan had found a doll. Not a Barbie missing a shoe or one that had simply been played with too much. No—this doll was different.

Its hair had been hacked off, jagged strands sticking out unevenly. Red marker smeared across its face like smeared blood. Its clothes were yanked askew, twisted, and wrong.

“Most girls covet their dolls like an extension of themselves.” He took the doll in his hands like it was made of fine glass. 

“Reid, I know these signs-— acting out on her toys, wetting the bed. She's obviously covering up something about that necklace.”

“And her cousin might be holding something back.”

“Well, this looks more like a man than a boy to me,” you said, holding up a drawing of a tall, shadowy figure towering over a small, crying child.

Morgan took it from your hands, his expression hardening as he analyzed the image.

“Psychology says drawing is a child’s way of channeling their inner world. Look at the strokes—how harsh they are,” you pointed to the dark, jagged lines forming the tall figure, then traced your finger over the smaller one. “And this looks like Katie to me. She forgot to draw the hands, which means she feels powerless… helpless.” 

Morgan took his phone out, dialing up “Hotch, we think Katie’s being molested,” Morgan said, his voice clipped. “And we both know the odds.”

A brief silence. Then Hotch’s response, firm and certain. “Most likely by someone under the same roof.”

He hung up, and both men started toward the door, their movements brisk with purpose. But you stayed behind for a moment, rooted in place, taking in the scene. Trying to quiet the distant sirens that echoed in your mind, the same ones always shouting when you were face to face with these situations. A loud pause—maybe out of respect for Katie and her pain, for everything she had been forced to endure.

From the doorway, Spencer glanced back. The dim light from the hallway cast your figure in stark contrast, outlining you in shadow—your form dark against the soft glow of the room. He couldn’t see your expression, couldn’t read your face. He focused on the way your hands curled into fists at your sides, the tight set of your shoulders.

And he wished—just for a second—that he could see more.

　　　　 　　　 .˳˳.⋅ॱ˙ ˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙ ˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅.　　　

You stood outside, leaning against the wall, arms crossed tightly over your chest. By your side were Morgan, Jeremy, Katie’s cousin, and Reid.

Turns out, Katie’s uncle, Richard, was her abuser. A disgusting son of a bitch who deserved to rot in hell. And you were going to make sure he did. He had destroyed Katie’s childhood, probably more than just hers, shattering an entire family in the process. His own son, standing right next to you, was collateral damage he clearly hadn’t spared a thought for. And then there was his wife. The woman who had chosen to look away. Who had taken Katie and nearly gotten her killed, all for the pathetic, desperate hope that it would somehow stop her husband from creeping into little bedrooms at night. She deserved the same hell he did.

A stretcher rolled past, Katie’s small frame barely visible beneath the blankets as the paramedics guided her into the ambulance. Her mother clutched her tiny hand, whispering something—words meant to soothe, to promise safety.

A young voice cut through the air. “I heard her call my mom’s name. That’s what I remembered before.”

You closed your eyes, your mind already racing ahead. Your attorney brain was piecing it together, sketching out the battle that was coming. If the kid had heard it, that made him a witness to the abduction. His own mother had committed the crime against her niece. And God only knew what else he had seen—what else had been happening in that house—without fully understanding it.

“We get it, kid. That’s your mom,” Morgan said, his voice steady. But you knew the truth: if Jeremy could barely say those words to them, getting him to the stand in front of a jury would be another fight entirely.

The boy shifted on his feet, staring at the ambulance. “What’s gonna happen to me now?”

If God existed, He had already been too cruel. He had let all of this happen. And you knew how these things worked—knew there was a very real chance that Katie’s parents, burdened with their own grief, would resent Jeremy by association. That they wouldn’t take him in. That he would be swallowed by the foster system.

You wouldn’t let that happen.

The sirens blared outside the mall, cutting through the air with urgency, but it was the ones inside your mind that were louder—screaming in the same rhythm, as if they were one and the same. Distant and deafening, they filled every corner of your head, drowning out everything but the grim reality unfolding before you.

“I don’t know, Jeremy,” Reid answered, his voice gentle. “But we’re gonna make sure you’re alright, okay?”

Jeremy didn’t look at him. His eyes stayed fixed on the ambulance. “Is Katie gonna be all right?”

You wished—desperately, violently—that you could tell him yes. That you could say it with certainty and make it true. But how could you give him something you didn’t have?

“She will, eventually,” Morgan said, his voice firm.

You exhaled sharply. The words made your skin crawl.

“Is she?” The question slipped from your lips before you could stop it—low, bitter, nearly spat out under your breath. Just quiet enough that the kid wouldn’t hear. Just loud enough that Morgan did.

Before he could respond, you were already moving.

Your feet carried you toward the police car, toward the sick, selfish bastard they were shoving into the backseat. Your hand shot out, slamming the door closed—harder than necessary, just enough that it cracked against Richard’s face.

Morgan watched. So did Spencer.

And for the first time, he realized just how much of a puzzle you really were.

Partially because, throughout all of this, you hadn’t looked at him once. Not when he entered the room, not when he spoke, not even now, standing just a few feet away.

Partially because your eyes, when he finally caught a glimpse of them, were full of something he rarely saw outside of a case like this. Pure, undiluted rage.

Not just anger. Not just frustration. Something deeper. Something personal.

　　　　 　　　 .˳˳.⋅ॱ˙ ˙ॱ⋅.˳˳.⋅ॱ˙ ˙ॱᐧ.˳˳.⋅.　　

Feedback feeds motivation! Likes, reblogs and comments are all appreciated <3

[taniahylian]

Bessmert vs Vertin: Different ways of recording eras

So, after finishing the 1.9 event and pretty much confirming that the "Friend from afar" that writes articles for UTTU is Bessmert, I started reflecting on what she does, compared to Vertin, because at the end of the day they're quite similar characters, but with some key differences.

First of, they're both recording eras, but for their own reasons and in their own way. Vertin was given this task by the foundation, presumably so they'd have more information of how the storms work and how they affect historical events (plus, the way Manus interferes), while Bessmert seems to be driven by her own desire to share what she experiences in the form of articles and/or books, which leads me to the second difference; the medium.

Vertin takes pictures of everything she deems worthwhile, as we learn in the prologue, and also presumably makes some paintings, both of which are purely visual mediums. Meanwhile Bessmert, for obvious reasons, could never use those, and instead turns to writing.

But the major difference, imo, is what they choose to record. Bessmert writes about historical events (the theft of the world-famous rimmet cup, and how an unknown little town in the middle of nowhere saved itself and became prosperous) or major geological arcane discoveries (Pei city and it's Divination, and presumably Aperion and it's magical cave). Meanwhile Vertin records what she herself, personally, finds interesting; the single mother who wrote a play about the transantartica expedition, and a girl who had a collection of a futbol player photos are a few examples. Of course, some of the pictures she took happen to be of historical events, like the Apollo 11 launch, but they're not all she records.

What's even more interesting, however, is how Bessmert detaches herself from the narrative; she's never a protagonist in the stories she writes, and she doesn't try to influence their course or make connections with the people she meets; she's simply an observer. In Shuori she was forced to participate in the the story due to circumstances beyond her control, but even then what she wrote about the event seemed to be more like... collections of geological and cultural observations, rather than anecdotes of the people she met, or what she felt during the events.

Vertin, on the other hand, tends to be an active protagonist in any story she is in. See Green Lake and Uluru, for example; she interacted with the characters, helped them, used whatever resources she had to influence the story for the better, etc. Not only that; she formed personal connections and even invited them to the foundation and her suitcase, because this is the most valuable thing that Vertin deems worth preserving of each era; the people she meets and the bonds she made.

Vertin goes against the wishes of the foundation, to record what she sees without sparing any feelings for the people she met, while Bessmert... well, she really would be the ideal Timekeeper, wouldn't she?

[galpalaven]

Felassan - Inquisition Companion + Romance Option

I blacked out after work and wrote this in a daze. Enjoy?

Felassan presents himself as a Dalish dreamer mage and friend of Solas, joining up with Solas from the very beginning after the Conclave. 

He is romanceable by any gender or race, unlike Solas who is still race-locked (but bisexual — because the main gripe between the two is the topic of modern elves and anyone else being “real”). I think it would be interesting to also have specific dialogue if you try to romance both at once — Felassan would urge Lavellan to be careful with Solas either way, though it turns more clearly yearning and sad if the player has also triggered the beginnings of his romance.

Since Felassan’s addition to the group would be an extra mage, I think to balance all that out Cullen should be able to be taken at least on some outings, and we could have an extra rogue as well (Harding would fit here, I think).

more under the cut

Personality

As a friend of Solas and his direct counter, it’s immediately noticeable that Felassan is much more friendly and playful. Notably, he enjoys chatting up a Dalish inquisitor about being Dalish, and answers questions companions have about the elves with far more enthusiasm than Solas. If the two are in the party together, he will actively tell people not to listen to Solas and poke fun at him for being rude. 

He gets along well with all of the other companions. Some who get along less well with Solas will comment on how they don’t know how he’s still friends with him when they are not in the party together. He gets along especially well with Sera, showing interest in her upbringing without making her feel condescended to the way Solas does. He particularly enjoys hearing about the Red Jennies and her efforts at helping to even the playing field for the underprivileged.

He gets along with Vivienne as well — I think it would be interesting for Vivienne to be vaguely familiar with him after he had been friends with Briala. I think it’s not a terrible idea for him to have still been involved there, too, as it could come in handy during Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts.

Story Influence

The main differences with Felassan’s presence would likely come into play mostly with things to do with the elves.

Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

Felassan is one of the most useful companions in this quest. Knowing Briala personally makes it easier for the Inquisitor to convince Briala to either:

Get back together with Celene

Become the puppet behind Gaspard

Felassan knows his way partially around the palace and is able to direct the party slightly when looking for things needed to advance the quest. He is also friends with some of the servants, allowing them access to some of the servants’ tunnels in a pinch.

He makes cheeky, sarcastic comments about the nobility when asked. He’s better at not speaking about his past, so he doesn’t get shifty during the quest like Solas does. He’s happy to dance with the Inquisitor, enjoying the scandal it will cause, with maybe a special line with a Dalish Inquisitor. Rather than single them out and make them “special” compared to other Inquisitors, it’s mostly just on principle of relating to them as another elf, similar to dialogue that can be triggered with Bull about being Qunari (or Tal-Vashoth, in that case).

What Pride Had Wrought

Welcome Felassan as the 3rd option for the Well of Sorrows!

This is where he becomes a real player on the table. He will argue with Morrigan about the Dalish, correcting her outright in places. They never gave the Dalish Inquisitor a real chance to argue with her about things, or explain things themselves, so he has snarky commentary either correcting her or being surprised when she gets things somewhat right. There are also scenes where he will take up the explanation entirely.

Felassan being present also will give the player the correct answer to the rituals. He knows them, explains offhandedly that he’s been here before as an excuse, and makes it far easier for the player to ally with the Sentinels rather than fight them.

By the time they reach the Well, things are tense. 

Solas still fights with Morrigan and the Inquisitor both. If the Inquisitor brought him and Felassan both, he will immediately reject the idea when Felassan offers himself as an option. 

Romanced!Felassan wants to do this for you — he knows what will happen, he knows the weight of this decision, and he doesn’t want this for you. He will elaborate if asked that drinking from this well will bind you, not only to the memories within, but the will of Mythal. The Inquisitor can, at this point, shrug this off if they don’t believe in Mythal or that she is still alive to control them. If the Inquisitor still chooses to drink themself, he accepts this, but tells them that he will help them with any… side effects, should they arise.

Unromanced + High Approval!Felassan will say something similar — you are his friend and he wishes to keep you safe. He will elaborate similarly if asked with high approval.

Low Approval!Felassan offers himself as a Dalish authority, perhaps derisively suggesting that he is older and wiser than a Dalish inquisitor, and that this is his responsibility, not theirs.

Either way, Solas is NOT happy, but will ultimately accept the final decision.

Trespasser

We come upon the eve of the Betrayal of Felassan.

At low approval, Felassan will have left some time in between the end of the main story and Trespasser, seeking to follow in Solas’s footsteps and find him. Despite not having high approval, Felassan is still fundamentally opposed to Solas’s decision, and will be trying to track him down alone to stop him — something Solas has been running to avoid at every turn. He does not want to see Felassan — he does not want to kill his best friend.

High approval and/or romanced Felassan is present and there to help the whole way through. 

Romanced Felassan particularly will have a scene where he will quietly pull his love aside and ask if they trust him. If they say yes (or “You’re scaring me.”), he will tell them that this will sound crazy, but ask them to listen until the end before saying anything else. He will explain the story of the Dread Wolf as he knows it — the rebellion, the Evanuris, the vallaslin, all of it — and then, at the end, explain that he knows this because he lived it. He tells the story of the slow arrow and the Dread Wolf (a Dalish inquisitor can recognize it midway and will interrupt with surprise) and explains that he was there. That he has known Solas for thousands of years, that he has walked this land for thousands of years.

He will also explain that he knows what Solas wants and that he must stop him — that they must stop him. Solas wants to fix what he thinks he broke, but the people alive today do not deserve the fate he would have of them.

And Felassan is willing to do whatever it takes to stop him.

High approval Felassan will explain in much less detail via commentary while discovering the murals in the Crossroads, leading up to eventually finding Solas.

Once Solas has been found, Felassan runs ahead of the group, disregarding calls for him to stop. The Inquisitor is left one man down as they chase after him until, finally, they reach the place where Solas waits — and they find Felassan in Solas’s arms, a knife through his ribs.

Felassan will be stabbed by Solas regardless of Felassan’s approval with the Inquisitor. However, depending on choices made during either Solas or Felassans personal quests, and maybe Solas’s level of approval with the Inquisitor, Felassan can die.

The Inquisitor who loves him or is his friend will rush forward as Solas stumbles back, catching Felassan and holding their hand over the wound, careful not to move the dagger. Between the blood and the Inquisitor’s mark consuming their other arm, they are a sad sight.

Solas apologizes, but states that it was necessary. He would only get in the way. The questioning continues as normal here, up to Solas taking the Anchor.

Romance

I’m not entirely sure how this would go yet. I think he’s playful and flirtatious if the Inquisitor starts it. He will throw out Dalish phrases sometimes “for privacy,” with a Dalish inquisitor, which comes with a very obvious, if not always visible, wink. 

His quests do focus around his identity as an elf, and around preserving elven history, whether the Inquisitor is Dalish or not. While this kind of happens with Solas, a lot of his dialogue is about how wrong the Dalish are — Felassan provides a different, more loving perspective on the modern elves compared to the ancients.

I think a love triangle route between him and Solas would be SO juicy. He wants his friend to be happy, but he knows that Solas does not believe that the elves are full people, and is concerned for the Inquisitor because of this. I think even if the Inquisitor locks in Solas, if the flirts were triggered with Felassan, you CAN actually come back to his romance after Solas dumps you (which, especially if they let him remove the tattoos, can hurt both you and him). I think it unlocking a special scene where he says that yes, he knew what they were and yes, he chose to keep his because he wanted them, would be sweet (and relatable if you chose to kEEP the vallaslin).

Overall, I think his romance would be sweet and fun. A direct counter to Solas and Sera, two elves who hate other elves. Felassan is proud of being an elf, he is proud of the resiliency of both the Dalish and city elves. He’s interested in every part of the world, including the dwarves, Qunari, and humans.

It's been a very long time since I played DAI so please forgive any inconsistencies. I just needed to write something down after work lol. tagging people who showed interest earlier! @lammstrellicon @swoleas @isayashai @witchofthewakingsea @ash-soka

[roosterforme]

roosterforme's Bob Floyd masterlist (Bob x Reader)

(welcome to my masterlist, Bobby!) roosterforme masterlist

Stiff Competition After visiting your bakery one time, Bob has a crush on you. The only problem is, so do all of the other guys.

The Kind of Girl I Could Love Bob has a secret admirer, but he's convinced it's actually Jake and Nat messing with him. 

Stud On Board You're nervous to meet Bob's friends for the first time. Initially you think they are poking fun at you, but then you realize that's not the case. When it becomes obvious that it's your boyfriend they're picking on, you make it a point to let them know just how much of a stud he really is.

The Wingman Bob never did this sort of thing. Talking to girls and flirting and romance. It's not that he didn't want to, he just didn't really know how. But you were different in all the right ways, and you made him feel confident enough to try. 

Brighter Than a Supernova Bob planned to simply stop by Phoenix's Hanukkah party for a few minutes before heading back home. He'd hang out with the guys for a bit, even though he never quite felt like he fit in with them, and he'd meet the little sister Phoenix often referred to as annoying. But he had no idea how bright and magical one night could be compared to every other night that had come before.

Explicitly Yours When Bob met you, he fell for you hard and fast. He thought you might be his perfect match, the one that would make his days feel full instead of lonely. He never would have dreamed you had a secret. But secrets are known to be revealed at the most inconvenient of times, and Bob's surprised hesitation could cost him the thing he wants most.

Some Things Take Time Bob is a man well known for his patience. He never rushes things in the air, and he tries to live by a similar philosophy on the ground. You and he are both on the same page about welcoming a child into your home through foster care, but it's hard for him to watch you try to bond with her unsuccessfully. He soon realizes that Avery is a lot like him, and that some things are worth the extra time.

The Curveball (13 Part series) Bob x OC Molly from Batting Practice! When Bob started coaching a tee ball team with Bradley, he was surprised to find how much he enjoyed it. But the last thing he expected was to fall in love with Molly, the beautiful and exciting aunt of one of the players on the team. Bob is hooked after one look at her, but he's afraid that he could never be enough.

How Old Are You? (a Curveball/Batting Practice one-shot) Bob only gets one birthday every four years. When his wife, Molly, realizes it's almost Leap Day, she throws him a party any nine year old would love. And it's the perfect celebration for a thirty-six year old, too.

Covering the Classics (19 Part series) Bob never experienced a romantic relationship like the ones his friends have found. He silently craves the love and attention that he used to think were only real in novels and works of fiction. Then he meets a mystery woman who turns out to be the new literature professor at San Diego State University, and he starts to believe he could have a non-fiction love as well. This story is part of the Beer Boy and Sugar universe and the Jake and Jessica universe

[fischlcatgirl]

okay here are my thoughts about genshin at the moment. i have been not making this post for a little bit because it. pisses me off.

I don't know what the fuck they think they're doing with these characters. HONESTLY. yes the state of them was getting worse gradually. it doesn't take a genius to figure out that when part of a character's draw is how strong they are, in order to get people to buy more and more characters, they have to get stronger and stronger.

but what felt before like a gradual incline turned into a fucking cliffside when natlan dropped and mualani was released at a similar power level to neuvillette (who had just just just powercrept every other hydro dps) WITHOUT the same investment or supports he needed.

The problem I think really is not the character kits themselves. It's not that they're out of ideas. It's just that the multipliers are fucking crazy. and to be frank!! I don't think i've seen one person who is happy with the direction things seem to be going.

i can't deny that there are a lot of good older characters and i wouldn't try to. I am. and perhaps will forever be. a fischl main. (all things considered a very lucky main pick. i considered xinyan) But i am annoyed by ccs who will try to tell you that international is still perfectly abyss viable. like girl. go play international then. go play kokomi taser. go play morgana.

content that should be designed to be challenging mechanically is NOT because it's way easier and more profitable to create a situation where the game looks you dead in the face and goes. drop 2000$ for c2 mauvika and citlali and just kill the enemies before they 1-shot you. otherwise enjoy the next half hour of restarting the chamber.

the fact that they changed the rules for the chronicled wish to put shenhe on rather than let go of hu tao, especially when they have arlecchino right there to give as many regular reruns as they want, is particularly scummy. especially after over a year of shenhe not having a rerun. incredibly nasty. just a flagrant display of how little they care about the feelings of their players as compared to their bottom line.

They're a business. Whatever. That doesn't make it cool or right.

I love genshin's story. I'm concerned for its direction. I'm concerned for the writing of its characters. Maybe I'm missing something, but Mualani's hydro vision doesn't represent jack shit in terms of a duality of character. Citlali could have been absolutely fascinating but has instead been reduced to a tusundre love interest for the traveller to a degree they didn't even inflict on Ayaka. We're supposed to see playable Skirk soon-ish, which I would love to be excited about but tbh with how they handled citlali (another woman who is hundreds of years old and incredibly powerful) I am preparing myself for disappointment.

WHICH SUCKS! I love genshin! I love it! I think that it started out a good game, and that it could be a good game again. Who knows? Maybe natlan will be the character-release equivalent of inazuma's story quest: kind of bad, but with much better things after it. Maybe they'll finally start running three characters at once. Maybe Childe will come back and I will forget my troubles again. I will quit genshin once it becomes virtually unplayable, or once they start releasing doubles of the same character, whichever comes first.

tldr; natlan powercreep needs to end and i really hope they don't fumble any more characters like they did citlali, but ultimately i still really like genshin and want to know where it is going.

anyway, if you got to the end of this long ass post i would love to know what you think and I would LOVE to talk about genshin i will do it until the sun comes up in the west. please talk to me about genshin

[bangs-coffee-fandoms-unite]

Quick essay that no one asked for on the ship of Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho. I see this pairing being commonly compared to the likes of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter, and while I definitely see the similarities, to me, the (oddly enough, heterosexual) couple they remind me the most of is Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia.

These characters are from the television show The Great, and long story short, Catherine the Great begins as a naive and optimistic young woman who marries Peter III, and her optimism shatters upon realizing how cruel and spiteful her husband is, and she decides to overthrow him. However, despite everything they do to each other over the course of the series, including attempting to kill and overthrow each other and murdering one another's loved ones, they somehow fall in love.

Their love is so powerful and all-consuming that even those around them, closest to them, cannot fathom it after all that they have done to one another and to me that is how Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho are. Often people argue that Gi-hun would never in actuality love In-ho after what he did to countless players and Jung-bae, but that is the point: like Peter and Catherine, their twisted love transcends the violence and betrayal, showing a deeper connection that defies logic and reason.

Specifically, there is one scene played out between Peter and Catherine that I could easily see happening between Gi-hun and In-ho. In a fit of rage, Catherine finally stabs Peter (who is actually a body double of him), and she thinks she has killed him, and upon realizing what she has done, she breaks down in sobs and falls to her knees. Then the real Peter appears, and Catherine, realizing he is alive and how she felt when she thought she had killed him, realizes her feelings, and he holds her while she cries. I can totally see Gi-hun somehow managing to shoot The Frontman (who is actually a double as well, let us say) only to similarly break down in tears and feel utter devastation over what he thought he had done. Then In-ho appears, revealing that the individual in the Frontman outfit was a double, and Gi-hun is overcome with a multitude of feelings like relief, shock, and love, and cries before going to the other man and embracing him.

[mifluffy-thoughts]

MLQC & LaDs Comparison: Sylus and Gavin

This is the first post in my planned series comparing the LIs of LaDs to the ones from MLQC. I am doing this as InFold has already shown they have a few things they tend to gravitate towards in their writing, and common themes between the two stories can help better understand both and possibly even come up with theories. Originally, I planned to do a comparison between Sylus and all the MLQC LIs, but I just had too many things to talk about with these two so I'm going to do it one by one. For clarity's sake, the MLQC MC will be referred to as P!MC (producer MC) and the LaDs MC will be referred to as H!MC (hunter MC).

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING FOR BOTH GAMES

General Stuff

Sylus and Gavin are practically polar opposites if looked at from afar. Sylus is a criminal, Gavin is a cop. Sylus loves fancy suits, Gavin absolutely hates them (even if he looks great in them :3). Sylus's main colors palette-wise are black and red, Gavin's are blue and white. Sylus has very particular tastes and will barely touch anything he finds to not be "good enough" (you will not catch this man wearing Shein) meanwhile Gavin just wants his stuff to be functional. Sylus does not have the best musical abilities, while Gavin can play the guitar and sing on-tune. I could go on and on about the things they are complete opposites in, and they are on a surface level, but there's a lot more to look at with these two. Dates and Birds

The first thing that came to mind while I was thinking about this is the fact that they have dates that are terrifyingly similar in concept. When I was reading Sylus's Nightplumes memoria, my jaw hit the fucking floor. The concept is fairly simple. H!MC finds an injured dove and asks Sylus to take care of it when she has to leave Linkon. When she returns, they have a cute romantic moment when they meet up and when they free the dove.

Now, let me tell you the concept for Gavin's Brilliant Date. This date is attached to a card from an event in which the player had to log in daily and do a small task to eventually get the free SSR card. The story behind the event is this: Gavin finds an injured dove and begins taking care of it, however he gets a mission and has to leave, so he asks P!MC to take care of it. The date attached to the card shows their meet up once Gavin comes back and the romantic moments that takes place before, during and after they release the dove.

Sound familiar?

While the romantic moments that take place in the dates (as in, the scene with the snow and fireworks for Nightplumes and the window and rooftop scenes for the Brilliant Date) are very different, the overall concept is practically identical, the roles are just switched. And listen, I don't know if "nursing an injured dove back to health while the character who first found the bird is out of town" is a common trope in Chinese VNs (I have only played LaDs and MLQC. I tried Tears of Themis, it wasn't my jam), but in all other otome games that I've played, and I've played a lot, I have only seen this happen in these two occasions. Please correct me if I'm wrong, tho.

Now, what does this imply about the connections between these characters? Well, I feel like this was mainly just to strengthen both of the characters' bird connections, as they are both associated with birds. Sylus's bird association is much more concrete, with the crow imagery basically being yelled at us every other second. Gavin, on the other hand, is much less connected with one bird but rather all birds (that can fly). Gavin acts a lot like a bird- he eats everything with little complaint, he prefers to enter P!MC's apartment through the window, he is very curious and often gets into shit he shouldn't. As such, these two dates serve to highlight these two characters' "birdiness". Tracking MC and Protectiveness

You read that right, both of these characters track MC (with her consent, ofc), albeit in different ways. Sylus tracks H!MC via Mephisto and Gavin tracks P!MC using his Evol (although at first he tells P!MC it's through a GPS tracker in the bracelet he gifted her, probably because this was only a few hours after she found out Evol existed and didn't want to freak her out even more and to have a easy way to identify her). The reason they track MC is the exact same, to keep her safe. Both of them know their MC is being targeted by dangerous forces, and they are unwilling to risk her getting into danger.

However, there is one major difference in the ways they track MC that show a key difference in their protectiveness. Due to Mephisto having a camera and microphone, Sylus doesn't just know where H!MC is, he also knows what she's doing and what she's saying. This gives him a perfect image of what she's up to and, more importantly, who's around her. Sylus knows H!MC is in extreme danger not just because of her Evol and the aether core and whatnot, but also because she's involved with him. She's a target for countless of people. Not only that, she's a hunter. Her job puts her life on the line constantly as she fights to protect Linkon from wanderers.

Sylus knows how reckless H!MC can get if it means saving others. He's experienced that first hand. He knows the lengths she went to just to save him. Of course, we all know how that ended, since he was willing to do the same. But H!MC way back when they first met didn't love anyone aside from him. Now, there's so many people she loves, and he's terrified of that being used against her in any remotely similar way to how it was used in the past. Gavin, on the other hand, only knows where P!MC is. From what I gather, his Evol lets him "feel" what's in the wind. The bracelet was probably just a way for him to easily know that it's her since it's one-of-a-kind. Once he got used to how she felt, he didn't need it anymore. And while he may be protective of her, and he may be terrified of what could happen to her, he has much less to fear than Sylus.

Unlike Sylus (so far), Gavin knows he's not the only one looking out for MC. At the bare minimum, he knows Lucien will protect her, and implications from chapter 18 show that he might also be aware that Victor and Kiro are also looking out for her. And those are just the strongest. Minor and Anna are also keeping her safe in their own ways. Gavin will protect her the most he can, and is willing to go to any lengths to keep her safe, but his worry is much less about who could be a danger to P!MC, it's about what. When P!MC is about to get shot, who saves her? Gavin. Because he knew where she was and he could feel both the sniper and the bullet. And this happens twice. When P!MC is falling from Loveland TV Tower, who saves her? Gavin. Because he could feel her falling and could save her quickly. And in all but one of these situations, Gavin isn't the only one keeping P!MC safe. The first time someone tries to shoot her, Lucies further protects her with a force field. When P!MC is falling, Kiro is making sure Black Swan doesn't get to her.

So yeah, this is something where they are both extremely similar and also very different.

MC Saving them Through Music

The way Gavin's Evol awakened is pretty iconic (if you're in the MLQC fandom). For those who are unaware, Gavin fell off the roof of his and P!MC's high school. Unless something miraculously broke his fall, he was going to die. But then he heard P!MC playing the piano. Something about the tune she was playing awakened the Evol within him, allowing him to fly by controlling the around him. This made a ton of gingko leaves fly around him, and he was able to survive. Had it not been because of P!MC's song, he would have died.

Then there's Sylus. The way her song saved him is in a much less physical sense, but it was because of her song that he was not only able to begin understanding human emotion, but also get the will to survive for long enough to save H!MC. When he first hears the song on the organ, he is genuinely moved. Up until that point, he thought he was basically unable to feel anything aside from desire. Whether it was the desire for acceptance, the desire for gold or the desire for revenge, that was all he knew. But the song made him feel something different. When he was injured to near-death, it was that song that gave him the will to live. Of course, we all know how this story ends.

Honestly, both of these moments are extremely heart breaking. Neither Sylus nor Gavin really cared about their own lives. Sure, Sylus pretended he was happy just collecting treasure and getting revenge on those who trapped him, but he was absolutely hated by everyone. As soon as his horns started growing, his world fell apart. Everyone attacked him, everyone thought he was a monster and he hated it. And then Gavin was made to feel like dirt by his father. The only reason Gavin was alive was to protect his mother and his brother, but eventually he lost them both. And as soon as his father saw any potential in him, he became just another pawn in his games. Music reminded both of them that there's more to life then just surviving.

Other Stuff

To wrap it all off, I'll just list some other things I noticed about these two that are worth mentioning but don't have enough juice for me to write paragraphs and paragraphs of.

Both of them went through some kind of "rebirth". Gavin had his rebirth with his Evol awakening (keep in mind he thought he had no Evol as far as I'm aware) and Sylus had his dragon rebirth

Both of them learn that justice isn't as simple as it's made out to be in the worst way possible. Sylus through how he was hated by everyone due to being a dragon and how P!MC was tried in court and Gavin through basically his entire arc in S1

Both of their backstories are heavily linked to a plant. Gavin has the ginkgo while Sylus has the datura

Both of them are often perceived to be cruel or monstrous by others, especially when they were younger

Both of them have several occasions where their MC has to patch up their wounds

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed this very thorough comparison. Up next will probably be Zayne and Gavin because I just cannot stop thinking about their similarities. No promises, tho! -Fluffy

[eurothug4000]

INTERVIEW WITH TOMM HULETT - SENIOR ASSOCIATE PRODUCER ON SILENT HILL DOWNPOUR

As part of my video on Silent Hill Downpour, Tomm kindly agreed to be interviewed! A big thank you to him for providing insight on the making of this title :)

Q1 - What led to deciding that open world aspects would be included in Downpour? Was it the trend of games at the time or was there something else that influenced this?

I had several aspects of the original SH games that I kept championing for the new ones, and one aspect was how much of SH1 was exploring the town itself. It was (relatively) huge! SH2 had a smaller more focused set of “town” areas, and then SH3 reused those. Origins brought it back to a degree but there wasn’t very much to do beyond the main quest.

Another thing I loved was how the notes in the original games would often mention characters or side stories that were not part of the main quest but definitely contributed to the atmosphere and creepiness. Lastly, as you said, open world games like GTA3 were cropping up all over. So these three factors all coalesced to become Downpour’s big explorable town filled with optional side quests that told little mini stories. But to be clear – we were not asked “can you put in something modern like Open World?” It’s more like what we wanted to accomplish with the town and sidequests made sense in an open world context, and then that created an exciting bullet point for marketing organically.

Q2 - Was there ever supposed to be a UFO ending? If yes, was there a rough outline for it?

We were not planning a specific “UFO” ending and I don’t actually recall why. We did plan for a joke ending, which turned into the happy birthday surprise. Or, it’s possible we planned for a UFO ending but someone came up with that instead and we just went with it, due to the nice escaping prison aspect of it.

I do know we wanted a wide variety of ending types, like the original games had, which is how we ended up with cool twists like the Anne/Murphy prison swap, etc.

Q3 - How did you get Korn on board for the theme?

When we got the unfortunate news we could not involve Akira Yamaoka, we knew that finding a worthy replacement for the game’s score was job # 1, and we were fortunate enough to be connected with Daniel Licht who did an amazing job matching the mood of Silent Hill with his own style.

But another big aspect of the SH music is the attract mode video, along with a rock song. Of course Yamaoka-san had always handled this as well, along with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Since this was kind of up in the air, our licensing department wanted to find a good licensing partner that might extend the awareness of Silent Hill beyond its core audience, but still sounded brand-appropriate.

A lot of different artists were discussed, but in the end, Korn made the most sense due to a variety of factors I can’t really get into. However one key factor was tailoring the lyrics to Silent Hill Downpour, rather than just being given an unreleased B-side as-is.

Q4 - The architecture (more so interior) style in Downpour feels very unique compared to the other SH games. Slightly gothic, almost like fancy buildings in New York - especially those apartments and office buildings! Although once I learned that the development team was based in the Czech Republic, I felt like maybe that was a big influence. What was the thought process behind going for this different style of environment?

I think a lot of this is, as you said, the Czech influence. Western Europe and North America have enough common threads I think it’s probably more similar than we realize if that is our whole sphere of reference. And obviously game players are familiar with Japan through games (Yakuza and Persona of course, among others) but Eastern Europe is far less represented. I think that Vatra “making what they know” had a positive effect on the games visuals and ambiance. It is the most unique and interesting of the Western SH games.

I think it’s generally accepted that as a whole, western gamers prefer the original SH games, made in Japan. And it turns out, there are a lot of Japanese fans who love the Western games most (going so far as to import Homecoming!), which was an interesting thing to discover. It tells me that an important part of Silent Hill’s creepiness is that sense that something is just OFF that you can’t put your finger on, and maybe it’s a result of unconscious cultural influences creeping into the design of the town itself, then being perceived through a different cultural lens.

Q5 - What were some of the most difficult parts of developing Downpour?

A minor challenge was the fact that fear is so subjective. Between two people sure, but let alone 2 teams in different cultures. So at times there was a lot of heated discussion about what the important parts of a scare or intense moment were, and what the audience would respond to.

The biggest difficulty though was external, just knowing the feelings and expectations of the fanbase at the time. The other Western Silent Hills had their fans of course, but nothing had made a huge splash like Silent Hill 2 (which itself wasn’t popular immediately but that’s a different story entirely!) We were very proud of Shattered Memories, but that was an unconventional entry and we just really wanted Downpour to be the “HD Silent Hill” that fans deserved. We all put a lot of pressure on ourselves. However even taking a quick peek at any forum there was so much cynicism it made the work challenging. And then at some point during the final year or so of development, an infamous series of videos released and sucked up a lot of air in the room as it were.

It also ended a lot of the spirited debate that Silent Hill fans enjoyed, as there were a lot of declarations of the “true” canon or “here’s what the game is REALLY about”. Those debates were always what kept the fanbase alive and vibrant, and it was rough seeing that go away. I don’t really feel like Downpour was given its fair shake in the indepth analysis department, which I was really looking forward to seeing, during development!

Q6 - What were some of the reasons behind the enemy designs of the game? Are their appearances all stemming from Murphy’s mind and experiences? Or Anne’s too? The prisoner types felt like they could be both, but the Dolls in particular made me wonder since they feel more related to her backstory!

It is kept purposefully vague. Obviously at first you’re supposed to assume this is Murphy’s Silent Hill, and the enemies need to support that. But then when you realize this is perhaps Anne’s story that Murphy is caught up in, they can’t betray that idea either. Fortunately the two characters have a lot in common. Murphy is a father willing to do anything to avenge his child. Anne is a child willing to do anything to avenge her father. Both have failed marriages because of their trauma, and so on.

Honestly this is one of the things I was hoping to see more debate about among the fanbase!

Q7 - For the Anne’s Story comics, was that originally supposed to be the basis for DLC for the game? I saw a mention of this online but wasn’t sure how true it was! Were there plans for other DLCs too?

In the very beginning, Anne and Murphy were conceived to be a 2-player experience, so each player could see situations from a different perspective, and we could play with that idea a lot. However after a very short time we realized that idea was a bit ahead of its time, and we focused on making a solid single-player horror game, but the overall story themes remained – but obviously you see less of what Anne is actually doing moment to moment.

As we were wrapping up the game for release, there were conversations about DLC and what form that might take, and Devin and I knew instantly it would be Anne’s side of the story. I wrote up a general structure of it for internal discussions. DJ Ricks had also had a more detailed story originally, so I tried to get some of those details back in as well (when this DLC fell through, I added his story in the Book of Memories DLC – if anybody still has a Vita and wants to delve into that!)

Right around the time I was leaving Konami, there were early discussions with IDW to release a companion comic to Downpour, since Tom Waltz was their SH guy (and has gone on to write their TMNT books and many other great things. Congrats Tom!) and had also written Downpour for us. I gave him a breakdown of my ideas for key moments in Anne’s story; things like Murphy and Anne operating in different chronologies (Murphy sees Anne in the clocktower otherworld BEFORE seeing Ricks, but Anne traverses that otherworld AFTERWARD), or a drowning Anne desperately reaching out for Ricks’s hand, only to find it’s a severed hand tied to his boat.

It took a few years for that deal to come together with the right artist, but thankfully it did! It’s a great companion piece to the game – there are some new details in there that weren’t in my treatment, but it was no longer my story to tell – I experienced it as a fan.

Q8 - What is something you’ve seen players rarely notice in the game which you think is a cool detail? Can be found in the world, story, gameplay or anything!

A tangible detail might be the road signs. I spent a long time figuring out where the other districts of Silent Hill would be, as well as Ashfield, and made sure they were properly charted on the large road signs. I made a map and measured distance and everything.

Story wise, I think Murphy’s role in the story is a bit misunderstood. Many players see it as a standard tale of the town punishing our protagonist but it’s a lot more nuanced than that. Anne, I feel, is being punished, because she is out for revenge right now. Murphy already got his revenge, and dealt with the consequences, and “did his time” as it were. Yes, he has to deal with the consequences of his actions – but those are consequences caused by Sewell, and they were already in motion outside of Silent Hill.

Murphy’s journey is more akin to “Born from a Wish”, or even Eileen’s role in SH4. While most of Walter’s victims did something wrong, Eileen was marked because she was kind to him. It’s basically circumstantial. The Orphanage level is meant to be something different from a standard Silent Hill construct. The town is almost rewarding Murphy for passing a test. It gives him a key that says “Freedom" and everything we weren’t being subtle. And if you watch during the boat scene, there are clear skies ahead of Murphy (and dark storm behind Anne).

And then of course the Silent Hill ambiguity – we all know the only thing on the other side of Toluca Lake is more Silent Hill, so that’s up for debate. Again I was really excited to see how the fans dissected our story and there was never a big discourse about it.

Q9 - There’s a big stretched face with a monocle at the end of the rollercoaster section in Devil’s Pit, I couldn’t wrap my head around it (ha) but who is that/what’s their backstory? I saw somewhere mention it was supposed to be a boss which appeared in a trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSSoIWJPL-4) but wanted to confirm what the deal was!

Originally there was a boss encounter with JP Sater which took the form of this hideous train man creature. The goal was to have characters such as Howard and Sater, who have both accepted their places in Silent Hill, but with drastically different results.  This would be something for players to ponder and explore.

For various reasons we needed to cut this encounter, and it isn’t exactly key to the story, but we didn’t want to waste the creepy model. So we extended the mine train sequence so it could end with the reveal and taunting by Sater. I guess Murphy can be thankful that he wasn’t part of Sater’s story, so he didn’t have to overcome an enormous steamengine behemoth.

Q10 - Always love hearing about any strong memories you have working on the game, feel free to share anything that comes to mind!

Devin and I both spent a lot of time in the Czech Republic during development, both together and alone. I think a lot "clicked" for both of us early on, when Andy Pang (Producer) took us on a trip to some of the sights around Brno, which included the Punkva Caverns – the inspiration behind the Devil’s Pit.

At the bottom of the caves is a river, and your group of maybe 20 tourists board a small boat and a guide navigates you through these dimly-lit caverns. The guide was discussing that this journey changes based on rainfall, as the water level in the caves may be too high to be safe, and as he said this, we noticed the ceiling was coming AWFULLY low. Especially on the left side of the boat, where we were. In fact, we had to lean over on our neighbors to avoid it. In fact, we scraped our shoulders a bit on the rock.

Afterward we both noted that in America, they would NEVER have sailed at that water level. In fact, there would be signs and barriers preventing you from touching the rock, and the boat might even be on a track or guide of some kind, to ensure maximum safety.

We understood a lot more about Downpour’s Silent Hill after that excursion.

[cravingpepsimax]

hs reference like a flashbang aside, choosing a dave and rose excerpt activated something in my brain. (stan voice) it’s just like them. in a way

one is a certified journal writer mastering the arts of the horrors and homosexuality, while the other’s a comic drawing “”cool”” twin with a touch of big brother worship. ford a constant knowledge (light) seeker. stan and the motif of fire. the similarities obviously stop at the surface level traits but thats actually so funny

actually, i wouldn’t say the similarities are surface-level at all!

both ford and rose deal with the Horrors, yes, but there’s more to that. the reason they deal with them is for the same endgoal — obtaining knowledge. this even results in them both being taken advantage of a nigh-omniscient, devil figure (doc scratch vs bill). like you mentioned, she journals, but i’d also like to point out her walkthrough. kanaya reads her walkthrough, not knowing the identity of rose, creating an idea of her in her head, using it as a reference for her own journey… hey, doesn’t that sound familiar?

also, like, horrorterrors aside, you’re out of your mind if you don’t think ford would have a book called “grimoire for summoning the zoologically dubious”. like, title alone, that’s a ford thing.

like ford, rose thinks of herself as a character in a story, rather than just… a person (light player moment). she’s surprisingly calm about sacrificing herself to create the Green Sun, like how ford had resigned himself to being trapped in various hell dimensions, as long as that meant his dimension being safe from bill. also, they’re both nerds that are terrifyingly good at combat.

the rose-ford parallels aren’t shit compared to the dave-stan parallels, though.

they’ve both got a father that isn’t easily impressed, that pushes them to learn how to fight and how to fight well, who wears sunglasses 24/7. they both seem to have complicated feelings about their father, despite their father being shitty & abusive.

despite their detached appearances, both stan and save genuinely care for those close to them, and will do drastic things to protect them. becoming davesprite, dying for jade, actually just dying a lot in general (time player moment), and sacrificing himself for the Green Sun are just a few examples of this.

neither of them really want to do what they’re doing, either. dave doesn’t like time travel. it’s complicated. it’s scary. he’s afraid of his own mortality, and time travel involves a LOT of death. not just his own, either — if he fucks it up, he could end up killing literally everyone. but he does it anyways, because he has to.

stan hates science and math. growing up, he struggled in school, even with the smartest kid in school being his brother. but he still taught himself everything he needed to know to get the portal up and running — with only a third of the instructions. he did shit he hated, complicated shit he hated, for 30 years, because he had to. despite ford criticizing his recklessness, there’s not a single timeline where ford gets sucked into the portal and stan DOESN’T try to save him. and, just like how dave sacrifices himself for the Green Sun, stan’s willing to have his memory wiped for the sake of beating bill. sure, the Green Sun might’ve led to dave god tiering, but dave didn’t know that — just like how stan didn’t know his memory would come back.

they’ve also got the whole “i’m not a hero” thing, despite regularly doing heroic things.

(also, couldn’t find a gif of it, but ford calling stanley a hero both in the show after his sacrifice & in the journal)

also, just… read the aspect descriptions for light and time and tell me that isn’t ford and stan. especially time for stan.

…also, erm, fitting the themes of this blog, dave has… some stuff going on

also apparently davesprite and his rose may have gotten together according to the hs book commentary but i don’t own those and i can’t find an actual like. image or anything so don’t quote me on that lmao

[sweetlittletangerine]

Why Queenie Exists or something

Hey there! So I don’t really know how to put together this theory in a cohesive way and I made this for fun, so keep that in mind if I jump around a bit.

But I’ve had this theory for a long time now, and the fact Kinger is one of the two characters getting major focus in the next ep has just hyped me up even more. (Guess who my favorite is you’ll never guess it.)

So… as a not-so-normal Kinger fan, there’s a certain someone else who’s been rattling around in my brain for a while too.

Yes. She.

My theory is about why she even exists in the first place from a narrative standpoint. I have many other theories but this one feels like one of my most concrete ones (imo ofc), So I thought I’d share it before ep 3 comes out, even if it won’t come out for a while. I mean, it’s very possible this is the ep we learn about her since I don’t think she’s gonna be very relevant for any other character’s stories outside of Kinger.

ANYWHO time to get to the theory itself.

So let’s start off with one question. (Well it’s two, but same deal.) Why does Kinger get a look-a-like? Why not the others? Hell, Gangle exists and she has the whole ‘comedy tragedy mask’ thing going on.

Well it’s simple, he’s been there the longest. I personally don’t believe he’s the first player to join the game, but he’s been there the longest out of our main cast (Of humans). So naturally, that brings up another question… how did he last so long?

This is where Queenie comes into play. She’s important in understanding why Kinger hasn’t abstracted yet, which would tell us, the viewers, how a person can prolong their abstraction.

So for starters, I 100% believe without a doubt the reason these two look so similar is because they entered the circus at the same time. This means they started off with the same level of “girl where tf am I” When they arrived.

Second, when you compare and contrast their appearances, you realize that their differences… don’t actually affect how their bodies function. (Assuming the bottom half of Queenie is like Kinger.) So, they also came into the game with the same body when it comes to how they work. They had to adjust to the same new features in the same environment.

So when you combine these two factors, they were basically given the same tools to work with to survive (for as long as they can).

But the most important part of this… is their personalities. I love the theory that the chess pieces they became are tied to their personalities, with people connecting how Kinger’s personality relates to the role of the king in chess. (For those that don’t know, the king is the weakest piece and the queen is the strongest.) People have used this as a base to figure out who Queenie could’ve been. But if this is true then that wouldn’t be all. When you think about the role and power of each piece, you realize they’re opposites. So the bottom line here is that they’re very different people.

This impacts how they process and adapt to their new environment. And this is why Queenie abstracted and Kinger hasn’t. Some people truly are more adaptable than others in the circus. Queenie couldn’t handle the place as well as Kinger, making her lose her mind and abstract first.

Hell, we can already see something about Kinger’s personality that could’ve helped him out. I think the fandom (including myself) overestimated how much of a scaredy cat he is. The more I think about it, the more I realize that he’s not afraid of the adventures. He’s afraid of the circus itself, which is probably tied to his trauma.

(I’m aware it’s only been two episodes, but the only time we’ve seen him panic during an adventure is when an abstracted Kaufmo entered the Gloink Queen’s nest, suddenly making the adventure way more dangerous.)

You could argue he’s so chill on them because of experience, learning that at the end of the day if someone gets hurt or lost, Caine can snap his fingers and bring them back to normal. There’s pain, but no serious harm.

However, maybe he learned this a lot sooner than we think, back when he was adapting to his digital life. He internalized the fact that he’s not going anywhere sooner/better than Queenie, and was able to ‘go with the flow’ better than her. Who knows, maybe Queenie avoided going on adventures, (wink wink nudge nudge to a character Kinger is oddly fond of in the group), which gave her more time to think about her situation and mental state. The adventures are a surprisingly effective distraction from all of that.

If the story itself is supposed to focus on why the characters are the way they are, then it’s going to focus on the characters as individuals. And considering the fact Kinger and Zooble’s characters are heavily tied to their identities, that’s probably going to be one of the main themes of ep 3. So it makes sense that the reason Kinger lasted longer is tied to who he is and how he copes with the world around him (both now and back then.) This would, by extension, explore the fact that Queenie was her own person too, and now that that person is gone. The abstracted characters were all people, people who lost themselves as they went mad, leading to their inevitable abstractions.

So uh, I guess that’s all for now. Posting things online scares me so idk if I’ll post more things like this, but I might. If you read through this whole thing, then thanks!

Back into the pit I go

[animentality]

I feel the reason why we don’t see a lot of people in the fandom who loudly hate durgetash or durgetash shippers (compared to the very loud backlash against people who, for example, headcanon Asterian as a doting father family man or etc) is that I think the Durgetash delusion is just kind of. Easy to understand? In general. Even for people who dont like or ship it. Like even though it’s very much a delusion built out of random scraps of game lore and notes and character animations, I feel like those scraps are so generically Compelling that it’s easy can see how people actually got here, way more than other obviously delusional ships in other fandoms. Or even in this one. Like you can’t really explain from anything in game why you think Asterian would make a good father (no offense to anyone on that grind 😭). But you can point to the prayer for forgiveness and Gortash’s unique animations when talking to Durge specifically, and recognise at LEAST what got people started, if not the fanon that followed.

Ironically this could ALSO be delusional on my part lol like maybe I’m just not seeing it somehow, but genuinely I have not noticed anywhere near the amount of discourse over Durgetash as I would expect from a similar ship in literally any other fandom. So I have just been trying to think about why! Is the delusion ultimately that sympathetic or are we just so in our own bubble that people don’t even know?

(Especially when Gortash himself is so very hated by most normal players for VERY correct reasons. Like he is SO hate-able. And I do see tons of posts of people saying they don’t get why people like him, but never to the level of what I would consider discourse. My Karlach-loving ass sure hated him until I played Durge and paid more attention to him and learned to enjoy him more from that funny gay villain angle, while still maintaining that Karlach and the Gondians and every refugee in the outer city deserve to beat him into a pulp ultimately - but I feel thats a common origin story for durgetashers lol)

You missed the outcry over the Franc letter being edited, huh?

We had a good couple of days of "Gortash isn't bisexual" discourse.

It's the most rowdy I've ever seen the fandom.

But you're correct in that Astarion fans will always be louder.

Gortash is evil and he's harder to woobify.

Doesn't mean we won't do it, though.

As for the general reason for Durgetash not being as intense as other ships, well.

How many people really play the Dark Urge?

Not many, I'd warrant. How many people care about Gortash at all?

Not many.

Now how many ship those two together....a good number, but it's still a small population, compared to the Astarion, Gale, Lae'zel, Shadowheart, Karlach fans out there.

So it's just smaller, is all.

We try not to elbow each other too much, or we'll crowd crush in the broom closet of the hospital we're all crammed in, as Astarion fans are brought into Emergency Care after a night down in the discourse mines.

[fantasticarcadefan]

Reaffirming the polls

Greetings readers!

Last Month, I released a poll asking about what I should write next once I finished the first part of my most recent story.

At the time, I was in a rush when I released the poll. This had the effect, in my mind, of them being biased, with some of their descriptions being direct, while others made little to no sense.

So, I've decided to relaunch this poll!

Don't worry, I'm still writing the Machine Deity Story, it's just that I feel I need to redo the polls.

Below the continue is each story containing glimpses of what'll be in the mentioned story. Some of these stories have excerpts from these stories while others don't. Those that don't are either relatively new or I'm not sure where I want them to go.

Please Note that things may be changed or swapped around if I don't deem the wording or event fit for the story.

There will be another poll regarding whether or not I should only write one story for specified gender readers or two for both biological genders (Not sure how I'd write for others and don't plan to make it plot relevant in these stories)

Your otherworldly admirers.

(Inspired by @writing-genshin-obsession 's posts on the subject)

The world of Gaia is a dark place. From the monsters that are born which hunt mostly without threats, to the gods being the tyrants of their culture 's domain, using their followers to wage wars for them, uncaring of the after effects for all except a chosen few.

When you came across a group of people who seemed fresh out of the academy, somehow being chased by another Minotaur, you knew you had to do something.

You didn't know it at the time, but you found a chance for Gaia to be bright.

That group called themselves the Astral Legion, a small group who sought to bring back a better age in mankind's future from an organization known as the Abyss order, who sought to change the future.

Noticing how they seemed unprepared, even though they were young adults seeking to fight against the gods, you took them under your wing. They've been your family ever since, and your only family due to the loss of your blood one.

Now, you find yourself in an advanced world, similar to what they spoke of. However, this world's inhabitants somehow know and adore you, some on levels that would make Aphrodite be jealous in their devotion or obsession.

Will this foreign world grant you salvation, the key to bring back the world that the legion knew, or will its inhabitants desire for you enchant you with the quality of life and desire that only the gods held, and are you the only one here?

Tags: Reverse Roll, Reverse Isekai(?) Yandere Genshin Players X Reader Character (Romantic/Platonic), Male/Female Reader (Each Story for 2 genders, may change based on future poll), Series.

Excerpt(NOTHING IS PERMANENT, ALL COULD CHANGE):

"As you exit the metallic hallways, entering the outside world, a bright light blinds you. Raising your blood soaked hand to diminish the retreating glare, you kept walking out of the building and into what appeared to be a forest.

In the distance resided a wooden tower, with a room near the top of it, beneath a green roof. Guardrails, wooden ones, compared to those at the base, seemed to surround some sort wooden platform surrounding the room.

Walking out with sword in hilt and shield in hand, you saw various tree types plants. Most of them what you knew while others were foreign, such as an even more purple berry seemingly hooks on it.

Climbing up the wooden stars, you stop halfway, where the trees climb no higher. In the distance resided a city of that seemed to scrape the heavens themselves. Infront of them, great blurs of colors, most often in black, or white, seemed to blur upon rows of gravel, somehow not kicking it up, all a top of bridges that were larger then small aqueducts!

Similar scenes seem to be happening down below, where what appear to be steel chariots without horses were moving below these chariots. Small silhouettes, you assumed to be people, were walking around the side of the main roads.

Needing a better look, you continued climbing the stairs, eventually reaching the top.

Inside were several different items. What you think is a radio with a mic attached to it(based on what Xoco told you), several different piles of paper on a desk, a chair, and...

You widened your eyes in shock and your mouth was left open at the sight.

There was a poster of you in your Safari gear that you received when you went on a Safari in Africa, where Koretomo insisted that you went on a Safari, as a means to relax, with the others supporting him.

You weren't able to read the text on the poster, but one thought became dominant in your mind.

'Just what world am I in?'

The Return.(Genshin Impact x Machine Diety Reader)

Untold time ago, a great disaster occurred as a result of your failures, despite your best attempts to prevent it. The Calamity left around 30% of the world dead.

While you mourned your children's death, Celestia, as well as the people of the Teyvat, rose up, seeking to overthrow, believing you to be responsible for the mass loss of life.

At the time, you did not resist, and let them seize control of the world. For why would you? These were your children, who were all going through the same stages of mourning as you.

You had already lost a lot of those you raised. You wouldn't do the same to cause them more pain and suffering.

By the end of their revolution, you were exiled from Teyvat, forced to wander the multiverse for time with Celestia taking your place of ruling Teyvat.

In your mourning, you encased yourself in a metal shell, believing you didn't deserve to have your form be shown.

Ever since then, you've wandered from world after world before eventually deciding to settle 2300 years ago in something beautiful. A whole universe of worlds. Some with life, some not, and some with flourishing civilizations, with them reaching heights even you had not imagined.

Now, with the galaxy of a young universe united under your rule and thriving in a new age, you've met Rukkhadevata, the first Dendro Archon from Teyvat.

Following your talk with her, you came to a conclusion.

It is time to return to Teyvat, and reclaim what you let be taken from you all that time ago.

You will keep Teyvat safe. The struggles and monsters that plague your creations will come to pass.

Celestia, if they were willing to do this, was unfit to rule. And you will have to take over, whether they like it or not.

You shall not fail again. No matter the cost.

Tags: Forgotten Creator AU, Gender Neutral Reader, Series, Reader x Character(Romantic/Platonic), Cult AU, (Potential OOC? Not well known characters may be used)

Excerpt(NOTHING IS PERMANENT, ANYTHING CAN CHANGE):

Walking through the metal halls, Rukkhadevata looked at each of the automatons that escorted her. Two in the front, two in the back.

The two in the front seemed to bare similarities to geovishaps, baring claws, eyes on the sides of their heads, having both two legs and spikes on their back. However, that's where the similarities end.

On the sides of their shoulder blades resided a small, rotatable cannon greatly smaller to those that're found in Fontaine, seemingly lacking elemental energy.

Instead of three claws on their fingers was 5, and they had no tail on their back.

The same could be said for the ones in the back, but instead of claws, they each held a rifle of sorts, with a box that may've held where the ammo was inserted into the gun.

Of course, this should make sense, as none of this currently does.

When Rukkhadevata sacrificed herself to end the knowledge plagues, she didn't know what to expect.

She wouldn't have minded being reborn as a regular citizen in one of the seven nations, and had dreamt about the world to come, and the wonders that would've come in the future for Teyvat.

What she didn't expect was for her to be revived somewhere unknown with this leader seemingly knowing about Teyvat.

And that's not saying a thing about the aura that seemed even holier than Celestia itself that was here, which only seemed to grow in effect as they kept walking.

Eventually, they stopped at the entrance of some sort of door, guarded by two larger forms of the automatons, seemingly a combination of her escorts, who stood to the side as the gate opened.

Her eyes widened with her mouth open as she processed what she saw.

For in the room were dozens of people, humans, automatons, and more doing various activities, all in front of giant windows that seemed to have more void ships surrounding this one, with them all surrounding a world that's seemingly encased in metal, with lights possibly the size of Teyvat coming from sevarl of the world's areas.

And that's when she looked at the center of the room, in front of the center window.

For there resides a robot, a humanoid with six arms, that was sitting in meditation, facing the void.

It was from this robot, that within her shell, was where the holy energy she felt all across the ship originates from.

The robot, seemingly sensing her realization, began to rise, it's legs readjusting as it turned to face her.

Now fully turned to her, Rukkhadevata saw that the being's face was changing, eventually settling onto that of a human woman, like that of a caring mother.

The robot approached the group, its eyes focusing on her.

"My, it's been so long since I last laid my eyes on one of my children from my first creation." It said, it's synthetic voice seemingly hiding a greater power that sought to reassure her, closing the distance between them.

At those words, seemingly dozens of memories hit her. Memories of a time long before today. Memories from a much more peaceful time in Teyvat's history.

In these memories, she saw an age where Celestia itself bowed to a creator. A creator, whose kind and caring nature forged Teyvat itself, granting humanity a home.

A creator, who loved all of them, and wanted to ensure all of them were safe.

A creator that had left the land in mourning, stopping a great tragedy as much as they could while weakened, and was betrayed by all they sought to protect, being blamed for the tragedy.

A creator, who in their time of mourning, adorned metal flesh, designed to respond how they want to be seen as they traveled the astral planes .

A creator, who now stood in front of her, with that same caring attitude and tone as the ancient memories, who bore the same flesh as their creator, and who yearned to return to Teyvat, but thought it was best not too in order to ensure its prosperity.

Seeking confirmation while holding the benefit of the doubt, Rukkhadevata knelt down onto a knee and lowered her head, trying to hide the shock that was coursing though her veins.

"Your Grace... " She said, looking at you in the eyes. "Is that you?"

A Lord's Wish

Untold time ago, in the age during Marika's conquests, you found two, golden haired babies at your door step, alone and abandoned. one boy, and one girl. Taking them in, you named the boy Aether, and the girl Lumine, and raised them as your own.

But, all good things have to come to an end.

As the two got older, they began to show signs of being able to ascend to godhood. You helped train them in their new powers, and tried to keep them hidden from outside forces, but their curiosity got the better of them.

One day, the village you three lived in was attacked by the forces of Godfrey and Marika. Most of the attacker's forces came after your children. But you gave your life, ensuring that they would be safe from Marika's grasp.

At least, that's what they saw.

When they escaped. Instead of being killed, you were detained by Marika's forces, and taken to the capital. There, you were stripped of grace, and executed.

Untold time later, you would awake in an age where Marika is gone, and an age of eternal war has consumed the lands between. And later on, the land of shadows, where those without grace reside.

But the purpose of your resurrection was made clear to you upon awakening.

Become Elden Lord. Whether you wanted to or not.

And after constant fights and struggle, you did.

Now, years after your crowning, most of both lands have been united under your rule in a new golden age.

The Lucarian academies have opened, accepting of anyone seeking to learn their magics, treaties between you and those that lack grace have been signed, granting them slight autonomy in how they rule, with you listening to their needs, the merchant clans have been rebuilt, growing once more,and restoration of this land, whether it's laying does denied death to rest, or the purging of the scarlet rot in Caelid, has nearly been finished after untold time.

But now, it is time for you to do what you sought to actually do when you sought out the Elden Ring.

Although it is the title of Elden Lord, the ruler of the lands between,that drew so many Tarnished like your before to it, it's one of it's abilities, to be able to see into other worlds, that drew you to seek it out.

For you needed to know if they were alive or dead, but you didn't know what would happen.

As the final preparations are made, and the chain of command is briefed and finalized, you must be ready for anything to come.

For even though you slew gods and ancients before, it was almost never on your first attempt.

The only reason you were able to slay them was because you were brought back from death by the greater will, and it was only effective for you due to your goal of becoming Elden Lord, from what you theorized. And since you've claimed that title, the greater will has no more use for you, meaning you can't be brought back from the dead due to it no longer having use in you.

Right?

Tags:Genshin X Reader (Platonic, maybe romantic.), Crossover, Series,

Excerpt(NOTHING IS PERMANENT, ANYTHING COULD CHANGE, WRITTEN PRE 2025 LANTERN RITE):

Walking through Liyue harbor, Aether watched the interactions between the people of Liyue and the exploration fleet from the new nation.

They seemed to be getting along, with the people from this new nation and Liyue's people going over their culture and history.

Scholars from Sumeru had recently arrived and were exchanging knowledge with those from one the new nation's major academies. The academy of "Raya Lucaria", if he heard correctly.

From what he heard, this new nation held no name, and was called the Union of the Ring, based on what he heard from Mondstadt. And he's heard that this nation is composed of two lands. The Land of Shadows, and... The Lands Between.

Aether shuddered at the latter's name For even though its his homeland, he held bad memories of the land's government. Especially since his adoptive (Mother/Father) gave their life to keep them safe, starting his and Lumine's journey across the stars.

'Lumine, [Name]...' Aether thought, looking at the night sky, reminising about the times that he considers millennia ago, and then the dreamscape re-allignment.

He doesn't know why, but he, Lumine, and someone else, had to re-enact a certain event in each of their lives as a means of "restoring the connection" of the combined worlds, with each of the current Archons and Neuvillette somehow being transported there.

Including the Tsarista, who said that she looks forward to seeing him when he goes to Snezhnya.

He doesn't know what she has in mind, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

These events had them reenact how Lumine became the Abyss princess, his battle with Gosoythoth to end the invasion of Natlan, and the unknown person's duel with his birth mother, Marika, who was in a worse condition, being nailed to a large cross and her body was seemingly crumbling.

At the end of each battle, there was a vision that they all saw. Lumine's vision was their duel with the unknown god and her awakening in a burning Khaenri'ah while his was their duel and awakening on the shore by Star snatch cliff.

But the third vision...

It saw his [Dad/Mom], the one he saw as his family, brought before Marika, who stripped them of grace... and killed.

And it didn't make sense.

For why did it show them? He and Lumine, he understood, since the two of them had been stuck in Teyvat for around 500 years, but now separated by the unknown god, with her siding with the abyss order in it's goal to both overthrow Celestia and bring back Khanri'ah, uncaring of their effects on those affected by the curse.

And that voice at the end. If what it said was true, worried him.

After all, why now reveal it, and how did it happen in the first place? For now, and likely until Sneznhaya, he's been trying to be a neutral party, but it's just a conincidence th-

"Aether!" Paimon yelled, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Y-Yeah, Paimon?" Aether asks, trying to recall what they may've been talking about.

"Are you doing alright? You've been quiet ever since you woke up from that coma you were in." She asks, concern showing on her face. "You seem to have been like this ever since you woke up from that coma."

And that was the truth. Ever since he was woke up, he wasn't able to take his mind off of the the dream battle. It seemed that only him and the archons knew about it, especially that talk, which they're keeping inbetween themselves.

No matter what he had done, whether it was commissions or hanging out with his friends, he hadn't been able to shake his mind off of it.

He had come to Liyue in the hopes that the lantern rite festival would shake his mind off of these thoughts, and help him gain closure as to that vision.

"I'm alright Paimon. Just in deep thought. Come on, let's turn these commisions in then check out the lantern rite and the people from this new nation, alright?" Aether asked, changing the topic.

"Sure! Let's see Katheryne then go check out the festival and all of the foods here!" Paimon said, her mouth watering at the idea of all the new food she can try here.

Walking there, they saw Katheryne sorting through some paper work, likely the means to help supplying new adventure's guilds in the lands between.

"Hey Katheryne!" Paimon said as they approached, getting her attention. "The commisions are done!"

"Ah, Traveler, Paimon, glad to see you too. Katheryne said, opening a drawer on her side. "All your commissions are done for today?" She said, looking at Aether, with him verifying.

"Thank you for completing yours commissions for today. Here's your reward." She said, pulling out a bag with various materials. And Aether," She said, getting the male's attention. "I'd understand if you want to head to the festivities right now, but there's one more commission that just came up a bit before you arrived." She says, pulling out a slip of paper.

"Really? Can't it wait till later, when Paimon's full of food and energy?" Paimon asks, wanting to eat already. "Usually yes," Katheryne answers. "But it's a matter of who's requesting you." He said, getting their attention."

"And this person is?" Aether asked, wondering if it was Ningguang or Keqing that requested him.

"The leader of the new nation, the Elden Lord, wants to meet you." Katheryne responds, shocking the two.

"The Elden Lord?!" Paimon asks, shocked that such a person wanted to meet them before asking. "Wait... Shouldn't he be called the Elden King, if he rules the nation?" Paimon asked. Meanwhile, Aether was feeling a bit tense, unsure of the reason.

"From what I heard, the title of Elden Lord is given to those that have managed to become the consort of the nation's goddess, Marika." Katheryne says, trying to recount what else was said. "However, there have been only three Elden Lords in the nation's history, but I'm not sure why."

"W-Wait, Three Elden Lords!" Paimon yells, shocked at how few Elden Lords there were. Aether meanwhile is growing tense, worry plaguing his mind. Why does this Third Elden Lord want to meet him? Will he be hunted in this world too? Yet why didn't she mention Marika being here?

"Katheryne." Aether said, getting her attention. "Is the new nation's goddess, Marika here?" He asked, his tone starting to worry.

"If you wanted to seek out Marika in the hopes of finding your sister, I'm afraid that you're out of luck there." Katheryne says, causing him to calm down slightly.

"From what I heard from the people among the Lord's forces, they claim that Marika disappeared after the death of her beloved son, Godwyn, making her shatter the Elden Ring a long time ago, starting a war between her children known as the shattering."

"If you want to know more about the lands between, I'd suggest you talk to them. They're currently at the Jade Chamber last I heard. I heard that they also brought many of their recipes to this feast, where Nigguang and them are right now." Katheryne says, getting back to work.

"Ohh... all the new foods that we can have there!" Paimon says, drooling at the mouth at the idea of what could eat. "Traveller, we have to get going!" The pixie says, flying ahead with the traveller following along.

When the duo finally began to ascend up the jade chamber, Aether finally spoke.

"Paimon." He said, getting her attention. "I haven't told you much about my past besides traveling with my sister, haven't I?"

After a minute of thinking, the pixie responds. "Now that Paimon think of it, no." She says, nodding her head. "You never told Paimon about where you came from."

"I see." Aether says, putting a hand on his sword. "Well know this. I have what could be considered a... bad, history with this nation, since it's why we originally began travelling." He says, looking up at the approaching Jade Chamber, taking a deep breath, recalling that day, before looking at Paimon.

"If things go bad here, and I'm taken away, I want you go stay with Amber until I come back, or someone like Jean tells you what to do, okay?"

"Aether, what are you saying?" Paimon asks, taken aback by the sudden change, worried about what may come from this meeting.

"What I mean is this." He says, looking straight ahead at the bottom of the Jade chamber. "If this third elden lord is anything like the first and Marika..." He cuts off as the lift stabilizes with the rest of the Jade Chamber. "I don't want any more lives to be lost due to me." He finishes, walking onto the chamber.

The Stream

(Inspired by @valeriele3's post on the topic)

Genshin Impact, a popular open world game that follows a Traveller in their journey across Teyvat, seeking out the archons in the hopes of finding their sibling. That is the game that you've known.

Recently, following the release of its newest nation, Natlan, new events that are seemingly random have been occurring, with the characters, both playable and not, now constantly referencing a creator who wasn't mentioned in the lore before, and the nations seemingly making preparations for their arrival.

But it seems that it's a case of Imposter SAGAU, and you are the creator.

But don't worry! The people of earth, their donations, and Teyvat itself are on your side!

Now, you must explore Teyvat while being hunted. And figure out who or what this imposter is, and why they're here.

For it's only up to you to find out why these changes occurred in all versions of Genshin Impact, and how Teyvat is linked to Earth.

Tags:Genshin x Reader, Imposter SAGAU,GN READER, Possible OCC (Workplace), Crossovers, OC'S

Excerpt(Nothing is permanent, everything could change):

Looking around, you find yourself in seemingly a pitch black void, the only light source being a crystal like structure, similar to the sites of grace found in Elden Ring, but white in Mihoyo's style, approximately the size of the crystal in the chasm.

Further examining it, the crystal seems to have dozens of varying sizes of cracks all across it, with energy pulsating around the crystal.

Reaching out your hand to touch it, the cracks on the crystal grow more in both size and number.

You pull your hand back, hoping to limit the damage to it, but it's too late, with the cracks spreading and growing all across the crystal.

Stepping back, you look at the crystal with growing worry. Your eyes wander the collapsing crystal, not knowing what was in there, and you worried about what will happen when it shatters when your eyes focus on a crack,with it glowing with white light.

Rapidly, more of these cracks open up on it, letting more light emerge from the crystals, and before you know it, the crystal shattered, with it releasing energy in all directions, but most of it seemingly went in your direction.

Bracing for the shockwave, you somehow absorbed the energy, your strength and stamina growing as you became more aware of your surroundings.

Looking at where the crystal was, now stood a figure that seemed like a mixture between an angel from the Renaissance and one that Hoyo would make, with it being a male who has 6 wings, 3 on each side, with him having sky blue hair. It wore something.

He seemed to be wearing a tunic, if you recall correctly, like what the Ancient Romans did.

The being opened its eyes at you, a tired, yet gentle smile forming on its face.

"Your Grace." The being says, looking at you in the eyes. "It is good to see you, yet I can't help but feel guilty for the way the world is right now." He says, looking down as a frown emerges on his face, facing the floor before taking a deep breath.

"Right, where are my manners." He says, looking back at you, a professional attitude replacing his somber one.

"My name is Ariuk. One of, if not," He paused, taking a deep breath. "The last active member of Celestia."

Teyvat And The Ascended

For countless Millennia, you and your previous iterations have worked across the galaxy, working to save the inhabitants of that world and uplift them to the galactic stage, forming the Ascended alliance. And all of them sought to repay that debt.

Now, is their chance to repay it.

Being hunted across Teyvat, you've now made contact with them, and both they and more are en route to Teyvat.

How will Teyvat's people react to the growing threat? Will they change? Will they be reaffirmed? And where did this imposter come from?

All but one thing is certain.

You aren't alone in this fight.

For your salvation resides amongst the stars.

Tags: Genshin x Reader, Imposter SAGAU, Series, GN READER, OC's

Then, there was peace. (Genshin Imposter SAGAU x Souls Born F.Reader) 2/2

In a time that seems like untold lifetimes ago, you played Genshin Impact, always hoping to meet your favorite characters one day.

Now, imagining that seems like a dream from another life.

For you have traveled into untold worlds, and fought monsters, ranging from the savage beasts, horrors indescribable.

And then you found yourself in Teyvat, detained for looking like an imposter of the creator.

Now, with the imposter dispatched and the people of Teyvat now seeing your true nature, only now can the path of healing officially begin.

The people can only hope that the kind and gentle mother that guided them before can be brought back from the hell the heretic put her in.

Tags: Genshin x Reader, Imposter SAGAU, Series, Female Reader

Awakening from the apocalyptic dream.

The Elders of the village you grew up in spoke of a different time. A time when mutant monsters didn't roam the land. A time when humanity built mountains at will that could pierce the heavens.

But that all ended in the end times.

From what the elders described it as, it was in an instant. One moment, humanity lived in a prosperous age. Then next, all of it was gone, with most of humanity being taken in the fires that consumed the world.

Now, you travel the wastes of your nation, trying to survive this broken world while avoiding the horrors of the world and navigating the cultures that have formed from the wastes as you try to survive.

Two months ago, you've found a little companion to accompany you on your journey through the wastelands of this world. And though the two of you haven't been together for that long, you've bonded quite a bit by fighting what the wasteland throws against you.

But it seems that there's more to your companion than what you thought. For one day, the two of you fell asleep inside a collapsed building to awake in an unkown place, and where your pet companion once resided, now is a person.

Just where are you, and who are they?

Tags: Genshin x Reader, Drabble, Series, Gender Neutral Reader

Viewing your desires

As the time of your ascension draws ever closer, and your acolytes make preparations for your descension, they can't help but wonder what you have in mind.

Even though you constantly interact with them by your "chosen", you often make references to other worlds as well, and wonder what it would be like to live both in Teyvat some other worlds.

But why would you want to live in those other worlds then in Teyvat? From what you've said, some of these other worlds are very similar to Teyvat, while others are the complete opposite.

So following a long and heated debate between the archons, it was decided to go ahead and have some of your chosen go ahead and join you in some of these worlds that you explore.

So let's see how they interact to both you and the game worlds that you desire to live in besides Teyvat, huh?

Tags: Genshin x Reader, SAGAU, Cult AU, Series, Gender Neutral Reader, Drabble

QUESTIONS ARE ENCOURAGED, I WANNA KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE FOR THESE STORIES!

[gacha-incels]

after reading that last ask that actually talked about the games' story, i just. asker is okay! it just made me realise that this situation lowkey feels similar to JKR and HP.

im transmasc and autistic, and had pm games as a special interest prior to kjh showing his true colours. so seeing others continue on with playing and willingly give money? its just. yeah.

jkr harming trans people, kjh harming women, people who refuse to put down their works despite seeing how they continue to harm people because "theres nothing they can do about it" at best? idk where i was going with this but just. theres something to be said about separating art from the artist, the misuse of that term, and then how that misuse continues to fuel the artist's actions.

(... on the autistic part, its mainly me jabbing at those who refuse to put the games down. dunno if that made sense or not.)

I do find it ironic that there’s an overlap of people who will be very vocal about JK Rowling and boycotting anything Harry Potter related but still play Limbus Company while knowing everything that’s going on. like as soon as it’s something you actually enjoy being criticized and boycotted, suddenly you don’t give a fuck? suddenly you have all these excuses about playing a game that’s being actively boycotted by the very people its actions have harmed? as I said in the ask that you’re referring to, there are a lot of people that see themselves as “progressive” who simply do not view misogyny as a real issue, let alone one that significantly, violently affects half the world’s population. It’s sad enough to have to compare HP & LC in order to get westerners to care about what’s happening in South Korea.

There’s another sinister aspect of obfuscation westerners engage in when they react to limbus company and the pervasive misogyny in South Korea. People will write shit like “oh I don’t think we can understand what’s going on there, the culture is just way too different,” or “I don’t know much about this but (completely wrong information),” or “both sides are extremists!” It’s seductive language because it lets you off the hook for grappling with the morality of playing these games and it stops you from thinking about reality for women that live there. To many, these things are difficult so they just won’t think about it. It’s easier to “shut off your brain” and play games (a sentiment I saw repeated frequently in the limbus company subreddit and twitter). There are plenty of resources written by Korean women in both English and Korean that explain what’s happening, from journalists writing in a newspaper to someone writing about their experiences on their personal twitter or blog. To view them as some exoticized “other” whose culture you cannot understand is dehumanizing. like you, I find it frustrating to see people still engaging with the game, giddy about new gacha banners, etc. female Korean fans of PM/LC razed entire twitter accounts full of fanart and actively protest misogynist games and companies. monggeu (Leviathan) bravely told her story to the news regarding the working conditions at project moon, and Mimi (Wonderlab) took her entire commissioned comic down from Project Moon’s site. Meanwhile, western players can know all of this yet still play the game because they like to and it’s easy to keep playing. At some point it’s just shameful.

[yaksha-lover]

HI HI HELLO HI IM!!! FROTHING!! AT!!! THE!! MOUTH!!!!! IVE HEARD OF A DDLC TYPE DEAL WITH MALLEUS BEFORE BUT IVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE TALK ABOUT IT ANY DEEPER THAN LIKE AS A CONCEPT. DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS??? ANY THOUGHTS FOR THE POOR AND THE NEEDY????? I WANT TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT I LOVE HORROR AND OBSESSION AND EXISTENTIALISM THERES SO!!! MUCH!!! TO!! UNPACK!!!!

YESS so these thoughts are going to be very scattered because I haven’t fully thought it out, but I wanted to share them anyway!!

Ok, so you know how in ddlc, part of Monika’s anguish is the fact that she’s not even an option for the player to choose. I feel like that works well with the whole ‘Malleus doesn’t know twst isn’t a dating sim’ thing. Like, imagine Malleus starting to become aware and realizing that the only place it’s even possible for him to get genuine love and connection is with the player. Except - twst is only a visual novel.

No matter how much he tries to be extra kind to the player, to get them to notice him - none of it matters, because there is no option for him to be loved back. The player is constricted by the few and far between dialogue options, and barely any interactions with him compared to say, Ace and Deuce.

He tries to be patient, but more and more it eats away at him. He needs to be chosen by the player, he can’t accept being alone anymore when an opportunity is right in front of him. At first he’s satisfied by appearing more in the other books, by becoming the player’s friend.

Then, he’s entirely left behind in book 6. Again, he isn’t an option. Well, he doesn’t care. He’ll make himself an option. The next time you log in, a new event seems to have started.

It’s a dating sim event! At first, you’re super excited that they decided to do some fan service. Then, strange things begin happening. You try to complete Leona’s route, but after pausing midway, you log back in and suddenly, he isn’t an option anymore. It’s strange, but there is a notice of a bug in the game, so you dismiss it. The only routes left are Vil and Malleus, so you decide to go with Vil. Except, the button won’t press. Every time you try to choose Vil, Malleus’ route automatically starts. Eventually, you give up and close the game, tired of all the bugs.

Meanwhile, Malleus is practically heartbroken. He’s never had the option to even try and talk to you like he’s wanted to all this time. He thought you felt the same, that your friendship and all the times he came to Ramshackle meant something. Apparently not. Apparently, even if he is a choice, you’ll choose the others again and again.

It isn’t right. Why can’t he ever be your choice? Don’t you realize, you’re the only one who can love him?

He knows he’s only a character and that you’re real, but it shouldn’t matter. His feelings for you are real too. Is he destined to be doomed to loneliness, locked in this short frame of story where he’s been programmed to be the outcast?

He was practically designed by the creators to love you, and yet, no matter what he does, you seem unreachable.

The next time you log in, Malleus is waiting for you. Not in an event and not in the main story, but as the only thing left in the app. He stands on the home screen, having deleted all the other buttons on the page. He starts talking to you, telling you that he’s known the whole time that he’s a character and you’re the player of a game. That it doesn’t matter, because you’re real to him. Even if you aren’t exactly Yuu, it’s always been you, behind the screen. He’s willing to make his plea to you, if only you’ll listen.

Side note, I imagine he’d have a similar breakthrough to Monika if you talked to him enough about how what he’s doing is wrong. Even if he tries to remember that Lilia, Silver, and Sebek are only game files, he can’t help but love them anyway, and wouldn’t want them to disappear.

He’d also realize that it’s wrong to force you to love him, no matter how much he wants it. He knows that’s not genuine love, and that it wouldn’t feel good for him either because he wants someone to love and accept him.

All in all, would probably reset things himself once he’s reasoned with, might even delete himself from the game once he sees what he’s done.