#despite being in the friendship and weirdos game.

[cerealmonster15]

halloween events are so funny i love when new characters spawn in and everyone is so mad forever

[bg-brainrot]

One thing I, personally, can't relate to when discussing BG3 companions: not loving each and every single one of these little weirdos.

Obviously, Astarion's my favorite (gestures at, well, everything on my blog), but I love all of the companions SO much. They're each so unique, so flawed, so painfully relatable.

Now, a quick disclaimer: by all means, these aren't the only or even the best reasons to appreciate these characters, but they're some of my personal favorites!

Some reasons to love them...

Astarion, even against two centuries of torture and trauma, for breaking that cycle of abuse and learning to become his own man.

Gale, despite her reigns on his past, on his power, for going against his goddess's wishes and living on to rectify his mistakes, rather than dying for them.

Karlach, even after everything she's ever done, after finding no catharsis in the act of revenge, for keeping her head, her ax, and her hopes high.

Lae'zel, despite realizing that her entire reason for living is a lie, for fighting on to find new meaning and build a world she'd be proud to fight for.

Shadowheart, even after finding out that her very existence is a lie, for stumbling forth into a new world, one where her devotion is hers to share.

Wyll, despite his deep, undying love for his father, for learning that he needn't sacrifice everything for the ones he loves, he has those who love him in turn.

Halsin, who for all intents and purposes doesn't need to bother with all of this, for caring enough about people, about you, to do whatever he can to help.

Minthara, after being brainwashed, betrayed, destroyed, for ultimately rising from the ashes of herself to follow and support you in anything and everything.

Jaheira, who had all but given up on passing the torch, who after love and loss decided to go out fighting, for trusting you, a kindred spirit to let her rest.

Minsc, with not a single thought behind those eyes, for understanding friendship and loyalty so deeply, that he joins your crew faithfully on Jaheira's words.

It's been a long time since I loved every single one of my companions in a game like this (maybe DA2?), and I'm so weirdly grateful to them for helping me understand myself better.

Anyway, I just think they're all super neat, interesting characters. You definitely don't need to love them all, but I certainly think it's a blast!

[davekat-sucks]

People are really sleeping on friendships tbh.

Like Eridan and Vriska are fucking weirdos who larp with live fire and absolutely fucking dominated the game, what fucking nerds.

Terezi and Nepeta had a weird roleplaying universe! I kind of want to see it but I also think it's probably two thirteen-year-olds writing less than wholesome things with furries.

These days in the Homestuck fandom and just fandom in general, it's all about the sex without the full on intimacy. They ship the characters they think as a couple and that's it. Whether it be straight or LGBT, it's all about pairing the drawings together. Friendships of any kinds, be it platonic or confirmed, is not as explored as much anymore since it's all about who fucks who while not actually fucking. It's why people in this modern fandom of Homestuck forget that John and Dave actually have a friendship between them. But now most fanworks and official ones from shit like Pesterquest, push hard that Dave and Karkat are closer despite they had barely interacted even in the earliest webcomic days. Terezi and Nepeta's friendship gets overshadowed with Terezi having a thing for Vriska Some also ignore how certain characters would be parallel to the others. Like Karkat and Sollux are suppose to be a mirror of John and Dave with their closest friendship. Eridan is often forgotten as being part of FLARPers because he was the only one absent or excluded from when Tavros lost his legs. Doesn't help the FLARP session books that would be coding for Sgrub and Doc Scratch's presence, he was not part of it and Gamzee was instead breaking in, despite he has no interest to FLARP. And the narrative doesn't bring it up or play around why Eridan had been pushed out from it.

There is a lot of potential and exploration of these friendships and groups, but sadly, it's taken over by shipping. All about the redroms and blackroms. Moirails are there too, but for the most part, it's all about who kisses who and not have fully body intimacy. Puritanism is still within the fandom, so things like sex is bad, even if both parities are legal age.

[hellmouthcity]

QUICK FIX - Nebula x Reader

details: fluff oneshot , fem/nby reader. this is somewhat of an AU where nebula sticks around after yondu’s death for a bit

summary: you’re an electrical engineer temporarily hired by the guardians for ship repairs and general weapon tinkering. nebula’s cybernetic arm has been acting up a little lately, so it’s a good thing you’re around to help! if she’ll let you.

You never thought being on a spaceship for not even a month would drive you this insane.

A few weeks back, you got a request to stay on a ship for a little while to be around for emergency repairs, since this band of weirdos seemed to always be having emergencies. When you saw it was the Peter Quill who wanted to hire you, you immediately accepted. Who hasn’t heard of them! It isn’t every day you get to hang out with the Guardians of the freakin’ Galaxy, even if you were just the repair guy.

Unfortunately, the crew here was just as unstable as their ship. It was a wonder how they didn’t blow the whole thing up from impromptu ‘weapon tests’, which consisted of the guardians firing blasters at each other in some twisted game of tag. They were a little rowdy for your taste, but you all got on well enough.

Peter, despite his douchery, was actually a pretty normal guy. He even liked to joke and have fun like your friends back home. He cared a lot about his ship, which you found a little respect in. He’d instruct you on the problems, and you’d find a solution. That always earned you a high-five or a pat on the back. The others seemed to tolerate him, especially Gamora. Your interactions were short and sweet, but she was kind. You noticed her get a little looser whenever Quill was around. It was gross in a sweet way.

On the other hand, Gamora’s sister was as far as you could get from social. She hasn’t said a word to you the entire time you were here. Sometimes you forgot she was even part of the team. On the rare occasions she’d leave her room, she was never around for long. You’d look at her as she passed by sometimes, wondering what she was like under her intimidating black eyes and cold shell.

You didn’t think about that for too long. You could tell her friendship had to be earned, like a wild animal that you had to let come to you. She seemed to be having a few problems lately. Technical difficulties. You heard from Rocket that her cybernetic arm [which you still think is insanely cool] has some problems shifting to weaponry mode. You wondered if she’d approach you about that.

Right now, you were fixing an airlock malfunction at the main port. It was having a problem with sealing properly after it closed. Yet another emergency. With oxygen escaping, and all that. At this point, you were used to all the high-pressure and near life-threatening circumstances. You just worked with your space visor on, which was coming in more and more handy these days. Everyone was in their respective rooms. You were alone out here at last!

There was one little problem though - your blowtorch was fresh out of juice. If only there were someone on this ship with a blowtorch arm modification! And if only it WORKED!!!

You exhaled through your nose at the thought of Nebula suddenly turning up to offer her help. It was the most unlikely thing in the galaxy, probably. No way that would happen. Just as you stood to go inform Quill about you issue, you nearly bumped directly into the girl you least expected to see.

“Ah- geez! You snuck up on me!!” You exclaim, surprised that she seemed to have indirectly read your thoughts. Nebula just looked at you, black eyes seeming to pierce right through you. You shivered. Looks like you had to do the talking. “Um. I’m trying to fix the air lock, but my blowtorch just ran out,” you explained, pulling the trigger to demonstrate. No flame came out. “...and last I checked, there’s no fuel for this on the ship. So, I kind of hit a dead end.”

Still, Nebula said nothing. For a moment, you wondered if she was even capable of speech. Then you heard a weird kind of… grinding sound. Both of your attentions drifted down to Nebula’s arm as it sparked and jittered in an odd way. She grunted, smacking it with her other hand. It sparked even harder, and eventually stopped moving altogether. She couldn’t even move her fingers. She let out a noise of rage, shaking the immobile part. You couldn’t hold in a little giggle. Her head snapped up to face you, and you instantly went silent.

“Is this funny to you?” Nebula demanded, voice deep and serious. You hadn’t heard her voice before. It was powerful and threatening. She meant business, and it felt like you wore pyjamas to the interview. You took a step backwards, a little worried for your own safety. She may not have a functional arm blaster, but she could still knock your lights out.

“No, no, sorry. Very serious.” You said quickly, avoiding her glare. She let out a short sigh, now more closely examining her malfunctioned part. You looked, too. If only she’d let you get in there, you could fix it… “You know, I could try and help you out with that.” You offered nervously, hoping she wouldn’t just turn around storm off.

“What makes you think I need your help?” The luphomoid snapped, jerking her head at you. You dropped your gaze a little. You kind of expected this reaction.

“Well, it’s just… it could be a little hard to repair one-handed, if you planned on doing it yourself.” You tried to reason. She looked at you, eyes narrowed like this was a trick.

“I’m perfectly capable of doing this on my own.” She told you firmly. You nodded, stepping back a little further in surrender.

“Right, understood. Just keep in mind I’m here if you ever need help.” You hoped she’d change her mind, but she wasn’t there with you yet. She just strode past you in the direction of her room, on her way to independently repair her own arm like the badass she is. You smiled to yourself, finding this cyborg a little silly. You crouched back down and decided to take a break. You’d continue in a little. And who knows? Maybe Nebula would change her mind.

Not even 15 minutes later, you heard footsteps heading in your direction. You looked up from the wrench you were adjusting to see Nebula had, as predicted, made a return. It seems she had no such luck in making the repair on her own. She was purposely avoiding looking at you, [working] fist clenched. She was embarrassed!! You decided to pretend like you weren’t expecting it.

“Oh? Back so soon? I would’ve thought you were going to fix your arm yourself!” You teased from where you sat, a little smug. “After all, you’re perfectly capable of doing it yourself.”

“Quiet!” She shouted, making you flinch. Okay, so Nebula’s not a fan of playful sarcasm. Noted. “You offered a service free of charge to me. I would be a fool to decline it.” You looked up at her, nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, that’s true. Glad you came to your senses.” Carefully, like you were trying not to spook a feral creature, you stood. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.” You joked, and Nebula scoffed. She tried to roll her eyes, though it wasn’t exactly noticeable.

“Just do your job.” She spoke bluntly. You offered a smile and started to reach for her arm so you could examine it. She instantly jerked back and you retracted your hand.

“Well, I kind of can’t if you won’t let me see what’s up.” You tried to explain. Nebula’s eyes darted between your eyes and your hand, and she relaxed her shoulders just a little, almost an apologetic look drifting over her face before it was replaced with her signature cold neutrality. Slowly, she approached you and raised her arm, almost defensively. You cautiously reached out and started feeling for some sort of seam where a section could be unscrewed, but this was an odd piece of machinery. It was segmented in a lot of different ways in a lot of different places, so you weren’t really sure how to get a peek inside.

Nebula seemed to notice your confusion, so she sighed and rotated her arm so that her palm was facing upwards. On the underside, you saw a larger rectangle that stood out a bit from the rest of the metal. You quickly bent to collect a tool from your set, then stood to pry the covering off. And wow, was it even more complicated on the inside. You were used to things like this, though. Artificial automation is your jam. It didn’t take long to find the issue.

“Found your problem! Your hydraulic springs have popped out a little. I’m guessing these are what enable your arm to transition so smoothly to different physical states. If these springs undergo a lot of winding up then unwinding in a rapid manner, they can accidentally pop loose and you have to reset them.” You explained, motioning to the issue as you described it. Nebula watched intently as you spoke. “And as for the lack of movement, one of your circuits got tripped. Too much power started flowing through it, I’m guessing when you tried to force your arm to shift. Maybe don’t do that again, for future reference.”

“I see. Can you fix it?” She demanded rather than asked. You went down again to get another tool, returning with a thumbs up upon standing upright again.

“I sure can. This won’t take long,” you went quiet as you went into focus mode, recoiling the spring and even tightening a few loose bolts in other areas. You flipped a breaker off and back on again, and her arm jolted back to life. After applying a little mechanical lubricant, you closed her arm back up. “All clear!”

You confirmed you were done with a little finger-gun motion. Nebula looked at you, then flexed her fingers, which all responded accordingly. Her eyes snapped back up at you in disbelief, and you grinned.

“What did I tell you? I’m good at what I do.” You decided to toot your own horn just a little. But now it was time for the real test. Could her arm shift successfully? The panels and segments started to shift around and change, rounding where her hand was into a little cylinder-like structure. She twitched, and a small, blue flame sprouted from the tip. You looked up at her with wide eyes.

“You were trying to help me this whole time..?” You asked, stunned. She looked away from you, like she was checking if anyone else was near. The coast was clear.

“Guess we’re even.” Nebula said in a different tone that her previous harsh words. Your face crackled into a smile.

“Aw, thanks Neb-”

“If you let anyone one know I won’t hesitate to throw you into space myself. Understood?” She glared directly into your soul, making sure you knew she was serious. But you didn’t feel so threatened anymore. You kept smiling.

“Understood.”

[villainessprefect]

~Tell It to My Heart~

title: Commencement

Prompt #1: Being too afraid to confess during the school year, so you wait until graduation.

Idia x gn!reader

Read on AO3

"You're going to do it, right, Idia?" Ortho asks as he hovers beside his brother.

"Do what?" He asks. For once his focus isn't on playing a game, but rather coding one. With that, he doesn't notice the smile in his brother's voice nor the mischievous glint that sparks in his eyes.

"Confess to the Prefect!"

Idia is glad that he hadn't gone for his energy drink because it would have spilled everywhere. The sudden declaration makes his hair flare for a second and tests the code when it's not done. It ends up in a loop, crashing. Ortho had done more damage than a final boss doing his signature move could ever hope to do.

"Wh-Why would I do that? It's so cringe and n-normie! Besides, the Prefect has other options...they'd never pick me."

"I know they would," Ortho reassures. Idia lets out a sigh and he can't tell if it's his brother's endless optimism or the fact that he can't recall when he last saved his work. "I've analyzed their reactions and heart rate whenever you're together. The chances of you two becoming more involved are 90%! Please, I know if you just ask then you two can be happy."

"Not happening."

He picks up from where he left off with his code as if he were never interrupted. But his focus doesn't last long, not when his mind lingers on Ortho's bluntness about his feelings. Pah! As if he would ever admit those aloud. Not in a million years. No matter how much Ortho pestered him, he wouldn't- couldn't do it.

No matter how many times he's dreamt of the scenario or even dared to practice in front of his PC. The amount of times he's tried to mimic those dating sims and tried to sound as cool as a love interest is truly embarrassing. The memories make him cringe.

He's a weirdo, he knows this. You know this. The whole damn school knows this. He's a shut-in who barely has any friends let alone a love interest. It's a miracle that he even has you.

Those stupid feelings for you should have disappeared a long time ago. They blossomed before he could even realize it. You just had to waltz into this world and steal his heart- just like a true MC! But what was he to you in your life? An NPC you were fond of? A passing friend who would be forgotten soon? He doesn't dare to think of himself as anything more to you.

You should have gone home. At least, a part of him hopes you would have by now. That way he could bury those feelings in his heart and get over this lovestruck phase. He could find comfort in an anime character who was just like you and be fine with that. But you've pretty much settled on staying in this world. And that's a scary thought.

You were going to remain in the same world as him.

And his feelings for you would never disappear.

"Ortho?"

Idia doesn't want to confess and lose...whatever it is you have. Friendship, he guesses? It's...nice. To have someone that he can spend time with. Someone who isn't his brother and can get along with him too! It's something he didn't think he was capable of having.

Yet, he fears losing you to someone else. Anyone could snatch you up. Even the weakest soul that walked the school grounds was stronger than him. At least they had the courage to be out there while he found safety in his room. It's pathetic, he knows...

"Yes?"

But it can't be like this forever, can it? He can't keep cowering away despite how easy it may be. Fighting against fate is pointless, he can't win.

But he can try. All he needs to do is take the first step.

"M-Maybe I will...b-but under one condition!"

Graduation.

That is when he would confess. Idia finds the timing to be good considering he missed the other holiday events. Plus he has time to prepare (and test his theory if you're really staying in this world or not). And if everything goes to hell, well, he won't be here to deal with it! He could flub his confession and go home and never have to deal with that or you, again! Even if he loses, he wins.

If only graduation hadn't come sooner than he thought. It's only thanks to Ortho's enthusiasm does he remember that 'promise' he made to him. His face instantly pales at the reminder and how he's been neglecting to prepare for the upcoming day. Grinding in his games was always a priority but they've been put even higher when learning he has to appear in person to get his diploma before leaving this place for good. Ugh. Seriously? Couldn't they just send it to him digitally? No? Figures.

The day of graduation feels quite surreal. For the most part, he's blanked out. Unimportant NPCs were called one by one for their flimsy piece of paper and a handshake from Crowley. It was a painstakingly, extensive ceremony. He never liked his surname thanks to the curse it brought, but now he disliked it even more due to the fact how low it was on the list. His curse loved screwing him over in more ways than one, it seems.

It's not surprising that Idia disappears the moment the diploma is in his hands and he's free from Crowley's hand. He played his part and now he has no reason to remain there. Even if teachers barked at him to stay, did it matter? He was a student here no longer.

Idia finds solace in the courtyard. It's empty and devoid of life. Everyone is crowded at the ceremony, waiting for the final names to be called. The cheers of celebration for this event is heard even from here. Good for them.

"Idia?"

"Eek!" The blue-haired boy squeaks at the call of his name. He jumps and practically squeezes that flimsy piece of paper in his hands like a lifeline. When he sees that it's you, he lets out a breath. Just for a moment, he is calm. Then he realizes, it's you.

"P-Prefect? What are you doing here?! You're not...watching the rest of the ceremony?"

"I came to look for you," you answer with a soft smile. So warm and comforting. It's hard to believe you don't have magic when you make him feel at ease with just a smile. "I figured you would leave and asked Ortho to tell me where you went. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Ah, Ortho..." He shouldn't be surprised. "I, uh, I'm okay. Better now that I'm away from...there."

"The ceremony is nice and all, but...there really are a lot of people. I'm just glad no one ruined it," you laugh.

"Planning to ruin another ceremony?" He scoffs, a playful grin itching on his face. "You could have showed up on stage with Grim."

"Maybe for my graduation, I'll do something like that. You can be there to see it too."

"Y-Yeah...I will." He agrees before properly processing his answer. Of course, he would go to see you graduate. It would be under the guise of doing it for Ortho, but for you two...he thinks he could brave the crowd. Well, he'd be all the way in the back near the closest exit and be watching you both up close with a drone while he's avoiding the crowd, but he'd be there.

Silence falls between you. It's not unwelcome, but Idia has the looming sensation of dread hanging over him. He made a promise to Ortho and he wants to keep it. Even if it makes him feel like he's going to pass out. If he's going to be a good older brother, he has to do this. For him and Ortho.

"I'm going to miss you."

"Eh?"

You're the one to break the silence first. Your gaze lifts towards the sky, eyes on who knows what. Idia catches a glimpse of how your smile has fallen from your lips.

"I kinda dreaded graduation. It means losing out on my older friends, sort of. I know no one is leaving for good, but you're going to be busy with your family business, right? I don't know if you'll have time for me, but...I'd still like to keep in touch with you."

His face burns upon hearing your words. It feels like you're the one making a move on him! You totally are, right? Right?! Wait, was Ortho seriously right this whole time? No, no. It's too early to tell.

"Y-Yes!" He squeaks out, again. He's happy to have given a verbal response and see your face light up.

Idia opens his mouth to continue speaking but finds his voice lost. A hand reaches out to pull out his tablet hidden in his robes. It's kept in his hands with a firm grasp as he thinks how easy it would be to convey his feelings through it. But that's so lame. Who confesses via tablet when you're literally right in front of each other?

"You okay?" You ask.

Idia gives a quick nod. His gaze is focused on the tablet, looking at the reflection of himself through it. His flames capture his attention and he can see the tints of pink giving his feelings away. He doesn't like how he looks. Pathetic. Weak. Cowardly. It's times like this when he would just run and lose everything. Things would be so much easier if life were a game.

He forces his head up and takes in the surroundings. The courtyard is still empty aside from you two. There's a slight breeze that causes your hair to sway in the wind. The setting sun is casting an orange glow upon the world and on you, caressing your face with a gentle glow. If only there were cherry blossoms, this would be a peak anime scene. The normal tree behind him has to do the stand-in job for it. Video games may show the ideal, but this...isn't such a bad cutscene.

"I...have something I want to say to you," Idia gulps. All he has to do is be the MC he was meant to be! Er- love interest! If he can do this in a game, he can do this IRL. Easy peasy.

You don't rush him. You're patient. Always being kind and letting him take his time to formulate his words. To be considerate, makes his heart warm, especially with the way you're looking at him.

"I just have to pick the right dialogue options," he mutters to himself. He takes in a breath and hides his tablet. "I've been wanting to tell you how I feel...a-about you. That I really like you as a person. You're not like the rest of the normies, you're actually pr-pretty cool. And I wouldn't mind you being in my life longer than them." His voice cracks and he lets out a whine. He wishes for these robes to have hoods so he could hide. "I-Is that good enough? I think I messed this up...just KO me already, please."

Now the silence feels like it's chipping away at his HP. The lack of response is more threatening than anything before. He doesn't even have the courage to look at you. Not until he feels warmth against his cold hand. It's yours atop his.

"It's good enough. I just have one thing to say." You wait for your eyes to meet. Those golden eyes full of fear hide their true beauty. "Will you wait for me?"

"Wait...?"

"Wait for me until I graduate. So I can be with you."

"O-Of course! Wait...Wait- You want to be with me?!"

"I do. You're one of the most important people here to me. I want to stay with you, Idia."

A pathetic noise escapes him. Even he's surprised by the sound he makes. It's not a cheer or a yes, but something akin to a joyful cheap. This was definitely not the outcome he was expecting, but it was the best one he could have had.

"Just promise to come to visit every now and then, okay? If not, I'll get Ortho to drag you here," you chuckle. "Even if you're busy, make time for us."

"I will!"

"Thank you." You squeeze his hand. "We should probably celebrate your graduation- and us."

[lumeha]

@furtiveseal no derailment at all but making a new post because I Can :D

Joker : I like him ! He's a fun silent protag, and as always, I do think the Persona games are good at having silent protags having a lot of personality. I like how we get to know a lot of Joker's personality through hobbies we can have him have (watching movies and playing games, cooking), the fact that he does get into Shenanigans outside of the main plot (... the whole Yusuke social link, like, Sir), that he has some really strong morals from the start, etc.

Morgana : I, hm, really didn't like Morgana. I'm. One of the problem being that I genuinely think they sorta did his existential crisis arc much better writing wise with Teddie in P4. /o/ \o\ /o/

Ryuji : (carries him above my head) I Love Him So Fucking Much He's The Best. Didn't expect him to be my favourite but. He is. He deserves better. I wish the comedy of the game didn't rely so much on him getting the short end of the stick. I also wish the game was consistent regarding his leg injury because damn the game isn't consistent with the leg injury. But I Love Him. (also very fond of his relation with Mishima and I ship them but I'm mostly saying this because I am in fact vindicated by the fact that he does say that his friendship with Mishima is meaningful to him in the 3rd semester and I am very glad okay they have some nice scenes together) (also I have feelings about him as the Chariot it's a great pick)

Ann : I wish most of her stuff wasn't frontloaded in the first Palace, and I am glad she has another spotlight time in Strikers. I really like Ann ! She's a great character ! I think there's a whole tension over how the game treats her character and her story over beign sexualised that is, let's just say, quite obviously not well done, but as a character, she is just. so delightful. She's a great friend, she's a fun girl, I love her determination and her compassion at the same time :3c

Yusuke : hell yeah !! hell yeah. I love the boy. He's such a weirdo (affectionate) another one who gets another turn in the spotlight in Strikers and it does work super well for him too. He's definitely a character I got to appreciate more the more I got to see him in game, and I appreciate that there's a sort of delighted weirdness about him that is just... he's just like that and that's all, it's good, I appreciate it.

Makoto : my least favourite thief, because she just... doesn't... feel like she belongs in the group. I'm genuinely thinking her sister has a bigger "becoming the rebel" moment than her, despite being older and not a teen which is part of the theme of that game ? Didn't help that she is not doing herself a favour in Strikers. Also the way she's set up in the game was a little, uh, too "look at how COOL and GREAT Makoto is !!" by putting down the other characters which was just a little grating to me so that probably didn't help a lot (the ultimate irony being that she is voiced by Cherami Leigh AND represents the High Priestess, much like my absolute queen favourite character Rhea FE3H)

Futaba : actually grew on me because that's the one character that I swear to the gods Strikers did an horrible job with (can we stop with hot springs scenes thanks Atlus), and I played Strikers first. But her relationship with Sojiro is fantastic, I think her palace was legitimately my favourite to go through story wise (maybe because it did have echoes of P4 dungeons, I just think it did Something with it at least), and I like that it doesn't get... smoothly easier for her

Haru : she deserves sO MUCH BETTER than what the game gives her. I love her. I really love her. But I think the game writing doesn't allow her as much space as she could and should have. What we see of her relationship with her father and her feelings about his death, about the memories of her grandfather and how she wants to carry legacy of everything her family is, and how she's so genuine, I think she's great. Also she has an axe. Who doesn't like that. OH and she does get an additional arc in Strikers too !! and it's good !! I really liked it !!! I liked it because it shows her interacting from someone she knew as a kid and who she thought a lot of positive things about and idk it worked super well for me

Sumi : she's. she's so badly integrated pre-3rd semester. But I think her story is compelling !! I like her 3rd semester arc !! She's just really badly integrated into the story, in a way that Marukichi is weirdly not. Which kind of does her a disservice. But what a goddamn grim story she has.

Bonus Round Zenkichi : I love cop dad a whole fucking lot, and not JUST because he's an old man okay :/// ... and NOT JUST because his Persona is Valjean :////// .... no but he's fun. I like the way he interacts with the Thieves in general, his relation with his daughter being a red thread of his arc AND a good echo to the overall themes of the game he's in regarding actions and inactions. I think Strikers does a good job at adding him to the team, also he has a fun interaction with Sae :3c which was fun.

[ninthfeather]

Ho Ho Ho 🎅🏻

Hi there! I wish you a happy new year!

I’m already working on your gift 🎁

You had a lot of ideas in your form. It was helpful while brainstorming!

I really liked the idea to think about friendships some more! What do you like the most about those friendships you mentioned?

- DCMK Secret Santa

So the thing I enjoy most about a lot of the platonic relationships in DCMK is how complex they are!

Heiji is, in every sense of the phrase, Shinichi’s ride-or-die, and vice versa. They may bicker and compete, but they also trust each other implicitly and are completely willing to hide bodies or risk their lives if that's what the other one needs. We joke about how obsessed with Shinichi Heiji is, but really what happened is that Heiji went into his first encounter with Shinichi expecting a straightforward competition with someone on his level and came out with tremendous respect for Shinichi and a renewed sense of purpose as a detective. And while Shinichi frequently plays up their competition and is insufferable whenever he wins, he doesn't tolerate it when anyone else looks down on Heiji, and he panics if the guy is in danger. In short, codependent weirdo kings.

Hakuba and Kaito are so precious to me because there's this really profound unspoken understanding between the two of them of a game that they're playing with each other that absolutely no one else is playing or even aware of. Somehow, without really communicating about it in any way, they've established a set of boundaries and agreements that govern how they compete as detective and thief, and despite their outward dislike of one another and their sincere distaste for each other's life paths, that trust between them is so deeply rooted. Hakuba wants to defeat Kaito but he'll do things like withholding evidence or acting as KID’s informant if he believes it's necessary to making their competition fair. Kaito will trust Hakuba not to betray him despite having no reason to do so. They have like one single social skill between them and they're both extremely isolated so instead of forming a normal peer relationship they're socializing via trying to outwit each other. The rituals are so freaking intricate.

I could go on for hours about the Nagano Trio and how I adore every single iteration of their dynamic. Whether they are platonic or romantic it doesn't matter, they've been inextricably entwined with one another since childhood and despite a lot of conflicts and misunderstanding, they've never stopped being entwined. Even while pushing each other away, their actions have been dictated by those bonds. You can see Kansuke’s influence in the path Yui’s and Taka’aki’s lives have taken and vice versa. And a lot of it is really messy and shot through with guilt and regrets, but ultimately they still all care about each other so so much.

Akai and Camel are also just so intriguing. Their relationship is a messy combination of guilt and obligation and deep respect. Camel can't really think of Akai as a normal human being with flaws and shortcomings, and Akai is equally incapable of communicating how isolating that sort of idolization is. They would absolutely die for each other, but they are never going to have a frank discussion of their feelings.

I could keep going, but honestly I feel like I have made my point. DCMK is such a good source of messy, profound platonic relationships and I am so here for it.

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

How did FNAF and the surrounding community impact you when you were young? Were you with it from the very beginning?

Would you guys be surprised if I said it was FNaF and Minecraft that first got me into writing?

The year was 2015. FNaF 3 was still on its way, and I was a 11-12 year-old gremlin who loved reading. I remember searching for sites to post books and coming across a little place called Nyah! Fanfiction, a brazilian portuguese space for... Well. Fanfic. And I made my little account in there and started reading TONS of fanfiction, including, of course, FNaF.

That's when I came across a little story where we could send in our own OCs to be characters in there. It was being updated every day and I think it was sitting at chapter 3 when I first read it. Me, being super excited, immediately commented and told the author how much I LOVED that thing, and submitted my OCs. It wasnt long until me, the author and other readers formed an actual and genuine friend group! We were all tweens who loved writing, and I believe I would have never got too far into writing if it wasnt for our friendship!

We are still friends to this day, despite falling out with some of the og group members, and these beautiful weirdos I call friends all know about the things I have been doing in this Tumblr! FNaF made me meet some of my best friends for life, and hopefully one day we'll all be able to meet IRL and be silly together.

The fan theories, fanart and the community present during the FNaF 1-6 era forever shaped me, and I cannot thank the existence of this weird game with an infuriatingly confusing story enough. I may not be as close with the community as I once was but I'll forever cherish it.

Also for the love of God why the fuck did they bring William back after UCN. Why. It was the PERFECT ending and they BROUGHT HIM BACK–

[dogbunni]

dude your nendou HCs?? on fucking point.

anyway!! if you'd like to: nedou and saiki! friendship hcs!

OUGH friendship hcs??? let's see

[sits bolt upright as my eyes start flickering and emitting light] [several nendo&saiki headcanons are projected onto the wall]

-nendo is an extreme extrovert and saiki is an extreme introvert. now we've all heard of extrovert/introvert friendships and how the extrovert adopts the introvert and yes absolutely nendo did adopt saiki but also get this: nendo is an extrovert who struggles to make friends. he is loud and crude and not super smart and most people find him a little off-putting. saiki on the other hand is an introvert with an insanely high stat in charisma for no fucking reason and most definitely against his will. people are drawn to him despite his best efforts to push them away. therefore nendo and saiki are the dream team. they compliment each other. nendo's unlikeability keeps the normals well away from saiki, whereas saiki's baffling magnetism attracts the weirdos not put off by nendo's nendoness. nendo finally has the friendship group of his dreams, and saiki gets his likeability score tanked every time nendo calls him "pal". incredible.

-theyve been friends long enough now that they can do that weird BFFL thing where they can finish each others sentences and guess pretty accurately each others train of thought. this caused a crisis for saiki bc for a minute he thought nendo actually could read his mind.

-when I say saiki can pretty accurately guess what nendo is thinking I mean that nendo is pretty much always thinking about ramen

-nendo however will have real conversations with saiki where saiki says nothing. not even with his telepathy. nothing. nendo just knows through BFFL magic what saiki would say. saiki loves this, despite being a bit scared that nendo is always right on the money

-sometimes saiki indulges nendo's weird impulsive thoughts. they're both teenage boys. saiki is repressed, but also a silly little guy at heart. he has pushed nendo down a very steep hill in a shopping cart, while nendo stood upright in it, T-posing and screaming the whole way. he fell out and split his lip on the pavement.

-they play saiki's weird bargain bin games together. you can't convince me that they don't.

-they absolutely bully each other and yes it is a love language. sometimes you just need to tell your best friend that he is ugly and a freak of nature and that is okay <3

-they clown on saiki's dad together. saiki likes the challenge of pranking kuniharu without using his powers. nendo just likes seeing kuniharu suffer

-they once bought up every single coffee jelly for miles and then had a taste testing tournament involving a sticker chart to find the best coffee jelly factoring in best quality for money. granted, saiki did a lot of the heavy lifting for this one, but nendo enjoyed putting stickers onto the chart. it holds the record for the most saiki has ever smiled in one day

-once kusuke came over and tried to pull some bullshit while they were hanging out and they just looked at each other and then started throwing shit at him. like;

kusuke: KUSUO I HAVE COME TO EN-

kusuo: (throws TV remote at his head)

kusuke: TO ENGAGE YOU IN-

nendo: (throws a half eaten sandwich at his head)

kusuke: IN A BATTLE OF W-

kusuo: (throws a water bottle at his head)

kusuke: OF WITS- STOP THROWI-

nendo: (throws his chair at his head)

this only ended bc kuniharu thought it looked fun and tried to join in. they then started throwing things at him instead.

-nendo got them matching "I LOVE MY BEST FRIEND" t shirts. saiki has never worn his and never will but nendo wears his fucking constantly

-saiki retaliated by getting t-shirts that said "IM WITH STUPID" and "IM STUPID" on them. jokes on him tho bc nendo loves that shirt too.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 5/9/2023

i almost never devour a book in one sitting without getting distracted, i rarely scrub back to the beginning of a scene to immediately rewatch it, and i have never force-quit a video game in order to immediately replay the level, but all of those things happened this week. cowboy machine go brrr.

listening

wolf by the yeah yeah yeahs (sextile remix). neo noir movie music, long establishing interior shot as you move through a dim mirrored lounge, making eye contact with all the denizens before the diegetic music cuts back in.

rare remix where i like the remix much better than the original. driving and pleasantly jangly, grooveable with some velocity to it. music to feel like a lone wolf protagonist to. spotify link

the release radar is one of spotify's best features and i wish something as set-and-forget existed for bandcamp

reading

Lone Women by Victor LaValle is a gothic horror western. only part of the gothic horror is due to the familial burden placed upon eldest sisters. this book is largely concerned with inheritance, sisterhood and female friendship (in scare quotes and otherwise) but not in a TERFy way.

Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear. (bookshop.org link)

i try to read a couple reviews before writing my own, and there’s been a lot of grumbling that this book is comprised solely of diversity points. to which i say: do you really think interracial lesbians and trans people and autistic kids did not exist in 1915??? this is a pretty typical friend group. the weirdos band together.

i liked this book a great deal and had a good time with it. however, i think the denouement comes together a little too pat. i would have liked this book to be slightly longer than its 306 print pages. there are a lot of characters to juggle and there are two specifically i would have liked to see more so they feel a little less deus ex machina. however x2, i am deeply grateful to LaValle's wife who insisted on this specific ending. there are tragedies that happen in the book, but the book is not a tragedy.

there are in fact a fuck of a lot of threads being carried at all times, despite all these threads coming together somewhat unevenly in the last few chapters. there is a literary sleight of hand so effective (bc you are so relieved a group of characters hasn’t died and THEN so many things immediately happen) that you completely forget to question why the fuck this group left and came back in the first place (although you can come up with a satisfactory answer on your own by like. thinking for a minute). the suspense is sustained and effective as well, i was worried the whole time about something and devoured it in one sitting without getting up (mack, curled up against my side in bed, appreciated this a lot).

how scary is this book? more suspense and dread. there are very few detailed descriptions, there is simply. a lot of blood.

how horny is this book? i do very much like the pair of secondary lesbians (bisexuals? unclear. could be both/either. the distinction would not come for nearly another sixty years anyway). i complain a lot about when women aren’t horny enough, but if you make them both willing to fucking kill in a blink for each other and give me an achingly tender scene like this, im fine with this fairly tame level of horny!

watching

A scruffy garbage boy becomes the pupil of a famed gunfighter, and the stage for confrontation is set when the gunman overruns the boy's town through violence and corruption.

as an orphan with daddy issues, Day of Anger (1967, dir. Valerii) really fuckin hit for me. it's also an a-tier western i would let other people watch, slightly clunky at times but killingly sincere. really fun and unusual jazzy score, good camerawork. i really loved this but am having difficulty explaining why. it's coherent? do you know how rare that is for a spaghetti western???

it also has the best one minute forty-four seconds in any western ever, imo. why the fuck not have a joust!!! i do not watch spaghetti westerns for their restraint or subtlety!!! the HAHAHA SICKOS.meme moments, where it really fucking embraces its genre, are some of the best moments in the film. more FUCK yeah WHY NOT moments in other movies please.

this is one of lee van cleef's three "tutorship" movies (along with Death Rides A Horse and For A Few Dollars More), where he gets paired up with the spaghetti western version of a james bond girl. i don't remember who tagged one of my posts but he really is peak evil dilf here. the way he sets up his own destruction because he as a person cannot do anything else is just. pour it into my open mouth. yes thank you yumyumyum

it is not a complex plot, but thought and care was put into it. scott mary, the van cleef boy in this film, has a real character arc and an ambiguous ending. along with the score and lvc at his evil best, this is a novel example of a spaghetti western. the two-hour cut is here for free on tubi btw.

ty to @pasta-pardner for complaining that no one was talking about this movie, bc apparently that's a really effective hook for me. i love to feel exclusive.

playing

call of juarez: gunslinger, and i have finally determined that it was free on steam a couple two-three years ago and that's how i obtained it. mystery solved.

the conceit of this arcadey episodic first person shooter: you are semi-retired bounty hunter Silas Greaves, telling stories in a saloon to get free drinks out of your audience. the level can rapidly change as Silas' story changes: as he remembers things or as audience members argue with him. this is overall a pretty successful schtick and continues to be silly goofy fun.

i had so much fun with the first train level, where you are scrambling up through a derailed train over a ravine, that i immediately replayed it. i have never ever done this with a video game before. everything feels so precarious, it encourages speed without literally blowing the track up behind you. it is VERY fun to kick down train car doors and go into bullet time. it is VERY fun to defend a tunnel with a gatling gun. imo the sort of gleeful high-velocity gunfights this game wants you to have work best when you are fighting through a fairly contained level like a train-- the maps where you are running and gunning through an entire town can feel a little overwhelming.

the maps are generally the kind of over the top nonsense you expect from a spaghetti western-- in one level you are scrambling around under/on top of/through a giant trestle bridge trying to stay alive and deactivate some dynamite so the bridge and train stay unexploded. you fight through the ricketiest mine you can imagine! you fight on a steamboat beached in a swamp! you fight in a flooded graveyard in the same swamp! this game is not pretty, per se, but it is handsome. it uses vertical space really well.

the level with Indians is both better and worse than i hoped. Silas is after some Apaches who have escaped their reservation, and is sympathetic about them wanting off the reservation, but you sure do have a whole level about shooting guys anyway. this game leans really hard into, like, woo-woo nature medicine man abilities. luckily they are contained to the one level. this is pretty okay for 2013 (a named tribe, a sympathetic portrayal, they are defending instead of attacking or kidnapping) but they could have done better then and they can do better now.

additionally, i have some beef with the duel minigame-- im old. my reflexes are Not Good. there's a mexican standoff where there are three different things to keep track of and i have failed that duel seventeen times. i may be soft-locked due to a skills issue.

making

fallow week. im kind of frozen with fear about moving prep and really need to kick shit into gear despite the fact it is all very expensive and very scary. even when you have local people to look at apartments for you, the mere thought of renting an apartment without like Being There and seeing what the light is like and poking around under cabinets for mold and interrogating the neighbors is deeply uncomfy for me.

but onward! because we have to!

[andro-dino]

for the ask game uhhhuhuhh 4. 7. 8. and 20. for damian if its not too much trouble >-<

I think a movie or something like that, something that��s a one-shot but long enough to have a lot of development, bc I’d really like to see more of both Damian’s past and future. I wanna see more about his upbringing and how he heals and moves on post-masters. One of my favorite things to think about with him is how he would go about healing from his trauma and unlearning a lot of his horrible mindset and the ups and downs of how him trying to integrate into normal society would go, and I think something like a movie would be a good medium to go about that.

7. going off of that, I love seeing different interpretations of Damian post-masters bc there’s a lot of ways he can be explored, but specifically, I love when people portray him just being able to be a child. You can do that even within the canon timeline with him being a snarky little brat (I say lovingly), but I also especially love when people let him be interested in stupid little things and act silly and childish bc he is really just a kid who never got a proper childhood and it’s really healing being able to give one to him.

8. There’s two things I hate when it comes to the way people treat Damian, and it depends entirely on the person. Because on the powerscaling side, it’s really aggravating to see people only focus on his battle wins and strength and all that bc, while kerbecs IS cool as hell in battle, reducing his character down like that overlooks so many of the complexities of it and I feel it doesn’t really properly appreciate how well his character is executed. His power is a horrifying thing, both because of how destructive it is but because of how it portrays how deeply horribly Damian has been raised and treated up until this point and how the person that he is is a product of being treated not as human, but as a tool and a weapon, and I don’t think focusing solely on him winning and being strong as the reason why he’s so good does all of that justice. ON THE OTHER SIDE, I’ve gone on rants about this before, but my poor boy has so many FREAKS obsessed with him and it makes me upset. I’ve seen far too much sexualization of his character and people treating him as this hot and sexy dominant guy WHEN HES LIKE 13. LIKE YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY CONVINCE YOURSELF HES OLDER THAT IS A CHILD. HE IS THE SAME HEIGHT AS ENZO GARCIA THATS JUST A BABY‼️‼️‼️ I need weirdos to stay away from him.

I dunno about ideal, but I do like him and jack together. They’re both kinda weirdo freak outcasts who are able to understand what they’ve gone through to a better level and I like Jack taking a kind of caretaker role over Damian despite all his usual kookiness it’s a very nice dynamic. In general I like the potential for friendship between all of team starbreaker, both during and post-masters. Even though they’re all kinda fucked up and didn’t come together under really the best circumstances, them sticking with each other and supporting each other after everything is really important to me. Also this is one that I’ve mostly thought of for the haha funny of it but Damian and yuki i think would be funny together.

[dojae-huh]

hahaha Hi Huh-nim, I was about to ask your opinion on the same thing on Johndo from the bowling content. I lowkey can ship johndo of their exchanges on this content. It is really cute. I also watched their maldives content and did not get the same vibe so not entirely sure what they are fully back to the old times

The bowling content is very recent. Woo dyed his hair blond at the end of May. Maldives were shot at the start of December in 2023. Almost half a year passed. There was definitely still tension in winter.

People, as social animals, are very attuned to the mood of others. We pick up non-verbal signals even without realising it. And we mirror the mood in the group. We relax when people around smile and laugh, and become uneasy, when others show signs of worrying, being on alert.

Johnny projects his feelings very strongly outwards. When he is relaxed and content he comes off as very nice and attractive, when he is vexed, or passive-aggressive, he is unpleasant. His over-the-top jokes are also jarring to an extent because he hides behind them (he is a much more serious person than his idol image of a jockster), and it's apparent. I agree that the way JohnDo were during the game made them easy to ship. The way they exchanged knowing glances and silent sighs over Taeil, how they both worked to accomodate his desire to throw the ball from a squat position was cute. The most important change - Doyoung initiated a lot of communication himself (took Johnny's hand, offered high fives, reacted well to "nice!").

Speaking of Taeil.

Taeil is truly a weirdo. He didn't even joke about the pose, he really thought he can perfect it and didn't care about the score despite all the hints and pleas from Doyoung.

The absence of Mark and Haechan meant that 2Dongs and YuMark gags were absent. This allowed other relationship dynamics to emerge, neos show their other sides. Like YuWoo.

The moment with Woo not noticing Jae's lifted for a high five hand demonstrated well how air-headed he is. Woo doesn't notice his surroundings well. That's why he gets lost (neos commented on it in US), doesn't care when others pressure him to call and doesn't get offended easily (the reprimands go in one ear and out the other).

Jae's hand was right before Woo's head, yet he still didn't notice, thinking whether his throw was a strike or not. Meanwhile, when Jae offered his hand after Do achieved a strike, Do noticed from the corner of his eye (and didn't use the moment to play up "you are my enemy, no high five to you").

There was a moment when Do played his hyung card and told Woo to not throw a ball at the same time as him. Woo stepped down right away (Hyuk would have objected viciously). A good example of DoWoo, how Woo actually listens to Do.

When Do accomplished a couple of strikes in the beginning, Yuta turned to Jae with "he is actually good" comment. Yuta said it quietly, he addressed Jae (not Do or said it for fans). So it was "your bf is good" moment.

Doyoung was serious about scoring, he concentrated. Not out of competitiveness (he cared more about the food, lol), for himself, he wanted to beat the game, become good at it.

It is really amazing to me how Do hears everyone around him. When he was ordering, Jae quietly sad what he wants, and Do responded right away without turning his head. I'm pretty sure he can work on several tasks in parallel without losing his focus on any of them, the way he switched so quickly from ordering/eating to cheering his teammates, and then back.

JaeYu friendship also was visible.

Jaehyun decided to be productive and use the game as a real practice, return to form, heh. Editors seldom showed him because Jae didn't try to be funny (notice how much screentime Do got, he was the centrepiece of the whole episode, it's because he worked for content, commented on the game and the other team).

[flutteringfable]

screw it if spike chunsoft won’t give teruteru the better writing he deserves i will

a short drabble i wrote because i hate the way they made teruteru like actually kinda chill and nice and wholesome but kept it all contained in ftes, island mode, and before [redacted for spoilers]. i hate them for dumbing him down to “haha perv that also cooks sometimes” and making him genuinely so unlikable despite his oddly wholesome lore.

he gets to be friends with tasu they get to bond over being mama’s boys <3

content contains: platonic fluff, dangan oc (tasu), mentioned oc x canon, takes place post-prologue

this was the earliest tasu had ever gotten up. he had barely slept the night before, plagued by the paranoia from the announcement of a killing game. despite his best efforts to sleep in to make up for it, he had been awake since early that morning. tasu sighed, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. well, he may as well head to the restaurant. he changed out of his pajamas and fixed his hair, and after a moment or two more of hesitation, he left his cottage.

no one else seemed to be up this early either, which was simultaneously comforting and anxiety-inducing for tasu. he tried to shake off his nerves as he walked as quietly as possible down the bridge between the cottages. his footsteps felt so much louder, and he found himself awkwardly almost tiptoeing until he reached the concrete path to the pool and hotel.

as he climbed the stairs to the hotel restaurant, tasu heard the faint sound of a sizzling pan from inside. initially, it startled him, but he soon relaxed as he reached the top of the stairs and saw the silhouette of teruteru working away at breakfast in the kitchen.

“morning, hanamura!” tasu chirped as he walked through the dining area. “wasn’t expecting to see you up this early.”

the chef poked his head out of the kitchen door, waving shortly to tasu before returning to his work.

“well if i wanna have breakfast ready for everyone in time for the morning announcement, i figured i should get up a little earlier to start cookin’.”

tasu stood in the doorway of the kitchen, doing his best to keep out of teruteru’s way.

“so, did you sleep any last night? the only reason i’m up so early is because i could barely sleep myself…” tasu chuckled sheepishly.

teruteru perfectly folded over an omlette as he replied, “mm, i slept alright. i was… pretty scared for a while but i think stayin’ still for so long trying to wrap my head around everythin’ tired me out.”

“that’s good to hear,” tasu replied. “hopefully the others slept alright too; owari and nidai seem like they could sleep through anything regardless, but komaeda looked pretty upset…”

after finishing the platter of omelettes, teruteru began mixing batter for pancakes. he chuckled at tasu’s mention of nagito and raised an eyebrow at him.

“oh? you and komaeda seemed to be gettin’ pretty close yesterday. you seem like the type that makes friends real easy, but the way i saw you keep looking at him while we were all at the beach felt like a little more than friendship.”

tasu stiffened. “oh… was i really that obvious…?”

teruteru had to set the bowl of batter down he laughed so hard.

“yes, suzuki,” his amused laughter turned a little warmer as he smiled at tasu. “so, i guess that means you’re into him?”

“i— um— i just—“ tasu sputtered, glancing away and wringing his hands. “…yeah.”

teruteru poured a few small circles of the batter onto a pan. “no shame in that. have you told him yet?”

“of course not,” tasu replied, sighing. “we just met, i don’t wanna be a weirdo about it. plus, the circumstances aren’t really ideal at the moment, even if i was going to tell him.”

“that’s alright.” teruteru flipped one of the pancakes. “i can see where you’re comin’ from. sometimes love at first sight can fizzle out as fast as it happens; my mama always told me that. but, if you really do think you love him that much, maybe you should take a chance. you don’t have to confess as soon as he walks in for breakfast, but whenever you feel ready, i think you should.”

tasu smiled, leaning on the doorframe. “…thanks, hanamura. the last thing i thought i’d be doing today was spilling my troubles to you, but here i am.”

“i like having someone to talk to while i cook,” teruteru replied, putting the finished pancakes on a plate before pouring two more into the pan. “reminds me of home.”

tasu cocked his head, humming. “what was your life like before… all of this? i kinda miss the more mundane stuff now that we’re… here.”

“my mama and i ran a restaurant together,” teruteru replied. “she was the strongest woman i’ve ever known… she got real sick before i left for hope’s peak. i hope she’s doing alright without me.”

tasu frowned sympathetically. “i hope she’s doing okay, too. she sounds wonderful; i’d love to meet her one day. my mom likes to cook, too, but she also works out with my dad. she’s taught me some stuff, but not nearly as much as you know, hanamura.”

“we should trade recipes sometime,” teruteru smiled.

“mhm,” tasu agreed. “we totally should.”

the two fell into comfortable silence as teruteru finished up breakfast.

[spicylief]

Some BG3!Kama/Kamari x Astarion Fluff Notes

Because I'm an oversharing weirdo

Warning: Some notes involving intimate subjects and blood.

Relationship Notes

Unlike in-game, Kamari and Astarion were not intimate for some time despite his attempts to seduce her. Each attempt was met with polite redirection, often to just allow him to feed after noticing his weariness, and simply engaging in idle chatter regarding the days ahead. Kamari did not expect anything in return and sensed his affections were shallow, so she was wary. She was attracted to him, but did not appreciate him treating her like she was ignorant of his motives (though his motives were not entirely clear to her, which further made her wary of his advances).

One night early in their friendship, Kamari pondered curiously about the taste of Astarion's blood. Curious himself on what her response would be, Astarion allowed her a taste from a finger he punctured with his fangs. At first to Kamari, it simply tasted like chilled blood, tingling on her tongue before dissolving. To Astarion, however, he found himself able to pick up on Kamari's emotional state, allowing him a means of further manipulating her, even though he has been unsuccessful in seducing her. However, as their relationship develops, Astarion finds himself falling for Kamari, moreso when she often comes to his defense. His guilt over trying to manipulate her causes him to become more honest with her. Before approaching Moonrise, he tells her everything, including being able to sense her own private feelings. He apologizes to her, and it is only then that their relationship becomes romantic and intimate.

Both enjoy each other's body temperature, even while not being sexually intimate. Kamari runs naturally warm while Astarion is cool, and one often seeks the other for comfort. Upon them becoming more intimate and trusting in one another, Astarion  and Kamari would share a bed to soothe one another in their slumber, even whilst not engaging in sexual acts.

Every month after they start becoming intimate, Astarion eagerly indulges himself in the blood from Kamari's moon sickness. While he still appreciates the taste of and being able to feed on the blood from other parts of her body (mainly her neck and wrists), he finds the blood that comes from her time of the month to be the most rich and decadent, noting it being the difference between fruit juice and finely aged wine. It also gives him the sensations of being drunk and aroused, like a strong vintage and aphrodisiac combined into one. This feast for Astarion, of course, is followed immediately by copious amounts of sex, which he and Kamari both thoroughly enjoy despite the bloody mess.

As the relationship develops, Astarion has noted that his cooler body is able to provide Kamari relief in the weeks leading up to and during her moon sickness, as her internal temperature becomes uncomfortably warm for her liking. Able to sense her pain and distress, he often joins her in her bedroll while she attempts to sleep off her symptoms in order to help ease her pain.

Upon losing his immunity to sunlight, Astarion discovers with Kamari that he can regain temporary protection by consuming her blood. Through experiments conducted together, they determine a usual feeding from her allows him full protection for roughly two to four hours with an additional hour of it gradually wearing out before dissipating completely. While this is not a permanent solution, it provides Astarion some comfort until they find one.

As their search continues, there are times when their prospects are bleak and it wears them down emotionally. While the disappointments sadden Astarion, he has grown accustomed to them, given he has already had to live two hundred years in the shadows prior to meeting her. What surprised him, however, was Kamari's depressed moods during those hopeless times, as she felt disappointed in herself and more upset than he did at being unable to find him a cure. Sensing this, Astarion finds himself loving her more, expressing that even if they never find a solution, he will be fine as long as she, his beloved Sunlight, remains at his side.

Astarion's Pet Names for Kamari

Darling

Cheeky Little Pup

Love

Sunlight

Kama

Mari

My Dear

Kamari's Pet Names for Astarion 

Star

Love

Dear

[mrultra100]

Ultra’s Ramblings; Meet the Scarlet Crew!

Now that Scarlet and Violet have finally come out, I’ve went and put alot of hours into my copy of the former. All and all, I’ve had a lot of fun with the game so far, even if the frame rate was a bit choppy (And that’s not getting into how that was the only performance problem that I had with it, when compared to a lot of people).

Aside from that, I’ve made quite the team along the way. And now, with the main story now completed it’s time to introduce the band of weirdos I that carried me into the Great Crater of Paldea; the Scarlet Crew!

King Chip (Or KC for short) is the leader of the team. A rather relaxed and chill Skeledirge, KC is a cool guy to be around. Given how he was the first Pokemon that Mason ever chosen, he’s taken on the role of leader ever since he was a wee Fuecoco. Whenever the situation, KC always has enough charm and firepower to see through to the end.

Fun Fact; King Chip’s favorite type of sandwich is turkey….with a bunch of peppers and hot sauce laying on top.

When it comes to Masaya, expect the unexpected. While he’s on the frailer side, this rather bold Lokix is the fastest of the entire crew, landing both Throat Chops and Axe Kicks to anyone and everyone who would dare to attack the group. This mysterious character might look intimidating at first glance, but he does what he does in the name of justice. Just don’t call him “short”, lest you’d want to get a spiny leg lodged into your face.

Fun Fact; Masaya often poses like a super sentai hero whenever he wins a battle. Nobody knows why he does it so much, it just makes him feel good.

Everyone loves Pancake, and she’s rather humble about it. Being on the same laxness as KC, this lovable Clodsire might not look like it, but she’s a force to be reckon with. Stone Edge, Earthquake, Surf, and Gunk Shot are all part of this girl’s moveset, along with the spines that pop out of her back whenever she feel threatened. With all of that in mind, give Pancake some respect. Given how cute she is, that shouldn’t be hard.

Fun Fact; Despite how big and round she is, Pancake’s favorite food is, well, pancakes! It’s how she got her name to begin with.

Rosemary is, well...alot to take in. When she was a Steenee, everything was fine. It all changed when she evolved, however. Rosemary is a lot of things; Boisterous, a bit of a show off, absolutely brutal, and a bit naughty. And the scariest part? She had a thorny whip made of brambles….and she doesn’t have Power Whip in her current moveset. If she pulls that thing out whenever she’s in a battle, and she turns to you, you better bow down to the queen.

Fun Fact; The Titan Pokémon are all afraid of Rosemary. She will not hesitate to smack them down if she needed to, especially to show her dominance.

Lil’ Man is proof that the biggest surprises come in the smallest of packages. While he’s the smallest member of the bunch, this Pincurchin packs a mean Thunder. Also for a Pincurchin, Lil’ Man is a rather bold fellow, having a friendship with Rosemary to terrorize any and all Titan Pokémon.

Fun Fact; Lil’ Man just straight up one-shorted the Titan Bombirder…twice.

Gojira was the last member of the Scarlet Crew to be roped aboard, and serves as the heaviest hitter of the bunch. Despite his massive size and powerful, Gojira is a gentle giant when he’s not on the battlefield. And whenever he needs to get somewhere in a hurry, this Baxcalibur turns around, fires his Ice Beam at the ground, and actually propels himself through the air.

Fun Fact; Despite being an Ice type, Gojira has a love for baking.

And then, there’s Koraidon, the team’s living motorcycle. While he doesn’t normally fight (6 slots for a team be damned), the Winged King still helps out by transporting Mason and co. from place to place in Paldea. He loves sandwitches!

Fun Fact; Koraidons are special. Protect them.