#despite having not finished the game yet and having only just played his route for the first time less than a week ago

[account-name]

i am very much new to the dialtown fandom but i may or may not already be attempting to make a randy custom-

[lovverletters]

Yandere! Male Lead

Note that this is a reupload from my previous blog @hyerinrose

A/N : this took so many hours to finish Aghhh. Reblogs, notes and Feedback are appreciated!

T/W : death, yandere behaviour, etc

•┈••✦ 🎀✦••┈•💌•┈••✦ 🎀 ✦••┈•

💌 You woke up in an unfamiliar place. It wasn't the bedroom of your friend whom you had fell asleep in. The only memory you had of last night was falling asleep next to your friend's laptop while they were playing the new visual novel 'Flightless Dove'.

🎀 You couldn't have possibly experiencing those 'transmigration' thing in one of those isekai manwha/manga! Those aren't real! At least that's what you thought..

💌 Looking at the full body mirror across from the bed, you let out a sigh of relief. You still have your own features and body. However the picture frames on the bedside table reveals your identity in this new world you have been thrown into,

(Name) (Last Name), best friend of the protagonist and the heir to (Last Name) Corporation.

🎀 With this information, you recount that despite them being a side character, their story is unnecessarily tragic.

You were determined to change their fate.

Routes under the cut!

💌 Choose your route :

🍓The Fiancé 🍓

❣️Yandere! Fiancé whom you were incredibly wary of when you first met him. He was a terrible partner towards the original host, neglectful and rude towards them. Later, falling in love with Celine, the female lead and killing them to be with her.

❣️Yandere! Fiancé who you approached with caution, intending to be acquainted with him in order to hopefully guide him into becoming a normal human being. He was distant and closed off at first, shooing you off but eventually somewhat enjoys your presence.

❣️Yandere! Fiancé who finally begun opening up to you, sharing his troubles and worries with you, how angry he was at his parents for setting up this engagement without his knowledge. It's almost as if the two of you were actually lovers :)

❣️Yandere! Fiancé who falls in love with you, hard. The previous cold hearted man now replaced with a lovesick puppy who follows you around at any chance given. Always gifting you things he came across while on a business trips as a show of his affection. It's to also serve as his claim over you, that you belong to him, that you are his fiancé.

❣️Yandere! Fiancé who completely ignores the female lead numerous attempts at mingling with him. He's a faithful man, he had promised himself to you, so why should he tolerate this woman's presence any longer? Should he just kill her already? She's pissing him off greatly.

❣️Yandere! Fiancé who were envious of your friends, he wanted to be the only one you look at, the only one who you'd smile at and laugh with. Why are you giving away what's rightfully his to nobodies??

❣️"Promise me you'll never leave me, cause if you do, I wouldn't know what I'd do.."

•┈••✦ 🎀✦••┈•💌•┈••✦ 🎀 ✦••┈•

🍒The Childhood Friend🍒

❣️Yandere! Childhood Friend who's the only person you liked in the game as he's only one who stuck by the original host's side through thick and thin. Even attempting to avenge them after their death.

❣️Yandere! Childhood Friend who were surprised by your attitude towards him- not that he was against it- you were more animated and affectionate with him, it made his heart flutters everytime you complimented or gave him a hug. Have you finally reciprocate his feelings for you?

❣️Yandere! Childhood Friend who were in love with you ever since the two of you were kids. He was a loner that nobody wanted to befriend until you came along, suddenly there was a crowd of kids wanting to be friends with him. They don't matter to him though, in his eyes, you're the only friend he needed.

❣️Yandere! Childhood Friend who were incredibly jealous and resentful towards your fiancé! He was such a lucky man to be engage to you yet stupid enough to not see your worth. Can't he sees how beautiful and intelligent you are? How amazing you are compare to him??

❣️Yandere! Childhood Friend who were aware that he wasn't your only admirer. While he had been successful in scaring away your other suitors, the protagonist and even your fiancé weren't as easy. They too share the same strong feelings he have for you. And they weren't going to back down anytime soon.

❣️Though just like them, he too wouldn't be giving up on you. He was tired of seeing you with someone who's undeserving of you, who doesn't know how to treat you right.

❣️"You're the sunshine to my lonely self you know that, (Name)? I love you :)"

•┈••✦ 🎀✦••┈•💌•┈••✦ 🎀 ✦••┈•

⚘️The Protagonist⚘️

❣️Yandere! Protagonist who were the original host's best friend besides their childhood friend. He was your stereotypical main character, he was charming, attractive and powerful. Despite that, he still stuck around them until Celine came along.

❣️Yandere! Protagonist who you were determined to keep as an ally. After all the downfall of the original (Name) was because of a falling out between them and the protagonist. By having him as your friend, your chances of surviving this mad world is increased!

❣️Yandere! Protagonist who just like your childhood friend was surprised at your change of attitude towards him. He was used to your stoic and closed off self but was happy with your positive changes!

❣️Yandere! Protagonist who's feelings for you grow rapidly as days went by. He can't put a finger to what exactly it was about you that pulled him in. Was it your infectious laughter? Or your odd sense of humour that he can't help but adore you for? Your intelligence that never fails to amaze him?

❣️Yandere! Protagonist who were absolutely smitten by you that he ignores practically everyone including the female lead whom he's supposed to fall in love with. Nobody else is as important as you are to him. So why should he bother be around them when he can be with you instead? :)

❣️Yandere! Protagonist who despite his reputation as being kind and charming to others, would not hesitate to murder for you. Though he hasn't committed any, he is guilty of sending threats towards your other admirers. Unfortunately, your fiancé and childhood friend aren't as easy to rid of unlike like your other suitors.

❣️Too bad for them, he's not one to give up once he sets his eyes on something. He'll do whatever it takes if it meant that you'll be in his arms at the end of the day.

❣️"(Name), I hope you know how important you are to me. I love you now and forever"

•┈••✦ 🎀✦••┈•💌•┈••✦ 🎀 ✦••┈•

Part 2 coming soon?

[otomeowl]

Impressions of all the villains as of writing-

Routes I Completely Read

William - Excellent starter villain who really went “I could make her worse 💅” Has a way deeper voice than you’d expect and it keeps surprising me every time. I really like how proactive Kate becomes, and it’s nice to have a man decently chill and not super clingy. And I’m fine with clingy, but we go a lot of clingy boys in this game already!

Liam - He’s so sweet he makes me blubber and sputter like a seal. Love how his voice purrs, but despite the game always saying he’s like a cat and super curious his route doesn’t really focus on those aspects. It has a lot of The Sad and it makes you want to give him a warm blanket. Kate and I agree sweet boy must be treasured. And Kate and Liam are also really sweet to each other and the fact that Kate was already into theater and Liam’s an actor makes me happy.

Elbert - SAD WET CAT SUMMER!!! The most interesting thing for me is how despite being The Greedy Queen and thus being the most obsessive out of all the boys once he’s into Kate he’s also one of the nicest? Like even before he’s attracted to her he’s so sweet, tender and gentle and he’s always looking out for Kate’s wellbeing? It makes me sob! Sweet Boy 2!!! It also really showcases how the curse itself affects a villain. Like previous routes there’s some bastards (fucking Jeffrey every time I think of this fucker I wanna-) who hurt Elbie, but what made his past so tragic is directly caused by the curse. Very melancholic. Aside from The Sad he’s also dense and slow-spoken when he speaks, cuteness factor is off the charts! Not to mention his friendship with Alfons I could write a six-page essay on that.

More about incomplete and unreleased routes under the cut

Incomplete Routes

Harrison (Read Summaries but Haven’t Started His Route)- I’m sorry I keep setting him aside 😭😭😭. I want to get his 22 bond first before doing the route but I should probably just read it already after finishing up Elbie. I also haven’t read most of his events because they’re all after he and Kate get together. Strangely this makes me more intrigued by Harrison since I’m purposely leaving myself in the dark. From what I gather though he’s even more chill than William and despite his curse he seems like a decent fella.

Alfons (Japanese Only, Read Summary) - Stay away from Kate 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪. I simultaneously love reading about his character but hate hate hate him using his illusion power to make Kate do things. It’s not my thing and every time he has a scene with Kate I’m like don’t fucking dare 🔪. Love his interactions with Elbert and I’m really intrigued by him but every time he uses illusion power I’m skipping 🛑✋🛑✋. Has a nice voice though. Listen to Kate when she says he is a literal nightmare though.

Ellis (Japanese Only, Read Summaries and Translations up to Ch. 10)- SWEET! BOY! THREE!!! He’s the most outwardly kind to Kate, but he’s also super caring to all his fellow villains. He’s even sweet to Jude, and Jude going “ew” every time he does makes me chuckle. But he’s also one of the most dangerous to Kate so far. Out of all the villains (aside from Vogel that’s tbd) he’s somehow the most likely to kill her. So every time he asks if she’s at her happiest I’m like 😳😳😳 and then she says no and I go 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨. Probably has my favorite voice, so gentle yet so creepy. Out of all the villains (again aside from the newbies) he keeps the effects of his curse close to his chest the most.

Roger (Japanese Only, Read Translations up to Ch. 3) - Another man who needs to practice personal space with my Kate! 🔫🔫🔫. And yet another really interesting character in spite of that. Unlike his fellow Crown members he’s the most determined to fight against curses. I’ve only read three chapters of his route so far (translated by dark-frosted-heart) and so far I’m interested to see where it goes. I’m really intrigued to see how Vogel plays a part since Roger’s the first route to feature them, it’s a good way to draw people in! Voice is nice but I’m not hunting down his voice line the way I am with other villains.

Unreleased Routes

Jude - Rude Boy Rude Boy Rude Boy! One of the funnest villains with his attitude and how trouble follows him around. I’m not into how cruel and disrespectful he is to Kate but sometimes Kate is kinda into it? The amount of events where Jude is surprised when Kate’s a little too turned on by him being a meanie makes me laugh. I’m really interested in his route to see how many fights break out and how many kinks Kate discovers 🤣. Also interested in his attitude towards love and making promises.

Victor - Guys I love him so much I wanna sneak into the kitchen at night and eat scones with him too! So gentlemanly! So suave! So villainous! I want his route NOW!!!! His voice is nice but what really sells it is how cheerful he is! You can really hear the ✨ sparkle ✨ in his voice. And how he’s such a dad to his sons fellow villains! I want to hold this man and give him a tight squeeze and maybe commit crimes for him.

Nica - The literal definition of a Bad Boy who plays with girls’ hearts, hmph! 😤 I can’t stop thinking of a certain German prosecutor in ace attorney every time he injects German in his sentences. The Bad Boy girlies are gonna be suuuuper into him but I’ll have to see what else he’s got. I like how he cares for his twin a lot though.

Ring - S-sweet boy four??? Seems like a strong silent type but it looks super easy to break his tough exterior. His unconditional trust in his brother and Darius makes me feel like I need to hold his hand when he crosses the street! He’s a real cutie but given how all our previous sweet boys have a dangerous side I’m keeping my eye on him! I’m worried that his curse is to have his feelings affected by touch, as a foil to how his brother can cause others to feel affected by his touch, which makes me even more worried for him.

Darius - I’m having Gilbert flashbacks and can’t stop mumbling “this motherfucker” under my breadth. Really interested in what he’s hiding and I can’t stop listening to his voice. I don’t appreciate him hating my Victor though! Guards, put him in a jar and shake him violently!!!

Feel free to reply/reblog with your own impressions of the characters!

[12amphantasm]

People always meet you with reverence, “Father Andrew!”, they greet when you walk past, admiration heavy in their voices. They love you for how pious you are, friendly and loving, your patience and generosity.

And you love them, too. Just like the place you have stayed in for nearly twenty years, the huge complex composed of a humble yet luxurious church, the boarding school for troubled youths, the small but very warm house for the elderly, and the nearby university of theology - together known as The Hillset Private Conservatory.

God loves it all, every flower, every human, and whatever it might be that’s walking through these halls. __

The game is 18+ and meant for an adult audience.

Although the romance is strictly MxM, sexuality is relevant only for the romantic routes and the game can be played without engaging in intimate relationships, but at the expense of background information the player won’t be able to get in other ways. __

The game will be uploaded in parts, starting at least with 10k words. Planed release: Late April/early May 2024 ___

Written by a gay man, the romance is MxM only and stays true to reality, portraying genuine gay relationships, without stereotypes and harmful tropes.

“We Are God’s Most Beloved” is an old-school text-heavy interactive fiction novel and recommended to those who love reading.

Choices are meaningful instead of flavour and used only when they have an actual impact, this means there are long passages of text, which requires the reader to keep track of the story – just like they would with a novel. There is a lot to explore, attentive readers might find more game in this interactive fiction than one would expect.

The main genre is horror, even if nothing is outrageously explicit and often handled with a focus on the absurd, it contains horror-typical themes and tropes such as blood, body horror, surreal imaginary, and other commonly used elements.

In addition, mental illness, dysfunctional familial relationships, and physical assault play an important role depending on which route is chosen.

Hillset Private Conservatory, build in 1802, despite its long history, is a name few people know or have ever heard, and if one is aware of its existence, it’s rarely for good reasons.

Rumours have it that the owner was a paranoid man and the gigantic complex created solely to have a spacious cage for his family, namely his eight children, only for all of them to find an untimely death on this very property.

"It's haunted!", some say. "It's evil!", some claim.

Of course, nothing of that is true, the many teachers, counsellors, nuns, and priest can attest to that, and so would many of their students. At least a good portion of them. Maybe some, at least.

Now summer vacation has ended, and a new batch of fosterlings is about to arrive; frightened, misguided, and troubled teens in need of loving care, education, and a new chance at life.

Father Andrew, the only acting priest, will do his best, like always, to show them God’s brilliance and create a warm home out of these century old walls.

No railroading, no hand-holding

Life is full of choices, you have to make your own and live with them, ultimately missing out on certain things, or ending up utterly regretting what you did. There is no right or wrong, no road I, more or less sneakily, force you to take, choices are all equally valid and accounted for. ___

A fixed protagonist

Father Andrew is a fixed character, with his own likes, dislikes, appearance, and convictions. But how he navigates the world, how he reacts, who he becomes fond of or rather avoids, his interactions and how he lives his life, and, of course, what you learn about him, is up to you. ___

One end to rule them all

There are no bad endings or early finishes, all choices lead to the same endpoint, but how it looks like… is on you alone. ___

No stats

“We Are God’s Most Beloved” doesn’t require you to master stats, the story changes based on your choices, how you interact with the world and characters determines the options you will have, who likes or hates you, and how the story will play out. ___

Explicit - Yes or No?

You can choose to either read explicit sexual interactions or go for fade-to-black. ___

Romance

Three romantic interests are waiting to meet you, but you can play the whole story without romancing anyone, at the expense of sexual moments, additional plot-points centred around these characters, and potentially interesting background information.

No indicators are used, you have to find your own way, going by what you know about a character, evaluating the current situation, and acting accordingly.

Use the relationship stats to figure out what you did right or wrong, you have successfully entered a romantic route with a RO when the percentage reaches 50% and will deepen, or lessen, the relationship from then on.

There are no poly routes, entering one will lock you out of the others, and while you can’t lose a route once entered, how the couple ends up is based on your actions.

Keep in mind that “love” comes in many forms and players might find it worthwhile to forge bonds with other characters.

Profiles - Here

Father Andrew

Thirty-three years old, he was admitted to Hillset boarding school for troubled youths at the tender age of fourteen and hasn’t left the complex since. He’s very out of touch with the outside, basing his worldview, manners and morals on the old nuns and priests that raised him, often colliding with the new students’ modern ways. Friendly, polite and helpful, he’s easy to get along with on first glance but hard to truly get to know, which leaves him without friends and often rather lonely. __

Sister Lucia

Thirty-five years old, she’s one of the younger nuns but the strictness with which she loves doesn’t pale in comparison. She’s very fond of Father Andrew, who is her inspiration and has warped the image of how a priest should be until it became unrecognisable. Her hobbies are flower-arrangements, cooking things no one who loves their life should eat, taking care of the children in their school, and writing in her journal. __

Ẻ̶̛̬̲̀͋͑v̷̟̫̌̄͂ẻ̵͙̆̎͐l̸̨̙̠̻̜̐͌̓̂ͅͅy̵̡̲̼̔̑̾̀̀͐n̶̻̰̬͛͂͊̏̕͜͠

They might or might not be human. --

Moby

They definitely aren’t human, but God loves them anyway.

The love interests

Ryan Harris

Twenty-four years old and a student of Theology, he’s a graduate from the boarding school for troubled youths. While not overly intelligent, he’s diligent, curious, and not afraid of hardships. Father Andrew’s liturgy is his favourite part of the week and helping out something he takes pride in, as he does in his paintings that are full of creative flair and appreciated only by those with strong artistic sense. __

Connor Price

Thirty-one years old, he has been teaching English for eight years at a famous school and will do so from now on at Hillset - even if only because other schools refused to take him. He doesn’t like the enormous complex, dated appearance, long, dark halls, how everyone is just too nice, and Father Andrew, who somehow gives him the creeps. Connor spends his time reading, avoiding coworkers, and having long talks with the elderly in their care. __

?

You have to find that out on your own.

[barbwritesstuff]

I also love Chris and I would give my left kidney (or my right, whichever you prefer) if they got to be a full fledged RO. I’m just a sucker for exs who still clearly love each other and are able to overcome their issues, and there’s not a ton of ifs with a character like that.

I think it also helps that they’re the one with the most history with MC. They’ve known them long before they turned, and they’re the one RO with no connections to the supernatural world. In fact, every step you take towards rekindling things with Chris actually prevents you from experiencing the supernatural world, which I think is really interesting.

It’s like the relationship with Chris itself is a metaphor for Thicker Than in general. It’s using the past as a source of comfort and strength while you head towards a scary and unstable future.

I try to make all the ROs intersect with the main themes of the story in some way.

Chris, being the only one that knew MC when MC was alive, is very focused on the themes of humanity lost (and the pieces of it that remain). Their route also talks about lies, mistakes, and regret which I think is also 'on brand' for vampires.

Marcel is all about the masks the vampires lords wear. He plays the part of the shadowy vampire lord, but is actually softer and kinder than he appears. He kind of highlights how vampire society makes even the good vampires monsters.

Minjo is a bit of an oddball here. Her themes are less obvious. Ultimately, her themes might end up being that you can't always get your perfect 'happily ever after'. Perhaps, for vampires, it can only ever be fleeting moments of light in an eternity of darkness.

Freya's kindness and empathy is meant to highlight how needlessly brutal and cruel vampires and vampiric society can be. She's a witch, she has no reason to trust you, and yet she does, despite knowing exactly what you are. Her empathy towards ghosts, hunters, and other monsters is meant to highlight that all the paranormals are sort of outcasts in their own ways, and not as different as they might seem to each other.

Nathan is very focused on the horror of vampires from the perspective of humanity. He's seen the worst vampires can be and has turned himself into a weapon against the undead. But, in doing so, he's sort of killed himself too. He has no life outside that of the hunt. Being with him is both him and the MC deciding to live again, in their own ways.

Iliya, in contrast, is someone who enjoys being a vampire. Spending time with him, you see all the little ways being undead can be unique and special. He reads books, has affairs, carves his name into rocks underwater. But, in the end, even he isn't free.

On that note. Tracy's story is much more focused on how little freedom vampires really have within their own society. She had no choice, both in her life, and her death. Making you a vampire lord is her first real steps towards freedom, and it's incredibly dangerous for her.

Ravima route is sort of half finished right now, so is a little hard to talk about. Like Iliya, they find beauty in being dead, but unlike Iliya, their story focuses more on how those obsessions can destroy vampires as surely as the sun.

Erin isn't in the game yet but the idea I'm planning on exploring with her is how vampires humanity erodes. She was once a better person than she is now... and she knows it.

Of course, I'm an imperfect writer, so how well I can get those themes across in the final product remains to be seen. But that's the rough idea for all of the ROs. 😅

[gooselycharm]

hi there! i'd just like to say that your kris and noelle "something else" comic has been driving me insane /pos and i'd love to hear more of your thoughts on those two!! their relationship is one of my favorite things in deltarune and your comic just got everything about them so right 🙏

thank you for reading "something else"! oh man, [more of] my thoughts on kris+noelle.... i sure got some of those.

this was one of the first tweets i made after finishing chapter 2 nearly... freaking 2 years ago. and basically i've just been saying that over and over again in different ways because i'm still not tired of the concept yet and probably wont ever be LOL. i'm obsessed with how badly the narrative wants to force them into an easily categorizable dynamic, especially the romantic one in snowgrave. the literal THORN RING, the more possessive dialogue options, spamton calling noelle a side chick LOL... it all creates this unnerving visual novel bad end atmosphere that feels manufactured by someone who's only ever learned about romance through secondhand sources. they're two queer teens trying to navigate their changing relationship with the only role models they know being their parents' own failed heterosexual marriages. they're so divorced² (divorced children of divorce).

i also like that for being so tragically doomed coded they can be funny! both in a dark humor way and also like, genuinely funny, like the stories of them as kids with kris covering themselves in ketchup and hiding under noelle's bed lmao. i mean there's even something funny about the romantic trappings of the snowgrave route, like trying to put wedding cake embellishments on a crime scene... you know, funny like kids trying on their parents clothes but they're too big and for some reason they're also crying and covered in blood? um.

i'm also SOOOO interested to see how snowgrave will continue in chapter 3! i really liked the hopeful note chapter 2 ended on (well. i took it as hopeful anyway). there's that bit where noelle is talking to herself and she says something like "recently kris has been acting so strange and no one else has noticed... i have to figure out why" and then kris jumpscares her LOL but i think i took that one line and really ran with it. noelle really is the one who knows kris best and despite how scared she is, she's still determined to help them... i like the little subversion of victim/hero going on, the implication that kris might be the one who needs rescuing.

the additional story/lore that came with the spamton sweepstakes made me CRAAAZYYYYY like my GOD... it's cute that noelle likes glitches/creepypasta when kris is kinda a walking creepypasta <3 also, god, noelle falling asleep listening to kris playing piano in the other room... there's so much like. wistfulness and nostalgia and this like... distant/detached intimacy packed into how noelle narrates that scene. it's kind of funny how much there is to dig into when like on a surface level they're just fairly regular childhood friends who grew apart LMAO they're extremely deep to me okay...

on another note i guess i do ship them? i like their dynamic whether it's platonic or romantic (the best is a weird mix of both 👍). it just can't be boring LOL like... this is one ship where trying to apply cookie cutter tropes to them really falls flat and the game is ahead of you on that anyway. in terms of romantically shipping them, i honestly don't think they're doomed to repeat patterns forever... i think they could actually be good for each other! but that's not really the aspect of their relationship that interests me akldjf;alk;sdg maybe i will make 60 page comic of kriselle going to couples counseling some other time

ANYWAY i'm going to cut myself off here, because i really could go on forever lol. i'll give you some links for further reading though

hellspawnmotel's deltarune art

lula pillowbug99's deltarune art

this art by raspbearis which features prominently in my internal kriselle bible

my own unfinished kriselle playlist

my own essay on gender & allegory in deltarune if for some reason u are not tired of hearing me talk yet

okay bye now & thanks again for reading my comic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[faislittlewhiteraven]

Undertale Yellow: An amazing fangame with one glaring thing I hate about it (that I need to rant about or else I'm going to go insane).

As the title says, Undertale Yellow was a game I really enjoyed playing. Lots of fun dialogue and designs, utterly fantastic art and animation (holy hell that Flowey fight! <3 <3 <3), great music and feels, etc. Seriously it deserves a ton of praise, not only as a fully completed fangame that took years of development, but as genuinely amazing prequel to one of my favorite games of all time.

...Unfortunately. Much as I truly enjoyed playing through the majority of the game, when I finished the True Pacifist route I was intensely unhappy with how that went and while the credits scenes and funeral for Cover helped ease some of the worst of it, I cannot help but wonder who the flipping f$%& in the development team thought presenting Clover's suicide as the 'just and happy' ending that all the friend characters accept with barely any argument was a good idea?!

Now to clarify: I went into Undertale Yellow knowing that Clover was going to die and that there were good odds their death was going to be self sacrificial or involve suicide. Undertale Yellow is a prequel to Undertale after all and children being murdered and/or sacrificing themselves for the greater good of lovable monster kind is an established part of the setting.

I came in knowing this game was bound to end tragically. I was excited to see how this game would pull that inevitable tragedy off while exploring the Yellow soul's theme of Justice and staying true to Undertale's established canon.

And all the way right up to the end of the True Pacifist ending I truly thought they'd nailed it: The constant pressure of the monsters suffering and being trapped in the Underground despite their sweet and earnest natures, Dalv's clear issues regarding a human, Starlow's unintentional reinforcement of the 'one sacrifice for the greater good' idea with his trolley problem reenactment, the repeated back to back betrayals from characters who should be friends (the Feisty Five, Starlow, Ceraba) hurting Clover instead, the dull realization in universe for Clover that all their efforts to find the missing human children were all for nothing...

It was fantastic. There was a real sense of looming dread for me, seeing all those moments and just knowing in my gut that after the desperate struggle with the agonized and grieving Ceraba, ranting about how monster kind is doomed as it stands, that Clover would start thinking of sacrificing their life for monster kind, especially when their 'sense of Justice' at the start of the game had them willingly jump into a gaping pit they couldn't have possibly have known the height of, for the sake of mission they (according to Flowey) easily abandon when offered a loving home instead. (aka implying not so great things about how much they value their own life)

So. With all that 'hyped for tragedy' in mind, there I am at the True Pacifist ending. I've just spared Ceraba, the friends are all arguing as to how to keep Clover (and possibly any future humans who fall) safe and Clover begins to go into something of a zone out, thinking about all the things they've heard and seen over the course of their adventure.

This is it! I think to myself as I watch it play out. This is where Clover, after everything they've been through, makes the tragic yet understandable mistake of running away from their friends and confronting Asgore just as Flowey kept encouraging them to! Not to fight and bring Asgore to justice but to try talking him down and when they fail that, offering up their life to help and 'save' their friends even as the narrative will (matching Undertale) will make it clear that this is a mistake and only hurts everyone involved, just like every suicide and child murder in Undertale hurts everyone involved until Frisk is able to end the cycle of pain by rejecting the Kill or be Killed premise and setting the monsters free! Wow, I can't believe it, they set it up so well, what a perfect way to tie into Undertale's greater narrative via tragic prequel, I love this eeeeee!

Except of course that's not what happens.

My first hint something is off is when the quotes Clover's 'remembering' in their little bubble start being way too positive for the set up (also there's nothing from the trolley problem section). The second is when the music shifts from quiet to holy and then outright happy.

And third is when Clover snaps out of it and point blank tells their friends they choose to die. Now, I'm getting a little confused and wary at this but alright, this is a pretty long sequence already but I guess we get to have one final hope moment before Clover somehow gets away from their friends to die (maybe Flowey if not Asgore?)-

-and then I am left absolutely flabbergasted as the friends who just spent the last huge chunk of the game trying to protect Clover/getting talked out of killing them because 'its not right' end up agreeing with Clover's decision after a pitiful amount of arguing against it (where the utterly stupid 'there's no other option' reasoning is used as the primary reasoning despite all the other options being very clearly stated just moments ago), before the woman who's entire massive trauma arc that is centered around her accidentally killing her own child out of blind faith for 'the greater good', proceeds to assist Clover with their suicide (who she clearly views as a surrogate child despite her best attempts not to) while the other characters meekly say goodbye, give hugs and leave all while bittersweet but mostly sweet 'great job honey, this sucks but we're proud of you' music plays (also Flowey says stuff but like, its Flowey so frankly he could say anything and it'd be fine. He's not the issue here).

...Wow.

What a screwed up way for that to end. Like, I clearly get the 'idea' that Clover is meant to be noble and good and such but like, really? A fan game of Undertale (where one of the main ending messages was 'Don't kill and don't be killed', where a child's suicidal attempts to free monster kind lead to every major tragedy in the game, and where suicide was repeatedly shown to only make things worse through Asgore and Alphys in numerous neutral endings) is the game that decides having its protagonist's pointless self sacrifice should be honored and treated as a good ending by the narrative?????

How did none of the otherwise clearly brilliant people working on this miss the very bad, no good implications of Clover's friends being talked into letting them kill themselves and having the narrative frame it as anything but the worst end?????

I have many, many questions. And concerns. And...

Look, I do get it. Undertale Yellow is still a fangame. There are going to be weird notes in the tone due to different writers and such, and I should just be happy that the game was finished it at all, and accept that this god awful scene is probably just the result of its creators really, really wanting their beloved characters to go out as kindly (and beautifully drawn/animated) as possible with all the hugs and feels of canon Undertale without taking into account how much the very different context might warp the tone and the characterizations of everyone in the entire scene.

But like. God damn. There is something very off putting about not letting brave kind Martlet refuse to take this as an answer and then finding she actually can't stop it happening (and no her saying that after like two sentences from 'Ceraba who's judgement about the human sucks' doesn't count). About Starlow not recognising he and his posse might've had something to do with why Clover is thinking this. About Ceraba not on some level going 'IF THIS IS YOUR CHOICE THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME USE YOU TO SAVE KANAKO?!' Edit: Also a totally waste of prequel opportunity not to let Asgore visibly make the worst choices we canonly know he made on screen. Yes, he gets to stab Clover in the Flawed!Pacist route but Clover's trying to shoot him in that one; the fact we don't get to see him stab a 'far too willing to die for their friends and not defending themselves' Clover as the friend trio can do nothing to stop it from happening feels like such a cop out I swear XD

I'm all for 'Clover dies willingly' at the end of the True Pacifist but they way they did it was just... Really ugh in a way I'm finding tricky to word and I'm honestly shocked I haven't seen more people point it out (though admittedly that might be because I haven't really looked around much). ...So yeah. I know its too late to change said ending but really kinda hoping at some point one of the Undertale Yellow team realizes this might be an issue and thinks to add a content warning in the game's opening or something because it could really use one of those. Also that for any future projects they do, they happen to do a little more research into how to avoid accidentally glorify suicide as opposed to having it as a tragedy because damn they did not manage that here whatsoever.

---

ANYWAY, with all that rant finally out of my head some other stuff about Undertale Yellow I be feeling strongly:

Flowey's boss battle and the lead up to it is incredible and without a doubt makes the neutral route the most amazing well crafted route in the game. 10/10 may have already mentioned this in the massive rant above but if so gonna repeat it anyway because it's just that damn good.

Genocide route being a deconstruction of the 'disproportionate revenge is justice' 90s Anti Hero is very cool theme wise but the lack of the lack of stuff like notes in shops saying 'please don't kill my family' and monsters with less screen time getting more fleshed out drags it down a little, as does Clover not actually choking on dust or getting attacked by the human souls or something at the very end. Really do love the Martlet battle flashback moments and Axel's horrifically timed confession scene though.

The general uselessness of the ACT menu in big 'endurance' fights as well as the lack of 'alternative sparing ACTS' makes fights a lot less fun than they could be and I found myself a lot less willing to use them in general as a result despite them being my favorite thing about Undertale. Did still adore what fun stuff was in them though so I think it's just a case of them being a tad too out of focus compared to the bullet hell gameplay (which I'm not that good at) for my tastes.

Pacifist route could've really used some more optional hangouts and/or letters from the main friends. As is, the peak 'hang out' part of the game for me was the nap room I spent maybe two minutes in, and Dalv especially could've benefitted a ton from a bit more presence (I got more interaction from Mo and the rabbit who's tongue was stuck to a pole and I'm not happy about that? If nothing else not getting to see the inside of Martlet's house or help Dalv build his new home feel like lost opportunities).

Personal pet peeve and nothing too serious but not a fan of Asgore not getting the kill on Clover outside of Flawed Pacifist. Makes sense on most routes (glares at T!Pacifist again) given the way the plot is set up and all but given Toby Fox has repeatedly stated Asgore killed all the humans who fell post Chara it just drives me nuts XD (As does the poor Blue Soul getting treated as a killer/evil but like, I can see where people are coming on that one and Undertale Yellow uses that to amp up Chujin's nightmare fuel vibes fantastically so I shall reluctantly congratulate that theory's use there and steel myself for the inevitable 'wait you're using Undertale Yellow lore but Axis didn't kill Integrity?' questions that will be posted on my 'will eventually be posted' Undertale fanfics XDDDD)

Love all the main cast, especially Martlet, and I am way too hyped for the day Undertale Yellow and its main cast get their own fandom tags on AO3.

...Kanako's death was incredibly stupid and avoidable but like, that's kind of what I like about it? I really also wanna know which Amalgamite she became (I'm thinking probably the one that tucks Frisk in to sleep and pats them on the head because of her and Ceraba's little 'going to sleep' game but like, I could see a very heart wrenching case for her being part of So Cold as well).

Anyone reading this who somehow hasn't played Undertale Yellow should really stop reading this and go play the game. It's free, its (one major thematic issue I have moral objections to aside) pretty decently written, and hey, more Undertale stuff to have fun making fanworks with <3

Goddamn has Undertale Yellow kicked my drive to write Undertale fanfic into overload XD Thank you Undertale Yellow team for helping me get all fired up again and sorry about all the grr but dang it, it needed to be said and now that it's out of my system I can throw myself into finding ways to incorporate your settings and characters into fanworks of my own (admittedly the AU elements might make things kinda tricky -Asgore having to kill EVERY human child even more so- but that nifty little detail of early Royal Guard Martlet having and being willing to abuse her access to the Hotland Lab allows me so many ways to have Chujin be a well meaning awful person and I am living for it!) <3 <3 <3

[prototypelq]

Pan thoughts because I am normal TM about him:

- Unless Grace shows her interest in him (aka romance route / Let's Dance), Pan is almost absent from the story.

He only appears twice - in the beginning, and at the end for the trial - cause that's a formal procedure all gods have to be present for. There are four optional encounters: if you come meet him before the Reliquary, he'll ask to complete a favour for Asterion, another encounter is handing in that the favour, Medusa encounter, plus the final meeting before the trial. Freddie is present with Grace for the most of the game, Apollo - has at least 6 encounters, even if you don't play the game with him (apartment, Underworld, Aphrodite's Party, Hades, Trial), Persephone - 3 encounters (Underworld, Hades, Trial). Back to Pan - none of the gods really speak about him. Except Persephone and Apollo, who are trying to both dismiss and point fingers at him at the beginning. After that, none of the gods ever mentions Pan again.

It's almost like he is very much an outsider among the pantheon, probably right until he needs a favour, or somebody needs his favours.

- It's kind of logical that Pan is the outsider in the pantheon, if you think about it thematically. All the other gods have clear niches they control and keep in order. Nature is anything But order, in fact, if nature is anything - it finds order only in constant struggle or the constant redefining of scale, in Change. So yeah, a god of Dis-order could very much be antithetical to other gods of Order. If Calliope was looking to shake things up, then he would certainly be one of her first choices for allies in her quest.

- This makes it easy to understand how exactly Pan got tangled up in the whole mess. He span his web of favours, which were all small little things (probably), but it caught a prey so big Pan was stunned so hard, his agency basically went out the window, until the case was closed.

- Okay, now for the particular lines in different versions of I Can Teach You (aka Lost Girls, Time To Shine and Morning Fades), if, For Some Reason you haven't finished the game yet - please do. It's short and definitely worth your time, cause it's amazing. also I really need to talk about this so Big Tangent Ahead

I'll do these song by song.

Morning Fades - It's in the name of the song - Pan is... pretty much the only god who reminds Grace she is or a strict timer. Every other god, by some reason or another - drags her into their own problems, which she helps to solve, and only after that can she make progress in the case. You know. While being sentenced to death in a week. Grace has to solve the problems these gods have been brewing in for, at least, decades AND prove her innocence, so her sentence to death can be prevented. Pan is the only one, who reminds Grace, multiple times, that 'Time's a wasting', she needs to hurry, and doesn't take any more of her time than he should.

Morning fades and the day wastes away, Grace You can't wait, Grace, don't delay

Another line, that gives us a very clear insight into Pan is this line right here:

This Freddie is a friend you can use, but this isn't playtime Time to choose

You get this line only in the purest form of Morning Fades (aka all blue), in which Pan leads unsure Grace along through the song, but Freddie is ignored and she does a final solo to try to get through to Grace. Pan sings those lines with remorse, he values the devotion Freddie demonstrates, even if he did call her Lost Girl a few times throughout the song. But despite his own lines - previously they were Time To Play, now that time is over, cause the song is over. This is the time to solve murder of a goddess, and while Pan does not like dividing the girls, he sees there is no place for Freddie in this adventure, and thinks that it would be too dangerous for her.

There will be more evidence of Pan's personal motivation later, I have only just remembered the Green version of Morning Fades, and it's very interesting. This is the song where Grace tries to follow Pan's advice and direction in her first steps, then gets carried away by the song and her bestie into their own fun musical, all while ignoring Pan.

You think you don't need me, just cause' you can't read me

This line is quite straightforward - Pan knows he is acting shady, but reinforces that his intentions are genuine, if only the girls could see through their first impression of him.

Time To Shine - now, this version is interesting, cause here we have Grace who is rebelling against every possible notion of control, or even help, and Pan loves this song anyway. This song proves that Pan was honestly just trying to help (and quieten the misguided guilt he feels), so as long as Grace can use her power and has a mind sharp enough to find the proof the needs - he is satisfied. And he really is! It's clear from the get-go that Grace is independent, clever and fiery enough to handle everything herself, so he rolls along with her, confident in her abilities.

Actually, in this version he is quieter than normal - he throws a line about Freddie, but otherwise between the first Time to Shine and the star scene chorus he keeps silent - Grace wants spotlight, so he steps aside to hear her out.

Yes! This is your time! Time to shine!

It's also fun that, in his first verse he always Grace to hurry up, here instead he is getting so excited about her number that he throws in

Yes, a solo! Go for it, we got time! (solo) Grace, you're starting to comprehend Let me show you more, or show me the door!

He sings that line very excitedly, which is very silly and fun xD. It is to be expected then, that Pan joins in Grace's final Time To Shine chorus almost instantly.

Lost Girls - this song is very interesting, cause in this version the girls are pretty much dismissing Pan completely, and fully give into the song, they get carried away to have their own fun musical number. This time Pan has to ground them back into reality - in other versions he gets excited over the number, well, not in this one. This Pan is grumpy - his advice is being dismissed, he is not taken seriously, and he cannot fully deliver the message he wants to convey, or the lesson he wants Grace to learn.

Grace: Lost girls, lost girls, you all love your lost girls, A rescue that you can take home Pan: I won't say you need saving, you're not drowning, you're waving

In this first Lost Girls verse he is still being playful, but even in the beginning he has to placate with both hands that he is not a danger and only wants to help. But if Grace keeps ignoring Pan's advice, he starts to get more serious.

You're lucky I got to you There's people who'll come for you I'm hurt you're making so much ado You're lost and I'm trying to help!

Okay so, knowing the events of the game, I can't be the only one thinking of Aphrodite here, right? That's my best guess as to what Pan is referring. The girls keep on getting carried away, and he has to just straight-up state he only wants to help.

Interesting, that even after being ignored and rightfully grumpy about that, Pan is still willing to join into the trio singing together. He's also delighted by that solo is particular xD

I never knew I had that in me!

Even after half a song, Freddie still keeps freaking out about the whole 'musical' thing, and to that Pan says, with a literal facepalm:

You don't understand Nothing for Grace will ever be the same!

If Grace goes for the full song here and green ending, then Grace and Eddie happily continue singing their troubles away, and at this, Pan really gets frustrated. So much so, that he goes plainspeak, even though the Green Lost Girls solo seems to be his favourite moment in any variation of I Can Teach you.

Really? Now you're just being silly Maybe the Muse isn't feeling the gravity? Or do you refuse and, like ostriches, happily stick your heads in the sand? Grace, I could be your right hand Freddie, you'd better leave her alone Let me do what I do, or she'll sink like a stone

The way Pan keeps on insisting so hard that Grace needs someone's guidance has me thinking that either there have been accidents with new idols, who were unable to control their powers properly before, or maybe it was his own personal struggle with control over the abilities, and he was wishing hard for someone's help at the time.

It's also weird that he keeps on pressing that Grace needs assistance here, even after she has choreographed an entire musical number right before his very eyes, all without a hitch, and she is clearly a natural. For some reason the way Grace and Freddie get so much carried away scares him particularly? Then again, in the Time to Shine versions Pan is perfectly fine with letting Grace do whatever she wants, because she demonstrated skill and independence. In this version, she demonstrates the same things, but uses them to have a song with her bestie, and This triggers Pan for a reason. Interesting.

Kind of a similar situation happens with Green version of Morning Fades, actually. The end of the song has Pan start the usual Morning Fades chorus, but then the girls come in and literally steal the spotlight from him, and this forces Pan into plainspeak.

Pan: You think I'm the danger? You have no idea. I wouldn't blame you for wanting to hide, But do we make merry or should you get ready? Finally grow up and take it outside. Grace: So wait, are you saying you won't work with Freddie? Pan: She couldn't be less qualified

A stark contrast to the original full-blue Morning Fades, where Pan regrets dividing the girls, isn't it.

So Pan has mentally allowed a very specific fun-zone, meaning this one musical number, which he is happy and excited to engage in, but he won't let the girls get carried away with their fun forever, and tries very hard to ground them back if they do.

[fantasyinvader]

I keep thinking about how people want the Agarthans to be victims. Not so much that people are saying they did nothing wrong, but a lesser evil compared to Rhea and the Nabateans. I'd ask myself why people would want such a thing, as even in the route where you side with them they're made out to be evil that will be exterminated, but I wouldn't have to think about why that as. The answer is simple, they validate Edelgard's killing of Rhea.

And, really, it fits with stuff I've seen since the game came out. The people claiming that despite Silver Snow and Verdant Wind being routes where big reveals to the lore are given to the player they, alongside Azure Moon, lie to the player and that Edelgard is the only one to tell them “the truth.” Or that said lore pops out of canon once the player decides to side with Edelgard. They want to ignore that the same route not only paints Edelgard as a liar often enough that a chapter titled “Lady of Deceit” begins and ends with her lying to her army, but also reveals that Edelgard herself knows that her source was an Agarthan puppet yet she is still clinging to that narrative. They'll claim it's all a matter of what the player believes to be true and tell people to disregard the game's creators saying that they built Fodlan to support the story of Silver Snow, and that while Flower is about believing something else, how that leads to not only mowing down everyone who stands in your way because of those beliefs but also ends up with tyranny and oppression under the path of supremacy.

Or we'll get people who ignore that Claude's route talks about how we need to let go of misconceptions we may have about others by getting to know them, and how Claude's misconceptions about the Church may have been caused by the Agarthans feeding him info to turn him against Rhea. No, instead Claude is a manipulative schemer who should have killed Rhea as his final boss after learning about her past and how his ancestors profited off the slaughter of her people, and that Golden Wildfire is who Claude really is and his good route.

Because people want to believe that Houses is this morally grey game, where everyone is a hero from their POV. But let's look at that. As mentioned, Claude's POV blaming the Church is ultimately framed as him having misconceptions, and once he got to know them he realized that Rhea didn't have to be his enemy in achieving his goals. Not only that, he realizes the Agarthans tried to manipulate him like he says they did to Edelgard, and ends up taking them out before finishing off Nemesis. Dimitri's POV is based on his survivor guilt and belief that he needs to live for the sake of avenging those who died. He grows out of this thanks to Byleth teaching him he needs to live for the sake of the living and for himself, all while taking the Agarthans out by complete accident while Edelgard's ideals are presented as demonic while Dimitri's beliefs make him a savior. Meanwhile, Edelgard's POV is based on what her father told her despite her knowing he was an Agarthan puppet. She can't be swayed her path as she tries to lie and manipulate those around her, and the world supports the route where Byleth leads the Black Eagles away from her influence (making it so that the Black Eagles are the only class who can get their story-related character development joining any other class). It's either that, or you ignore the world building to walk a path that is based around hadou, which has negative connotations especially when contrasted with oudou, which is what Dimitri's route is supposed to lead to.

You can ignore this growth if you play Hopes, but Hopes is supposed to show how much of an influence Byleth has on their class and is not supposed to replace that experience. Shez can't give Dimitri or Claude the character growth they would have gotten to see the problems with their POV, nor can they stop the Eagles from supporting Edelgard. Shez just seems to go with whatever the lord says, adapting to the route being played, and as such enables each lord's behavior. Not to mention that Shez is hinted to be from Agartha himself, and even then the Agarthan POV doesn't paint them in a positive light.

So, really, what are people saying when they want the Agarthans to be the sympathetic villains rather than the game wanting us to feel sorry for the Nabateans? That they feel the game not doing so is a flaw despite the Agarthans being so racist that they view everyone else as non-human animals and therefore it's okay to experiment on them? That we should support their genocide of the Nabateans because Edelgard said things used to be better despite the reveal that they're the ones who gave mankind Crests while making themselves out to be gods? We should still think that the Church are the bad guys when the Agarthans are the ones behind the experiments, Duscur, the death of Claude's uncle, and so much more? Or that Nemesis was a good king who was demonized by history rather than the power-hungry asshole he's depicted as, the only real misconceptiont here was that he ever was a hero in the first place rather than the tyrannical bandit he actually was.

In the end, it's just people not wanting to let go of their own misconceptions about Fodlan. They don't want to see Fodlan for how it really is. If anything, Houses can serve as a deconstruction of the idea of Death of the Author. It's a game with some very direct messages, but the routes where the player diverges away from those messages (Flower and the entirety of Three Hopes) it leads to bad endings because, at the end of the day, Fodlan was built around those messages. It was built about the need to see people for who they really are rather than who we think they are, as Edelgard being revealed not to be the heroine but rather the villain is the twist of the game who needs to be removed from power. Also that people supporting each other is a far better outcome than everyone being left to fend for themselves, especially when the people at the top use their power to benefit others. But it's up to people to do that themselves, to figure things out for themselves rather than fall into the trap.

Otherwise, we're left with people defending the likes of the Agarthans.

[caffedrine]

Clavis Lelouch - Rhodolite Horror Night - Event Summary

If you trust me to know what I'm doing, then we have both made a huge mistake. I cannot guarantee accuracy for this summary, or even grammatical correctness.

Please support Cybird and pick up this event when it makes it to the English Server

Prologue (Shared between the three suitors)

This story takes place before anyone is successfully romanced. Due to various reasons, Gilbert is staying in Rhodolite despite being the prince of an enemy country.

One thunderous midsummer night, a small group gathered in a chapel deep in the forest beyond the castle. This group is full of people known to have various incidents around them.

Clavis greets Emma as she enters the chapel, and Gilbert thanks Luke for guiding her. Luke ignores them and asks after Emma; he didn’t expect the sudden downpour during their journey here. Emma assures Luke that she is perfectly all right and thanks him for lending her his coat. Since she is in front of Gilbert, Emma is careful to respond like a noble lady. 

Returning the coat to Luke, Emma surveys her surroundings. Before her are the number one trap master of the Rhodolite court, and the calamity that will end the world. Rather than a solemn atmosphere, this chapel seems sinister and foreboding. Emma asks if she can go home yet.

What? Go home? Clavis tells Emma that nothing exciting has even happened yet, there’s no point in leaving early. Besides, Gilbert adds, does Emma really think she’ll return safely if she leaves now?

Emma frowns at Gilbert. He laughs and says that he’s not threatening her or anything. But look outside. It’s raining very hard, and the environment itself is dangerous.

Moving along, Emma reminds them that they had a job for her and asks what it is. Clavis asks her what sort of summer activities are common in this part of the world.

Stargazing?

Clavis nods, she's right, it’s time for a test of courage!

Emma asks if she can go home now. Gilbert wags his finger at her and tells her ‘no’.

Luke asks if they’re a bit old to be playing children’s games like courage tests. Clavis disagrees, you can have fun at all ages.

Emma and Luke refuse.

Gilbert thinks this sounds marvelous and asks Clavis to speak more about this challenge. Emma almost groans at the realization that Clavis and Gilbert are colluding.

Clavis explains that there is a mysterious, ghostly phenomenon all over the Rhodolite castle. There are rumors of a mysterious performance coming from the dance hall, even though it’s empty. There’s a cursed painting sealed in the depths of the palace treasury, and finally, there is a ghostly tower that only opens at midnight.

They’ll split up into groups of two and tackle two of the mysteries. If they can unravel the mystery to everyone’s satisfaction, then their test will be finished.

Luke is not motivated at all to help and complains. Clavis leans over to whisper something into Luke’s ear, and Luke’s expression changes. There’s no help for it, he’ll help out just this once.

Emma wonders if Clavis offered Luke a honey bribe.

Since Emma is the only woman in the group, Clavis generously offers to let her pick her partner. All three of them hold out their hands to her.

Clavis reminds Emma that he is the most fun of all the suitors.

Gilbert reminds Emma that her job is to entertain the visiting dignitaries.

Luke reminds Emma that he’s the sane one of this group.

Clavis Route

At the start of this surprise test of courage, Emma reached out and grabbed Clavis’ hand, partnering up with him.  When the rain let up a little, they returned to the castle, Clavis in a surprisingly good mood. There’s a bounce to his steps as if he’s moments away from humming. Emma asks if her choosing him really put him in such a great mood.

Clavis tells Emma that she just proved that no matter what she says, she really loves him. Out of all the possibilities, he was her first choice.

Emma corrects him; she was just preventing him from teaming up with Gilbert. And she’s less afraid of Clavis than she is of Gilbert, so the choice was obvious. Clavis’ mood plummets at this, and Emma wishes that she could tell him the truth.

Ever since Emma came to the castle as the incognito ‘Belle’, Clavis was by her side and always took care of her. It's not easy being with him, but it was very fun. In spite of everything, she enjoyed the time she spent with Clavis. This is why she chose him without hesitation, but she would die of embarrassment if she were to admit it.

Emma changes the subject; their assignment was to investigate the painting of a lady which was sealed deep into the castle’s royal treasury. At this, Clavis’ mood shifts again, and he has a shady smile. Emma asks about the painting.

Clavis has never seen the painting himself, but there have been rumors among the servants about it for quite some time now. The lady in the painting is supposed to be so lifelike, servants have sworn that she moves in it. Emma wonders if this is some sort of optical illusion, adjusting the lights and preconceptions. 

Clavis disagrees, many servants at different times have made similar reports. It’s to the point that the painting has been moved to the back of the treasury, with servants reporting that the painting is cursed.

Emma asks him to clarify, by ‘curse’ does he mean that people who view the painting will be hit by some sort of misfortune? When Clavis is eerily silent, Emma prompts him to respond. Clavis tells her that there are things in this world that if she would be far happier not knowing about as opposed to knowing.

Emma asks if after saying that, they’re still going to go look at the painting.

They are.

Clavis asks if Emma is frightened yet and offers to hold her hand. After all, he’s not just handsome, he’s also a proper gentleman.

Looking into his eyes, Emma can see the way they’re shining with excitement. She looks at the hand and looks back into Clavis’ eyes. Between the cursed painting and Clavis, he’s far more frightening, so she’ll refuse.

Clavis tells her that truthfully, he’s afraid and wants to hold hands with her. Emma calls him out on the lie his expression is ‘joy’ not ‘fear’. Clavis is impressed, Emma has been observing him closely. As closely as a lover would. Ahh, that explains earlier; she loves him so much that she’s embarrassed to admit it.

Emma grumbles that she’s not embarrassed at all.

That’s fine; if Emma isn’t embarrassed, she should be happy to hold hands with him!

Emma gives in; though from Clavis’ strong grip, she wonders if she’ll ever get her hand back. Holding hands together, they enter the royal treasury.

As expected in a country famous for its arts and culture, the treasury was full of priceless national treasures. Emma thinks that if anything is ruined during this trip, she would never be able to compensate for it. Just being in the treasury makes her nervous.

Still holding her hand, Clavis looks unconcerned and relaxed. He idly looks around the treasury, wondering which of the priceless paintings on display is the cursed one. Emma asks if he thinks searching will be difficult if they’re still holding hands, but Clavis disagrees. They both have one hand free, so finding the painting should be easy. Emma gives up on ever letting go of Clavis’ hand.

In the end, Emma found the painting. It was at the back of the treasury, covered in black cloth with the words ‘Do Not Open’ ‘Danger’ and ‘Cursed’ written on signs before it. Clavis praises Emma’s genius for finding it, and Emma points out that it sticks out.

She holds Clavis’ hand just a bit harder as he reaches out and removes the cloth.

As promised, the painting’s subject was a woman. She had a simple but beautiful dress that Emma couldn’t help but stare at. For some reason, there was a knight’s insignia on her chest. The lady’s skin was so white it almost looked translucent, to the point of sickness. She looks like she was painted in the royal court’s rose garden and had a melancholic smile on her face. Looking at the painting, Emma starts to feel sad for some reason.

Emma calls out to Clavis to ask a question but finds him entranced and unresponsive. She shouts his name, but he continues to stare at the painting, unblinking. Growing desperate, Emma reaches out and pinches his cheek as hard as she can.

Clavis yelps at the pain and complains; if she wanted to get his attention, she should have kissed him, not pinched him. Emma maneuvers them so that he’s no longer facing the painting, and is facing her instead, and asks him what he can see, hoping the painting hasn’t hypnotized him.

Clavis tells her that he is looking at a lovely, healthy, and pretty woman. Emma’s heart sinks at this, he can’t see her at all. Clavis corrects her, he can only see her. Emma looks at him worriedly, but the feeling he gave off while looking at the painting is gone. In his eyes, Emma can see her reflection, though it seems to waver for some reason. Still, it’s the normal Clavis in front of her, and Emma feels herself relax a little. She lets go of the sweaty handhold she has on Clavis.

She would never have guessed that the rumors about the curse on the painting were real, but it didn’t affect her. She turns around to look at the painting again and meets the eyes of the lady. Like she originally thought, the painting never moved, and she becomes entranced in the sheer craftsmanship and lifelike image. She wonders if it's one of those paintings that seem to move depending on the angle you view it at.

She can hear Clavis call out to her, but she is too focused on the painting to respond. She thinks that the candlelight might also affect the way the painting is viewed.

Suddenly her view is completely blocked by Clavis, who shouts her name. He asks if she can see him, as a gentleman it’s his duty to rescue her if a ghost has taken her. His face is so close to hers as he peers into her eyes, and Emma flushes, jerking back. Her movements are uncoordinated, and she winds up headbutting Clavis by accident. Clavis whines about her hurting him, and Emma replies that it’s his fault for doing something weird in the first place.

(New rule, only one person is allowed to get possessed at a time)

Emma realizes that instead of pinching her, Clavis had been going in for a kiss. If she hadn’t jumped at the last minute, he would have succeeded too. She takes a step back from Clavis and assures him that she wasn’t entranced by ghosts, she was just thinking about the painting.

Well, they’ve found the rumored cursed painting, what’s next?

Clavis explains that the next step is to figure out the truth behind the phenomenon. To start with, they should investigate everything about the painting. Then, as if the painting was neither priceless nor cursed, Clavis takes the painting off the wall to examine its back.  He reports that it is 150 years old, and the original property of Lady Vivienne Michel.

Both Emma and Clavis immediately recognize the family name; apparently, Chevalier’s maternal family is somehow involved. Emma asks if Clavis is familiar with Chevalier’s ancestors, but unfortunately, he is not. And, given his options, Clavis would rather look through the archives in the library than ask Chevalier directly.

While Emma internally grumbles about Clavis’ and Chevalier’s terrible relationship, she acknowledges that Chevalier wouldn’t tell her if she asked him, giving her no choice but to join Clavis in the library.

Clavis hangs the painting back on the wall, and hand in hand, he and Emma go to the library. After a while, despite all the books she’s examined, Emma has no leads on Chevalier’s family history. Across the table, Clavis has also been searching through the books, at a speed Emma found impressive. For every book she reads, Clavis reads five. She was aware that he was a talented and capable prince, but this is just further proof. It was actually really cool.

A roar of thunder and lighting interrupts her moment, and Emma cant help but give a little jump at the unexpected noise. Clavis noticed and asks if Emma is afraid. She assures him that she’s fine with thunder, but Clavis assures her that if she’s frightened, she’s welcome to sit next to him.

Emma changes the subject, asking if the Michel family line even goes back 150 years. Clavis accepts this subject change and switches into a lecture mode. The Michel family goes all the way back to the founding of the country. Originally, Rhodolite was founded by knights, and the Michel family line is a direct descendant of a founding knight, known for producing many of the country’s famous knights.

That’s where the name ‘Chevalier’ came from; even though he is a prince, he comes from a famous knight family.

Emma admits that she has been curious about that, and Clavis’ evil smile deepens. He asks how long she’s been thinking about Chevalier, and for some reason, Emma feels like she’s in danger.

Sweet End

Emma has the feeling that Clavis’ smile is way more dangerous than the cursed painting. For some reason, Clavis stands up and moves to her side of the table, sitting next to her. He brings her back to the original topic. Emma complains about him sitting so close, but Clavis points out that it’s far easier to talk when they’re closer like this.

(This is not Chevalier's route, damnit!)

In the Michel family, there was a famous knight known as the ‘Rose Knight’, who legend has built up to be the strongest knight in Rhodolite’s history. At any battle he was in, he would be on the front lines and would lead Rhodolite to victory. Even if the opposing force had an overwhelming difference in numbers, the Rose Knight’s excellent tactics would lead Rhodolite to victory. There’s even an anecdote about the Rose Knight riding into enemy territory alone and destroying everything.

Emma notes that this sounds just like Chevalier, but Clavis’ smile grows even worse. He asks if she loves Chevalier that much, and Emma asks what love or hate has to do with Chevalier. Clavis points out that she is constantly talking about him, but Emma reminds Clavis that they are actively talking about Chevalier’s ancestor. The connection that Clavis just told her about.

The feeling around Clavis grows darker.

Moving along, Emma asks what the Rose Knight has to do with the painting. Clavis explains that the lady in the painting might have been the Rose Knight’s wife. He reminds Emma about the knight’s insignia on her chest and picks up a discarded book from his side of the table, showing it to Emma. It’s a tiger crest, different from the one Chevalier uses.

The crest is the one depicted in the painting and is associated with the Rose Knight. According to the records, the Rose Knight had a sickly wife, and if Emma recalls, the lady in the painting was very pale, enough to look sickly.

Emma blinks as the facts sink in, and she realizes that Clavis is right. She praises him, and only then realizes how close Clavis’ face is. From the short distance between them, Clavis, who is always attractive, is nigh bewitching.

Just as Emma is about to jump away, Clavis wraps an arm around her waist, trapping her. They have to figure out what to do next. Emma asks Clavis to let her go, but the so-called ‘gentleman’ only smiles shadily and tells her not to be shy, he’s not finished. there is a tragic ending to the Rose Knight.

The Rose Knight’s wife was very sickly and was left behind every time he left for battle. Before he would leave, the Rose Knight and his wife would spend a lot of time together to ensure they were able to say ‘goodbye’ properly. But one day, an enemy suddenly invaded Rhodolite, and the Rose Knight was summoned without an opportunity to say goodbye to his wife. When the fighting was over and the Rose Knight returned home, he arrived at the funeral for his wife. This was a blow to the Rose Knight, who grieved for his wife. After the funeral, he disappeared, no longer having a reason to fight.

As Emma holds back tears, Clavis redirects her attention. Now that they know the story behind it, they have to face the curse of the painting. Surely, she noticed how sad she felt looking at the lady, if they can find a way to solve that sorrow, they can bring peace to the painting and end the curse. He asks Emma if she has any ideas of what to do.

Emma has a list of choices, one of which is to throw a drinking party with the painting. Upon that suggestion, Clavis’ face grows pale, and he shoots her down.

Emma doesn’t want to give up, when there’s a problem like this, people throw a banquet, and that cheers up the other party. Clavis grumbles that Emma has a surprising alcoholic side to her. Emma is confused, she’s not that heavy of a drinker.

Emma pushes on, the lady in the painting is doubtlessly worried about the Rose Knight, as she died before knowing if he survived the battle. But that’s all in the past, and there’s nothing they can do about it, so why not get drunk and wash down all their problems?

Clavis asks if she really thinks that ghosts can drink, but Emma is determined to at least try it out. She’s surprised, she never would have thought that Clavis would be this resistant to drinking alcohol. She’s about to ask him about it when Clavis interrupts her. He understands the situation and will cooperate with her, but in exchange, he gets to prepare the drinks. Emma nods in assent, and with a bitter expression, Clavis leaves to prepare the drinks.

Upon their return to the royal treasury, Emma notices Clavis’ drink and asks if he seriously brought juice to a drinking party. Clavis insists that it’s wine, and when Emma tells him that she is 100% sure that it is genuine grape juice, Clavis more forcefully insists that it’s wine.

Well, her mental image of ‘delinquent’ Clavis is now ruined.

After they start drinking, Clavis asks Emma how the lady in the painting is doing. Emma looks at her and thinks that the lady is smiling. Even though the expression seems different, Emma is not at all afraid and tells Clavis that the lady appears to be happy. Clavis grumbles that the lady is probably making fun of them for drinking grape juice.

Well, now that they’ve solved the lady in the painting curse, their test of courage is over. They leave the treasury and Emma stretches, wondering what Gilbert and Luke have gotten up to.

Suddenly Clavis stops and an incomprehensible expression spreads across his face. He asks Emma if she really thinks everything is over now. At Emma’s confused expression, Clavis laughs, noting that she hasn’t understood anything. Suddenly, his expression is far scarier than any ghost they might have encountered.

Clavis asks her why she thinks he was at that chapel in the first place. Does she really think that the test of courage was the point of the night?

Emma recalls the scene that she had walked into when she entered the chapel. The World Calamity and the Trap Master of Rhodolite had been colluding before she and Luke interrupted them. Had they been plotting something unthinkable when she and Luke had interrupted them?

Emma asks if this is some kind of joke.

Clavis laughs evilly and tells her not to be so scared, he hasn’t done anything to her . . .yet. Emma’s heartbeat pounds in her chest as Clavis steps closer to her. Emma backs up until she’s against the wall.

Very gently, Clavis takes her hand and kisses the fingertips. Emma can’t find any words to respond.

Suddenly the atmosphere between them vanishes as Clavis laughs kindly, asking if Emma found this exciting. She complains that he’s horrible, and Clavis laughs, with that reaction, it was worth the effort.

Yep, Clavis really is the worst.

Before Emma can complain more, Clavis turns her hand and kisses her wrist. Emma shakes him off her hand and tells him to stop. Clavis lets her go, still smiling at her.

Emma’s heart is still pounding, but it’s hard to tell if it’s because she was just afraid, or because she felt something when Clavis kissed her hand so gently. Looking into Clavis’ eyes does nothing to calm her. Clavis’ face lowers towards her slowly.

Bam! The sound of their foreheads slamming together brings Emma’s thoughts to focus. Clavis complains about her headbutting him again. Emma tells him that the test of courage is over, they can leave and go to sleep now.

Emma grumbles about all the times Clavis got close and suggestive during this test of courage. It took until now for her to realize his true intentions, and now that she understands, she doesn’t want to stay any longer.

She thinks she can hear Clavis calling out to her from behind, but she doesn’t stop.

Premium End

Clavis had planned this out days earlier.

*Flashback Time*

Clavis was walking down the castle hallway carrying the daily reports from the servants when Gilbert slid out from behind a column. His appearance was so sudden, Clavis didn’t have an excuse to pretend to not notice him, so he hid everything behind his smile.

Clavis tells Gilbert that if he needs anything at all, he’d be delighted to direct him to Chevalier. Really, anything.

Gilbert complains that he’s bored, and Clavis tells him that Chevalier would be delighted to take care of the honored foreign guests.

Gilbert reminds him that he and Clavis are friends, so Clavis should want to take care of him. Reaching forward, he pats Clavis on the shoulder while smiling.

Once, long ago, Clavis had made a deal with Gilbert. Since then, the deal has been hanging like a leash and collar around his neck. Of course, if he had to, he would make the same deal with Gilbert again and again. Still, this entire situation is terrible, and he would rather foist Gilbert off onto Chevalier.

Gilbert whines that he’s still bored, so Clavis suggests he go for a walk in the rose garden. Gilbert pouts, he hates exercising. Clavis asks why he hasn’t gotten fat yet.

(Clavis asking the questions we readers wish we could)

Gilbert moves the conversation along, Clavis knows what Gilbert is getting at, right? There is something he needs that he can only get from Clavis. Warily, Clavis asks him what he wants.

Gilbert just wants to get along with Ms. Bunny.

Clavis’ heart stumbles in his chest, it never occurred to him that Gilbert would be focused so much on Emma. The World’s Calamity wasn’t joking, but he still couldn’t read his true intentions.

Well, Clavis isn’t the palace matchmaker. If Gilbert wants to get along with Emma, he’s talking to the wrong person.

Gilbert complains that Emma has been avoiding him, and Clavis laughs, noting that Emma must really dislike him. Gilbert nods in agreement, it’s a very sad situation, so sad that evil thoughts keep on popping up in his head, each one worse than the last.

Yeah, that was a threat.

Somehow Emma had attracted Gilbert’s attention, and as a gentleman, Clavis couldn’t ignore it. He himself had been concerned about Emma ever since she had come to the court. At first, he had thought that he had found a delightful new toy, but sometimes, he’s been thinking of her as more than just a toy.

Well, at the very least, he does want to shield her from the evil politics of the country.

Clavis surmises that Gilbert is asking him to be a mediator between him and Emma, which Gilbert is happy that he’s finally figured out.

Clavis wags his finger, he’s a gentleman, not a couple’s counselor. He is willing to create a chance for Gilbert and Emma to spend time together, but he will not force her to be with him. Gilbert laughs and agrees with his terms, he’s looking forward to the ‘opportunity’ Clavis will provide him.

When Gilbert leaves, Clavis checks to make sure he’s alone before finally dropping his smile. He wonders what he should do.

Suddenly, he hears a familiar voice approaching him. At the sound of two people’s footsteps, Clavis hides in the shadows, close enough that he can hear Emma ask Chevalier if she can visit his library again. Chevalier tells Emma she can do whatever she wants and doesn’t need permission from him.

This isn’t the first time Emma has been alone with Chevalier, to the point that people have been wondering if they’re in love. Watching them, an unpleasant feeling wells up inside Clavis as they both pass by without noticing him.

What a terrible feeling; it’s as if Chevalier has taken away his favorite toy. Perhaps because his feelings have nowhere to go, he crumples the reports still in his hands. He tries to smooth the creases, his eyes falling across the top paper. It’s a servant report about the cursed painting in the treasury vault.

Huh, maybe that would be a good idea. It would mean that he fails as a gentleman, but it would satisfy the itch he has to play with his toy.

In high-stress situations, people sometimes mix up their fear and love emotions. And this would count as providing an ‘opportunity’ for Gilbert, fulfilling his end no matter whom Emma chose.

Still, he never expected Emma to choose him.

After Emma had chosen him, he had made many mistakes during their time together. He had said things to try to incite fear, but if anything, Emma’s eyes had lit up with excitement and interest.

*Flashback End*

In the end, Clavis had even spoken about Chevalier’s family history, even though this was a time when Emma was listening to his every word. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot escape Chevalier’s shadow. At this rate, he can’t get Emma to stop looking at Chevalier and look at him instead.

Fine, he will make Emma afraid no matter what the cost.

In the end, he acted like there was a truth more terrifying than any ghost that they could encounter and saw that glimmer of fear he was looking for in Emma’s eyes.

How strange. This is what he wanted, right?

Ugh. He’s in danger of losing his reputation as a true gentleman if he scares Emma anymore. He backs down, assuring her that he was joking.

Emma breathes a sigh of relief, she’s happy that he didn’t go any further. She’d hate it if he made her never want to see him again. Teasing, Clavis asks if that means that she usually wants to see him.

Emma brushes him off but adds that she’s always with him, so it would be rough if she hated him. And she’s sure he would feel lonely too.  But anyways, she’d be happy if he wouldn’t make such a mean joke again.

Oh.

Inadvertently, Clavis covers his mouth with his hand. Emma is so cute; it makes his heart pound like crazy. Thankfully Emma wasn’t looking at him, so she didn’t notice.

Oh no. It was Emma whose heart was supposed to be skipping beats, not him!

He tells Emma that he can’t quite say that he wasn’t planning anything. When Emma asks him what he means, he backs her against a nearby pillar and he grasps her hand, lifting it up.

Please, look at him instead of Chevalier . . .

If Emma could read his thoughts, she would laugh at him.

Clavis very gently kisses the tips of Emma’s fingertips and sees that her eyes are open wide. He asks if she finds this exciting at all. He turns her hand to kiss her wrist.

Emma shakes him off, asking him to stop. Clavis has to admit to himself, all that did was make his heart pound faster. He wants to protect her, he’s jealous . . . it’s all proof that he’s in love with her.

The most frightening thing right now is Emma.

The pain from the second headbutt of the night only solidified the memories in his mind.

Epilogue

After the test of courage, there were many twists and turns in his and Emma’s relationship, but in the end, they became engaged. Still, Clavis often thinks back to that summer, especially on the days when the servants organize the royal treasury.

Regardless of who belongs to the domestic or foreign factions, everyone who is familiar with art is tasked with the organization, which is why Clavis and Emma are directing the servants. After the organization is finished, Emma stays behind Clavis and becomes distracted by the painting from that summer.

The painting remains that of the woman loved by the Rose Knight, and even now her eyes are downcast with a calm expression. Back when he first saw the painting, Clavis had thought she looked sorrowful, and he knew that nothing should have changed that impression. Maybe it was just the angle of the light and the distance that he was looking at it that made it so different.

Or maybe there really was a ghost possessing the painting.

Clavis laughs at Emma, back then she had never been afraid of the painting, even though he had worked so hard to get the information on the scary, scary background.

Emma nods and explains that it's all due to him being there with her. Back then, she had felt so safe and secure with him that even if anything happened, she knew he would protect her. That’s why she had grown so frightened by that terrible joke he played right afterward.

Oh, wow. That’s news to him.

Clavis retroactively apologizes for behaving as less than a gentleman with her. However, afterward, she had become aware of him as a potential suitor, right? So, it wasn’t all bad.

When Clavis looks into Emma’s face at an easily kissable distance, she turns away and complains that he’s too close to her. Clavis reminds her that they’re engaged, so it’s fine. Emma complains that his expression was too serious, so of course she would get nervous.

Emma’s embarrassed face is the face she makes when she is in love. Clavis reminds Emma that he really is handsome, so please forgive this handsome gentleman in front of her. He kisses her on her cheek and is satisfied to see Emma’s ears go red and a smile creep up her face.

Her smile is gone when Clavis literally sweeps her off her feet. Clavis notes that the Rose Knight was known to carry the portrait of his wife with him into the battlefield. So, this is nothing more than him showing how in love with her he is and taking a leaf out of the famous Rose Knight’s book.

He thinks the portrait’s smile looks warm as they leave the treasury.

When they return to Clavis’ room, he notes that Emma was unexpectedly quiet during the trip. Could it be that she really enjoyed it? Maybe they should take an extra lap around the castle?

Emma almost cries, so many people saw them. Everyone was staring at them.

Clavis agrees, they were all envious of their perfect love. Emma tells him that no matter what spin he puts on it, everyone looked dumbfounded. Clavis disagrees, it was definitely envy.

In the end, it doesn’t matter to Clavis what other people feel about them, what matters is that Emma is aware of him in a romantic sense. Even now, all Clavis wants is to make Emma fall deeper in love with him. Nothing has changed since that test of courage so long ago.

Clavis kisses Emma, who covers her face with both of her hands.

Oh, but it had been a special treat when they had passed by Chevalier. He doubts Emma had even noticed the other man.

Back then, Clavis had been more afraid of Emma’s affection being taken away by Chevalier than any ghost. In hindsight, he had been so childish.

Emma’s hands drop from her face, her cheeks glowing red. Clavis’ heart throbs at her expression, and he tells Emma that he never got around to apologizing for that joke he played during the test of courage. Emma is pretty sure he already has.

With no hands to block him, Clavis begins to peck kisses on Emma’s lips. Her mouth opens, and their tongues entwine, the room getting warmer and warmer. With the heat of the summer night added in, Clavis’ sense of reason is rapidly evaporating.

Or maybe it is long gone already.

Panting hotly, Emma removes her clothes, exposing her skin to the night air. Fascinated, Clavis traces his mouth down her neck, to her clavicle, down to her chest. He needs to apologize for that night, after all.

Emma asks Clavis if he ever knew how afraid she’s been since that night. She was afraid that she would fall so much in love with Clavis that she wouldn’t be able to live without him.

Clavis tells Emma that he was originally planning on apologizing, but now he would like to withdraw that apology.

He wants to scare her even more.

Just like he already is.

[chelzone]

My WIP Games Ahead: An Assortment

feeling like rambling a bit to get myself motivated to work on stuff right now, as well give a fresh update on what projects ive been tending to this year. just gonna focus on three that have had a lotta work put into em already

not gonna tag this one since its a mixture of SFW and NSFW and hidden under a read more. dont open if u dont wanna read about the latter (more specifically expansion kink stuff)

Hallowed Discharge

this one i've been putting my heart and soul into for a long while now, as it's a mountain of coding and writing despite only being maybe 25-30% finished argubly. made within the Quest text adventure engine, much like my released SFW game Kindred Spirit. Hallowed Discharge revolves around a pooltoy priest named Reverend Artemis, and his task in trying to nonlethally expel a hell of a lot of spirits from an abandoned mall named Delícias do Vale. features a hell of a lot of NPCs to chat with, tons of tasks to do for the most important of spirits, a mixture of percentage-based stats to be mindful of (weight, faith, and energy), and a fuckton of early game overs if u aint careful along the way. so far currently i'd say half of the first floor's tended to, same for the basement, and nothing for the second floor or general outside yet.

last time i tinkered with this, i was tending to a mission where the player has to attempt to fix fuses around the mall to restore partial power to the basement generators (mechanically it works code-wise, still need to move them to proper areas before the task can be completed properly). as for the justification of kinky stuff, our beloved goddess of expansion herself Her Divine is puppeting the show from above

Enchanted Bliss

another game with a lotta heart put into it, this one's a SFW visual novel made within Ren'Py (my first proper one at that in said engine!). Enchanted Bliss revolves around a newbie and mid-to-late 20 something wizard Dylan Rhodes, being strung along on a mission with a bunch of professional wizards / coworkers (a field exercise for Rhodes, a bigger deal of trouble for the rest). within the ruined city of Filia Lunae, Dylan will have to tag up with one of their coworkers to investigate a part of said city and hopefully score a friendship / a romantic relationship along the way (or even beef it completely).

last time i worked on this, ive been in the process of redoing the art style completely to be a more neon and line-focused one (as seen in the image above). fuck ton of emotion sprites are done for the protagonist Dylan, supporting character / mission boss Carmichael, and one of said coworkers - Brava Denvers. still have to draw the rest of the emotions for the other 5 coworkers. past that ive made 16 short music loops (1 min or so each) that might wind up in the game or its soundtrack slated for post-game release in the years ahead. still a lot of drawing, writing, and music-making ahead along with sourcing any royalty free / public domain sounds with credits of course. current playable section is just the tutorial / introduction camp before starting any of the six routes

The Ballad of Hush and Clover

another kinky game, though this one made in the flicksy 2 engine much like me released SFW game For Your Eyes. this one revolves around wizard couple and toony folks Evelyn Hush an Patsy Clover, heading off to the Nilbrook Mountain Chain to investigate a strange cave stumbled upon by a coworker. from there, they stumble upon a small fragment of what used to be temple to the (shocker) goddess Her Divine. there, a mystical figure emerges as a proxy of said goddess an offers a challenge for one (whichever the player chooses) of the toony spouses / wizards present.

with enough vague story rambling outta the way, it's basically gonna be a point and click sort of storybook thang. you'll either be playing as Evelyn OR Patsy - not both. each spouse has their own setting and associated adventure in a simulated dimension tied to their challenge (the other stays behind in the real world with the mentioned figure / proxy). so far a fuckton of scenes are drawn for it already, fulfilling the entirety of gameplay in the introduction and tutorial. gameplay elements besides traveling From Here to There will also be opportunities to use your powers, think about the situation ahead, chat with the folks within the challenge, and utilize a map to figure out where the hell ur at.

last time i worked on it i started making the early parts of both playable stories for each respective protagonist. Evelyn gets to deal with potential inflation mischief on an airship resort of sorts, while Patsy deals with potential fattening mischief on a cross-country luxury train of sorts. this one has been fun as fuck to draw and write for, and is chock full of visuals oh my lord

anyway if uve read this or even a chunk of this write-up, thanks! feel its important to remind folks that im still working on things and offer any progress updates when i can lol. at the moment of writing (08-29-2024) im prob gonna try hopping back into game dev for one or all of these come early September this year. id say realistically it'll be a hot minute until i release any of these three (most work needed for Hallowed Discarge, least needed for The Ballad of Hush and Clover, yadda yadda)

[whatevermywpis]

𝓣𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶𝓼

﹒⪩⪨﹒ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕖: 𝟘-𝟙﹒⪩⪨﹒

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝.

┌─── ∘°❉°∘ ───┐

└─── °∘❉∘° ───┘

You jolted awake unable to recognize your surroundings, your eyes flash through the halls of endless books and readers burying themselves in their stories, you were at... a library?

Just a few hours ago you were playing the 21st character route belonging to a heavily criticized game called 'Project Fairytale', famous for its absurd and tedious gameplay that takes a minimum of two years to finish all routes, which was estimated by its creator. Not only that but the game forces you to play in order from easy to hard in least to favourite.

Judging by the Victorian-style clothing you wore and the dusty counter you were behind you played the tragic side character number 23, (Y/n) (L/n), yes they had your exact name for some reason. Playing the neutral stance in most stories of neither helping nor harming the protagonist, (Y/n) was the fan favourite brutally honest, cute librarian, of their town. Appearing in act 3 route for through name in 'Burning Kingdom of Roses' character Deuce Spade, act 2 route 1 suggests the protagonist to a book in 'Trading seas of the Count' character Floyd Leech, act 7 route 5 being carried and kidnapped by Rook Hunt in the 'Poison love' character Epel Felmier, and act 4 route 8 when Silver kisses their forehead in 'Sleeping Kingdom' character Lilia Vanrouge.

"(Y/n)-chan~!! How's my favourite librarian-" "You lost one of my books again." The love interest in front of you was Cater Diamond and judging by his appearance, (Y/n) seems to be still in the Rose Kingdom right now. "What are you talking ab-" "A kid came walking into my library one day saying you dropped this book and didn't know how to contact you so he returned the book for you."

Cater Diamond, who would like to be called Cater only, was from a family of five and is currently a commoner due to his father giving up on the nobility status of duke during a family conflict. Now he's working and living like a commoner without any care, however, that would have been much easier telling how far you are in the story if there wasn't the fact Cater always dressed like a commoner when in and out of the dukedom.

Closing in on the subject there's a total of four found duke families and the royal family, all five love interests lived a very interesting lifestyle of rags to riches type. Making them at most a bit relatable to the audiences, but also have their own charms and style in characteristic.

" (Y/n) I can explain-" "ah, I'm only forgiving you because I'm not in the mood to get angry." Cater was a playful person, even when he was fully aware of the fact people are looking at him with pity. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you today, next time I will hit you and make you pay."

" It must have been hard for you, especially knowing that Deuce's mom died." Cater gave you a pitiful smile, you hated this gut-wrenching feeling of pain and despair. "Looks like Deuce is an orphan now, he's such a good kid though and his mom was a really lovely woman."

"It... can't be helped, maybe it was best for her to rest after her eventful life." Despite being side characters, people who play such roles have stories that are left untold, only those closest to them would know.

Deuce's mother whose name you don't even know died before the story started through an illness she had after giving birth to Deuce, her story wasn't very pretty. Born as an orphan, she worked her way into becoming a maid for the House of Spade, it should have been fine, she could have lived a happy life after 3 or 4 years yet she was assigned to be the heir's personal maid. That was when she met him, oh foolish woman she fell for his lies and deceits, living under the guise that she would marry him yet when she told him she was pregnant reality hit her. Days and nights she ran with her unborn child, and at the end she came to your father's library, a girl barely nineteen coming to her eighth month of pregnancy.

"Please! I'm begging you to help me and my child!"  She said holding your father's hands. Her tears soaked the thin dress she wore, (Y/n) was two, but even they knew how bad it had come if this was the result.

"Calm down miss, I'll help you... after all, I know what it's like having to raise a child." Your father... no their father took in the pitiful woman.

After giving birth to her child, she disappeared and the librarian continue to live with his child before she left a promise was made to repay the old librarian. Yet when she returned to fulfil it...

"(Y/n)~ (Y/n)!! Are you daydreaming again?" You were startled, how much time had passed? "Sheesh, I knew you had a bad habit of spacing out but really?"

"Sorry Cater... You shouldn't be wasting time here with me. Your sisters would be mad if they knew." Whatever happened in the past should have stayed in the past, reminding it only brings unwanted memories.

"So mean~ you're younger than me and yet you're such a granny." A mischievous glint appeared on his face. "Take care (Y/n), it's obvious you're also hurting."

It's obvious you were a good actor, Cater didn't even notice the difference between you and the original (Y/n), or maybe he did but brushed it off, the original (Y/n) was cold and mysterious but not unpredictable. It was obvious (Y/n) didn't have such a bad childhood despite not having a mother, with the death of their father however things did change for the better it for the worse. You know their story but, what was your story?

"̸̡̪͍̀̎͌̊͂̍̾̄͝͠M̴̞̈́̅̈́̔̒͛͘͘͝o̷̠̭͌͌̈́̆̈̋͛́̚͘m̷̻͇̮̫̾̀̓̓̃̓̍͠͝?̵̺̰̘̙̯̔̅͊̿̅͆"̷̤̬͚̘̰͕̓̌ ̴̦̀́̾̈́́̆͗.̵̠̏̈ ̷̡̭͉̱̽̀̇͑̿̽̒̃̇͘.̴̳̖̙̳͖̼̌̈́̀̓ ̷͇͚̲̱̫̪̺̐̈͒̂͑̓̾͘͜͜͠"̵̰̩̼͓̒̕W̵̦̝͇͍̍̿h̷̯̩̞͓̩͖̀̕͜͜ẙ̵̺̝̪̕ ̷̲̳͍̤̪͑͐͒̒̃̉͘̕̚͠c̸̝̼̘̥̬̦̼͎̭̪͌ą̴̗̻͋̉n̴͚̎'̶̡̬͔̺͉̹̪̰̥́̈́̎̇̌̊͠͠͠ͅt̴̼̯̝̲̰̞̹̽̉̉͝ ̷̖͔̪͆̉̇̌̑͘ͅy̵̧̢̯̩͍̩̓͂̿̾̌͛̃̊́͘ͅͅo̷̧̞̙͇͇̫͎͍̫͗̋ų̷̧̱͈͍̰͕̤̖̓̒͛͂̅̈̅̐̓̍͜ ̸̨̣͍̥̝̝̩͉͗͝ͅb̷̞̄́̈̈́e̸͎̣̮̞̭̙͖̤̼͆̌̔͝ ̷̡̨̛̰̠̠͙̋͂̍̌̎̍n̷̢̛̠̳̬̪̩̜̠͓̩͛̃̿̈͊̈́͆́o̵̠̝̼͎̔̌̐̄͑̾́͒͠ŗ̷̩̖̬̹͔̌̉̍͑͐̎m̶͙̖̪͙̥̮͔̆̈́͒̅̔̀̕̚ạ̸̢̺͉͉̠̝̞̼̤̀ḻ̵̝̜͑̈́̐̎̉̚̕?̸̭̚!̵̨̥̲̙͍̹̩̥̼̱͘ ̴̨͍̬̄́̓I̸̤͎͚̓̈́̒̌̚ ̶̺̼͙͚͉͊̋̍̃̚͜ǩ̵̮̦̘̦̭̞͙n̷̨̛̮̯̫̯̎͐̐̑̍̊̐o̴͓̤̪͕̝̻̣͌̏͜͜͠ŵ̶̼̠̲̝̻̪͕̍̇̾͝͠ ̵̨̡͇̰̝̬͚̗̀̐̆͂̓̾͋̈̕͠y̴̘̰̪̟̐̀͜ǫ̵̻̝̳̳̼̘̝̂̓̏̎̒̇̑̽̆̈́͜ͅṵ̵̡͉̤͎͓̲̣̊͊̈͂͒̎̽͐̓͜͠'̵̼̺͕̠̪̟̟͗̇̕r̸̗̹̺̣̭̝̫̝̩̫̓͊́͐̓ë̴̻̳͎̳͙͍̱͖̼́̀̾͘͜͝ ̷̛̤͛̉͊̅̈́̾ǹ̶̯̪̳̈́̔̀͠o̷͔͍͓̫̤͕̰̊t̴̞̱̱̹̀̽̍͗̇́̍̃͠͠ ̴̨̢̱̲̠͙̖̖͈̳̋͛͌͆̎ş̴̣̥͚̲̘̦̎̇̑̒̅̏͋́̍̕o̷̢̬̹͖̦̬͂̀̌̆̆m̵͚͚̞̩̳͓̲͎̎͐̀̈́̒͒͆͘ͅe̴͔̠̙͙͉̗̔͋̈́̅͊̽̎͜ ̸̞͍͖̪̠́̋̈́͂͆̑̇̕͠m̸̳͕͊̇̌̌̆͘͘e̸̛̖̗̣̽̈͆̆̚n̸̡̪̹̱͎̳͇̣̘̪̍t̸̤́ä̴͇͎̺̙̰͉̕l̶̳̮͎̣̈́̈́̑͆̈́̏l̷̡̢͈͙̹̮̅͒̏̂y̷̨̱̱͇̻̩͈͔̙͛ ̷̡͙̺̠̭̠̭̂̿̋͑s̶̨̰̹̊͝ͅḯ̸̧̦͓̗̞̺̼͖c̶̩͇̟̻̫̩̊̾͆̕͜k̴̫̙̫̽͒ ̶̛̻͉̎̐̊͗̈͒̊͜͝c̸̨̛̜̤̲̣͙̥̩͍̰̋̀̓̍̏́̇̆̋h̵̞̳̩̭̩̟͕̺̼͈̆͂͑̈́̆̑̏̈́͝ì̸͍l̷̨̨͖͉͓̳̮̬͚̀͆̀̑̾̈́͠d̷̜͈̪͋̀̈́́̿͛͠͝!̶͖͕̅̉͋̕͠ͅ!̷̲̦́͒̈̅͛͌͐̃͝͝"̷̛̪̦̓̆̆̈́̌͂͜͝ ̵̳̻͚̺̬̆͝.̸̧̰̮̦̼͍͓͈̎͑̀̐̇̈́̃͛͐ ̶̰̠̞̠̪̥̇̃̂̐̋͐̕.̶̧͚͚̖͉͖̼͉̈̊̇̉͊̆̾͝ ̵̢̨̦̫̟͎̬͕͇̹͋͐͊̈́.̶̛̪̭͇͔͚̲͎̟̗̒͒̅͛̆̃ ̷̧̭͎̹̙̫̖͍̠͒͒͛̾͝͠.̷̡̫̻̈́͗̎̕ ̵̧̞͉̖̯̥̲̉.̸͕̯̩̗͌͛̑̈́͒̅̈͘͘ ̴̡̡̡̮̈́̊̿̇̈́̕̕"̴̢͔͓̙̣̗̯͇͈̜͛̊̇̌̿̀Ị̸̜͙͔̾̋͝ ̴̢̿̐̃̀̓̒͘͝͠ͅw̶̩̱͚͕͂̔͌̽̄͠i̸̜̙̻͋̊̿̉̃͝s̷̡͓̹̲̑͐̎͌̒̍̋̅̚ͅh̵͙̤̫̤̩̗̯̻̭̓ͅę̷̨̟̠̝̭̖̗̫̩͗̋̽́̀̿̕d̶̛̠̫̪̗̳̝͌̌̔̃͜ ̵̭͙͉͚̪̿̄̓̾Ȋ̸̟̞̾̂ ̶̝̜͕̲̝̞̥͉̘́̓̅͐̌͘͜͠d̷̻̳̏̈́í̵̞̭̈́̈́̔̂̚͠d̴̲͚͎̹̙͇͐̾̽n̷̛̞͖̙̯̳̱̆̒̔̂̊͠'̶̧̭̬͍͇̯͚͐̎̋̒̒̑̓̾ṯ̴̩̬̱̲̤͖͖͎́́̏̏̎̔̄̆ ̶̩̥͙̱̝̠̞̟̫̙̊̌͑̂̓͑̔́̈́h̸͙̭̄̋̅̄͐̋͆̌͝a̴͕͋̏͜v̸̮̬̖̻̠̥̩͂̏͂͋͊̋͑͠͠ę̷̧̮͈̜̲̿̓́̃͜͠ ̷̠̭̺̠̘̲̫̾̚͜y̷͍͓̠̬̜͙̲͎̻͂͛͒ớ̸̧͖̖̞̠̳̝̾̀̄̄̔̓̃͐u̷̟̖͎̞̐͛̇̒̿!̶̢̖̗̙̙́̍̇̀̎̂͐ ̵̛̞͎͖̈́̑̈́̽͊̓̾̃̿ͅǏ̷̘̺͉͖̞͆́̌̿̚͜͜͝ ̵̢̨͓̟̳̥̘̫̞͆͒͠c̸̖̩͔͓̠̼̰̗͔̦̔̄̆͐̃͑̽̄o̵̪̭͓̩̔́͑̈̉̌͛͜͠ͅu̷͇̲͋̾͌͒l̴̨̢̼̹̙̖̩̓̐̓̒͝͠ͅd̵͚̑͆̃̈̇̈ ̷̡̮̰̈́̌̽̚ͅh̸͔̆a̵̧̢̘̳̰̠̦̾͋̆ͅṿ̴̝̆͆̽̎̍e̴̢͆͊͝ ̸̡̧̟̱̞͖̳̤͖̄̓͆l̴͈͌͗͘ě̴̟̌́͛̅͛͘͠f̸̪̘̫̒̓͜t̶̤̤̲̞̹̆͗̅̀̋̿̕͝͝ͅ ̸̡̦̠̱͖̮̮̘͐̋̅̇h̷̘̪͆̈́͛͐̓̔͗i̷͙̰͎̳̣͍̣̰̻̅͆̀͌͌͑̄̈́̈́͜m̵͔̳̹̪̊̇̆̔̕,̴̢̧̥̝̭̂̐̈́͗̉̿͋̒ ̶̧̡̖̏̀̅͌I̶̲͖̟͖̺̺̋͐͒͑̕ ̶̨̭͓̩͇̣̣̰̠̼͆c̶̢̛̲̯̞̮̖̩̖͆̈́̇͛͒̎̏̕ọ̸̆̾͆̊̀̃͒͌ǔ̷̧̧͕͖͔͇͚̈́̂̾̈́̑̃l̵̢̞̤͇͓̻͉̠̤͉͊̌̐d̸̯̩͓͚̲͇̣̯͗́̀̅ ̶̡̛͚͕̣̽̌̓̄̾̔͆͋̊ĥ̶̨̧̟̻̃̏̽̓̿á̷̧͚̟͖̰̆̑̅̄̾̉̚͠v̷͈̹͙̼̹͙̦̝͋͌̌̅͋̆̋͑͌ͅͅę̷͇̺̱̤̲̲̾ͅ ̵̳̩̜̳͇̟̻̌̄̅̈̂̇d̷̺͈̹̼́͊̎̀̅̄̏͠ͅọ̷͚̓̽̀̕ǹ̶͚͎̼͇̭̣̮̫͐͜ͅé̵̡̫̥̩̜̜͇̈́̓͂̀͂̆̈́̕ ̵̡̟̤̳͔̼̲̠̖̖͒͐̋̉͝͠s̷͙̗̎̉̊̈̕͜o̵͕̺͓̲͔̘̺̥̟͒̑̈́̍́̌͑͝ ̵̼̥̲̼͕̲̺̈̉͊́̀͛̉̇͛͠m̵͔̍̒̽͂̑̄u̴̲̩̝͍̘̿̐̉͂̀ĉ̴̰̬͔̯̞̱̝́͊̆̎̑̄͛̈́͠h̸̨̟̣͊̈͝ ̵̛̬͇̙̞̭̪̗͚̳̹́͋̆͠b̴̩̺̣̗͔͆̔̏̉͂̋̽̓é̸̡̪͓͎̹̱̻͙͌̒͘ţ̸̦̹̰̻̝̺̺͔̟̇̊̑̅͊̾̕͝t̸̝̠̝̱̱͍͍͈͉̿̋̄̒̃̏̕ę̷̛̜̘̖̥̮͎̯̣͑͗̓͌r̸̡̡̰̎̓̏̑̔!̸̧̳̥͇̥̺͍̙͓̚̕!̴̧̢̛̬̠̠̠͈͈́͒́̔̔͑̒̚̕"̷͕̱̑͆̐̒

"Yahoo~ Librarian (Y/n)? What are you spacing out for?" A menace appeared to bring you back from the dream.

Ace Trappola, the famous prankster and troublemaker of the Trappola house, to put it lightly the Trappola house was the most chill of the four houses and genuinely doesn't care what happens. Ace was nobly born and his parents were happy, he's not the heir but that also meant he can just enjoy life without that much burden. However, this also meant he was made to cause trouble, so he just sneaks out of the dukedom and hangs out with the commoners, not entirely relatable but he was still lovable in his own way.

"Who are you-" "Again?! This is our tenth meeting (Y/n)!!" Ace fumes pouting at your indifference.

He's a nice dude, and honestly, you always hoped that there were more people with lives like him, he's a genuinely good person maybe causing too many problems and troubles but he'll be alright.

"Yeah yeah, you're not that much of a regular Ace. If I had a madol for the number of people who know me and I remember their names... I'd have a meal. Which isn't a lot but it's still strange that it happened." That gave Ace the brain cell workout, honestly Ace is a fun one to tease when playing the game.

"Ah you don't make sense sometimes, I guess it's a side effect from being you, huh?" You should be mad but then again you pity Ace for having one brain cell.

"Haha very funny, what are you here for Ace Trap-" "Shhhh!!! You shouldn't say my last name so openly idiot!!" Says the person who casually gives their name away.

"I'm here to give you these." He said pushing a bag of sweets into your arms, high quality too. "Heard you and your errand boy lost an important boy so I thought I'd give something to cheer you guys up."

"How caring. I can buy my sweets just fine." You shoved the bag of sweets back to him, not so fun fact, Ace at some point had started stealing and you're just worried he'll get you in jail.

"Hmph, I guess you didn't need such lowly stuff-" "Ace you know I would never take advantage of your status as a noble." This was the main problem with Ace, he's the type to get close to someone and then not notice how he gets easily taken advantage of.

"Idiot... I'm meaning it, Deuce has been having a hard time no? Just do it for him will you?"

Not waiting for your answer Ace ran away leaving the high quality at your counter as you could only shake your head unknowingly smiling at the gift. In the story and before Ace and Deuce were always a pair, just like Cater and Trey, all connected to the librarian who was later on killed by a few jealous noble daughters, the only person who had no connection to the librarian was his royal highness and future king Riddle Roseheart.

The life of a librarian wasn't too hard to handle, arranging borrowed books, cleaning up messes, keeping it quiet, and shushing people was your favourite thing to do since you have so much power in your domain plus you can take home any book you wanted. How are you making money? Simple, you charge a fee for borrowing books, and thank the past librarian for making this method, besides the fee is affordable by standard and the library was technically private and owned by you.

Then everyone's favourite time came, closing time, quickly ushering the readers out you clean up the rest of the remnants and went home for the day. You could have gone straight home, but there was one place you wanted to visit that was so legendary in the game it became a thing in real life. Yes, you were talking about the Clover house's bakery, a bit classy and expensive but who cares the art used for the pastries was beautifully delicious.

"Outta the way!"

"Hey, I've been waiting all afternoon!"

"I worked months for their most famous sweets, back off!!"

You encountered a problem, it was a long line of bloodthirsty customers, well according to the game the pastries here were so good people no matter rich or poor would gather just to buy everything.

"Large crowd, huh?" Someone said behind you, turning around your eyes widen at the sight of Trey Clover, in the shabbiest disguise, how did you tell it was him? That Clover mark wasn't covered up properly that's what.

"Lord Cl-" "Shhh! I don't wanna startle the crowd." He said pulling you to an alleyway.

"You need to stop calling me by honorifics (Y/n), how did you know it was me?" Big bro vibes, Trey had some big bro vibes.

"You should work on covering that stigma up." You pointed at the light mark that looked like a clover.

A stigma is a marking that appears on the body of the four house's heir and current duke, there's no actual way of knowing who's going to be the heir since it's like a lottery and depending on the number of children that were born it's an often occurrence that your own might not be your heir and instead is your niece or nephew. Once the other stigma starts showing up that's when the story starts, even the crown prince has a stigma.

" I guess I just have to be careful next time, hah... others don't seem to notice it though." Trey smiled touching the not-so-hidden mark.

"Hold on let me check if I brought any make-up." It's funny how there's a lot of make-up found when you looked around the library, people do be throwing money around. "Found it. Just stand still..."

"That... tickles a bit." He giggled as you applied the powder lightly, the mark wasn't that visible but you just had to make sure.

When a stigma appears it is meant to symbolize change or succession, in this case, the current duke had two choices, either to peacefully let the marked heir succeed or convince the chosen heir to convince the marked heir for the rightful position. We all know what happens when a battle for succession happens, lots of interesting scenes happen, and the most memorable is when Deuce's stigma appears. Due to most of the circumstances, those who are involved with the stigma, by involving you mean know of which heir was going to be next, often die or are locked away from the prying eyes of society.

"You don't come here that often (Y/n)-chan, where are you planning on getting any pastries." You walked away deciding not to buy any, were you seriously going to wait another two years to buy? Hell nah.

"Well, I've been discouraged enough to say I'm not buying any." Trey laughed, he knew (Y/n) was the type to give up once something seemed intimidating.

"Here, I wasn't planning to eat them but the bakers just insisted that I have some." If it wasn't obvious his visit and appearance were to sneak out and check on the bakery.

Trey Clover's parents had a really good ending when they formed their relationship, but the twist was that Trey's father was technically a baker and a commoner too so there was some bad blood between Trey's mother and her parents but seeing how he came out safe to say things worked out. Except for when the stigma appears, mostly because Trey's reputation for having a commoner father wasn't the best look for him.

Trey was mostly bullied for being half noble and half commoner despite being a part of the four houses, so when he received the mark Trey used it as an excuse to avoid people even more, abusing the power an heir has over others. He runs away from his home to the bakeries almost any and every time, his parents do make sure he doesn't get hurt every time he gets home.

"I don't think I should-" "No, really have some. You looked like you needed some with how pale you are." He doesn't deserve hate from the NPCs, that's why his fan base is so big.

"Well, I can't receive it, besides I was planning to buy some ingredients for dinner soon." The air seems to be a bit chilly.

"My... deepest condolences to him.." if you hadn't noticed by this point, all love interests are often connected and know each other one way or another.

"Don't be... it's Deuce we're talking about so it's best you tell him that instead of me." There was no way of knowing how much trouble things will bring you now that you've been acquainted with most of the love interests in the Kingdom of Roses.

"Now bring this home with you!!" "No!"

"That stubborn a-" You lost and took the bag of pastries, well at least dessert is set.

The one thing about ingredients is the pricing which is either your bargain and release all that stress from the day or you're forced to buy expensive things that are scams. Thank god you helped that old lady on her market trip every weekend.

"50!" "20!" "40!" "20!" "25! And that is my last offer you thwat!" Just another day at the market.

"Fish on sale! Fish on sale! Half price 'cause it's closing time." Sadly you hate making certain fish food.

"Oi take a look over here vegetables! You'll never find something fresher than this!" Well, at least the prices were negotiable.

Yeah, nothing particular for a night market but who cares, for a librarian you were loaded, at least that title of baron helped in some aspect. Now you wouldn't just choose to buy at this place for no reason, that's because in the game.

"Thief! I caught a thief stealing mah trinkets." That familiar thick Western accent was definitely signalling you were in the right place.

"Let me go! You got the wrong person, I didn't touch anything it was your so-" "Shut up you noisy brat! You and that little rat can explain it to the guards when they arrive!"

To explain the situation of why and what we fast forward in time to the story 'The beautiful count and his deathly poison' and more specifically route 6 Act 5 'Spring Festival' where the introduction of two assassins known as the 'white deaths' appears. Not that they played a huge role but you were down for some heirs to inherit the Library and title once you run into trouble just so a certain main lead steals the deal to that place after your untimely death.

Those two assassins were originally from the Rose kingdom with the names of Lily and James, sadly they died at the hands of Rook, in order to prevent that and to find a good heir you pick out the outstanding assassins for their quick eyes and carefulness, after all as side characters you hardly ever get a good ending.

"Now now, there's no need to act like that everyone. I'll pay for the damages~" perks of being able to live comfortably? Money.

"Sir/Lady you don't know what you're getting into! These two are thieves and street rats!" How... boring, you really don't give a damn about it, Deuce was probably still mourning and you got to cheer that boy up.

"Ya da ya da, look I get it but they're my servants~ and it's my duty to punish them not you." An awkward silence filled the air, and the two "thieves" looked at you confused but seemed to play along, well anything to save their skin ain't it?

"W-well in that case-" "They're just checking for some good stuff, in case you haven't noticed since they are under my protection and work under me you really don't have the authority over them." You might have broken character a bit with how you were acting.

'Please stay in the Character module, the prologue is far from complete Player. This is your first warning.'

"Now may I have them back?" Restrictions are restrictions, that is why you were going to face a punishment soon after the scene ends.

"...Scram ya rats! Don't go touching things like that again." The two were quickly released as you threw the stall owner three silver coins, which was the equivalent of 30 madols.

The two assassins quietly followed you throughout the market, though they didn't say anything you could tell they were quite grateful for saving their skin earlier. Now it was true that they tried to steal but could you blame starving children for falling into temptation? As much of a cold person (Y/n) was there was also a limit to how they could get, that's because the original (Y/n) used to take care of people like this, up until the point of their father's death.

"Um... M-miss/sir...?" The girl asked pulling your clothing.

"Hm?" You were almost reaching home, looks like they did decide to follow you.

"Why would you save us? You should have just ignored us." The boy said pulling his sister's hand away from your clothing."

"For kids from the street you two are much more educated than you look~ well if I said I'm looking for helpers would you believe me?" You coldly said as a painful feeling struck your heart, the system couldn't pick a better time.

"No." The boy was James, at least that's what he was called after death and by the second assassin his sister Lily.

"Then why would you follow me? I could just be doing a good deed by helping you. There's no need for you to follow me like that." They had no place to go back to, well you didn't wanna take advantage of that fact, it was... disgusting of you to use people's weakness against them.

"Because you... don't look like the type of person to do so." Really, they were weird for children, but then again you were just as weird weren't you?

"Think what you wanna think~ the one thing I can promise you though." You looked into their fierce orange eyes. "If you agree to follow me you won't have to get in trouble again anytime soon."

So I'm the end you came back to your home with food and two adopted children, man did you just succeed in life by finding random kids for heirs and now won't have to worry until the story starts.

Did you really think you wouldn't meet any more trouble? You forgot about Deuce, Deuce Spade to be exact but right now he hasn't been taken in by the Spades yet so back to calling him Deuce.

"Deuce! I'm home!" You shouted.

You lived by yourself, well not exactly yourself since there was also Deuce but you were a noble so that meant you also had another mansion! Under your name... 'you' sold it through the day 'you' became the head librarian, some things just didn't stay for long. 'You' took Deuce and his mom into your care as 'your' servants, however since her passing there's only you and Deuce left.

The house was quiet, the kids stared in awe probably because of its structure, you had the same look when playing Deuce's route though the place was pretty much broken down in his route. Footsteps rushed from the stairs and then came to Deuce, his swollen eyes stared at yours then afterwards noticed the kids holding your hands.

"Your home... (Y/n) why did you bring these kids home?" Although he was still mourning Deuce had put up a front to ensure that he could stay strong in front of you.

"I thought you could use a helping hand, besides they're only a year younger than you." Taking your grocery bags, Deuce started to stare at the kids for a little longer.

"Actually we're 13, you don't look that old to call us kids" Between the two James was definitely the brasher one.

"Well you two have fun, me and Deuce have something to talk about. Oh and please don't burn the drawing room, that's the only place you can't destroy other than my room and Deuce's." The kids were definitely shocked you allowed it to happen but still went and explore the place.

For the last of the card boys, Deuce Spade had a sad fate, his mom went through all that and in the end left him at the age of 16 and 'you' became his temporary guardian until he reaches 19. Throughout this time he got into lots of trouble with drunks and guilds all around him, and the real trouble starts when he got his stigma.

After receiving the stigma the House of Spade immediately looked for him after an outsider witness claimed to see it on a boy similar to the current duke his 'father'. Deuce of course had no choice but to part with the librarian who took care of him and his mother. The death of the said librarian was ultimately warranted with this choice, and after a while of torture and humiliation, Deuce received the librarian's head as a warning if he ever decided to go against the House of Spade.

You weren't dying today, oh well you just have to hide Deuce long enough then, it's not like you could decide for him but if you were to choose you'd like to live.

"Why are we cooking again...?" Deuce said confusingly whisking some eggs.

"You didn't think we were just gonna sit down and talk, did you?" You asked while frying some onions, thank god the kitchen still had some useful utilities, you would have starved if they didn't.

"You... don't seem like the person to do this... and I've never seen you cook." It's true that the real (Y/n) would never but you were a foodie, food is life, food is love, and you would make use of all those recipe books lying to waste.

"Well, I did say we'd talk, besides I never joined your cooking session with your mom." You really need to stop being up to this boy's momma since he looked like he was gonna break down again.

"R-right, Mom really liked making food. I guess cooking does really bring back a few memories of her." A bittersweet smile graced his face, no wonder he was a love interest.

"I never really understood how she was able to love a child that wasn't hers. It's just sad to see how loving had hurt her so much." You were kind of jealous of (Y/n), how they didn't even need to do much and yet they're loved and cared for by all these people.

"Loving didn't really hurt her you know? Loving my bastard of a dad was the wrong move though." Deuce might have never been his dad, but from his story, you could tell how much he resented the man. " But loving me, and you. She might not say it out loud but it probably was one of the best things she did, I think."

"Hm, I guess it wouldn't hurt to think like that." You don't know her, yet you were grateful that she had taken care of (Y/n) and Deuce up until now, so now it's your turn to protect them.

"I miss her... I miss her so much..." Deuce broke down.

"Me too... but you wouldn't want her to see you like this for too long, it's good to let it out sometimes but you have to understand that there's a point where you have to move on." Not every breakdown is about screaming and crying out your heart, it could just be you holding yourself and thinking why, how did it happen?

So you ended up making too much food, at least Lily and James had a big appetite, but more than half of the food you made was gone. Deuce needed a little bit of talking but other than that he was good, he still clings to you like how he would to the original (f/l).

In (Y/n)'s bedroom you took note of a few things that weren't originally in the story, first was how many useful books they had in their room as if they had prepared it for a long time, second was the countless papers and materials relating to moon studies in their room.

Moon study was just basically learning of the moon cycle but in this world, the moon was an important element in rituals, so from that fact you deduct that (Y/n) was trying to perform so type of spell. You're not sure what type of spell it was but when you took a good look at yourself in the mirror, you noticed a moon-shaped stigma above your belly button, which looked exactly like a moon tattoo you got at the same place.

You were wondering, what if (Y/n) was trying to perform a body switch spell and it resulted in this, you were dead in the real world and you knew that because you J̵̟̺̗͍̫̺̤̙̗̅͑̅̅̂̉̕u̴̼̯͛̆͠m̷̻̦͇̝̺͚̟͂̂̾͛̍̀̓̉̕̚͜ͅp̷͕͆ė̸̗̌̒̏̇͊͋͝͝͠d̴͉̩̭̣͓̖̲̈́̉͜͜ so there's no way (Y/n) could transfer to your body so how?

'Player, are you ready for your punishment?'

A systematic voice was heard behind your back, and looking behind you saw the blue screen with those words in bold. You nearly forgot about it. Excruciating pain, memories, nightmares, and the torture that took a toll on your body. That was 'punishment'.

"..." The moon looked so pretty to you, maybe it was because you had the best view in the entire house. Burn marks are present around your body as the day slowly ends.

Morning came, it was gloomy and well raining, in contrast to the beautiful blue moon from the night before the skies of the next morning rained hard. Well, you would have some difficulties going to the library in weather like this one but you like the rain so who cares.

"It's raining cats and dogs today, I wonder if we should even go and open up the library today?" Deuce was giving you the 'go and I'll break your neck look' while the kids were looking like 'What's a library?'

"Don't even think about it, besides we have things to clean today now that your home and don't have an excuse to go out." Yes, rain day was cleaning day, as much as you loved the rain it also came with cleaning.

Bang bang.

"Who the fu-" "Language!" You carefully walked to the door holding a butter knife in your hand, don't ask where you got it.

Swinging the door open you found a passed-out person with reddish hair, lying at your front door, an injury on their back, and lots of scratches.

"Deuce get the first aid kit and some towels!! Someone's definitely going to meet Death in a few hours!!"

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[fayesdiary]

actually now that you've finished AM and re: Paired Endings, did you get the paired endings you wanted? I remember when I went in blind and didn't know how the hidden support points system worked in regards to paired endings, I ended up with exactly no paired endings I was expecting or hoping to get, and a few people I knew playing the game at the same time as me ran into the same "wait, how does this work" conundrum bc we all went and got everyone to A or A+ supports with everyone else and therefore had a roulette wheel of paired endings.

also just in general, how did you enjoy AM?

I barely knew paired endings were a thing so I wasn't aiming for any one in particular (although I'm upset by the Felix/Ingrid one. I'm sorry Ingrid, you deserved better).

That said, having paired endings almost hidden from the player if you don't know (I'm guessing it's a selection of the A/A+ support pairs, but if you have multiple it selects one based on which has the highest support points) is... really weird. Why not just have S supports at that point and give the player the active choice of which paired ending they want?

As for Azure Moon itself, I quite enjoyed it! Dimitri's journey is the good shit, his relationship with Edelgard is just tragic and overall it's a really nice personal narrative.

But for the larger narrative, well... I have questions. And they are not the good kind.

Let's start with the smaller things first - Sothis.

Why is she even in the game?

I'm saying this as a huge fan of her- I adore her, I think she's so much fun. That said, if she's barely going to have screentime in White Clouds and is completely absent in Part 2, why even pretend she's going to be a primary character if she barely features in it?

I enjoyed Ch9 and 10 with her because she finally had her time to shine, taking initiative, coaxing Byleth into investigating a bit more and being a little gremlin when she convinces them to eavesdrop on Rhea. She finally has the presence she should have always had, but then she merges with Byleth and... that's it.

Poor Rhea is in an even worse situation in Azure Moon, being completely absent in Part 2. They tell you she has been secretly been imprisoned in Enbarr all this time but they never tell you why (my guess is it has something to do with Edelgard's monster form?), and then when you beat the game... Nothing.

Just a small line telling you she has retired and moved to Zanado.

The poor woman feels like a complete afterthought in this route.

Speaking of things feeling like an afterthought in Azure Moon, the Dark Snakes (the personal name I'm going with for Those who slither in the dark because I hate that name so goddamn much).

In White Clouds? Hyped up as a major antagonist.

In Azure Moon Part 2? Nowhere to be seen properly.

You only get Cornelia and Volkhard who have been very blatantly replaced with members of the cult, and yet no one seems to notice.

Dimitri will say straight to your face Cordelia's whole demeanor changed around a decade prior but never think "hmm, this sounds familiar", despite him mentioning Kronya a few chapters prior.

They appear in the final chapter but only as an extra boss you can stomp to get rid of a bunch of soldiers, and again - barely acknowledged. The rest of them flee when you kill their leader so the Snakes are still around scheming, but this is never addressed in Azure Moon, not even in the endings.

And I am not accepting "it will be explained in the other routes" as an excuse, because if you're going to treat every route as its own game, then the narrative of every single route has to stand on its own.

As it stands, the Snakes in AM only exist to make Edelgard look better by comparison in White Clouds and are almost completely ignored in Part 2.

And speaking of Edelgard - we need to talk about the whole deal with Fòdlan's unification.

This game is... weirdly fascinated with the idea. I can understand why Edelgard views it as an ideal - of course the future Emperor of an Empire would have an imperialist mindset.

The problem is that several other characters and the narrative itself portrays it a good thing, when if you think of it for a few minutes... It's not. The mere existence of the Kingdom and Alliance as well as two of the major wars in Fòdlan being for their indipendence proves that.

And look - Fòdlan has many, many problems. Rampant racism and xenophobia, class inequality exacerbated by Crests, you name it. But it being united under a single banner, especially if by force, does nothing to solve any of the issues and arguably makes them worse.

Hell, as fucked as the status quo at the start of the game is, at least there was a clear harmony between the four powers, and Fòdlan had been at a state of relative peace for almost a millennia until Edie did her, um, thing.

Shamir has a line where she mentions Fòdlan will probably split again eventually, and she's right - it's increasingly clear that Fòdlan being governed by a single power does not work.

Also I know I barely know Claude at this point especially because he's deliberately written as hard to read but I'm sorry- him just giving the Alliance to Dimitri is bullshit. Both because of what it represents, both because I don't buy it at all he would just do this (especially with Verdant Wind existing), and especially because you really want me to believe every single noble would be ok with rejoining under the Kingdom they declared indipendence from two centuries ago?

So the narrative ends up saying "oh it's not that Edie's ideals of a unified Fòdlan are fundamentally wrong- no, it's her methods and the fact that she wants to destroy the Church". And the cynical side me is thinking that in the large scale of things, the main difference between the routes is choosing which war criminal gets to govern the whole continent.

So while overall I enjoyed Azure Moon, I can't help but notice so many warning signs for things to come.

[glorytodroidkind]

Why I love the brothers

This is me going on about how much I love them and why 90% of my writing features them in some capacity. I'll do them one at a time and then together, starting from oldest to youngest.

Also please note that there will be spoilers since...yeah they're kind of antagonists. Also I haven't yet seen the anime so...yah. anYWAYS.

Starting first with Adam.....

To be completely honest, I have no idea how or in what way I became attached to him. I just knew that he was someone who I wanted to see more of and get to know a lot better.

...And then the encounter in the alien spaceship happened. I distinctly remember Adam talking about how he wanted to dissect humans and I, a humble player who hadn't yet played any of the other games nor heard of them, went; "Well, why can't he just find a cadaver somewhere?"

Anyway, then I got to the copied city fight, killed him, and finished the gameplay for the first time. Then...I saw more pieces come together through new cutscenes as I played route B.

...in some ways, Adam kinda reminded me of myself. He wants to learn; but there is nobody willing or able to teach him. I admire his ethic...ish?? (not the thing with 9S but the drive to learn)

He was curious but had nobody to turn to. And yes, his curiosity certainly leads him to his demise.

His argument of how humanity is fueled primarily by hate was interesting to see the first time around (during the copied city fight i ran around whilst saying "conflict! that's the better word to use!" or something like that).

....and that...that scene where he's holding Eve in the ark???

Despite ya know all of the destruction and death and threats, I really do believe that Adam wants to look out for Eve; it's why he dedicates his time to teaching himself and then answering all of Eve's questions, no matter what.

Stripped to his core, I think Adam is driven by a few defining traits; dedication and curiosity. That's why I love him so much. If he wants something, he'll do what he has to in order to get it.

it's hard not to love Eve. I don't think I can say much here that hasn't been said somewhere already.

But...regardless, I'll do my best.

From studying his character wiki, to playing the game, to seeing the way he handles the loss of Adam, it's very clear that Eve is an incredibly emotional being.

Sometimes I think of Adam and Eve as the two sides of the brain; Adam is the left, the analytical, and Eve is the right side, the creative.

He goes along with what Adam wants to do since he loves his older brother. The only thing he wants for himself is to be able to live with Adam in peace far away from people who'd try and hurt them.

If he'd been anywhere near the Copied City, he would have foughten tooth and nail to save Adam; I'm not sure how Adam kept him away, but it's heartbreaking to think about.

This is more of a headcanon of mine, but I like to imagine Eve as being gentle, yet deliberate with his hands. I see him as being the type to learn how to fix and repair things, so he could use those skills to fix his brother if needed.

this concludes my ted talk; the machine brothers will always and forever hold a place in my heart.

[summeroflove-if]

Hi! I just recently found about this IF, and I'll admit I sort of procrastinated with starting it for a dumb reason... the dumb reason being the lack of name suggestions at the beginning heh. I like to have a "canon" (or well, "semi-canon") name to pick if I want to, and when a game doesn't have any suggestions, I spend a lot of time trying to come up with a name, and sometimes I'm too lazy.

But I finally did it, and I found it quite enjoyable! I'm always a bit on the fence with reality show themed stories, but this one is nice so far.

The characters are interesting, and it's nice that we get the time and opportunities to get to know the ones we didn't pick or that don't interest our MC romantically too. All the more important in my case since the only character I can see as a romance option for my MC is Theo, and we can't even pick him. I just hope things won't get messy with Izzie - she's sweet but yeah, not my type and I can only imagine my MC as pretty exclusive anyway.

Aanyway! I'm playing on Noah's path though, considering we had to pick someone, and I like his platonic route so far, but in the latest chapter I've encountered some issues. It seems for some reason the game switched the relationship with him from platonic to romantic, which led to wildly out of character scenes that are clearly continuity issues related to coding First, early in the chapter, I had this segment pop up in the game: "He finishes changing before you even get halfway there, but he plants a small kiss on your cheek, "Find me when you're done." It seemed natural, effortless, and you can't help but smile at him as he leaves the room." I'm pretty sure it's the wrong text for my playthrough! And it continues on the next page, on which my MC goes to join Noah in the smoking area and is jealous because Amber is here and and he wanted time alone with Noah, and clearly the whole thing with seems sort of romantic in nature and out of place, continuity wise.

Next is what I'm assuming to be the end of the chapter: Back in the room, where Noah says how he doesn't want Vanessa to pick the MC the next day etc. It's clearly all stuff for a romantic relationship not a strictly friendly one. Also, he tries to kiss the MC and all, and well, I didn't go farther than that since it was just too strange to have this behavior from him, so I didn't actually finish the demo yet - I prefer to play through it when it's fixed - though I'm assuming I was not too far from the end anyway since it's the end of the day?

Anyway, sorry for being the bearer of "bad news" in the form of coding errors! I still liked it very much though, despite the hiccups.

I hope you have a great day!

So this comes down to me being an idiot - it's fixed now, thank you!

[cynical-gamer-media]

23 for the Triangle Strategy ask meme?

Any unpopular opinions?

From a writing perspective I think Benedict's Route is the most interesting route (thus my favourite). The fact that everything seems to be going so well, only for the ending to slap you across the face is done so damn well. With a negative character arc of Serenoa becoming a cold king, Frederica falling out of love with him and just staying to do anything to support her people, Benedict winning his quest of vengeance, the implications that Gustadolph is still in power, Norzelia crumbling due to capitalistic exploitations, Roland working with Idore to spread his teachings in hopes of saving others, it's all absolutely brilliant stuff. This route made me feel the most: I felt like shit after finishing it, and realising 'I am perpetuating (or going to perpetuate) the cycle'.

People saying Frederica's Route is second to Golden Route in terms of bringing prosperity and freedom to the most people is odd, for in her route the entire continent of Norzelia suffers an on-going war. Many innocent people are caught in it: civil war in Aesfrost, Glenbrook totally abandoned by Roland (which was bad writing; he should have returned, or the writers should have painted him negatively as a coward abandoning his people), Hyzante still being around and preaching its horrific teaching. It's heavily implied that Norzelia will collapse. Understandable Frederica puts her people's needs first and foremost, as she should. Still it seems odd that she has shown compassion to all [especially those who suffer oppression] and yet doesn't give a damn that the entirety of Norzelia will suffer. I really find it weird that a number of fans paint this route as Golden Route-lite/second to Golden Route, and that the only bad thing to happen is Serenoa's death???

All three non-Golden Routes are extremely flawed and show that there'll always be people left behind/to suffer: that's the point. Of course you can debate which is more beneficial, which is also a point and great to discuss, but in the end none of them are 'all lived happily ever after'. None of them.

Roland's negative character development didn't feel OOC when you play the right routes, BUT there was some clunky executions that made him seem to forget he believed in one thing then completely forgot [horrified by Hyzante's slavery, then forgetting they do that???]. (He doesn't truly believe in Hyzante's teachings; he just wants a quick solution, and falls for the trap of utilitarianism.)

Serenoa being Roland's half-brother amounted to nothing. The plot point could have been Benedict wishing to create a new dynasty to take the throne (as history has shown many times to have happened) as a fuck you to those who used Destra [Serenoa's mother] and nothing would have changed. The half-brother feels like the writers pulling a 'no homo' rather than a 'twist for twist sake'.

Despite Roland ammending in Golden Route and maturing, I still think he shouldn't have been king. Cordelia has always shown a willingness to lead, so she should have been queen.

The game's beginning isn't THAT talkative. It may have trimmed the length but I wouldn't have downright cut back on anything. Really I think there are only two cutscenes (not including Extra Story) that are over 10 minutes? The rest are usually 2 minutes, maximum 5.

I LOVE that each character is unique to another in gameplay. You have three-four healers yet they are so different. It actually makes me want to try out different characters!

There may be more, but those are the ones to come to my head!