#did the game really need to be a fucking gacha

[asuccessfulbusinessman]

While a lot of focus has been put on the RMT side of things (an important subject to be sure) ignoring the time investment required to gain this generosity is placing the other half of the predatory business as a given assumption.

The game still wants you to build a daily habit, the game still utilizes FOMO and sunk cost fallacy with seasonal passes, progression is slowed by design and certain content is there to played past the point of enjoyment to gain resources for the next "freebie."

"Just play it everyday" or even a more reasonable "play it everyday for a month per season" are still massive concessions to gain this generosity despite not costing a dime.

I'm even going to push back a little regarding curbing predatory practices regarding RMT - though this does fall more cleanly under "all gacha games are evil" - can you really say a practice isn't predatory if one isn't the target prey? Will the generosity given sate the true target (profitable) demographic - those collectors who strive to unlock every price of content and max it out?

Only legitimate criticism of Limbus Company I’ve seen is “All gacha games are evil and being pushed on us 24/7 it’s just slot machines that make you gamble your real money away made by greedy companies,” and I’m not saying this isn’t a fair criticism of an entire genre of games but Limbus Company’s gacha system does everything it can to not be predatory.

You can, conceivably, grind daily bonuses for maybe a month or two and get a rare unit without even touching your free gacha currency. You could save up Nominal Ego Shard Crates between Mirror Dungeon rewards and seasonal pass rewards (they just hand you NESCs once you cap level 60) and once you hit 400 you can trade them in for the specific SR or SSR-tier unit of your choosing. You can effectively get 000 units without even touching your free Lunacy. 

That’s not getting into how once you role a specific E.G.O. out of the gacha pool it permanently leaves the pool and thus increases your chances of getting a different one.

I understand it’s still ultimately gacha at the end of the day but Project Moon actively tried to do all they could not to encourage addictive gambling. Time will only tell if they continue to be this generous but for right now they’re defying every rule of what makes a successful gacha game up to and including curbing predatory business.

[frascospecimen]

“magia record anime isn’t worth watching” is a take I see every now and then somehow that’s just baffling to me like. O dont even know where to go with this post what do you mean. “the holy quintet barely even shows up in it” They dont even know about holy mami

[shalvis]

Xenoblade 1 is the best game like ever fucking made and it has two of the most dogshit sequels ever fucking made

[todayisafridaynight]

Every guy in Yakuza seems like they have enough social awkwardness for Tien to role his eyes at…

there's no feasible chance on earth any man can be more awkward than mountain man tien I'm Going To Hide From My Friends Every Other Year And Then For A Decade After Telling Them I'd Never See Them Again For No Apparent Reason And Only Coming Back Cause the World Was Literally Ending shinhan

[allpiesforourown]

Hey, so sorry to be using your inbox like a fuckin confessional, but getting that dream thing off my chest literally cleared my skin and I've just got this itch that needs to be addressed so I'm taking it out on you again. Reflecting on this thought the second after I had it made me think, "Oh, I get what Shen Yuan was on about now," and so here I am, typing this shit out ig. fucking embarrassing, anyway.

So, like. I watch those gacha react videos on youtube. Like a concerning amount of those gacha react videos, man. I fuckin love them so much, even if I wouldn't admit to it under pain of death to anyone I know or love. I have a seperate youtube channel I made under a fake email that I made specifically to watch them. It's bad. I remember back when it was just me and the FF.net filter system before they added the 'Without' section at the bottom and trying to find crossover content in the LoZ tag between games. 10th circle of hell; my 13th reason. Gacha react videos in concept are heavensent for my inner child, and on the rare occasion I find one of those 'fandom react' series that are active or complete and well done, it grants me joy on par with nigh nothing else.

This being said, I understand that the main demographic for this content tends to be a handful of years younger than me. I've seen community posts on some channels mentioning their time in college, but these are few and far between in my experience. I appreciate these teen's artistry in putting these all together, because god knows I'm not, but like,,, --and I know I sound like an ass right now but bare with me-- it feels like with the conclusion of Arcane came a flood of reaction videos with no real substance. I've watched upward of what feels like thirty seperate videos --at least,-- on the show and its the same ten to twenty edits I've seen on repeat and I'm watching them by pressing the skip key and catching half the dialouge only to come out the other side tired and a little miffed. Then I feel bad, because they created something and all I did was mindlessly consume and feel entitled to complain. Ugh.

Now, Because I've been cycling through these almost cookie cutter videos for ages --I used Arcane vids as an example before because its recent and relevant, but I do have this take for a whole slew of the fandoms I watch react videos on, and I picked this addiction up in 2021 so it's been a minute-- I've begun predicting the dialouge before it's come up and projecting what I hope the author will say. If I see a video with, for example, Giyuu from kny seeing Sabito in a video, I hope to see shock, yes, but also to see him comment or think about how he hasn't seen his face in so long, you know? Just... things that aren't just "OMG!!" or making the characters eyes widen. I've found now that I seek out these videos for the slim chance that they'll provide me with the satisfaction I get from these moments of true understanding with the presented characters.

Yes, I know that there really isn't any "true" way to understand a character, and that while we are all entitled to our own interpretations of media, the insistence that mine alone is more "right" or "correct" is bullshit, but I'm not saying that my preference has to be law, only that I get a rush of happiness whenever something I like happens to pop up in a video that I was already checking out of because it failed to really,,,,wow me. This is my bias speaking, of course, but its also the reality of my situation borne from overconsumption of this genre.

But anyway, onto the main point of how this relates to svsss. I was watching a video just a minute ago --an Arcane video, big shocker I know-- where there was a line from the creator's Vander character about how he wasn't ready to see Vi so grown up, because to him she's still his little girl. I thought, "Yes!!! This!! He's a father! He's showing realistic reactions to seeing your child suddenly grown up, and while he's proud of the woman she became, he still loves her as she is in the moment!!" ....I then watched the rest of the reaction, and was left cold and disappointed in the end. I'd clicked for Viktor, got three videos of him in a twenty minute reaction when the rest was the same four edits of jinx on repeat. Love you Jinx, but holy fuck. I thought then, "God, what a waste of potential." The creator of the video had insightful dialouge, clearly a decent grasp on character interaction, and the drive to create the video in the first place, but settled for pumping out another copy of the same video they've released three times previous on the same channel.

Then I thought, "Oh, like PIDW."

I need to get a life, Tumblr user allpiesforourown. If your blog wasn't so damn entertaining, I might even go out and touch grass one day. Take responsibility, damn.

(ty for reading my rant, if you did. have a good day regardless.)

I think you watching gacha react videos for characterization might be the one and only thing more baffling than Shen Yuan reading porn for plot. Hope you find gacha videos of Vander teaching his daughter how to ride a bike

[burningcheese-merchant]

I have. A few things to say! First of all, thank you for writing for here (and there, but I do not have an AO3)! I’m very in much love with someone going crazy for another and *mwah* do you do it right and justice! That said, prioritize yourself! Drink water! Eat! Do not burn out, and do not feel pressured to do stuff! I hope that your spark burns for long after this fandom!

Thank you so, so much for your kind words! I know you sent multiple asks, so I'm going to try to respond to the first two in one post, if that's ok! (I'll answer the PitayaFire one separately)

Don't you know that the truest, most profound kind of love is born not beneath the soft, pale light of the full moon, not in the sound of a pair's steps as they dance the night away, not within the warmth and security of a tender embrace, but within the walls of the solitary confinement cell in the "dangerous and violent" housing section of a psych ward? LOL jk. It's really fun writing a lovesick/obsessed person for some reason. I don't have this dynamic for any of my other ships, this is the first time I've opted to explore a darker, more uncomfortable and unstable route/interpretation of a "relationship" and it's honestly been a blast lol. (I DO also ship mutual BurningCheese, but under specific conditions, AKA Burning Spice has a redemption arc and GC falls for him on her own. I just can't justify them being together if he's still evil. So long as he is, the love is one-sided)

I really am grateful for your compliments and encouragement. I've got a super big and important BurningCheese fic in the oven rn, but I do need to actually focus on real life for a bit, so it'll be some time. I'll be posting drabbles on here and a fic or two on AO3 where BS is NOT dangerously insane, just a regular asshole who's down bad lol

You can rest assured that my crazy diamond will continue shining on long after I get tired of these games about talking cookies. I always loved writing, it's my favorite hobby and it's my only way of expressing my creativity since I can't draw to save my life. I actually have a 100% original work I've been tinkering with for a loooong time, but I always wanted that story to be told in comic form, and to do that... I have to learn to draw lol. (And that's... a really big mountain to climb. I want to climb it more than anything, but I don't know if I can. Feels like I keep slipping and falling on my ass every time I try to take and retake the first step on the first rock, you know? Idk how anyone does it, honestly...) In any case, I'm truly grateful for you and everyone else who bothers to look at my work and actually thinks it's good for some reason

Did you see that gacha animation though 👀 The way BS is looking at her 👀 y'all can't tell me he ain't thirsty. Look at that twinkle in his eye. Look at that smile. He wants to tear up more than just those wings, I'm telling you 👀 Shadow Milk is a silly billy, he thinks puppet shows and gaslighting are how you flirt with people. Mystic Flour is probably just like "what. What is this. Who is this man. Why is he handsome. Why do I feel this way. Emotions are futile. Love is ephemeral. I will not stray from the path. I will trap him in my mind prison and torture him. That will fix it. He will surrender to apathy. He will return my soul jam. He will see how smart and correct I am. Cloud Haetae will sing my praises to him until he believes them. Yes. That is what will happen. Victory is mine. I am Very Normal about this." Burning Spice? Down horrendous. Down crazy. When GC is there, it's like no one else is in the room. Won't stop smiling. Only mentions the Soul Jam once, focuses on her specifically the whole rest of the time. First real thing he says to her is how much she impresses him. Throws a tantrum after their fight essentially because she didn't step on him hard enough. Down bad. Down bad. Down bad. Ain't no way he isn't. You can't change my mind

Sorry for rambling. TL;DR: Yo Socrates, it's a fucking cookie (also thank you for your support)

[thatdeadaquarius]

Hallo! You know who is someone I don’t see many people appreciating? Ganyu! Imagine a neurodivergent creator reader who is the one that finds her when she’s going through one of her crises when she doesn’t know if she belongs with the humans or Adepti and reader can understand her because that’s how they feel as well about life?? And about their old world and sometimes this one??

I feel that they could potentially bond over that and maybe even realize Ganyu is also somewhat neurodivergent in some way?? Or she’s very socially inept in some ways and reader can relate and share in those worries so the two just sometimes sit together shoulder to shoulder and just not say anything and just relax and everyone is confused??? Anyways that’s all for me, keep up the great work! :D

-Bonk anon

GOD, NEURODIVERGENT ASKS, JUST HAVE MY WHOLE HEART IN YOUR HANDS 😭😭🤲🤲💙💙

JUST TAKE IT I DONT NEED IT-

ALSO LESSER ASKED FOR/LESS POPULAR CHARACTERS??

SIGN ME TF UP-

Ahhh, look at her... I would die for her, kill for her... either way, what bliss ✨️

also fuCK mihoyo, she’s fat and beautiful and so thats how she gonna be written. 😤

saw this in my mailbox forever ago and as i was workng thru them, was just like, “damn that Ganyu ask is so close im so excited to write abt her <33”

☆

Sun: Neurodivergent!Reader, Gender Neutral (they/them)

Orbit: tiny scenario +headcanons

Stars: Ganyu, my dearest.

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: talk of low self-esteem & Trigger Warnings: talk of low self-esteem, neurodivergent struggles, talk of missing meals (ganyu wants to schedule out her lunch-breaks).

when you’d initially explained to the (actually scarily strong irl) genshin characters who’d been claiming all kinds of wild stuff about you (”The Last Descender! The World Player!”)

you’d been in Liyue at the time, and out of everyone, the first you could see believed you were a mortal on Earth before (and not ruling it 💀) was Ganyu.

She’d looked shocked, like the others, but you could quickly see her get more and mire visibly twitchy and excited as you explained further

(rlly unlike the just,, utter confusion on Xiao’s, Zhongli’s, Shenhe’s, and Cloud Retainer’s faces, so convinced of your divinity there’s no way you could be human- even just acting like one-)

but you did, and Ganyu loved it.

you actually didn’t interact much for the first month you were stuck in a gacha video game (the other alloegenes, gods, adepti, and citizens, including international, pulling you around for opinions on this and that)

But one night you couldn’t sleep (the Qixing provided amble spacious housing in a temple already apparently dedicated to you, one you’d never seen in game)

It’d been… a rough day.

Everywhere you went, miscommunications followed, and you still didn’t really know how to mask properly around these just- well, since they were real, aliens

sure, they mimicked stuff about humans, but not the people/culture you’d mostly been around, (and the adepti had their own code of behavior, which was so complex you’re sure they should’ve made an actual social behavior manual by now)

but you just couldn’t escape the endless cycle, not only that, but your executive function had apparently forgotten to keep up with some important appointments or otherwise things you had needed to get done earlier, so you were scrambling to send a late letter to Fontaine inventors who needed to get the project started in 3 days, which is how long the letter takes to get there, oh gods, and you needed to check on Inazuma, apparently Seirai island is getting lightningy again and the Raiden Shogun wants you in person as soon as possible to aid her with it, but you need to attend a Knights of Favonius meeting in 2 days-

Yeah. You were stressed, and honestly? crumbling under the pressure.

So you’d snuck out of your rooms (dodging the patrolling guards) and went to the office of the one person who knew who’d understand

Ganyu. Scribbling and mumbling in her office to herself, late into the night

She’d jumped at you slipping in without knocking (avoid the Milieth at all costs, even tho ur literally god and you’ve been told you can do whatever you want mostly)

and knocked a whooooollleee stack of papers to the floor, scattering it everywhere 😭

you’d scrambled to start picking them up,, but then she stops you frantically saying “No, no, it’s okay, it’s not a big deal I promise, there’s no need to cry over these silly papers, heaven-sent!”

what??

oh.

oh no.

it’d just been one more thing you’d messed up on top of all of today (and tbh this whole month whirlwind of becoming some kind of god of the continent)

and Ganyu was, Ganyu <3

she was sweet and kind and so overwhelmingly helpful, how could you make a mess of her life too-

“Emperor? Huangdi?”

you’re just sitting on the floor now, but you startle when she gently holds your upper arms, calling your name very softly, so soft if she wasn’t saying you actual name you’d think she was talking to something else, something precious to her

the qilin guides you up, easily supporting your weight, she directs you to her couch, and manuvers you into laying your head across her plush thighs, the half-adepti’s pants aren’t as skin-tight like in-game, they’re actually the cosiest fabric you’ve ever laid on (or maybe that’s just a combination of your fragileness and her thick thighs)

she rubs your shoulder and back, offering a tissue (when did she get that-)

and that’s when you know you’ve chosen your first friend in Teyvat perfectly :)

◇

you sneak out nearly every night for those first few months in Liyue (not including travel, which you tried to limit or you’d both make an excuse why she needed to come with lol)

just to sneak into her office, and you’d nearly cried a second time on her when she offered some notes about both standard human and adepti behaviors (after all, she’s had to study them both to fit into both)

Ganyu learns to do your hair and you do hers 🥺 she can’t bring herself to trust anyone to cut her hair but you, and you always try to do styles that don’t get in her way <3

like buns with a braid wrapped around it, or two space buns (Keqing didn’t say anything but Ganyu gossiped to you about how she could see a little smile on her face whenever she ran into Ganyu that week, obviously cutely thinking how they matched)

While of course the first thing Ganyu did was propose to help you schedule/manage your time so you wouldn’t have to rely on your non-existent executive function-

you’d also made sure to literally plop ur chin over her shoulder to make sure you saw “break” AT LEAST once a day, now that she was incorporating herself a little into ur schedule too (Ganyu fought tooth and nail to get rid of that lunch-break, but then you threatened to also not eat, and she caved so fast LMAO)

(bc she’s a die-hard workaholic ofc she wants this, after you heard abt her schedule in-game you’d thought it was lucky she was not fully human or she would’ve dropped dead, but now even moreso watching that horror in real time 💀)

which!! she!! is so!! (at this point you usually just squeeze her round cheeks a little too hard before then wrapping your arms as far as they can go around her torso and squeezing even harder-)

After a couple of “your trauma 🤝 my trauma” nights, she honestly understood really well where your limits were so to speak, what you could and simply couldn’t do

and was the first one willing to explain to people you have executive dysfunction (and was quick to cut off any “just try harder/pull yourself up by your bootstraps/just believe in yourself” nonsense when if came to your disabilities, even tho those were few and far between moments if any)

afterall, people had expected the same from her, and she frequently fell into that thinking herself (it also didn’t help that as you tried to give her a normal schedule at first, which benefitted her human side more, it felt like the Qixing was stumbling to keep up with the supernatural workload now being distributed)

Ganyu knew it had been your influence originally that helped her when she’d had her workload lightened/then followed by the traveler when she ran off

(and regardless of the truth too, when you’d finally gotten the courage to tell her how you actually interacted with Teyvat, unable to steer actions from what the plot dictated)

she’d still attributed it to you, (”well, you could’ve always just picked up your things and left, yes? But even if it was ‘pre-planned’ like you say, you still wanted to follow through and were… ahem, h-happy for m-me, right?” you’d smacked right into her you stimmed so relieved)

You didn’t exactly know how to explain it, bc everyone was really accepting,

from citizens to nobles, officials and guards, to vision-users, gods and other supernatural beings that inhabited Teyvat

no one judged you for unmasking/stimming, but in that way that meant they didn’t really understand what was different about you, they just knew you were and they’d still decided to treat you with the same adoration anyway

but Ganyu,

she treated you the same but knew what stims you did when you were happy or excited, what ones comforted you, what your latest verbal stims were, and what your “classics” were (u never had to tell her, she just learned them quick and all on her own, bless this woman 🛐 )

Ganyu understood all the good and all the bad and saw you unmasked and still laughed so hard at your jokes she fell into your side and always asked another question about your hyperfixations/interests

you’d quickly realized there were a lot of neurodivergent overlaps between stuff Ganyu did and what you did

(whether or not she herself was, you just assumed yes based on what you researched, but there wasn’t any official testing in teyvat)

it makes more sense to you after applying the neurospicy filter to all her actions why she’s so obsessed with work (she hyperfixates on certain projects the Qixing has going, and has a long-term passive fixation on scheduling/stationary/related office work stuff)

but this also meant you understood why she was always asking for more about you, your mortal world, your time here, where you wanted to go in teyvat, what you wanted to do, how’d you feel when the game did this to someone, what about-?

needless to say you couldn’t (and didn’t have to 🥲) contain your stims at knowing you became a slight hyperfixation for her

she got all embarassed and blushy about it!!! <333😩 (and did that cute thing where she just kinda sways in place holding her hands together when bashful or nervous ✨💔✨)

unrelated to above, but your favorite thing (besides sightseeing or eating at yet another new restaurant in liyue) to do together is go do something childish

like playing children’s games (hopscotch, or hill sliding in ganyus case) from both ur childhoods

u thought itd be a good idea to get Ganyu to relax a little more and have more fun outside her job!

(again, unrelated bc idk im scattered with these headcanons, the cryo user loves when you help her pick new outfits at stores not bc she wants to impress u what)

ok last unrelated headcanon i promise,

Ganyu wasn’t overly affectionate before, honestly she was always going too fast to stop for those kind of casual touches (and when was there time in her old scedule)

but after a month of getting comfortable around each other, she subconciously gets up from her desk (mid-reading a file/carrying it with her lmao)

and sits on her office couch, making room for you to lay on her (and she is the perfect pillow)

(you dont point it out, you know she’ll get too embarassed, and you refuse to lose Ganyu cuddles <3)

☆

im so glad im not the only one who took one look at Ganyu’s problems in life and was like, “damn im neurospicy, ur so right, blue-frosty-magical-half-deer-secretary-woman”

btw it’s on the masterlist “turn on the background music?” but here’s really long playlist I made for sagau stuff!

mostly game music but also other fun songs i hope fit, mostly based of my blog so it’s not dark (as the other playlists under SAGAU search on spotify looked dark too lmao)

Safe Travels Bonk Anon,

���♒

I mentioned making a kofi before, but I think I’ll start including it in posts too if u guys dont mind!

An iced coffee? For me?? :O

☆

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks

[felony-bunny]

Malleus x non-gendered reader

Scenario: Malleus doesn’t understand how mc doesn’t fear him. He doesn’t know if they’re brave, dumb, or not afraid of death. Spoiler they’re all of the above.

Btw I’m on chapter 6 and have no clue what happens in the next chapter.

LETs GET INTO THIS MOFO

(I wrote this all forever ago but I thought that I could add more to make it better but I was wrong. For some reason this was so fucking difficult. This isn’t the first time I’ve done a oneshot too. I literally do not think that I could write anymore twst oneshots because of how bad this came out. I’m literally so sorry. You can read if you want but I hate this so so much. And also sorry for the wait.)

Most people feared Malleus’s strength. That’s what he was used too. He usually didn’t focus on people enough to care but you were different. He could understand how you weren’t scared before you know how he was but even after you found out you still called him by that silly nickname and acted the same towards him. Every once and awhile he tries to think of a reason for this.

1.) You are actually really stupid

2.) You’re some sort of narcissist and think you two are on the same level

3.) You have short term memory loss

4.) You’re stupidly brave

5.) You do not fear death

He crossed out 2 and 3 after hanging around you for a bit. But even after all the times you two have hung out he still hasn’t been able to understand how you work. One day his curiosity took over and he asked you outright.

“Child of Man?”

“Yea yea?” You absent mindedly replied as you balanced on some old bricks.

“Why don’t you seem to fear me? You have many reasons to be.”

Well standing on one wobbly brick you looked up at him “Why should I? It’s not like you’ve hurt or threatened me.”

Do you not realize how much of a threat he can be?

“Still…“

“Still what? Listen I get you’re pretty overpowered, like everyone wastes money on pulls for you in Gacha games kind of overpowered.”

Huh?

“But you’ve been nice to me and that’s all I really need to trust you.”

He didn’t like the next words that came out of his mouth but he needed to know

“Child of man, I could easily kill you. Do you know how much of a danger I could be to you if I chose to?”

You both stand there for a minute.

Did he mess up?

Did he bring up something you haven’t thought of and now you were scared?

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I mean if you ever did kill me it would suck but whatever.” You look down at the brick wobbling.

Did you just say whatever at the possibility of being fatally injured?

“Why don’t you value your own life?”

“Is that really a question? What about my life actually has value? I mean it’s not guaranteed that I’ll go back home or that I’ll be able to start a new life here and if I do go back let’s say three years later I’d have to go back to school and waste a shit load of time and money on it. Honestly there are millions of things that could go wrong. It’s pretty difficult just existing here and not knowing what’s going on at home but whatever.” You jump off the brick and continue walking “At the end I just have to believe that things will string together and I don’t have to worry.” You spin around to face him and smile.

You say the weirdest things but still enchant him every time. Your a brave idiot who doesn’t care about how badly things could end and just put it up to luck, but that made him love you.

He smiled “I see. My apologies that was a foolish question on my part.”

[genshinconfessions]

Honest to god, the more I see people behaving like actual monsters or children throwing a temper tantrum over characters not having skin as black as the abyss the more I flat out just do not have the capacity to care. I get it sucks that the characters aren't being diverse enough, I get it, but throwing death threats, slurs and god knows what else at the devs while behaving like spoiled rotten brats just makes me not care to any degree. If people can't behave like ACTUAL ADULTS and genuinely have polite points to say other than "Time to attack the devs again/slander the VAs or whoever for agreeing to go with this" whenever a character isn't dark skinned, they have no one to blame but themselves if the devs elect to not listen to what basically amounts to spoiled two year olds not getting what they want. I genuinely feel bad for people who want more diversity but are less hateful and end up being lumped in with the assholes who think threatening the devs lives is a okay, and I also feel bad for anyone genuinely excited about the Natlan characters getting absolutely harassed and ripped to shreds for not "thinking they're ugly for not being dark enough". I feel like if the fan base were ALOT LESS VITRIOLIC about the issue of diversity the devs would likely listen more. But as it stands now I can't wait for the harassing and death threats being thrown around to die down again so I can actually browse genshin twit and tumblr again in peace without having to worry about running into anyone being genuine human trash towards the devs over the color of fucking pixels. I've got enough stressing me out like grieving the loss of a parent, I don't need people being assholes to add to it and it sickens me that they don't see anything wrong with how they're acting. I'm just. I'm tired and wish people could be less like bullies or arseholes for once over a silly little gacha game they claim to love yet act like this. Sorry for this being a long confession, I just needed to get this off my chest cause it's been bugging me and stressing me out so much since the Natlan teaser got released whenever I've gone to look at Genshin stuff practically everywhere lately.....

i'm very sorry for your loss :( and if it will help you feel less alone, i generally agree with your sentiments.

for me, i am a pretty staunch hoyo defender (evident in previous posts when we used to comment on asks more frequently), but i must admit, i was slightly disappointed in the natlan characters since i believed the fan edits with darker skin did look better, and i wished hoyo would have listened to the intl fandom regarding south american/african/indigenous poc things.

that said, it's never okay to send death threats to anyone for any reason. i'm sure the devs are a lot less willing to make changes if all they're getting is death threats and, like you said, vitriolic hate. constructive criticism helps ppl realize where they're wrong and how to fix it; unconstructive criticism is generally useless and tends to be ignored.

the societal issue of colorism runs very, very deep, both in asia and generally around the world. it's not something that hoyo can fix singlehandedly by changing some characters. granted, i'm sure it would set a very good example for future game devs, and it would be really great if they did listen to intl feedback! but if they choose not to, that's not smth we can change their minds about.

side note, regarding a lot of the 'natlan is colonized' comments, we don't know the story yet. it's possible that hoyo will address it as social commentary, or it might be something totally different. leaks and the search for instant gratification have really made it difficult for people to enjoy a drawn-out storyline, and that's really sad.

we've said this a lot on this page but i'll say it again: why spend so much energy hating fictional media? if it no longer brings you joy for whatever reason (i.e. you dislike the natlan characters), stop playing. if the fandom is the main source of negativity, stop engaging with the fandom, block users and tags, curate your own experience. if you claim to hate everything about it but continue to engage with it, that's quite hypocritical and unconvincing.

in any case, if you like the game well enough to keep playing, keep playing. you don't need to justify your reasoning to anyone, and you definitely don't need to fall into a trap of radicalized (and dare i say often performative) social justice.

[catlover34]

Aether x Male!Reader

not a request

★⌒ヽinnocent love confessions..

★⌒ヽ word count : 2,836

i procrastinated this shit sm it took so fucking long to finish.

-——-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-

“Alright, I’ve booked the rooms.” Kazuha announces to the group. “We have to leave by 11:30 in the morning so be prepared to wake up early.” 

“Finally!” Amber cheers, relieved to finally be able to lie down in a bed after sitting in a cramped car for hours. Her cheerful expression dissipates when she hears she has to be up early. “Come on..couldn’t you have made it later!” She whines loudly shaking Kazuha by his shoulders. The group knew amber absolutely despised waking up early, her being late to her college classes daily proving it. 

“If you didn’t stay up late everyday playing video games, you’d actually come to enjoy being up early.”(M/n) teased finding Ambers despair amusing.

Ambers puffed her cheeks as she crossed her arms  glaring at (M/n). “Unlike you, I have things that need to be done!” 

“Oh yeah? Like what, gambling all your money away on gacha games?” (M/n) shot back, a smirk planted on his face. 

“I—Well!-“ Amber’s face bloomed as embarrassment filled her body. She knew (M/n) had a point there so she was unable to come up with anything say. Just like how their squabbles usually ended, with Amber left red faced and speechless. 

“He got you there Amber.” Aether chuckled at their bickering. He was already used to their harmless fights. They were entertaining, and he couldn’t help but want to tease the loosing side of their little argument. 

“Alright, Alright.” Tomo interrupted before Amber got a chance to make another comment. “Enough bickering, we have to get to the hotel before we have less time to rest.” 

They all agreed, beginning to finish the last of their food and ask for the bill. Amber still muttering curses under her breath at (M/n). Tomo took the bill graciously, as he always did. Despite the group always offering to split the bill he never allowed them to. Being the oldest of the group he didn’t want to make them worry about the payments. He really sounded like a middle aged man in times like these,  despite only being 26 years old. They considered him the father of the group, him being the one to make sure they got home safe after a party, or reminding them to eat if they haven’t. 

Immediately when they arrived to the hotel Amber knocked herself out in her and fischls shared room. Not even checking to make sure their room was safe enough to spend the night in. One of her careless habits was that she was too carefree, which meant she would often overlook some pretty serious stuff. Fischl despite being the younger of the pair was considered the more mature one. She never hesitated to check every nook and cranny when she stayed in unknown places. The germaphobe in her never failing to send her nerves to the moon. After checking the room making sure to confirm it was safe to sleep peacefully in she comfortably lay in her bed as her tiredness finally set in and she drifted to sleep. 

Kazuha and Tomo took turns showering before they went to bed. In the group the two were considered the parents. The fact that they were a couple played a huge part in their harmless nickname, but it wasn’t the only factor in it. They took no short amount of effort in taking care of their group. Tomo was the older one, but they made it seem as if him and Kazuha were around the same age. You should’ve seen the look on Amber’s face when she found out Tomo was 26—three years older than kazuha. She still refuses to believe his age despite all of the evidence leading to it.  

After taking turns with their showers, the two changed into their most comfortable clothes and headed to sleep. Of course not before their daily kiss and words of affirmations. This was the part about them the group despised, their clear displays of pda sending bile to their throat. It almost made it seem as if they were a newly wedded couple.

Aether and (M/n) weren’t too far from Fischl and Amber in terms of playfulness, but amber could never compare to the two. They seemed like a match made in heaven the way their personalities aligned almost too perfectly. The two were closer to each other than they were to anyone else in the group. Knowing each other in high school probably played a big role in that but even then, it was hard to believe they only knew each other for a few years. They seemed absolutely enamored with one and other but its not like they would ever admit it. 

“(M/n)? You wanna shower first?” Aether inquired, staring up at (M/n) from his sitting position on the bed. 

“Nah, I’m too tired. I’ll wake up early and shower in the morning.” 

“Mm..Alright.” Aether hummed as silence filled the room once again. 

(M/n) made his way over to their shared bed sluggishly. After finally getting a moment to rest it seemed his tiredness dropped onto him in an instant as he yawned quietly. 

“Alright I’m heading in.” Aether announced softly not really expecting a reply. 

(M/n) hummed in response turning over on his back and looking up to the ceiling. He thought back to everything they did today, as he usually did before going to sleep. His mind drifted to many different things, glossing over interactions he had with people, or how good the food tasted when he ate. After his brain ran out of uninteresting topics to babble about in his head he finally drifted over to a certain topic. His longterm crush as well as his current roommate, Aether.  

Immediately his face bloomed once Aether’s face appeared in his mind. He thought back to when he first began liking all his tiredness immediately washing away. He couldn’t help but fall for him over the few years they knew eachother. During his freshman year he had to be transferred in the middle of the semester which set him back a bit in terms of making friends. No one wanted to be friends with him simply because they didn’t want to go through the trouble of having to get to know someone who they hadn’t already built a bond with. Aether was different, he didn’t care whether or not he transferred when there was only 4 months of the semester left. He just wanted to be friends with him, and that simple action sent his pulse skyrocketing. 

Just the idea of Aether gave him a giddy feeling in his chest as a smile quickly spread across his face. He brought his hands to his face as he rolled over in the bed unable to contain his excitement. He knew he probably seemed like a lovestruck highschooler to others who knew about his crush, but he couldn’t help the way his heart felt. 

“What’s got you smiling like that?” A voice inquired interrupting his train of thought. 

His heart seemed to stop beating as the very subject of his smile caught him acting like a teenage girl. He almost snapped his neck looking over to aether who stood at the shower door, hair which was usually tied into a high ponytail laying neatly onto his shoulder as a towel lay loosely in his hands. 

“Aether! Jesus—you scared the hell out of me.” (M/n) sucked in a breath. His face was still visibly red and he hoped the dimmed lights of the room covered it at least a little. 

“Mmm..” He hummed, brushing off his words. “So? What you cheesin over there for?” He teased walking over to sit down next to (M/n). 

(M/n) chuckled nervously doing his best to get Aether to drop the subject. “Just—Nothing really. I’m just happy to be on this trip with you all.” He smiled at Aether. That sentence wasn’t exactly a lie, he was extremely happy to be going on the trip but that definitely wasn’t the topic of his thoughts.

“Ah really? I was thinking the exact same thing.” Aether replied as it seemed a burst of energy spread through his body. “I was thinking how I really appreciate you all, I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t meet you.” He smiled warmly at (M/n) adoration filling his eyes. 

(M/n)’s face burned red as he went mush. Aether was too cute, and the fact he was the object of his appreciation sent his pulse skyrocketing once again. The loud beat of his heart in his chest was definitely getting harder to ignore. He didn’t know if he was overanalyzing things or if his feelings were blinding his judgment but it really seemed as if Aether reciprocated his feelings in that moment. He almost wanted to confess his feelings right then and there, but he knew it would be too sudden to just confess his feelings with no explanation. 

“Yeah..me too.” (M/n) managed to force out, his brain still trying to wrap his head around Aethers words.

“On the topic of the group, I’m so jealous of Tomo and Kazuha.” Aether sighed laying down on the bed next to (M/n) with his face towards the ceiling.

Still thinking about Aethers previous words the only words that registered in his mind were “Jealous” and “Tomo.” The moment he registered those words his heart sunk into his stomach as disappointment immediately began filling his body. He stayed silent as he listened to Aether’s complains still trying to work out the fact Aether may have had a crush in Kazuha. 

“I’m happy for them definitely,” He paused turning to face (M/n). “But no matter how hard I try, I don’t think anyone could love me like they love each other.” 

“I don’t think that’s true.” (M/n) blurted out sitting up to look at Aether. His heart hammered in his chest knowing there was no way to back out now. “Aether, you’re a great person. You’ve helped me so much throughout the years we’ve known eachother and I don’t know where I would be or what I would be doing without you.” 

“You’re beautiful Aether, inside and out.” (M/n) paused trying to get his words organized and not screw up. “And I don’t know how to express to you how much you mean to me.”

Aether was speechless as red quickly began making his way up to his face. He wasn’t expecting such a heartfelt confession from (M/n) and he sure as hell wasn’t expecting to be this flustered. His heartbeat quickly sped up as he met (M/n)’s eyes. Seeing no trace of dishonesty in his eyes,  made him even more flustered. The moment he began sweating excessively was when he knew it was over for him. You would think someone with hyperhidrosis would sweat profusely in every part of their body, except that wasn’t the case for Aether. When he begin sweating all of the sweat pools in his hands making his hands overtly moist.

”I love you Aether—More than you could ever think.” (M/n) exhaled quickly wanting nothing other than to run away and show his face again. He pushed down those feelings knowing he would never get a chance like this ever again and he couldn’t just give it up all because he was scared. He felt his heartbeat in his chest as his nerves shot to the moon. He tried as best he could to seem stable in Aether’s eyes but he was seconds away from crumbling from the inside out. 

There was silence for awhile, the two of them both trying to process what just happened. Aether was  red as a beet millions of thoughts racing through his mind. He looked up at (M/n) who he couldn’t really see well because he had his head faced downwards and away from him. He swore his heart stopped beating when he noticed the redness in (M/n)’s face. I mean who would have thought? His crush from the moment he began highschool suddenly dropping down a confession on his head? It was unexpected, and he didn’t even have any time to prepare. Still that doesn’t change how happy Aether felt in that moment. He almost burst into tears when he heard (M/n)’s words. 

(M/n) on the other hand was a hot mess. He was full on shaking now the anxiety and worry was hitting him harder than ever and Aether staying silent was not helping his case. He could feel his heart sinking to his stomach as tears brimmed his eyes. Now he thought back to their friendship sure that he ruined everything. So it came as a shock to him when he felt Aether wrap his arms around his torso whispering in his ear how much he likes—no—loves him. 

“(M/n) I love you too..” Aether sighed into the nook of (M/n)’s neck. His face was still burning and he felt mushy inside but there was no way he was gonna ruin this chance with (M/n). He hugged (M/n) tightly as if he would wake up and this would all be a dream. Now the two were sitting facing eachother with Aether cuddling against (M/n) closing any sort of space they had. 

Now it was (M/n)’s turn to be speechless. Sure he had received many hugs from Aether the few years they’ve know eachother but this was different. This time it was filled with love and admiration as well as the confirmation that his confession had been reciprocated. He almost jumped out of his skin when the complete opposite of what he thought was going to happen didn’t even happen at all. He couldn’t help it now, the tears he tried so desperately to hide spilling out from his eyes like a fountain. They were happy tear’s definitely, but all of the emotions (M/n) was feeling all at once needed someway to release. 

The moment Aether heard (M/n) sniffing he snapped his head up to look at him. He almost lost all moral reasoning when he saw how (M/n) face. Somehow even with tears flowing out of his eyes he still managed to look gorgeous. It really seemed as if God himself blessed (M/n). He snapped out of his trance as (M/n) looked at him trying to speak but no words coming out. 

“(M/n)..You look so beautiful right now.” 

(M/n) paused if his face could get any redder it was, he almost felt lightheaded now. “Shut up..No I’m not.” He spoke between sniffles the intensity of his tears pouring out lessening. “..Does this mean we’re official?” He whispers even though he already got Aethers words of confirmation he still had to hear it one more time just to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating. 

Aether smiled nodding his head as he snuggled into (M/n) once again. They sat in silence for a moment as they enjoyed eachothers company. The two cuddled together for about 20 minutes before (M/n) asked the question he had wanted to for so long. He took a deep breath and looked into Aether’s eyes his nerves finally calming down.

”Aether..Can—Can I kiss you?” (M/n) intertwined him and Aether’s hands looking up at his face for any sign of disgust or discomfort. 

“Are you sure? You don’t have to kiss me just because we’re dating now. If you’re uncomfortable please don’t try to force yourself.” Aether looked at (M/n) with sincerity in his eyes a look that never failed to make (M/n) mushy inside. 

 “No..I—I want to.” He mentally cursed at himself for stumbling over his words, red seeping onto his face once again. 

Aether said nothing and nodded his head moving closer to close the space between the two. Once again he looked at (M/n) for confirmation resuming once he earned a small nod from him. Softly, his lips met (M/n) and it was all he’d ever wish for in his life. It felt like heaven he was almost sure he’d never he able to kiss anyone ever again if it wasn’t (M/n). It lasted for ages (M/n) softly biting Aether’s bottom lip as to ask for an entry. Aether gave that entry happily he almost felt drunk on (M/n)’s taste. 

He brought his hands to (M/n)’s waist pulling him closer, wanting to taste more of him. It wasn’t until (M/n) pulled away for a breath of air did Aether realize how lightheaded he was. His brain was mushy as the kiss lingered on his tongue. He didn’t know what (M/n) was doing to him, but he wasn’t protesting. The two were both panting for a breath of air, a new atmosphere lingering around them. 

“I love you so much..” 

[mobiuslab]

Reverse: 1999 seems unreal; too good to be true.

The reason I even took notice of it in the first place was its soundtrack. I hate jazz, but they made a jazz song that I actually like, and then there's ReReReRegulus!, what a banger. And then I watched the trailer, to get a feel of what the game is even about. First of all, the accents! Hello? I normally always play games in JP, but this game seems to be set not in some fictional world, but in our real world, in the real London, so the British English dub would be so much more immersive (but of course there are a lot of familiar JP seiyuu, I'm very conflicted.) If this game, unlike Genshin, has a good voice director, who actually does their work and tells the VA's how the character is supposed to sound, I might play in English tbh. As a former FGO player, traveling to the past isn't an entirely novel concept to me, however, we are going to the 20th century, which is quite interesting. I mean, think about it, the 20th century of our real world, there are so many fascinating historical events. And it seems that they are putting in much more effort in portraying the zeitgeist of the era than FGO ever did. The artistic direction seems to be on point for this game. Apparently there is a main character, with a canon personality and fully voiced dialogue. Hoyo making Honkai Impact 2.0's new MC a self-insert was the stupidest move, and I'm so glad that this game understands how much better a canon protagonist is. It really convinces me that they care about storytelling and characterization. The general artistic direction is so impressive, but the game itself also surprises me. The base rate of 6-stars is 1.5% (compared to Genshin and Star Rail's 0.6%) AND the soft pity starts at 60, with hard pity being at 70. There doesn't seem to be a weapon gacha and the dupes only increase skill multipliers instead of completely changing how a character can be played. At first, I thought it was unfortunate that pick-up rate was only 50%, but every character joins the standard pool, so losing the 50/50 won't be nearly as bad. Unless the gacha currency economy is completely fucked, this seems extremely generous. The combat is thankfully not one of those god-awful auto-fights like Blue Archive or PriConne, but it's turn-based, which is much more engaging, allowing for challenging battles that actually pick your brain and require some skill.

However, there is an auto-mode for the mundane stuff, and get this, you can record your actions, rather than having an AI do everything wrong. And thankfully, there is no PvP, so you don't need to compete with whales. Knowing all this, I really have to wonder, where is the catch? There must be some huge flaw, right? It is as if the devs of Reverse: 1999 looked at all the complaints and criticism of all other gacha games, and just decided to address all of them. As long as the game doesn't have a huge reliance on meta characters to clear endgame content and event-limited content and the writing doesn't absolutely suck, then this game might be the perfect gacha game. I'm so excited to give it a try!

[muffinrecord]

Are you gonna go over to exedra after JP shuts down? I know you said in one post you aren't a big fandom person, and it was just MR itself but I'm just curious, I guess. Probably because you've been a huge info source in my on and off again relationship with JP, you've probably said it somewhere and I just don't remember but maybe you changed your mind, idk.

I'm not sure if I'll play Exedra or not. I need to see what the gameplay is like before committing. Granted, we only have one screenshot so far, but I don't really like how the 3D looks. Additionally, as boring as the gameplay eventually became, I liked that it's it's not something timed and that you take turns and things like that.

Another thing is that so far the very limited marketing has just been the Madoka 5 and a green kyubey. One of the reasons I loved MagiReco as much as I did was all the characters. The lack of inclusion of other new characters (not even MagiReco ones, just entirely different ones) makes the new game less interesting to me. I like the HQ but if it's just different variants of them then my interest isn't going to be captured very well.

Even if I did play... I don't really want to get heavily invested again; I do not have the personality type for gachas. My lack of impulse control and FOMO made this a very expensive game for me, and it only became worse when I started to archive things. I don't really want to go through that again.

Lastly, I want to work on my webcomic thing, which has been kind of shelved for the moment. That's got other stuff going on in the background that's made it difficult to commit to (mostly medication, fuck insurance!!), but magireco took up a surprisingly large amount of time, and now that it's ending I want to enjoy it while it lasts while helping the community where I can, ya know?

I'm glad I could be a source of information for you, that makes me happy to hear. One thing I've heard from folks is that my little old blog got to provide information (and enjoyment?) for the game, and that makes me really happy.

Hope you have a good one!

[teddybeartoji]

MICKEY MOUSE HOW ARE YOU LIKING HSR SO FAR :333 WHO DO YOU LIKE ?? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS??? I NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

i also love u lots <33 i hope u are doing so so well <33

OMGOMGOMGGG!!!!!!!! HII ALEXIS HIIII:3333333 EEEEEEEEE I AM LIKING IT A LOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i didn't like it for a minute bc i was getting my ass beat so hard that i just wanted to leave and sulk in a corner for the rest of my life but then our lord and saviour ari saved me by telling me that i am, in fact, doing the wrong mission lmao that was really stupid but i am very excited to now do somthing else other than to fight those fuckass bugs😒😒😒😒

OH MY FAVOURITE SO FAR IS SAMPO . i need to kick him in the balls<3 HE'S SOO FUNNYY EEEEEE I LOVE HIM SO BADD!!!!!!!!!!! i also really really like himeko!!!!!!!!! i loved playing as her she's so cool wow MMMMMM I THOUGHT THAT GEPARD IS ALSO REALLY CUTE HEHEHEHE I WISH WE GOT TO SEE MORE OF HIM!!!!!!!!!!!! OH AND AND NOW I DID MEET ARGENTI IN THE BUG MISSION TOO HE'S SO FUCKING SILLY a loser knight... flirting with a plant.... i need to marry him right fucking now...........

I JUST FINISHED THE FINLAND PLANET I MEAN THE ICE PLANET AND I'M REALLY REALLY EXCITED TO PROGRESS IN THE STORY AHHHHHHH I WANNA MEET BOOTHILL AND I WANNA MEET AVENTURINEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I THINK I'M GONNA LIKE THEM A LOT HEHEHEHE

also hello why is this game so unserious wdym i spent like an hour yesterday just playing hotel management simulator.................. that was genuinely so fun lmao i'm not complaining at all it's just so funny that such a thing even exists there BUT YEAH I AM HAVING FUN OVERALL TOO!!!!!!!!!!! it's definitely a lot . since this is my first ever gacha game but i think i am slowly but surely getting used to the gameplay:33333333333

[mars-ipan]

hell yeah for the driving progress :D i still need to learn to myself lmao

for some random questions...

how's the prsk going? i've been distracted from it the last few days.

do you speak any other languages? any you'd want to learn?

any hot takes on DR you don't see talked about?

THANK YOU!!! it’s scary but i’m better at it than i think i am and also i Love My Car (veronica aka ronnie my darling <3333) so. progress yay!!

to answer your questions:

pretty solid! i haven’t been playing as much but i do my dailies (i want that 30 consecutive days title and then the fc grind goes until i stop having fun) i got up to master rank songs a few days ago and omg they are SO hard i always have trouble quickly reading charts with a bunch of hold notes in ‘em and “do shit with the hold notes” is basically the main gimmick so i’m getting. TURNED AROUND !!!! but it’s fun also. AND THESE EVENTS ARE BEING NICE TO ME MY GACHA LUCK IS IMPROVING !!! I’M PULLING MORE 4 STARS :D thank god for that i was gonna go crazy. i can finally start leveling non-vbs characters (almost have my birthday akito maxxed out tho… just need to get his skill up one more time <3)

i’m not fluent in any languages other than english BUT !!! i took 3 years of spanish in school and bc i live in texas i maintain enough of what i need to know to have a (very broken) conversation. i tried to learn japanese for a bit which WAS really fun but i have a hatred for duolingo and when it got to kanji i very quickly realized that there was no way in hell duolingo would be able to teach me kanji. so i haven’t been back since. i would love to properly learn japanese some day tho. and there is one more language i really wanna learn! that being german ^_^ my dad was stationed in germany when he was in the army in the 90s and it left an imprint on him so i grew up with a fair bit of german culture stuff (mostly food (i could fuck UP a bowl of saurkraut don’t even need anything else. though mustard is nice. ouugh and wurst i love german wurst)). like in my household it’s normal to say danke/bitte in place of thanks/you’re welcome. and i loveee the way german sounds. i was actually gonna take a college course on it! but uh . that was the semester i had to withdraw from </3 maybe i’ll try again tho i’ve been wanting to see what minors my school offers.

oh god dr hot takes . hmmmm. let’s see if this one works: i think a lot of western fans (americans especially) are Not Very Good at recognizing the cultural context that dr exists in. it is very much a story that is Set In Japan and western fans…. do not always get that. i think it can be fun to go “what if i viewed these characters through an american lense” (there is a reason priest au is set in the midwest. i wanted to see what they’d be like in american culture) but a lot of the time people will like… criticize the writing of the game over just. cultural misconceptions. nothing in particular is coming to mind right now for examples (which . kinda relieved i do not wish to invite discourse) but it is something i’ve seen in the fandom and i wish there were less of it. this even goes for the poor writing choices btw— like yes we can absolutely criticize kodaka for some of the writing choices/jokes he makes, but japan in 2010/2012 (my issues with v3 bias me too much to have good commentary wrt this and also iirc kodaka was less involved with the writing here) was not exactly the most progressive place. (neither was america btw but ppl don’t always like to admit that). so like one writer isn’t gonna be capable of being perfectly sensitive of everything— i doubt he even knew much about some of the things ppl criticize dangan about. am i saying he Did Nothing Wrong and everyone is being mean? no. there is some nasty shit in these games. but we gotta like. acknowledge that this was a series that started in japan in 2010, and nobody knew it was gonna take off and get translated to english. like english speakers are NOT the target audience n i feel like a lot of people forget that. the stories get so much more interesting when you consider them from a japanese cultural perspective imo. this isn’t ace attorney we can’t japanifornia it. it is Important that they are japanese because one of the main things danganronpa is is a Criticism Of The Japanese School/Work System. like it is integral. anywho i’ve rambled about that enough i think

[mymarifae]

idk how to put this exactly but I 100% get what u mean. Sometimes a gacha game will somehow actually have good writing (like. Actually decent acknowledgement of real world issues that isn't perfect but shows CARE) and then it does something that just fucking puts a hole in your stomach for no fucking reason and it's like. It had no reason to do that and it fucking hurts to lose that little bit of faith u had. Sorry if this is written incomprehensiblely I hope. Idk I hope they fix that shit even if it's unlikely

oh no you misunderstand ! i wasn't upset yesterday because mizu5 was written badly. i was upset because it hit so fucking hard it sent me into a bit of a mental breakdown but we don't need to talk about that HAHAAAAAA

i still think it's bizarre to like. not immediately continue an event that quite literally removes a character from the game's "real world" and changes all of her menu sprites and voicelines. like wdym we have to go watch vbs beach episode after this (unless akito5 IS a continuation but that's highly unlikely...???????) . but the event itself did play out really well. and an event having a direct impact on the game's like... UI and shit is really cool and they should totally do this again sometime if the opportunity arises. it just hurt like a fucking bitch

i honestly do feel like the trans route is more likely than the cross-dresser route. after seeing. everything. i still don't know how to articulate it fully but just the specific way mizuki's classmates were talking about her. the "(she's) kinda cute if you ignore how weird (she) is" shit idr the exact comment... and the way they call ena a "normal" girl - meaning that even though they're actively misgendering her, they don't exactly see mizuki as a boy either, but instead as some kind of weird Other. a very apt representation of transmisogyny i'd say.

and just mizuki's reaction to ena finding out as a whole. the revelation that she wasn't really afraid of nightcord not accepting her - i think she knew they wouldn't exactly care. what really scared her was being looked at differently. nightcord was the first time she's been accepted into a group of people as just... a girl. not a trans girl. not a "girl who used to be a boy." she could just exist and be herself and no one's giving her any side eyes or whispering behind her back or walking on eggshells around her, because they don't know. they thought she was a cis girl, and having a space where she passes perfectly made her really happy. she was just scared of change. because like sometimes you come out to people and they do accept you (at least to your face) but YOU are no longer the first thing they see. they see your gender/sexuality first instead. and treat you differently because of that

IDK I'M RAMBLING but like. i feel a little more hopeful... this could still end badly but this feels so much more like a trans narrative than anything else. so far it's going well. it hurts a lot, but it feels real. i was just distraught because mizuki is such an important character to me and i wasn't like, emotionally prepared to see her in so much pain LOL 😭😭 i feel better and more normal about it now tho

[unohanadaydreams]

Notes: Draft excavation is going well, if you can't tell. Hope you enjoy being a shiny new bunch of pixels for some blorbos.

WOULD THEY PULL FOR YOU IN A GACHA GAME:

Izuru Kira:

Yes. Absolutely. He’s been waiting for you to join the pool since the moment your model leaked. He joined the fanfiction contest to win your merch (and loses). The rush of joy from hearing your voice line when he pulls you brings tears to his eyes and he absolutely ignores how concerning that is.

Akon:

He will and he’ll shamelessy whale. He’s too busy to farm currency and it’s not like he’s strapped for cash. 100% he’s working on a VR model of you as soon as you’re announced. You’re always on the team no matter how useless you are on a given mission or level because he loves a challenge.

Shuhei Hisagi:

He blames the fuck out of Izuru and Akon for getting him addicted to the game—and worse, excited about a bunch of pixels. But he is, so excited. He joins the fanfiction contest for you (and wins). And he sacrifices half a week of lunches to pull you. Your phone charm is proudly displayed. He is wrangled into even more debt to Urahara for the merch conversion.

Rangiku Matsumoto:

She saw Shuhei’s phone charm, thought it was really cute, and loves the idea of a phone game to pass the time during all the time passing she does on the clock. She gets you on her first pull and shows Shuhei. “Look, it’s just like your cute little phone charm!” Her rng luck is so insane that both Shuhei and Izuru have her pull for them (it doesn’t rub off).

Nanao Ise:

Although she very much did not appreciate Rangiku downloading a game on her phone, she did give it a chance. In secret. Facing away from any windows. She doesn’t care much for the gacha aspect, but finds the game play passable. She diligently does her dailies & events and that’s it. It’s alright stress relief. You go unpulled.

Shunsui Kyoraku:

Shunsui easily finds his way into Nanao’s phone and discovers your game sitting right next to a shogi app. He downloads it and is delighted by all the characters! He doesn’t understand how to play but skids through the tutorial. He pulls for you, fails, and doesn’t understand how to pay for currency. He does take a screenshot of you and ask Nanao ‘Let me borrow them from you!’ He barely escapes alive.

Harribel Tier:

Shunsui flaunts your game around in their monthly Peace meeting and she demands an upgraded soul phone. Much like Shunsui, she doesn’t understand the game. But she wants to pull for you. Her three adjuchas bicker endlessly over small print until they figure out how to pull and the most effective way to pull in consideration to chance percentages. She treats you like a tamagotchi (that needs no care and doesn’t die).