#especially the Xen one

[joosbasschick]

New year, sick again, what's new 🤡🔪

Once my sinuses/ear infection clears up I plan on putting out two one-shots.

My bestie and her sister are at Disney and I'm also stuck with Laryngitis so I can't talk or have anyone to talk too. Gives me plenty of time to write stories!

My upcoming one shots will be-

U -Xen of Omega X

You and Xen go for a coffee date and talk about old memories, and maybe a lot of comfort time for you both, too.

And

Dreams -Jaemin of XEED

Meeting Jaemin was one thing. Befriending him was something you never expected- just like the text he sent you before he went to bed...

[wolfietheangel]

- another cog in the murder machine.

[dove-da-birb]

my camel is looking like a llama so far. in my defense, ive never drawn either

Well, camels are related to llamas! BUT LOOKS GOOD!!!!

[carnographix]

Black Mesa OST and Black Mesa: Xen OST by Joel Nielsen. You agree

[spaceistheplaceart]

another hlvrai char analysis thing: benrey's insistence on "going back"

lots of people attribute this to benrey not wanting to be the final boss. but i think he's trying to delay the end of the game, trying to delay his permanent death.

most video games end, and after they end, the game is shut down. what happens to the characters inside once it's shut down? they are shut down, too, "atom by atom". imo it's like going to sleep- you're falling asleep one second, then nothingness, then you wake up. But when the game is shut down and not turned back on, you don't wake up.

Benrey has known it was a game from the beginning, so he's basically got the attitude of someone who's been told they have three days left to live. Benrey is going to use that time/his life to fuck around, have fun, etc. And he does! But during the later half of the game/streams, we see him start to insist on "going back", especially before the final zone of the game, Xen.

This is because if Gordon goes back, he gets further away from the end, and this extends the game's playtime. This extends how long Benrey and everyone else gets to live.

I think this also could tie into why Benrey is the final boss. Of course, it makes sense in canon because he's not human, he's the most antagonistic, etc... but what if he chose to be the final boss as a last ditch attempt to extend Gordon's playtime? If he keeps killing him, keeps making him re-do Xen over and over, then he also keeps himself alive.

(but then after Xen the game doesn't shut off... Benrey is still alive, the game is still running. His whole life was spent preparing for his death, and now it won't come. I wonder what he does with his newfound life in hl2vrai...)

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Because @hermesserpent-stuff is now part of our platonic yandere X-Men fan club (the Xen Evolution part of it), let's explore platonic yanderes Sabretooth and Wolverine for Gambit, and possibly Reader:

• Sabretooth is very obsessive. He likes someone, he starts tracking them, starts stalking them, will do anything to keep away or kill their enemies. Any bit of kindness, from someone who expects and wants nothing of him or from him, is usually the way he gets attached. (The other way is if his brother Logan has someone he's protecting, or if his brother is involved involved them somehow). I headcanon that yes, Sabretooth and Wolverine are brothers, and that Sabretooth is the older, more dangerous one.

• Reasons in any au or Evolution verse he'd like Remy include but aren't limited to: helping him while he's down, giving him a gift, sharing food, doing him a favor, or helping him when it comes to Logan. Ways Sabretooth's darker platonic nature are brought out include: finding out about abuse, past or present; his person of interest possibly dying or getting hurt; his person trying to leave; or even his person/s being taken or kidnapped or experimented on...

• Wolverine is the sort of platonic yandere who's also protective and obsessive, but is less likely to dole out a physical punishment than Victor. I can see Logan seeing Remy, a scrawny teenager, stuck working for Magneto, and decides "yeah, new kid to adopt, Xavier I'll be back, get a room ready-" and not wait much longer. If he sees sincerity in Remy, then he's definitely wanting him as another kid (he has a whole group, but never has he said no to another cub/kit/pup to take care of and huff over)

• Logan and Sabretooth would both be very... vocal, about liking this untrusting teen. Especially if Remy was nice to them or helped helped out. Those two will purr, maybe not in front of everyone, but if it's just them, then yes. Remy falls sick? There's homemade soup or stew being made, they're making themself a heated blanket for him, and making sure he takes his medicine. Someone hurt Remy in the past, badly? Well... that person disappears, is not hears from again, and Sabretooth has a new scratching post and Logan has one more threat to his kids dealt with. It's cold outside? They're shoving a sweater over Gambit's head, pushing mittens or gloves on his hands, and warn him to wear thick socks and boots...

• Gambit, if he's platonic yandere, tries to appeal as suave, fun, and trustworthy. He is the type who once he's fallen for someone, romantic or otherwise, he can't stand the idea of not loving them. He's the sort who will act sappy, will cook food, tries to go on fun trips (it might be a kidnapping of Reader to go do something together), and is loyal to the end. You are interested in him? You want to sincerely, genuinely, truthfully be friends? And you don't care or don't know about his past? Oh dear, you won't be able to break this friendship. He wants to hang out with you all the time. Doesn't want to do anything unless it's with you or for you. Makes an odd friend trio between him and Rogue, and now they're both platonic yandere over you. And in this scenario, with Sabretooth and Wolverine being platonic yandere over Remy and the other teens and team members, then they're likely platonic yandere for you as well.

(Let me know if y'all want to see more headcanona for this, or want to see platonic yandere pair-ups between characters. This was pretty fun!) @sugar-soda @vivid-bun @danni1323 @weebwholovesuchihasasuke @opossumdaydreamz @thewickedweiner @ainsellshadewalker @bloodytea @roxanndrummond @hermesserpent-stuff

[officialdaydreamer00]

House fire

ROLLO FLAMME — in which one can predict a student exchange program might go south real quick

COLLAB WORK with @unfictinalnightmare for [The chimes of comfort]

CONTENT — takes place after glorious masquerade, our yuusonas (hillary and irene) are yuu, silly shenanigans with hillary and irene, rollo will show up soon :)

TAGGINGS — @cloudcountry @identity-theft-101 @xen-blank @esmerulia-chantelle @dove-da-birb @cookiesandbiscuits @vioisgoinginsane @siren-serenity @loser-jpg @axvwriter @aqua-beam @edith-is-a-cat @minimallyminnie @thehollowwriter @taruruchi @cyanide-latte @ferris-thewheel + others :3

Do reblog or comment if you enjoy my work! ^-^

Chapter 1: An undeniable request || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5 || Chapter 6

"WHAT?!"

"As I have just said, I want the two of you to act as our representatives when Mr. Flamme arrive to Night Raven College in the next student exchange."

The headmage offered the two girls in front of them a smile. Black and white, blood red and sea green, both were staring at their 'beloved' headmage with a look of utter disdain.

"Wait, pause- Who the hell is Flamme?" Hillary gave the girl next to her a confused glance before averting her eyes back to the headmage. Irene only sighed, taking off her round glasses as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Rollo Flamme, Noble Bell's rep and School Council President, he was our guide in Fleur City."

Irene was still haunted by that incident in Fleur City. She thought it was a rare occasion to relax after weeks and months of doing errands for the damn crow, but no. Seven knew he was plotting such a devious scheme.

"Indeed, ahem... Since the student body were rather, well, hesitant when speaking about him, so I believe you two are the best option as his guide in the upcoming exchange program." Crowley said joyfully. "Oh, and by the way, Mr Flamme shall stay at Ramshackle Dorm in the short duration of the program, I truly hope the two of you can do your best to accommodate him."

The headmage went on and on with his monologue, ignoring every signs of refusals from Hillary and Irene.

With Irene and her unforgettable experience in Noble Bell College, she was rather afraid of Rollo still. Who knows what could happen during the entire program when he faced NRC's students, especially her upperclassman Malleus. It would be one hell of a meeting, and like hell she wanted to be the one cleaning it up for the nth time.

With Hillary, who wasn't on the list of students on that trip to Fleur City, her impression about Rollo was practically zero. And it wasn't like she could ask Irene or the others since they wouldn't peep a single word. Though perhaps that was enough signs to guess this Flamme guy was anything but a saint.

———————————————————

"I refuse."

Hillary immediately shook her head, cutting off Crowley's ramblings as he squawked in surprise. Not like he could force her to do his biddings anyways.

"I also refuse."

Irene followed her lead and answered as well, seeing how Hillary gave both of them a way out. It wouldn't hurt to work with that troublesome girl if it meant one less baggage on her shoulders.

"Oh no... Why must you two treat me, the kindest and most beloved headmage, that way? What a hurtful thing to hear from the Prefects themselves..."

Hillary and Irene could only watched in exasperation as the headmage blabbed on about his so-called kindness and hard work. However, the headmage was never an easy person to deal with, he gave them an unreadable smile.

"Nevertheless, as a careful teacher I am, I have come prepared! So I am counting on you two, Trein-sensei, Crewel-sensei."

———————————————————

Only after one long session of persuation from two most respected professors on campus, using various tricks and techniques, did Hillary and Irene agree to it, albeit reluctantly. Though it was a golden opportunity for them to upgrade Ramshackle dorm even more. They couldn't let that infuriating headmage win that easily.

"Fine. I promise to lend you some ingredients for your magic research." Crewel shook his head and sighed, looking at Irene with a tired stare.

The little dark pup excelled at everything and destroy every challenges thrown her way, which he was proud of as a Professor. Only that she was so damn stubborn and had a penchant for dark magic.

"Thank you, sir!" Irene smiled as she happily accepted the deal, thinking about all the things she could get from the Potions professor's laboratory.

However, if Irene was already headstrong, Hillary was completely, utterly a hardhead. Trein and Crowley even had to use the library key and give her free reign to it for her to agree.

And so the preparation the student exchange program began...

[janichroma]

🎉Q/A Answers!🎉🎉

There's a lot to parse here! Warning that there are some spoilers of current content in here! So please tread carefully!

Q1.) I'm very curious about Death Wings. Do all of them exist in a similar state to Robo-Ren, where their true bodies are asleep and they pilot a mechanical suit, or is there something that differentiates them?

Ren is an exception. He's the only one who pilots a separate body. The others are in their own!

Q2.) Which Rejuv characters would be most likely to start a podcast together?

Adam and Valarie probably have a lot of deep 3 am conversations so with a little help from Saki, those two would def make a podcast. Other highlights are Saki+Erick and maybe Texen by himself because he just talks about how women are objects or something i dunno.

Q3.) Are you absolutely sure this is a good idea? Are you being held hostage?

I deadass thought i was gonna get 10-20 questions at most..... So yeah its a good idea.

Q4.) So, half servants. They’ve been so confusing to me. Until 13.5 I was just under the assumption servants were just infertile lol. So, do half servants like…. Inherit any powers or anything from their servant parent? Like, the ability to teleport and things like that.

Servants cannot reproduce when they're first created/in their generic form, but when they transform into their own person they gain a soul and they are then able to reproduce because they're just like any other person. It's just that their origins are different. Servants can still use their magic, but their children cannot. Although, I bet their children -do- inherit some traits from their Servant parent. Probably like just having above average strength/speed etc. That's not universal, though.

Q5.) How come Tesla doesn't let Amber bring us to the villa after the gym battle now?

Well... When two people love each other very much...

Q6.) Do the executives of Team Xen and most importantly Ren have the green gem somewhere on their body that marks them as members of Team Xen?

I wonder...

Q7.) I know in the past, you said that you haven't seen any correct guesses as to the identity of Madame X. Has that changed since the release of 13.5?

Pretty close, but no cigar.

Q8.) would crescent like yuri/gl

I banish you to the hungry worm dimension.

Q9.) i know that some characters, namely tesla (and maybe jolene?) call themselves "honorary" members of the elite 8. is there any specific reason for that? also can roboren run doom this is important.

There's no specific reason other than it soundin' fancy. Roboren can run tetris so maybe!

Q10.) What are the perks/ benefits of joining Team Xen? ( asking for a friend )

Amazing health care, and amazing investments in your 401k.

Q11.) I wanted to ask, which character has, for you, the most chance to surprise us in future updates? Be it badly or greatly.

i can't answer this because it gives too much implicit information!!! Sorry!!

Q12.) what pokemon teams (or just ace pokemon) would characters you don’t ever battle have? for example, volta, eizen, martin, rune, eden, etc? will we ever fight any of them?

I don't want to answer this either because we will probably have an opportunity to fight -most- of these people here, but for Rune it's already established to be Rapidash (Ace), and Eden would probably have a Blissey somewhere.

Q13.) How close of friends are Amber and Crawli? I wanted to ask since they're both Gym Leaders of Terajuma and around the same age, especially when Tesla and Amber moved to Telia after the incident.

They're not too close. They know of each other, and have spoken, but it's mostly a "friendly landlord" kind of relationship. They only talk when it's necessary... Not that Crawli is a landlord, or has any bearing on Teila.

Q14.) Hihi, what are somethings that have changed from version v12 (and also v13) that you really like/are proud of? And are there things you miss from previous versions, but you had to get rid of for any reasons? (I'm personally absolutely in love with the redone Terajuma stuff and especially Crawli, and also the redone Ryland scenes but that's because I'm biased.)

Terajuma 100%. I LOVE Terajuma now. I used to really despise it, evidently. But I think it's so fun and has a lot of nice moments. Valor Mountain still sucks, though. I have a huge urge to simplify that place, but then i'd have to redo a certain scene later and i dont wanna bc it's already perfect. Suffering from success... As for things I miss from previous versions... I can't think of any right now because I love where we're at rn so I guess I don't miss anything? There are certain scenes like Melia with her long hair flowing, but outside of small instances like that, nah!

Q15.) If in the nightmare school "Jean" was able to manifest flora's explosives from the dreams of GDC's citizens... Where could he have manifested A Gun from??

Probably the police station, tbh.

Q16.) What's your personal favorite part of the game thus far?

Honestly Chapter 2 -> to the end of Terajuma is so much fun to me. Not that the other chapters aren't, but that part is comfy. I also love Renegade Route chapter 0.

Q17.) Now if I'm remembering correctly, you mentioned that Venam was supposed to be just a side character at first. What made you decide to change her role into such a major one? Also how did the Melia/Venam come about?

Yeah so, Beth was actually in Venam's spot if you can believe that. Yes, the same one that sells Moo-Moo Milk. We already had a prominent blonde character and Beth wasn't boring or anything, she just didn't add a fun dynamic with Melia. Although back then the formula was more rebornified. Meaning characters rarely traveled together and they kind of just showed up when they needed to. Now characters are constantly always traveling with you and stuff. Not that the old format is bad, it's just a different take. I brought Venam back because she's Melia's best friend and it felt real weird that she was not involved -at all- compared to her and Ren. Their relationship came about because.. Well, I kinda just knew. Venam was always a lesbian in my head, and Melia is def the character that would love anyone if they gave her the chance to love them. It just felt right?

Q18.) 1) When was Eizen conceptualized? 2) What is one funny story about developing v13.5 that you can share? 3) Were there any pieces of media you took inspiration from while writing Renegade(mainly Central Tower)? 4) Do you have any plans of making more games after Rejuv?

Yall are cheating with the multiple parts!! Anyway, Eizen was conceptualized sometime in v13's development, but he... she.. they... were just a concept at the point. (stick a pin in that) 2.) A funny story? Hm... I honestly can't remember anything rn. Probably just some bug that caused us pain and it was super simple to fix. 3.) To be honest, I didn't take any real inspiration for Renegade. I actually went into doing that route without knowing exactly what I wanted from it. But the pieces sorta fell into place and im in love with it lol. M2 was always going to be a character in the game, it's just that she was never named M2 and was more tragic than unhinged. M2's personality was altered slightly because I wanted Renegade to have SOME sort of a balance, and a partner in crime (sorta) felt appropo. 4.) Yes, I have original games in the works AND plans for at LEAST 1 more fangame after this. I'd like to start from scratch with all the knowledge I have now. Though, it wouldnt be nowhere near as long as Rejuv. I'm talking like 4-5 releases. lol.

Q19.) Wanted to ask how renegade!MC perceives Clear/Kieran, the 3 choices we have to respond to Clear asking us to go see Clear all seemed cold towards her. I guess they aren't a potential new friend group?

They are a means to an end. The MC is not close with Clear or Kieran at all. They barely even talk outside of the instances we've already seen. Maybe that'll change?

Q20.) This has been a matter of contention between some friends of mine and I. How old is Odessa? I'd assumed she was below 18 as she's not taken the throne so she might not be an adult and her dad's in charge until that happens, but they think she's an adult. For something less serious, who in Rejuv's most likely to start a ponzi scheme, and who's most likely to buy in.

Odessa is likely to be around 25-ish. She's a legal adult, and is in line to be Queen of Kristiline, but their family line already holds so little influence and power that Aquis just makes her a figurehead and manages things on his own. Kind of a Cinderella of situation? More similar but not 1:1. To be honest? I figure Aquis hopes Kailani to return one day and assume her duties because he likes her more (Even if he abused her the same way he did Odessa.) As for the ponzi scheme... I feel like Thomas Jr would make one and Texen would fall for it.

Q21.) Who is the hardest character to write consistently?

Honestly? Melia. She's given me the most trouble despite her being so prominent. Im good at it now I think, but before I never knew how to write her because anything I did came with criticism lol, and still does, but now I don't really give a shit. Amber's a close second.

Q22.) When Crescent fell down the cliff, did she get the interceptor contract then was asked to become a storm chaser? The events seemed to have happened close to each other. Curious since the hags serve Variya, so only 1 of the 2 parties could've asked her both, but that wasn't the case.

Yes it was shortly after she fell. To be clear, the sparkle the protags saw was the sparkling of water from the moonlight above. So they knew it was "safe" to push Crescent. She could have died but she had a chance to survive a situation where the alternative meant certain death.

Q23.) Will the Elite 8 even be able to be battled on Renegade? I imagine Karrina would replace Karen if Karen dies on Paragon, and Karrina doesn’t get pushed, but she eats the Deletos on Renegade if you don’t push her in Castle Zygara, and it made me wonder.

The members of the Elite 8 may be battleable, but not in an official league format. That's all I'll say on that.

Q24.) I'm still really curious about emma, things that come up in my mind a lot is the part where she looks to be used by variya to speak to melia during the part where amanda knocks her out, and during pearl route when we see the note signed by someone with the same name- emma. because of this, I've been pretty curious about this disguise thing the space hags gave melia. did they- or variya gave them orders to- pull the appearance from the deceased emma? does this mean ... they're the same person?

The name part is merely a coincidence and acts as foreshadowing. Melia reads the note and is like "Emma...?" and wonders if she would share the same fate as the ones written on the notes, and then lo and behold she has the same condition.

Q25.) This question is regarding Renegade route: Do the 6 years that M2 and our chosen host were lost in that alternate world match up with a version release that is outdated, or is an in-universe timer that we shouldn't overthink that much?

Honestly, that wasnt the reason for 6 years but now I wish it was that's rad as hell. But no the 6 years isn't even 6 years. It's an unspecified amount of time that passes that she perceives as 6. They both couldve been down there for a million years and they wouldnt know. The area they're in is similar to the chasm where it wears down your mind after long exposure. Maybe that's how Melia could take such a bad turn in life. The protags are always optimistic to escape though so they are able to hold onto their mind.

Q26.) #1 spector fan here asking questions about him since he probably won't get much spotlight outside of one quest... what was his life like before taking on the reserve leader role (other than what we already know, like where he lived,) and what are his interests outside of the paranormal, if any? thanks for the opportunity! love this game a lot :^)

Spector is a history buff and loves to do Goth Gf things like take strolls in graveyards at 3 am 🥰🥰. Probably spent most of his time in the District of Hope. He also likes exploring ruins and abandoned buildings. Not limited to Aevium tbh.

Q27.) I know Eizen seems to be a strictly side quest character, but have K/C or the hags ever tried contacting him for recruitment? His research seems too valuable to go unused for them.

Eizen has absolutely no interest in either of those groups. If they even tried to do anything he'd noclip out of the room and fall out of bounds and then die half life 1 style.

Q28.) :3c what are some characters that are trans if i may ask?

Ryland - FTM Party Girl - MTF Alain - NB Aero - NB V - Genderfluid Eden - Genderfluid

Q29.) would angie still possess alice in renegade? :0 super curious about it hihihi

Whatever happened passively in Paragon (Meaning Cera being abandoned, Alice getting possessed), STILL HAPPENS IN RENEGADE, we just don't see it because the trail of events that led to us seeing them in Paragon do not happen. So... in Renegade, that means Alice is still...

Q30.) How did the aftermath scene from defeating the hags on renegade come to be? I'm very curious

i assume you mean the Tera Raid parody? Well, it came up on my playlist on the train and I was feeling chaotic. what if in rejuv but deadly ?

Q31.) who's the shortest character (excluding the younger kids >>)

Probably either Cera, tbh. She's a short lil one. I don't have canon heights for characters outside like an estimation. But in my head Cera tiny.

Q32.) Hello! I would like to ask, Did the interceptor, before the SS Oceana be attacked, have fake memories of a life alongside Nancy? Since Crescent wanted the MC to have a normal life, I always wondered If she created new memories to make this easier And if I can ask another question. What is/was the criteria to someone see the MC appearance correctly? Huey and Lavender saw two different ones, while Aelita saw the correct one(in my case she saw Alain when asked)

Crescent did not create memories for the player. They just started acting weirdly and stopped talking to her. They then started to behave the same way you, the player, does. Believing that what is happening is real and has always been real (Because this is all the information you have right now), so Crescent takes this opportunity to try and let go by giving you a better (but fake!) life. It's why she sorta distances herself a bit (but not too much) so that you could integrate yourself into that delusion. We love being neuro <3.

The criteria is pretty ambiguous intentionally, but for me it has to do with personality and connection. Aelita always sees who you truly are because shes so close with the player + she has envoy shenanigans going on. If you would get along with Alain the most, the player would show themselves as alain etc.

Q33.) Any disclosable reasons why the rift dex now only has 2 remaining entries instead of 3 like in v13?

It's probably just a discrepancy that happened due to shifting over code bases. The number of slots left is not indicative of anything.

Q34.) hello jan!! hope you’re doing well :D is there any more information or random various facts about the androids (clear/kieran/eden) that can be said that ISN’T spoilers? it’s ok if not! i’ve just been curious about them all lately, especially in regards to how eden’s powers with emotional manipulation work.

Nothing too interesting about Clear or Kieran that isn't spoilers and isnt known already, but as for Eden... Eden was eccentric and had a personality thats real close to prince peasley from superstar saga LOL. I feel like Eden would have a catch phrase like "Mon Cherie", and flip their iridiscent hair in mockery. Eden's manipulation was very devastating. You would feel an immeasurable amount of joy when inflicted that you would give over any information because youre... happy to! But it was also very deadly. If exposed to it for too long you become way too happy to the point where you lose the ability to function normally. You'd fall into a happy-apathetic state and collapse and just lay where you fell until you starved or died in some other way. Because you're happy to! Everything in moderation, guys.

Q35.) Hi jan!!! quick question — why do you hate me why did the renegade route do that /real/ question though…. My buddy found some like… older stuff about Eizen in v13’s files. Something about a girl named Ærika?? (Idk if thats even connected but whatever) How did Eizen come to be? What was the process?

Hi remember the pin I stuck earlier? Ok we're unpinning that now. So, Eizen was originally a woman (So happy for his transition), And her name was Ærika. But we already had so many girls in the game and I wanted to create more male characters so then Eizen was born. I'm glad for it too because Eizen is way more interesting than Ærika. Eizen/Ærika came to be when [redacted]. I can't explain his origins quite yet, sorry! But one day you Will Realize.

Q36.) Hi Jan, thanks for the amazing game! In Alamissa, before we get yeeted into the past by Kieran, when Ren gives us sylveon and, um, Nancy’s remains, he mentions that he has stayed (even after breaking off with crescent) with xen for an important reason… but won’t specify. Later, he says the reason is because he wants to help nastasia. But the alamissa convo happened before ren met Anastasia (baby version). Did ren want to help nastasia before he met her past version and learned that she was…

Ren didn't know who she was at that point, but Ren has seen Nastasia in vulnerable points (that we havent seen... yet?). She has discussed with him that shes looking for someone prior to Alamissa, but she was very vague about it, and still is, but she's opened up a lot to Ren over time.

Q37.) This is probably a weirder question but will all of the main leaders, even the ones we battle outside of their gym duties have custom moves? If not, would it be safe to assume the main leaders use the moves of their reserves?

All leaders have custom moves. Reserves use the move the main leader does! They have TM's for these, but they aren't allowed to give them out to winners. At least, at the moment!

Q38.) what was your favorite part of 13.5's development?

Making Renegade Route lmfao. It was so much funnnnnnn. I cant wait for the rest.

Q39.) what’s the EoN experience like for someone going through it? If that’s too spoilery, what was the most surprising part of people’s reactions to .karma content?

You're getting scrubbed. It looks painful, but it's painless... and seamless! You literally cannot process what is going on. As for most surprising, I was surprised people loved M2 so much. I mean, I had a feeling people would like her, but she really took off and that makes me happy bc shes so fun to write.

Q40.) Hi Jan! My question is this: Will Melia and Venam get back together somewhat in the future? Or will they just stay friends? (Paragon route)

Who knows...

----------------------------------------------------------------

An extra question im throwing in here because ive seen a lot of talk around this character.

Q1X.) What inspired M2? M2 was conceptualized to be more of a tragic character, but I felt like Renegade needed some balancing out mood wise, or else it was too much of a drag. M2 was inspired by an insecurity of mine, actually, or I guess less so an insecurity and more of a question a lot of us ask ourselves. What if? What if I did this differently? What if I was born elsewhere? How different would I be? When Covid first started running about and I thought the fate of our lives was about to be cut short potentially, I started thinking about how I lived my life and how much I missed out on certain things. M2 is that. She gets a second chance at life and decides she wants to be everything but Melia because she's already lived that life and it turned out poorly. Hence the name M2. The second version of herself.

A song that inspired me is Immaterial by Sophie (Rest in peace)

2:03 is important

Now that I have a second chance at life, "I'll be anyone, anything, any shape." I mentioned before that your archetype powers manifests as your deep inner desire, and since M2 wants to be everything she couldn't be, it turns into her creating alternative selves through clones made of light. Another point of inspiration for her forms is actually Barbie of all things. Not the movie, although the movie takes advantage of the same principle, that Barbie can be anything. A doctor, a lawyer, life guard, a government official etc. M2 is everything always and forever, and she's also nothing at all. Which one is the real M2?

[internetskiff]

A tidbit of Half-Life lore that always fascinated me is that the machine that causes the Resonance Cascade and basically kicks off the events of the entire series is called the "Anti-mass SPECTROMETER" - spectrometers usually doing.. exactly what it says on the tin, measuring the spectrum of something (light spectra for example). So basically, instead of the entire incident being kicked off by a deliberate teleportation experiment gone wrong like in a cliche science fiction horror story (which iirc that was what they originally went with in early development), the whole incident was kicked off by a "relatively" mundane measuring device (by Black Mesa standards, at least). It's such a good subversion of tropes methinks, especially for a videogame from 1998. The teleportation experiments still happened, of course. They've been happening for a while. They've been dissecting fauna from the other world, studying it, setting up outposts - they were pretty close to finding their footing in Xen, and in any other videogame at the time the Lambda Labs would be the root cause of the problem, and their teleporter device would be what causes a tear between realities. But nope! It's merely the precursor. Shit only hits the fan because of an otherwise normal sample measurement gone wrong.

It adds a degree of believability to it, methinks. A device being pushed to it's limits by staff racing to meet a quota - it almost sounds like I'm describing the lead up to a real life nuclear accident, doesn't it? Hundreds of lives cut short by a rushed sample measurement? The G-Man planted a particularly pure sample, but I really do wonder how much it's purity actually played into the whole disaster. It seems like it was IMPERATIVE that the Spectrometer was also pushed to it's limits analyzing it. I mean, even one of the scientists says that boosting it to 105% is a "bit of a gamble" so they knew it was a risky move to stress the system like that. The Lambda Core Teleporter operated swimmingly - meanwhile a mere spectrometer was the weak link the G-Man targeted. Half Life 1's lore is a lot more sophisticated than people give it credit for imo.

[morrigan-sims]

broken vows, broken horns

"Leave, and never come back. If you ever set foot in this city again, you're dead, you hear me?" He spits in Val's direction before turning away, muttering under his breath, "Traitorous little devil."

This is a little glimpse into Val's past, back when they were 17.

When I made Val's tattoos, one of the other players said that the snake motif reminded them of gang tattoos where the symbol of the gang is repeated across the body. That planted the seed for Val's backstory in my head. And even more perfectly, I had already decided weeks ago that the reason Val is never seen without their captain's hat is that their horns had been broken many years ago.

But why would breaking of horns matter? Oh, of course. It's an all-tiefling gang! And broken horns is a sign to anyone who knows the gang/criminal underworld that "this person is not to be trusted, do not let them join your crew".

So I ended up with a tiefling gang called the Horned Serpents, and decided to place them in the port city of Xen, where Val will be taking the party after rescuing Rook. This would explain why Val hadn't been there in years (15 to be precise), and thus allow the DM to surprise me with whatever is going on there.

Unbeknownst to me, Xen and the surrounding area has a... complicated history with the Hells, and already is wary of tieflings. So it makes perfect sense that the tieflings there would band together, especially if they were already ostracized. (Yay for accidental mind-reading!)

Val was basically raised by the Serpents, but they are too kind, too good a person to be complicit in gang violence for long. So when they were offered the chance, they became an informer, leading to the gang's dismantling and downfall. But some of the surviving/escaped members discovered Val's treachery and came after them, beating them and breaking off their horns. And, of course, delivering the warning to never return to Xen.

Val fled and never looked back. For 15 years they've sailed all around the continent, but never docked in Xen. But if returning there is what it takes to save the life of one of their passengers, they'll do it.

[octahedral-chaos]

Welcome to OCTAfan's Obscure/ Odd Characters Tournament!

I made this to give some love to some of my favourite characters, especially the odd or obscure ones!

Feel free to make propaganda for your favourite! Just don't put down other characters though.

Each bracket will last for a day, starting at 6 AM.

If tied, both characters may proceed to the next round.

Now let's meet everyone!

ROUND 1

OCTAtag/ Monde (OCTAHEDRON) VS Light being (Everhood)

COCOON protagonist (Cocoon) VS HoB Protagonist (HOB)

Avemcaec (NERVE) VS Jadeplume Terrorshroom (Genshin Impact)

Space Beetle (THUMPER) VS Black Resin protag/ Xen (Black Resin)

Viridian (VVVVVV) VS Witch (Dicey Dungeons)

Aven and Edda (Worldless) VS Planets (ADOFAI)

Heart (Mad Rat Dead) VS Fantoccio (Billie Bust Up)

Jumpgrid (JUMPGRID) VS Rhythmy (Rhythmy)

Phoenix (DOTA 2) VS Solario (Black Heart)

Urania (Genshin Impact) VS Thunder manifestation (Genshin Impact)

Icosahedron (OCTAHEDRON) VS Miracle Matter (Kirby 64)

Dedf1sh (Splatoon) VS Marie (Splatoon)

Brolga (TY) VS Lilac (Freedom Planet)

Luna (Heartstrings) VS La Dance Macabre (JSAB)

Otis (Owlboy) VS Ida (Monument Valley)

Diver (Abzu) VS Pronty (Pronty Fishy Adventure)

[scarletfire03]

I LOVE the emperor cuttledile, especially its Latin name, "squid-crocodile emperor"; how distantly related is it to the common bullsquid? Would be neat to see family trees of similar species!

thank you! naming stuff is very fun :D

I know you asked for a family tree of the bullsquids but i was meaning to make this anyway so i thought why not now. i did make it silly tho

in my headcanon, theres two distinct groups of bullsquids: six clawed ones and five clawed ones. (i know the og design of green bullsquids has 4 claws but whatever it has 5 claws now)

so six clawed bullsquids mostly contain the land living ones and five clawed ones contain mostly semi to fully aquatic bullsquids. there is like one random monotypic genus of six clawed bullsquid that is semi aquatic but it is independent of the other group. I haven't really thought up all the details of bullsquid evolution tho so all of this might change in the future! and the rest of the tree is likely also gonna change a bit but this is the rough idea i have of relatedness

i cant tell you exactly how closely related each species is but id say cuttlediles and bullsquids are probably about as distant as hyenas and mongooses? who knows

the other xen creatures are not related or at least i haven't thought of wether they might be related or not

[ticenchantedtoc]

crack theory 🤨❓

Okay, how do I explain this...

There are parts of this theory that are rooted in logic and parts that are wild speculation, but I think the overall theory is possible, albeit a little crazy. Then again, a lot of things in this game are crazy.

In short, my theory is that Zetta also has a form of Archetype power just like Melia does. But I don't think it comes from the actual Archetype; I think it's something similar but opposite. Because the Archetype is depicted as a golden triangle, I've been imagining this inverse Archetype as an upside-down silver triangle. Hey wait a minute.

Yeah, my theory is that this "inverse Archetype" is actually the Core. Outside of the visual similarity, we know that the Core is linked to the Interceptors' power, and they can transform just like Melia and Erin. The Core is also connected to the Ley Lines, and in the Karma Files, it mentions that Rifts form whenever a Ley Line is pierced. Zetta is the only character we know of who can directly interact with the Ley Lines to create Rift Pokemon*. Perhaps this is his version of the "superpowers" Melia, Erin, Allen, and Alice have because of the Archetype. If that's the case, then it would make complete sense that his power comes from the Core instead.

(*Quick note, I'm aware that there are other "Rifts" not created by Zetta, but a lot of them aren't Rifts in the lore, just in the gameplay mechanics. Carnivine, Dufaux, and Talon all became "Rifts" through alternate means, and though Ferrothorn and Hippowdon are real Rifts, they were created from rift matter that Bladestar stole from Team Xen (so they likely come from Zetta's power too, in a very roundabout way). The only other Rifts can't be explained this way are Volcanion, which Zetta very well could've made off-screen, and Aelita, which makes sense because Aelita turned into a Rift due to Vivian's curse. And Vivian already had a connection with the Ley Lines, that's how she could sense where people and Pokemon were. Okay back to the theory!)

The description of the Core also mentions that it contains and transports information about all life on Earth. That sounds a lot like something Zygarde, the pokemon responsible for keeping balance, would use, right? We currently don't know anything about the Zygarde host except their age: 25. Oddly enough, this is Zetta's biological age too. I say it's odd because most of the Xen Executives don't have specific canon ages, and if he's a clone of Melia, why make him so much older in the first place? It could be a coincidence, but I find it suspicious. Especially considering that everything with a Z name has been linked to the Core in some way: Zygarde, Zeight, Zorrialyn being where Castle Zygara once was.

To be clear, do I think Zetta being connected to the Core means he's an Interceptor? Absolutely not. Do I think there are three other Core-hosts like with the Archetype? Probably not. But I can't look past the fact that just after we get this lore dump about the Core, Crescent gives Zetta's pokeball to Melia. And in this teaser screenshot for v14, there's a new icon in the top left with Zetta's face and what appears to be the Interceptor's Wish. I'm not going to speculate about this screenshot because I have no idea what it means really, but at this point it's impossible to deny that Zetta is going to be important in Chapter 16.

Some last bonus points in this theory, aka the part where I start wildly speculating: When you combine the Archetype triangle and the proposed inverse Archetype triangle (whether it's actually the Core or a different thing), it would make the alchemical symbol for aether.

In alchemy, aether represents the space that isn't filled by any of the natural elements. It was thought to be the breath of gods, and harnessing the power of aether could connect the physical world to the spiritual one. Since Rejuvenation is a pokemon game, most players are already familiar with the word aether because of the Aether Foundation. The Aether Foundation created Type:Null, which was intended to be a manmade Arceus but failed, and they had to put on the helmet to contain its power. Rejuvenation acknowledges this backstory, calling it an "inconsistency" that two more Type:Null can be found in Aevium. Zepto is an obvious metaphor for Zetta's backstory as a clone, but I'd like to think the aether connection could mean something.

Speaking of inconsistencies, when you play chess against Zetta in the Nightmare Realm, all of the pieces depict characters in the game, and they all have a quote related to the character. For example, Neved's piece says "Your family before all else." All of the Xen executives are depicted as chess pieces here except for Zetta. This might just be because he's literally sitting across the board from you, but Risa (the Risa from the Nightmare Realm, not Clear pretending to be Risa) is also a piece on the board. Her piece is broken though, and it's not the only one. Eden's piece is broken too, and their quote ends in "Defiled." One other chess piece ends this way, one that seems to be missing a head. The full quote is, "To perpetuate consistency through inconsistency. The descendant of Zed. Defiled." There's the letter Z again. In an absence of other characters this could refer to, I'm assuming this piece is meant to be Zetta, which would mean that inconsistencies and being a "descendant" are more important to his character than we've been lead to believe. Could this be a hint that he's connected to the unknown Zygarde host?

Again, this last part is just wild speculation! The core (pun not intended) of this theory is that Zetta has his own version of the Archetype powers and maybe even his own transformation. I think it's likely that those powers would come from the Core, considering the lore we get in the Karma Files, but I'm not entirely sure. Whether I'm right or not, I'm just really excited for my favorite solosis to get more screen time.

[decks-writing-blog]

Here to Stay Drabbles: Not a Big Birthday Guy

Summary: I wonder, how would Gordon or Benrey try to handle celebrating each other’s birthdays?

~

‘Mr. Freeman’s b-day is on the 21st of this month. What do you think we should for it?’ read Tommy’s text.

Benrey looked up from the phone to glance over at Gordon, leading the way down the grocery store aisle with the cart. He hadn’t mentioned his birthday was coming up. It was still more than a week away but still close enough that he should’ve said something about it, right?

He turned his attention back onto the phone. ‘y u aking me?’ He’d never organized any kind of birthday celebration.

‘I was going to suggest we to go to Chuck-E-Cheese again. Do a surprise party like my Dad did for me. But then I thought maybe he wouldn’t like that. So I’m asking you. He’s your boyfriend so you’re closest to him and should know I think.’

Ooh. A party at Chuck-E-Cheese would be fun. Benrey had missed Tommy’s birthday party there because he’d been too busy coming back to life and scrambling to find a way out of Xen before he got stuck forever. But alas, Tommy was right; Gordon might not like that. The only time he’d brought up that party himself had been to complain about it how weird and uncomfortable it had been to go from his life being in danger to that ‘nonsense’. He’d immediately followed up with telling Benrey to not tell anyone he’d said that about Tommy’s birthday party, especially Tommy himself. Tommy apparently had some idea he hadn’t had fun though. Not that that was hard to guess.

But did Tommy have a point about Benrey being the person to ask about what to do instead? While it was true they lived together and were dating, Benrey had never been invited to a birthday party before – he’d crashed a few in the lab offices but none of them had been particularly fun and thus he hadn’t stuck around for long – let alone helped plan one. … He was in a good position to just ask Gordon himself though. So maybe that’s what Tommy had meant; he wanted him to ask Gordon.

Pocketing the phone, he jogged to catch up and then surpassed Gordon and his cart. Before he could protest, Benrey stepped up onto the front of it so that he was riding it while facing Gordon. Facing outward was more fun but it was conversation time.

Gordon let out a sigh as he stopped pushing. “Really, dude?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Okay, fine but I’m not going any faster. The staff here don’t get paid enough to deal with our bullshit if we crash into something.”

“That’s okay.” Their one good cart run had indeed almost ended in a crash. “We gotta talk anyway. Um, your b-day’s coming up soon. Where you wanna have the party for it? And don’t say at the lab, ‘cause I wanna go to it too.”

Gordon resumed pushing the cart with his gun hand now too. “I guess my birthday is coming up soon, huh? I’d actually kinda forgotten it. How’d you hear about it?”

“Tommy texted me. How’d you forget it?”

Gordon shrugged as he stopped them in the cereal isle. “I’m just not a big birthday guy. It kinda stops being a big deal after you turn twenty-one.”

Benrey watched for a few seconds Gordon browsed and selected his preferred cereals. He’d tried a few himself at Gordon’s instance he try different foods, none had appealed to him all that much. “Well, what you wanna do for it?”

“Uh… I don’t know. The last couple years, I haven’t done anything. Before that, I got high and watched cartoons or the year I couldn’t get any pot, got drunk instead. I’m uh… not sure doing either is a good idea with the whole…” He gestured vaguely with his gun hand, currently securely wrapped in the scarf he’d bought for it. “Being inebriated when this thing is part of me sounds like a bad idea. Not to mention all my other problems that drugs and alcohol probably wouldn’t help.” He returned to pushing the cart. “So don’t worry about, ‘kay?”

“But we gotta do something. We could go to Chuck-E…”

Gordon didn’t even let him finish before interrupting. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Damn.” Benrey had expected that though.

“If that’s where you wanna go for your birthday, that’s fine. I’ll go and even try to have fun or whatever. But just… not for my birthday, okay?”

“I don’t got a b-day though.” He hadn’t been born. They’d established that for sure when going through his files.

“Decanting day then, whatever you wanna call it. It’s on April 1st if I recall correctly. Which I’m pretty sure I do since that’s fitting. We already missed it this year but I guess instead of dealing with celebrating mine, we could have a late party for you or something if you want.”

“Ooh, could we?”

“Yeah, dude. Since you’ve never had anyone celebrate your birthday before, we could totally do something. A party with gifts and stuff or we could go somewhere special, whatever you want, dude. And I doubt any of the others will care that it’s a few months late.”

Benrey’s grip on the basket in front of him tightened. It wasn’t the first time Gordon had done something nice for him, far from it in fact, but it still felt like the emotional equivalent of a surprise warm hug. His ‘decanting day’ was months back but Gordon was willing to throw him a party for it anyway because he’d never had one before. … A late party wouldn’t be proper though, would it? Surely not. But… but… he wanted it so bad. Now that he knew it was an option, how could he possibly not want it? Waiting all the way to his next decanting day would take forever.

It had been Gordon’s birthday they’d been talking about though. Benrey couldn’t take that away and make it all about himself. “Maybe uh… we could do a double party this year? Late party for me and on time party for you. Doesn’t have to big or whatever. We maybe don’t even gotta go anywhere. Could have a home party instead.” Benrey wasn’t sure where he’d want to go anyway. The main draw was the gifts, cake, and everyone being together anyway.

Getting all of the Science Team together physically in one place wasn’t exactly rare but with everyone having jobs and their own things going on, it wasn’t exactly the most common thing in the world either. Especially since Bubby had just gotten back from losing his job at NASA a couple weeks ago. So a big double party at home would be great.

Gordon thought about it in silence for a few seconds, his expression soft; he was open to the idea. “I guess that wouldn’t be so bad. So… sure, let’s have a double birthday party at home or whatever. Maybe it’ll even be fun.”

“Sweet.”

[woneuntonzz]

𐙚 ‧₊˚ ⋅ welcome to...

𝚗𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚋𝚘𝚛'𝚜 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍 .☘︎ ݁˖

(!!) waitlisted — on progress — published

ᯓ★ 𝙧𝙞𝙞𝙯𝙚

shotaro

𐙚 coming soon!

eunseok

𐙚 lover's rock » eunseok x reader ; songfic inspired by TV Girl's Lover's Rock 🎶 - she might wanna kiss before the end of this song...

𐙚 stargazing (1-2) » academic rivals eunseok x reader ; songfic inspired by The Neighbourhood's Stargazing 🎶 - take me for a ride...

sungchan

𐙚 reflections » ex!sungchan x reader ; songfic inspired by The Neighbourhood's Reflections 🎶 - maybe it's a blessing in disguise, i see my reflection in your eyes...

𐙚 rent is due! » landlord!sungchan x (afab)tenant!reader | life is not a party, so maybe pay your rent on time...

wonbin

𐙚 tek it » band leader!wonbin x song writer!reader ; songfic inspired by Cafuné's Tek It 🎶 - i watch the moon, let it run my mood...

seunghan

𐙚 margins » player!seunghan x afab!reader | you had no idea why seunghan seemed to be so indifferent towards you, especially when he had fooled around with half the girls in your circle.

𐙚 torn and folded » bully!seunghan x bl reader, amab!reader | you loved your free time in manga reading websites, not him though, he thinks you need your senses sorted out for you, and so he would...

sohee

𐙚 isn't it cliche? (1 - 2) » performing arts club singer!sohee x performing arts club president!reader(xen) | he who admired from afar and he who'd keep you close to his heart, maybe, there could be a sweeter story than this...

𐙚 mystery » sohee x reader ; songfic inspired by Matt Maltese's Mystery 🎶 - i would pick you ten out of nine times...

anton

𐙚 what's it like to love? (1-5) » student athlete!anton x studious class officer!reader | you swore to yourself, to you friends and even to your parents “I'm not one to easily fall.” and you thought you were that tough, not until him of course...

𐙚 for the first time » childhood lovers anton x reader ; songfic inspired by Mac DeMarco's For The First Time 🎶 - it's just like seeing her for the first time again...

𐙚 see you again » anton x reader ; songfic inspired by Tyler, The Creator & Kali Uchis' See You Again 🎶 - can you make it last forever?

ot7 .ᐟ

𐙚 when she wanna talk saxy » riize as author's favorite songs

𐙚 happy birth-late » riize forgets their s/o's birthday

𐙚 put a ring on it » calling boyfriend!riize your husband

ᯓother

𐙚 snap! » like-a-big-brother!sungchan x afab!reader x partner in crime!wonbin | wherein wonbin chose you to be his ride or die and sungchan, well he just loved sharing his twix with you.

𐙚 greatest comedian » popularguy!eunseok x afab!reader x bestfriend!shotaro | god must be the greatest comedian i know...

[shinysparklesapphires]

Anthony Crestwing III Chats

"wanna know how floradisia has so much budget for all our plants n shit?"

"swear jar."

"everytime someone swears they have ta put 200 madols in the jar!"

"how many did i have to put in?!"

"how about you shut your fuckin mouth!"

"shit- i mean fuck!- i mean-! goddammit!"

"the flamboyant flytrap was known for just that, being flamboyant!"

"she was especially known for saving a failing flower shop from bankruptcy!"

"but some ungrateful gardener decided he wanted all the money for himself, even though she had done all the work for him!"

"but what exactly was she? was she just a sentient plant, or maybe she was a shapeshifting fae?"

"aw look now i sound like mercedes..."

"the dorm uniform of floradisia is certainly interesting huh?"

"hell yeah! it's made to look like a gardeners uniform, just like the ones worn at the flower shop the flaymboyant flytrap was from!"

"what about your jacket? why does that have so many more bloodstain patterns than the regular uniform?"

"oh no those are real."

"oh."

"they're from the past housewardens, including the one i beat!"

"none of them actually died though..right?"

"yeah lets go with that."

"how did you of all people manage to fail the history of magic quiz?! you know about the flamboyant flytrap more than anyone!"

"i couldn't be bothered so i let my vines do it."

"here it says 'what was the reason the gardener wanted the flytrap gone?' you answered: 'she married his ex.' the correct answer couldn't have been farther than that! "

"i never said they were good at it."

💌: @lowcallyfruity @xen-blank @h2llish @boopshoops @thehollowwriter @skriblee-ksk