#genuinely the only game i've ever played the bad guy in and went 'yeah okay i'd do that irl too'

[rogueshadeaux]

Slllliiiiiides over here. Hi hello. I don't think I'll do a bad karma run (IM SORRY. IM SORRY!!) cause a) I'm a wimp and b) I need to get off videogames as soon as I'm done cause I've spent too much time playing lately lmao BUT I will be watching playthrougs cause I gotta know how fucked up he gets.... I gotta know...

To clarify i have a pre existing oc from a story that could be very easily flung into a vat of "au juice" because she's already halfway there in her own cannon LMAO we shall see, for now I have a huge list of things I want to draw for this game so I gotta finish 2 before I explode then I can unleash myself on art again. Gotta feed the discord now. I'm cooking for a crowd.

hi i've been dead for 8 days and recuperating for two lol I understand life stuff (and saw some references to it on your timeline, like the warhammer stuff and the tarot card thing??? bro that shit looks so good!!) as someone that literally shared your stuff and then got ripped away for my own life happenings lmfao. But if you get the chance in the future? Seriously, try an evil karma inF2 run. There's something about how they balanced the story that puts its predecessor AND sequel to shame. They're the same story, but different tales. They have the same goal, but different goalposts. SPP gives you a well-thought-out storyline that both is cohesive, but feels like your choices actually matter. It has none of the "I can help this old lady...or kick her fucking dog lol" of inFAMOUS 1, or the "I will fight for the tribe but literally do everything wrong. everywhere. because I'm a Bad Boy™" of inFAMOUS: Second Son. The choices feel real. They feel sound. They feel like the choices a man wronged by the world would make, if he decided to turn to his harbored resentment instead of his morality. And let's be honest, Cole also feels more morally gray in inF2 than 1 anyways, so seeing the path he takes is great because it genuinely feels like he's done with the accumulation of every shitty situation that has happened to him. And I'm sure you know how the story ends now, so...don't you wanna see what happens if he chose the other option? (pls tell me you haven't watched the playthrough yet lmfao)

Anyways yeah no I totally get life shit, it loves to pull you away from stuff, and also as someone only just now trying to do the bad options in Detroit: Become Human despite getting the game at launch because I need 6 years of preparation to be the bad guy, I understand the wimp bit too. It's hard to be mean sometimes. But with Cole's inF2 story, it doesn't feel mean. It feels like a desperate man, trying to fight for a future he's not convinced cares about him.

And yes oh my god please keep creating lmfao we all love your art so goddamn much. Don't leave this fandom you're now a very important asset. And it's always a good thing, throwing old friends into new situations! I love an OC in a wardrobe change. That's usually the best translation. Think a bit harder about forcing that OC into a new role. Shove her ass onto the stage. We'd all love her.

[ilovelosersandshortmen]

Could I ask for the Brotherhood with a Platonic Reader who's just some random kid? Not even a mutant or anything, they just walked into the house one day and just decided 'yeah I'll live here with you guys🤷'

The Brotherhood of Mutants reacting to a random person deciding to move in with them (PLATONIC!!)

I love this idea oml 😭😭 This has very big Addams Family vibes honestly. I'm going to write this with a more sibling-like relationship because I love found family.

TODD:

• Okay, honestly, I've always thought Todd would be like.. a redneck cigarette dad. I mean that with love.

• Constantly getting into wrestling matches and teaching people bad behaviors, you know what I mean. Trailer park behavior. (I used to live in one so I can make fun of it)

• He's the kind of guy that would put you on his shoulders so that you can spray paint a building or something. Also teaches you the most efficient way to hop a fence when running from the cops!

• He's like Roderick from Diary of a Wimpy kid, taking you out for gas station snack runs late at night.

• Sometimes, he feels like you're the only person he can open up to.

• He has cried on your shoulder more than a few times.

• Then you guys make cookies together.

FRED:

• I know I keep bringing this up, but I believe Fred is an amazing cook. (this is based on the rose radishes he made for Pietro or whatever)

• So he constantly makes sure you get fed first, because he knows eating well in the Brotherhood is really hard.

• Always lifting things to impress you.

• (Yeah he's a sad only child soo.. you're his new sibling. He's decided. Already calls you his brother/sister)

• Would literally both die and kill for you.

• He doesn't want to hurt you with his hugs, so sometimes he just lets you cling to him like a koala.

• He likes to help you pick out your outfits (I don't know, this just feels right to me)

• He's also super supportive if you're alt/goth/emo

• You guys have fashion shows to show off your outfits.

• Honestly, he's your biggest fan.

PIETRO:

• Genuinely in disbelief

• "Wait, so we're just.. letting this happen!?"

• He's really the only one who cares, which I guess is understandable. I wouldn't want even more people in a house that's already falling apart.

• So, at first, he's always complaining about you being there. You took his spot on the couch. You stepped on his shoe that one time. Once he complained that you breathed too loudly near him.

• After a while, he reduces his whining to muttering and then eventually just gets used to your presence.

• He doesn't like to admit it, but he kind of does want to impress you. He'll use his powers and then just.. stand in front of you, waiting for praise.

• Always behind you when you go for walks, like a scary guard dog.

• SO. MANY. PRANK WARS.

WANDA:

• She's chill.

• She's not really vocal about everything, but she does really care for you!

• Wanda would def help you dye your hair or paint your nails.

• And she would use her powers to grab things off of high places, just so you don't get injured.

• Pietro might be a little jealous of you, but who cares what he thinks anyway.

• She would also probably help you pierce yourself

• Then would help you when it got infected.

LANCE:

• He always tries to pretend that he doesn't care, but he definitely does.

• Always making sure you don't get hurt around the house, and is the first person to worry if you do ever get hurt.

• Also, this goes for all of them, but he would absolutely love playing video games with you. Even if he loses. A lot.

• More than a few earthquakes were caused over Mario Kart.

• Also the first to raise hell if you went missing.

• Sometimes takes you out with Kitty to get food (like that one "Mama y Papa" trend on Tiktok)

TABITHA:

• She takes you under her wing immediately.

• After a day with her, you have a new taste in music and a bunch of outfits that were not shoplifted at all.

• You basically become her right hand person when causing trouble, she'd constantly wake you up for late night joy rides.

• Asks you to help her with her hair (there's no way she doesn't use 5 bottles of hairspray for that thing)

• You two definitely shoplift together, or she shop lifts random things for you.

• Always getting you little snack or trinkets.

I don't know if this was exactly what you were thinking, but I love the idea of a platonic sibling-like relationship!! Also, I'm sorry if this is really short, I'm more used to writing romance. But, as always, I appreciate you and I hope you have an amazing night!!

[loregoddess]

finished the final map for Unicorn Overlord (well, not the final final Lv. 45 map in the epilogue section but ah, it's late so I'll do that tomorrow)

the ending was so good, and the final battle sequence was so cool, probably one of the coolest final boss sequences for an srpg that I've yet played (it's hard to get srpg final bosses on the same level of coolness as can be found in jrpg final bosses or just, final boss fights for most other genres of game in general)

Absolutely astonished by how much I loved this game. At first it was a bit baffling that a few people saw the game trailer and came to me like "Hey, this looks like a You game", enough so that I did actually go pick up the game bc I kept hearing good things about it, and then it was a bit embarrassing that not even fifteen minutes in I was like "Ah shit, this is exactly my sort of game" bc I really am just that predictable, but honestly? UO went above and beyond even those first impressions.

Like yes, this is one of the most "things I love in a narrative, and super fun game mechanics that I adore" my type of games I've ever played, but it's also genuinely so well-crafted and fun, and so much more than I imagined it would be from my initial impressions. Absolutely excellent game, excellent gameplay, excellent narrative, excellent characters (maracas are no longer enough, I need to stick these characters in a centrifuge). Can't wait to finish up the epilogue and see the final-final conclusion to everything.

some more thoughts under the cut bc spoilers

as part of my revised attack plan, I had spent a few hours grinding aux battles for gold so I could buy a shitton of healing/revival supplies which I then.......did not use at all. Didn't use a single item, except I think a strengthening serum once, during any phase of the final map.

Apparently? being a couple of levels higher due to those gold-seeking aux battles and rearranging Alain's unit for peak damage output and debuff negation (instead of balanced defense/offense like I had it all game) was enough that when I went to fight Galerius I was uh....able to finish his battle in one go, while only losing like, 20 hp for the entire unit. The same was true for Batlro during the third phase, the unit I had arranged for Galerius was able to one-shot Baltro and his six-party unit in one battle (but damn his special spell had such a cool attack animation).

So alas, I spent all this money and hunted down so many curative items.....for nothing (although maybe not, I have no idea what awaits me in that epilogue map battle).

I had actually seen a spoiler out of context so I knew about Illenia, but it's still really cool that she was alive like, that entirely upends the "dead parent" trope in a really weird way, and given how Not Okay Alain was about missing his mom, it's like, well this is nice actually. Probably a bit awkward, there is a lot of baggage to unpack, but nice. Glad she did not suffer the dead parent fate to its fullest potential.

(Also knew about the two endings beforehand, which was good bc I would have had a minor crisis if I had seen that decision w/out spoiler knowledge, bc until this point choosing the "1" option was always the best outcome, for the entire game except this one decision, where the "1" option actually leads to the bad end and also sounds a bit worse than the "2" option; but yeah I would have been pausing the game and running off to search for a guide if I had gone in entirely blind).

I ended up choosing Scarlett for the rite bc it seemed to fit the story beats the best (my temptation to go for Lex bc he also fit the story beats in a weird way aside), although seeing Scarlett foist the pontifex role onto Sanatio was kinda funny (sure, give the role to this guy who's so guilt-ridden he makes Renault's not-great coping w/ guilt look okay, and not I dunno, Nigel, the guy who was running things for a bit; I unsurprisingly love Sanatio so I say this all in good humor of course bc that was the wildest outcome honestly).

I wasn't unhappy w/ the Scarlett ending though, although now I'm curious about all of Alain's other paired endings since he can marry (or uh, become life partners with) basically every single character including characters he only has one rapport convo w/, which I was not expecting but which is super funny (everyone's a little in love w/ Alain, whether romantically, platonically, or in a familial way).

Gotta say I was not expecting Gilbert to marry Virginia though, that ending card hit me out of left field bc I would have sworn, based on the RCs, that he would have married Leah in absence a paired ending w/ Alain, but eh. All the other endings were either what I was expecting, or if they weren't, something really neat that still fit the character (Hilda becoming an apothecary was not on my bingo card, but damn does it actually fit her so well; thought Clive and Monica might hook back up, but it's cool that they each go on to rule their respective domains each in their own way while still remaining close friends). Really enjoyed all the character endings actually. Totally forgot the coliseum was a thing so I uh, never picked up Amalia, so I dunno what her deal is, but I'm sure I'd like her just as much as I do all the other characters.

Honestly really loved the entire story and all the characters. I'm surprised how well-balanced the narrative feels, since in my experience with other large-cast srpgs, there's usually a bit of narrative imbalance (minor characters only get minor character arcs or minimal extra writing, sometimes worldbuilding gets out of hand and details get lost, etc.), but everything about UO feels like it ties together really nicely, there weren't any loose ends or glaring ???s I had about anything regarding either the main storyline, the lore and worldbuilding, or even the side-stories and character arcs for the playable characters who weren't part of the main cast. (Although I do definitely want to review some of the exposition stuff from the endgame, bc hot damn that was interesting and tied into the story well, but it was a lot, and I'm still not over the nuclear unicorn).

(Okay there were some questions I had but they're uh, useless questions like, "Do angels have hollow bones and larger lungs to be able to fly so high?" or "How the fresh hell does bestral anatomy work?" or "Why are there human NPCs who are very open about wanting to hook up w/ the elves, but none who want to hook up with the bestrals or angels? bc I KNOW there would be humans who would want to" and not like, questions relevant to the main narrative).

Even when things were more hinted at then outright stated (i.e. Lex being in everyone's business bc he shows up as a guest in so many random RCs that are not his own), it felt organic in a "yeah well, they're all part of the same army so makes sense they'd show up in each other's RCs even if they're not directly involved" way. Even the late-game recruits who have the fewest RCs feel well-written and fleshed out.

And honestly, what a cast of characters. Usually w/ larger character casts I end up kinda indifferent towards like, 25-50% of the characters, but the UO cast gets the writing right in just such a way that I surprised myself by enjoying basically every single playable character in some way or another, and all the non-playable ones as well (the villains, despite starting off seeming generic, ended up being really cool from a narrative perspective, and I love that Baltro is the actual final boss bc like, he should be! fucked up scientist-mages doing unethical experiments are untapped potential for final bosses).

Loved the game so much, will be thinking about it for a long while yet I'm sure.

[karkallicious]

Homestuck as random bullshit I've said EB: someone's gotta tell betty crocker to lay off the cocaine.

EB: i’ve seen michael cera more times than i’d like to today.

EB: i'm sure ben stiller is a decent guy irl but if given the choice between being shot or watching all of his movies i'd ask about the bullet caliber.

TT: Women only want me for my skills in the occult and not my great personality or awesome ass...

TT: That sounds like an issue you should take up with Freud.

TT: But when someone add's apostrophe's to any word that end's with s? You went out of your way to add those. Ignoring your spell check screaming and crying. A tear rolling down the cheek of your elementary school teachers.

TT: Sometimes I'll see an incredibly minor typo and have to resist the urge to be the most pedantic person known to humanity.

TT: This is eldritch horror fucker discrimination.

TG: you dont just take someones obama prism away man

TG: i draw the line at rapping muppets dude

(when questioned as to why $100 was spent on a sword) TG: uh. well. it's a sword.

TG: well it doesnt sound as hilarious to review dildos and say "this one is sans" when you guys are this unenthusiastic

TG: if i ever die play caramelldansen at my funeral TG: theres no sentimental reason or anything TG: i just want to completely throw off the vibes

GG: i’m on board with men in maid dresses regardless of furry status coward

GG: home alone so things are getting pretty wild (talking to a cactus)

GG: local bitch takes "worst nap ever" wakes up several hours later sweaty and somehow more tired

(extreme cold warning in effect, active blizzard outside, sent at 7:18 pm) GG: my grandpa and i are going to dairy queen just for the hell of it

GG: I was gonna get shit done today, so I made a pie.

GG: The only explanation I had for my impromptu dessert making was “This is how I deal with stress...”

GG: Getting genuinely invested in the Cookie Clicker stock market.

TT: (watches toddler trip and fall) skill issue

TT: I frankly think it's a tragedy disney hasn't remade more movies but with muppets.

TT: They're just like "yeah okay dark lord with a robot army we all know you have a ponysona"

TT: I don't make a habit of looking at US political figure anime boy mpreg.

(while holding a katana and talking to a poster) TT: Do you think I make too many impulse purchases, Hatsune Miku?

TG: if not meant to claw grip kitty head why kitty head so holdable

TG: "it's a bad omen when a black cat crosses your path" incorrect, my day has just been significantly improved by seeing a kitty

(on fruitcake) TG: listen you have to pour alcohol into that shit until too many pieces could have you stumbling. great grandma knew how to party

GT: My amusing mugs have had the side effect that today my grandma asked me if she should go full goblin mode or if I wanted to.

GT: You don’t ask questions when a game makes the bold decision to sexualize a t-rex.

GT: Thinking about the time we played a murder mystery game as a family and I got way too into character as a victorian era author.

GT: I'm still disappointed about the time my zoo camp didn't get to watch the tigers being fed because like 15 tornadoes were headed towards us.

GT: Hey lads I just almost accidentally blinded myself.

AA: i love ritualpastas. i like to figure out at what point i would fail and probably get my skin turned into a throw rug or smth

AA: (skelet0n v0ice) hey bitches

AA: oh i have demons in me now thats fun

AA: d0 gh0sts c0unt as pe0ple?

AA: there would be teeth scattering like a fucked up sprinkler

AT: tHIS ISN'T ABOUT PORN ANYMORE IT'S ABOUT MAKING MORE POKEMON COMPETITIVELY VIABLE

AT: i’D LIKE TO THINK I’M NOT OVERLY EMOTIONAL BUT JUST NOW I ALMOST CRIED BECAUSE I REMEMBERED THE SOUND PORCUPINES MAKE AND I REALLY WANT TO HUG ONE BUT DUE TO THE NATURE OF PORCUPINES I CANNOT

AT: i CAN FAINTLY HEAR A CHICKEN IN MY NEIGHBORS’S YARD,,, wHAT

AT: i JUST SPILLED HOT COFFEE ON MYSELF AND APOLOGIZED TO THE BARISTA PROFUSELY

TA: my neme2ii2, biilly bob rockafiire. iit wa2 dark iin there.

TA: (dub2tep play2 a2 ii collap2e on the floor)

TA: ii don't thiink ii've giiven a fuck iin 2everal year2

TA: at thii2 poiint ii’m a2kiing the computer iif iit want2 a blood 2acriifiice

CG: *PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS AND IM NOT ALLOWED TO SAY THAT IN NINTENDO GAMES WHICH I PLAY DUE TO THEIR MORE CALM NATURE*

CG: IMAGINE THE MOST LOUD, DISAPPOINTED, DEFEATED SIGH YOU CAN. ON MY BEHALF.

CG: I WILL FUCK MYSELF OUT OF SPITE. IT WILL BE AN ENDLESS FEEDBACK LOOP, AN INFINITE ENERGY SOURCE, OF SPITE AND SELF FUCKING

CG: "THAT'S A PROBLEM FOR FUTURE ME," I SAY, FORGETTING THAT NOW FUTURE ME HAS TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM

CG: UGH THIS PLACE IS FULL OF PEOPLE AND THEYRE ALL STUPID AND I HAVE NO ONE TO VOICE MY GRIEVANCES TO OUTSIDE OF THE INTERNET.

AC: :33 < you meow in theory catgirls would probably eat anything smaller than them based on actual cat behaviours

AC: :33 < i at one point went out in public with homemade cat ears and a tail and tbh it wasn’t that bad. like sure people might judge but it turns out being cringe is being fr33

AC: :33 < *bap bap bap bap bap*

AC: :33 < i just wanted to try something but discovered the owo extension was twagically wemowoved. a woss fur evewybody

AC: :33 < today i said "you will be exiled for your baby crimes" because my cat was messing with my sketchbook

GA: If You Wouldnt Fuck A Vampire Minimum Youre A Coward

GA: I Use Amazon The Least I Can Out Of Spite That They Took Away My Favorite Fabric Store

GA: My Aesthetic Is Vampire Aligned Not Ghost Aligned I Dont Wear White

GA: I Am Going To Forcefeed You An Entire Fucking Dictionary

GC: 1 DON'T CONDON3 CR1M3S GUYS. UNL3SS TH3Y'R3 FUNNY

GC: TH3 ONLY V4L1D CH4NG1NG LOGO TO R41NBOW FL4G TH1NG 1S WH3N TH3 SCP FOUND4T1ON DO3S 1T

GC: 1T’S TH31R F4ULT TH3Y COULDN’T H4NDL3 B31NG D3C4P1T4T3D OFF1C3R >:]

GC: DON'T D13 DUD3 TH4T WOULD B3 D3C1D3DLY UNG4M3RL1K3 OF YOU

AG: remem8er kids: no matter how 8ad things get, at least you’re not the middle dude in a human centipede. pro8a8ly.

AG: spider furries: “88w88 what’s this?”

AG: may god have mercy on your 8ones because I won’t

(about a ripped cat plushie) CT: D --> we can rebuild him. we have the technology.

CT: D --> why must being cool come at the cost of being really sweaty

CT: D --> that's a horse... with an ass on both ends...

TC: WhY wOuLd YoU bUy *ShRoOmS* oN *eTsY*

TC: SoRrY wRoNg PoSt I wAs TrYiNg To ShArE cLoWn MiLkInG

TC: “AnY lAsT wOrDs, PuNk?” “HoNk”

TC: I hAvE aCtUaLlY eAtEn LeMoN sLiCeS aT rEsTaUrAnTs As ThE wAiTeR wAtChEs In HoRrOr

CA: i wwas nevver invvited to any high school parties. they might havve happened. i just wwas not invvited

(about invasive fish coming onto land) CA: i knoww this is an envvironmental hazard and all but let’s face it it’s a little funny

CA: i havve an spqr hat and i lovve it but also don't wwant people coming up to me like "you knoww wwhat the romans did right" like if i did not knoww a god damn thing about roman history i wwould not be wwearing the hat

CA: i'm a slut in theory. in practice i am not vvery good at it.

CA: anyone wwho thinks i'm insufferable for acknowwledging that i'm not unattractivve is ignoring all the other perfectly vvalid reasons i'm insufferable.

CC: one time I managed to make ocean puns back and fort)( wit)( a friend for like an )(our and I t)(ink our friend w)(o was also in t)(e car actually contemplated krilling us

CC: starfis)(... are mermaid nipple clamps

(Sends picture of a horde of goldfish) CC: my entourage

[neotula]

If you liked Baldur's Gate 3, try these games!

Something Similar (ish): Divinity: Original Sin 2: BG3 would not exist as it is without DOS2. A fun game with a depth of lore and games leading up to it. Harder than bg3, but not so hard that I wasn't able to play it just fine when I was a baby to turn based games. Cool characters with fun flavor. Liked Astarion? Into bad boys? Meet the Red Prince! (This is a joke. Please don't kill me.)

I liked it, but I want to suffer: Baldur's Gate 1 + 2: Don't let anyone tell you they're too old to be fun! I first played these in the past few years, and they absolutely held up. The special editions on steam run perfectly on modern machines. Things I'd recommend: mod in a teleport button! It's easy, and fixes a common complaint of "too slow". They have a wild sense of humor, fun forgotten realms cameos, and a fun combat system that, when you get the hang of, is genuinely fun! a hard learning curve, but easily worth it. BG2 is easily one of my all time favorite games with one of my all time favorite video game romances. Also, Jaheira. If that's your thing. If not, there's an evil lesbian vampire in bg2 you can romance! Hexat, I'm sorry, please call me. Semi-turn based (pause and go)

I liked it, but I want to suffer (and I wish it was more steampunk!): Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura: Made by Troika studios: (The guys who made the first fallout, of VTM: Bloodlines fame), Arcanum is genuinely the most fun you can have in a game from 2001. (*checks other games that came out in 2001* yeah. sure. i'll commit to that.)

Arcanum is an incredible game, with quirky humor, and a female dominatrix that I spent money on every time I went to the city to get her two lines because it let me be gay, okay? Very complicated, the combat can be a lot, but the lore is so fascinating, and you can see that the devs were trying to do something really cool there. Notable for it's time in that your decisions cause a companion to evolve (Virgil <3 I'm so sorry buddy). I cannot stress enough how cool of a game this is. Victorian steampunk setting that tries really hard to make something fun of it.

has. uh. a similar sense of humor at times to vtm:bloodlines. and i'd assume the og fallout but i still haven't made it past the first hour so i can't speak for that.

I liked it, but I don't want to suffer that much (Just a little... or more?): Pathfinder: Kingmaker: Look. This game is so good! Set in the pathfinder setting, all the trappings of a dnd based game. This one is genuinely difficult, but the easiest difficulty is bearable, and there's the incredible toybox mod for help if you need it. Has one of my all time favorite romances in a video game (Tristian <3). Paired with a kingdom building sim that is genuinely a little difficult to get the hang of, but I'd just recommend checking the wiki if you're unsure, and to save often! The only downside is Linzi! But you might like her! I dunno!

Genuinely has some of my favorite characters from a fantasy game in this genre: Owlcat is very good at taking tropes and either working them till they show more than you'd expect, or just playing it straight in a way that really explores the characters well. Also, I just realized I forgot the word Subvert. That's what I was looking for. They like to subvert tropes. Sometimes. Has excellent amoral characters (Jaethal, Regongar, Jubilost.) Has a poly romance where you can romance both or either half of an existing couple and it's all hunky dory.

I like it but I wish it was more fucked up: Tyranny: Look. You gotta trust me on this one. Tyranny isn't for everyone. Made by Obsidian, published in 2016 to... uh, mixed reviews. Tyranny has it's problems (buy it on sale. don't buy the dlc till you've played the main game.) But it was genuinely some of the most fun I've ever had in an rpg in the genre. Everyone's awful! it only took me ~20 hours to play! it's incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to fully complete in one playthrough, but it's short, so it's okay!

Everyone's a villain! Some wild lore. You can either stay a villain, or fix your shit! Or something in the middle! Companions are awful people and i love them (look. you have a companion. who canonically smells like shit. it. it makes sense in game. he's. he's stuck in his armor. it grew to him. the metal like--)

i don't think i'm selling this very well. UH, yeah! You play as the villain! You're the horrible (or neutral) little minion of the established conqueror, and you gotta decide what to do with that when power stumbles upon you! if you like games about horrible people, you might like this one!

the combat was really easy to get a feel for in tyranny, a thing i wouldn't say about a lot of games in this genre, so that's there too!

[agent-cupcake]

You know, you've written a lot of your thoughts/hcs/etc on how various characters would behave as yanderes and so on, but I've never seen you talk about yandere readers before and I feel like that's an interesting subject to consider? Especially for 3H - you have a treasure trove of damaged boys to attract obsessiveness from girls who are convinced they are the ONLY one for them and it's their duty to drive away competition/threats/anyone they want.

Okay it's time to be toxic. I’m not going to go for all the guys, just the ones who immediately came to mind.

Dimitri: I joke quite often that I would be yandere for Dimitri. It all started when I brought up killing the girl he danced with at the White Heron Ball and quite frankly it's only spiraled from there because doesn't the Savior King Dimitri deserve to be adored and worshipped? Doesn't he deserve someone who wants the best for him and only him? Doesn’t it only make sense for him to be with someone who understands his mental issues and is willing to offer him unconditional support and patience? Doesn't he need someone with unwavering loyalty who will do anything no matter what the cost for his sake? It'd be so easy too because he's super dependent, desperate for affection, and clueless so if you just nourish those traits and constantly downplay his discomfort/suspicion of you driving away anybody who you feel is a threat by saying that this is how relationships just are, that it's just because you love him so much, that you're just looking out for him, what's he gonna do? It's not like he'd have any solid basis for knowing how relationships are supposed to be. Besides if he gets too upset you can threaten to leave him just like his mother did, I'm sure that would work to get him back in your arms (where he belongs). Yeah, that’s a little fucked up but it would be so much worse for both of you in the long run if you were apart. Being too aggressive or overt about your obsession would definitely make Dimitri wise up so it'd be better to go with love bombing. This would be good because it really lets you prove your devotion to Dimitri and makes it easier for him to just laugh off and excuse your disturbingly possessive behavior. His friends would be potentially problematic, but they're not always around and Dimitri's private enough that he probably wouldn't volunteer information about you to them. If you told him that it made you very upset and uncomfortable when he was friendly with the girls from his class, he’d most likely stop for your sake. Bonus round, have his babies. What is he going to do, abandon the mother of his children? Dimitri?!? No way. Of course he wouldn’t do anything to risk breaking his family, but neither would you! After all, this is all because you know Dimitri better than anyone which means that only you can love him.

Sylvain: Sylvain being manipulative and cheating on you after you try and prove your love to him through conventional means causing you to snap and kill hurt the girls, throw his lies back in his face, and prove that you're the only girl for him by preying on his emotional trauma with women is really something to consider. Why try to resolve toxic situations with love, compassion, and open communication when you can use blood and abuse to keep him with you? Play the part, be snarky, witty, flirty, be super hot and cold to keep him intrigued, give him the best fuck he's ever had, really show him that you don't care about his Crest, you just want to love possess him. Maybe even do the whole "I don't care who you're with, we both know you belong to me" to really engage him in those super fun mind games. Make everyone else acknowledge that you're the perfect girl for him, get them all to vilify him for continuing to be such a womanizer and breaking your heart. But, like, why stop there? Encourage him to retaliate, to be mad at you. Tease him for being so disgusted and angry at you when all you want, all you've ever wanted, was for your hearts to beat as one and then later act confused because of course you wouldn’t make light of his feelings like that, that’s horrible. All you want, all you’ve ever wanted, was for him to acknowledge that your adoration for him is true. Really break him until he gives you the whole “I’ll let you chain me up so I never even look at another girl” schtick. This might seem awful, but so is he! Reform can be difficult and if he’s going to be happy, he has to be made to understand why his behavior was so bad and the consequences of it. Because it’s not like you’d act like this if you had any other choice, it’s not like you’d continue once the two of you were truly together, of course you wouldn’t treat him so cruelly once he vowed himself to you and only you. And, really, I think it’d be a lot easier once he understood that and you got to prove your love to him through raw, unadulterated affection. Spend every day adding onto the list of why you love your Sylvain. 

Claude: Claude being more than aware of the ole' saying "don't stick your dick in crazy" and then doing it anyway because he has a proclivity for the fiery, forbidden, and oh-so temping call of danger would be the perfect set up for a very bad predicament. You’d have to play some mind games to really convince him that he’s the one seeking you out, he’s the one who’s got it bad, he’s the one who wants to have you. In other words, you’d have to give him a challenge. But, you know, if it’s a game, you’d have to play back because you’re doing this for him, because you love him, because you want him to realize that he loves you, too (Uno reverse Claude’s yandere behaviors, basically) so obviously you’d have to eliminate any obstacles and taking out anybody who could be a potential threat. Get him to open up about his dreams, his past, his feelings. As it goes with basically all of these affection-starved men, make him feel loved for who he is. You know, if you were really good, you could probably even get him to give up on everything else for your sake. I mean, I loathe the ending but he does that for Lysithea. Pull a Tangled on Claude and make him believe that you’re his new dream as he mostly certainly is yours.

Felix: Sweet Felix. So oblivious but so difficult. A man who would provide the ultimate and most dangerous yan rival of them all: the thrill of the fight. In a lot of ways, I think he’d be like Dimitri. Mostly just because he’s so dense when it comes to love of any kind. But he’s also not as emotionally desperate or dependent so you wouldn’t really be able to use that against him. The similarities come from Felix’s equal amount of inexperience with romance which opens up a lot of possibilities for you convincing him that certain behaviors are normal. You can even bring up how his cold emotional state (something I believe he’s insecure about) is what forces you to be so overbearing, how badly it hurts you.  You don’t necessarily mean to be so cloying but you’re so afraid of losing someone else you love so much (another insecurity of his). After all, there is nobody in the entire world who is like him, Felix Hugo Fraldarius, (three for three with his insecurities) and how irreplaceable and precious he is to you. These examples are kind of “soft” when it comes to using his insecurities against him, but you could go further with them assuming you were sure that it wouldn’t drive him away. Not knowing and having to work on assumption would always be a pretty big reason to control yourself in how you went about manipulating him because Felix is stubborn and prideful and pushing him too far would only hurt the both of you. It’s actually kind of funny because as opposed to the traditional yan mindset, it would be in your best interest to get Felix to form relationship bonds with others (but definitely not any of the girls he’s so popular with) because that would be a bargaining chip when convincing him to stay with you.

Ferdinand von Aegir: Ferdinand is, honestly, so easy for this. Like, I feel as if I don’t even need to talk about the details. You show him some affection and he’s yours. Bury him in love and praise. Tell him that it makes you unhappy when he talks to other girls or prioritizes his work over you and then reward him with boundless warmth and devotion because of course he would bend over backwards to make you happy. He just wants to be needed and treasured, to love and be loved. He’s already got the poetry and the ring and of course he wouldn’t mind getting married right away it’s true love, why would you wait?

Yuri: Yuribird is the forbidden darling. You’d need to be running on 100% love because he’d sniff out and ditch you at even the smallest whiff of deliberate obsession. But you know what he wants? More-so than the other guys, in some ways. He wants to be known and loved for who he is. In the face of genuine affection, he doesn’t stand a chance. Still, you’d have to be measured about this stuff. If you were jealous and got rid of your rivals yourself, Yuri would be disgusted and leave you. And you can’t hide that sort of thing from him, either. You’d have to go all in on the manipulation but only in the most honest way possible, that’s the only way past his defenses. Get him to prioritize your feelings first so he feels guilty talking to people or acting in ways that upset you. Reward him for putting you above everyone else. Constantly remind him that you’re the only one who knows and understands him, who loves him for who he is. Get him so emotionally fucked that even if his big brain logic is telling him that you’re toxic and horrible, he can’t stand the thought of being without you. He’d give up crime, it’s not like he even particularly likes it. Set up the perfect life for him, something domestic and sweet and warm, something he’s never had worries he doesn’t deserve, something that keeps him away from others. The goddess only knows how much he deserves a happy dream for once, and you’re the only one who can understand and provide that for him.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

I've never met ANYONE who actually likes the Chibnall era. Would you seriously say that it's objectively good?

Brace yourself for unpopular (albeit positive) opinions.

Objectively? I don't know, I tend to feel like media is very much subjective and down to opinion. But on the whole...yeah. I'm gonna say yeah. I think the Chibnall era thus far is every bit as good as the Moffat Era and Davies Era were. It actually blows my mind to see the fandom come together and almost universally agree that the show has gone downhill. It's part of the reason why I kind of stepped away from the Doctor Who fandom because there's something very demoralizing about re-watching clips from Season 12 and seeing literally every comment just talk about how the show is ruined. And if I re-watch old clips, very often I come across comments that talk about how the show "used to" be good, and should have ended with Twelve, etc. I know a little reluctance toward the new Doctor can be part of the transition process, but normally the fans are over it by now.

Things haven't really changed.

I've been re-watching Twelve's era, and found a new appreciation for him. But I re-watched Thirteen's era right beforehand, and you know what? It holds up. Season 11 is remarkably strong. I can't think of a single "bad" episode in that season. It focuses on the characters, and thus it doesn't have nearly as strong ambitions, compared to one of the Moffat seasons, which were clever but often convoluted. They couldn't always stick the landing. (Looking at you, Season 6) But every has it's good parts and it's bad. The same man who wrote The Wedding of River Song and betrayed the entire season's storyline in the process...also wrote The Doctor Falls, which is probably my favorite final episode of any season ever. The Chibnall Era is the same way. The Tsuranga Conundrum isn't really a bad episode, it's just kind of forgettable, apart from the Pting. But then it is immediately followed up by Demons of the Punjab, which is an exceptional story in every way. I want the Thijurians to return for Thirteen's regeneration, I'm saying it.

My point being that even if there are episodes you can't stand in the new era, is that really exclusive to Chibnall? All the way back in Season 1, they had The Long Game, which I remember disliking, but it was sandwiched between Dalek and Father's Day, which are in my opinion, the two best episodes of that season. A lot of people don't like Orphan 55, for example. But it's followed up by Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror. Does anyone really dislike that episode? You're valid if you do, but I think it's really good. Ask me about any episode in the Chibnall Era, and I'll find something to like about it. (Except maybe Arachnids in the UK...and that one's not even bad, just kind of weak.) Because like I said, there is good and bad in every season...and I do think that the fandom has overblown how "bad" the Chibnall Era is...though that may be in part because I think this era is generally good? Incredible companions, solid episodes, a great Doctor, and hey...this era actually made the Daleks scary again. That is impressive. Even most of the hated episodes, like Orphan 55 as I mentioned...I enjoy them.

I stand by that. I think this era is great. If anything, I don't like that they reduced how many episodes we get, because some of these stories, like The Witchfinders and It Takes You Away especially Fugitive of The Judoon, are just begging to be two-parters. Spyfall is the only real two-parter we've had, in my opinion (Ascension of the Cybermen and The Timeless Children feel like two separate stories to me) and the episode was much stronger for having the extra time. If I have one genuine criticism with the Chibnall Era as a whole, it is the stark contrast between Seasons 11 and 12. I love Season 11, I thought it was beautiful. I like it far more than most people. I also truly enjoyed Season 12. But they are worlds apart, with Season 11 feeling so standalone and Season 12 picking up with a big storyline that really hadn't been hinted at all in the previous outing. The tone is also different, with The Doctor and "the fam" having a distance between them that seems to have developed offscreen in between seasons. It was as though Chibnall wanted to give everyone a breather from big overarching plots after the Moffat Era, but then after one season he decided "break's over" because he wanted to tell his story. And that's okay! It is. But it's jarring. Anyway, let's talk about Chibnall's storyline. You know where this is going.

"That" episode.

I meant what I said before. There isn't a single episode that I actively hate as much as say, Listen. Now let's get very controversial, because I know what y'all are thinking. "Not even The Timeless Children?" And I'll just get this out of the way right now: I don't think The Timeless Children, or it's twist, ruins Doctor Who. I don't think it gets anywhere close. I mentioned before that I was demoralized reading the comments on a clip of Doctor Who...to no one's surprise, it was this episode. Now, I may just be biased...after all, I didn't even hate Hell Bent. But while I have my criticisms of Season 12, The Doctor's revised backstory accounts for exactly none of them. You want to know what really bothers me? That we had a seven season buildup to Gallifrey's rescue, a nine season buildup to it's return...only for the show to do nothing with it, and then just destroy it again a couple of seasons later. As someone who loved The Day of The Doctor, I'm mad about that. Among other reasons, destroying Gallifrey is the kind of card you can really only play once.

So no, I don't think The Timeless Children is perfect. The Doctor had a seven season character arc culminating in them learning the lesson that using The Moment would be wrong, and that it was never okay to do something like that. To hear her even consider using The Death Particle, that "Or, a solution" line in response to Ryan appropriately reacting in horror? Yeah, that upset me. I don't like that Gallifrey is gone again, and even if The Doctor wasn't the one to do it, she almost did, and she left someone else to do it in her stead. That bothers me more than The Timeless Child ever could. That being said...the Timeless Child doesn't bother me. Seriously, it blows my mind that people act like this twist ruins Doctor Who. It...really doesn't, guys.

It does not insult the legacy of William Hartnell. He is still The First Doctor. It's not like there isn't a precedent for secret incarnations from The Doctor's past. We didn't start calling Christopher Eccleston The Tenth Doctor after we found out about John Hurt. Nothing can change The First Doctor's status or take it away, nor do I think Chibnall is trying. He is doing what I've actually wanted Doctor Who to do for a while. Give us a story about The Doctor's childhood. (Listen doesn't count, I don't care, that was all kinds of bad.) Let me ask you, what does this really change? I've seen people complain about the revision of The Doctor's history...but there's a precedent for that too. We could play bingo with how many times Clara fundamentally altered or influenced the show's history. She is the reason he started traveling, the reason he chose his Tardis, and the reason he saved Gallifrey. Why doesn't that bother people, if this does?

I also understand it if people dislike this change because they feel as though it makes The Doctor a kind of chosen one, compared to them having just been an average person who wanted to make a difference. I get that. However, this is down to interpretation, and there are so many ways to interpret The Doctor. Some people love it when The Doctor goes dark, other people cannot stand it and view it as out of character. Some people love it when The Doctor is heroic and badass, when they save the day...others would prefer that they take the backseat, teaching the humans how to save the day themselves. "The man who makes people better." And which interpretation you get, where it falls on the spectrum...it will vary from writer to writer. Moffat loved to make everything about The Doctor, and Davies frequently compared him to an angel or a god. This is not the first time that the show has portrayed The Doctor as a godlike being. It's not even close to the first time. And honestly? I don't think this makes The Doctor special or supernatural. I think it makes them a victim, nothing more. A victim of child abuse.

People also disliked this episode for removing the mystery behind The Doctor...but I fail to see how it did that? There are so. Many. Questions. That this finale opens up. Where did The Doctor come from? How and why did they get to our universe? What exactly is The Division? What went down between them and The Doctor? Where is Tecteun? (No, she's not Rassilon...) As the Masters asks, "What did they do to you, Doctor? How many lives have you had?" Amid all of the comments that made me sad, I did see a great one about how the original creator of Doctor Who actually didn't like it when they introduced the Timelords, because she felt that it boxed the show in and removed the mystery behind The Doctor, and how "She would have loved this episode." I agree with that. (Still salty that they destroyed Gallifrey though...) You know, I am genuinely interested in this story and where it's going to go, especially with the sixtieth anniversary approaching. But it depresses me that they might scale it back now, after how much the fandom has risen up against it. Not that I'm saying the fans shouldn't be happy, but...it's clear that a story is trying to be told here, and I think it should have that chance.

To each their own, of course. But I will never understand why this era is so hated.

[autopotion]

long post about outer wilds that's got casual spoilers

i feel like the outer wilds subreddit is comprised of guys who mostly play, like, classic AAA games, RPGs or first-person shooters, who have never played a mystery game and would certainly never pick up a visual novel in their lives, encountering a non-combat exploration-based mystery game for the first time and thinking outer wilds is the most unique gaming experience to ever grace the market.

it's the only way to explain their ridiculous attitude about spoilers (and honestly the general reluctance of the outer wilds community to reveal any spoilers to any puzzles at all, even in WALKTHROUGHS). "you can only play the game once, knowledge is the game's experience, and once you've discovered everything you're out of game!" yeah i mean okay but, as my wife rightly pointed out, have you guys ever played phoenix wright? or even ghost trick, which has one of the coolest twists i've ever seen in a game? once you've beaten those games you know their secrets too! so yeah you can never experience the discovery again, but you can rediscover stuff and experience the stories and the puzzles with a new lens. that's how lots of stories work, even ones that aren't mystery games. also the game is just fun to play, which means the experience doesn't end just 'cause you've learned it all.

also dgmw i ADORE (most of) outer wilds, i genuinely think it's a unique game with a fantastic weave of exploration, mystery, and story, i do think the experience is unparalleled, but like... man how do i explain it. i think the reddit guys are deeply up their own asses about just how innovative and unique it is lol. like outer wilds didn't spring from the loam fully-formed, it's not some kind of Genius Auteur pinnacle of storytelling. you can see the bones of outer wilds' sources of inspiration across its little universe, just like the bones of the nomai. everything it does it learned from other things, especially other games, the most prominent and obvious being majora's mask (of which there are easter eggs referencing). like literally the plot of the game is continuing the work of the people who came before, it's not even ABOUT innovation.

man you know what it kind of reminds me of the general public's attitude about undertale when that was released. that is another game i absolutely love that i actively distanced myself from soon after it came out because i could not take the crushing tide of Bad Opinions in its wake. undertale too draws heavily from its predecessors--earthbound/mother, yeah, and the entire genre of pixel rpgs (and also pixel bullet hells), but you would be hard-pressed to find a segment of the game that isn't referencing other games (or just other media!), both popular (the opera segment with MTT, using the same soundfonts FFVI did) and relatively unknown to modern audiences (one of the amalgamates, lemon bread, resembling a monster from gunstar heroes, melon bread, both in attack and name).

and yet undertale's fanbase is comprised mostly of people who have absolutely no familiarity with the genres it most lovingly pays homage to. which is not inherently a bad thing (everybody starts somewhere), but it does mean that, while waves of fans extolled it from the mountaintops, major themes went sailing over their collective heads. or, in other cases, were mangled beyond belief.

idk where i'm going with this but i feel like the (reddit-based, anyway) fanbase for outer wilds is a bit like that. a horde of guys who cut their teeth on elder scrolls and the witcher and fallout, and are playing an exploration-based puzzle-solving game for the first time, and lose their fucking minds about it because they mistake "well-designed" for "pinnacle of its kind." it's why they guard spoilers so intensely, because they've never had a gaming experience like it before, and think that if they haven't, no one else has, either.

it's also why there are so many posts on the subreddit speculating about the player character's personal touch on the new universe they create, or talking about how the player character is the most important person in the universe because they're the only one who can save it (as though the player character is not a link on the chain as everyone else is, and could have done nothing at all without the nomai before them, without their community teaching them spacefaring, without their friends' insights and information). because, raised on Hero Games, they have it stuck in their brains that they are The Most Important Guy Ever (relatedly half the posts on the subreddit misgender the aliens), and that therefore Outer Wilds Is The Most Important Game Ever. when outer wilds is and has always been, much like the protagonist, a link on the chain of video game storytelling. a very strong link, but a link nonetheless.

basically i am saying please stop being so cagey about your beautiful, holy spoilers because all i want to know is the exact location of the fucking stealth segments so i'm not losing my mind waiting to be gored by an owl.

(also sometimes you find posts by Reddit Guy Who Only Plays AAA RPGs that are like "what is the fucking point of outer wilds, i hate this game cuz the npcs won't give me quests" and those are hilarious. at least the bog standard r/outerwilds reddit guy is willing to open their mind to other genres a bit lol.)

[xxkellsvixen19xx]

Spotlight: A Life Of A Troubled Celebrity Heartthrob Ch 9

Spotlight: A Life Of A Troubled Celebrity Heartthrob Chapter 9

Word Count: 3,432

We're going to skip the formalities Ashleigh," Colson strolled into the study and pushed Ashleigh's chair back, "Why did you you do it??"

"Colson I-" Ashleigh looked at him, frightened, "Slim said if I didn't do it then-it would have been me instead," she hung her head in shame.

"Hmm.." Colson held his chin and pretended to be in deep thought, "so you gave up Y/N instead..makes sense I guess," he shrugged.

"What?!" her head snapped up.

"Slim is a crackhead and is blazed half the time..what's your excuse for taking part in this Ashleigh," his eyes were fire and ice all at once.

"He threatened me-" she cried out.

"But you made conscious decision to help him f*ck my wife didn't you?!" Colson shot back, "you even spiked her drink with a double dose of the drug!" He shouted, "why did you do that? Huh?!"

"I was scared!" she said as the tears pooled her eyes,

"Ahhh..I see.." Colson stood up, " are you scared Ash?" Colson got up stared directly into her eyes.

"Y-e-ss.." she gulped and looked at the bodyguards that towered behind Colson.

"Good," Colson said with satisfaction, "it's good that you're afraid," he paced around her chair, "At least I've got the decency to plan this thing in front of you; and not behind your back like what you did to someone that considered you a friend," he stopped in front of her, "Now I'm going to get one of these guys to lock you in a tiny bathroom and have his way with you? How about that? Sound familiar?"

"Don't! Please! I'll do anything!" she fell at Colson's feet and grovelled.

"Guys can I have a volunteer to take this lovely lady into the restroom and do what ever you feel like with her? Actually I want you to go as far as Slim did with my wife..or further maybe? Rog? Andre? You're game?" Colson asked.

"Let me at her Col. I think I will do a good job than Rog over here," Andre motioned with his head.

"No, no, no. Please allow me Col? I will do a better job than Slim," Rog said smugly.

"Okay Rog you're our guy!" Colson patted Rog on the back, "don't worry Ashleigh I'll just turn a blind eye like you did and I hope, for your sake, there's someone that cares enough to come and knock the door down-like I did," Colson stepped away from her, "Hey don't forget to rough her up and spike her drink before-just like Slim did to my wife."

"Waaiiitt! Don't leave me! I'm sorry! Please! Slim made me do it-he-he threatened me," Ashleigh wailed.

"Why didn't you come to me?! You had a choice and you did the wrong thing Ashleigh! That makes you as bad as Slim!" Colson yelled at her, his blue eyes blazing. "By the way-enjoy your stay in prison," he informed her before he left the room.

"Take her away Rog and don't come out until she passes out just like Y/N," Jax looked down at her with disgust.

"Jax! Please don't do this!" she pleaded but Jax was having none of it.

"You saw it fit to do it to Y/N so why should I feel sorry for you? Take her away," Jax said.

"Noooo! Please!" Ashleigh screamed as Rog threw her over his shoulder; to carry out orders.

"How far do you want to take this Colson?" Jax asked as they walked to the car.

"As far as Slim took liberties on my wife," Colson replied tersely, "I want her to experience everything that Y/N went through. She should have a play by play version and we'll see how she feels being in the same shoes."

"So they're not going to actually...?" Jax raised his eyebrow.

"No! I gave them strict instructions not to take it that far," he reiterated.

"Okay," Jax opened the door for Colson and he jumped in.

"Please take me to the hospital? I need to check on Y/N before I lose my mind," Colson sighed heavily, "the doctor has assured me that he didn't..get very far."

"What a relief!" Jax sagged on the driver's seat.

"If he had-I was going to kill him with my bare hands," Colson clenched his fist.

"Not if I got to him first-with a bullet straight through his head," Jax said with conviction.

"I think we need to leave this place. Just me and Y/N," Colson said, "please make the arrangements?"

"Where are we going to this time?" Jax questioned, knowing he was part of the plan.

"Jamaica," Colson replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good morning baby," Colson sat on the hospital bed and held Y/N's hand. Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned.

"You told him," she snatched her hand out of his grasp and turned aside.

"What?!" Colson asked, confused.

"I told you something in confidence," she cleared her throat, "and you told Slim so he could use it against me," she sniffled.

"Sweets.." Colson jumped onto the bed and lay in front of her, "look at me? Please?" he held her face tenderly.

"I honestly have no idea what you're going on about" his blonde hair flopped over his eyes and he tossed it back, "can you at least fill in the blanks so that we can be on the same page?" he stared at her intently.

"He knew," she whispered, "he knew about Bobby," she dropped her gaze.

"Who's Bobby baby?" Colson asked gently.

"My ex," she gulped as she twisted her hands nervously.

"I didn't tell him anything about it sweets. I swear. Maybe he overheard me talking to Jax the other day..I wanted him to help find him so you wouldn't have to worry about him coming back-I didn't want it hanging over your head," Colson explained "plus you never really told me his name.."

"Oh," her eyes focused on chest.

"You like my t-shirt?" Colson joked.

"I've always found plain white t-shirts fascinating," she rolled her eyes.

"This isn't just any white t-shirt babe-it's an original Levi," Colson held out the hem of the t-shirt and grinned.

"I'm sorry for spoiling your night," Y/N apologized.

"Hey..don't do that," Colson held her chin up and gazed into her e/c orbs, "I should be the one apologizing actually. I was supposed to protect you but-"

"Can we not talk about this?" she frowned and looked away.

"Sure," there was an awkward silence. "I'll go and check with the doctor if he's done with your discharge papers," Colson hopped of the bed and left the room.

Y/N looked up the ceiling and sighed heavily. How did she end up in this situation for a second time? If Colson hadn't kicked down the door when he did then-she didn't even want to think about it. She would rather keep it buried in her emotional archives.

"Good morning!" Jax stood at the door with his hands in his pockets, "is there room for one more?" he smiled.

"Jax!" Y/N gave him a genuine smile, "come in!" Jax got to her in two strides and engulfed her in a bear hug.

"You okay kid?" he leaned back and examined her.

"Yeah," she grinned.

"Good. The doctor has given you the green light, you can go home" he nodded with satisfaction, "did your husband tell you that we're going on honeymoon?"

"No Jax," Colson cut in, "but you might as well tell her."

"Tell me what?" Y/N asked.

"We're going to the Caribbean baby," Jax smiled.

"What?! Really babe??" Y/N gushed and Colson nodded with a smile.

"Let's get out of here I need to pack."

***********************************

It was a beautiful day; the birds were singing, the sun was shining and all was alright in the world. For now at least.

Colson woke up early and went to take his usual swim. The beach was deserted as he walked towards the water, in his shorts and his towel slung over his shoulder. He loved to take an early morning swim as part of his workout routine because it helped him to think; and he had a lot of thinking to do this morning.

At the end of this week they were going back to reality and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that. The press that constantly stalked him and pried into his private life unashamedly, his fake friends, the pressure of staying at the top and last but not least his dear mother in law. Mrs Y/M/F/N L/N had called him, breathing fire and threatening to castrate him as soon as his jet touched the ground of Cleveland. He would definitely chose dealing with the press over that any day.

While he understood that she had genuine concerns, Y/N was a grown woman and the only thing that mattered to him. The way he felt about her frightened him. After Dani he had promised to never fall in love again. Love was complicated, it was too intense and it made you vulnerable; but worst of all you could risk getting your heart broken. He had loved Dani more than was humanely possible-he could have done anything for her and he did, but after she slept with his best friend she did irreparable damage to his heart. He couldn't risk it again-and yet he found himself totally consumed by Y/N Y/L/N.

Her eyes captivated him and sent his heart spiraling to the ends of the unknown. When she laughed or smiled at him he felt like he could take on the world. Making love to her was an indescribable feeling..he couldn't put it into words even if he tried. She was always on his mind and he just wanted to be with her all the time. He was selfish when it came to her-he didn't want anyone else around when they were together; he wanted all her attention; all of her.

Colson swam back to the shore, his body was exhausted. He bent over and held onto his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Smile," Y/N said and as he looked up startled she took a pic with her iPhone.

"Hey sweets," his face broke into a smile and his heart skipped a beat.

"I could wake up to this every morning..some girls have all the luck," she sighed and took a few more pics of Colson in his swimming trunks, water dripping from his gorgeous body.

"You know what Bambi..I think you need to be in the pic as well-"Colson lunged at her and grabbed her, making her wet. She was dressed in a short floral caftan dress which did nothing to protect her.

"Baker!" she squealed, "you're making me wet!"

"Just what I love to hear sweets," he crushed her against his solid chest and their lips merged, melting into each other. He wove his fingers into her silky soft hair and she in turn slid her fingers into his wet hair.

Jax stood behind them clearing his throat and got their attention.

"Just on time Jax-please take a video and post it on Instagram asap okay?" Colson handed the phone to him.

"A video??," Y/N asked. Before she got a response Colson swooped her off her feet and threw over his shoulder. He ran back into the water amidst Y/N's screams and protests.

She landed in the water with a splash and Colson laughed at her as she spluttered in the water.

"Baker you are dead!!" she jumped onto his back and they both keeled over back into the water. Y/N tried to escape but he caught her foot and dragged her back in. They continued a full out make out session and would have taken it further if Jax hadn't reminded them that they were in a public area.

"That's enough you two!" Jax yelled, "breakfast is served, let's go."

"Let's get changed first. Come one," Colson put his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to the villa. They had a quick shower and dressed up before going for breakfast.

"Can't we go out somewhere for breakfast?" Y/N suggested, "We're in the Caribbean so we might as well take advantage of it."

"As mi 'lady wishes," Colson bowed.

"Baker!" Y/N swatted his arm.

"But I went all out and made breakfast for you two?" Jax grumbled.

"Sorry Jax. Guess we will have to stay and eat," Y/N said.

"Killjoy," Colson muttered under his breath.

"Don't worry babe, we can explore after breakfast," Y/N squeezed his arm.

"Ooh, I like the sound of that.." Colson murmured and leaned in to kiss her.

"Can we eat now?" Jax complained.

"I would rather eat what I'm looking at right now.." Colson continued to suck on Y/N's lips and she giggled.

"Gosh! I think I'm going to throw up," Jax rolled his eyes, "I'm going to eat at my villa. I'll leave you kids to it." He threw his napkin on the table and stood up.

"Hey Jax," Colson said, "You're officially off duty. We'll call you when we need you."

"Thank you!" Jax said with a sigh of relief, "at least I won't have to witness you two sucking face any longer."

"Makes two of us," Colson replied. They laughed as they watched him leave.

"You're not a nice person Baker," Y/N said as she nibbled on a piece of bacon.

"I know but I'm still yours," he tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Are you really?" she asked with uncertainty.

"Sweets-let's not do this? Please?" he raked his hair.

"So nothing has changed," she nodded and her gaze as she twisted her fingers nervously.

"I'm going for a walk!" Colson pushed back his chair and it screeched as he stood up.

"Fine!" Y/N shouted at his retreating back.

Y/N thought that things had changed. That somehow his feelings had changed and he was finally ready to admit that he loved her, that this was more than a casual fling, that they had passed the stage of testing the waters. She had hoped they had established their relationship on a solid foundation but his outburst had proved that they were still on ground zero.

Two steps forward. Two steps back.

**********************************

Y/N spent the day watching Netflix in the guest room at the villa. She had ordered room service because she didn't feel like cooking. She didn't feel like doing anything but wallowing in self-pity. Colson hadn't shown up for lunch or dinner and Y/N went into further depression. There was a fully stocked bar so she decided to take full advantage of it and drowned her sorrows.

She heard loud music coming from outside so she got dressed in her best outfit and headed out. There was no way she was going to sit at home while Colson was probably out there having a good time. She stumbled into a local club that seemed to be happening tonight and made a beeline to the bar.

"Can I have a cosmo?" she asked the barman and he nodded. She sipped on it slowly and watched the revelers grinding on each other; having a good time.

"Care to dance?" Colson came from behind and whispered in her ear.

"Get lost Baker," she retorted without swinging around.

"Look sweets, I'm sorry for walking out on you," he turned her around and he took her hands, "I shouldn't have done that-please forgive me?" he pouted.

"We can't make progress if that's what you going to do every time we have a fight," she said, "where have you been all day anyway?"

"I went scuba diving and surfing with Jax," he replied. "Can we just be Colson and Y/N tonight? For the rest of the week maybe?" he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, "No fighting, no arguing-no nothing-good vibes only. Just me and you enjoying each other's company? Can we do that baby?" he implored.

"Okay Baker. I'm sold," Y/N rolled her eyes and picked up her drink.

"I know we need to do grown up talk soon but can it be when we get back home?" he asked, "for now I just want to enjoy my honeymoon with my beautiful and sexy wife," he took her drink and gulped half of it down.

"Hey! Get your own," she slapped his arm. He ordered another round for them and then a couple of more. She was feeling light headed and her face was tingling. The alcohol had clearly kicked in and she could feel it.

"Let's go dance!" Colson pulled her to the dance floor.

"I don't even know how to dance to this music!" she shouted into his ear. She looked around her and all she could see was people gyrating on each other. If they didn't have any clothes on it would have been x-rated.

"There's nothing to it sweets. Just follow my lead," Colson started grinding against her and she followed suit.

They got lost in the moment as their bodies intertwined as they moved to the rhythm of the music. He turned her around and fitted her back into the contour of his body, his hands slowly gliding down her thighs. She weaved her hands in his hair and pressed her backside into him and he groaned into her ear.

"You're killing me Bambi," his lust filled voice whispered into her ear, sending chills down her spine. He gripped her hips tightly and sucked her earlobe and she gasped.

"I learnt from the best," she said breathlessly, as she continued to grind against him.

"Bathroom-now!" he growled.

"What?!" her eyeballs almost popped out. This was so hot but she had to be the voice of reason here. He grabbed her hand and led her to the ladies restrooms, "Colson-you can't be serious?!

"This is Jamaica sweets. We can't come here and not have hot, spontaneous sex in the bathroom," he slammed the door shut and made sure it was locked.

"What if we get caught?" she asked breathlessly, as he planted hot kisses on her neck.

"Too bad-they will just have to hear you screaming my name," he said in a husky voice, before he pushed her against the door and took her right there and then.

Welcome to Jamaica.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the night was a blur and just when Y/N thought she was ready to head home, Colson told her the night was only beginning.

"We've been invited to an after party at Sean Paul's and I have been trying forever to get a collabo with him. This is my chance," Colson said as they jumped into the limo.

"Can you maybe drop me off at home? I'm totally wasted," Y/N groaned and leaned back on the leather seat.

"Not a chance sweets," Colson leaned in and kissed her until she was breathless, "better?" he asked with a smile.

"Hmmm," was all Y/N could day.

"We won't stay long. Promise," he assured her but they both knew it was a lie.

Colson kept her entertained throughout the night and never left her side. They danced, talked, drank and danced some more. Finally she couldn't stand on her feet any more so they went to sit down again. The people at their table were smoking a joint an passing it around and Colson pulled on it a couple of times before passing it to Y/N.

"No way!" she pushed his hand away.

"Don't tell me you've never smoked weed sweets?" he looked genuinely shocked.

"Never..not interested," she slurred, "I don't smoke."

"This is different. Besides-we're in Jamaica sweets. You can't be here and not experience this," he looked at the joint like it was gold, "come on just try it. Just one drag," he coaxed and his new found friends cheered her on.

"Okay, okay" she relented. Against her better judgement she took it and smoked it until she choked on the smoke.

"Yeah!" everyone cheered for her.

"Well done Bambi," Colson chuckled and rubbed her back.

To this day Y/N couldn't remember how she got home that night.

Colson teased her about it the next day. Apparently she danced on the table and almost did a strip show but he had stopped her just in time. He even got a lap dance.

"You're a bad influence Baker," she groaned and went back to sleep.

[kikoqueenofrats]

Next Chapter is out Yeahhhh!!!

Lil Guy belongs to @toastraccoon Also @illateyouricecreamlastnight cuz this part actually ties in to the rp we're doing rn

It had been a week now since Lil Guy introduced Cel and Mari to the safe space, it wasn't as big as they were expecting it to be.

But it was definitely safer than trying to rest on a desktop that was for sure;

The space looked almost exactly like a fancy hotel, down to the fancy mints in the bathroom.

After getting checked into the hotel the duo made their way into the only available room, only to find out that there was only one bed.

Mari insisted that they shared the bed and Cel definitely couldn't say no to a face like that; So share the bed they did.

It was a bit awkward at first, especially when Cel kept waking up gently pressed against Maris side. According to Mari he had snuggled up against them in his sleep, much to Cels despair.

Though after finding out that Mari didn't mind and actually found it quite comforting during those long lonely nights the initial awkwardness died down a bit.

Currently Mari was stretching out their stiff muscles after having been forced to lay in a bed for a week. Cel on the other hand was laying on the bed, trying to distract himself from Maris stretching by reading a book; though he was failing miserably at doing so.

"Hey Cel?" Mari turned their head to look at their friend in the middle of a stretch and Cel quickly had to hide his blushing face behind his book.

"Mhm?" He hummed quietly

"I overheard a few of the sticks next door talking about a new game they found...it sounded like fun, wanna check it out?' Mari smirked, still mid stretch, as a result of this Cel ducked under the book even more; face somehow even redder than before.

"I-uh" Cel stuttered trying to get his emotions under control; But before he could Mari began making their way out of the door.

"I'll take that as a yes then, come on let's go!" Mari smiled, throwing open the door before running into the hall just outside it.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" Cel yelled, quickly discarding his book, before jumping off the bed and following Mari out.

..........

Cel locked the door of the portal that led to the hotel with the key Lil Guy had given them before following Mari onto the task bar.

Mari stopped just before they stepped on a creepy looking game icon named Freeze.

Cel looked between the icon and Mari, a sickening worry beginning to build up inside his chest. He was about to voice this worry when Mari suddenly grabbed his hand and jumped into the icon.

Cels world went dark for a few moments as the game loaded, but he soon regained his sight as the duo quickly landed inside what looked like the hallway of a large mansion.

Cel looked around the dimly lit hallways and listened to the spooky music playing in the background for a few moments, before quickly coming to the conclusion that Mari had dragged him into some sort of horror game.

Cel glared at Mari who was currently looking quite pleased with themselves. "Mari this is a horror game! What were you thinking!" Cel whispered harshly causing Mari to look over at them, their once smiling face falling into a confused frown.

"This isn't a horror game though...more like...a haunted house" Mari shrugged, beginning to walk down the hall. Cel slowly followed, his glare softening into a worried sort of look.

"Is...is there a difference?" Cel muttered, genuinely unsure.

"Yeah, there is" Mari nodded "In a horror game the monsters can hurt you and even kill you in some cases...haunted houses just have harmless spooks"

Mari looked over at Cel, checking to see if he had been convinced. Seeing the still concerned look still clearly on Cels face Mari added.

"Well...this game can turn into a horror game from what I've heard...but as long as we don't attack any of the spooks we sh-"

A stick sized figure suddenly appeared in front of the duo and they both froze in their tracks.

Cel chuckled lightly in surprise "Hah-Uh...If this is all there is then this" he turned, noticing how Maris eyes had widened and their breathing had become panicked "shouldn't be...so bad..." Cel muttered, not taking his eyes off of Mari.

Without warning Mari threw a punch at the figure, hitting it square in the head...where it's face was supposed to be.

Cel flinched, Maris previous words repeating in his head as the figure fell to the floor.

Something must've happened to Mari to cause them to react like this...they wouldn't just blatantly ignore their own rule...usually...

A loud roar echoed through the hall as all of the doors swung open with a bang, causing both of them to jump harshly, their heads snapping towards the doors general direction.

Familiar looking figures appeared just outside them as unmoving as the first one had been.

Mari began backing up, their breathing becoming more erratic by the second but their arms up in a defensive pose.

Cel knew they were probably planning on fighting the figures but by the amount of doors that had opened he figured they probably couldn't do it on their own;

Especially considering the mental state they were currently in.

Cel looked around for some sort of weapon for a few moments before spotting a discarded umbrella, he grabbed it just before Mari suddenly ran forward and took a swing at the nearest figure.

Mari yelped in both surprise and pain as their fist collided with the figure's hard wooden face and a small red bar appeared just above Maris head. The bar remained full for only a few seconds before shaking and going down until only a quarter of the bar was left.

Cel stepped forward, fully expecting the creature to lunge at Mari, however it didn't move until Cel swung the umbrella at its neck; and that was only because Cel had managed to knock its head off.

The figure suddenly went limp and fell to the floor with a loud thud.

Cel stared at it for a while, trying to take in what just happened, however he couldn't do so before Mari had grabbed his arm and began dragging him down the hall.

Cel was grateful for this, as when he looked behind him he noticed how close one of the figures had gotten to him.

Though he was also quite confused, sure Mari knew when to fight and when to run away. But that line was so blurred to them that Cel was fully expecting them to try and take on the entire hallway of monsters, especially after seeing Cel take down one so easily.

As they turned the corner Mari suddenly stopped in their tracks, Cel colliding with them as a result.

The room they had just run into looked like a fancy ballroom, it was also filled with faceless mannequins dressed in fancy clothing.

Mari stared at all of them in wild panic, their muscles stiffened as their legs locked into place.

Cel quickly turned around, just managing to catch the group of figures in his gaze, before swinging his umbrella and knocking one of them to the floor.

He knocked down two more of them before turning around to check on Mari. Noticing the maroon stick figure still hadn't moved, Cels worry grew tenfold.

"Mari! Are you alright?!?" Cel called out before whirling around and knocking another figure to the floor.

A sob reached Cels ears and he froze, "Mari?" He muttered, turning around, about to go comfort them when a sharp pain suddenly grabbed his waist.

At Cels cry Mari snapped out of their funk and turned around to see Cel falling to his knees as the pain travelled across his sides and to his back.

As Maris gaze fell upon the figure it froze, allowing Cel to slip out of its grasp on his way to the floor.

Before either of them could assess the damage Mari quickly scooped Cel into their arms and took off running again.

Mari fought their way through the ballroom as the mannequins began grabbing at them, spotting a door, they ran towards it.

A few moments later they managed to break out of the mannequin's grasps and through the door.

The room they had entered was completely black. The door closed behind them, removing their only light source for a few moments before two glowing words appeared in front of them.

Mari looked up, still breathing heavily from the running and panic. Though they quickly let themselves relax after reading the glowing words, collapsing to the floor as they did so and burying their face into Cels shoulder.

Demo complete.

They remained like that as Mari let out every emotion that had been building up ever since the two arrived in the game into Cels shoulder.

Cel just rested there, also recovering from the ordeal but wanting to comfort their currently hurting friend as much as they could.

After a long while of the duo just sitting there inside each other's arms; Mari swallowed heavily before trying to get the words that were currently stuck in their throat out into the open.

"Cel...Cel I'm" they swallowed again, trying to push the unwelcome emotion back into its cage. Though that only made it want to come out more.

"Shh,shh, it's okay" Cel soothed beginning to rub Maris back.

"It's not though! I for-forced you-I thought" Mari sobbed trying to push themselves off of Cels shoulder; though he was having none of it and proceeded to hold onto them even tighter.

"Now you listened here" Cel ordered firmly but with no malice in his tone "sure, you may not have given me time to respond but I know you never meant for this to happen, by how you reacted to those...things, you weren't prepared for it-"

"That's the point-" Mari started trying to pull away again.

"Let me finish!" Cel huffed, still clinging tightly onto Mari.

"I don't blame you for what happened, all you wanted to do was have fun with a friend after spending the week in bed, you heard of a fun game and wanted to check it out" Cel sighed as he felt Mari allow him to pull them back into his shoulder "Honestly I would've been more upset if you had decided to check the game out on your own"

Mari chuckled humorlessly at that, letting out a few more sobs before finally managing to calm himself down.

"Th-thank you," Mari muttered softly, slowly turning their head to look at Cel.

"No problem" Cel muttered back, gently pressing his head against Maris in the form of a gentle headbutt.

"what are friends for?"

Mari chuckled again at that, looking up into Cels eyes. A warm, fuzzy feeling suddenly began making its way into their stomach.

They continued staring into Cels eyes as they tried to figure out what this emotion was.

It was a longing one.

One that didn't want Cel to leave them.

One that needed Cel to stay by their side.

Another emotion suddenly made themselves known.

One that told Mari that they couldn't keep them.

That Cel wanted to leave.

Mari suddenly felt very, very sad.

Cel suddenly pulled away, cheeks red, he was now looking rather sheepish.

Mari turned away as well, squashing the conflicting emotions into the darkest corner of their mind, hoping to pick them apart later.

"Ah uh...sorry-" Cel muttered, still not looking at Mari.

"It's okay..." Mari muttered back.

The duo remained like that for a few moments, before Mari suddenly realised that Cel probably had a few unvoiced questions about what had just happened.

It was only fair that they indulge them, after all Cel had told them their backstory.

It was only fair.

"You're probably wondering why I reacted the way I did back there-" Mari started and Cels head snapped towards them, a worried look on their face.

Though he remained silent, genuinely curious as to what Mari was going to say.

"When...when I answered those questions about my game I-I wasn't telling the whole truth..." Mari continued to avoid Cels eyes, now looking rather guilty.

"I didn't leave because I was bored...I left because...because I was tired of being someone's test dummy..." Mari took a few deep breaths before continuing, trying to calm his thumping heart down.

"It's okay..." Cel smiled softly "take your time"

Mari smiled back, grateful for his friend's patience.

"Ev-every day I had to fight these...faceless husks, I had no time to relax...everyday I was...brought out and forced" Mari paused again, chancing a glance at Cels expression.

His friend looked horrified, but also sympathetic...

"Even when I passed out in the middle of a match I still had to fight...they beat me until I woke up...aft-after a few years of this I...I noticed an opening...an opening out of the game...I don't know how long it had been there but...I took it...I ran out and never looked back" Mari huffed, looking down at his hands as he began trying to squash the painful memories that were now rushing into their mind.

Cel suddenly pulled Mari into another hug.

"That sounds horrible! No wonder you freaked out so much!" Cel gasped, Mari let out another sob in reply before burying their face into Cels shoulder again.

"Yeah it was" Mari choked out as they let themselves cry again.

Cel began rubbing their back again "you're okay now, you got out" they muttered in an attempt to sooth them.

Mari nodded, trying to calm themselves down again.

"I'm not gonna let you go through that again" Cel smiled and Mari slowly pushed away, looking up at Cel with a somewhat hopeful expression.

"Promise?"

Cel chuckled "yeah...I promise"

[sleepynegress]

Hi! I've seen your posts about Shuri and Bucky and I wanted to ask if you have the time if you could explain why a lot of people are not into it and why you think it's actually okay and would be cute? I haven't really gotten into the "discourse", I had only ever seen posts calling it wrong or disgusting and stuff like that and I would simply like to understand and consider somebody else's point of view, especially because you often post your thoughts about things and (pt1)

Aww, thank you. :) I’ve actually been going back and forth about whether I wanted to put down my full thoughts on it, because I like having an open mailbox.

…But ahh, what the hell.

I’ll say that when I saw that extra scene at the end of Black Panther, my eyebrows went up, I smiled and cleaned my shipper goggles and thought, “Hey, those two might be cute in a few years”. Then, I came home and checked the tag expecting some mad fangirls and foolishness and sure enough…

The thing is, this song and dance is an oldie, but not goodie.

Whenever there is even a hint of shippiness between a black girl and a popularly shipped white dude, concern trolling/virtue signaling nonsense comes up in abundance for why that’s just super-wrong and terrible and better off for the well-being and integrity of these characters for people to not imagine them together romantically and have fun creating fanwork for that.  Because it’ll lead to moral decay or some such hyperbolic nonsense. 

In actuality it’s just super-patronizing, clumsily veiled, bigotry. White fangirls who have the wildest incest and thousand year old supernatural man/teenager ships are squicked and threatened by even imagined relationships that don’t completely center on their all-white status quo.  They are doing their damnedest to convince others and probably even themselves that the vein is throbbing in their foreheads out of genuine concern for the black girl half of the ship.

The top three greatest hits that I’ve seen on that front have been:

she’s being taken advantage of and that’s gross because power dynamic is unequal and therefore it’s “rape(!)” because he’s a teacher and she’s a student (Spock/Uhura) 

she’s become a damsel in distress who the hero saves all the time and has no character traits apart from being his girlfriend (Iris/Flash)

she’d be having an affair with a married man and she would never do that, she’s better than that(!) because that’s immoral and she’s not (Abbie/Ichabod)

Now, for Bucky and Shuri it’s supposedly about protecting a nineteen year old black “child” (as of IW) from pedophilia.  …Yeah, right. These people even went so far as to harass the white actor half because he either ships it himself and/or likes to flirt and joke like quite a few actors do with co-stars they like or are friends with in interviews about having a thing between his character and hers. Make no mistake, the true goal was to shame him, to make him feel bad for doing that for the lowly black girl and not for their ships.I used to be a theater kid. I remember a grown-ass 40+ married man playing against my 18 year old friend as husband and wife in a production.  They flirted all the damn time, even when the wife came for the show she called her the second much younger production wife.  NOBODY thought this was gross or serious because we weren’t being serious. It was bonding among friends; among players and it helped with the chemistry.  If someone had come in talking about this guy was seriously taking advantage of my friend, we would have all backed away slowly from this person.Remember, when you were a kid and you’d claim certain aspects of pop culture stuff you like?  You’d see a cool car on a movie or TV show and say “That’s my car!” or see someone hot or cool and you’d say “That’s my boyfriend!”  That’s the spirit I get.  These people literally get to play pretend for a living, and they get to continue to play that game while actually being a part of production process. So, when folks make a huge deal out of this?  They are ones doing the thing they imagine the actors are doing. Taking it too far and thinking gross thoughts that those they were accusing of doing so, were not.With this, it’s been even more extra because Black Panther is literally the first black world with a massive budget that’s ever been embodied on screen and it’s a success, at that. Therefore there’s also lot of protective black fan helicoptering because of fear of white nonsense, and I get that but yeah… Sometimes it’s veers into stifling fan imaginings using respectability boundaries.  So, the convergence of the bigotry and helicoptering created a sigh-worthy, popcorn-ingesting fanwank clusterfuck over what should have been nothing, IMO.P.S./EDIT  Because I forgot the “why” part of the ship. Okay, so one character is literally a delicate ball of light, -fresh glowing positivity; a benevolent prodigy in wisdom/intelligence, curiousity, joyous humor, and freedom. The other is hardened, tainted and damaged, used (he thought beyond repair) for horrific acts of violence, and has been locked in a physical and mental prison of shadow for decades. The dynamics that are also wrapped up in that, -those ship tropes are doctor and patient, teacher and student, monster who only softens for his lady (similar to the movie canon dynamic for Nat/Bruce, but more interesting IMO), plus all of the forbidden and potential angst wrapped up in the class, age, culture/tradition, and racial gulf.   He’s found paradise and he’s not worthy of it.  She’s the only person who has seen and examined all of the horrific things he’s done in order to properly cure him and she still see’s the man and not the weapon, regardless.  She’s in intimate proximity while also being untouchable and he has good reasons to be bound to her. There are so many angles to this that hit on potential depth of connection while also having barriers up to crossing those lines.  …Which make for the basis of delicious slow-burn secret pining.  It’s all ripe for some amazing shippy fanwork.

[succubused]

I'm bad at this but I saw your post thanks to lyriumyue and couldn't ignore it. First off, I'm sorry that you're having a stressful time and I hope things get easier for you soon! As for a prompt, I'd be super interested in reading some early game FFXV campfire dialogue or drabbles! I've only played until around the time you meet Iris and I'm struggling to stay involved, so it'd be nice to read some fiction that will keep me interested without spoiling too much.

ahh I am genuinely so appreciative of how kind everyone has been in my Time Of Suffering™ here is my gift in thanks 

“I’m telling you, dude, he doesn’t have a bad angle.”

“Everyone has bad angles,” Noctis mutters venomously. “I bet I could find his.”

Leaning back in his chair, Gladio smirks. “Can’t find something that doesn’t exist. You should listen to the little guy.”

“And what do you think?”

“That I do not feel the need to be involved.”

“Oh, come on, Iggy.”

“Yeah, come on. You gonna defend my honor or what?”

Ignis rolls his eyes without looking up from the stove. “You seem perfectly capable of doing so without my help.”

“Unbelievable.” Noctis flops back.

“Hey, Highness, not my fault you freeze up when you get within three feet of a camera lens.”

“I don’t like pictures.”

Prompto frowns, looking hurt.

“No, that’s not what I—” He groans. “No, I meant, I don’t like how I look in pictures. Never have, come on, you know that.”

“Oh, yeah,” Prompto says slowly, a grin spreading across his face as he remembers. “Ever since that picture of—”

“—the one we don’t talk about, right?” Noctis glares at him.

“What d’you...oh.”

“Okay, come on. Move on.”

“I remember that picture.” Gladio laughs. “You were tripping all over yourself all the time back then. Just bad luck that it got caught on camera.”

“And broadcast to half the damn country,” Noctis mumbles. 

“You know, I never actually saw it in the papers. Only online, and, you know. In texts.”

“Right.”

“That’s because Ignis went around throwing out every newspaper he saw that morning.” Gladio jerks his head towards the stove. 

“You—what?” Noctis stares. “Is that true?”

Ignis pauses and glances back at them. “Yes,” he says after a moment. “I knew you wouldn’t take kindly to being confronted with them any more than was necessary, so I did what I could to mitigate it.”

“You never told me that.”

“Merely doing my duty.” 

“Huh. Thanks.”

“It was years ago, Noct.”

“Still.”

“Besides,” Ignis says pointedly, “I believe you were all arguing about something more immediate.”

“Uh, yeah, the fact that Gladio couldn’t take a bad photo if you paid him to.” Prompto waves the camera at the big man, who laughs.

“Depends on how much you’re paying.”