#good thing mc got plot armor

[thegamingcatmom]

MC teaching Aurora how to swordfight (ofc my girl knows how to swordfight, cmon) with Maleficent observing proceedings very closely in the background like-

Momma does not approve.

[mortala-if]

Mortala, the word, derives from the Latin adjective "Mortalis." meaning "subject to death." Comparable to the English word "Mortal." meaning the same. —

You live in a rotting world. And that's not a metaphor.

You've known that since you can remember. It's a fact that's been drilled into your mind on repeat.

A rotting world that you must not explore. Stay where you are, stay where you're familiar with, stay where you're comfortable— In The Cinders with your older brother.

The Cinders might not look pretty, but it's not horrible. Steer clear of most streets, keep your head down, don't poke around in other people's business, and you'll be fine. You've learned to navigate pretty well, not to toot your own horn.

Plus, you've got a job, and so does your brother. Not good ones, but ones that can, with a joint salary, keep a crumbling roof over your heads. —

Another thing that's been forced into your mind since you were spoon-fed is to never, ever disobey Belamour.

Belamour is a peaceful organization that was made to keep you safe. To do this, they have strict laws in place, and officers crawl over the cities to make sure you follow them. They are not a government, and they make it very known that they are not.

If you fail to obey, you'll get sent to your city's rehabilitation center! Isn't that nice? Or, on the worse side, you can end up in the Belamour Rehabilitation Center all the way in The Frost.

You and your brother made an agreement when you were very little that you would stick together, and neither of you would break any of the rules for fear of being sent to a rehabilitation center.

. . . An agreement your brother broke.

Now you have to find out how to get him the fuck out of there.

Mortala is a 16+ game due to explicit language, violence, death, anxiety, mention of past emotional abuse (not of MC), messy relationships, and more. A detailed trigger warning list will be listed before every chapter.

Customize the flawed main character, ranging from their gender to their style. (Semi-set personality. Set last name and age.)

Make risky choices that might result in you dying or being injured.

Build relationships between characters, romanceable and not.

Finally wipe The Cinders' ashes off you and explore more than just the burnt city you grew up in.

Go against everything you were taught growing up.

Lie to save your (and your brother's) skin.

These characters are not all romanceable, and you will not meet most of these characters until Chapter Two. Also, it's important to note that not all these characters have plot armor. This does not include sub-romances or all the characters you'll interact with.

FINNLEY ROSE. ✩ ---- Finnley has raised you since you were 5, making him 11 when you started to rely on him. You never really understood the gravity of that until you were in your late teenage years, and that's when you really started to appreciate him. You regret things you've said to him, how you've hurt him— and lately, with his absence, that's all you can think about. ---- His skin is a shade lighter than yours, the same textured hair as yours, and he has brown hooded eyes outlined with eyelashes that make you jealous. He stands at 6 feet, 2 inches. (187.96cm)

HIRO LA'EI. ✩ ---- Hiro has been your best friend since you were in diapers. You know everything about him, and he knows everything about you. You genuinely think he might be one of the sweetest people alive, despite what others might assume, and he jumps at the chance to help you with anything. . . ---- He has tan skin, wavy dark brown hair, and pretty doe-like brown eyes. He stands at 5 feet, 10 inches. (177.8cm) ! Option to have a crush on him— it goes nowhere, though.

MEDUSA CALIXTE. ♡ ---- Medusa. What can you say about Medusa? To put it plainly, she's your best friend's ex-girlfriend. She broke up with him and gave no reason. At the time of their relationship, you thought she was. . . interesting, for lack of a better word, and when she left your best friend, it took a huge toll on him, and from the looks of it, it barely affected her. ---- She has russet brown skin, coiled light brown hair, often shoulder-length and worn in dreads, and upturned hazel eyes. She stands at 5 feet, 2 inches. (157.48cm)

MONROE HALILI. ♡ ---- Your brother's best friend. They're concerned, and not just about their best friend. They're observant, annoyingly so, and can tell how bad his leave has affected you. Obviously, due to their status, they've taken it upon themselves to check on you- wanted or not. ---- They have deep tawny skin, curly black hair with white underneath, and dark brown monolid eyes framed with long, naturally curled eyelashes. He stands at 6 feet tall. (182.88cm) ! Option to have a childhood crush on them. (Three-year age gap.)

LIVIA ALARIE. ✩ ---- Monroe's daughter. From what you heard from your brother, she's incredibly timid- Oh, and she's smiled at him. (He wouldn't shut up about it for a week.) You've never seen her or talked to her yet. ---- She has tawny skin, wavy black hair that reaches below her ears, and dark brown almond eyes. She stands at 3 feet, 7 inches. (109.22cm)

VIVIAN DE LA CRUZ. ♡ ---- Your ex. You still think about them occasionally— you don't date someone for 5 years and forget about them even if you want to. You don't like how things ended, but you don't know if you want to see them again. ---- They have warm golden skin, light blue wavy hair, and downturned brown eyes. They stand at 6ft, 1 inch. (185.42cm) ! Details of the past relationship in their character profile.

Character profiles

Hiro La'ei Medusa Calixte Monroe Halili Vivian de la Cruz

Informational posts

The Cities Belamour Organization

Outside of Tumblr links

Playlists Pinterest Demo/Proof of concept

Extra

My other interactive fiction blog @destined-if My personal account @bunnifly

Important

My banner is by Thomas Dubois This interactive fiction is very loosely inspired by The Hunger Games

Thank you for reading ♡

[sweatinghoneybee]

Drew out what Glowburst would look like in the fic! Since there hasn’t been any concept art on what Glowburst looks like i’d like to take a crack on what she would probably look like by the little description that we do get of her!

I drew out her past, present and future looks cause since it’s confirmed that Glowburst looks differently from what she looks at present time at the fic and a future look cause i feel like it’s all set and done when she has her family whole again after reuniting with sire again, she’ll have a healing arc where she’s taking herself and gets to spend some quality family time. Even tho there’s a hint that she’s gonna die, but for now i’m gonna be an optimist and just hope that MC will not be tortured by the plot traumas of the future (i know this is in vain but a girl can only wish ok!!)

But disclaimer tho, some of the things i put on Glowburst’s design is sort of headcanons from me with the ideas i come up with the things that are hinted about Glowburst and hasn’t been said yet in the fic, so no one better tell me that i’m off track when future chapters are added cause this design is just what i THINK she’d look like not what she DOES look like at the moment! And I’m honestly just having fun with her design kay? Plus i sort of kind of re-using a failed draft of my version of MC when she got older.

I mostly start with the present one since we got a description from ms.seacucumber that Glowburst looks old and that her paint is faded and since it’s said by MC that she looks like her carrier i got a pretty good draft on what she’d probably look like. I tried to base her off of MC but with slight differences since the sire’s genetic also got inherited so i didn’t want MC and GB to look too similar, and also i sorta made her look like she’s covered up cause i feel like the modification that got hinted in the new chapter 23 would be put over her past armor somewhat like trying to contain the fire in Glowburst to prevent it from well, bursting. And sorta like a symbolism that she’s being constrained and forced to being something she’s not. Also little funny reason on her color picking, i got the idea from A.B.A’s new design in guilty gear where there’s like a theory of sort that her hair is made of copper and that’s why her red hair is now greenish blue because of time and the other theory that it’s because A.B.A tried to dye her hair but ended up coloring it wrong, and since it’s confirmed by Spring that Glowburst has ember color scheme in her past and ember has reds in them i just roled with that color idea. Tho i wonder if i put enough greenishnest in the fading blue paint tho. . . . ? Maybe i’ll meke it more greenish in the future with the blue. . .

And with the present done it���s easy to think of past and future since i just need to branch it out. The reason why I thought of 80s type of inspiration for the past look cause of the description of Glowburst being old and since transformers has already existed since the 80s, I thought that it’ll be a good fit! Tho also fun fact, to get some some ideas on 80s look i looked up 80s cartoons and one of the cartoons that i found on that 80s cartoon list is Jem and the holograms, and i was like “hey MC likes to sing, that could be a good inspiration fit for her mama!”. Also i just really want an 80s based look for Glowburst cause i wanted to give her the poofiest big bursting flames ponytail like those poofy hairs back in the 80s that were popular at that time! And come on her name is Glowburst! Her flames gotta be “bursting” from those “glowing” hues of flames of her’s!!

And the future look i just sort of mismatched both the past and present look since i feel like Glowburst would definitely want to look like back when she was in her past look but with how she’s grown she’s now matured better then her past, and hey blue ain’t a bad color for her just that she never took care of herself that she pretty much neglected her paint till it’s faded so i thought a more vibrant color of the blue symbolizes that she’s now healing since she’ll maybe reunited with her conjunx and now has met Nebula plus having grandkids so she’s a happy elderly now! Also i thought of Glowburst getting accesories that MC made since i thought that Glowburst would love to experiment with her looks plus 80s have some over the top exaggerated accesories so why not? Plus the transformation that i saw with the femmes in G1, their vehicle modes usually only have their chest and thigh parts showing on the outside so i believe that the accesories could work! Plus i mean there’s no way they haven’t figured out how to make accesories right? They already figured out spacebridge portals to teleport them threw galaxies and even multiverses but they couldn’t figure out how to make accesories for fun?

I’ll probably update on her design in the future cause i feel like Glowburst looks will be described more and who knows maybe i can add alittle more things in her design or just feels like that something could suit her more! This was a fun challenge tho, can’t wait to see what sire would look like so that i can make a draft blueprint for him too!

X - X - X - X - X

If anyone is curious and wants to read the fanfic that i’ve been rambling above on the fanart i made, here’s the link to the fic made by a lovely friend of mine!

Spring (the author) works hard to make this lovely work of theirs so please give them some love kay! They’ve been really sweet to answer my questions on what Glowburst looks like and oh darn are they just so sweetly patient with me cause i wanted to not miss a detail of Glowburst’s design since this is an old oc she made that she hasn’t even drawn yet so i wanted to give her design the justice it deserves!! Man can’t wait when Glowburst’s mystery gets revealed along with her conjunx!! I’m so excited!!

[ditzydreamsss]

Slimecicle haunted house video + scu (nvm it's just a lore rant now)

my personal order of scu lore events:

- roll. - Minecraft, but every block is HOSTILE. - Minecraft, but every 5 minutes there's a natural disaster - Minecraft, but it's way more traumatizing - Minecraft, but 100 players are hunting me - The HARDEST Minecraft Difficulty - I Spent 24 Hours in the Most Haunted Place on Earth - DSMP arc - We Spent 100 Days in a Hardcore Minecraft Apocalypse

so how does that fit in?

well vaguely the entire lore i came up with is:

roll. : the start of everything. Charlie and his friends are just wandering around worlds when they load into Narwhal's world- the world with the dice of a hundred(?) sides. After Narwhal fucking. drops the dice on accident, Charlie "consumes" the power from the dice and now oh look he's the most powerful god in existence. Ig reason why Charlie was able to get into Narwhal's server, which is a private server, is because of his abilities to temper with The Code (which is the thing that makes up everything in the world). Kinda like atoms for us. Maybe Charlie's a long lost descendent of the Original God. idk. anyways Charlie splits his newfound powers between Condi and Grizzly. Wheatie leaves them (and never comes back) because he doesn't want to be associated with god powers. They leave on a good note.

Minecraft, but every block is HOSTILE. AND Minecraft, but every 5 minutes there's a natural disaster : They meet Schlatt, he's a funny guy so Charlie gives him god powers and now whoopsie he went psycho. At the end, Charlie banishes him and that does weaken his power, but Charlie's mistake was that he never took away Schlatt's powers, only weakened them.

RLCraft & A Hundred Players are breaks that The Council takes from all these god things. At some point Bizly, a friend they know from a game of DND, becomes a god. After Bizly becomes a god they build Molympus, which is a home for them.

Then after who-knows-how-long, The Council has the bright idea to start The HARDEST Minecraft Difficulty.

Grizzly dies in this.

alright so time for Haunted Asylum stuff.

Charlie, Condi, and Bizly decided to go on a trip to the Real World, which means they will be powerless.

And then at some point they play chess as a ghost. The ghost is Grizzly, who is technically in limbo?

This one specific chess set has connections to the limbo (shh shh plot armor).

(grizzly's comment on the video)

which. of course. equals LORE.

Grizzly's limbo was like he was in a white foggy void (like in the skies with your render distance 0 in mc) and suddenly a chess board popped up. he played along for a little bit before he got annoyed and knocked over all the pieces. The chess board at some point faded away and disappeared. mmm trauma

And then Charlie loses both Bizly and Condi (they literally die canonically)

what happens to condi & bizly & Grizzly:

Condi and Bizly are sent to the afterlife. Because of their connection with Grizzly, their death is the push that lets Grizzly free of his limbo.

They meet up and they're just thinking "bruhh when's Charlie going to join us its been ages"

MEANWHILE

Charlie revists old world's, but is unable to revive anyone, so in grief he resets the entire universe.

He loses his memory in the process.

He becomes c!slime. He stays in the world that would, in many many years, become the Dream Esempii. (Esempii's are how they define multi-people server worlds with admins and stuff)

So Slime leaves Las Nevadas and travels to a random island and stays there, in a pit-hole, until a very long long time later, scientists find Slime and put him in their laboratory. Slime can barely process anything.

Then the zombie virus breaks out (yes, in thosuands-of-years-later DSMP server), and everything goes to shit.

Remeber Schlatt? The ram guy? (Oh yeah also in the reset, Charlie locked up his god powers somewhere very deep inside him)

Schlatt breaks the glass for Charlie. The tube he's in when the video starts.

What are the doubles?

Basically, characters like Florida Man or Patient Zero are like puppets that Slimecicle made himself. His powers, locked away, didn't have anything better to do if as Slime slept for like an eternity.

The Mad Scientist (100days!Condi) was created with the only goal to ruin the world. So he did.

etc, etc.

((*slams The Court Jester on the table* m u s i c))

Since Schlatt had plenty of time to get his power back. So he's stronger than Charlie now. (Charlie's memories got buried deeper into his mind during when he was "sleeping")

Charlie dies.

Then then reunites with the rest of the council.

who, by the way, created a new completely vanilla world with normal respawns and normal mobs, etc.

they escaped the afterlife cause they're gods, idk.

many many years later, a man stumbles upon the vanilla world, or the Reset, with a friend on his shoulders.

His name is Ted.

The friend's name is Schlatt.

Schlatt, who went mad after he killed Charlie, was found by Ted when he was broken. Ted convinced Schlatt to. just let go of his powers because Schlatt actually pulled that power from someone else (idk who, say.. uhhhh.... corn!Charlie or smth). Schlatt lets go. And proceeds to forget everything.

They all chilling now.

started JRWI (Riptide, Prime Defenders, the one-shots, etc.), The Chuckle Sandwich Podcast, etc etc.

Hold on i have this old doc about me ranting about lore one sec..

-----

.....said me. in the past.

think i already posted that before but heres the updated version??

the main point was the Haunted Asylum the rest of it is blurry and mushy and I can change it any time.

[honestlyyoungtyphoon]

When I first read the Remarried Empress, I was firmly on Navier's side. But the more I actually read it, the more I feel sorry for Rashta. Like, genuinely honest to god sorry. Maybe she's not a saint but she's nowhere near the monster the fandom (& the author) makes her out to be.

Ffs anyone would've been traumatized having to see a dead baby's body but Rashta had to actually hold what she thought was her flesh & blood. I get it, a sob story isn't a free pass to be a monster but trauma shouldn't be invalidated to justify a MC's plot armor.

Looking back, a lot of the women aren't treated fairly. From Navier herself (she rlly can't just lie down & take this. She didn't want Rashta to take her place no matter how temporary & for legitimate good reason) to Krista (she gets flak for trying to seduce Henry when Kaufman canonically drugged innocent parties too).

The thing is I don't dislike any of the female characters in TRE. I'm tired of female vs female crap especially when only one female gets to shine. No thank you.

"Sob story isn't a free pass to be a monster " oh it absolutely does give you a free pass if you are a white male in manhwa. The male character can be a mass murderer, abuser, r*post but as soon the sob backstory is revealed, suddenly he's boo boo poor wittle boy who just needed a hug 🙄

The worst thing a female character can do is be a b1tch compared to her make counterpart and will get demonized for it. I mean look at the blonde bird demon. All of his actions are justified by his d*ckriders. H*enly apologists would make up any excuse to defend his actions. But do you know that they actually hate his daughter? Ironic isn't it? Lari is basically a female H*inly but they hate her. Cause she doesn't have the free pass to be a man.

And for Christa, boy do I got pissed off when I read about her arc. It was so poorly done and wasted. But you're right, she's a bad person for wanting birdpoop but it's okay for Kaufman to want Navier. Some people even feel bad for him for not getting her 🙄

Those female characters don't have male pass. And it's not exclusive to TRE only. You can pull out any manhwa and you'll see the same. Internalized misogyny is cancer.

[vladdyissues]

I once read the post where Vlad said: "This anime is obviously a romantic school comedy! Danny and I are the main characters, so it means we are love interests. (to Jazz, Tuck, Sam) You guys are the heterosexual support cast, so make sure do not across the line" (I saved screenshot but Idk how to add photo in ask). Developing the subject, how do you see this anime au? Sailor moon alike relationship? Should it also be a horror cause of creepy natural ghosts?

I've never seen Sailor Moon so I can't comment, but it definitely seems like Danny Phantom was heavily influenced by Yu Yu Hakusho, so it wouldn't take a lot of mental gymnastics to envision an anime version of DP being a lot like this, mixing humor and drama and the supernatural. I'd love to see some actual horror thrown in, though. Animes like Vampire Hunter D and Bio-Booster Armor Guyver come to mind. Guyver's not actually billed as horror, but there's enough body horror, gore, and horror elements in it to qualify, in my opinion. I mean, look at this thing, it's terrifying:

Aside: This ask got me nostalgic for Guyver and I went and watched a few episodes. (The last time I saw it was in the 90s on VHS.) I was floored. There is so much it has in common with DP that I wonder if Hartman wasn't inspired by it as well.

Compare: the black-haired, blue-eyed MC (Sho) who's not the best student, had a disfiguring experience involving something with lots of power and now has two different personas, human and non-human, the latter having incredible strength and unearthly energy that he uses to combat threatening entities that are Not Of This World; best friends are a glasses-wearing geek and a girl who's also the show's love interest, completing the trio. Of course Sho spends a great deal of time protecting his friends, but they also cheer him on from the sidelines and offer help when able, much like Tucker and Sam.

But get this: The only other person with a Guyver armor happens to be the villain (spoiler: not really the villain, it's all an act, and eventually they team up). This is the guy:

Long hair. V-hairline. Sideburns. Thick black eyebrows. The English dub isn't that good, but this guy's voice is deep and nice to listen to. He's supposed to be a student but looks like he's 35.

Anyway. DP anime.

I don't see much changing at all plot-wise. Upping the rating to at least PG-13 is definitely prescribed, so there can be things like blood and fantasy violence and adult humor. Let Danny say "hell", "damn", "bastard", and the occasional "shit", like in YYH. Naturally, Vlad and Danny would start out as rivals before laying aside their differences and teaming up to save the world—which is exactly the formula that YYH and BBAG follow in terms of enemies-to-allies.

I'm imagining a steady progression of saving each other's butts and fighting increasingly powerful enemies until it comes to a point that they both realize they'd die for each other. (Literally Kuwabara and Yusuke lmao.)

In fact, just do a DP/YYH wardrobe swap for all the characters, because Dan Dan Phantom Show is something I'd pay money to see 😂

[mysteriouspersonrambles]

Live listening to the new Malevolent episode so long post:

Dude fucking medieval Britain being Kayne’s bind spot is so funny - like what a loser

Alexander!!!! My Boy I love you so much

This peace is not going to last

Oh a weaved basket let me guess the village is going to be totally destroyed and that’s what causes the foul taste in the river or the bad river taste came from the witches nest dumping into the river supple

You walk a path with devils- bestie you guys run had fist into the devils on a regular basis don’t act like all those run-ins aren’t your fault

Nooo Yorick - get bagged idiot I suppose

Arthur continues to be the most conspicuous guy of all time. Congrats buddy nobody does it worse than you

Do you still have your lighter remember the magic lighter

Arthur you trespass on the Daily you where a fucking PI dude

Oh never mind Arthur got his spooky sense and being touched by ghosts apparently he truly is beloved

Arthur was a Boy Scout oh man I forgot about that. What a mental image

Oh yeah Arthur’s super dead parents

Oh man friendship let’s go. Wait Arthur what happened with your friend did die or something. Oh who am I kidding it’s malevolent of course he’s dead

Ohh what else is in the pen. Is it bones I hope it’s bones.

Aw boo it’s just a weird figure dudes you guys encounter those things all the time

Bewildered Englishman I love that

Yeah dude he’s different it’s the trauma. Remember he had to eat a man

But your Kayne’s favorite boytoy that should mean something

Dude I hope they run into their other self’s that would be so fucking funny please 🙏 or like a Catbox situation (does anybody get that reference)

Yeah dude fuck the narrative

You might fail but also like you’re the MC’s so plot armor

Huh difficult to see anything else but the fire- this better not be foreshadowing

The Guy is back hell yeah ohhh what a voice

Arthur does not know how the deal with the fay

Arthur this village is fucking dead there is nobody here

Yeah guys this guy has been through some shit

I think he’s warning you dude you know there are monsters about

Yeah dude the Fay the one you don’t know how to handle

I like this guy he speaks in riddles

I this guy talking about the prince or another Arthur or just regular Arthur

Welcoming is a dangerous thing Arthur

Dude not his biggest trauma

This man is not up to date with modern law procedures man

Ohhh spooky ghost man is a story teller

Dude the foul taste in the water

Self hate for the win 🏆

He is the boy’s vengeance

Oh shit was I right or half right but I knew this guy was ghost guy. I think that’s actually so cool

The witches child?? Or Faroe

Arthur these noises are not the ones I would want to hear when talking about children. Like I know you’re morning but the noises man

Good choice Arthur I would want the truth too but it could be something you know but still

That’s so cool that the ghost kids are so powerful good for you ghost kids

Scratch!!!! Or the goat lady the one who was mentioned in the 1st season I can’t spell her name but I was talking about her the other day

Or maybe just another spooky ghost lady either way in hyped

Fuck indeed you just murder one of her kids and she got a good look at you and who you’re traveling with

You can’t destroy the darkness idiot

Oh fuck is Alexander evil please I will cry if he is

You don’t get a weapon you chose a truth

Yeah man you can’t escape the darkness idiot

Is she why Kayne can’t be here. Is Kayne scared of her please that would be so funny

“He is not what he seems” I can’t tell if this is about Yorick or Alexander the owl it could be both but I love them so much.

Also where was Yorick this episode I missed him he’s not evil just kinda dumb and a plotter and he wants a hand of glory but he’s just a little guy

Arthur are you going to sleep on the ground the forest is going to eat you

William aw what happened to him how did he die horribly

I’m sad this episode was a feeler though I’m glad Arthur got a little peace of mind when it came to Faroe. I can’t wait to see the absolute shit show that must be next episode this one was much too fluffy something terrible must be coming.

[thesovereignsring-if]

There's no excuses for what Shitrick did, but oh well he's protected by the plot and author and not forced to be incompetent like mc with a bunch of shit excuses for why mc is the most useless character in the game. It doesn't even make any damn sense people mc's age are skilled lol

Oh no, baby is a little pressed aren’t we?

Eirik is not protected by the plot. He’s literally framed as the main antagonist, it’ll take plot armor to keep him alive and the goes the same for a lot of people in the cast. All he’s got going for him is a lot of money and family blood. Anything else beyond that was Eirik’s own hard work.

He’s also five years older than the MC, who is only eighteen. Think a little about how much a person and learn and grow in that time.

In fact let’s put it into a more modern example so its more clear. Within four to five years, someone can go to a post secondary institution and develop all the skills they need for their career, get an internship and or continue it. It’s like comparing someone with a full bachelor degree versus the a person who just fresh out of high school. That feels unfair doesn’t it?

Now, the only characters truly around the MC’s age we’ve met so far are Finny and Thea. And they are don’t compare to the literal veterans in their fields either. You really think Finny can take on Sieg and survive? Ha. Wait until you meet him. Yes Thea, is talented, yes she had a jump start at magic, but that’s because she’s a product of her environment, just like the MC is and Thea is VERY aware of how powerless she really is. If she went up against someone like Medea or Rothbart in battle, she’s dead. End of story.

Since you referenced my replies in previous asks,(very old asks now that I think about it) I can assume you’ve must have read a lot of what I’ve written, so i am astounded at your ability to not comprehend the kind of story this is…or you do, but still choose to follow and be upset when it remains to be exactly what I say it’s going to be.

How many times do I have to say it without saying it directly that the MC is the underdog? Their biggest disadvantage is that this succession crisis begins right at the beginning of their adult life? The audience for this game is 18+ surely you have enough media literacy to understand this.

If you cannot accept these fact then I will kindly ask you and your power tripping kind to leave. The story is written in a fashion that there is a lot of grey and nuance between the characters and their upbringing and the conflict. Eirik is an antagonist, but his flaws are rooted in his backstory that is written to be sympathetic and human, because he IS human. But god, if you cannot handle Eirik, you’ll barely be able to handle the rest of the cast.

If you cannot understand or have sympathy for a boy who’s lashing out because people are trying to forget his father was brutally murdered in a civil war by his own family, then everything else is going to fly over your head and your going to have a bad time- and honestly look stupid when you come crying into my inbox. Step outside and talk to some people, you could gain some emotional intelligence, it’ll do you some good.

This is not a power fantasy. You’re not going to get all powerful and trample over people to get your way. No, you’re going to have to make alliances, understand the MC is only one person in an conflict involving an Empire. The MC is going to be feeling a lot of negative feelings because their human like everyone else who has flaws and weakness.

I will never change my story to appease you so you’re talking to a wall. If you can’t handle that, you’ll be happier if you leave, unfollow, rate the game no stars.

This is the last time I’ll be replying to a comment like this because honestly, you and I have better things to do.

[verdanteslounge]

Should I Read SVSSS? (Scum Villain's Self-Saving System)

... is a question you've been asking yourself so let me help you make a decision.

Summary:

Shen Yuan dies from rage reading the final chapter of a popular webnovel series: Proud Immortal Demon Way. With all his complaints and curses at the author, he gets transmigrated into the body of Shen Qingqiu-- the villain of the story. Now, he has to fill in plot holes, ensure the main plot points of the story still happens (this includes the original SQQ's actions to make things difficult for the Main Character), all while trying to gain favor with said main character.

The Good:

The highlight of this series is definitely its humor. It helps if you're familiar with harem anime or some of the straight cultivation webnovels. The kind with an OP main character who gets all the girls (+ fanservice) and show how cool he is by face-slapping all the villains. The author does a great job of poking fun at these tropes with SQQ's narration. If you enjoy satirical stories that do not take themselves seriously, you would like this book.

I really enjoy the characters of this book. Nobody's all good or bad, they just have conflicting motivations and different personalities or upbringings. I wish I could say more, but it would be spoilers. I'll expand on this in another post.

What plot armor? I noticed this in MXTX (the author)'s novels a lot. The plot likes to turn its back on the main character. By that I mean, there are times when the outcome of a scenario is up to luck, and the main character ends up with bad luck a lot of the times. If you don't like stories that bend over backwards to make things work for the main character, I think you'll enjoy this series.

The Questionable:

Age gap. In the story, we start off with the ML being 14 and the MC probably around 20s. Not to worry though, nothing happens until the ML is an adult. The feeling I got about this age gap is like walking in a tightrope, but never falling to one side. It has a nuance that I believe would make their relationship reasonable, but if age gaps make you incredibly uncomfortable despite the nuances, I would recommend not to pick it up.

If you're new to the genre and aren't familiar with the tropes the series is talking about, it might be a bit difficult to understand what's happening. However, if you decide to get the book, there is a glossary at the back that explains some of them!

If you like stories that guide you gently through the setting and you like to be immersed in your senses first before something happens, you might find it difficult to like this story. The series is generally fast-paced and only focuses on details that is currently relevant to the main character.

I hope these points help! Feel free to let me know if you end up reading the series and if you have, let me know which parts you liked/didn't like!

[theloganator101]

Hi, I love your blog and I TOTALLY agree with you. I think bnha works well in theory but the author just can’t make anything complex, it’s always so one-sided and boring. Izuku as a mc has potential, but he’s shafted halfway through for the villains and sits around doing nothing, besides giving Naruto speeches from time to time. He doesn’t do anything, it isn’t even him fighting Shigaraki, now All Might is doing it for him. Why is the supposed main character so useless to his overall story? Like, yes, they’re kids, but they’re heroes, why is he not more involved? First arcs author remembered he existed, but recently he’s just been thrown aside. Izuku really should have been a side character, the author seems to barely remember he exists most of the time, he lets him get his bones broken, but nothing else happens. Now, my biggest conflict with the series is that no one dies. This is a WAR they are fighting, yet no big, major characters besides a few teachers die. Even Bakugou is going to get to come back. Why haven’t the Todorokis died? Plot armor. Why haven’t the main characters’ classmates died, to bring a sense of urgency or terribleness about war to the story? Plot armor. The author is too afraid to do anything too “real”, so he avoids any characters who are mains dying, they get injured and miraculously heal. If Hawks, Uraraka, any of them actually died, it would bring more tragedy and more conflict to the story, like Izuku would have to struggle with losing friends, and feeling powerless. Naruto and One Piece do this in their narrative, people die throughout it regardless of what the protagonist does. The author doesn’t believe in letting characters naturally die, so he creates implausible contrivances so they survive for no reason. Letting Endeavor or Dabi die would have been a great way to show the tragedy of the character and their fate from anger and hatred, except…bam, he’s magically alive but not dead. Lolwut. HK is incapable of even killing off any character or letting anything realistic happen to them, that’s why no one suffers realistic consequences, or actions. It’s a war that affects no one but civilians. All the major heroes are still alive because plot. Izuku is unrealistic because he’s not only never given a chance to grow and fight, he’s never even allowed to suffer death and loss. If All Might dies, at least it will help him grow, but this is a little too late for that. Izuku has been held back this whole entire time, and the rest of his classmates as well…because plot armor is used to ridiculous extremes in this series. Fucking hell. It’s that way for other characters, too, like Togata. He magically has his quirk back because we say so. What.

Nice to meet a fan!

And you DO bring up a good point. Other than the big fights he partook in (The Yakuza Raid, saving Kota from Muscular, and Stain) What has he truly done in the plot? Because even if he wins, there's always some drawback to it that he might as well lost.

And other than seeing him again after how many chapters have been put out, what presence or impact does he bring other than being the main character to move the plot along?

Izuku has the building blocks for the main character, but he doesn't do anything significant nor is he allowed to have a victory that sticks. So it all undermines his actions and what he contributes to the plot, making him a set piece for other characters to get where they need to go in their arcs at the cost of his in the process.

Now for the second part of your ask. The War arc is where things started to go downhill, and I will die standing on that hill. But as you said before, people die in wars. So why haven't there been any major deaths to really raise the stakes and get through how serious things gotten.

Sure there WAS some pro heroes who met their deaths, but they were off screen and only mentioned through dialogue. The only major loss we had during that was Midnight, but that was ruined by the fact that we barely got to spend any time with her to really get to know her character.

And considering the narrative wants to convince us that she was a good person and establish a connection between her and Mina, when have we seen the two talk or hang out to prove it? Where are the scenes of Midnight being a good teacher and not making lewd comments about them?

Show me Horikoshi! FUCKING SHOW ME!!

He WANTS the illusion of raising the stakes but doesn't want to get rid of anyone cause he feels they might be useful later on, but we hardly got to see any of that being utilized because he's so busy on making Bakugou, Aizawa, and Endeavor look good that the other characters get shelved in the process.

[liliallowed]

Got any good fics about Dust you could recommend? I'm starved of Dust content (any ships are fine, nothing explicit is preferred)

lay me where I am loved is my latest hyper fixation but it has potential suggestive content in future chapters tagged in the fic.

what a laugh is a canon based fic with alphys confronting dust. my inmate au was actually inspired by it! it's like... only one chapter so since I was so intrigued by it, I took some elements and made it to an whole au with character motivatons and a mystery element! it's great angst material as short as it is.

sinful conversion: a discontinued fic about a post pacifist dusttale ending and there's this cult/religious themed human society. my guess was that it was gonna be a whole "he can make her worse x she might make him better" situation. the implied world building was intriguing though! enough to have me theorizing that in this world, players WERE ALWAYS a thing during history and even before the monster war that were long lost deity... it would have been such a fun twist and premise! (still salty it's discontinued but I understand.)

Ashen wishes is pretty good! it's not dust centered like I would've prefered it's more like murder time trio x mc but dust is the main love interest. it's cute, I love the humor!

hmmm the rest on my list is just plotless smut with love potion logic and soul mate bullshit excuses that treat dust like either a misunderstood hero or a complete villainized immoral bad guy that just HAPPENS to conveniently spare mc cuz it's his soulmate^TM. I just... find it kinda disrespectful?

he wouldn't put a lover's life above his own brother who he's already killed. it's a straight up insult to his suffering his intelligence and his entire character arc.

if the mc gets spared with their WITS? I'm sold. if it's just a convenient plot armor, you've lost my interest.

anyways hope this helps!

let me know if you find more! I really love dust.

[therese-lokidottir]

I can't help it compared Miguel O'Hara with batman. I menat they both very scary and have back up plans but I like Miguel more because while he using questionable things, he confess that and not hypocrite about it and more important while he kind paranoid, he showing his face and identity to his team mate and crew.

And batman, he keep insist to keep his ideology while his ideology will lead to many deaths, and he Dare to called out everyone to kill criminal and have dirty hand while his own hands is dirty. And one thing I hate he only showing his face and identity to like 2 peoples and the reszlt his team mate didn't know who he is and make worse he stalking his team mate to fins out they identity and secret.

I am not saying Miguel is saint but he refreshing gray character that, actual gray and not having narrative protection and plot armor like batman.

I like batman but mc comics to much use him and make his be hypocrite and make me hate him, specially they always give him plot armor and narrative protection. It's getting annoying

Okay, ok. So, the thing about Batman as a character is that because there are so many different iterations and DC's own fluctuating continuity the morality of the character greatly differs on the version. The version of the character I'm most familiar with and see as the gold standard is from DCAU. That version of the character isn't morally gray at all. He's not perfect or without flaws, but he is fully good and kind. That is a version of the character that stuck to his morals to the end and doing so was for the best.

Whether or not Batman kills and how much force he uses greatly differs on what version on the character. Comics have evolved over Batman's 80 years of a character. Some versions he is fine with killing, others it's a line he can't let himself pass and he never has. Some version he started more violent but learned to be less so over time and others the exact opposite where he got more extreme over the years.

Now when it comes to Batman's no killing SF Debris in one of his reviews made a really great point about this; Why is it on Batman and not that state to kill these villains? If the state cannot for legal or moral reasons then the people are simple asking someone else to dirty their hands so they don't have too.

Truth is Bruce Wayne is making a chose to do this, it's not his responsibility to do anything. He studied and trained to be a vigilante because he saw that as the best way to stop crime. And he frequently successfully brings these villains into legal custody. So, in my own opinion, when it comes to a no killing Batman it's on the state for failing keep these murders contained not traumatized rich guy who's stopping them every week.

Sorry, for the long rant but Batman is such a versatile character and how he is portrayed and framed ya gotta be specific what version you're talking about. I have no clue what's going on in currant Batman comics and I didn't watch the Justice League Movie.

But when it come to Miguel in spiderverse he is an excellently because you can fully understand his point of view but also, he is just wrong and his treatment of Miles is wrong. The MCU has a problem with just admitting status quo is wrong. It doesn't want to show how people like Fury and Stark can have understandable and even well-intentioned reasons but still ultimately make the wrong decisions. Miguel on the other hand is reasons are shown but so are all the flaws in his reasoning and it can do that have him he in the wrong without having to turn him into an over-the-top villain either. Still letting him be a very human and understandable character.

[twst-drabbles]

wow that was a super analysis :0 too deep for my understanding but it was amazing, yes I have seen several requests about a rebellious or independent mc idk and it makes sense that vile would not waste time with someone like that, unless the reader has a good reason to be like this since, it is true that vil speaks harshly I suppose that the reader at first would react to that in a bad way like to defend oneself xd not necessarily go against it but give yourself respect?) in short I liked the analysis it felt physiological <3

I spend too much with analyzing other people's characters, you'd think I'd be amazing at making my own. I'm not. You'd be surprised how hard it is, to craft a cohesive world, characters and a plot that doesn't make the author's influence apparent. And by author influence, I mean stuff like "plot armor," or "jarring character deaths," and "World being warped for this character to shine," kind of thing. Authors assemble the gears, but we all gotta hide those gears so it doesn't look out of place or weird for the audience watching it.

But yeah, sorry for the ramblings that you got lost. I get too into my own head sometimes that I don't realize it might not make sense for other people. That's a failing on my part for not making it easier.

To sum it up best, a Rebellious Reader who he respects due to having a similar level of self confidence becomes a mirror for Vil that makes his flaws obvious to him when they start to rebel. Makes him angry.

[psychewritesbs]

Sorry if this has been asked before. Been reading Hana and Angel threads and while the hate is disheartening, I can't help but agree the execution of Hana is really disappointing. That said, Megumi has had so many interactions in the Culling Games but somehow none of them really stuck. At the very least with Yuji, his relationships are well crafted and given more emotional weight but with Megumi? Why is it that the author seem to deny giving him a good and well established connection outside of his friendship with Yuji? Is he purposely being limited to just the MC's friend? I would have thought that as deuteragonist he'd at least be explored more outside of the constraints of his ties with Yuji.

The Hana situation in particular. Thank goodness that she's still alive, but the real question is, will her supposed 'connection' with Megumi play a role in his character development? Or is she just relegated to be a future plot device?

Like, I just don't get some of Gege's decisions. Why bring up the whole 'getting saved by Megumi as a kid' when he could have just went with she's a vessel for Angel and that's it? Why make a connection if he wouldn't bother expanding it (in case all that is in store for Hana is simply to be used as plot device later)? Idk, it feels demeaning to Megumi's character. Like the half-assed relationships around him is a mirror to his character or something.

I salute your passionate love for Megumi, anon 🫡.

But, to your point. I get it about the execution. I just don't think too much about it. I'm over here vibing with Gege, anon 🌊, I acknowledge but ultimately don't focus on the flaws in jjk. I like it enough to be selective about where I focus my critical thinking regarding jjk.

But I do think Gege is very guilty of steamrolling through things and characters and that's why a lot of people can't stomach jjk.

I also must admit I have zero objectivity about Megumi so I see the situation differently than you. I kind of wonder if rather than limiting his character as a friend to the MC, Gege is just writing Megumi as a quiet young man who has few friends with whom he connects deeply with. You know... like the total introvert that he is.

To me, Megumi having few relationships also speaks volumes about how Megumi holds Yuji and Tsumiki in very high regard. It could be hc, but there's something very "attachment" issues about Megumi.

I taco'more about it under the cut.

Regarding your question about Hana as a plot device...

As much as I hate to say it, I think given the treatment Tsumiki got, Hana turning into a plot device is very likely, most especially because her symbolism represents light in the sense that she brings illumination and reason (Angel).

Basically we're reading Megumi Kaisen and Gege just wants to give Megumi development no matter who gets dragged into his drama.

Ok but in all seriousness. While I maintain that having a crush on Megumi does not cheapen her character (even though I acknowledge I'm not a fan of the "girl pines for unavailable boy" trope), I can see why others don't like her back story.

The only thing I can think of is that either we don't have all of the information we need about them yet, or Gege is sort of using the backstory to show something regarding "fate/destiny" but was admittedly sloppy about it.

The thing with "fate" as a trope is that it's hard to execute. If you've read Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle/xxxHolic you've seen it. How do you make it look like fate is happening without it feeling like plot armor?

Look at it this way: what are the odds that Hana would run into Megumi ever again? Under these particular circumstances no less. She's literally host to what sounds like a major sorcerer from the past who has the power to exorcise Sukuna.

It's "fate" plot armor in action if you consider there are millions of people in Tokyo and that the Culling Game wouldn't even be happening if it weren't because Toji didn't kill Geto.

The fact that she calls him "destined" one is a bit too much, yes. And you know what? Between you and I, one of the reasons I've hated how people hate on Hana is because I can relate to her infantile and undeveloped perception of love, which is why I like the hc of a Hana that learns to see the real Megumi--the natural progression of that perception.

But back to the fate conversation, you also want to keep in mind that Megumi is literally a "blessed" child and the son of an unlucky af man who happened to break destiny. He is also the one descendant of the clan that inherited Ten Shadows.

So you have tons of "fate/destiny" type elements around Megumi's character and Hana is one of them.

Regarding his relational dynamics feeling unfulfilling to you. I mean, yeah I gotcha. If you care to come over to the dark side, the way I see it, again, he's very selective of the people he gives his heart to.

You give meaning to things according to how you see the world, so even if Gege is not going deep with the writing, come on, come to the dark side. I must admit I personally don't see how the relational dynamics being half assed says anything negative about Megumi's character. I do love the idea that these dynamics he has with others say something about him though...

Like his dynamic with Sukuna speaks to his own untapped creative potential.

Or how his dynamic with Gojo was part of what made him doubt himself since he already assumed he could never surpass him.

Or how his dynamic with Inumaki shows he's very intuitive.

Or how Hana is a mirror of Megumi's naïveté when it comes to putting certain people on a pedestal because he cares for them intensely. Idk anon, I kinda like this hc about Megumi because Hana metaphorically represents the light/mirror he needs to become aware of this pattern in himself.

In conclusion, I just want to say that I do think this would be one of those situations where, for the sake of enjoying jjk, one just files one's grievances under "don't think about it too much and focus on jjk's strengths and what you do love about it."

Hope these mindset reframes help if you care to consider them, and thanks for stopping by.

[bluejay-writes]

A sort of Fairy Tail - Chapter 8

Rating: T / PG-13, SFW. Fandom: Mystic Messenger Relationships: 707/MC (Jaena)/Saeran Chapter 8 Wordcount: 2945 Summary:

Freelance Hacker by day, cosplayer by weekend, Jaena Grey was living her best life. One fateful convention, she meets a scarily talented fellow costumer and his friend Zen.

When Jaena finds herself embroiled in the usual Mint Eye apartment plot, Seven panics to see someone he knows. Hijinks ensue, including Jaena spending the majority of her time cosplaying as 707 in his own bunker to hide herself from Vanderwood - for better or worse.

You can also read this on AO3! <- Also a good place to check tags.

Chapter 8: Storytime

“Scarlet!” Seven called, and then his arms were around her, his body slamming into her as the sound of the gun firing filled her ears.

“V, what the fuck?” Saeran all-but-screamed. “You know how important she is to the Savior’s plan!”

“She stopped being important the moment she left the apartment, Ray, and you know that.”

Scarlet’s head was ringing. Who was Ray? Was Saeran Ray? They’d called him that earlier…  She barely heard his next argument past Seven’s hiss of pain.

“But I chose her.”

Jaena reached out and helped Seven sit up, and blinked. Her hand was wet. Why was— Fuck. Seven’s bleeding. It had been years since she’d had to deal with anything more than routine blood. A gunshot wound… it wasn’t going to be good.  But he was going to be alright, because he was still protecting her, even though he was injured. That meant he had to be fine, right?

As she was thinking that, the sound of tires on the gravel alerted her to the arrival of a car, followed quickly by Vanderwood’s voice. “Zero Seven, Red!” Jaena met his eyes over Seven’s shoulder, and didn’t like the look on his face. She was never going to hear the end of this, she knew, but she couldn’t even bring herself to say words. She was terrified. This was why she was a hacker, damn it, not some kind of secret agent. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of drama.

Saeran was taking all of V’s attention with his argument, but it wouldn’t be long before others came because of the sound of the gunshot. Jaena stood while Vanderwood was helping Seven up, and when he barked at her to get into the car, she climbed into the back where she had been, and then helped him get Seven in and buckled. Seven looked practically gray, his teeth grit in pain. She opened her mouth to say something just in time to see Saeran punch V in the face, and turn worriedly to the car.

“Twin, get in the damn car.” Vanderwood called, and Saeran obeyed, slipping into the passenger seat and pulling the door shut as Vanderwood stepped on the gas. Jaena turned to look out the back window just in time to see a woman with blonde hair run out the front door, gun in hand.

“Duck.” Vanderwood said, and she did as she was told, one hand on Seven’s head out of reflex as several shots pinged off the body of the car.

“I thought bullets would go through a car body.” Jaena said, suddenly questioning what she knew about vehicle manufacture.

“They will, unless it’s armored.” Seven muttered. “Why else are we in Vanderwood’s car?” He practically fell over onto her lap as they sped out of range of the shooter. “I’m just gonna lay here, ok?”

“Of course it’s okay, silly.” Jaena pet his head, and turned to look at his injury. The bullet had hit his arm, just grazing along from the middle of his forearm to his elbow. It looked really painful, but not life-threatening.

“Hey, Vandy?” Jaena asked quietly. “When can we get Seven some help for this?”

“I’ve got a spot relatively nearby we’ll go hole up.” Vanderwood said, his voice tight. “I’ve got first aid supplies there.”

The cabin was a simple thing, on a lake. It would have been an ideal little mountain getaway if one was looking for something like that. In their case it was clean, neat, and modern enough to not cause any inconveniences. Vanderwood had Jaena heat up water while he got Seven sat up on the kitchen counter and the rest of the first aid supplies prepared. Seven looked tired, and Jaena winced as Vanderwood cut away the sleeve of Seven’s hoodie.  She knew he had backups, but it was a little like cutting away his identity.

“This is going to be a bit rough for you.” Vanderwood said to her, as he helped Seven out of the ruined garments. “You should go lay down for a bit. Eat a snack. You’re looking a bit pale.”

Jaena just shook her head. Clearly her willingness to follow directions without question evaporated with the immediate danger. “No. He got hurt saving me. The least I can do is be here to help.”

“Cute, but unnecessary.” Vanderwood said. “He’ll be fine. Go lay down.”

“I said no.” Jaena said, moving around to the other side of Seven and taking his free hand. She was definitely not eyeing the muscles that had been hiding under his habit of wearing baggy clothes. Nope. Definitely not.

Seven sighed. “He wants to yell at me.” he said, catching Jaena’s eye. “I shouldn’t have gotten hurt. I let my guard down too soon.”

“Oh, so you’re aware that you fucked up? Good.” Vanderwood said, sighing. “Look, Red, you can stay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Where’s Saeran?” Seven asked suddenly turning to look for his twin.

“Right here.” Saeran said, stepping into the kitchen. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I haven’t anywhere else to go at this point anyway.”

Vanderwood started cleaning Seven’s wound, and Jaena felt him squeeze her hand, and was instantly glad she hadn’t left him alone. Sure, she was hyper-aware of how his hand felt in hers given that he was half naked next to her, but it was worth it.

“Hey Unknown.” Jaena said, catching his eye and watching his eyes harden in reaction. “How about you tell us your story. We know Seven’s. We’d love to hear what actually happened to you, since we know that everything they told Seven was fake. Or I would, at least. Shouldn’t talk for them.”

Saeran paused, looked at the set of Seven’s jaw, and then sighed. “Fine. But… don’t interrupt me.”

Jaena nodded and mimed zipping her lips closed.

“You either, twin.”

“I won’t. I -ow- I promise.” Seven said, wincing.

Saeran nodded, and started talking. Quiet at first, but with more intensity as he went on.

“It was at least a week after you were gone. Mother… she started making me do the errands you were supposed to do. She was certain you were dead.  I was out of the house one morning to go pick something up for her, and I was kidnapped.  They put a bag over my head, and knocked me out - when I woke up, I was in the dungeons in the basement of Magenta. I haven’t left the grounds except for very specific missions since. Getting the princess to the apartment was the first time I was ever given my own time to handle something outside of Magenta, and well, you can see how well that turned out.”

Jaena felt the impulse to tell him he’d done a good job getting her to go where he wanted, that it wasn’t his fault, but she’d promised not to interrupt, and the commentary wasn’t worth breaking her word. Saeran shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs, and continued.

“Anyway, I begged and begged to be let go, because I knew if I was late getting home Mother would be unhappy. But instead, they fed me a drug. They called it a “Cleansing.” All I know is it tasted how I expected battery acid would taste, and burned, I felt like I was burning up from the inside out. They kept telling me it was paradise, that I would be happy there, made new. Eventually Rika and V showed up, and they told me all about how you’d abandoned me, and that they were going to take care of me now, and that I’d be safe with them. I wasn’t, though, and it was… not a place I would willingly bring a child, ever.”

There was a hissing sound, and Jaena looked over to where Vanderwood was spraying something on the wound, and she recognized it as a topical anesthetic. The wound needed stitches then, looked like. She took a glance at Seven, but he was focused entirely on his twin. Saeran, of course, was continuing his story.

“V taught me how to hack, told me he was going to turn me into a better hacker than you ever were. Rika told me over and over again how you abandoned me.  For a long time, they fed me that drug every day. They told me it was something I needed to be strong, and I believed them, because I had always been the weaker of the two of us. I always needed you to protect me. I don’t know if it was because of the drug, but losing you like that broke something in me.  It separated the me that was hurt and sad from the me that had to deal with the world every day.  I wasn’t any stronger, but I was different. That was about the time they introduced me to the rest of Mint Eye, as their son Ray. I knew it wasn’t right, but I was so desperate to be loved and accepted that I just took that in as part of me. This new me, this new face, I was Ray, and Saeran was the broken one that stayed hidden in my mind. It… kept happening. I lost track of time a lot, and I wasn’t the hacker they wanted me to be.  Eventually they stopped giving me the drug, but it was too late then. I didn’t even recognize myself in the mirror, my hair is this white mess now, and my eyes… I feel like I don’t even deserve to be called your twin anymore.”

Seven opened his mouth as if to argue, and shut it. They’d promised not to interrupt, and Seven took his promises seriously. Jaena thought he probably could have gotten away with it just this once, but she respected his resolve.

“After that, I got better, and they took me seriously. When I asked about the ‘medicine’ they told me that I was strong now and didn’t need it. I didn’t feel strong all the time. In fact, Ray didn’t feel strong at all. He felt like a pathetic airhead, and even I couldn’t talk him out of it. For his part, core Saeran just stayed inside and thought about all the bad things that happened so that none of the rest of us needed to. Unknown… he does the things the rest of us don’t want to deal with. Like core Saeran but outward facing. And then there’s me, regular old Saeran. The one you expect to talk to, I guess.”

“Multiple Personalities?” Vanderwood said, a needle between his teeth making his words slightly muffled. Jaena turned a glare on him, but he didn’t look at her, and just as fast she realized that Vanderwood never promised not to interrupt. She smirked.

“Yeah I guess? The internet says it’s DID. Dissociative Identity Disorder. I just know there’s more than one of me in here at this point, and we trade off who’s in charge of the meat. And… we really only happened when things were especially bad.  I think Rika knew she broke me, because she kept trying to do things that would ‘fix’ me. Put me back together into just one Saeran.  That’s just not going to happen, though. It’d hurt more than it would help at this point. That’s what I was dealing with just before you all arrived.”

Well, that explains what he said when I mentioned the whole Unknown vibe being different. Jaena thought. He didn’t need her peanut gallery commentary, though, so she kept her mouth shut.

“So, I started questioning their plans. Not out loud, of course, I wasn’t suicidal. One day, I was going through Rika’s files, and found a lot of incoming money and no record of where it was going. I knew we were targeting rich people for a reason, but not why, other than usual cult bullshit.” He paused. “Yes, I am aware Mint Eye is a cult. Moving on. Later I found out that money was going to pay off our father so he would leave the both of us alone. It’s how I learned they knew where you were and were keeping it from me. Any time I asked if they’d found you, they just said that you’d abandoned me and I needed to stop looking. Clearly, that was a lie, especially when they had me start looking into the RFA, in order to get the party guests into Mint Eye. Then came getting the information out of the apartment. I said I could just go, but they said no, this was a test of my skills, that I needed to get an outsider into the RFA so they’d host parties again, and we’d get more guests that way, too.”

Saeran caught her eye, but looked away, a light blush coloring his cheeks.

“They told me to choose carefully, because whoever I chose would be mine after the plan was finished. And even after everything, I just wanted someone to actually care about me so badly, I never really considered what I was doing. And then there you were, Jaena. Perfect for so many reasons. I hope you can forgive me for dragging you into this.”

Jaena nodded. “I’ll work on it. It’s definitely a lot, and I don’t like being thought of as an object, but I’ll try.”

Saeran visibly relaxed at that, and Jaena realized just how much her opinion mattered to him, but also just how much his comfort in this situation mattered to Seven, and if she were being honest, to her.

“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you all this, but he was spitting truth the entire time.” Vanderwood said, closing the first aid kit with a snap. “Zero Seven, you’re done. Go put on a shirt, we’ll get you into a sling, and then we need to get moving again.”

Seven squeezed her hand and then hopped off the counter. If he walked a little closer to her than he needed to as he passed by to go get a shirt from Vanderwood’s stash, well, she wasn’t complaining.

Vanderwood made himself scarce packing things up, and Jaena took the opportunity to walk over to Saeran, who was still leaning against the kitchen wall, staring at nothing.

“Hey, Unknown?” She said, when she walked up. He looked up at her. “I don’t hate you.” she said quietly. “I’m scared. A lot is happening, but I don’t blame you for doing what you needed to do to survive.  Can you try to extend a little bit of that trust to Seven, too?”

“Yeah. I can tell he’s… not what they told me. Which I should have guessed, given that everything else they’ve told me has been complete garbage.”

“Thank you. Um. Should I call you Saeran?”

“Please. I mean, he likes that you call out to him, but it’s less confusing if you just use our collective name.”

“Okay then. Do you want a hug? You look like you need a hug.”

Saeran nodded, and if his eyes looked a little misty, well, Jaena wasn’t about to comment on it. She stepped forward into his personal space, and wrapped her arms around him, smiling slightly as he held her tight for just a moment before releasing her so she could step back.

“Hey, I’m the injured one, do I get hugs?” Seven said from the other side of the kitchen, and Jaena turned, excited for an excuse to hug Seven, only to watch Saeran walk across the kitchen and carefully put his arms around his twin. She wanted to be jealous, but really, seeing them not at each other’s throats was just heartwarming.

Seeing Seven standing there in a sleeveless shirt seemed weird and wrong. Sure, she’d seen it other times, but this wasn’t even bedtime Seven, it was normal everyday Seven. Luckily, she had just the solution for this. Walking past the bonding twins, Jaena grabbed her bag from where she’d set it when they walked into the cabin, and dug down to the bottom. She’d done as she was told, and packed something warmer, since even summer nights in the mountains could get cool. Pulling it out, she snapped out the folds, gathering everyone’s attention at the sharp sound.

“Oh. Sorry for startling you, I just figured Seven might be a little cold with no sleeves, so…”

Seven’s eyes were damp. “You brought a spare hoodie? How? Why?”

“Well, Vanderwood told me to pack something warm just in case, so… I packed the hoodie of yours that I’d been wearing… I didn’t really have warm clothes otherwise…”

Suddenly, she felt awkward about all of it, but still held out the hoodie so Seven could slip his non-sling arm into the sleeve, and draped the other half over his shoulder.

“There. Now you’re my proper Seven again.”

Seven smiled, and seemed to relax, except that his cheeks were pink.

“Now, you get a hug from me, injured boy.”  She wrapped her arms around him, careful to avoid his injury, and squeezed. “Gonna tell me why you’re blushing?” she teased, whispering in his ear to avoid Vanderwood’s heckling.

“The hoodie smells like you.” Seven responded just as quietly. “I didn’t realize how nice you smelled, and now I’m surrounded by it. It’s like this hug will never end.”

“Okay, you two. Break it up and get back in the car. We’ve got ground to cover yet before we can sleep.” Vanderwood grumbled at them from the doorway.

As they made their way back to the car, Jaena was the one blushing.

Author's Note: As usual, all of my DID/Multiple Personalities knowledge is extrapolated from my experiences dealing with my younger sib who has DID.

[moonndust]

gonna put out my honest thoughts about my current progress in fire emblem engage bc i need to talk about how silly this game is

i’m only at chapter 7-8 btw and i’ve already spoiled myself half of the plot

i couldn’t choose between f!alear or m!alear bc their designs were.. something. i chose f!alear for my first run since i did the “same ingame gender as irl gender” thing (and it was an entire tradition for me at some point).

didn’t even reach chapter 6 and f!alear’s design was too much for me. i liked seeing her in a ponytail tho but i was not gonne be patient enough to change her class JUST for the ponytail. like girlie ik ur the divine dragon n shit but atleast try to not get your long ass hair pulled midway in battle.

and wtf is your armor??? you have individual boob cups for what?? your entire outfit does not look an ounce comfortable and yet you still slept in that shit. the short ass skirt too?? the stocking things??? there are like 10 design atrocities and i could even name more (and that’s just on a scale of practicality)

made a new save file and chose m!alear bc i was getting tired of f!alear’s entire armor outfit. ngl i preferred playing as m!alear bc he felt a lot more comfortable playing as an mc. but his entire victorian child fit wasn’t the best but it was more practical than the boob cups.

still mad there’s no unisex mcs.

anyways the prologue was kinda funny. our ass just wakes up and suddenly the world is in shambles bc some salty ass kingdom made sombron become the second coming of jesus christ.

queen lumera only had like.. 2 seconds of screentime until the ultimate mentor/parent death trope scene bc dead parental figures are a must for fire emblem mcs (unless ur sigurd and become the dead parent)

the firene siblings appeared. albert is precious and céline is lowkey on thin ice because of that damned outfit. like maybe wear something more practical in battle other than easy hair pulling and frilly dress?? (i know i can change her class but i’m a lazy bum). im still currently trying to know my way around albert’s skill set but he’s a good unit atm.

the twins are splendid little creatures. clanne got too many mvps and is still on the mvp streak ever since i paired him with celica (i abused warp ragnarok too many times). framme is just there for moral support and actual healing support.

vander’s lvl 1 grandpa ass was actually doing decent damage comapred to lvl 6 alear. you don’t know how many times vander had to come in clutch when alear was 3 hp away from evaporating.

i paired albert w/ sigurd and clanne w/ celica. that shit was game changing. i revoked céline’s emblem privileges for no reason. i just gave celica to clanne since he technically did more damage. he is like low tier but he’s my biggest carry atm. how the turns have tabled.

i changed alcryst’s class to tireur d’élite the second i got his lvl 10 ass. i’m pretty sure he might be my strongest unit atm (lvl wise).

idk who i should pair micaiah with so i just let her stay with yunaka. i never rlly used micaiah’s abilities for healing but i only used her to widen yunaka’s range w/ magic if she needed to chip in some damage to an enemy.

i always get tired at like the 7th turn in every battle and I just abuse celica’s warp ragnarok to beat up that one enemy to win the battle. somehow clanne still deals big damage w/o the engage boosts.

listen i have no clue what they fed the stewards but i am now afraid of them with my every being.

jean and anna r just there. jean doesn’t do shit bc i alr have framme. ik that jean might be decently better than framme but i don’t want his lvl 1 ass dying every single time. anna is a pretty good backup for chain attacks actually. but everytime i see her i get reminded of her commander version from heroes (bc it was my first fe game)

i spent the good majority of my bond fragments on arena emblem bonds w/ my current lineup bc i gotta get those big boi skills n shit. i also watched my units kill each other bc ig that’s a thing now. (i witnessed alcryst beat the shit out of céline)

sommie is a silly little fart.

still waiting on the day i get lucina’s emblem. i want to witness a gang fight.

outside of all the cutscenes, the game has the animation budget of 2 dollars.

i feel like i should make a seperate post on fe13 design atrocities and impracticalities (im bad at character design)