#however regardless of how long he or any other players i like are on the team

[msmargaretmurry]

i say this as an o.ilers hater but huge props to leon for NOT taking a discount and making them spend on him. get paid bitch!!!! literally no idea how mr incapable of a poker face if his life depends on it convinced them he might walk if they didn't empty their wallets but it is very funny to me that he is now for one sweet season the highest paid nhl player. good for him dot gif

[hotwaterandmilk]

The Wedding Peach PC-98VX game was released in 1996 and features an original story played out using card battling mechanics. The game draws its visuals from the animated series thanks to designs by Watanabe Mayumi and features 11 different seiyuu (including all the anime leads reprising their roles).

I haven't talked about this game in any detail before, but today I was re-scanning all its packaging in 1200 dpi and thought why not give it a bit of a summary and a ramble?

Dark Angels

The two original characters on the cover of the game (above) are the Kuroba siblings, Valzov and Neana, who have been charged by Reine Devila to defeat the loves angels on Earth. The Kuroba are from a much maligned devil clan, treated differently because they have similar wings to angels, albeit in a dual white/black colouring.

Because the Kuroba clan have never been truly accepted by other devils, they rely only on one another and have an extremely deep familial bond. Despite the mission posing a significant personal risk, Valzov (as the head of the family) takes it on, believing that defeating the love angels will allow his clan to finally be seen as true devils.

Neana, valuing her brother with a possessiveness that goes beyond that of a sibling, heads to Earth with him to find the love angels. Following a lead they find early on in the game, Valzov and Neana begin attending Saint Hanazono as transfer students (Tooru and Nina) in the hopes of finding and destroying the love angels once and for all.

Of course the love angels aren't just going to accept being challenged by a whole clan of devils (including Kuroba compatriotes Miligal, Entran, Julad and Swyswi). Through the eyes of Momoko, Yuri and Hinagiku the player has to figure out what these "Dark Angels" are up to and challenge them via card battles (which allow you to unleash familiar attacks as you gain the upper hand).

Why talk about this game?

The Wedding Peach PC-98VX game is the only Wedding Peach video game with narrative emphasis, playing out like an extra anime arc complete with music, voices and visuals that could have been lifted straight from the television series. It is also the only Wedding Peach game that gives us something genuinely unique with the Kuroba clan.

The Kuroba have struggled in the devil world because of how they look. Their devil peers see them as not being true devils because they have wings that look almost angelic. The love angels also notice this, hence the moniker of "Dark Angels" (straight up "Yami Tenshi").

We discover by the end of the game that the unique wings all Kuroba clan members have in some capacity are likely angelic in origin. Limone speculates that the Kuroba clan are descended from angels who fell into the devil world long ago.

However, Neana has the capacity to project a powerful love wave in the battle's climax which devils can't do. This leads Limone to clarify that Neana has primarily angel DNA (literally "tenshi no DNA"). He believes she was an angel who lost her life in battle before being reincarnated in the devil world (that isn't how DNA works but OK). Neana was reborn as a devil to be alongside Valzov, essentially, as an angel can only reincarnate "where there is love".

It isn't explained how Limone concludes any of this, except that he "checked their DNA" though we don't see or hear him doing that so it really seems to be based on vibes and perhaps angel eugenics who knows. While everyone was kind of weirded out by how close the siblings were earlier in the game, in the end everyone just kind of shrugs about it so I'm not sure where incest falls on the "love" scale here.

Regardless, Neana's existence shows us that at least in this version of the franchise, it is possible for individuals to reincarnate into the devil world. This is not shown anywhere else in the media mix and it underscores just how similar all the worlds really are.

It's also interesting that the Kuroba (angels who fell and assimilated into the devil world) must follow Devila's orders to try to shed their poor reputation, when in the anime (which the game draws from) Devila herself is secretly an angel who was consumed by her own darkness and found herself suited to life in the devil world.

Anyway, it's not a life-changing game by any means but it is the one Wedding Peach game that tries something different and that's worth noting if nothing else. I'll be honest I haven't played it in yeaaaaaaaaaars so I might not be entirely on the mark with all my recollections, but I did flip through the manual again and it was a real trip down memory lane.

Unrelated to any of the above, my favourite part in the character book bundled with the game? Salvia's profile stating "She is a reticent and nihilistic girl."

👑 Yes queen, life is meaningless! All values are baseless and nothing can be known or communicated! Give 'em nothing! 👑

[amerricanartwork]

Hi! I just wondered if you've played Hollow Knight based off how much you like Rain World. I'd be interested in any thoughts you had on it. :)

Thanks for the ask! No, I have not yet played Hollow Knight, BUT my interest in the game has been piqued! However I still have to see if the gameplay itself seems up my alley, or get invested enough in the characters that I want to discover more than I've already found out (and I have spoiled quite a lot for myself) before I actually decide to buy the game.

Regardless, from what I do know it does seem like an interesting story, albeit one far more tragic than Rain World's in my opinion. The characters I've seen are also pretty cool, both in design and personality. In fact, it was some ship fanart I found a few weeks ago that got me interested in diving deeper into the game once I realized it was where the featured characters were from, especially since one of the characters I had remembered hearing about before.

Here's a little sketch of some characters I was thinking about and whom I've been meaning to draw for a bit! Hornet because she's very Shaped™, Quirrel because from what I've seen he's quite wholesome, and Tiso because he was the first character I heard about and I think he's kinda silly!

Also, some more comparing/contrasting thoughts about the game below:

Firstly, I like how the premise of Kollow Knight involves anthropomorphic insects! It's something I never realized until recently despite being aware of HK for at least a few years, but I usually tend to take interest in stories starring non-humanoid creatures, so it's a plus! I also enjoy the more gothic/Victorian-looking magical high fantasy aesthetic, though it's pretty different from Rain World, which I'd consider far more sci-fi and specbio-esque in its aesthetic.

Now to get into themes, so far Hollow Knight seems to share Rain World's theme of lost/dead civilizations, which is also a very interesting premise to me! However, HK seems to have a greater focus on interacting with the people of its dying civilization and as such you get far more definitive knowledge about what happened to cause it to collapse. The player character seems to take on more of a classic epic hero role, because from what I've heard about the lore and endings, they end up directly influencing the fate of Hallownest, even potentially destroying or defeating the force that caused its ruin. The visuals have this very dark, cool tint overall to sell that gloomy, mournful vibe, and the structures, while presumably old, are still mostly smooth, ornate, and not super deteriorated, with these castle or manor-like appearances more similar to real-life buildings or things in other high fantasy works. Then, the orchestral music I've heard alongside all of these elements really creates this impression in me that it's aesthetic and overall concept is more akin to a high fantasy epic tale, albeit a rather tragic one.

Meanwhile, Rain World seem to have the player take more of an anthropologist role, observing and trying to piece together the story of vast remnants of its dead civilization, which seem alien and impossibly complex because so much of the history they're from has been lost to time. One of the core themes is being very small compared to these long abandoned structures, to really sell the idea that this history is so much older and more intricate than you'll ever know. The colors of Rain World are often warmer, which can be associated with old things, and the structures are far more weathered and broken down, with the only living survivors of the people who made them being the iterators, whom we only get to hear directly from two of. Combined with the focus on simulating an ecosystem, the more directly religious ideas within, the themes of natural cycles and an entire civilization evolving, changing, and ultimately disappearing over deep time, and the overall alien, sci-fi industrial designs of the architexture and strange creature designs that look like things out of "Of Rust and Humus" or some other alien speculative biology worldbuilding project make RW fit well in with that genre of fiction in my opinion.

Sorry if I seem like I kinda took a sudden shift there, but I wanted to talk about this contrast in artistic aesthetics and story genres for a moment because the "lasting impression" an art piece creates something I've recently concluded is pretty important overall in works of art, at least for mine!

But anyway, I hope these thoughts were satisfying for now! Thanks again for the ask!

[feral--darling]

In response to this post (https://www.tumblr.com/messiahzzz/742694448371236864/im-not-here-to-claim-that-wyll-doesnt-deserve?source=share) I saw the other day claiming that it's hostile for Wyll fans to "demand" more content for him, and that objecting to his lack of content is "misinformation"... I have so many thoughts.

I have a bit of an issue with calling a difference in opinion "misinformation" as though Wyll fans are lying about the fact that Wyll, as a character, is underdeveloped. I see a lot of people online who use data to back up their own opinion by manipulating statistics in a way that supports their argument without looking at the information holistically.

Sure, we can look at the length of time that Wyll spends on screen, and look at the number of words he was allowed to say throughout the game so say "haha! See, he gets plenty of screen time so you can all shut up about how his character has been done a disservice!" However, there is a huge problem when all of his "screen time" is purely used as 1) a method of moving along the main storyline because he is the *Son*of the Duke of Baldur's Gate which is the titular city in which the majority of the game is set or 2) as a backdrop to focus on other characters' stories (I'm looking at Mizora and Karlach here).

If we were to separate out scenes in which Wyll is present and scenes which revolve entirely around Wyll as a person and not in reaction to someone else, the number of "scenes" he has, according to the list given by the OP, goes down significantly.

1. The "Meeting Karlach" scene is almost entirely about Karlach and the outcome can be decided by the player character without input from Wyll. I would only very loosely call that a "Wyll scene" because it shares very heavily with Karlach.

2. Similarly, the "Mizora scene" has things happening to Wyll but much of the conversation happens between the player character and Mizora - they talk over Wyll as though he is a naughty pet who peed on the floor and the grownups have to decide how they're going to clean up his mess. This is, again, a case where Wyll is in the scene and things are happening to him, but we don't get any one-on-one scenes with him exploring how he feels about it, or what even happens to him. We get a line from the Narrator which tells us that it - his torture- feels like an eternity for him but lasts only seconds for us. What happened to him during that time? How long was he being tortured? Was he actually dragged through all Nine levels of Hell during that time? Did he meet all the devils at each level and get tortured by them? We don't know any of this, because the scene was not focused on what was happening to Wyll. It was focused on Mizora and how she was able to punish him as his Patron.

3. The tiefling party dialogue, where he spends most of the time complaining about looking like a tiefling regardless of whether he is speaking to a tiefling, in a party filled with tieflings, is... well. It's certainly a choice that was made by his devs and story writers. Do I think Wyll would spend the whole tiefling party complaining about how people who look like *tieflings* don't deserve to party because they have horns and claws? No. Do I think the brief kiss you can get from him (only if you choose one very specific dialogue choice and none others) is enough to balance out the rest of this inconsistency for his content in Act one? Also no. But I hope this doesn't come off as too "hostile" and "antagonistic" in the face of the fact that he was allowed to talk for such a long time! We should be grateful that we're even able to hear his voice for all that time even if the quality of what he's saying is subpar, right?

4. The dance scene is cute. It's one of the only scenes that is all about Wyll as a person and a character. He doesn't really talk about himself much, but at least Mizora isn't there so that's... something, right?

5. More scenes where Mizora is the focus. She comes to camp to demand that the player character frees Zariel's asset (and they can talk over Wyll the entire time with basically no input from him. Nothing about his background, past, present feelings, hopes for the future.) Do people understand the difference between being present in a scene and being the *focus* of a scene? A good example would be the difference between a scene where Mizora is talking to the player, vs when Elminster comes to tell Gale to kill himself. During the Elminster conversation, the player character is there, but it is clearly a conversation between Gale and Elminster. There is the option for Tav to leave the conversation to Gale (an option which is also there for Lae'Zel scenes with the Githyanki) and the interaction can go forward without much input from the player. We are watching two people converse. When Mizora visits camp, she talks to the player character and talks about Wyll like he's a dog. She is very much the focus of the scene and Wyll is a prop or background character.

6. The fact that Mizora joins the camp and there is no option for Wyll or Tav to tell her to leave is NOT A GOOD THING?? This just further goes to prove how much of Wyll's "storyline" is actually just a Mizora storyline. If we separated the parts of Wyll's content that revolve SOLELY AROUND the white-coded devil woman who enslaved him as a child (17 yo is a child to me, argue with someone else about that) ... he has the dance scene, the proposal scene (where the intimate scene happens off screen because the devs really just didn't want to animate a sex scene with a black character because who wants to see *that*?) and maybe a kiss at the tiefling party if you choose the one very particular dialogue tree that leads to it. (Honestly, why do you start that by saying "surely you know why I came out here to find you" ?? It doesn't intuitively lead to a kiss in my mind. AND THEN you have to roll a persuasion check to convince him to kiss you?? WHAT?? WHY?)

I, as a Wyll fan, have an issue with the fact that he has so few scenes AND that most of them are of such low quality that they can barely be counted as his scenes at all. So stretching the numbers to include any scene in which Wyll is even present in the scene... It's just not good enough to combat the obvious lack of care that has gone into the writing of his character. Sorry if that seems ungrateful, or "hostile" 🙃

On to the issue of his autonomy: I don't know if OP just hasn't played with Gale, Karlach or Astarion in their party to the end. Karlach's autonomy is that if you kill Gortash without her in your party, she will get angry and leave. Gale can decide to keep the crown and become a god whether or not you want him to, even if you tell him you don't want him to. Although Astarion needs the player character's help to complete the ascension ritual, if you don't help him and can't convince him that foregoing ascension is the right thing to do, **he will leave your party with all the equipment and gear that he has on him**. I don't know what he says if you complete the Cazador quest without him in your party but I can assume there will be some furious words and he will possibly leave. Why? Because his writers have given him enough personality and agency that I pretty much can guess how he would react to any situation. They are all clearly able to show their own wants or needs regarding their own personal storyline.

Wyll, on the other hand, apparently has no wants or needs. If you go to the Iron Throne and let his dad die, he is fine (i.e. he wont leave the party and there will be no actual consequences). If you choose to reject Mizoras' contract and condemn his father to death, he is fine. If you choose to damn him to an eternity of serving Mizora in return for his father's life, he is fine. The only circumstance in which he will leave the party is if you go the evil route and kill all the tieflings in Act one. Regarding his own personal storyline though? Tav makes all his decisions without discussing it with him and he apparently has no problem with that. There is no option to say "hey man, I've only known you for a couple weeks. Maybe you should decide how your life and future will play out?"

Again. It's an issue of both quality AND quantity.

Finally, the issue with the "Ansur quest" being moved from Wylls main storyline to a side quest is symbolic of the rest of the issues we have with Wyll content. Many of Wyll's quests could be moved to the "main quest" or "side quest" subheadings without affecting the game at all. THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT. The companion quests should be PERSONAL to the COMPANIONS. The fact that THE ANSUR QUEST ABOUT THE EMPEROR was the CULMINATION of Wyll's PERSONAL QUEST was a travesty. The developers would not have been able to easily move any other companion's ENDING TO THEIR PERSONAL QUEST to a side mission without having any impact on the game because there was care an thought put into the other companions' personal quests that wasn't put into Wyll's personal quest. I'm hoping that they're gearing up to give Wyll an actual ending to his personal quest and that's why they've changed that quest to a side mission. HOWEVER, it has been months since the "full release" of the game. There have been 6 patches and 19 hotfixes and there have been no material improvements to Wyll's content and characterisation. The hope is getting spread thin.

Honestly, I feel that people who are only willing to point out the "hostility" of fans who noticed a discrepancy between the quality and quantity of content devoted to a black character and feel "scared" to interact with the fans of said black character should stay in their own fandom spaces where they feel safe. No one is asking for a saviour from the fandom who feels uncomfortable owning up to their own racism and anti-blackness (hint: we live in a world that was colonised by white supremacists hundreds of years ago. We ALL have racism and anti-blackness to unpack). No one is asking fans to interact with Wyll when they don't want to. No one is asking the fans to stop being racist. We're asking the *developers and writers* to stop being racist. To listen to black voices if they feel the need to throw a black character into their game which is mostly marketed to straight white men. And give Wyll the content he deserves.

[the-meme-monarch]

hopping on the kr/alsei hate train. the theme of being Forced Into Circumstances (Romantic Or Otherwise) is very prominent with the two of em, but especially with Kris. it's basically the entire game. every single one of the options to be "romantic" towards Ralsei are a choice on the player's behalf and nothing to do with what Kris wants.

hugging Ralsei is so sweet from our pov. until you recall that Kris doesn't like hugs. this is plainly stated by Asgore if you visit him in Chapter 1, and VERY telling by the way they don't reciprocate Toriel or Asgore's hugs. Kris does not make the decision to hug Ralsei - to do so goes against their personal boundaries.

some of the dialogue choices in the Acid Tunnel of Love are such polar opposites. the "nice" options, however, are incredibly presumptuous of Kris' feelings towards Ralsei, having a stark contrast from the "mean" option being silence or shutting Ralsei down. of course the player will pick the kinder one, even if it's odd.

I do want to mention that this lends itself to the notion/theory of the narrator being a seperate entity (as they were in Undertale) who may have the goal of keeping Kris and Ralsei together. for what purpose I have no idea, but it makes sense why one choice for dialogue ("Is it strange to say it's nice spending time with you alone like this?") is either shutting Ralsei down completely ("It's strange") or assertively reciprocating ("I feel the same way"). the narrator entity understands there is a third party, and they understand how to make us work for them without even realising it.

this isn't even getting started on how Ralsei's feelings towards Kris are incredibly idolising. Ralsei tends to be subservient to Kris and Susie, and talks about his sole purpose as a Darkner being to assist the Lightners. "It's the only way we can feel truly fulfilled."

not to mention, Ralsei has been alone for his entire life. he very reasonably wouldn't be able to understand the difference between his feelings for others, nor would he ever have experienced someone caring for him in a platonic or familial manner.

Ralsei saying "it's nice spending time alone with you" is not an inherently romantic sentiment. It is, however, probably the first time he has expressed any such sentiment. Of course he's flustered about it! He doesn't talk to other people, and this is someone he looks up to and admires as a hero from a legend. Kris has thus far fit into Ralsei's narrative perfectly - of course they're his favourite.

For Kris to reciprocate the sentiment is unique and new for Ralsei, which he even acknowledges. ("I mean, e-everything's a first for me, but... Hearing it from you, um... It... it means a lot.") Ralsei has idolised Kris, and as long as Kris continues to play the part forced by the player, nothing good can come of it.

I'm not saying Kris doesn't care about Ralsei. But it's an incredibly toxic dynamic regardless of the whole almost-siblings shenanigan (which is terrible enough to put me off from this ship anyway.)

TLDR kr/alsei sucks get better <3

NODDING AT THIS i don’t have anything else to add i think you verbalized everything i had thoughts on

[hypostatic-oath]

OVERSEER BRAINROT

(This is like. Me rambling. This is poorly explained and my grasp on the canon lore is iffy but this is just how I imagine/will write the Overseer - aka the player - in SAGAU. This perspective will likely change as I understand more of the lore, but for now, here's some crumbs.)

Overseer whose role is, more than simply observing, to keep the canon going.

Experiencing the story, and that includes collecting characters and learning of their lore, exploring the world, building our teapot, etc is our reward for playing our role - and our role is to push the story forward. It doesn't progress without us. We're not Teyvat's creator, but we are the one making each of our worlds move (we're the mover we're the shaker we're the headline maker). If we did not take action, the twins never would've been separated - they would've stayed forever in that choosing screen, held permanently in that moment. If we had not chosen to walk forward and touch the statue, the Traveler would never have gotten the Anemo elemental powers. Would've never helped Dvalin. Signora would've never taken Venti's gnosis. Rex Lapis would never have "died". Every single other major event wouldn't happen.

The player is the being that makes the Canon Events happen - not directly, but through making sure that the story progresses. (Miguel O'Hara theme plays in the background.) And this can happen at whichever speed we decide.

Now, while the fact that we are the ones making the story go by could be used to argue that the Overseer would be the one to make the passage of time, that is not quite true. The days in Teyvat do not depend on the story progression. Months can pass before those two Fatui in Mondstadt (I love them) have any new gossip to share about current events, or they can pass through five new topics in a span of days, depending on how fast the player runs through the quests. Time is not the deciding factor in these characters' fates. It doesn't matter how long it's been since Signora died - Viktor (the Fatui guy at the Cathedral) will not be stationed at his new post unless the player finishes his comission. Teppei's condition won't worsen with time, either. If we don't continue the quest, we can stand next to him for weeks in game before he passes. Thus, I propose that the Overseer is more of a god of Fate (not to mention, the god of time position is taken). To add to this, the things we use to pull for characters are called Fates. Intertwined Fates, Acquaint Fates, both circle back to the same idea. Hangouts can be seen as a sort of exploration of this power - with the ability to choose one of five or six fates for that character (if only Character Quests had that too). It is, however, one of the few times we have control over which version of the story is told. Otherwise, we are mostly the energy that moves it along.

It's not just that it's a canon event and we cannot interfere - it's that it is literally our purpose to make sure it happens, even if we don't like it. We're here to witness and progress the story - and bad things can happen in stories, regardless of what the characters in it want. So right now I am having some Villain Overseer brainrot, not because they want to be evil on purpose, but because some character decides to pull a Miles Morales and say "I'mma do my own thing" and mess up the story's flow. For someone trying to change the course of the story, the force that pushes events forward is obviously Not Good. I can see Fontaine characters seeing the Traveler's arrival as an ill omen, a sign that the prophecy will come true. They're divided, because on one hand, the Traveler has a good reputation, someone helpful, kind, a hero. But the Overseer's attention signifies that events will inevitably unfold. So Lyney invites them to be part of a show. Furina threatens to arrest the Traveler. Navia asks them out for tea. As long as they can keep the Overseer's attention on other matters, the event they dread won't happen. (I won't talk much abt Neuvillette rn becayse spoilers)

Enter eventual Arlechinno boss fight (it hasn't happened yet, but I do hope we get one) - she's the one who tries to fight the Traveler head on, to personally put a stop to it once and for all. Perhaps the Overseer has no ill will, but that doesn't matter. Not when their presence means that the clock is ticking faster and faster every day.

Now for a more lighthearted thought, Isekai'd Overseer who doesn't really have a concept of urgency. No important event will occur without them present, so they have no qualms in arriving on the day after the scheduled date, confident that as long as it is between 18:00 - 23:00 the reservation will still be placed and people will be at their seats as if it was always meant to be that way.

So the Overseer walks into a bar, with a face too fresh for someone who hasn't slept in what the people of Teyvat percieve to have been months, just coming in from the Spiral Abyss, and asks the bartender where their friends are.

"I don't know? Master Kaeya usually shows up at this hour, but the rest of your usual group is probably tending to their affairs."

"Odd. They were supposed to be here by now. We had a big dinner planned." The person in front of him, who Charles is more and more sure definitely looks somewhat off in a way he can't quite pinpoint, seems confused. "There was a reservation and everything. In Kaeya's name, I believe."

"Well, I'm sorry, but the last reservation Master Kaeya placed here was a month ago."

"Again, weird. He said he was going to place one. Oh, well. When the others get here, just let them know I'll be on one of the big tables upstairs, alright? And you can put everything on my tab."

[mumms-the-word]

Illithid Souls - Part 2

The Case Studies: Tav/Durge and Orpheus

In Part 1, I went over some of the basics of what a soul normally is, where souls go after death, and whether mind flayers have souls. I ultimately ended up saying that most humanoids have apostolic souls (souls that deities recognize as being capable of divine worship), while mind flayers have some other kind of soul, one that isn't recognizable by deities or devils. This is why Jergal and Mystra and so on think that illithid don’t have souls. When a humanoid with an apostolic soul turns into a mind flayer, their soul is either ejected and moves on to the Fugue Plane, or their soul is transformed into a non-apostolic soul (depending on what you want to believe).

But the problem is, that's normal lore, and BG3 has made things a little strange by imbuing all the tadpoles that infect our characters with Netherese magic. And that, friends, makes the BG3 mind flayers different.

This post is going to look at some interesting context from the game for the Emperor, Tav/Durge and Orpheus. (It got pretty long so I'm moving Karlach and Gale to a third post.) We're going to figure out whether the rules about mind flayers and souls change now that there's Netherese magic involved. The ultimate answer is yes, but how? And is it consistent?

(Spoiler: it isn't, but you can use this lore to come up with your own theories and ideas)

Let's take another deep dive! Buckle up, and don't worry, I have a short summary at the bottom.

The Case of the Emperor

I'm actually not going to linger too long on the Emperor because for many reasons he breaks the lore. If he's Balduran and a mind flayer, he shouldn't have lived as long as he says he's lived. Not only that, his memory is allegedly flawless when the lore states he shouldn't remember any of his previous life (there are other inconsistencies too, but that's a different post). However, I do want to touch on a couple of things.

The Emperor both is and isn't our baseline for how a mind flayer normally exists. He should be a normal lore-accurate mind flayer (though a rogue one), because he wasn't infected with a Netherese-touched tadpole. But he's a Special Mind Flayer instead, for reasons we don't entirely understand (again, he generally breaks the lore). Perhaps this is because of his brush with Gortash and the other Chosen of the Dead Three, or perhaps he just somehow has a strong enough personality that when he broke free of an elder brain's compulsion a lot of his memories came back to him. Who knows?

But regardless, a few conversations with him reinforce the idea that mind flayers typically aren't completely soulless. At the very least, they still contain memories (he has his memories of his time as Balduran), intelligence (he's a schemer, that's for sure), and personality/emotions:

Emperor: You think that mind flayers are soulless husks who feel nothing. Belynne thought the same at first. You are wrong. Feeling is vital to the pursuit of anyone's goals. Even a mind flayer's. Like you, mind flayers know fear. Like you, we crave recognition. But unlike you, unlike the others of my kind, I am no slave to either. My end is and has always been freedom.

We can quibble about whether or not he's manipulating the player here, but his words are generally true. As discussed in part 1, mind flayers are not soulless husks. When they're enthralled, they might be more devoid of independent thinking, but they have emotions/feelings and can create memories. They just might have a smaller range of emotion than humanoids do (thus his reference to "not being a slave" to fear or desire) and their memories might not be entirely their own (more on that with Karlach in part 3).

Regardless, the Emperor is our leading authority for what it's like to be a mind flayer, so we're sort of forced to trust him when we ask him to explain what full ceremorphosis is about to do to us, especially because its his Supreme Tadpole that is about to change us.

Player: What would happen to me? Emperor: You would be altered in mind, body, and soul beyond all recognition.

So this is interesting. Altered in mind and body, that's a given. Altered in soul, though...what does that mean?

Remember in Part 1 where I offered two theories about what happens to the original soul of someone undergoing ceremorphosis? Theory 1: they just die and the soul moves on to the Fugue Plane, and the mind flayer gets a new illithid soul from...somewhere. Theory 2: The soul transforms and remains tethered to the mind flayer body, different than it was before (potentially unrecognizable as the original soul, but some elements of the original may remain).

The Emperor's words suggest more of theory 2 here. But is that, in fact, what happens when we become illithid? Well...let's find out.

The Case of Tav and Durge (or most Origin runs)

When you do turn into a mind flayer, the narrative typically focuses on how powerful you feel. Your mind and body feel as though they are one and you are also desperately hungry. There isn't much in the Narrator's dialogue or your dialogue with your friends to suggest that your soul has been completely obliterated, though.

In fact, there's an interesting moment that happens if you turn into a mind flayer without the Emperor there and go up to Orpheus still in his cage. The way I accomplished this was to ask to change into a mind flayer so the Emperor would give me the Supreme Tadpole, then I said I would change later, then stopped the Emperor from consuming Orpheus so he would leave. Then I used the Supreme Tadpole to turn into a mind flayer and went to examine Orpheus.

Narrator: *His eyes are unseeing, his voice silenced. But even with his mind caged, you can feel his power. You can almost taste the fluid beneath his scalp, cushioning that sweet, dense brain, and the power within it. You are hungry.* Lae'zel: I see that look, I know that look. Don't you dare. Player: [Wisdom Check] Cling to your former nature. Quash your hunger. This is not who you are. Narrator: *Your mind and body whine with disappointment. But your soul lets out a gentle thrum of relief.*

I find this fascinating for a couple of reasons. One, the check I chose (there are two, the second is a strength check) meant reaching out to a "former" nature and reminding myself (or my Tav's self) that this is not who she is. When I succeeded, my Tav's mind and body protested, but her soul was filled with relief.

So she has a soul! And it seems to be her own soul, but perhaps transformed. So this sort of supports theory 2, that perhaps when humanoids turn into mind flayers, their soul is altered. This could also just be a quirk specific to those infected with a Netherese tadpole, or even further, someone who transformed using the Emperor's Supreme Tadpole.

Because here's the thing. When Tav/Durge, Orpheus, Companion!Karlach, or any Origin character transforms into a mind flayer using the Supreme Tadpole, they become a special mind flayer. This is mostly due to the Netherese magic, which adds some weird and undefined changes to the whole mind flayer thing. I'm going to use "I guess it's the Netherese magic/Supreme Tadpole" as a scapegoat this entire post because I don't know what else to point to to explain how these guys are just Different Than Your Average Mind Flayer, so be prepared for that. But at the very least, we know something's different.

In fact the Narrator literally says you're probably different than the average mind flayer after you defeat the Netherbrain!

Narrator: *You are a mind flayer, the very thing you sought to eradicate. Whatever self you still possess is quickly ebbing away. Your friends and enemies alike are ripe for manipulation, and if not manipulation, then consumption. Soon you will be able to trust yourself at all. You will be a monstrosity beyond redemption. Or not. Perhaps you are unique among illithid-kind. Perhaps you will retain enough of who you are to resist your nature. A rogue mind flayer. Like the Emperor. The risk is certainly yours to take - will you?*

Unlike normal mind flayers who lose most of their memories (and allegedly most of their personality/former selves) almost immediately after transforming, it takes Tav/Durge/most Origins longer to lose that sense of self, if indeed they lose it at all. The Narrator suggests we might be losing parts of ourselves, but there's a chance we're unique and might retain our sense of selves.

We do see glimpses of us retaining our personalities in the epilogue of course, but what is more interesting is if you decide to imprison yourself post-ceremorphosis. Withers will visit you in prison for a final conversation. (This conversation shifts a little if you're a Durge, but here is the Tav conversation.)

Withers: Thou remainest in thy chains. A hero, sacrificed. I told thee once that an illithid hath no soul, and yet...something glimmerest about thee. Something is not lost. Dost thou feel it? The spark of the divine within thee? Or does thy hunger consume thee? Player: [Option 1] I'm still myself. I don't know if I belong here. Player: [Option 2] I feel the hunger. But I feel myself, too. I'm not sure which to trust. Player: [Option 3] Have you come to torment me with hypotheticals, old friend? Player: [Option 4] Does it matter? This is my life now.

If you go with option 4, you hear Withers ponderingly say, "Thy life...yes..." before moving on to say that fate isn't done with you yet, which is his response to all the other options as well.

But the more important thing is that even Jergal recognizes a "spark of the divine" within you. Your soul should either be cast off and already wandering the Fugue Plane (if going with theory 1) or so completely transformed that it's no longer an apostolic soul that Jergal would be able to recognize as a god. Yet Jergal recognizes the soul within your mind flayer body as being...well, partly apostolic.

Interesting!

We get a similar dialogue if you sacrifice yourself as a mind flayer, too, though this is fascinating because now it's Withers literally finding your soul (still shaped like a mind flayer, which is interesting) somewhere that is...very gray. There's a suggestion that this might be in the Fugue Plane, or in some limbo state where souls sometimes end up, but regardless, Withers, the soul-finder himself, was able to track down your lingering soul.

Withers: Thou flickerest in the dark - but with mine keen eye, I hath scryed thee. I told thee once that an illithid hath no soul, and yet thou seemest to have something of the spirit about thee. I cannot account for it. How delightful. Tell me, how doth it feel to roam about as thou art now, transformed? Player: [Option 1] Where am I? [mumm's note: he basically doesn't answer this question lol] Player: [Option 2] I still feel like myself. My memories, my feelings - all intact. Withers: No matter how many aeons I have roamed this world and beyond, I am ever-surprised by mysteries new and old.

Even Withers is surprised that the soul you have is something he not only recognizes as a soul, but as your soul. I love how amused and intrigued he sounds when he says "I cannot account for it. How delightful." He even smiles when he says it. He thinks you're super neat! And also a new phenomenon.

(As an aside, I wonder if you being mind-flayer-shaped but still recognizable as you is a hint that your soul did indeed transform to be illithid, but didn't fully transform into a non-apostolic soul like normal illithids would. Like, I wonder if your soul is now half-apostolic and just permanently mind-flayer-shaped. RIP. But this would explain why bringing you back via True Resurrection is kind of a nonviable option since you'd just come back as a mind flayer, and this is the ending where you took your own life to avoid being a mind flayer for forever, so I doubt you'd even want to come back if you couldn't come back to your original body. Things to ponder!)

Anyway, you having something that has glimpses, sparks, or hints of the divine/the spirit about you does tell us that as a mind flayer, your soul wasn't destroyed. It may have been transformed, but you're not as soulless as you thought you were going to be, and you're actually still pretty close to being who you were before the transformation.

Close, but not perfectly or exactly like you were before. You did transform, after all. But these changes become more obvious in other examples, such as with Karlach.

You having a partly-apostolic soul that retains all its memories and most of its original personality is obviously VERY unique and different to what most mind flayers experience. For example, if you turn yourself illithid and then free Orpheus (again, see the same steps above, but go a step farther and actually free him this time), then Orpheus will be utterly shocked that you're capable of independent thought.

Orpheus: What is this... A mind flayer in possession of its mental faculties? This is the stuff of fables. It is as if I am reliving the legend of Oryndoll. You are the illithid Urengol, rebelling against your own hivemind. And I am the noble githyanki Valraag who must now reconsider his position. An illithid capable of rebelling against the Netherbrain's instruction... Not only capable but willing... If your intentions are as righteous as they seem, this is an advantage I cannot overlook. An advantage that must be grasped, for our enemy is formidable indeed. Very well. I propose an alliance.

A couple of notes here: Oryndoll is/was a real mind flayer colony far, far below the surface in the southern regions of Faerûn (beneath the Shining Plains). Not only is it ancient, but the wealth of knowledge stored inside via illithid technology rivals and probably even surpasses that of Candlekeep's library. There's at least one book in the game that talks about a foolish drow adventurer searching for Oryndoll, only to end up a mind flayer, while another hints at Oryndoll's role in the history of the Duergar race. But these are the only mentions of Oryndoll in the game.

Oryndoll has a history in D&D lore, but there's no mention of Urengol and Valraag (that I could find). If this is a fable Orpheus knows, it's apparently so ancient that only he remembers it. But that itself is interesting, because it makes Urengol his closest reference to you having become a rogue, independently-thinking, and emotionally driven mind flayer. He can't think of any other examples, that's how unique you are.

The most important thing here is that Orpheus literally considers your independently thinking self as so baffling, so impossible, it should only exist in fables. That, I think, says a lot.

The next question is, does he think he would become just as unique?

The Case of Orpheus

We all know Orpheus can be convinced to turn into a mind flayer and sacrifice his soul for his people. I'm sure he genuinely does think he is sacrificing his soul, as there is no real precedent that he or anyone else seems to know of for a person who turns into a mind flayer and keeps their soul (or at least keeps their same memories, personality, and intelligence). But if he's surprised that he's kept all his memories after turning illithid, he doesn't really show it.

You can ask him about it, of course, after he's turned into a mind flayer and after you've defeated the Netherbrain. His response is kind of interesting.

Player: You're a mind flayer, but you're still you, aren't you? Orpheus: Yes. But for how long? My mind screams. It will never stop until it has slipped away from me entirely.

No one else seems to define their illithid experience this way. I'm curious if his mind screaming is referring to the hunger he feels, the same hunger he is actively trying to resist, but he doesn't elaborate on this. Regardless, he's certain that while he has retained his personality (and probably his soul) for now, it's not going to last.

This is why he asks for an honorable death after the defeat of the Netherbrain.

Player: You don't deserve to die. Orpheus: I will not be ghaik! I did what I did to save my people. [...] The rest is up to them. Someone else must rise within the ranks to lead the revolution against Vlaakith. Give me my freedom from this form, release my soul to the Astral Seas while I still have one to call my own.

Orpheus believes that he only has a temporary grasp on his soul or consciousness, which may or may not have transformed into a different kind of soul. Then again, if he thinks his soul is going to the Astral Seas, maybe it doesn't matter whether his soul was transformed from apostolic to non-apostolic. I'm not even sure if githyanki have apostolic souls at all, since they wouldn't really be interested in the deities that govern matters on the Material Plane. I mean, for a long time Lae'zel wants her soul to be eaten by Vlaakith (a literal lich queen who eats souls) via "ascension" so...

I also have no idea if his soul, once released to the Astral Seas, would be mind-flayer-shaped. I guess that's the great mystery. I would assume yes, but I also don’t know how souls manifest in the Astral Seas and finding sources on this has been difficult (it all boils down to “ask your DM”).

Orpheus can be convinced to stay alive and just hang out in a far-off "corner of these realms" to watch his people fight against Vlaakith from afar, and there's kind of a hint that him agreeing to do this means he isn't actually afraid he'll lose his entire soul. But at this point, we're getting too far into "maybes" and "what ifs" to suggest anything concrete.

Quick picture break of Orpheus contemplating the Supreme Tadpole to break up the text (I just thought it was a good shot)

Now I do have to acknowledge two things about Orpheus: one, he could be a special mind flayer precisely because of his unique abilities to shield his mind from elder brain compulsion, which means his unique abilities could also be the reason why he retains so much of his personality and therefore his soul. Since most of the time you end up eating his brain and absorbing his abilities, this could also explain why you retain so much of your own soul if you become a mind flayer instead.

In this scenario, you’re a special mind flayer because (1) you have a Netherese tadpole, (2) you transformed using the Supreme Tadpole, and (3) then you ate Orpheus’s brain. All three elements could be at play.

But not everyone eats Orpheus’s brain, so that theory has holes. I genuinely think you just end up being a special mind flayer because of the Netherese magic that messes with your tadpole. The Supreme Tadpole plus Orpheus’s abilities would only be the icing on the cake, so to speak.

The second thing I want to acknowledge is that there’s a glaring plothole for Orpheus even turning into a mind flayer at all, if you play the game a certain way. If you send the Emperor away to free Orpheus before the Emperor gives you the Supreme Tadpole (for example if you send Lae’zel over to smash the chains holding Orpheus captive without talking to the Emperor, which is what I did one time, and the Emperor was literally like “don’t talk to me again bye” and left), then how does he turn into a mind flayer? He doesn’t have a tadpole and you don’t have the Supreme Tadpole to give to him.

He gets around this with you or Karlach by saying he’ll lower his mental shields so that your tadpole hears the Netherbrain’s orders to transform and then replace the shields again.

Orpheus: My defences keep the voice of the Absolute out, but just as I can raise them, so I can lower them. I will allow the voice of the Absolute in. Once it reaches you, it will order you to transform. It will only take a moment. And once you are a mind flayer, I will fold you under my protection once more. You will be the saviour of empires, not least my own. Narrator: *With the withdrawal of Orpheus' power, your mind is rushed with the full force of the Netherbrain. You feel a compulsion unlike anything you've ever known - excruciating and exhilarating in equal measure. You wish nothing in the world but to evolve. Then - complete silence, as you are once again closed off from the Netherbrain's mind.*

So that makes sense, and it means you being a special mind flayer could boil down to your personality being hella strong + you being infected with a special Netherese tadpole. In this scenario, the Supreme Tadpole can’t be used to explain your unique soul-keeping abilities, and neither can you attribute your soul-keeping abilities to consuming Orpheus's brain (since he's still alive). So maybe the Supreme Tadpole and/or Orpheus's brain doesn’t have any effect on why you keep your mostly-unaltered soul.

In the end I guess it’s just the weird Netherese tadpole that does the trick? Honestly, I wonder if it all boils down to the fact that the Netherese tadpole doesn't eat your brain, it just lies dormant and incubating in your head, so you're not losing brain matter. (But this ignores or forgets that when you eat other tadpoles you literally watch them burrow into your brain matter so I'm sure the magic has something to do with it too.)

But anyway this still doesn’t explain why Orpheus, who shouldn’t have a tadpole, somehow turns into a mind flayer by, I don’t know, manifesting it??? Or why he is also a unique mind flayer once he does this without the Supreme Tadpole. I mean in his case I’m sure it is because he has special mind shield abilities but still. How did he turn into a mind flayer without a tadpole? Make it make sense, Larian.

He literally just touches his head with a psionic magic effect, which is the same gesture he uses to lower his mental shield to allow the Netherbrain to force you to transform. It's also interesting that if you have him transform using the Supreme Tadpole, then he doesn't say anything as he accepts the tadpole from you and absorbs it. But if you have him change without the tadpole, then he says, "The Netherbrain will be only too pleased to claim me."

Which...kind of implies that he's somehow able to communicate with the Netherbrain or hear its voice, so...maybe he secretly does have a tadpole? I mean, a popular theory is the Emperor probably did tadpole Orpheus off-screen since he seems to have a level of compulsion over Orpheus, but this is never explained or mentioned in the game so do whatever you want with that theory.

But I digress.

Let's do a quick summary, shall we?

TLDR: You're probably a super special mind flayer who gets to keep their soul mostly intact (or mostly unaltered) because your tadpole was imbued with Netherese magic and generally doesn't eat your brain. You might also be super special because you transformed using the Supreme Tadpole (optional) and/or consumed Orpheus's brain (also optional). Orpheus might be a super special mind flayer simply because he's Orpheus, and that is why he can still retain most of his soul/personality, even though he keeps thinking he's going to lose it. His status as special mind flayer seems unchanged whether he transformed using the Supreme Tadpole or not, so it really must be an Orpheus Thing.

Phew. That was a lot. And honestly, Karlach and Gale only complicate things, so they're going in a separate post. Keep an eye out for Part 3!

~*~*~

You made it to the end!!! Amazing, you deserve an achievement or something, but all I have are more gold stars.

✨⭐️🌟⭐️✨⭐️🌟⭐️✨

Tags for those who wanted the update! @galesdevoteewife @stuffforthestash

[marcia-11111]

Daffodils. III. The broken souls pt. 1

I apologize for the very late update, however last half a year was quite hectic and unstable for me - from a toxic job to the exams. But now, I'm better.

Tag list: @idk-bro-gay @kiopanxp @hellothere9597 @hsxhype @mareonyan @is2sae

TW!

Breakup, angst, and heartache

Sae Itoshi is a Japanese prodigy pursuing his dream of becoming the world's best midfielder. In the race to his own goals, he loses the person dearest to him: you. 

(y/n) (l/n) - Sae’s ex-partner. You are an exchange student from a Spanish university who came to Japan. You met him a few years ago during your year abroad in Spain and became his partner. You have moved on, or you thought you had. However, what will happen when the one who wanted you to avoid him the most finds himself again in your life? Is he going to prove his love to you? Or will everything turn into another heartbreak? Does your heart want the Japanese prodigy back?

All "Blue lock" characters belong to the authors of the manga and anime "Blue lock".

Please don't translate, plagiarise nor use my works on other social media platforms, etc.

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

Trying to find a student job abroad was such a hassle. Only a couple of days have passed since you came to Japan in search of a peaceful year, having known of him not being fond of his homeland. However, fate is full of surprises. 

For some, love was simply not a part of their destiny. It must've hurt, but it was the truth, especially for you. Why would a heart decide to suffer instead of leaving all the emotions behind? 

You have already been jobhunting for a couple of hours, but everywhere seemed to be well-staffed or you're unqualified for the job. Regardless how hard you tried, you're left with no option. 

"What a hassle." A sigh escapes your lips. Out of nowhere, a window pops out—a job offer for a soccer club manager, part-time. “Blue Lock? That popular programme?” You read it out loud. The description seems quite fitting, and you lack any other options. “But if it is soccer...” You released a sigh. No need to worry; the possibility of Sae coming there is low. You decide to apply. Fortunately, it's a smooth process that you could finish quickly. 

“Now, there is some time for myself!” You chuckle and turn on the TV. The sight of the next minute causes you to flinch. “Sae…”

“Itoshi Sae, the prodigy midfielder’s last assist, caused Royale Youth to win against the FC Barcelona team; however, the soccer player refused the interview offer!” You sigh once more and load a (f/m) to watch. “No need to think about him.” Still, the lingering feelings in your heart remain unchanged, no matter how much time passes. A single tear streams down your cheek. 

“...”

“Hah. What a time we had.” You focus on the movie instead, struggling to abandon the sadness in your heart. 

Sae’s POV

Everything has seemed bland since that day I had discarded everything I deemed worthy of my attention. All of my life had lost its color. I destroy everything I came across as it should (not) be. 

I walked across the beach aimlessly - the shore reminded me of the better days before Madrid, fame and the force of expectations, insatiable greed and hurtful pride. I became a hope of Japanese soccer, but… No, I am not like that. Whom I wish to fool? The outside world crushed me and molded in a form the child self of mine wouldn’t recognize, a cynical person whose mean words hide the hurt.

“Ugh.” I sigh. The sun shone brightly, blinding me for a moment. A moment later, I notice something (f/c) on the sand. Usually I wouldn’t give a damn about an item, but some unknown force convinced to pick it up. My eyes widen. “W-wait.”

Breathe in. Breathe out. It’s (y/n)’s handwriting. But how come they’re? Especially, after everything that has happened. I didn’t dare topen the diary, but when I stood up straight, a photo fell out. It looks drenched with tears. Tears, which didn’t have time to dry up yet. It means they’re here not that long ago. But how do I dare think about her? Finally, I leave the beach, hoping that my past mistakes wouldn’t haunt me.

[thygoddessouijathicc]

So I’ve kinda been thinking (COTL post btw I’ll get back on some DSAF stuff soon). Spoilers for post game.

Purgatory is kinda underutilized in fics.

The bishops have spent who knows how long reliving their deaths on repeat and each seems to kinda have different feelings about this judging from their purgatory pre battle dialogue.

Leshy repeats his initial dialogue from the original fight, but at the end seems to have something of a cry for help with “end this” implying he does indeed find the experience to be hellish. It feels like a plea for any kind of mercy, not as blatant as Kallamar sure but just as poignant. Leshy is suffering BADLY, bad enough that he’s begging for an end to it. The fact he repeats the original dialogue too is also interesting because of this. The whole thing feels very… defeated. It makes sense, he’s been here the longest in most playthroughs. He’s accepted he can’t fight his way out and has resigned to fighting, but still begs for freedom.

Heket is seemingly angry about this and seems to be venting her anger through what is currently her only outlet, killing the lamb repeatedly, which she may or may not be finding more success in than the others as she seems to be less damaged implying she’s been dying less than she’s been killing. Time in a hellish purgatory may have in fact strengthened her resolve to fight. Though I’d say it feels like a temporary resolve, something of a desperate grab to take power of this situation, eventually things will change and she’ll end up in a much similar place to the others.

Kallamar’s dialogue is what is to be expected from the so called “scardy squid”, he begs us to stay back and not hurt him. This is probably the most clear cut display of the effects of purgatory being that he’s seemingly just more scared of us and in a lot of pain. Kallamar I find to be interesting because I’m getting the impression that while other siblings MAY be coaxed to deviate from the norm (maybe not Shamura as they seem pretty ok with this), Kallamar seems the most likely. I can see Kallamar trying to escape the lamb rather than confront them, while others may do this for Kal it feels very likely he not only has done this, but has done it a lot, never succeeding and resolving to just beg for mercy. While Leshy isn’t directly talking to the player Kal says “red crown” meaning there’s no greater force or anything he’s begging to, he’s ONLY begging to us.

Shamura’s dialogue here is very interesting. It feels like they are very resolved to their fate of repeating this eternally and not only don’t care to escape it, but see this fate as a deserved punishment. For Narinder, crimes as a bishop, the lamb genocide, or all of the above we can’t quite say, I’d say probably a mix of all. Regardless, Shamura seems to be in a state of acceptance of this being the rest of their eternity. Their dialoge also implies a Sisyphus situation of “drawing semblance of life” from routine in a known situation where everything is the same. I’m not sure I’d say they are CONTENT like this, but they’re definitely accepting and the fact they seem to think they deserve eternal purgatory hell seems to definitely be part of this.

I feel like all 4 reactions are interesting thematically. Leshy’s feelings of defeat, Heket’s struggle for control, Kallamar’s utter terror and desperation, and Shamura’s passive acceptance.

However I don’t see a lot of people talking about this in fact a lot of fics seem to say the bishops don’t even remember purgatory which is interesting in itself but personally I’d definitely touch on the fact they each had their own individual somewhat breakdowns of their character, and the affect this would have on their minds going forward, especially on their views of themselves, the lamb who was somewhat the vessel for their torture and their behaviour in general. Would they gain new responses? Would certain things like specific weapons trigger memories of their time in purgatory? Would they dream about it?

Just so much cool fuckin shit to explore! I might sometime if any of my DSaF followers stuck it out for this you KNOW I love angst.

Anyway this is all speculation give me your own insight if you have any! <:

[hibischush]

the request board matchmaker

description; When the farmer first arrived in Mistria, she was pleasantly surprised with the amount of warmth the townsfolk showered her in. Even Lady Adeline herself showed the newcomer such geniality, which shocked an adventurer coming from the capital. Most nobility would hardly blink an eye towards one of the masses, let alone treat her like she was a long-lost childhood friend that recently returned home. It was a nice change of pace. That was until she met the local blacksmith.

notes; the moment i played the demo for fields of mistria and met such a grumpy and toned tsudere i knew immediately that society would go wild for the guy. i just wanted to reimagine what the first meeting would be like between a female player and him (you could totally read this with any pronoun and it would still work fyi!)

word count; 1,048

After Lady Adeline gave her the quest of meeting everyone in town, the new farmer was determined to fulfill it. All morning she had been received affably, which she greatly appreciated. The capital was all too often unwelcoming towards anyone and anything. As she wound up at the blacksmiths, she expected much of the same.

Walking into the establishment, she was greeted with the sounds of heavy clanging. She shifted her glance over to two men hovering over an anvil-- shaping some sort of weapon. One of the men, who was much taller than the other, looked up immediately to see who came in and offered the farmer a wide, cheery smile. The other, seemingly annoyed with the disturbance in his work, only followed his gaze as he slowly dropped the hammer to his side.

“Hey! You must be the new farmer everyone’s been talking about. I’m Olric, and I work here with my brother,” the friendlier of the men explained, shaking her hand eagerly. His brother, seemingly very interested in the wall to the left of them, said nothing. The newcomer took her time in observing him. The smaller of the two was in no way less toned than the other, and his arms were wicked in sweat from working near the forge. His fiery red hair was partially pulled back from his face with a navy bandana, but his bangs were so long that they still easily covered most of his forehead, giving an almost “edgy teenager” kind of hair-do. His facial expression matched the previous description too, frowning bitterly at the wall with narrowed eyes. 

“It’s a pleasure,” the young farmer replied with a gentle smile of her own, “and who might you be?” she asked the red-headed brother. 

At first, he didn’t respond, and was unwilling to make eye contact with her. When eventually got his eyeballs to function again he locked his black gaze into her own. The young man had the audacity to slowly observe her from head to toe, almost as if he was sizing himself up to her. He defensively crossed his arms and pinned her down with a steely stare.

“The name’s March. What do you want?”

Immediately, the farmer faltered a bit. It seems like she was already getting used to being treated cordially here in the countryside. However, Olric didn’t flinch at this interaction, so she assumed that was just what he was like regardless of who he was talking to. Regardless, she tried not to let his cold attitude get her down, instead offering a hand with a smile, “I’m the new farmer in town. Thought I might introduce myself to everyone.”

He slowly and hesitantly shook her hand, and quickly crossed his arms again as if her touch burned him. At least he had some sort of manners, no matter how reluctant.

“I don’t see what that has to do with me, farmer,” He drawled out, spitting out her occupation like it was poison.

 “Regardless of what Adeline says, we really don’t need an outsider to come in and solve our problems for us. I--” he stopped himself, and she began to understand why he was acting so prickly to her, “--we have everything under control. Just don’t get in our way.”

And with that, March turned his back to the farmer and continued to work on shaping the weapon on the anvil. The farmer just stood there, dumbfounded. Olric even seemed surprised with that last admission from March as he scratched the back of his neck and chuckled awkwardly. 

“Sorry about that, March is a little upset about not being the center of attention in the town anymore,” Olric whispered to her, confirming her suspicions.

“No worries, Olric. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually. I could see myself working with the two of you to improve the town,” she said optimistically. Olric smiled at that and returned to the working side of his brother as she turned away to leave.

March grumbled to himself as he slammed the hammer down onto the molten iron. Who does she think she is, strolling into Mistria thinking that she deserves love and praise despite not yet doing anything for the town? I’m sure he’ll come around eventually? I could see myself working with the two of you to improve the town?! Oh please, as if he needs help from some dumb and pretty outsider. Her blind optimism almost makes him feel sick to his stomach, and her saccharine smile made his stomach churn in a weird and unwelcome way.

“March? March!” 

March looked up from the anvil and over to his brother with a confused but annoyed cock of his head. Orlic only huffed as he adjusted the slowly but surely forming sword on the anvil. 

“You were going to strike the metal with half of it hanging off the side! Gosh, that farmer’s really got you in a mood huh?” Orlic huffed.

March stiffened and reddened with frustration, “No way! She’s just some boring outsider. There’s no way she’s actually going to contribute to Mistria.”

Orlic crossed his arms with a scoff, “I know you dude. No one has ever made you this mad by simply existing,” March flushed further, upset that Orlic sniffed him out this fast. His brother studied his facial expressions and the young blacksmith prodigy fidgeted with his hammer. Olric broke out with a wide grin after a few moments.

“No way.”

“W-what?” March bristled.

Orlic shrugged, his mouth still graced by an insufferably large smile, “Oh, nothing, nothing,” he said, heading over to a shelf to grab his own hammer. For a second March let out a huff of relief that his teasing brother was letting his quips go, until--

“That farmer is pretty cute, dontcha think?”

March sputtered and vehemently denied it.

“Oh sure, sure. It’s not like I watched you oogle her or anything.” 

“Shut up! That didn’t happen. Let’s get back to work, we’ve already wasted enough time over pointless chit-chat.”

Orlic shrugged and quietly went back to work once he was satisfied with getting a rise out of his sibling. 

It didn’t take that long for March to discover that he enjoyed working with the farmer. And to come to terms that he found her cute, too.

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

Majexatli as a Companion

[Part 1/?]

[Questions from here]

Where can your Tav be recruited?

Majexatli can be recruited in Act 1. They are found on the Risen Road, by the hyenas. When approaching for the first time, a cutscene will play, in which the player sees a dire coyote eating one of the hyenas and being attacked by gnolls. The dire coyote races after the gnolls beyond the trees and out of sight, allowing the player to investigate the dead and dying hyenas on the road. 

After the player begins combat with the hyenas, Majexatli will join initiative, rushing into combat to assist the players from where the dire coyote has disappeared. Once combat ends, Majexatli will introduce themselves and their tadpole will connect with the players, indicating that they too were on the Nautiloid.

Your tadpole squirms in recognition, their fragmented memories becoming your own. Flashes of verdant forests, vast grasslands, kneeling before a gathering of druidic elders, wandering overgrown paths, the title of Faithwarden. With each flash, however, an undercurrent of hunger, growing in intensity with each passing memory until it erupts into something blood-red and razor-sharp.

The Dark Urge will get a unique dialogue option here, relating to the bloodlust in Majexatli’s memories. Druids will also get a unique dialogue with an insight check where they can mentally speculate on Majexatli’s druidic background and note that Majexatli’s druidic armor is very different from most druids. Druid players will also recognize the title of Faithwarden and note the high honor of the title. Rangers can notice that their armor and clothing seem more reminiscent of a ranger than a druid. Clerics can notice their lack of a holy or druidic symbol.

Majexatli will offer their assistance to the player, saying that they are an accomplished druid and alchemist and that they can help navigate the area.

If allowed, Majexatli will either join the player's active party if there’s room, or be told to head to the player’s camp.

Does your Tav have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

I can't imagine Majexatli being recruited before some of the origin companions, but I've included everyone anyways for the fun of it.

About Wyll: The Blade of Frontiers... I haven't actually heard of him, I'm afraid. He seems a good man, though, and rather charming...

About Karlach: It's nice to have another tiefling in camp. I imagine she's one hell of a fighter, too, anyone who's lived in the hells has to be.

About Astarion: Hm. I'd keep an eye on the pale one.

About Shadowheart: If I've learned anything during my years, it's that you should always have a healer with you, regardless of whatever they have going on. Shadowheart will be important if we want to stay alive.

About Lae'zel: Lae'zel is quite the warrior, it's wise to have her around. I don't know much about her people, but if she says she knows the cure for our parasites, I'm willing to follow her lead.

About Gale: Stranger as it is, I've never met a wizard. Gale seems quite knowledgeable. He's kind of everything I imagined a wizard would be like, if I'm honest. Very... wizardly.

About Halsin: (sighs) I suppose it's good for Halsin to finally join us, given how long he's been in our camp.

About Minthara: I think it's good to have Minthara with us, as long as she stays on our side that is. I might not agree with everything she says, but she's quite impressive in battle.

About Jaheira: Hm. Another druid.

What sort of general actions raise or lower their approval?

Raise approval: helping people in need, killing people who are abusing power/authority, respecting nature, some violence, survival skills (foraging, gathering plants, gathering loot from killed beasts) being kind to children

Lower approval: senseless cruelty, delighting in the suffering of others, expressing disgust for monsters, abusing authority/power, taking advantage of innocent people, neutrality, maintaining balance or status quo

[psychrodraws]

Hello! May I have paldea trio headcannons?

(Or Arvpen headcannons, I need them)

Also yes, I am @indigodiskmybeloved this is my main ;-;

Hell yeah! This is… a lot. I think about this a lot. Way too much. Buckle up.

When Nemona’s with Penny, she’s the one who tries to pull her out of her shell a bit. She loves Penny’s snark and bite, how she’s willing to speak her mind about anything that bothers her, and Nemo doesn’t want to see that side of her be repressed. It’s a struggle, sometimes a lot more than others, but Nemona strives to be the confident hand that Penny can take while she finds her footing in the world. Her sygna suit was a cheerleader for a reason! However, she can find herself needing to take her foot off the gas, so to speak. When Nemona gets a bit too intense, it can make Penny clam up and just try to weather the sudden shift in energy. When Penny first snapped at Nemona to take it down a notch or twelve, Penny thought Nemona might cry- but Nemona was just so happy to see Penny willing to speak up! All of this has had a marked improvement on her confidence! Penny’s been finding herself talking to people a lot more, battling a lot more, even being the one to call her father first! It takes a lot out of her, but bit by bit and day by day, it takes ever so slightly less. Nemona couldn’t be prouder of her.

 But when Penny’s just really, really not feeling it, Nemona has no problem doing something a bit more low-key. She can’t really sit still long enough to just veg out and watch some anime, maybe if it’s a high-action anime, so they usually play video games together. Nemona is… not really that good at them! :D Penny goes easy on her. If the three of them are playing together, Arven does not, so Penny has to keep him down. Regardless, she has a ton of fun with them, with no real regard for winning or losing. Her favorite is Mario Kart, where she plays as Rosalina- tall girl solidarity, she likes playing Smash Brothers as Kirby because he’s cute, she doesn’t really get Minecraft and Splatoon makes her motion sick. Any other games Penny has are either single player or… way too violent for poor little Nemona. 

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Nemona and Arven, on the other hand, are quite the opposite. Arven can take Nemona’s intense energy a lot better than Penny, so she does NOT hold back. On the one hand, Arven’s grateful for this. He’s touched that Nemona feels safe to be herself around her, and he wouldn’t want to jeopardize that for the world. On the other hand, oh my god she’s so intense dude. Battle after battle, that fire deep within Nemona’s heart in full blaze can make anyone sweat. Of course, all of this has Nemona over the moon. Very thankfully, after about oh, five or six battles, Nemona’s usually down to take a sandwich break. This is a good chance for them to slow down and just spend a bit of time together, without a fifty-feet war-zone of Rock Slides and Thunders between them. Nemona has that Shaggy metabolism, I’m saying it here, that girl can EAT and still stay quite thin.

 Arven loves making his partners food, and puts a ton of thought and care into what he makes them- for Nemo, it’s usually something simple and healthy, well-balanced with lots of protein. A nice BLT with some homemade mayo, or an egg salad sandwich. However, they might not even be done making their sandwich before Nemona’s ready for seconds, but no worries, she can do it herself, she insists every time… and every time, Arven can hardly watch. Throwing together random ingredients with no regard for structure or… taste, stacked way too high on pieces of bread way too small, and she eats the monstrosity just as readily as the first, lovingly crafted sandwich. Nemona and Penny tell him he doesn’t have to bottle up his emotions around them. He chooses to bottle up the emotions this makes him feel. How a girl from such a rich and refined family can have such a… resilient palette is beyond them. Still, whatever makes her happy, makes them happy.

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alright bastards worst for last Arven and Penny, now that’s one hell of a combination. Things were not great at first, oh man. Their defenses of a nasty attitude and passive-aggressive teasing bounced right off Nemona, she got close to them by being completely immune to their toxins. Arven and Penny, however, felt like an old married couple staying together until the kids go off to college. That changed when one day, they got snippy with each other over god knows what. Arven got up to do some cooking, while Penny stayed on their bed to watch some anime on her phone. They didn’t talk, but merely co-existed. These same mundane thing they’d done a million times before were tinted with a loneliness so familiar they didn’t even recognize it was there anymore- until it wasn’t. They were trying so hard to “make it work” that they couldn’t realize they didn’t need to try at all. Slowly but surely, they came together more and more, not forcing themselves to partake in absolutely everything about the other. Arven didn’t really care for Penny’s weird anime about freaky angels and robots, Penny couldn’t stand the feeling of washing dirt off vegetables. And that was okay! Great, even! Not everything had to be a battle, and if they wanted to do their own thing, simply doing their own thing on opposite sides of the room was enough! 

Of course, they do have plenty in common. Penny was flabbergasted to find out Arven was actually pretty good at video games- “Penny, I’m also a loser with no friends, did you forget?” Some of her cooking anime actually quite intrigued Arven, and Penny’s knowledge of Pokemon husbandry came in quite handy in getting a hold of some of his rowdier Pokemon, like his Scovillain and… really just his Scovillain. i dont ljke her.  Penny found out she kinda really liked baking, being a lot less sensory and a lot more measurement and timing reliant than cooking- the sweets at the end weren’t a bad motivator either. She didn’t even hate going on hikes with Arven, as long as he carried her when she got tired, they got a lunch break at least an hour into the hike but preferably closer to 30 minutes, and they got the trail mix with the peanut butter chips. They can still find each other a bit tiring, Arven’s bottomless attitude and Penny’s razor tongue, but it’s worth it in the end, because deep down, they both really are two sweethearts under a thousand sour shells. 

Oh, and uh, Arven basically makes her anything she wants. Penny has a lot of foods and textures she avoids due to sensory issues pertaining to autism, so the same way Nemona tries to draw Penny out of her emotional shell, Arven tries to draw her out of her culinary shell. It’s a lot of trial and error, emphasis on the error, but Nemona has no issues with whatever leftovers may arise. As you might see from my art, I HC Penny as being a bit fat, because speaking totally neutrally here, it doesn’t make sense for her to be a thin anime moe twig with her lifestyle, like Mr. Poe K. Mon when I get my hands on you I swear to god- sorry. Anyways, Penny can be a bit self-conscious about her eating habits, but of all the things Arven will tease and poke fun at her for, food’s not one of them. Arven will never, never be the reason anyone goes hungry. If all Penny can get down is some reheated spaghetti or a simple PB&J, he has it ready without batting an eye. also Penny being open about being trans made Arven realize he’s genderfluid bite me

Okay and now rapid fire little headcanons:

-None of these idiots are good at kissing they’re all too proud/embarrassed to look up a guide on wikihow

-Nemona has simple pet names, big on “babe/baby.” Penny’s not too big on giving or receiving names, reminds her too much of her father’s nicknames, but Arven gets the “Arvee” a lot from both of them. I made the regrettable and sinful decision to make my Arven Kalosian, so Nemona is his “beautiful Aurorus” and Penny his “little Sylveon”

-Arven doesn’t use she/her pronouns too too often, but is okay with being called their girlfriend, especially if it’s funny. They’re willing to change gender for the bit.

-Penny isn’t a cuddler. Not adverse to it, but not crazy about it. She’s often on one side of the bed while the other two cling to each other like Komala with their logs.

-Arven’s blind in the eye they cover, and doing eyeliner with one eye is very hard. They can do it by themselves, but if Nemona or Penny are there that morning, by god they’re the ones who’re gonna do it.

If you’re still reading dont forget to like and follow ring that bell i post about these idiots and their other girlfriend I invented way too much

[azaarchiive]

holiday girlfriend; semi eita

chapter one

- fuck semi eita

semi eita, this generations most predominant sex symbol, talented singer, funniest artist and biggest player.

semi avoided commitment like it was the plague, deciding that committing was a sham and that he was too beautiful to be held down within the strains of being in a relationship.

this led to the many girls all around the world getting a taste of the semi eita. it’s fair game to all for him.

one of them was you, y/n l/n. nothing was so special about you. you were just a beautiful girl with a beautiful body and a shining personality. not that he cared about your personality.

you were more clingy than the others but he knew how to handle you and all of your wants and needs. clearly not well though he thought as he stood in your room, violently staring at the pregnancy tests shoved in the bin.

semi was still half asleep, he had a long flight and crashed as soon as he made it over to yours. it was currently 4am, maybe he was being delirious?

“baby, what are you looking at?” you asked, starting to sense the missing presence from your bed.

“are you pregnant?” semi asked whilst slowly turning around, horror was struck all over his face.

you shot up out of the bed, turning on the night light beside your bed. you opted to stay silent, saying it out loud would be too much for any one of you to handle.

“what the fuck. no y/n, what the living fuck. have you been poking condoms or sum shit?-“

“NO, FUCKING HELL SEMI!” you scoffed loudly, did semi really think that high of himself and that low of you?

“then how the fuck did this happen? you’re on every pill imaginable.” semi said, thinking of anything that could have lead up to this.

“whilst the pill is very effective, there is still a 1% chance of getting pregnant. i guess i’m part of that one percent.” tears began to brim your eyes. being pregnant was not something you wanted in the least, at least not right now.

“jesus christ… well just make sure to throw it away or sum shit, i’m not looking after no damn baby” semi sighed, making his way back to your bed.

however you looked at him with disgust filed in your face, how could he be so dismissive of the fact you we’re carrying your baby?

the words he said got to you, you realised that he never actually cared about you. it was only about semi eita the fantastical singer.

“what the fuck semi? ‘just make sure to throw it away’ are you insane?” you said, anger taking over your whole body.

you didn’t necessarily want to keep the body fully yet, but hearing the way semi was talking about his barely 1 month old child grossed you out completely, you already felt quite maternal towards them.

“what? you seriously want to keep it?” semi laughed, not understanding why you were upset. he offered a solution, and now you’re upset?

“maybe i do, maybe i don’t. i haven’t made up my mind yet.” you huffed, lying back down and hugging your pillow towards your chest.

“well just know that if you do, i’m not gonna be raising it. you’ll have to sign an NDA, you can’t speak about this child being mine or i’ll make sure you both are homeless. i want no part in the little shit, have fun with it.” semi turned to turn off your bed lamp, ignoring the dampness of your cheeks that he slightly grazed.

tears cascaded down your face, silent sobs that could only be heard at low decibels. maybe it was the hormones, or maybe it’s the weird way society has painted pregnancy, but now you really want to keep it.

despite semi not wanting anything to do with it, you do. it’s your child at the end of the day, and if they have to face an absent father then so be it. call it selfish, call it determination, you were going to raise this child no matter what. it’s the least it deserves.

the morning was silent and awkward, all that could be heard was the noises from each others phone and occasional shuffling in the bed.

you wanted to badly to end the awkwardness, cave in and ask for forgiveness regardless of who was in the wrong, but you had to do something you’ve never done whilst meeting semi; put your foot down.

“so, you are actually going to keep it?” semi was the first to broke the silence, which was surprising since it was always you.

“yeah” your voice barely above a whisper, scared of whatever the outcome could be.

“alright, goodbye. i’ll send the papers over tomorrow.” semi said, getting his clothing and dressing himself. his face was void from emotion, it was the most upsetting thing you saw that morning.

“ok.” you cleared your throat, not wanting him to know how much this was truly affecting you.

semi collected the last of this things, hid within a hoodie and glasses, and left wordlessly.

he ran away, from you, from a potential future, from all of his ‘problems.’ but somehow, him running away was something you had to deal with, he got the fun 24 year old lifestyle that you could’ve had.

you got the child, the lack of money almost every month, hiding the pregnancy until it got too big to hide.

fuck semi eita, fuck him, his shitty career, his shitty personality, his shitty reputation and all the girls he’s currently fucking while you are standing 6 months pregnant, waddling to the fridge, carrying his baby.

fuck semi eita, the generations more predominate sex symbol, talented singer, funniest artist and father to one.

[cannoliparty]

the bard of heart

reposted from my spacehey blog... i havent looked into bards much before but i tried my best ^_^;

the bard

bards are a passive class, meant to "invite the destruction of their aspect and/or invite destruction through their aspect". this destructive nature follows them around, and they dont have to do much for a lot of damage (related to their aspect) to be done. gamzee's relaxing, but kind of pitiful nature destroyed the rage in his friends because there wasnt really anything negative when dealing with him. because of this destructive nature, a bard's challenge is not to destroy themselves with their aspect, giving into their own destructive whims.

this parts important to the bard's character!: bards will often "play as" their inverse aspect in order to not give into their challenge (destroying their aspect within themselves). a good example is gamzee, bard of rage. he is introduced destroying his inner rage through slime pies, thinking "hopeful" things like miracles (hope is the inverse of rage). later on, he fails and gives into destroying through rage and killing his friends, inviting the rage of others and embracing an intense chaos of the bard class. in conclusion, bards will usually "act" as an inverse aspect until theyre pushed into a dire situation needing their own.

heart

the heart aspect is very personal. it affiliates with feelings, inner thoughts/opinions, and even goes so far to your very soul. heart players will naturally/usually feel things very deeply, whether they'd like to or not. depending on things like the heart player's class, lunar sway, or just outright their personality, they'll vary in the ways of how they deal with their feelings. for example, and heir of heart would be very in tune with their feelings, and sway easily along with them. a witch of heart, however, would defy their emotional tendencies and instead view them as a tool, or maybe in a negative light that cannot be trusted. but regardless, these two examples both use emotions to their own will when reaching the heart player's full potential.

the bard of heart!

now lets look at the whole classpect! a bard of heart would act as mind player, turning more to logic/rationality, the big picture, etc.. and not paying attention to their own thoughts & feelings on topics unless necessary, or until the feelings have been bottled up for too long and it comes out seemingly destructive through heart. with these personal opinions pushed down, the bard now has unbiased, mind-reminiscent thoughts that they share, and often avoiding emotional instances or personal moments. but because they are not naturally tied to mind, the bard might simply just try to get along and blend in with the crowd until its too much to handle and their emotions are revealed all at once as a (possibly destructive) mess of tears, laughter, whatever. this would be the crisis of the bard, giving into an inner tendency of destruction. their true feelings are revealed along with their own opinions, their own hates, loves, etc...

but if not giving into their crisis, a bard can use this act to their own will. giving out the cold facts of mind could inadvertently hurt the feelings of a bard's friends, but it can also be what's necessary: logic is needed in tough situations, when there's no room for things such as emotional bias. in turn, the bard of heart could influence others from a standpoint of mind.

but they are still tied to heart! a bard of heart needs to learn that their emotions are needed too, and can passively keep them along with their tendencies of mind.

in sburb itself is when a bard can be very interesting. they can passively crush their enemy's morale, or destroy their hate for the players, maybe completely obliterate their own souls. bards can also passively destroy negative emotions their allies feel, and are great at keeping their friends in a positive state. the thing is, they wouldnt have to do much to complete any of this!

conclusion

OMG.... this was actually sooo fun to write!! i havent done much research on bards before and they were previously confusing to me, but now i think theyre such a fun and cool class, dealing with their aspects in such a unique and provocative way! of course, comment any classpects you want me to write about, or your thoughts on bards/the heart aspect!! ^3^

[agentnico]

Challengers (2024) review

That’s one way of engaging me in sport I guess.

Plot: Tashi, a tennis player turned coach, has transformed her husband from a mediocre player into a world-famous grand slam champion. To jolt him out of his recent losing streak, she makes him play a challenger event -- close to the lowest level of tournament on the pro tour. Tensions soon run high when he finds himself standing across the net from the once-promising, now burnt-out Patrick, his former best friend and Tashi's former boyfriend.

It’s safe to say this movie has blew up the internet. Zendaya with her major fan-base starring in a threesome tennis flick that’s brought to you by the director who revealed Timothee Chalamet to the world in that queer flick that featured the infamous peach scene? Now that’s quite the selling pitch. Naturally the result is a box office success and a movie that is already taking the top spot for the most memeable motion picture of the year. And I get it, this movie is definitely provocative enough and has enough sexual tension in it to excite any viewer. I’ll refer to my friend’s Letterboxd review for this movie with him saying the following: “I’ve found recently that hormones in films plays a factor in how much I like the film and this film is very horny”. Right, let’s not delve too deep into my friend’s evident sexual frustration, but he is not wrong that this movie reaches peak horny levels. Every scene is imbued with the steamy appetites of its central trio of characters. Like damn to these people want to f*ck hard big time! This should not come as a surprise though, as this follows a very similar formula to Luca Guadagnino’s other films, stoking the appetite of the youth to provide an open forum for unbridled desire to let loose. Call Me by Your Name, Suspiria, Bones and All, A Bigger Splash - every single one of these features tackles themes of sensuality and elegance. You know exactly what you’re getting into with a Guadagnino movie and Challengers is no exception.

That being said, with Challengers the actual narrative serves itself perfectly for a trashy B-movie experience, however it is thanks to Guadagnino’s directorial prowess that the film rises above that and becomes a truly cinematic experience. This thing looks great, and I don’t mean due to the lovely actors present, but the camerawork and the scene framework. The way the sweat drops off people’s faces in slow motion and the camera lingers on their stoic yet thoughtful facial expressions to the impressive tennis match scenes with a particular impressive sequence involving the scene being shown for, the perspective of the tennis ball which….I don’t know how the hell they managed it but that was awesome! Also need to mention the great techno score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that creates an unlikely pairing in electronic dance music and classical, with the result really amping up the energy of every moment. Honestly from a technical standpoint this movie is a marvel.

In regards to the narrative that is where we start running into some trouble. For starters this movie did not need to be over 2 hours. The story was simple enough to shrink down to a 100 min max run-time, but instead the film opts to really dial in on extended pointless shots that linger way too long, so much so that I noted multiple audience members looking at their mobile phones to check the time. Secondly those excessive time jumps. Telling a story in a non-linear fashion can be a useful story-telling device, but here it was used way too much that it became distracting. Like there was a time jump back and forth every 5 minutes, with some jumps sprawling 13 years, which made it really difficult to get engaged in certain moments. Speaking of the 13 years, bless Zendaya’s heart but as much as they tried to age and de-age her through hair and make-up, she never looked older than 19 years regardless of the time era. For all of the film’s technical achievements you’d think they’d put more effort in the make-up department.

As for the actors, whilst I admire Zendaya for tackling such a meaty and, dare I say, challenging role, I feel like she’s too young in her acting career to be able to fully perform a weathered, jaded, cynical, ruthless and calculating character like Tashi. It seemed for the most part she relied on having a resting scowl face, but otherwise I found it actually hard to believe any of her chemistry with her male co-stars. As for the male co-stars, out of this love triangle it was in fact the queer relationship that really popped. Props to Mike Faist (who was a highlight for me in the recent West Side Story remake) and Josh O’Connor whose chemistry was through the roof! The way they looked at one another, to the churros to the way O’Connor smoothly moved Faist’s stool closer to his with his foot…… they can say they are best friends all they want but we just know they are both aching for those benefits! Again it’s how strong of performances these two give that hinders Zendaya who is nowhere close to their level.

Challengers overall is an entertaining enough youthful erotic crowd -pleaser that from a filmmaking standpoint looks fantastic, however due to the narrative structure and Zendaya’s arguable miscast this movie falters. That being said to Tom Holland, dude, I’ve seen your social media posts about being excited to support your girlfriend and going to see this movie, but dude, I bet your cried your eyes out after. Spider-Man - she ain’t coming home!

Overall score: 6/10

[blank-house]

Do the boys have personality’s that they prefer? Like if you have a certain personality will it be easier to raise their affection? Playing the demo it seemed that they responded a little differently to each personality type. (And yes I did replay it 4 times to get all the dialogue 🫣 seriously can’t wait for this game!!)

I briefly touched on this in another ask, but no they have no preference! Other than what attributes your MC starts with, there is no advantage to the personalities so befriending or romancing the guys isn’t any easier or harder.

The guys only react differently because the Seasonal MC’s are different! Let’s use a Winter MC and a Summer MC as an example because their differences are pretty stark. A Winter MC doesn’t like making a big deal of things and they also don’t react much. On the other hand, a Summer MC would readily speak their mind and be reactive.

So if someone like Percy were to start flirting with a Winter MC, they would either bluntly accept his flirting or ignore him. They are, after all, not so easily fazed regardless of how they feel about him. Seeing that, however, would make Percy cheekier because he wants a reaction. He’d think to quip back with something scandalous. But like I said, Winters are a tough nut to crack— so he’ll eventually give up if they don’t give him anything or gloat if they do.

However, a Summer MC has a shit ton of confidence so we determined that they would straight up tell him off or challenge him right back! Unlike Winter, Summers are actively engaging with Percy in this situation and so there’s an immediate back and forth. And since Summers don’t give up easily and Percy’s always willing to push the limit with them, their conversation can be bolder and more heated than the almost one-sided convo with Winter.

That being said, in the grand scheme of the game, those two interactions can be summed up as:

Percy flirted with MC

MC responded

Percy flirted back harder

MC wins/gives up

Ultimately, nothing different haha

It’s more tedious on our end but I wanted the cast to react to MC as a person and not just by their choices. Different season personalities help us do that because not only are we inserting the player into the game, we’re slotting you in as a character with established dynamics.

I mean, you wouldn’t bat an eye if a friend who talks flirty, talks flirty. But if a friend who doesn’t, suddenly does, that would require a reaction or a response, right?

It’s the same principle!

Even if the guys just met you for the first time, they can pick up on cues. So if you’re coming at them with spice then they’ll react accordingly! And if you don’t then of course they shouldn’t act as if you did.

~*~*~*

Phew— I wrote a bit there but I hope that makes sense! And although a good chunk of the game unravels differently based on your season, I hope you guys don’t get caught up in the differences. >~<

We will always make sure each seasonal interaction is new but equal, and if we don’t immediately correct that then there will be something later on to finally balance it.

The last thing we want is to give players the impression that you have to “act” a certain way to be worthy of love. So long as you’re making choices with good intentions, the boys will love you regardless of how you present yourself.

And that’s that!

Scifjsjdhrjehehdhw thank you for playing the demo four different times! I hope you had fun finding all the variations and that they were worth it ^^