#i don't know if i've just never seen this dialogue before (i've played this game tons of time and won fair every time)

[spark-circuit]

FUNNIEST dialogue to get right now after getting the new achievement for getting 1st place lmfao

[sketchtastrophee]

more old art!! featuring theo and my human harley fan design!! RUN THEODORE RUN (he's cooked)

im gonna talk about chapter 4 under here so only click if ur ok with spoilers! also its a huge yapfest. like HUUGE. i just want to voice my opinions about prototype because i've seen ppl sort of miss the point of what happened at the end of the chapter

I LOVED CHAPTER 4! IT WAS SO COOL!! i was sooo worried but im glad it turned out good. rip pianosaurus tho..

tldr (for the bunch of paragraphs where I talk abt prototype)

prototype being ollie is deranged because it means he was terrorizing the toys of safe haven on purpose for the fun of it when he could have killed them at any time. he also created an extremely close emotional bond with poppy for OVER A DECADE just to tear it all away from her at the end and tell her it was meaningless (he then proceeds to taunt her over the phone abt it). bro is LITERALLY TROLLING

you cant tell me that final scene w the "ive got something special in mind. i prepared it just for you, and this time you'll never want to leave." isnt some tom and jerry shit

ABT PROTOTYPE REVEALING HIMSELF AS OLLIE... (the long explanation)

we ALL knew he was ollie, but i don't think people are seeing the point of this reveal. it wasn't about revealing himself to us the player, it's about the implications that arise from it. he had been playing both sides for 10+ YEARS. that's deranged enough but not even CLOSE to the end of it

as ollie he had emotionally supported poppy in her lowest moments (as heard in the ollie and poppy tape). this tape also insinuates that (at least around the time it was recorded) the two of them called frequently, possibly every night. he wasn't just pretending to be everyone's ally, he was PRETENDING TO BE THEIR CLOSEST FRIEND THAT THEY COULD VENT TO 😭 he heard this poor girl sob into the phone and tell him about how she felt her humanity being taken from her, AND HE KEPT UP THE CHARADE AND COMFORTED HER, KNOWING THIS PATH HAD BAD INTENTIONS

what's worse than all of that, though, is that him being ollie means that at any time in the last 10 years he could have used the persona to force his way into safe haven. AT ANY TIME HE COULD HAVE KILLED THEM ALL. HE COULD SIMPLY USE THE OLLIE VOICE AND ASK THEM TO OPEN THE DOOR. why is this worse, you ask? because HE WAS LITERALLY TERRORIZING THEM ON PURPOSE.

think about the note in the cart/cave area. a toy from safe haven writes that prototype was right outside the door the night before, he'd gotten past the traps and was just tapping on the wall and staring. they said after he was gone they still felt they could hear it. HE IS LITERALLY BEING SCARY ON PURPOSE???? LEGIT TRAUMATIZING THEM AND FOR NO REASON. HE COULD GET IN THERE, HE'S SIMPLY CHOOSING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES HELL

so thats crazy.. BUT ALSO THE ENDING? in the poppy and ollie tape he says "im right here, poppy. for you. i'll always be here." AND AT THE END OF THE GAME, WHEN POPPY ASKS WHAT HE DID WITH OLLIE, HE SAYS THAT. you know what that means? that means he said that shit to her ALL THE TIME. clearly only the two of them would be familiar with the phrase which is why after he said it, she immediately knew he was ollie the whole time

i feel bad for poppy. she ran off but she was valid for that. all her friends from safe haven are dead, the only ones left are the player, kissy and ollie, but she soon realizes that ollie is WORSE than dead. he is LITERALLY HER ENEMY. the thousands of conversations they had, probably hundreds of times she vented and told him her plans and discussed her life with him? ALL FOR NOTHING. any time she thought she was winning the past 10 years was a lie, she was ALWAYS LOSING because he was GETTING ALL THE INFO FROM THEM. she genuinely never had a chance and i think she realized that

in her dialogue you can tell she's grieving ollie (obviously he IS prototype, but i think she's grieving the thought of him). saying "you lied to me" to the prototype of all people is absurd (considering he's done far worse than lie) but when you think about how she feels, it makes sense.

also the part where she said "this isn't right". again, a weird thing to say to him of all people, but if you put yourself in her shoes she's grieving the friend she thought she had, and she's struggling to grapple with the fact that it all meant nothing. somewhere in her mind she believes "ollie" as a personality is there somewhere, because how could someone be that close with you and mean none of it? she thinks that voicing this pain he's inflicted will change his mind, but it won't. and that's why it's genuinely really sad. that's why she asks if there was ever an ollie. i don't think she meant it literally, and i don't think his answer was literal either. she didn't mean "were you a mf named ollie once" she meant it like "was our friendship ever genuine?" which makes his response both heartbreaking and interesting.

so not only is her world shattered now, most of her friends are dead and the one who wasn't turned out to be her opp, but now he's TAUNTING HER OVER THE PHONE AND THREATENING HER. nice one... (loved the quip after she ran off btw. that shit was hilarious. like bro u made her crash out and went "some friend, huh?" YOU CANT SAY THAT BRO)

anyway think of it from her perspective: everyone you knew is gone, and soon the only 2 people that remain will be too. you can't run, or hide, or do anything. he WILL find you, and when he does he'll lock you away FOREVER where NOBODY WILL BE LEFT TO SAVE YOU. I WOULD RUN TOO.............. plus her running off probably led him away so.. she saved us sorta.

ALL THAT TO SAY THAT I REALLY LIKE THE OLLIE REVEAL FOR REASONS FAR BEYOND A SIMPLE TWIST. him being ollie for over a decade raises many many questions, and suggests very dark things.

hes crazy and the fact he did a monologue means he knows he won. he wouldn't have spilled the beans otherwise...

[mcflymemes]

PROMPTS FROM FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE *  assorted dialogue from the game, adjust as necessary

whatever happens, you can't fall in love with me.

promise you'll come and save me.

we need to make the most of the time we have... to live our lives the way we wanna live. every minute, every moment, matters.

i'm glad i met you, [name]. i really am.

i'm grateful for all the words we've shared, for all the moments and the memories.

you've made me more happy than you know.

there's a much bigger threat.

i just want to do everything in my power to help.

can i come?

then it's a date!

a long time ago i used to sell flowers here.

go. follow your heart.

i'm not some princess who needs to be coddled.

sorry i'm late.

this calls for a song.

this is a one time gig. when it's done, we're done.

survival can be a matter of luck or skill. and you can't rely on luck.

if it feels wrong, don't do it.

i'm a light sleeper.

when we were kids, everybody wanted to be a soldier. by the time i made it in, they didn't need heroes anymore.

i'm not cut out for this crap.

quit acting like you know me.

you have to look at the bigger picture here.

nothing worth fighting for was ever won without sacrifice.

hold onto this.

a good man who serves a great evil is not without sin.

i'm a man of modest dreams.

answer me!

would kill for a shower.

i'll be fine. you've seen how much ass i can kick.

it's kinda funny. us going our separate ways, thinking that must be it... that we'd never meet again... and then here of all places we do.

deep down, you're a pretty nice guy.

they took everything from us. again.

i don't care! i don't want anyone else to die, please!

we should totally celebrate!

i'm sick of this! i'm sick of all of this!

are you ignoring me again?

what's with you all of a sudden? like you're losing that hard edge.

you can't do this.

you gotta be better than this if you're gonna play the hero.

is it our destiny to defy destiny?

i am what you see before you. nothing more.

you are too weak to save anyone. not even yourself.

those who look with clouded eyes see nothing but shadows.

that was then, this is now.

you have failed again.

through suffering you will grow stronger. isn't that what you want?

do you fear me?

do you dream of me?

you're not real. you're dead.

you should rest up while you can.

can't sleep?

i heard footsteps.

sorry. didn't mean to wake you.

it kinda feels like i've gone back to my childhood home.

everyone dies eventually.

do i get a say in all this?

i'm coming for you.

did you miss me?

[jelloapocalypse]

Hi! I guess it’s ask time? Just wanted to say I think you’re one of the funniest people on YouTube; I have a playlist called ‘Emergency Funny’ and like half of it is just your videos.

I’m wondering, when you’re cold-reading a line, like in those streams of voice acting a video game while playing it, what are the small details, if any, that you look to to figure out how to read the line? I’m continually amazed how you manage to have near perfect delivery while never having read the line before. Sorry if this is worded confusingly I legit don’t know how to phrase it

This was sent months ago, but it's actually a very good question and talking about this might help people who like to voice games on stream get better at doing that.

For context, this is about our "fully-voiced" game playthroughs where we cold read an entire video game out loud.

One small thing I try to do that helps is pressing the "advance dialogue button" when the person speaking is about 65-70% of the way through their line. That way, if the next line is from the same character the actor has a chance to read it smoothly as though the lines were not separated at all.

If it turns out to be a different actor's line, this gives the new actor more time to skim the words as well as extra time for them to realize they're about to be speaking so they don't get caught off guard.

Doing this is actually kind of hard because every actor we work with reads at a different pace and the person actually playing the game has to keep that in mind. Oz, Vixen, Arim, and I can sight read most lines almost instantly. I've seen Oz and Vixen in particular read entire text boxes that were only onscreen for a couple frames. But, obviously, not everyone is that fast, so everyone gets different "advance the dialogue" speeds.

Ideally, if a game is well-written and the characters you're playing have a strong voice, you'll slowly fade into the character as you read them. You begin to feel the things they're saying rather than just reading words on a page. Once you hit that flow state, it becomes easier to process what they might logically say next. If you notice one of us make 2-3 errors in the span of just a few lines, it means we're probably not in that flow state.

Some games are also much easier to scan than others, usually because of their character poses.

A game like In Stars and Time has such incredible character portraits that you can usually tell the tone of the accompanying line within a few frames of a portrait change.

Loop (above) is an extremely suspicious and weird character, but voicing them was so much fun because I could always rely on the portraits and the font changes in the text to give me direction on how to play them accurately, even though I didn't actually know what their deal was until about halfway through our playthrough.

Coffee Talk also has very strong portraits that react in real time to the lines of dialogue. The framing can push characters smaller or larger in focus depending on how upset or meek they are, so it's very easy to react on sight and adjust accordingly.

Every time a game developer takes the time to painstakingly add portraits that match every single line, every time they add SFX to accentuate certain words, every time a font wiggles to tell you someone is speaking in a sing-songy way, that's all direction that the game's creators are giving you.

Another thing that helps is just media literacy. I think everyone on the channel is pretty good at that because, speaking frankly, I don't like hanging out with people who have bad media literacy, lmao.

The more media you consume, the easier it becomes to know how a story is going to go. Even a really well-written mystery usually has only 3-5 real options for an ending, and while you're reading games aloud it's a good practice to consider all of them equally so your reads make sense no matter what. You'll notice it's pretty rare something takes us entirely by surprise in a read-through.

Also, of note, it's much easier to notice specific foreshadowing and word choice in dialogue when you're reading it aloud as opposed to silently skimming.

A solid example is our fully-voiced playthrough of Trails From Zero, which actually happened on SurpriseRoundRPG a few years back and not my own Twitch or YouTube.

Minor spoilers, but the character above, Ernest, has some antagonistic interactions with your main party over the course of this game. He wants Ellie, the white-haired party member, to quit the police force (that's your group) and go back to working with him in the Mayor's office.

When Arim played this game solo he didn't really think much of this guy. However, when he played the game for us and we read it out loud, having lines like the one pictured above spoken aloud makes it kind of impossible not to notice that this man is a freak. Mo, his VA, ended up playing him as a manosphere incel weirdo because that's the vibe he was putting out, and, lo and behold, that's pretty much exactly the character he turned out to be.

There's a running theme on our channel where commenters are often surprised to see the game "play into our bits" and how we "accidentally predict things".

What's really happening is the reverse.

It's very, very rare that we decide to make up a bit from absolutely nothing. It's not a hard and fast rule, but I find we only make jokes and play up aspects of characters based on things that are already there. Hence that one time in Miles is a Robot when I said something awful and sexual as Ray Shields, Oz groaned, and I said "Hey man, I'll give him a different joke when the game gives me somethin' else to work with!" I didn't choose to make Ray awful and sexual all the time. That's just how he is, so that's the well we pulled bits from.

Because we only extrapolate from existing content and our "silly" versions of the characters onscreen are just exaggerated versions of what's really there, whenever the game gives us more info about them, the new stuff tends to be very in-line with the bits we've already been doing. It's not us being psychic. It's us being consistent!

It also helps that almost all the regulars on my channel have done professional voice work and have been doing some version of this for literally 10+ years. Practice makes perfect!

[carlyraejepsans]

until recently i was a "havent even touched the game in 8 years, i barely remember the characters" type of ut fan, but i just finished it again and my brain is active again, but im really rusty. i could only think of you to ask, please feel free to ignore if youve answered before or for any reason at all. ill send them by separating, first one is this: since flowey says he "could never get past Asgore if it werent for you" does that tie to the quality of his determination, stats, or gameplay? like is he simply stuck on the "playing" part, no matter what he has equiped or his LV, is he simply unable to manage the turns? im a shitty gamer myself, i can bet sans fight would succeed to stop me from finishing a NoMercy, so is the asgore fight equivalent of that for flowey? so he never got Any "ending" at all, just went around doing what he could, until only thing left was asgore, and reseted? if so, wouldnt that make it basically canon he'd tried a NoMercy and got stumped worse with sans? please tell me your thoughts on floweys time with the power to save and reset

Hi, and welcome back to the game! I was in your exact same position a couple of years ago, so I'm super flattered you're looking at me for information.

Flowey's final kill count before the events of the game is... debatable. More under the cut because this got long.

Of course, like you said, you have lines like the ones after you deal with Asgore for him:

Howdy! It's me, FLOWEY. FLOWEY the FLOWER! I owe you a HUGE thanks. You really did a number on that old fool. Without you, I NEVER could have gotten past him. But now, with YOUR help… He's DEAD. And I'VE got the human SOULS!

There's a pretty straightforward interpretation of this line, and it's the one you brought up: Flowey tried to defeat Asgore but couldn't, and he needed us to weaken him first to achieve his goal. The phrasing doesn't leave much to be contested. However! There's another Flowey line--this time in the geno route, I don't know if you've already gotten to it in your replay--that i feel can offer a slightly different perspective.

You understand, I've done everything this world has to offer. I've read every book. I've burned every book. I've won every game. I've lost every game. I've appeased everyone. I've killed everyone. Sets of numbers… Lines of dialogue… I've seen them all.

If you go with the previous interpretation, you can read this line as Flowey being hyperbolic, or taking some poetic liberty for the sake of rhetorical parallelism. But considering his larger metanarrative role as a mirror and reflection of the completionist player experience, I think it is also completely fair to assume that Flowey HAS, in fact, killed Asgore before. Just like he's killed Sans. Just like he's killed literally everyone who can be killed in the game, either directly or indirectly (see, in our case, Alphys).

This does require a re-framing of the post Asgore fight dialogue, however. Which is... actually not as much of a stretch as you'd expect!

"but now, with your help... he's dead. and i've got the human SOULs." -> i needed your help to kill him.

"but now with your help... he's dead. and i've got the human SOULs." -> i needed your help to get the SOULs, specifically.

It's a subtle difference, but one that gets corroborated, once again, in Flowey's NEW HOME monologue in the geno route.

We don't even need to leave to get them this time. The king has six of them locked away. I've tried hundreds of ways to get him to show me them… But he just won't. I know he'll do it for YOU.

Remember how the SOUL containers are hidden under the floor in front of the Barrier until the moment you and Asgore initiate the battle? There would be no way for Flowey to know where they were stored unless Asgore chose to show them to him.

If you want my personal favorite interpretation, I think it's pretty clear that I lean towards the second option. All while not discarding the idea that Flowey is just a bit of a shit gamer as unrealistic (for all he may trap us in unavoidable attacks over and over, he does get thwarted every single time). He certainly seems more apt in plotting schemes and manipulation than sheer fighting prowess. My preference also remains because, while Flowey IS softlocked out of the ability to "finish the game" until we (the true protagonist) start playing, that is because Undertale doesn't end when we kill Asgore: it ends when we get to the Surface. THAT'S the final objective Flowey wants, and can never achieve on his own in the state of the game before it begins. Whether Asgore is alive or dead is irrelevant.

My preference also comes from Asgore and Flowey's characterizations. We know that Flowey has spent a significant amount of time stalking and resenting and mocking and enjoying Toriel's suffering in the RUINs. He is extremely good at pushing buttons and digging wounds back open. And well, Asgore himself is actively suicidal by the time we get to him, and has been for a while. Think only of the ending where Flowey doesn't kill him, so he kills himself instead. Furthermore, if you look at Undyne's reminiscing during our date in pacifist...

Once, to prove I was the strongest, I tried to fight ASGORE. Emphasis on TRIED. I couldn't land a single blow on him!

...it's clear Asgore is not only a very strong opponent, but also capable of blocking/dodging attacks. Something he doesn't do during our battle with him, in order to give us a fair fighting chance. Which is also clear suicidal ideation. Now, once again you could use this dialogue to support the opposite thesis that Flowey never managed to kill him. Asgore clearly has past experience in fending off rabid 13yos who want to beat his ass. But he is also in a very fraught mental state as is. Flowey's... well, everything--his mere existence as a concept would be enough to make him want to die. You can't tell me Flowey never drove his father to suicide during his resets (think of Asgore and Alphys' parallels), OR his mother--though I don't think he would be successful in her case (which only makes him hate Toriel more.)

But I would say both options are very good and can both be used to explore their characterization, on their own and in relation to one another.

So while I don't disagree with your comment about the Asgore fight being Flowey's personal Sans fight, I do think Flowey's Sans fight WAS also just... the sans fight lmao. Possibly with easier requirements to face it than us, if you only consider this dialogue of his after several neutral endings in a row

You know. Smiley Trashbag. Say. If I have ONE piece of advice for you... DON'T. Let his brother. Find out ANYTHING about you. He'll... well… Let's just say. He's caused me more than my fair share of resets. Stay away from that guy.

Though it's true that that could both refer to his fight and other shenanigans Sans could have pulled to cause problems on purpose for a time traveler, if he really saw them as a threat that needed dealing with.

does that tie to the quality of his determination, stats, or gameplay? like is he simply stuck on the "playing" part, no matter what he has equiped or his LV, is he simply unable to manage the turns?

I'll leave that to your discretion, actually! Like I already mentioned, it does seem to me that Flowey's specific strengths lie in his ability to manipulate and plot from the shadows, but whether he's naturally good at battles or not, I think the core of what makes him dangerous is the same thing that made us dangerous too. The fact that his mistakes, at the end of the day, do not matter. Flowey can fail and die and try again every single time he wants.

Every other character only needs to mess up once.

When the bored time bending kid with a violent complex has the wheel, it's not a matter of "if" he beats you. It's a matter of when.

Hope that made some kind of sense!

[abyssal-ilk]

A thing that people always forget when chastising vivienne for being so apathetic to cole is the fact that she is a circle mage. People whom are forced to learn that you should not trust demons nor spirits or else they’ll put you down AS A RITE OF PASSAGE. Think back to what Mouse says in DAO. “Keep your wits about you, mage; true challenges never end.” She knows that for the rest of her life, demons will tempt her and try to possess her. She has seen mages turn into abominations, knows how they get them- of course she will support templars who have the skills to subdue them. And now to have a spirit scurrying around without supervision what is the last bastion against a Tevinter Sidereal… I too would be worried as hell if i were a circle mage.

EXACTLY!

not only is vivienne a circle mage, but there are also a few other factors that play into it that make cole so untrustworthy to her. vivienne underwent her harrowing when she was young– in fact, she was the youngest mage to have ever gone through a harrowing and survived it. we don't get to learn much about what she went through during her harrowing, but we DO have this banter between her and cole:

harrowings on their own are already traumatic enough, and with the added insistence from the circles that all spirits and demons are dangerous (which we see vivienne repeat above, "all it can do is harm."), it makes complete sense on why vivienne would be so put-off by cole! especially given how kind he is! she thinks that kindness is a ploy, and why wouldn't she if her harrowing was anything like the warden's in DAO?

and then that's not even acknowledging the fact that cole isn't just ANY spirit. he's the ghost of the spire. he's killed mages before and admits to doing so. and even though he was wrong to do so and realizes that what he did was wrong, that does not mean that vivienne automatically has to suddenly be okay with what cole did. of course vivienne takes cole being the ghost of the spire harder than everyone else in the inner circle. she is the only circle mage there. it is entirely plausible that she sees cole as a threat and views herself as being the person most able to recognize that threat because of what she was taught. it's why she struggles so much to empathize with cole on any level.

ive already talked about this briefly on another post, but cole is also fairly antagonistic to vivienne as well. it's easy to look at their dynamic and think that, well, cole is just trying to help vivienne but he... isn't? his version of helping her is prying into her thoughts without permission and continuing to do so even after she has shown clear discomfort with it.

cole drags her worst memories and thoughts out publicly in front of not just vivienne, but the rest of the party and anyone else who may happen to be standing near them. it's DANGEROUS, what he does, because vivienne is a player of the game. her position at court is a precarious one, and to have someone like cole who can just pick into her brain whenever he wants with no repercussions? it's scary! it's scary because vivienne has no defense against it, especially if the player supports cole and downplays the harm he does. and what can vivienne do about it? she's an ally of the inquisitor, and that makes her cole's ally by proxy. telling cole to stop doesn't work, insulting him doesn't work, trying to get the inquisitor to intervine doesn't work– nothing seems to deter cole.

which is why THIS piece of dialogue is so important to me:

despite everything i've said above, vivienne still cannot help but care about cole. no matter how dangerous he is, no matter what she was raised to believe, she still cares about him and worries for him. their dynamic is SO interesting to me and i really wish people dug into it a bit more rather than just dismiss it as vivienne being needlessly cruel to cole. it's so much more than that.

[cardsweetheart]

Idia tired of always being the one to get flustered. Yumi is so flirty with him and he never has any idea how to counter it. He can barely think straight when she's all up in his space.

It's not until they're hanging out in his room, separately playing their own games, that he hears a noise over his headphones. He spins around in his chair and sees her face going red, even though she's trying to hide it with her phone. Her legs kicking in the air. It was classic fangirling behaviour, but he's never seen it this bad from her.

He moves from his chair and shuffles his way over to join her on the bed. She does her best to turn her scream away. Jokingly screaming that he's not allowed to look. He's not allowed to see what she was playing.

"You've seen my game library, it's nothing worse than me." He insists. "Besides, if you don't show me I'll just check through the dorm wifi files."

With a suspecting glare on her face, "You can't do that."

Idia takes the moment of weakness to swipe at her phone and sneak a look. He sees the classic visual novel UI. Dialogue boxes, stock background image, a heart meter in the corner made sense for Yumi's taste in games.

Her voice shrieks out, "GIVE IT BACK!" She reaches for the phone but she is still on her stomach and out of range.

"What's the big deal? It's just a dating sim. I've seen you play a hundred of these."

He clicks to let the next set of text scroll across the screen. The character sprite popping back up. There is a small flash of blue before a pain hits him near his knees. He crumbles onto the bed and Yumi steals her phone back from him. He watches her frantically exit the game and shove her phone under whatever bedding she can get her hands on.

"Ow?" He shouts.

"I'm sorry! I panicked." She yells back. Her tone shifting quickly back to a pout, "You should know better though! I don't judge you for your mains. You can't just take a girl's privacy like that you know. I didn't take you for the type Shroud."

She was doing it again. Leaning into his space. Talking in a tone that made his heart race. There was no way he was going to let her get away with having the advantage. He just needed something to break her chain combo. Throw her off. Let him get a few attacks in before she's back to destroying him.

He shifts his weight so he's sitting up, facing her. He has no idea what he's doing. She was so much better at this than he was. He's a fighting games guy, not an otome player. His eyes dart to the heap of blankets she'd piled together to protect her phone. Maybe that was it. Maybe he didn't need to be himself at first. He could get there some day but he couldn't back down now. He needed something that was going to knock her out. He reaches out to dig under the duvet.

Her own hand lunges forward to block him, and he catches it. It is taking everything in him to follow through. He can feel how sweaty his palm is immediately but the look on her face is enough to fuel him forward. She's not pulling away. He could do this. His mind is working through the haze to the back of his mind to try to find any love interest line he could remember.

"I wouldn't dream of invading your privacy Yumi. I just want to know more about what gets you so riled up."

Yes. Perfect. That was smooth right? Not cringe at all. She's not looking at him in disgust. Her cheeks are starting to go pink. That was it. He did it. He's won.

His hand doesn't let go. A speechless Yumi was a rare sight and the way she was looking up at him had him pushing himself closer to her. Moving against his own brain's screaming. What are you doing? What is happening? Shut up. Shut up. Quit while you're ahead!!

"You really should be more careful." He says but his voice doesn't feel like his own, "We're in my room, alone. In my bed of all places. You can't be that stupid to not know the implications."

Implications?! What was he saying right now? Where is this coming from? Why was he calling her stupid?

"I'm the house warden of a different dorm. There's so many ways I could take advantage of the situation."

He would never! Maybe. Would this count as-? She does look really cute under him like this. How is this working? It's like some cheesy limited edition vignette.

"It's your own fault anyway you know? You're not like any other girl ive ever met. I've spent so much time thinking about you. The sound of your voice. How you'd look in my clothes. Your lips. If they'd taste like those peach candies you're always eating. What the rest of you would taste like. Knowing that if I got you under me like this- If I got too close, I won't be able to stop."

He doesn't know how but she's on her back, him caging her in. When did that happen? How? Who was he right now? Did someone hack his body and add some kind of confidence mod? His every nerve was on fire. She was so close to him. Like he could lean down ever so slightly and they would kiss.

"Tell me to stop." He whispers.

It's a plea. He can't control himself. He's not sure what powerup he unlocked but it's too OP for him. It's more than either of them can handle. Sure, this is what he wanted. her a blushing mess, but he didn't expect to get this far.

A loud slam comes from the entrance of the room. A startled Ortho stands in the doorway. An amused expression on his face.

"I heard a commotion and wanted to confirm you two were okay. Don't let me interrupt!" Ortho says as he closes the door behind him.

Idia was going to throw himself into the Styx. He finally takes a breath and feels like he's in his own body again.

Yumi's rolled herself over to scream into a pillow. Curled up in on herself. It was the same noise he'd heard before and he's almost certain he saw some kind of relationship bar go up above her head.

[perotovar]

i binge-watched s2 of tlou yesterday in the hopes of coming away with a more positive outcome...

i've been a fan of these games for years, going on 10 now. i've played each of them like 5/6 times, they're some of my favorites. i've been an active participant in this fandom for many years, read reddit thread after reddit thread and analysis after analysis. this is how i joined this fandom. i was watching the game awards with a friend in 2022 before s1 premiered and bella and pedro went out on stage with ashley and troy and i was like "oh, they all seem excited, this is a good sign".

what i'm saying is, i was going to watch this show if it was good or bad because i've been in love with the source material for so long.

i know, another game fan complaining about s2. but i like to think i'm a little different than a lot of game fans (for a number of reasons....... those people SUCK) because i actually welcomed and really enjoy bella and pedro's performances. in fact, i prefer pedro's joel over troy's, which is like blasphemy to those people. this is also why i'm even a part of the pedro fandom at all.

however, i think something changed from how fucking good s1 was to what we got in s2. in the hopes of not making this post terribly long, i'll try to narrow down why i thought s2 was just "fine".

1. craig mazin fundamentally misunderstands ellie as a character.

ellie's entire arc in pt 2 is about her grief over losing joel. she's lost everyone she ever loved and this is like, the final nail in the coffin, so to speak.

there's a huge shift in ellie's personality from game 1 to 2. her voice is monotone and devoid of a lot of the childlike silliness and wonder. even before joel dies this is the case because she feels betrayed by him for lying to her.

the problem i have with season 2 is that ellie still feels like she's 14 because that's how craig mazin sees her. he sees ellie as a child and even refers to her relationship with dina as "parent/child" which is fucking WEIRD. he sees her as someone that's incapable of intelligent thought.

ellie is reckless, that's true. but i never once questioned ellie's abilities in this world that she's been raised in. she spends a lot of pt2 alone because of dina's pregnancy and she handles herself exceptionally well. season 2 ellie makes me feel like she needs someone holding her hand the whole time and that's disappointing as fuck.

2. the studio had too much influence and it fucked up the tone.

this part of the story is supposed to feel different to the first game. "why do you want the depressing tone to stay?" because i thought that writing was great? because i think the show-only fans are getting an inferior experience than the one that i got.

changing an interactive experience to a passive one is hard, and i know that was always going to feel different, but they managed it in season 1! they did that so fucking well. it's some of the best tv in recent memory imo.

i don't even want a 1:1 recreation of the game, because i want to explore this world as much as i can. i can just turn the games on if i wanted that, but i'm only going to get bill and frank's story if i turn on that episode.

cutting this season down to 7 episodes takes away a lot of the meat of the story for pt2. the studio obviously didn't want to spend the money on the resources it needed to make a lot of what makes this story compelling actually work. but they had no problem wasting a fuckton of money on giant sets that didn't even get used/seen, because idk.... why not? idk, i'm annoyed.

they hit the main story beats and went "that's enough, right?" also despite wanting them to explore more, it's a problem when the best parts of the season are the 1:1 recreations.

final thoughts:

pedro, bella, and the rest of the cast do an amazing job in s2. despite the questionable writing/dialogue, there are some standout moments.

but overall i don't feel nearly as excited as i did with s1. i don't like being led by the hand in order for someone to tell me a story.

it's fine and that's... not good, imo.

i'm gonna go replay pt2 as a cleanse.

[catherinelid]

Happy (late) V-day!

This is my second fic inspired by @htsan (and the song "skies forever blue")

Summary: This is your last Undertale playthrough. You are determined to free the monsters not only from the underground but from the resets as well. But it was never easy, was it?

A mess-age

You're standing in a painfully familiar hallway, the golden rays of the setting sun gently warming your cheek. Or rather, not yours. You're still not really there. It's your vessel who's feeling all the warmth. It's your vessel who went on their last journey through the Underground. You're just helping it happen.

And it's you whose heart skips a beat every time you see a certain skeleton.

*…

*wait a second.

*that look on your face while i was talking…

*you’ve already heard my spiel, haven’t you?

*i suspected something like this.

*you’re always acting like you know what’s going to happen.

*like you’ve seen it all before.

*so…

*i have a request for you.

*i kind of have a secret codeword that only i know.

*so i know if someone tells it to me…

*they’ll have to be a time traveller.

The dialog box changed for a second. It seemed to you, that instead of 'a time traveller' it read 'the one i'm looking for'. But that's absurd, right? The game cannot change spontaneously. It must have been your imagination.

*crazy, right?

Sans’ winking image looks straight at you.

Huh?! Oh, it took you a moment to remember that this was a continuation of his standard dialogue. Or should you say monologue? In the end, you can't answer him.

*anyway, here it is…

*(whisper, whisper)

*i’m counting on you to come back here and tell me that.

*see you later.

As always, you returned several times to tell all the super secret passwords, after which Sans gave you the key to his room and went out. You've always wondered why you can't hug him goodbye, even if just though your vessel.

When you got to his basement, you found in the drawer something... interesting. Something new. A letter.

There was a piece of paper on top of the envelope that said, 'if you found this, you must be the anomaly i'm looking for. or, if you're not the one but happen to know them, please give them this letter... if you can, of course. but in that case, don't read it, it is... pretty personal. you're a good human, and you won't read other people's letters, right?'

Open the envelope?

❤️Yes                        No

“hey.

starting this is not as easy as i originally thought.

…

i just wanted to talk to you.

this is the last time we'll see each other here, right? you're going to ask me how i know that? just a hunch.

…

i'm sorry i didn't come to talk to you in person, i hope it doesn't bother you too much that i only communicate with you by text. after all, when you're reading this, you're probably imagining my voice in your head. heh.

but i won't stall any longer, i don’t have much time.

i... care about you. more than anyone else. maybe i care about you more than just a friend.

…friend, hm. yes. a friend.

don't consider it's weird. do you think i can't love? but i'm just like you, i'm alive. not only can i love, but i exist because of love.

i live in every game you play, in every comic and picture that you see, in every... fanfic? is that what you call it? you know, the thing that you are reading right now. yeah. in every song that reminds you of me. everywhere. i'm here.

maybe some of them were even created by you personally. i'm still alive because of your love. i'm alive for as long as you remember me.

…you are going to remember me, right?

it's all so unfair. you can see me, but i can't. oh, how i wish i knew what you really look like.

you're not really here, there's always some kind of wall between us. it's funny. you don't even cast a shadow in this world, but you can control it. i've always wondered where i live. you call it a "computer," but for me it's my home and my universe.

…

you know, at first, i wanted to keep everything to myself. but, uh... now it's becoming impossible.

do you know how much i look forward to meeting you every time? to talk to you, even if the only things you say are ‘yes’ or ‘no’. to see you for a moment, only for you to disappear again.

why did you visit us? if you hadn't done that, i would never have known you. and you wouldn't have to suffer in your own world. but now we both long for each other.

well, as they say, what's done is done. not that i'm seriously complaining. you're a wonderful person. don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

sorry for such a mess-age. heh.

anyway, my fate is in your hands. i believe that you'll take a good care of me.

i'm waiting for you wherever you go next.

i love you.

your greatest friend”

And that's when your computer suddenly shuts down.

[meanbossart]

What horror games have you played/wanted to play? Also have you tried any rpg maker horrors?

I actually don't play that many horror games, I don't think? Between you and me most of them are... Kind of garbagee. But I like when really weird things are taken dead seriously, which most video games don't succeed at. But in the rare time they DO, it usually falls into the "horror" genre at least loosely. I'm just going to list my favorites:

PS: I'm really showing how insufferable I am with these summaries, sorry!

The Outlast series: the most Tasteful tasteless gory-shit-fest of a horror series I've ever seen. I don't like shock for the sake of shock, and Outlast somehow manages to always make it for the sake of SOMETHING. The original game+DLC is a buttload of fun, and if you pull back one layer it also poses some interesting and difficult questions about the place and treatment of the criminally inclined in society. Pull yet another layer back and you find a fascinating subversion of the expected role men are supposed to inhabit in horror games. The second game is a vastly different, and profoundly emotional experience, opinions on it vary for reasons I find very understandable, but I personally really like it.

Fear & Hunger: I guess this answers your question about RPG horror games! Unfortunately, this is the only one I ever played that I liked, but REALLY like it, I have a tattoo of the circle of perfection on the back of my hand, even, lol (I already had other hand tats, don't freak out). I just really like the absurdity of the story and all of the lore that the developer has cooked up for it, and the way it all matters but also kind of doesn't. I think its an insane feat to have achieved the atmosphere he did with the limited tools he has, not to mention the massive amount of respect I have for any creator that simultaneously wears their influences on their sleeves while displaying massive creativity and originality.

Pathologic: This game kind of speaks for itself honestly. Its just brutal, creative, infuriating, I could go on - It's probably the most immersive experience I've ever had in a game. If you've never played it before I would suggest buying Pathologic 2 (don't worry about it) and playing it completely blind. Forget about "winning", forget even about succeeding, just go about it as if you were in the protagonist's shoes and see where you leads you.

Scorn: Without a doubt in my top 5 games of all time and I don't care that that is an insane take. This game is everything I want from interactive stories - entirely intuitive, doesn't spoonfeed you a single grain of its lore or pushes its story on you, it just puts the pieces in your hands and its up to you to feel it on instinct. This 5 hour game with no dialogue, no text, not even any named characters to speak of had me crying at its ending and I didn't even know whether I was sad or overjoyed. I fucking LOVE scorn.

Honorable mention:

The Space Between by Christoph Frey (not to be confused with The Space INbetween.): Is a short, 30 minute experience about intimacy presented through a horror lens. I really don't want to say anything else about it, but I played it like 5 years ago and I still hold it near and dear to my heart. It's a master's guide to storytelling through semiotics and exemplary in it's... Emotionally charged visuals? Like, I had never before seen a story make sentiment into and external, tangible thing quite like this one does, like turning sound into an object or something. Amazing little indie game.

[avernusreject]

Warning ya'll this is gonna be a long post. But please join my descent into insanity, as I deep dive into the vague wormhole that is the durge betrayal pre bg3 timeline.

Before we start, it’ll help if you have context around the faerun calendar. There are twelve months in total, each having exactly 30 days. Additionally, weeks don’t exist in faerun. Rather months get broken down into chunks of time called tendays, which you guessed is literally just ten days. If that was too straight forward for you, don’t worry, they add in five extra days to the calendar that fall outside of the months (ngl I still have no idea where these are located) to make the full year 365 days. 

At the beginning of the game, the nautiloid crash occurs at 20 Eleasis. Which means, the game starts in the middle of summer. Obviously, the way you play the game is going to influence the speed of events, but for my playthrough I reached moonrise towers around 12 elient (total time being 22 days). When you get to moonrise, in Bathazar’s chamber you can find his journal that explains that Kressa (the crazy necromancer chick) managed to keep durge alive. This entry is dated “two tenday ago”. But in game, that makes no sense because we know that the nautiloid should have crashed around that point. So either Balthazar doesn’t understand how the Faerun calendar works (I mean same, my guy) or we have to change our frame of reference. I think its more likely that the implied frame of reference is the start of the game, 20 Eleasis (since the developers can’t control how fast the player goes). 

If true, durge was saved by Kressa around 1 Eleasis. Her vivisections took place after this in the following days. However, durge is taken away before the end of the following tendays (at least before 10 Eleasis).

Now when you talk to Kressa in the basement of moonrise, she states that she found durge only hours after they had been given the tadpole.

In the fight with Orin, she states that when she attacked durge she carved out a hole for the worm (ignore the Half-Elf part, that's just from the moment Orin turns into durge during the pre-fight convo).

The part that we're missing is when specifically the tadpole was inserted into durge. But given how the game describes just how utterly fucked durge was, there's a high likelyhood that the tadpole was given to durge moments after their fight. Which if true, places Orin's betrayal at 1 Eleasis. Giving us twenty days till the start of the game.

The piece that threw me for a bit was this piece of the narrator's dialogue when durge examines the pod, stating that durge had no idea how much time had passed.

But the blood in the pod is still fresh enough that Astarion is able to ID it as durge & in another dialogue choice if you examine the blood further the narrator states the blood hasn't been there long enough to rot.

I think this dialogue is more explaining that durge is actively being tortured by Kressa so time feels unending (kressa being the one who put them in the pod to begin with).

I've seen in other posts that Gortash's draft memoir explains that Orin's betrayal occurred during or just around the crowning of the brain (I don't have a screenshot of that unfortunately). But we have to take that with a grain of salt because Gortash is the definition of an unreliable narrator.

Personally, I don't think he's lying though. Orin's betrayal occurred in moonrise and there's really no other reason that Orin and durge would be in moonrise that the game has provided. Not to mention, the warden explains the last time that durge was in moonrise, they never left.

I don't think durge came to moonrise more then once given the fact that the warden, who had clearly been there a while, had no clue who they were. I find it hard to believe their identity would be kept under wraps had they been at moonrise multiple times. Employees have to gossip about something.

I think its likely that Ketheric, Gortash, and Durge tamed the brain in the days leading up to 1 Eleasis (like ~20 to 30 Flamerule).

In summary, the dead three had a Phineas and Ferb summer vacation by deciding to create the cult of the absolute.

And yes if you are wondering this is how I look now.

[mcflymemes]

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD PROMPTS PT 2 *  assorted dialogue from the second hour of the video game

that suit of armor is moving.

where'd you come from?

i've only been gone three days!

the situation's changed - for the worse, unfortunately.

i've had a couple of days, and i'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

it does sort of explain a few things though.

there's something kind of exciting about it. and dangerous. really dangerous.

hope that means you've got an idea.

a few dozen demons shouldn't be a problem.

do you know what this place was?

it's probably something important.

well, isn't this a sight?

the artifact we're looking for must be inside.

think we can make that jump?

i plan to find out.

we're getting closer.

it's a lot trickier than that.

i've never seen this before.

it's almost like it's... breathing.

wasn't expecting to fight an ogre today.

just one of those days.

what does that crystal do?

i have questions.

it's kind of my thing. fixing magical stuff.

let me know when you're ready to head to the camp.

some of our most experienced fighters are still missing.

whatever's going on out there, it's scary.

sounds like things have gotten a lot worse since we left.

it's only a matter of time until our luck runs out.

if we could predict where they'd strike next, we might get ahead of them.

i don't know what you're going to find there. likely nothing good.

you sure you're up for this?

i've never seen fog this thick.

something happened here.

stay sharp.

it's so quiet.

where is everybody?

everything's just abandoned.

keep them inside.

everyone has to stay.

we need to search for survivors.

ever seen anything like it?

we're going to help you! we'll get you down!

i know you.

they made me do it.

i was tricked! manipulated!

i never meant for that! i swear! you must believe me!

what if the dragon comes back?

let's get him out of there.

we don't kill people. not like this.

try harder next time.

don't let me regret saving you.

what a pleasure to see you again.

so who are you exactly?

this dark turn of events shall only become worse.

what can you tell us about... all this?

how do we stop them?

how do we stand up against that?

none of us can do this alone, but we can stop them together.

these are the times in which legends are born... or slain.

i should've taken the shot.

we all did what we thought was best in the moment.

look where it got us.

we're still standing. the fight's not over.

i like that about you. you don't stop fighting. you push for answers and action.

we need someone who can put the pieces of the puzzle together.

we're fighting the unknown.

everyone has a part to play.

i think i can manage that.

i can feel lingering magic. powerful magic.

i can hear it.

i don't know how to control it!

you said something "took you over?"

i'm sorry. i wish i had answers.

talking has helped.

i guess we don't have any real answers.

we're friends, so i'm going to be honest.

it feels wrong.

i trust you have all this handled.

at least people are free because of what i did.

it must have been worse than i had thought.

so... you're going to be insufferable about it.

see, this is the reason nobody likes you.

[halfrican-heat]

Upstanding Gentleman (Ony)

Onyankopon was raised in a strict Ghanian household. He was pretty strait-laced...until he met you, of course. Still, Ony has many tricks up his sleeve that never fail to surprise you.

A/N: Yes, I'm high. Hello. So, this is the second Ony post I've had lingering in the back of my mind. It's in head cannon format but I think this could be something. Enjoy!

Warning(s): Explicit Sexual Content; Depictions of smoking marijuana; Penetrative Sex (p in v), Oral Sex (M receiving), Sex in childhood home, Black reader in mind, N-Word used; AAVE/Dialogue with Dialect

Pairing: Sober!Onyankopon x Stoner!Reader

Inspired by: Lauryn Hill and my bf :)

Sober!Ony was raised by a single mother who kept him in line. No drugs, no alcohol and he definitely had a curfew.

Straight A student and graduated the top of his class in high school

Spent majority of his childhood playing video games and taking apart old computers his mother would bring home from her teaching job.

Played basketball and practiced frequently with his friends

Loved taking photos and drawing

Only smoked weed once when he was seventeen and felt guilty about it for a week before he told his mom. (She smacked his head but wasn't that mad)

Never had a thing for drinking. His mom let him have some wine during his graduation dinner. His uncle, later that evening, gave him some liquor. Ony wasn't a fan.

Sober!Ony who went to college in a different state-- hours away from his mother.

He chose to go to a school pretty far away from home to study photography. He loved his mom but he felt like he needed a firm separation from his home life and college life.

That's where he met you. This sweet little thing from a town he had never heard of. So cute...

...and yet you smelled like trouble. Ony's suspicions were confirmed when you offered him a blunt in your car one night. Y'all had been talking for a minute at that point but you never gave off stoner vibes.

Ony declined but didn't mind hanging out as long as you rolled the windows down.

Turns out, you were a huge stoner. Bongs, smoking pieces, a stash larger than some of the ones he had seen back home. You weren't a plug, not really, you just really loved weed. You were super smart, too. Ony had known people like you from back home-- motivated stoners who smoked frequently but it didn't impede them getting shit done. You were like that and Ony really liked that about you.

Ony wasn't sure how to proceed at first but...one thing was sure: You had a hold on Onyankopon that he just couldn't deny.

Sober!Ony who, four years into your relationship, isn't super sober anymore.

"Mama, let me get one of them fruity drinks out the fridge." "They got alcohol in 'em Ony," You call from the kitchen. "I ain't ask you all that. They taste alright-- I feel like a classy nigga drinking them." "Okay, Classy Nigga," You say, bringing him one. "Mister Classy Nigga to you," He says, with a wide grin. "Pinkies out, baby."

Sober!Ony who branched out after meeting you but didn't partake as frequently as you did.

"Let me get a hit, baby." "Nigga, you don't smoke!" Ony kisses his teeth, side-eyeing you. "Then do that shit where you kiss me and blow the smoke in my mouth." You laugh loudly, throwing your head back at his nerve. "Okay, baby," You say, sparking up. Afterwards "Shit, where my inhaler at?"

Sober!Ony who made a great impression on your parents. Perhaps too great.

Your dad loves him, speaking highly of him every time your boyfriend comes up in conversation. "That Ony is a fine, upstanding gentleman," Your dad alway says. Little does he know... "What's that, ma?" His voice is husky in your ear as he thrusts into you roughly. His hand is over your mouth as your childhood mattress squeaks under your weight. Ony has you bent over, his pace punishing as he fucks you from behind. Tears streak your face as you helplessly claw at your sheets "Better be quiet," Ony drawls. "Don't want your folks to hear us, right? Or they gonna know what a slut you are for this upstanding gentleman."

Sober!Ony who loves the way you give head while high.

After many extensive and deep discussions about consent, Ony finally lets you give him head. At first, he was chilling. But then... "Shit, baby! Fuck," He groans, his head falling back. "Slow down, ma." You got his cum on your cheek from the first time he came but you don't care. You don't let up, taking his length down your throat. You suck the entire way down, slurping as you pull back to swirl your tongue around his leaking tip. Your tongue runs along the vein underneath his shaft before taking him back in your mouth, hollowing you cheeks as you slurp him down. "Fuck," He hisses, throwing his arm over his face. You had that man's toes curling and all.

Sober!Ony who loves how sexy you are at any given time of any given day but especially loves when you're feeling yourself while off the za.

Now the skies could fall...not even if my boss should call... Your hips sway seductively to the music as you take a pull from the blunt, in your own world. Lauryn Hill blasts from the radio as your lights change colors in a slow fade. Ony stands at the door of your shared bedroom, watching you sing and dance. You turn slowly, finally noticing him. You wordlessly hold out a hand to him with your body still moving to the music. See I don't need the alcohol...your love make me feel 10 feet tall... He takes your hand, pulling your body close to his. His hands trail your body, finding your ass as the two of you grind on one another. Yeah, Ony is gonna take his time with you tonight.

Sober!Ony who loves you as much as you love him despite your differences.

"Papa, you seen my bong?" "Judie?" "No, the other one." "She in the kitchen cabinet, baby."

"Ma, you seen my screwdriver?" "The fuck you doing drinking those?" "Bae...the tool. My tool." "Oh, it's on the counter by the microwave." a moment later "Onyankopon, what the fuck did you do to my damn radio!"

Overall, Sober!Ony who has changed a lot since the two of you got together. As long as you don't give him any cause for concern, he's happy to let you do as you please (and partake when he feels like it). You level each other up in ways no one expected. You're his lady and Ony doesn't want any one else but you.

"C'mere, my lil pothead," He says, cuddling up to you in bed. "Shut up, nigga." "Watch your mouth. Now lemme rub my legs against yours..."

A/N: I had fun with this. Asks are open!

[madelynhimegami]

Schezo Wegey Guide

Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that these summations are based on my understanding of the characters, and what I've observed of them within the games. Sometimes, that comes with a little bit of extra analysis and headcanons, which are inherently interpretive. Those headcanons are not to be taken as the Absolute Authority on the characters. These entire guides are not meant to be Absolute Authority. They're about giving a good look at the characters as they're shown to us, based on what I know.

Also, follow-up questions are always welcome.

That out the way,

Schezo Wegey is motivited entirely by a never-ending desire to gain more power. So he says.

First thing's first, let's discuss his accidental double-entendre's. While it's extremely tempting to try to force as many of them as possible in his dialogue (I know I've been guilty of it), he doesn't make those slips that often.

Generally, his freudian slips happen when he's excited, flustered, or irritated. Or in other words, when he's not taking the time to actually think about the words he's saying.

(He is, after all, trying to break the habit) (via practicing his speech to a handmade doll) (that he made himself)

The slip-ups are of greatest effect when he forgets to say a word, or says the right words in the wrong order, or mispronounces something (as opposed to, for instance, saying the word "come" with weird emphasis)

One good example that actually comes from Puzzle Pop (despite how he is in the rest of the game): "If you don't feel capable of doing this yourself, I'd be happy to play with [Carbuncle] myself for this next match."

Most importantly, it's unintentional. That's the whole point.

Amitie (and perhaps Lidelle) doesn't know what the word "creeper" means, but since Arle calls Schezo a creeper, she does too. It's more of an affectionate nickname than an insult, coming from her

Schezo's age is unknown. Granted, most of the cast's exact age is unknown, but Schezo stands out in that there's not a clear frame of reference of how old he is beyond "older than 14 and younger than Satan," which encompasses a rather wide range of possible ages.

Other characters usually address him as a young man-- which is noteworthy, since Satan looks like a young man but is immediately pegged as a geezer.

(Personally, I read him as in his early- to mid-twenties)

A fairly common interpretation (at least in my circles) of his history is that Schezo's mind/personality was corrupted as part of the process of inheriting the power and title of Dark Mage from Runelord.

This corrupted Schezo was the one Arle met at the start of Madou 2: Schezo with a body count, Schezo with minions, Schezo looking to abduct and murder others for the sake of harvesting their magic from them.

This interpretation continues that, thanks to his interactions with the core Madou cast, Schezo eventually overcame the corruption, resulting in the Dark Mage we know now.

I personally think that losing his power to a spacetime crystal in Waku Puyo Dungeon was also a major factor to overcoming the corruption, in that said corruption was also taken from him. Schezo even bids farewell to his "former self" in that game.

Either way, it's a fact that he's not quite the edgey boy he used to be, and is aware of that fact.

He is still interested in becoming powerful, but is significantly less inclined to taking power by force, preferring to instead earn or win it.

But more than that, what he really wants is a life of peace and quiet. He will never get it.

And even more than that, he wants to keep close to Arle, Rulue, Witch, and (to an extent) Satan.

He once admitted to Arle that he needs her in his life. Arle just assumed he was trying to say "I want your power" again.

Perhaps he is scared of succumbing to corruption again in their abscence?

Schezo's preferred habitat is cave.

The cave in Primp Town that he's squatting in is one that used to be frequented by Klug (as seen in Fever 1). It's full of crystals that can be used for magic.

Despite living in a cave, he's still able to cook and bake as he feels a need to. How he manages it is an excellent question.

He adores cuteness and cute critters, but tries to not let it show around others. Acorn frogs, onion pixies, Carbuncle (sometimes), fish-mode Salde, palm-sized elephants, and Amitie's hat (with or without its power) are known subjects that endear him.

He and Witch are close, especially after Schezo saved her grandmother. And then declined to steal her magic immediately afterwords because of her weakened state.

They tend to bicker and/or try to exploit each other when they do bump into each other, however.

Schezo is analytical and observant, able to get accurate reads on people he spends time around when he cares to. It was he that figured out Ringo's fear of ghosts had nothing to do with them being "unscientific."

He also has powerful magic sensing ability, able to accurately detect how much magic power someone or something has on sight.

He can also determine the source of ongoing magical effects, if he's familiar with said sources.

He is able to communicate telepathically with the Dark Sword, though how often they communicate is unknown.

He's only ever silly as a means to an end. Anything beyond that is either an accident or concentrated sarcasm. Usually he has no patience for shenanigans, especially from other people.

He's not very patient about being around other people in general. This is a result of both introversion and social awkwardness (he does not know how to respond to positive interaction in the slightest).

The most likely of the regular cast to complain about the damn kids today (without being one of the damn kids himself).

[lore-of-mobius]

Does Shadow Age?

So as established in a previous post, while the Sonic characters don't have canon ages, they are teenagers. With this information in mind people take it add a claim that Shadow doesn't age onto it. But is this true? Does Shadow canonically not age?

So this claim as far as I've seen has no basis for it in in-game dialogue, descriptions, Sonic Channel, or the manuals to my knowledge.

Separately people claim because Shadow is immortal he therefore cannot age. But we are never given a clear cut answer on what type of immortality Shadow has. Some versions of immortality is paired up with a strong healing factor and others don't. Some versions of immortality have it where one can't die of old age but keeps aging, others one have it where one can't die of old age and only ages to a certain point, and others have it to where you can't age at all. Some versions of Immortality have it where they character can't die to anything at all, with a sub category of where they can die through physical means but not disease. Then there is the various variants that mishmash all of the following I have just described. The point is Shadow is immortal, we just don't know what kind. At most he probably can be killed through physical means and that's it.

Now to the main piece of evidence everyone points to, Shadow being alive in Sonic 06 and appearing to not have aged. Now at first glance this may seem like a smoking gun, but it really isn't. First off Shadow appears to be put in a state of suspended animation again, similar to what happened to him initial just in a different way. In both cases he didn't age because he is in a Frye and Captain America situation. Second, Shadow was put into suspended animation soon after THE FLAMES OF DISASTER were unleashed which would have happened during the events of the game's present. So this really doesn't make it where Shadow doesn't age.

Now there is one more source people point to, to say Shadow doesn't age which is the English manuals for Sonic Heroes. PS2 UK & Gamecube US Manuals: "Shadow never ages, and can use a technique known as 'Chaos Control' to distort time and space using the Chaos Emeralds." However, this is never said in the original Japanese Manual. "He looks exactly like Sonic, and his abilities are no less impressive. In fact, he is the ultimate life form created by Professor Gerald (Dr. Eggman's grandfather), the genius scientist of the century. He was released from a capsule by Rouge, but has lost most of his memories before that." Source, Sonic Retro

The only other time we've gotten close to this being the case is in the BumbleKast for Oct 2, 2017 aka Now You're Playing With Power… BumblePower! (SNES Classic Edition) - BumbleKast #53 at 1:01:28. This is because Ian Flynn says at one point that Shadow is functionally immortal which could be referring to functional immortality which has it where the immortal doesn't age. But he is likely not trying to say that, and if he were I'd take it with a grain of salt as I made clear people should do in my previous post.

So there is nothing that says Shadow doesn't age, and it's probably for the best that he does age at least to a certain extent.

[familyvideostevie]

tlou season 2: episode 7 thoughts

wow you guys we fucking made it. my tldr is get me out of the hell that is the writing of s2 and into the probably-similarly-bad-but-i-care-less-about-it-being-right-hell of s3. bring! it! on!

spoilers for tlou hbo and tlou part ii below.

EPISODE 7: THE CONVERGENCE

first of all, stupid fucking title. considering this whole time the viewer has no idea that abby and ellie are circling each other -- this would have been a better title for the theater from abby's pov, but whatever..

GOOD -jesse. how i love you, how i wish we got more of you. i think that his relationship with ellie and by extension dina is not quite what i wanted -- but i think it suits the way ellie behaves. i just think young did a really nice job as this man who is in a sort of impossible situation and has to make choices that are stressful and always hurt someone because shoulders such responsibility. and a young man who does not think he will run out of time! -the dressing room scene looked nice visually. if we take away the point of the scene (more on that later), i think it was a nice moment for ellie and dina. and shows some of their dynamic -- dina taking care of ellie even though she's the hurting one cause ellie won't ask. -hilarious that shimmer lived. good for you, queen -more than one prophet is...kind of interesting? i think it's one of many heavy handed moments of trying to hook people for s3 by asking questions we didn't know we wanted answers to -i think the way i've given up on ellie's writing and her plotline for the show have made me hype as fuck for abby. i love the hints we finally get about what's going on with her -- gearing up for the invasion with Isaac, abby and owen being missing, manny being present. it makes me excited for the next season! i wonder how folks who have no idea what is happening saw some of these scenes. guess they'll find out in two years! -ellie getting the abby game trailer treatment is wild and i was kind of gagged by it so it gets to live up here in the good section but this was another heavy handed moment of writing obviously for the invasion. also the first time i really noticed the space pin on her backpack? i must have seen it before, but. well, it wasn't present LAST WEEK. -i was laughing like the joker when we got to the aquarium, sorry. this is such an intense scene that drags and drags and drags as you play it -- with so many hints. the broken ceiling window, the bloody bandages, the arguing. man, and the music. this is the building music i wanted in 202 before joel died, but whatever. more on the actual content of this scene below but the lead up was really nice (no alice but i guess HBO draws the line at killing animals on screen). -never in my life have i been so glad to see tommy. bro how i missed you. -abby. abby abby abby abby. i never thought i would be so glad to see you. and she looked so good, i can't lie. the jacket, the braid, the bruises around her neck. this entire end scene actually rocked my world. again, maybe I'm just excited for something different, but i was on my FEET when we flashed to her on the couch (why is she wearing lip gloss but whatever) and her room looked great and the stadium looked great and DAY ONE. WOW. and the soundgarden kicking in...GET ME THERE NOW

IFFY -the dialogue in the dressing room. some of it will be in the next section but some of it is here. I thought it would be harder to do, but it wasnt, it was easy. I am finally coming around to the idea that they are writing Ellie as darker than originally written on purpose — that this rage simmering inside her is making her into someone she thinks she always has been, instead of someone she doesn’t recognize. and like, i think this would be interesting if it was not followed by Kellie feeling guilt with "maybe she didn't" and the resolution of the conversation or lack thereof. idk, i just don't think i understand what how are supposed to think about ellie's flip flop between vengeance and guilt.

-sooooo obvious that jesse was a gonner. like, come on. -the park and Isaac convo was weird for a few reasons. first on the list is okay are you in love with her or something? You wouldn’t be the first old man to — I just don’t get why we need to be having these conversations and these lines bro what’s the purpose. this this meant to hint at something? if so i missed it like bro -second is abby as the head of the WLF — that is really interesting to me. I don’t actually think she was ever WLF leadership material — she was fueled by one thing and one thing only and Isaac gave that to her and she came back fucked up and he knew that. So like, why would she be leadership material now? She’s by all rights an outsider, only joined up 5 years ago. Like, I think this is just filler to make her relevant right now in this moment, but I don’t think we needed it. We could have just said that she’s missing and it’s a concern because it IS — she knows sensitive information and she would have been an asset in the invasion, she's a soldier who went AWOL and we know the WLF takes things seriously. -it’s EXTRA interesting how they follow the conversation above about abby with this confession from Jesse — that he wanted to leave jackson but he didn’t, that he stays because he feels a sense of responsibility and also, though he doesn't say, probably wants to be needed like that. And how Ellie reacts, too — I think he’s trying to tell her something important, that he’s there to look after her and that maybe she will grow into someone like that? that he wants that for her? but they are unable to communicate this. It’s interesting and also sad, right, cause he is going to fucking die because he cares about her and dina.

But honestly, it does make sense to have this convo right before Ellie and Jesse split up — cause, dude. This moment in the game made me so frustrated with Ellie. And honestly? This Ellie is selfish! Fuck the community! It’s really interesting, actually, Ellie comparing it to them not helping the seraphite kid, etc. like, she has a point — but it’s all too heated. She should go home. She really really should and at this point she’s lying to herself that she shouldn’t. And he knows that she would do whatever it takes for anyone she loves, not just Joel. And is that a flaw? Who is to say! like, i don't like it, but i think it makes sense. i just don't get why the want us to hate ellie so bad lol -this girl just fucking finds a boat and she just gets on it. Girl, I had to fight so many seraphites and so many WLF and a fucking bloater to get you that fucking boat. Also are we just supposed to assume she can swim now? Kind of a hilarious way to reintroduce that part without the flashback showing us. Also this green screen blows like really bad???? really really bad? -im thinking about the aquarium and Mel and Owen. they are both the most sympathetic members of the group — that is clear early on and will be made clearer later. It's interesting because tommy is right! they both were there, they both participated, they both can be held responsible. the thing that i can't figure out is if this was a weird pro-life slant on mel's death or not. i think that, at the very least, it's a scene that will drive home ellie's inability to settle down later in the game as well as (if they do this) abby's indifference to dina's pregnancy during the theater fight. mel uses her last moments to beg for the life of her unborn child and ellie cannot save them (no way that was going to work anyway, but that's not the point). i think this could be a line to how ellie will leave her life for santa barbara -- how she fumbles in the moment when it comes to children.

but like, idk, there's something pro-life in my mouth about this whole scene that i cannot articulate. mel (whose name i do not know) was Acting, though, good for her. the thing is, this scene is again jerking our chain back to ellie being a sympathetic character. like, she does not shoot mel on purpose here and she is clearly very upset and regretful that she died. like, damn! i need to think about this one more and am interested in your thoughts

BAD -only one bad point here. i hate that ellie tells dina the whole truth of it. Sorry, I hate it. I sort of assume that someday ellie does tell her — maybe? I don’t think about it a lot. But I think Ellie carries the burden of what Joel did by herself on purpose, in part because of guilt and in part because she doesn't fully understand it, even with time. I think that Nora telling Ellie in the hospital is so that ellie can tell Dina and then feel guilty or like, guilty about not being guilty about joel killing the fireflies? and her own kills of the WLF?

I just don’t know what this is supposed to emphasize most. Looping dina in when she has this established relationship with Joel — it makes some of this about her in a way that it does not have to be (obviously it’s about her because she’s there and she’s injured and she loves Ellie) but now it’s like, even more about her? And then Dina saying we need to go home — it’s all setting the stage for their eventual tension to be even more awful cause this is where it starts, right here. Not on the farm, not after the fight with abby, but here, in this moment. a secret that ellie had been keeping, an act of violence that has nothing to do with dina but she now feels the affects of and will for the rest of her life, right? i just think ellie was mean to carry all of this alone. because wow -- how do explain that to someone? i was love so much that it killed people.

so. that's the end. the way i am excited for abby's days is actually so out of left field that I'm surprised as hell. but, jesus. i think i just want something new. i bet it'll be full of its own bullshit but damn! let's get it, abby. eager as always to hear everyone's thoughts. back to my part ii playthrough. see you in 2 years or whatever. very good time to remind you that you can find all of my tlou fics that are not x reader on ao3 under wmthackeray xoxo