#i don't like time loops as the main problem to be solved

[flocklings]

i'm obsessed with time loops. it's such a tricky thing to pull off, and i have yet to find a story that scratches the itch properly, but the allure of characters being trapped and the grief of being trapped on top of whatever the story is about is so tangible, as humans we mourn the passage of time with nostalgia but time is a promise that despite the good and the bad, time trudges forward--the character of a loop is stripped of that law, and it's a prime environment for angst and terror and it's just so delicious--especially if they never escape, if they accept fate and turn their torment into comfort.

[sharkylass]

ALRIGHT, I ASKED FOREVER AGO, BUT WHO WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT MY ISA LOOPS AU??

Heads up this contains a lot, and I mean A LOT of spoilers for In Stars And Time. Including: = Act 6 spoilers, including main mystery and secret encounter = Minimal Act 5 stuff = And a bunch of extra stuff that happens through Act 3 and 4. SO BASICALLY ALMOST EVERYTHING, FINISH THIS GAME COMPLETELY BEFORE READING (ESPECIALLY THAT ACT 6 ENCOUNTER, IT WILL LITERALLY BE THE FIRST THING I MENTION UNDER THE CUT)

With all those warnings out of the way-

IN REPETITION AND CHANGE

Initial Concepts:

I feel it's important to show these sketches because they were the first ideas I ever had. I wasn't even entirely sure I wanted to make an AU at this point, I didn't even know how I'd approach it. But I started sketching and it's been on my mind since- SO! Isa is stuck in the timeloop. I know what his wish is and he DOES have a Loop equivalent! The grumpy dandelion guy is Roboro (it/they/he). Their name is a very small play on Ouroboros and they call Isa "Seedling". However, this post is not about them, as I'm gonna talk about it and Isa's dynamic in a separate post. In short, Isa is his normal loud self up until Act 3, right? They beat the King, they reach the end, and whoops, the loop isn't broken. So now, what happens is that Isa starts getting his brains out. He starts thinking more analytically and tries to problem solve.

The more stuck he gets in his head, the less he's able to perceive his friends as real people, and more like them holding him back. Because even if Isa explains that he's smart, that they shouldn't be surprised if he says something, shock of all shocks, reasonable- They'll forget it the next loop.

So Isa is stuck with trying to portray his confident, loud, supportive facade- Which is fine! It wouldn't be the first time! But it progressively gets more and more frustrating, as he tries to find answers and simply looses the energy to pretend to be stupid.

TL;DR: Isa in the timeloop, unlike Siffrin, becomes more distant and cold rather then something more akin to Sif's mania.

NOW, MORE ART!!!

KILL KILL KILL:

I imagine Isa didn't have this encounter the same way that Sif did. Yeah, frankly, Isa is pissed with the sadness- But that's not why he goes through with this.

In this moment, Isa is trying to kill two birds with one stone. He's trying to get through this quickly, as well as reassure Mira that they can do this! If he shows how strong he is, then she'll feel safe right???

Poor Isabeau forgot that whenever he shows that he thinks ahead, he scares people. How could he forget that? How could he forget that he's inherently---

Family Quest:

I still think Odile is the one to call out to him (same with sus quest).

The hangouts I'm still figuring out, cause I don't think they'd too similar to base game- But, fun fact, at the end of this run, everyone agrees to keep travel together!

Isabeau brings it up, can't hurt if you can fix your mistakes right? And everyone agrees. The relief on Siffrin is the most palpable thing Isabeau has ever seen.

In this moment they love you. In this moment they all love you. In this moment---

Death Screen:

He loops back anyways. (This is one of the initial concepts that I ended up animating. This line in particular is when he reaches the end)

Act 5 Tarot Card:

NOW TO SEE MORE OF HIS PASSIVE AGRESSIVE SIDE

Thanks to @the-bitter-ocean for prescribing tarot cards to Isa (THEY ALL FUCK SO HARD) and for the RAW ASS LINE

If interacted with in act 5, predictably, Isa tears it apart. He doesn't need the divine judgement upon him, he's faced everyone's perception his entire life.

However, he tears it methodically. Tears it once in even pieces, twice, three times, and one of the pieces once more. In a way he isn't even getting his emotions out, it's like he's actively trying to tear it apart so it stops nagging him, like he wants to shut it up. Though, the Judgement card symbolizes rebirth, absolution and inner calling. In Act 6 he'd be able to look at it and find comfort and confidence in the card.

Act 5 Mirror:

And lastly, I have the Act 5 mirror picture. I haven't quite figured out how to make the normal ones work yet, however, I couldn't let go of the idea that Isa would not want to be in the picture.

The idea of seeing himself at all makes his head hurt and his stomach squeeze. The memory haunts him as he stands to the side and says the word. He didn't think the mirror would catch him.

AAAAND THAT'S ALL THE ART STUFF FOR NOW!!

I still have quite a bit of it to post, especially about Roboro, but I'm gonna leave it here for now.

I still gotta figure out the hangouts and potentially the dagger equivalent- but I have ideas for Bad Touch, the glass equivalent, and some extra little things that didn't happen in Siffrin's loops.

I needed to yap about this, because I've been slowly stacking up ideas and writing and I needed to share it at some point- If anyone read all this and has questions and stuff I fully welcome 'em!!

[cephalofrog]

been playing rain world and thinking about saint again recently

full rain world spoilers below

I hate the "saint is the triple affirmative" interpretation. hate even more how it appears to have become the accepted truth in the fandom

first off, my dislike for this interpretation is not logical. it isn't something I can be convinced out of using canon evidence, because my reason for not interpreting the story this way is not evidence-based, it's because I don't find it to be a satisfying conclusion to the entire story of rain world.

but here's some rambling about logical reasons why it doesn't make sense anyway

if saint was created as the triple affirmative by sliver, that makes them extremely old - they came into existence LONG before spearmaster's campaign even started. if they came into existence with the purpose of ascending iterators, they sure took a long time to ascend any iterators - like okay, travel time and whatever, but you'd think they'd get at least one or two more before all the iterator comms break down entirely post-spearmaster. SM and hunter managed to get from SRS and NSH to the pebbs/moon area pretty quickly.

they also have fur, which seems to be an adaptation for the cold judging by the lizards in the campaign, despite the world not being cold at the point at which they were created. this could be easily explained by sliver just being very forward-thinking, but...

if sliver created saint, their entire triple affirmative thing comes across as incredibly thoughtless, which imo contrasts with sliver being forward-thinking enough to make saint immune to cold. like they finally created the magical rat that will ascend them all but didn't even think to send out a message beforehand like "hey guys I'm trying something new if I send out the triple affirmative and die right after this it worked and you should be visited by a flying green dude with an ascension beam at some point in the future"

there's also the thing of... wait so how does this whole iterator ascension work again? cause saint's timeline loops. after they ascend, they end up back in sky islands, with the iterators back where they were. this could be explained by "later playthrough loops aren't canon and pebbs and moon are ascended if you got em" but there's literally a specific gameplay mechanic - carrying stuff in your stomach between campaigns - meant to make it clear that the campaign is a loop.

anyway. the real reason I hate the theory isn't related to any of this - it's that it absolutely destroys pebbles and moon's story, thematically speaking.

sliver of straw's triple affirmative/death is a random event that could mean basically anything. the futility pebbles felt around trying to solve the great problem caused him to assign meaning to sliver's death that wasn't necessarily there - they found the solution, and it was self-destruction. that's what they were trying to tell everyone. it wasn't a random event, the triple affirmative was real. one of the bugs in the maze found the way out, and he's going to prove it to everyone by following them and escaping.

and that's what leads to the events of the main story. this random event - this horrible tragedy, the death of someone who seemed to mean so much to so many people - was assigned meaning by someone desperate to prove that his entire existence, and the existences of everyone around him, are not futile. the ancients created the iterators without knowing whether the answer to the great problem could ever be found, and this is the result of that.

a nihilistic, hopeless person, abandoned by his creators to work forever on an unsolvable problem, assigns meaning to a random tragedy, and tunnel visions on what he has to believe is what he's been looking for - because it is an unimaginable understatement to say that the alternative would be worse than death. and then, in his self-destructive desperation, he kills his sibling* and dooms himself to the slowest, most painful death imaginable. this is the legacy of the ancients' dead society, the result of all of their stupid ideals and obsession with karmic perfection. (*as far as he knows)

but saint being the triple affirmative undermines all of that. not only does it make sliver's death less of a tragedy and more of a noble sacrifice - like yeah, sure, they were loved, but solving the great problem was far more important - but it also makes pebbles look less desperate and more just kinda stupid. like you thought that the solution was self-destruction? nah, it's a magical flying rat. in this version of the story, pebbles wasn't striving for something that didn't exist, he was just not smart enough to figure out the real solution.

even outside of canon evidence, that sucks. it causes pebbles' story to go from being about how you should value the people around you over the impossible striving that life always seems to expect from you or you're gonna end up hurting them and yourself to how you should just be smarter to find the right solution to all of your problems.

anyway as for my own interpretation of saint, I think that the campaign is just a representation of what it's like to be an echo. reliving the moments that led up to your failed ascension over and over, reaching maximum karma and gaining superpowers because you're just that karmically pure - you are a saint, after all - and then letting your ego consume you at the crucial moment of ascension, over and over again, cycling into infinity. (I don't think they actually had superpowers prior to ascending, I just think that they kinda thought of themselves so highly that they thought they should have those powers.) then contrast this with the world as the age of the iterators and the rain finally ends, and you have an unchanging echo reliving the same few cycles over and over contrasted with a world that is, at last, changing and moving on.

yeah it doesn't make sense with the joint iterator dialogue in rubicon (at least, the final line doesn't make sense). I don't care. it's what makes me happy as an interpretation. you can pry my morally dubious hypocritical ego-driven saint from my cold dead hands

[meichenxi]

career. change. help

so I am making a career change because teaching is going to make me burn out and I NEED YOUR HELP to brainstorm, fellow neurodivergents and degenerates!!!!! do you have any personal experience? any careers or jobs that work for you? (doesn't need to be a 'career' that your parents would be proud of; postie works fine!)

if you don't have any ideas, could you pass it around?

what we're working with / difficulties:

I am adhd and hyperactive. I like moving around a lot and struggle to sit still all day

I am also most likely autistic. I get HUGE masking/social hangovers that mean that when I teach for 2 hours, I need to spend another 2 hours directly afterwards in the dark with noise cancelling headphones. teaching in a school left me essentially unable to cook, clean or socialise for a year. even now teaching 1-1 means that I spend 100% of the time teaching recovering afterwards at least - so an hour recovering for an hour's teaching. this inevitably leads to burnout.

I have a lot of sensory difficulties and get easily overstimulated e.g. bright lights, sounds etc. I wear blue light cancelling glasses and use loops and/or noise cancelling headphones where applicable but yeahhhh. still doesn’t really do it

I have a problem with my ulnar nerve which means that typing for extended periods of time (even standing up, even with accommodations) is difficult. This is a cumulative thing, so it means that if I don’t type very much for one day, it’ll be easier the next day, but I still can only type for about 3 hours maximum. After a while (say 3-4 days of typing a reasonable amount), everything begins to hurt and eventually my hands seize up and I can’t use them :))) I can’t really use assistive technology enough as a stop-gap, because scrolling, clicking, holding a phone, cooking, washing up etc – all things where my elbows are a right angle all cause this problem

strengths:

I have a lot of experience teaching and tutoring. Don’t really want to continue this, but this is what my main experience so far is in – I’ve taught in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and the UK

I have experience managing teams of teachers and training, running interviews, writing curriculums etc. basically anything teacher-related I am fairly experienced at

I can speak (obviously) english, decent mandarin chinese, decent german, and could get good at french or spanish or dutch if you gave me like. six months to reactivate it

a good degree from a good university in the uk, linguistics, first class

I have a yoga teaching qualification

physically fit and able-bodied and active – I can run, walk, climb, pull things, do whatever

the issue I’m facing is that most ‘autism friendly’ careers I am looking at all involve extensive periods of typing, which I am not really able to do. and most ‘normal’ careers all involve extensive periods of socialising, which I am not really able to do. It’s a pretty shit situation. I am very good and enjoy performance-type things like teaching drama, yoga, tour guiding and stuff – all things my adhd brain loves – but I can only do them for a very short period of time before my autistic brain needs alone time in the dark.

So anyway. What sort of things do you guys do? What works for you? Any tips or help or directions would be greatly appreciated. Unfortunately it’s not a ‘how to solve the world career’, but ‘how to have a life’ type career – I am not adverse to working as a cleaner or a traffic warden or whatever. As long as I can write my book alongside (which I can’t do with ‘typing’ heavy jobs), I’ll be happy. at the moment I'm mainly just sad and frustrated at how little life i can lead even working 15 hours a week (which is all I work, and all, with this current job, that I can work)

maybe I’ll just make a youtube channel. imagine

[operationslipperypuppet]

The biggest thing about the Naddpod messages that I’m NEVER GOING TO BE NORMAL ABOUT is the difference between Moonshine’s two messages.

Murph says it was on a loop so she may have recorded it several hours before Hardwon heard it but the first was pure raw emotion. Moonshine was rushed and upset and just desperate for him to know they needed him. And once Hardwon replies her message back sounds like all her problems have been solved and he hasn’t even managed to get there yet.

Just knowing he’s on his way made all the difference for her and it’s been 200 years since campaign one and THEYRE STILL LIKE THIS ABOUT EACH OTHER?? I’m just not well. Ya know?

Moonshine's first message is a plea. I don't think it's the first message she sent out on a loop through that communicator, so that if Hardwon was able to reconnect to his, he'd know she was thinking of him. But I do think it was the most desperate. The first time she actually was begging for his help.

She's frantic, she's rushed. She's getting the information across as quickly as she can, she needs him to hear it. That's why she keeps returning to his name. It's addressed to him, because she knows he's her only hope. Everyone else who could help is stuck there with her. She has only a moment to communicate these things, and she is desperate to get it out to him, because he might just be able to save her.

And Hardwon? He heard it. The second the message is over, everything else in his life that was holding him back washed away. His desperation was so apparent, he tried to get a teleporter to work, knowing full well that he had other responsibilities to the Crow Crew, to Jaina, to MeeMaw, to Bahumia. Those didn't matter anymore. His main responsibility is, as always, to Moonshine.

Moonshine's second message, though? When he says he's coming (girl)? "It's just a quick message, and it's really quiet", but it's full of simple relief. Relief that he's coming back, relief that he's able to save her. All her problems have been solved. Missing Hardwon would always be her worst problem. Knowing he's on his way fixes that in the best possible way.

The distress signal and Hardwon's transmitted response actively changed both Hardwon and Moonshine the instant they were heard. Because regardless of how long it's been, they're always going to make the biggest differences in each other's lives. Even if it's just with a few words, sent out into the universe, tied only to hope.

I'm never going to be normal about them.

[rin-and-jade]

Hi there. I've been questioning if I'm a system for months now and I feel like the information I find is so unhelpful sometimes, because it's all focused specifically on alters and if it's not about alters it's all syscourse nonsense, but the problem I have is that I have basically no communication...

A lot of the symptoms I'm experiencing are dissociation and memory related, and it all just makes me doubt my experiences a lot x(

Doesn't help that my psychiatrist keeps brushing off all my experiences as Anxiety and Psychosis/Schizophrenia???

I really just need some reassurance that I'm Not crazy.

So, do y'all know any good information resources that focus on things Outside of alters?? Or at the least cover all aspects and don't exclusively focus on alters? Anything to do with improving communication would also be appreciated.

Maybe the communication isn't great because I'm still living in an unsafe household? I really don't know, it's been getting worse for a while now, I've been noticing a lot of times where I find belongings, things I said, or anything like that and Having no memory of doing or saying any of it. And it's been giving red flags to me.

Sorry for the long winded ask, much love, thank you in advance. // 💜🌹

My blog is not syscourse aligned, rather, it is education and awareness aligned. Im sorry that you couldn't find your answers, that must be frustrating,, though im here with what you're searching for!

Alters are a byproduct of our dissociative barriers, i previously had made an awareness post to remind them that DID, is not only an alter problem too.

I find a lot of psychologists or psychiatrists horrible and condescending, where many of my friends who got into therapy also got treated negatively too. In my country, neither of the psychologists im friends with even know of DID, thus affirming that there's still a long way to spread education regarding about CDD. Which i have been doing for 3 years, for the community to learn and progress.

So basically, i don't think you're crazy for having people who would dismissing your symptoms, or have memory and dissociation related issues for now.

Please check my blog, there are many types of information outside of alters! You might find some posts helpful.

--

Q: "Maybe the communication isn't great because I'm still living in an unsafe household?"

A: That's correct, our brain has a very complex code, a predictive machine, to crank up or shut down processes (such as mind wandering). If the place is unsafe, your brain prioritizes survival and making it out of there first and foremost, creativity and problem solving might suffer due to the main focus of surviving.

It's like how stress creates difference in blood flow to prioritize the lungs, heart, and other important organs but not to your digestion track. Who says that cannot happen inside the brain either?

Q: "Anything to do with improving communication would also be appreciated."

A: There are many ways, but sense of safety comes first, its like when you are dysregulated and is trying to heal,, your brain keeps out putting the wrong prediction and answers because it is still thinking and seeing in grey-tinted glasses. Regulation comes first, or safety comes first,, these two always create a feedback loop that will help your brain think more clear and less tint-affected!

To end this ask, i will link my posts regarding to: - Front Stuck - Inner Communication

My DMs are open for further 1-on-1 help.

- j

[love-sapphirerose]

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! is really Bad

When I first saw the 7th time loop anime trailers and beautiful animation designs, I thought it could be another anime I can be excited about but I wasn't because it was empty and really bland, boring, and full of cliches as the story is completely rushed within 12 episodes. The romance scenes feel empty and terrible as there's another special about them.

The author tries to make Rishe be this overrated kind badass female who is highly skilled using her 6 previous lives of being a merchant, apothecary, alchemist twice, maid, hunter-mercenary, and knight but it failed miserably as they're trying so hard at feminism.

The plot is a bit too designed to make Rishe look good and perfect and solve all the problems like with the maids. Rishe is almost too perfect as she can do anything and figure out everything. A lot of things are conveniently played out. The tender moments between her and the prince feels comical to me at times.

I like Rishe's character design but I don't like her personality because she reminds me of 3 previous main heroines I hate of kagome higurashi, sakura haruno, and towa higurashi because they're extremely annoying. I know arnold hein proposed to rishe and at first she rejected but after she accepted the second time she became annoyingly clingy about staying by his side even giving multiple boring speeches about even when he tries to kill her or tries to drive her away she will toxicily be with him, like the 3 previous heroines I hate acted especially sakura, and even talking about how's she this hostage/kidnapped princess. It really annoys me that rishe is disgusting kind and instantly forgiving as everyone will almost give into her demands after a boring speech.

I like arnold hein but him instantly fell in love with rishe all because she jumped off a high balcony without getting hurt is contrived and doesn't have much of a personality.

What really annoyed me about how rishe annoyingly begs arnold to put the ring on her finger and dramatically blushes and forgets to breath when he did, really cringey.

[huebris808]

trying to break out of my shell and post madcom hc shit aka Look At My One Of Many Weirdass Hank Ramblings, Boy

hank you know them. they're six-foot-something and wanted to try volleyball. they dont get sarcasm and refer to stuff as "thingys". they're the autistic power fantasy of throwing bricks at those who view you as subhuman. their bedroom's apparently just a mirror to practice cool poses with and a blanket and their favorite drink is eggs now according to the streams. and they are your new nonbinary president

im constantly fluctuating between Animation & MPN Are Two Different Timelines/Universes or They're The Same, But He’s Testing Which "Hank" Is More Favorable/Useful To Others

wasian hank truther baby. (jp+filipino-american)

this guy would probably use わたし/私 (ive seen a lot of artists use オレ/俺 for him though but i feel like its a bit?? much)

definitely had to pick up sign-language after [Vague Gesturing] All That

has autism in the way that they have No Clue they got it. like "damn i got [Specific Autistic Issues]. sucks that im so so normal and yet i must endure The Problems everyday"

speaking of autism, enjoys confined spaces sensory-wise. vents and boxes and shit like Come On Man. Do You See The Vision.

gonna be honest like half of the shit (Understatement) i got for hank is projection but what's madcom without that in some aspect!! that's the POINT man!!! [ON KNEES WAILING] that's the POINT

working in real estate and as a mercenary since The Incident made their self-worth go to SHIT; in a world that dehumanizes you, you are quick to dehumanize yourself. this is where the power of lesbian friendship comes in

subconsciously puts doc on a pedestal over time, leading to (See Bullet 1); this dissipates after they somehow reach a conversation of Bitch We Are Both Equals And Fighting For Our Fucking Lives Out Here THEY SOLVE SHIT TOGETHER MAN!!! THEY SOLVE IT

sorry. sorry. im trying to delete it

out of nowhere maybe its the Autistic Projection maybe its cause im allergic to Sadstuck Shit i dont dig negative stuff with 2bhank it just feels Wrong :-( i wish i could word this better but like. i need these little chesspiece fucks to learn to communicate

what i will refer to as the Newspaper Era (aka the time before we got doc characterization from arena mode) caused people to make some weirdass depictions of their relationship and im glad its phasing out. The Horrors

main 4 are all butch lesbians btw. not sorry about that one

also POLYCOMBAT TRUTHER this dude would HATE how vulnerable these three would make them feel at first. they're the first to actually treat him like A Guy and that fuck him up a bit initially

i think eventually they all reach a point where they're able to do stupid shit together like fireworks or breaking chairs over each other heads. you've seen how doc is don't exclude him from doing dumbass shit

"erm… actually they wouldnt be friends or have fun or date theyre ruthless criminals and madcom is cruel :/" L + ratio + the rule of The Funniest Thing Is The Answer in madcom prevails + That's The Devil Talking, Boy

shit at technology. if they had a blog their lack of skills would loop back around to make them the most powerful shitposter on earth

there's definitely more that im missing here and takes that Don't Suck (for example people need to put out more hankford content. Cmon Man) but my brain has this shit Queued Up in a way so. Yeah

[rainytypology]

SF9 Chani MBTI Analysis

- INTJ -

An in-depth analysis of an idol's MBTI type. Based on my opinion and observations, may change later. Not an expert.

MBTI: INTJ (Ni - Te - Fi - Se)

Dom: Ni - Introverted Intuition

A percieving function that uses one's personal insights and ideas.

Chani has admitted that celebrity life is not for him and the main reason he joined entertainment was to support his family. His end goal is to ensure his family with financial security. He's not really ambitious and doesn't seem to have any other plans besides helping his family. He also does take his time to plan out things and decide how he's going to get there. Ni often prefers to plan before taking action to make sure it's perfect and attainable.

Aux: Te - Extroverted Thinking

A judging function that relies on established facts and data to create a working environment.

Chani is realistic and honest. In the MBTI interview with Hwiyoung, Hwi says Chani is the type to provide solutions rather than comfort, which is very Te. Te doms/aux would rather get to the problem and solve it instead of just complaining about it.

If he were an ENFP (Ne - Fi - Te - Si), he would likely resort to Fi to comfort rather than go straight to problem solving. He would also partake in Hwi's flights of fantasy rather than say they're silly (Hwi = INFP. Fi - Ne - Si - Te. Ne from both xNFPs would come together to brainstorm. But Chani doesn't do that with Hwi).

"He's clear on what he wants to do as an artist, the type of image he wants, and his goals as well, so you can see him grow towards that goal." - Rowoon from 2019 Ranking Box interview.

Tert: Fi - Introverted Feeling

A judging function that uses one's personal values and beliefs to compare and make choices.

Chani seems to have a bit of trouble with self expression. It may be awkward for him and so he chooses not to be very expressive. However, he's still very soft and mellow, especially when he talks about his love and care towards his group. He may not show a lot of emotion towards many things, but when it comes to the things he cares about (e.g SF9), you can really see his mood light up. Fi will open up more if it's about their personal passions.

Inf: Se - Extroverted Sensing

A perceiving function that uses our 5 senses to process the external world.

Having inferior Se, it is likely the reason why Chani can be incredibly slow moving. Se is focused on the physical world and movement. However, Chani moves very slow...talks slow as well.

"However, in everyday life, it's a miracle to see Chani moving around." - Hwiyoung in their Cosmopolitan Korea 2019 interview

___

Why he's not an ENFP (Ne - Fi - Te - Si):

I very highly doubt Chani is an ENFP...if he were, he would have to be in an Ne - Te loop or something. However I just do not see any high Ne usage in Chani in general though. Compared to actual Ne dom Inseong and Ne aux Hwiyoung, Chani is much more of an Ni user.

He's also very relatable to me as an INTJ too...And I highly doubt I am an ENFP so lmao.

Actual ENFPs: BTS V, TWICE Sana, P1Harmony Intak

If he is not an INTJ though, ISTP would be my second guess. However I don't see much Ti-Fe usage in him.

___

Other analysis:

Enneagram | Birth chart

___

Kpop typology list

___

[jessepinwheel]

🤯😅⛔ for the emoji questions!

sorry for the delay on this one I literally forgot it was in my inbox

🤯 What's a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

at the risk of sounding like an arrogant prick I don't feel like I struggle that much with most writing. writing stories are all pretty similar from a methodological standpoint I think, whether it's romance or action or horror, it's just a question of what kind of messages/emotion you want to get across through what strategies.

but that's not a super helpful answer. I guess things I don't really write a lot are romance? (although I'm not sure I'd say that either because relationships are a huge part of my stories, just not ones that involve kissing) and I guess also smut because I mostly find it boring and have no desire to write it

😅 What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

well there's like 6k of a Supernatural casefic in one of my folders featuring one of my OCs does that count?

⛔ Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

well probably the most prominent one is transistor, that one obi-wan time loop story that I wrote like 30k for and then decided to stop writing because making it the way I wanted it was either going to require deleting like 10k words or to go on for way too long

there's also an a companion piece to dielectric breakdown (called corona discharge) which was going to pretty much be a rex point of view story covering parts of the main story and how he dealt with cody leaving, but I decided that I was not adding anything useful enough to really follow through all the way

but besides that I have a lot of unfinished works in my writing folder that I'm not entirely sure I'll come back to but which I also haven't officially axed. to name a few:

jamais vu: the ace attorney fic where phoenix goes back in time and ends up pretending to be his own uncle

houndstooth: a blackwell series fic where after the events of the last game rosa has amnesia and now joey has to deal with both having a body and also that

entrainment: a bleach fic that's kind of a pokespe fusion where ichigo gets pokemon and also accidentally makes a contract with pokemon satan (giratina)

event horizon: the kirby fic in which meta knight deals with ptsd after being stuck in the mirror from amazing mirror

memento: a pokemon sun/moon fic in which nanu gets fucking owned and washes up on the shore amnesiac because unbeknownst to him he just got eaten by a dimensional wormhole and he appears to be in a world where he died or disappeared a long time ago

eutectic: a naruto fic where kakashi gets sent back in time to an alternate dimension where kannabi bridge went fine and alternate world kakashi grew up to be an asshole so our kakashi decides to solve the plot of naruto by causing problems on purpose (committing lots of murder) and making life really annoying for alternate world asshole kakashi and also becoming haku's murder dad

I have a lot of stories that will probably never see the light of day, y'all just don't see them since I don't post anything unless they're done or there's a really solid plan to finish them

send me fanfic writer emoji asks

[taco-pal]

STARFIELD THOUGHTS SO FAR:

Been playing Starfield and while I love the game's astronomical highs, the lows the game contains are all old problems other games have already solved and also very annoyingly Bethesda design choices. It's baffling how Bethesda oscillates between being occasionally brilliant or stumbling into the most boring versions of quest design and character choices.

For instance, the gameplay loop of Fallout 4 felt incredible; loot houses and buildings for construction material while usually getting into some great gunfights that reinforce the idea of trying to survive in the wasteland and build a community. BUT we're going to have such a strange choice of a plot set up and limit the choices you're able to make and simplify the lore. Also you're not going to be able to romance the cool detective crooner and easy choice for love interest android man Nick Valentine because we're prudish weirdos who think it'd be icky!!!!

The main cast and main quests of Starfield are painfully dull. No one has any sort of real character depth. It's like they thought of a few archetypes but didn't give them any real sense of personality beyond that. Walter should be portrayed as a capitalist freak, instead he's a philanthropic capitalist funding his dream. Sarah Morgan is so robotic. Andreja is potentially interesting but has no depth. Matteo should be constantly presenting conflict within the group because he's religious, etc etc. Barrett seemed like he had a personality but there hasn't been much depth to him since the beginning of the game.

It's like Bethesda wanted to be as painfully inoffensive as possible that they whitewash conflicting ideologies constantly, so much so to the point that it feels like there's no real ideological differences between the main factions outside of the ones committing real crimes. Like, how could a free market economy EVER have a united government in space? How do all of these randos afford to have space ships? WHY give the player a ship immediately? It's also a massive misstep to not IMMEDIATELY include alien civilizations for interesting conflict!!!! This game wants to feel like Star Trek/Mass Effect but it misses so much of what makes those stories interesting. It is so apparent that they started working on this a decade ago because the science fiction tropes they present here became tired tropes between 2010- to now. Do you like Firefly? Here is our Space Western planet :) Do you like cyberpunk? Here is our neon drenched cityscape :) Do you like the Citadel from Mass Effect? Here is our version. :) It just does all of that stuff in ways that aren't even half ass effectve. It's also so fucking weird that they just don't want anyone to look hot? It feels so distinctly American in that it is so prudish and too cowardly to acknowledge that sex even exists in this universe lmfao. EVERYONE is so overdressed! It's hilarious. In the year that Baldur's Gate 3, the most horny game ever dropped? Laughable.

There's so much potential for interesting dramatic conflict and they don't explore any of it! It's such a boring way to present Constellation. Sarah Morgan says they do shady shit all the time and know what a jail cell is like, but has a meltdown the moment anything morally grey happens! It's like Bethesda is so averse to having any of these characters be disliked, so they ironed out any possible sense of real personality they could have.

It's so frustrating because there is so much potential here; a lot of the side quests are fun and present great dramatic conflict, even though they are undercut by some flat outcomes. Exploring planets and the ship stuff is all fun and engaging, jetpacking around and shooting dudes is fun as hell too. And yet the main quest is so damn boring it takes away from all of that. Ugh.

This is all without even getting into the horrid UI and terrible decision to NOT INCLUDE LOCAL AND CITY MAPS????? I want to love this game and have really enjoyed some of it! It's just got some very distinctly Bethesda flaws. It brings me no joy to say this. Ugh. :\

[decepti-thots]

how do u think springer is doing in his time travel adventures? also writing that made me remember that verity & springer split and it made me unbearably sad again..

this is always a question that is so... like there are two answers i have for this.

one is that the end of wrequiem is the whole 'when a story ends, the characters are doing what you last saw them doing forever' thing. like. the only reason the end of wrequiem doesn't collapse in under a bunch 'wait, but then-' bits of fridge horror is that. well. the story ends there! it's an ending that makes thematic sense. it works as a kind of emotional end statement to the whole thing, petty logic aside.

but also... i mean... idw is a continuity that has multiple extended stories about time travel. and it establishes really clearly how time travel works. time travel works by default as a closed loop/solving the paradox type deal. and it's really hard to resist the temptation to pull on the thread a little! because the whole thing is so obviously futile from an in-universe perspective when considered more pragmatically; and you run into some messaging too about the entire idea of feeling like you can change the past rather than live with what you've done and experienced. and it would feel very disingenuous, i think, to read the actual story that way. but if i think about the idea of it continuing past that...

anyway. i don't think it necessarily goes well if you take that route, is what i'm saying. i wonder to what extent springer is being honest about his stated motivation being to stop the war, though. like i think he does want to do that, but there's also this whole element you could poke at i think where... springer has never lived in peacetime! springer was built during and as a product of the war, he was handed off to kup as a mentor figure who was explicitly there to teach him how to be a soldier and took him out to fight. he has never interacted with someone outside the framework of war until he meets verity. so do i think springer is going to be able to do what he says he wants and somehow avoid the war? no. but i think he will probably be able to admit to himself, eventually, that he kind of wanted to just see what it would be like to live pre-war at least as much.

but i think that would be hard. imagine going back to before one of the most destructive events in your and many other species' history and trying to live knowing that if you can't change it then everyone's fucked. not that much of an escape really, psychologically speaking. you'd second guess everything. i feel like eventually you would just lose it.

there's a couple routes you could take, i guess.

springer going back in time is a closed time loop that is in some way linked to the start of the war. this is very mean and i don't want to do this to him, even though springer's ultimate goal turning out to be 'oh wow, the fifth dad was ME' is objectively very funny as a capstone. i cannot lie.

springer going back in time is just... it's irrelevant. and he has to try and come to terms with the fact that he cannot Main Character Syndrome his way into making the myth of a single hero saving everyone true. this option feels better to me because it gives Springer an arc that engages with the real problem of a time travel story about fixing things: the degree to which it assumes the course of history is a story, not something we turn into a story later. i think you could do a lot with a Springer who was born into a war going back to a pre-war era and coming to terms with that.

i do like to imagine that maybe one day he would find himself back where he started. i think a Springer who went through all that would have a lot to talk about with Verity, who was the first chance he had to make a friend outside wartime in the here-and-now, no trying to erase old mistakes needed.

(sidenote: i went this WHOLE THING and didn't even mention the obvious. imagine his reaction to young Impactor. man.)

[the-reprise-of-the-spear-hero]

The Reprise of The Spear Hero 575

"Oh……"

When I turned my gaze forward, I saw dumbfounded men in robes looking at me.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Fuck you guys desuzo!"

“Wha–”

It was almost instinctual. Trying to determine which of them unsealed the Phoenixes is troublesome, so I simply pierced both of them with my spear.

I was told to help the two of them, but my anger won’t dissipate if I don't do this.

It's revenge for making Father-In-Law show that kind of expression.

I feel like I can kill them many times over, but I’ll resist the urge. Just once will suffice.

Ah, and I made sure not to hit Father-In-Law who was still dazed.

Well, let's start by sorting out the situation.

As expected, I entered the loops again by choosing “No”.

If I didn't, I would be in a lot of trouble.

Even worse, if I find Itsuki or Ren and kill them, it will probably loop again, but... isn’t that weird?*

Father-In-Law told me to collect information two loops ago, so I’m acting the same way as I did in the first world.

Well, I now know that the Father-In-Law who wasn’t falsely accused, was originally a very kind person.

The Father-In-Law in the first world was also a kind person, but the Father-In-Law who wasn’t framed was more gentle and more tolerant.

So, back on track, the current goal is to proceed with things in the same way as in the first world... Stay in Melromarc, destroy the Three Heroes Church, and clear up the false accusations against Father-In-Law.

It will take a lot of time. Plus, the relationship with Itsuki will become worse than in the first world.

Moreover, Éclair will die in prison.

If I try to help Eclair as soon as possible here, the Three Heroes Church will be on guard against me, and things obviously won't proceed like in the first world.

Well, it’s not like I can’t choose to help Éclair after making sure that Father-In-Law has become stronger, but it didn’t change her fate when I did that during the last loop.*

Currently, if we take a look at the loops we've gone through so far, there's already a lot of potential sparks that could start a war.

And even if we were lucky enough to avoid wars, Ren and Itsuki would become jealous of my and Father-In-Law's strength and break the seals on the Spirit Tortoise and the Phoenixes.

I think we can just let Ren and Itsuki fail and then reflect on themselves like they did in the first world while I clean up after them, but Father-In-Law said that it would take too much time.

That's right. It took too long.

As Father-In-Law said, we don't have time to fight among heroes.

This time, Father-In-Law asked me to try his plan, so I'll try to implement it based on my thoughts.

What Father-In-Law hoped for was a good relationship between us heroes.

The main problem is that Ren and Itsuki won't listen to me, and they’d say that their enhancement method is different, or that it depends on the characteristics of each weapon... and they’ll even say that replicating NPCs’ power is the strongest or something troublesome like that.*

They’re just looking for reasons to dismiss Father-In-Law and me.

Father-In-Law taught me how to solve this problem.

Let's put it into practice first.

Still... where the hell is Filo-tan?

Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan Filo-tan.

"Hey"

I came back to senses with the feeling of being poked several times.

Oh, it looks like I have already entered the next loop.

Father-In-Law, who seems to have the lingering scent of Filo-tan, is looking at me with questioning eyes.

We've already been guided to the throne room. Trash is looking at us like he’s so great.

Should I embrace Father-In-Law?

Father-In-Law from the last loop is telling me to be cautious in my mind.

Hugging him now will ruin everything.

"My name is Kitamura Motoyasu. I'm 21 years old and I'm a university student desuzo."

"You’re using desuzo..."

"Aren’t you getting overly excited?"*

Ren says, cool as ever. Father-In-Law and Itsuki nod over and over again as if they agree.

Don't panic, don't fuss, just go with the flow.

I know from the previous loop that making a fuss here won't do anything.

The key is meticulous planning.

"I can't deny that."

I didn't get to meet Filo-tan last time, and the time before that, but I might be able to meet her this time.

Thinking about it makes me feel a little excited.

"Hmm... Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki?"

"Your majesty, you forgot me."

"Oh, sorry, Naofumi-dono."

There are multiple things to do, but I will do my best to avoid unnecessary things in order to put Father-In-Law's proposal into practice.

So let's ignore the fact that they deliberately didn't mention Father-In-Law's name.

With that in mind, I didn't say anything other than what I was asked and what would be normal to say in this situation.

Before long, I was guided to a room where the fathers-in-law and the others were grinning while investigating the weapons.

It would be better if I just pretended to examine the weapon.

I'll think while pretending to look at item stats.

Well, what to do after things goes as planned?

I don't think I can stay in Melromarc, just like Father-In-Law said last time.

�� Oh, Father-In-Law said it was okay to go to Faubrey.

So let's consider going to Faubrey a priority.

Unfortunately, due to the time limit, I wasn't able to get the portal coordinates from Father-In-Law, but the country is not so far away that I can’t reach it normally.

Things are going well, but it will become difficult soon.

"Hey, this is just like a game."

"This is the world of a console game."

"No, it's VRMMO."

"Huh? VRMMO as in a virtual reality MMO? Isn't that super futuristic?"

"Huh!? What the hell are you saying?"

Father-In-Law and the others explained what happened to them and their knowledge of the game.

I've heard this conversation many times.

I think Father-In-Law also said that there were fewer mistaken assumptions about this world in the beginning.

I’ve heard that this is why it is easy to make changes early on.

"Motoyasu, what about your side?"

As expected, Father-In-Law calls me directly by my name at this stage.

The first world's taunting way is good too, but the gentleness with which he calls me in recent loops has become more comfortable.

Father-In-Law is the Hero of the Shield, a being who warmly protects people, and ultimately his fellow Heroes.

It's my mission to save such a Father-In-Law.

"Huh, me? There is a similar online game called Emerald Online."

To avoid any future confusion, I explained everything thoroughly.

Even if I tell Father-In-Law and others that I came from the future at this stage, they won't believe me.

Also, it seems that Father-In-Law was interested in the opposite sex around this time, but he lost that interest after he was framed by the Red Pig.

It seems like he was healed by Older Sister in the first world, but in the last loop... I feel like he was taken care of by the panda beastman, and in the loop before that, Éclair took care of him.

Moreover, I feel that Father-In-Law had a lot of fun with the panda beastman.

This... that's it.

Originally, Father-In-Law preferred people of the same age or slightly older.

Fufufu, I also spent a lot of time with Father-In-Law, so I know that.

I should imitate my middle school friend and consider Father-In-Law’s relationship with women.

If I remember correctly, the heart symbol represents the degree of affection.

Fiancée was blatantly aiming for Father-In-Law. In that case, I should add more heart marks.

That said, it seems like Father-In-Law doesn't like younger people.

Despite having Filo-tan as her partner, Fiancée has the greed to aim for Father-In-Law.

Therefore it's best to close up this option first.

She will give up if he has a good partner right?

As I thought about that, the conversation progressed to the reason why we came to this world.

Ren and Itsuki explained how they were each summoned.

I also talked about being stabbed by a pig.

Calling a pig a woman almost made my mouth rot. I felt like vomiting.

But if I tell the current Father-In-Law and the others that a pig is a pig, they will hate me.

Since Father-In-Law asked me to improve the relationship with Ren and Itsuki, I want to avoid that.

Hearing that I was killed by a pig, Father-In-Law raised his middle finger.

I don’t think he’s doing it with ill intent.

I've heard of this.

It seems like otakus can't really praise someone who seems happy, so they insult them with a congratulatory intent desuzo.

The current me can understand Father-In-Law's true feelings.

"Is that so? Uhm, I'm sorry everyone. It felt like one second I was in the library, reading a book I don't recognize, and then the next, I’m here."

Ren and Itsuki are giving their Father-In-Law a cold look.

It's been a long time since I've been in the past, but in this case, only Father-In-Law's story is the flimsiest.*

But, on the contrary, the three of us might actually be the problem.

Come to think of it, Father-In-Law was the hero who was the best at leading the world.

In other words, his qualifications as a hero are the best.

There's no way you can look down on that!

"Everyone is different. What’s the point of bragging about your bad experiences?"

"But... you know?"

"Yes, I feel like the reason is a little weak."

"Do you really need a reason to be transported to another world? Didn't you just tell me the reason?"*

"Uhm, well... that's right, but I'm a little convinced..."

It seems that they have a hard time accepting it completely.

Fufu, as Father-In-Law said, let's recall what happened the first time we were summoned.

It certainly felt a little unfair.

I felt envious because he didn’t go through a tragedy like us.

Well... after that, Father-In-Law had the most tragic experience.

Well, it would be better to say something here to improve the relationship even a little.

While I was choosing my word, Ren spoke up.

“Assuming everyone here died, then maybe something happened in the library where Naofumi was.”

“I see, terrorism and disasters. It wouldn’t be surprising to have died before the pain registered.”

"Uwa... That sounds plausible after listening to your stories. Scary."

Oh, Ren did a good job connecting the conversation.

That was lucky desuzo. So Ren can be useful at times.

Even so, it feels strange to have Ren and Itsuki listening to me and Father-In-Law.

I’m not sure when was the last time this happened.*

……In other words, there’s still room for both Ren and Itsuki to be convinced.

“Well then, do you all know the rules or the system of this world?”

"Yes."

"Yeah, enough that I don’t need to look for strategy guides."

I'm already the strongest I can be in this world

The only people who can win against me are the strongest version of the people here.

That’s still a long way to go.

We are not enemies, so there is no point in fighting in the first place.

"Somewhat."

Father-In-Law is smiling a bit strangely.

Father-In-Law, who is always looking forward and tries his best not to lose to anyone, looks radiant.

"Uhm, hey, can you teach me about the fighting system in this world from now on? There was no similar game in my world."

I can use this opportunity to explain things to Father-In-Law.

Well, it's difficult to teach everything due to time constraints, so it's fine to just touch upon the basics for now.

As for the rest, if we also take Ren and Itsuki’s knowledge into consideration and have everyone teach each other, then we can further develop a sense of unity.

That's the important thing Father-In-Law from the last loop asked me to do.

"Then this Motoyasu will teach you!"

"Pl-please take care of me."

“According to the information I have about the shield profession… Shielders are the strongest protectors.”

I'm not lying.

I didn’t say I would explain the game’s rules.

By doing this, wouldn't it make them think about the inconsistencies with Ren and Itsuki's knowledge of the game?

I can't help but wonder why nobody has thought about this until now.

"Is that so? It’s a useless job in the Brave Star Online I know, but..."

"Isn't it different for each game? In the Dimension Wave I know, it was a weak job, but it's not like the shield itself is useless."

"Which one is it?"

“If possible, even if it’s only in defense, I’d like to be the strongest. Please!”

Father-In-Law is putting his hand on the shield as if praying.

It’s okay. When it comes to defense, you are unbeatable.

I want to tell you right away, but for now I have to resist.

"What about the geography?"

I'm sure I’ve brought up this topic before.

"The names are different, but everything else is almost the same. If it's like this, then the distribution of exp efficient monsters is likely to be the same."

"The hunting grounds are slightly different for different weapon users, so don't go to the same place."

“Hey, Fathe—Naofumi come discuss with us too.”

"O-okay."

I called Father-In-Law's name directly.

I’m so sorry.

However, I succeeded in casually including Father-In-Law in the conversation.

Change is built with small things.

That should help deepen the bond between the heroes.

"Then--"

"Hero-sama, the meal is ready."

And just as we were about to have a discussion, the castle’s staff interrupted me. It was as if to say that I was about to do something troublesome.

It's likely because they don’t want Father-In-Law to obtain any advantageous information.

I need to seize my chances.

Right now... let's be careful so that they don’t find out I’m protecting Father-In-Law.

Considering what happened in the first loop, it may not be a problem to teach him how to power up, but then Father-In-Law was killed later, so it's better to be vigilant.

The world may loop if Ren or Itsuki dies, but what matters is that I will never allow it to loop with Father-In-Law’s death.

After we finished eating, we went to bed.

Of course, before I went to bed, I went to play with the Filolial-sama.

Translator’s Note:

So since this is machine translated, there’s likely a loss of nuance and passages that don’t make much sense. I marked the ones I’m most unsure of with a *. If you guys have any idea how to fix those it’ll be great : )

“Even worse, if I find Itsuki or Ren and kill them, it will probably loop again, but... isn’t that weird?”

Translated from: 最悪、樹か錬を見つけて仕留めればループしそうではありますが……それも怪しかったですかな？

I don’t fully understand what exactly it’s trying to say. Feels like I’m lacking context? Like what about it is weird or suspicious? Is he saying that Ren and Itsuki don’t matter so the loop shouldn’t happen lmao

Well, it’s not like I can’t choose to help Éclair after making sure that Father-In-Law has become stronger, but it didn’t change her fate when I did that during the last loop.

Translated from:まあ、お義父さんが強くなったのを確認した後にエクレアを助けるという選択は無くは無いですが、結局は��わりませんな。

Inferred from context, but the phrasing seems unclear

They’d say that their enhancement method is different, or that it depends on the characteristics of each weapon... and they’ll even say that replicating NPCs’ power is the strongest or something troublesome like that.

Translated from: しかも強化方法の仕様違い、もしくは武器毎の特性……更には強いのはＮＰＣの力を再現している等と言っていた事です。

I don’t understand what they’re saying lol. I think I got it right but eh

“Aren’t you getting overly excited?”

Translated from: 「舞い上がってんじゃないか？」

Literally translates to Are you soaring/flying? Which I choose to interpret as being excited

It's been a long time since I've been in the past, but in this case, only Father-In-Law's story is the flimsiest.

Translated from: 俺はもうずいぶんと過去の事になっていますが、この中では確かにお義父さんだけ経緯が浮いておられます。

Translates to Father-In-Law's story is the only one that floats (???). Considering the context, I chose flimsiest. It seems like the others are meant to feel suspicious and jealous of Naofumi here

"Do you really need a reason to be transported to another world? Didn't you just tell me the reason?"

Translated from: 「転移するのにそこまで理由が必要なのですかな？　ただ、理由を話しただけでは無いですかな？」

Look I don’t get it. I don’t even know who’s talking here. I’m assuming Motoyasu but I can’t be sure. I actually don’t read Japanese web novels lol

I’m not sure when was the last time this happened.

Translated from: 前回が前回だったのでしょうがありませんが。

What is even up with this sentence???

[sleepdepravity]

obscure adventure/puzzle games

So, the problem with the "adventure" genre is that it can really just mean, anything. like, it can mean "adventure" as in "point and click," or it can mean "adventure" as in, "fight-y action." and puzzles is also hard to define. Like, "puzzle platformer" could be called "puzzle games" right? but then there are puzzle games that have nothing to do with platforming. i dunno. i might have to divide this up into subsections, even. here i go.

"adventure" as in emphasis on fighting and action

a friend of mine worked on some animation stuff for this, so i am biased. this one is a hybrid of like, fighting action and cooking puzzle action, and i think it's quite fun. story is cute. you're doing a chef competition, and you have to literally fight monsters and grab their stuff and go back to your station and cook the stuff for the judge. i don't think i particularly got a handle of strategy or anything, but like, i'm also very much. don't like to think.

you get to have a bird!!!! you get to play with yor bird and send it out to fight robots and help you and put hats on your bird!!! your bird will dab!!!!!! it's so cute!!!!!

the game calls itself like part "murder mystery" game, i guess in the sense of, you are a character solving a murder and it's a mystery, but it's definitely not a mystery game. you fight a lot of people. There's also time travel involved. I forget if it's a time loop...probably not. i think i remember being okay at the fighting. i hate fighting, i think fighting is the worst part in any video game, but the fighting mechanics in this game i think were rather nice as a whole and felt cool to do.

I don't remember if this actually had fighting, but it's definitely more action-oriented, i feel. there's sailing involved, and i quite like games with sailing a lot, but i extremely don't remember what the plot is or what you're supposed to be doing. beyond sailing.

Point and click adventure-puzzle type things

Point and click game about the florida land boom and bust, which i am partial to specificaly because it's about the florida land boom and bust. i think it's funny how the story is just about the protagonist just fucking up and getting his life ruined. yeah. that just happened in florda. y'know. (somewhere, wilson and addison are there.)

this one is very cute. you're a ghost, and you can zoom into things and objects and find things and your sidekick is your dead dog. i thought the puzzles could be rather fun, and also, the aesthetics of it were just. very nice. very calming.

i think this one counts as a point-and-click because. you point. and you click. this one is a lot more about sort of, exploring a family history. you're supposed to use clues to cobble together the family tree. Strangely enough, the creators separated this game into chapters, and i get the feeling that, potentially, this might not finish. I feel like it would have been better to release it as one game, since this just means you can't have the whole ass family tree in one game at all. but exploring the scrapbook is fun, and i think they did some very neat things to make each family member distinct in their....i guess, "levels" for lack of better word.

this one is definitely in the vein of classic point-and-click. I remember liking the voice acting and the characters. it's sort of like....a 70s spy thriller type aesthetic, which is nice. art is nice too. I liked both of the main characters.

i feel like this one counts as a point and click, because that's essentially how you play it, even if you aren't actually pointing and clicking, i feel like. i guess maybe you could call it a puzzle platformer? unsure. the art is very nice. the story is very much all about "not pushing yourself so much, not putting everything solely on yourself, learning how to rest and take breaks and ask for help."

straight up point-and-click. you're working to hide the aftermath of assassinations WAIT THE TRAILER JUST SAID "INSPIRED BY REAL EVENTS"????? WHAT THE FUKC, HANG ON WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT anyways, the hitmen kill the people, and then they send you in to clean and hide the bodies. and there are actually multiple ways you can solve this, which can result in varying degrees of clean-up success (as in, some solutions are a bit of a sloppier job than others. it's sort of like the hitmen series, where you can pull of a hit in a way that makes it look like not a hit, or you can make it extremely clear it was a hit). i don't think i remember it being...too gorey?

the vibes of this game is very puzzle game. you even have an inventory of stuff to use on things and everything. the art style is also rather cute, i think. quite a short and simple game.

maybe this should've gone into "visual novel" actually, but since you walk around and look at stuff, i sort of automatically shuffled it to "adventure game." you're a neat robot in a spaceship and you gotta go around and help the space captain. i think i like robot games because how the themes inherently just go towards personhood, and there's something compelling about that.

definitely very point-and-click adventure. you're maintaining a space ship, you're far from home, there's time dilation and relativity and stuff involved, and grief. there's something nice about doing daily tasks sometimes, until things get derailed and the story starts and you're just struggling to get a grip on thigns now.

you're a shy frog trying to get what she needs for a tea party with friends what more could you want. look at that frog, you could be her. like right now. she's so shy. help her with her tea party.

this involved time travel, and therefore, time travel puzzles, and i enjoy those quite a bit.

dude, did this? not have over 1k reviews?? really????? i like this one because of the style, and how the creator meshed a bunch of renaissance paintings in fun ways, and the animation and stuff. I also thought it was quite funny. I like how you can have fun and sing and dance with all the guys playing music. i remember liking the ending.

i feel like??? this could count as being close?? to point and click???? i...sort of don't remember what this was all about. i remember that there were good vibes.

i remember playing this very long ago. I feel like i played this in a browser game sight....??? it's delightful in terms of bizarre visuals, i think. all your'e doing is trying to get a little car out the other side of the room, but you have to sort of play around and figure out what your'e meant to do to achieve that.

you're a little cleaning robot!! trying to do your job!!!! your house AI mom gets very invested in your wellbeing. i like robots, i like AI, and i like cleaning, so that's probably why i remember liking this game. it's possible that i cried during this game too, i don't remember.

i absolutely cannot tell you what this game is about. the visuals are quite amazing and i liked that a bunch. there's musicians involved.

Straight up puzzles/puzzle platformers/other weird things i'm not sure what to call??

this game is very much a fallen london/sunless seas type game. i thought it was fun. you go around in this weird eldrich house in your little weird bug train powered by a beating heart. I thought the environments were very fun too.

i thought this was very fun. I liked the art. there are occasionas where i will indulge in hidden object games? i have no idea why. maybe it's the rabid desire to collect that i have sometimes. I thought that the animations in this game were very fun. I guess it's also a maze, though. it's a rather odd duck now that ithink about it.

i have absolutely no idea why i put this game in this genre. this is restaurant management sim. this doesn't belong here. it's very cute though. i don't usually play restaurant management, but i played the hell out of this for a while.

it's a puzzle game. I really liked the environments in this puzzle game. It has one of those, like, you're in a model within a model, and the model you're in has a model in it? so you can play around with the model and it affects the model outside your model???? it's, like, recursive. y'know. I also liked the environments. i don't think i particularly cared much about the story, it's just about a relationship that broke down and didn't last....or something. but the game itself and the puzzles and the exploring, i like.

another one of those dystopia puzzle game type thing, like papers please. But a lot more puzzle-game-y. once again, i just kept my head down and worked for the system, i'm pretty sure.

I was surprised about how little reviews this one had??? i think i remember playing this one as a browser game first too, before it came to steam. i think it was one of the first "coding" games i played. there's a lot of fun in terms of, just zooming around a system and peeking into cracks and reading people's stupid emails and shit.

this is sort of like an rpg. you travel around tryign to help this whole area out. there's a mystery aspect to it too, i suppose, because the previous roadwarden went missing and you're trying to track him down and figure out what happened. also, there's a timed element, as in, you're only here for however many days, and after that, you gotta leave and go back. there's a lot of politics going on in this place too. there's an absolutely awful friendly mayor lady who i enjoyed but sadly had to depose because i'm pretty sure she wanted to become a tyrant of the entire area and wipe out the other people. completely willing to commit war crimes. the problem is, she was definitely very beloved, and so her townspeople beat me up as soon as i tried to go to sleep there afterwards. i liked talking to people in this game.

this game is actually free!!!! it's just straight up logic puzzles. as in, you go around talking to pepole and they tell you clues and you have to use that to figure out who is what and where they are in the family tree and stuff. i enjoyed it. I like logic puzzles.

a neat little puzzle game, with these small environments, scaling the items up and down was very satisfying and it was interesting how they played around with that mechanic for the puzzles.

okay so it's a cyberpunk solitaire game, so sue me. sometimes solitaire can be COOL and INTERESTING okay.

FUCK I RAN OUT OF IMAGES. I COULD MAKE ON THIS POST ok brb i'll make a second part of this.

[foggyfanfic]

Love and Fury

Chapter Preview: He turned his attention back to Reina and Cicero, immediately wishing he could look away when he found Cicero kissing her hand. He didn’t even do it right! Pepa had told Bruno that if you wanted a girl to get all flustered when you kissed her hand you had to make “sultry eye contact”. Whatever that meant.

Ch1 Prev Next Master List

Chapter 18 Round Three

“Maybe I should just resort to murder,” Leandra grumbled, flopped sideways across Bruno’s cushion pile, “I mean on the one hand, sure, if I’m caught I’ll be run out of the only home I’ve ever known, but on the other… problem solved!”

Bruno nodded, he was squeezed into the little bit of cushion pile she wasn’t covering. He'd been tempted to sit close enough to her that he could lean against her, but he wasn't sure whether or not she'd be comfortable with that right now.

When she didn't continue and just kept pouting off into space, he said, “Pepa is already thinking of murdering him. I’m sure if you two work together... that- hm, that is a genuinely scary thought.”

“Yeah,” she grinned, and for a second Bruno thought she may actually kill Cicero, “It’s perfect, I’ll invite Cicero out to the old quarry, then Pepa makes it rain making a bunch of mud. I’ll hit him in the back of the head with a rock then go running into town, crying and screaming about how he slipped in the mud. We’ll take him to Julieta and she’ll give him an arepa, except it’s not an arepa she made, it’s one Rosalie made and it’s full of poison. He’ll die and we’ll be like ‘oh no, we must not have gotten him help in time’. And then everybody’s life will be ten times better, and world hunger will probably just be magically solved.”

“You are a terrifying woman,” Bruno told her with a fond grin. It wasn’t a bad plan, except for the world hunger bit.

It was the Wednesday after the picnic and Bruno was still waiting for Reina to explain what Pepa had found so funny about him saying Agustín liked music. Maybe it was because they were really good friends, so she probably already knew that? He didn’t want to bring it up, in case he actually was supposed to have figured it out by now, but he also hated feeling out of the loop.

Unfortunately, Leandra was currently distracted by her imminent date with Cicero. She had come over to Bruno’s place and had squeezed him tight to work out some of her nerves, like a child squeezing a teddy bear.

“Only one problem,” she sighed.

“What?”

“Rosalie won’t be any better off with Cicero dead,” she shook her head, mournfully.

Bruno opened his mouth to ask what bearing Cicero had on Rosalie’s current quality of life, but before he could Reina glanced at the clock on his nightstand and groaned loudly.

“It’s not even just that he’s gross and a pervert,” she groused as she rose to her feet, “he’s also boring, self obsessed, and utterly convinced that he’s way sexier than he is.”

Don't get Leandra wrong, her main problem with Cicero was that he was a rapist, but the fact that he had told her the same story about him winning a donkey in a drinking contest six times was also a problem.

“You don’t have to do this,” Bruno stared at her hand and debated taking it and refusing to let go, “you could stay and we could- I-I mean if you want to we- we could do whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want, hm?” she asked with a light smirk. How Bruno was single while Cicero had been able to get three girlfriends within a year was beyond her.

“Sí, anything,” he smiled warmly, completely misunderstanding what that smirk meant.

Leandra wavered then sighed, “I don’t have to do this, but I have an opportunity to make things better for my friend, and make this village slightly safer. I will never forgive myself if I don’t take it.”

Bruno frowned, “Well, no need to get all moral about it.”

She giggled, and he cracked a small smile at her. That shy little grin made it harder to leave than anything else he could have said or done.

“Rain check on that ‘whatever I want’ offer?” She raked her eyes over him as obviously as she could.

He didn’t notice, “I don’t know… I-I might decide there are things I want to do.”

Leandra’s lip twitched, if she didn’t know any better she’d think he was flirting back, but she did know better. He was probably talking about building a new maze for his rats.

“Well, I might come back anyways,” she shrugged, “to recover from the sheer misery of this date.”

“You’re always welcome,” he stood and put what he hoped was a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “I’m probably going to put together another maze for the gang. I- they uh. You’re definitely invited.”

Leandra pressed her lips together and shoved aside the temptation to kiss him. When it had passed she smiled, gave him a brief hug, then started to walk away.

“If nothing else, I’ll see you tomorrow?” she paused at his tent’s entrance and looked at him over her shoulder. He didn’t technically need to spend Thursdays with her, since Cicero would be at the winery all day, but he wanted to.

“Definitely,” he agreed, waving his hand at her.

“Good,” she waved back then left.

He stood where he was, waiting until he heard his door open and close, the sound echoing through the canyon. He bit his lip and stared at Tire, who was busy giving himself a bath. Bruno could stay here and build another maze for his rats, or…

Reina was being a real trooper about this whole Cicero thing, she complained about the man himself, but accepted the responsibility of catching him with a stiff upper lip. Bruno hadn’t brought up the possibility of him tailing them, but he specifically hadn’t brought it up because he already knew she wouldn’t agree.

What did Pepa sometimes tell Julieta? It could be better to say sorry than please? No…

Not important.

What was important was that Bruno’s Very Good Friend was walking into a situation she was very uncomfortable with. There was the potential of her being alone with a guy who was some form of dangerous. A guy that definitely didn’t have her best interests at heart.

Bruno still didn’t know exactly what Cicero was planning, but Reina and his sisters called him a pervert, so it was sexual in nature. He’d written a list of all the ways a man could sexually harm a woman without technically breaking the law, and it was a distressingly long list.

Bruno’s Very Good Friend was going on a date with a sexual predator, and his options were to sit here and worry, or follow her and make sure nothing bad happened to her.

He nodded slowly to no one, mind made up.

Bruno walked over to his wardrobe and opened it, he took off his usual green ruana and traded it for a brown and tan one. He put on his socks and running shoes, since they were quieter than his sandals. Finally he knocked on the wooden wardrobe and tossed a bit of salt over his shoulder.

When he was ready to go he popped his head out his door and checked for witnesses. Finding none he left Casita quickly, on silent feet. Once outside, he pulled his hood up and took the streets parallel to the main road, towards the cantina where Reina said she was meeting Cicero.

Bruno was no stranger to sneaking around, it was a valuable skill to have when getting spotted by the wrong person might lead to you being strong armed into giving a vision in which you had to watch a dog die. He stuck to the shadows and avoided the amateur mistakes that had gotten him caught in the past, like hunching too much, or walking too quickly. When he was in sight of the cantina he leaned casually against the wall, like he was simply waiting for somebody.

Reina stood by one of the outside tables, chatting with Felipe and Agustín. Agustín saw Cicero coming and he frowned, failing to hide his displeasure. She noticed and turned, smiling tightly as she greeted her “date”.

Bruno frowned when Cicero hugged her without waiting for her permission. Did he just not notice how tense her shoulders got when he was close?

Felipe and Agustín did. Felipe was visibly concerned, and looked like he might say something, but Agustín subtly put a hand on his arm and stopped him.

Brief greetings were exchanged, then Cicero pulled Reina away from her friends to a more secluded table in the shade of a large tree. Felipe turned to ask Agustín something, who grimaced and ducked his head closer, hopefully telling Felipe just enough to keep him from interfering with the investigation. Bruno suddenly wondered how much Félix knew about this whole thing, and what Felipe would tell his older brother when he got home.

He turned his attention back to Reina and Cicero, immediately wishing he could look away when he found Cicero kissing her hand. He didn’t even do it right! Pepa had told Bruno that if you wanted a girl to get all flustered when you kissed her hand you had to make “sultry eye contact”. Whatever that meant.

Cicero was not making sultry eye contact. He wasn’t even looking at her, and the kiss itself looked perfunctory at best.

Not that Bruno was a hand kissing expert, it just wasn’t how he would do it, is all.

Cicero started talking and as far as Bruno could tell, he didn’t stop for the next ten minutes. Reina was right, this guy was self obsessed, even more so than Bruno had initially realized. Oof.

Ask her a question about herself, Bruno thought at Cicero, ask her a question about herself. Ask damn you, ask.

Reina finally got a word in edgewise, but apparently she was just telling Cicero what she wanted, because Cicero got up and ordered their drinks as well as stopping by the grill to order some food. Reina looked slightly more relaxed in his absence.

She smiled when he came back, but it was the same smile she gave customers when they interrupted whatever book Bruno was reading to her in order to make inane small talk.

Bruno had never been on the receiving end of that smile. Just saying.

Cicero took twice as long to eat as she did, because he spent twice as much time running his big stupid mouth. And somehow he didn’t notice that his date had graciously donated her drink to the tree. When Reina was done, and Cicero had finished his drink, she got up and got them another round. She also got herself some water, but finished it before she got back to the table.

Her second drink went the way of the first. To the tree.

Cicero was beginning to talk louder, a few snatches of his monologue making it across the street to Bruno. He was apparently bragging about his horse riding skills.

Bruno had seen Cicero riding a horse, it wasn’t anything special. He wasn’t bad or anything, no, he was perfectly average. Definitely not worth boring your date about.

Cicero got himself a third drink but didn’t bring anything back for Reina. Bruno would have brought her something, like maybe one of the desserts the daughter of the cook was selling, but maybe it was for the best that Cicero was a selfish, neglectful dickhead. 

The tree was looking a little tipsy.

Was it just him, or was Cicero putting less effort into wooing Reina than he had Pepa? What was up with that? Yes, of course, Pepa was a special woman and she deserved nothing but the best. But the same could be said about Reina.

First of all, Cicero should have brought her flowers, second, he should have taken her somewhere nicer. The cantina was ok, sure, but Encanto had two other eateries that were open for dinner and both of them were better suited for a date.

Third, Cicero should have stopped at the second drink. This was only their second official date for God’s sake! Bruno would never risk getting drunk in front of a date this early. Not that Bruno did a lot of drinking. Or dating.

Also, not that Bruno had thought about this, but Reina was a fun loving woman, a date with her should be an opportunity for her to play around a bit. It didn’t have to be elaborate, but she’s mentioned how much she’d always loved the straw bale mazes during the harvest festival. Bruno figures he could whip up one of those in front of Casita, easy. Or maybe a scavenger hunt, with a different flower waiting for her at every clue.

Again, not that he’s thought about it.

And clearly, neither had Cicero. When he was done getting himself drunk he stood and invited her for a walk. Walks were fine, totally fine, but come on! Where was the pizzazz? Where was the romance? It was still day, the moon wasn’t even out! Even if it was, Cicero was always suggesting he and his date go on a walk. It wasn’t exactly a special event.

Bruno trailed behind them, glaring at the arm Cicero had slung around Reina’s shoulder. Ugh. Again, it was fine, but Bruno would have held her hand or offered her his arm like a gentleman from one of his books. Reina would have liked that, she would have giggled and playfully called him “my lord” or something.

But yeah, sure, just lay your big sausage arms across her shoulders like the burden you are, Bruno thought snidely at Cicero’s back.

He tried to take Reina into the forest, but she resisted and instead convinced him to circumvent the town with her, citing Cicero’s curfew.

As they plodded along, Cicero talked loudly about how pretty Reina was, however he got her eye color wrong. Her eyes weren't hazel, they were brown, they weren't even bordering on hazel. They were a very cheery light brown and if they were bordering on any other color it'd be gold. Although if somebody, a completely random hypothetical somebody, wanted to wax poetic about it, it'd be most accurate to compare them to polished bronze or copper.

Speaking of waxing poetic, Bruno felt his lip curl in disgust, when Cicero began butchering a poem by Bécquer.

Bruno had handled most of the romance back when he was dating his boyfriend, and he would be the first (well, third after his sisters) to admit that his boyfriend hadn't treated him well, but even he had made a point to memorize Bruno's favorite poem.

That thought gave Bruno pause, Alberto hadn't treated Bruno well at all, but he'd still put some effort into making Bruno feel special. And he'd never physically harmed anybody, he was just a selfish dick. If Cicero was less considerate of his partners than Alberto was...?

He looked at the "couple" with new eyes, setting aside his own jealousy and reminding himself he was here in case Cicero hurt her. He wasn't watching two lovers on a date, he was watching two opponents try to outsmart each other. With that in mind he took a deep breath and steeled himself against his pettier thoughts.

Eventually, they got to the bridge and stopped at its center. He hid in the bridge’s shadow where he could hear every unfortunate word coming out of Cicero’s mouth.

She was right again, he was pretty boring.

Bruno began to zone out until he heard Reina ask Cicero if they could talk.

“Of course, princesa, you can tell me anything,” Cicero answered.

“It’s just… I have some concerns,” she sounded nervous.

“Are you alright?” 

“Sí, sí… I just, I really, really like you,” she said, and Bruno felt bile rise in his throat despite himself, “a-and I… it will hurt, a lot if it turns out-. Would it be ok if I asked you some questions?”

“Uh sure,” Cicero answered slowly, “what do you want to know?”

“I’ve… heard things, and well, you know I don’t like to judge people based off of rumors,” she paused, but for once Cicero let somebody other than him talk, “I wanna hear your side of the story.”

“Alright.”

“Why did you end things with Mariana?”

Bruno blinked, that wasn't what he'd been expecting her to ask. Cicero, it would seem, was similarly surprised.

“What? Mariana? Oh, I thought you were going to ask about Rosalie,” Cicero laughed.

“You and Rosalie never dated,” Reina managed to sound confused, “why would I need to ask about her?”

“Oh, nothing,” Cicero said a bit too quickly, “I uh, I figured that you knew about my feelings for her.”

“Um, sort of? Rosalie… never felt like you were interested in her for anything other than, y’know… sex. So I always tho-.”

“What? Really?!”

“Well, yeah,” Reina somehow managed to keep her voice light, meanwhile Bruno was biting his lip to keep from asking why Rosalie would have thought any different, “you… don’t really have a history of commitment.”

“I- ok, sure, but I love her. I told her that. Why would I lie?”

Bruno raised an eyebrow, glancing up at the pair on the bridge. He expected Reina to interrogate Cicero’s slip, but she didn’t.

“Sometimes men lie to get what they want,” she said, sounding sad even as her eyes studied Cicero’s face.

“But I wasn’t lying. I would have done anything to be with her,” he was beginning to sound a bit angry, “she should have believed me. If she had just trusted me things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did, if she had let me help her when she needed it-. I don’t get why she was so determined to make me the bad guy, but-.”

Bruno gulped. Had Cicero hurt Rosalie purely because she rejected him? The thought made him feel vaguely sick, and very nervous. He shuffled his feet, he wanted to get Reina out of there, but knew she wouldn’t let him.

“But?” Reina prompted.

He just sighed, “Things didn’t have to be this way. If she would just get over her pride… things didn’t have to be this way.”

Reina was silent for a little, probably waiting to see if he would say anything else, when he didn’t she changed tact, “So is that why you broke up with Mariana? Because you still have feelings for Rosalie?”

There was another long pause, Cicero must have finally figured out that he’d messed up, when he spoke it was to reassure her, “I’ll be honest princesa, Mariana was my rebound. Being with her made me feel better about Rosalie rejecting me, but when I was over Rosalie, I realized I didn’t actually like Mariana that much.”

It was once again Reina’s turn not to say anything, only this time she didn’t eventually fill the silence, she let Cicero do that.

“I know I have a bit of a reputation, but it isn’t what you think, I’m just looking for that spark, y’know? I want to be in love again, that’s why I’ve been dating so much,” he sounded sad, but in the same way that an unsubtle actor sounds sad in a play, “it can be so hard to find The One.”

“So, you’re not just after sex?”

“No, of course not princesa,” when Bruno looked up, Cicero had his arms wrapped around Reina, “I want to get to know you. I want to explore whether or not this thing between us is the real deal.”

“Then… you wouldn’t mind waiting? You know, just until we’re sure that this is the real deal.”

Bruno grinned. Cicero walked right into that one.

“I… I don’t know,” he floundered for a second but recovered quickly, “it’s just so hard for me to feel close to someone without that physical connection.”

“Really? But… weren’t you in love with Rosalie?” she sounded so innocent, so honest to god confused, “You guys…?”

She didn't finish the question, she left it open ended for Cicero to fill in the blanks.

“I never touched her!” He said it very quickly, very emphatically, then cleared his throat and said in a quieter voice, “No, I never did anything with her. The thing is I had never been in love before, it was easier to give my heart away. Now that I’ve been burned, I need a little more intimacy before I can get there, you know?”

“Hm, I see, maybe there’s a compromise,” she said, thoughtfully, “how about… if we’re still together in one year, then we start having sex? I know it’d be a bit risky to ask you to wait until marriage, but this way you’ll know you’re serious about me.”

Bruno bit his lip, waiting eagerly to hear what Cicero would say to that. What could he say? It was so… reasonable.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait that long, you are so beautiful, I want you so much,” he sighed heavily, “this sort of want, it makes a man do crazy things.”

Ew.

“Hm, have you tried praying about it?” she asked brightly, “I’m sure the Lord would be happy to grant you more strength. Whenever I find myself burdened with lustful urges, I pray to Mother Mary and she helps me to overcome.”

She was laying it on a bit thick now, but Cicero was a bit drunk, so he probably didn’t notice. Bruno on the other hand had a hand pressed to his mouth as he tried to keep his laughter quiet.

“But don’t you want to be with me too, princesa,” Cicero whined.

“Of course I do, nene,” she said, and Bruno’s laughter immediately stopped, “that’s exactly why I want to be sure that… that if I give a part of myself to you, you’ll still be there in the morning.”

He felt bile rise in his throat once more at the pet name, even if it was the most condescending one she could have chosen. He knew she was just playing Cicero, just trying to stop him from accosting her every time they went out. But… she hadn’t called Bruno “guapo” in weeks, not without immediately taking it back and apologizing.

He fisted his hands in his ruana, reminding himself she was only respecting his request.

The fact that she slipped up every now and then meant she probably still thought of him as “guapo” in her head. Most likely, the literal only reason she was trying to refrain from using the pet name was because Bruno hadn’t reinstated her permission. He could have though, he’d had plenty of opportunities, but he’d been worried that if he opened his mouth to grant her the permission she clearly needed, he wouldn’t just grant it.

Bruno would beg.

He had become obsessed with the word, every time she slipped up a shiver ran down his spine, and every time she took it back, apologized, he felt sick with regret. He dreamt about that word on her lips, fantasized about it, even thought about checking the future to see if she’d ever call him by it freely again.

He wanted her to call him “guapo” like he wanted her to throw Cicero off the bridge and go running back to his tent. Like he wanted her to hold his hand and tell him he was wonderful some more. Like he wanted her to get along with his sisters. Like he wanted her all to himself, no more Cicero, no more stiff upper lip, no more putting herself at risk of whatever. Like he wanted… things he shouldn’t want.

“Of course I will, of course, you can trust me,” Cicero was insisting, still trying to work his way into her bloomers, “what can I do to prove that.”

“Other than give me time?” she asked, then made a thoughtful noise, “I’ll have to think about that.”

“I see, of course,” he was going for magnanimous but fell short at cloying, “just let me know what you come up with. I really think you could be The One.”

“Oh Cicero,” she pretended to swoon, “I hope so.”

Cicero suggested they continue their walk, and Reina agreed. Bruno thought about leaving things be, going home before he heard anything else that made him regret his life choices, but his worry for Reina’s safety outweighed everything else. He followed.

Thankfully, the date didn’t last long after that. Soon the sun was resting on the mountain tops, and they were saying their goodbyes. Cicero wasn’t even offering to walk her home. Yeah, sure, he had a curfew, but surely Reina was worth getting in a little bit of trouble for.

What a dick.

To Bruno’s displeasure, Cicero pulled Reina close, holding her tense body tightly in his arms as he butchered Shakespeare this time. That was a horrible translation, way too literal, most of the original meaning was lost. She did her best to look starstruck, but he really wasn’t giving her much to work with. 

Then, Cicero put his large hand on the back of her head to hold her where he wanted, and kissed her. 

Bruno had taken two steps towards them before he’d even realized he’d moved. Reina’s eyes were open, and his aborted movement pulled her attention to him. She held up a hand, stopping him from leaving the shadows he was shrouded in.

In a few minutes it would occur to him to feel guilty for spying on her, but right now all he felt was white hot rage as Cicero drooled all over Bruno’s Very Good Friend.

This, he realized, was what people must feel before they get in fights. He grit his teeth and white knuckled through the display, forcing himself not to do anything until Reina gave him the go ahead. 

She didn’t, the kiss ended and she smiled at Cicero, wishing him a final goodbye. She watched him walk away, waving and grinning whenever he looked back over his shoulder. When he was finally gone, she turned towards the shadow he was standing in.

“Bruno,” she said, evenly.

“Are you alright?” Bruno burst forward, “Just the way he was holding you- mierda. What is wrong with him?! Did he hurt you?”

“Not even he’s arrogant enough to physically harm a girl out in the open like this,” she brushed off his concern, voice flat, “you never know who’s lurking in the shadows, watching you.”

Oh, there it was. The guilt he knew he’d eventually feel for spying on her. He chuckled nervously, then abruptly decided that guilt or no guilt, he wasn’t sorry.

“I know, you’re not happy about this, you have every right to be upset,” he held up his hands in a placating gesture, “b-but I can’t just- I don’t know exactly what sort of danger you’re facing, but I can’t let you face it alone.”

“So what? You going to spy on me every time I see Cicero from now on?”

“I- well… y-yes?”

She sighed and began walking, brushing past him.

He bit his tongue until the reflexive need to apologize passed, even as he rushed after her, “Where uh, where are you going?”

“To talk to your mom.”

“Wh- what?! You’re going to tattle on me?”

She gave him a sidelong look and for a second that stretched longer than it had any right to, didn’t say anything, then her lips quirked into a little smirk, “Tempting, but no. I want to talk to her about what I learned today.”

“What’s that?”

“His motive,” she frowned straight ahead, eyes looking through the street in front of her rather than at it.

“Oh. Right. That’s helpful, right?”

Reina nodded, “It'll go over well at trial. Can’t say I like it, though.”

They walked in silence for a few more minutes, Bruno nervously wringing his fingers, finally he took a deep breath and said, “Look, I-I can’t be sorry for caring about you, and I can’t promise that, that I won’t- well I’ve already said that I’m going to do this again. B-but I do get that it’s- you have a right to your privacy and I don’t want- I would never-.”

“I know.”

He watched her face as they walked, almost tripping over a raised cobblestone. His mouth moved uselessly over the many conflicting things he wanted to say.

“Look, just because I’m upset about something doesn’t mean you’re not right,” she glared at the ground, “I am upset, by the way, don’t get me wrong. I just… I would do the same, I have done the same. And now that I know he’s motivated by spite more than anything else… I’m not an idiot.”

“Oh,” Bruno stared at the ground moving beneath his feet. He didn’t know what to do about “I’m upset but you’re right” it wasn’t something that anyone had ever said to him before. Obviously, he wasn’t supposed to apologize, because he was right. But he probably wasn’t supposed to not apologize because she was upset.

When they reached Casita she stopped and pinched the bridge of her nose, “Bruno.”

Lantern, she reminded herself, all of this is new to him and he'll sometimes need a lantern to find his way.

“S-sí?”

“‘I’m upset but you’re right’ means that I just need a little bit of time for my feelings to catch up with my good sense,” she explained, “so basically… I still want to spend time with you, but I’m going to be quiet and sullen until I get my head on straight. As it is, neither of us has done anything wrong, and you’re not under any social obligation to help me get over this. You don’t owe me anything, but I’m still asking you for a bit of patience.”

She would probably not respond well if he kissed her right now. But he kind of, really, very much wanted to kiss her. 

The tension leaked out of his shoulders, “Gracias. F-for explaining, I mean.”

Reina just nodded, then gestured at the door, “It’s your house, although I guess Casita could invite me in.”

Casita waved at them.

“Right, right,” he opened the door for the both of them, inviting her in, “Casita, could you let Mamá know we have something to tell her about Cicero? Por favor.”

There was a clatter of tiles that Bruno took as an affirmative. He tried not to stare at Reina as he waited for his mother to appear, but found it a bit hard to peel his eyes away from her face.

“Other than the whole… upset with, but not blaming, me thing, a-are you alright? You uh, you kinda dodged the question before,” he asked, cautiously stepping closer to her. 

“No,” she admitted, “I hate it when he touches me. I thought… I don’t know, I guess I thought I could get him to stop, but- yeah.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Bruno reminded her, one hand fluttering around her shoulder as he tried to determine whether or not she’d be ok with his touch right now.

She glanced at his hand then took a shuffling sidestep so she was leaning on him, “You heard him, if I dump him he’ll just get petty. Try to do the same thing to me that he did to Rosalie. The only way out is through.”

Bruno frowned, wrapping an arm around her, “There has to be something we can do.”

She shrugged, then perked up when she saw his Mamá approaching them. His mother raised an eyebrow at the arm he’d wrapped around his Very Good Friend, but didn’t comment other than to ask, “Are you alright, Srta?”

Reina nodded, “I know what his motive is now. Spite. Specifically, he’s still angry at Rosalie for rejecting him and his offer to marry her.”

Bruno was surprised by the marriage offer bit, but his mother only nodded her head, “That would make sense. I have had Julieta ask around as subtly as she could. There is no reason to believe he did this to anyone before Rosalie.”

“Ugh,” Reina let her head fall against Bruno’s shoulder, “this is going to kill her. She’s already blaming herself.”

“Indeed,” there was a thoughtful pause, “could you ask her if she would accept some form of protection? If not for her, then for her son. If we do not find the proof we need soon… I fear for her safety.”

“Oh, I can absolutely ask her that, I can insist upon it, even,” she grumbled. Bruno rubbed her back a little and she groaned, calling Cicero a few choice words.

“Good, good,” Mamá nodded, apparently choosing to ignore Reina’s creative use of the Spanish language, she looked at Bruno and didn’t bother hiding the spark of amusement in her eye, “Brunito, I take it you would not mind walking Srta. Lopez home?”

He blushed crimson but managed a tight, “Sí Mamá.”

“Good,” she smiled wryly, then nodded seriously, “let me know what Rosalie says, soon as you can. Good night, and once again, gracias.”

Reina gave his Mamá a soft goodbye. She didn’t talk much on the journey home, other than occasionally cursing out Cicero, or expressing concern for Rosalie. 

He held her hand the whole way there.

A/N: I want to talk about how Leandra the character was constructed now! This is the chapter where I decided to make Leandra an OC instead of a reader insert. Up until this point all of her characterization was designed to foil Bruno: he's awkward and insecure so she's charming and confident, he's a triplet with a single mother so she's an orphan with a single father, he doesn't have friends so her main motivation is her love for her friend.

The most important character traits for the story come from some debatable interpretations of Bruno's character. He seems to struggle handling long term stressors (his deteriorating relationship with his family, spends ten years in the walls instead of communicating) but makes effective decisions when he doesn't have time to worry (hides the vision, catches Mirabel before she falls into the "abyss", uses the bucket as a helmet to escape the house, confronts his mother). In contrast, Leandra needed to be somebody that handles long term stress well (spying on Cicero for a year) but doesn't make great decisions when she has to act on impulse (dumping food on Pepa instead of getting Julieta's attention). So, Leandra needs to be somebody who can't rely on her impulses, this is a relatively common character trait, and easy for everybody to relate to.

More distinct is how she chooses to respond to that character flaw; the story needed her to be both impulsive enough to throw food around, and careful enough to pull off deceiving both Bruno and Cicero. Seeing as she is in her mid-twenties (aka an adult) and has been dealing with this character flaw her entire life, it makes sense that she'd have learned to curb her impulses. She leaves arguments when she notices herself getting petty, she tries to avoid having important conversations when her emotions are high, and she makes extra sure to double check other people's boundaries before making a decision that might effect them. I imagine her to have once been a very impulsive person, but after being reckless got her in trouble enough times she became a lot more cautious and self controlled. Now she's at a stage in her life where she's trying to find the best balance between her impulsive nature and her learned caution. This is a less universal trait, and the thing that makes her a distinct character, which I realized when she explains here that she's upset but acknowledges the feeling probably isn't justified. Thus, she went from being Reina, the conveniently unnamed orphan, to Leandra, my beloved OC daughter.

(Although I kept the whole Bruno not knowing her name and feeling too awkward to ask, because seriously, the guy spent ten (10) years living in the walls of his house instead of confronting his mother.)

[belphegorbillickin]

Hi again! Since you invited me to chat about TWST whenever, I may as well take the opportunity to pick your brain for more fun conversations. This time I want to hear your thoughts on where you think the main story will progress from what we know of ch7 so far. I’m personally quite curious to see what will be done with the battle and monologue from the tutorial.

(Actually, do you know anywhere where the opening monologue for the tutorial is recorded? It’s a real shame it doesn’t appear to be replayable through the game.)

You can watch it here! This person recorded everything.

TWST spoilers below! Sorry in advance for the incoherent rambling, I'm kinda out of it but didn't wanna leave you hanging too long.

Tbh I stopped reading about halfway(?) while I was waiting for translations because I knew I'd enjoy it more all in one go. Also because I was getting a little disappointed and thought it'd be better to hear stuff secondhand first and then go in with lowered expectations if needed tbh.

I highly doubt they'll go the romantic route as I said before, even with Malleus, but now I'm kind of unsure as to how much of a role Yuu will play.

Like, nobody even acknowledges us half the time apart from Malleus, that'd be a big change, and it seems like so far it's mostly focused on Lilia so that's who I would've said is going to snap him out of it before.

But maybe it'll be something where Lilia, Yuu, and Idia all have to talk some sense into him?

Or maybe Idia will come into play after and have a talk with Malleus about grief? Since Idia is someone who's dealt with way too young and Malleus is gone way too long without experiencing it.

Either way, I personally feel like they're saving the Overblot monster, which is almost definitely Grim, for a "surprise" chapter 8. I know Malleus has been given more focus than the others before their episodes, but I feel like it'd be really unlikely for them to skip out on Malleus' "redemption."

Plus Grim is probably going to overblot immediately after eating Malleus' considering the build up, and that would be a bit too much for one book. Besides, it'd make sense for it to happen when Malleus hasn't had a chance to recover yet, because that future looked rough, and Malleus is so insanely OP it wouldn't make much sense otherwise.

But who knows, maybe the time loop theory is way off base and they'll just tack it on at the end as just another boss battle. I really hope they don't though.

After that though? I have no idea, but I kind of doubt it'll just be NRC slice of life. Especially because that'd mean a lot of fan favorites leaving, but maybe they'll bring in new first years just for the gacha aspect?

I think it'd be really lame to lose the characters we've come to know just to get generic slice of life without them though, because it wouldn't make sense for anyone else to start overblotting.

Some people think maybe we'll start solving RSA's problems instead, which would also give them more gacha money I guess.

I don't know what to think, but I hope season 2 is when we try to find out who's causing all of these people start overblotting, something that's supposed to be super rare, and possibly put a stop to it.

We might not even get anything after this, but I feel like disney probably wouldn't kill it's cash cow for no reason like solomare did?