#i love dragan so much

[draganaesfrost]

requiem for a dream 

[apollosaro]

hand-eye coordination

[hsrlanedefencesquad]

Ok so I've finally played the haze story and the premier was ok, nothing special, nothing bad about it (same way I've always felt about alice's other books so maybe this writing style just doesn't resonate with me) but I still have high hopes for this story...it has so much opportunity to get better

Things I didn't like:

Alice should have explored on Lada and veraya's relationship more, they didn't feel close to me, so much so that I wasn't moved by the sister's death at all

Dragan - what's this guy's problem??? No seriously, I hate this "boy is mean to you because he secretly likes you" CHILDISH ASS TROPE. It's not even a sort of dislike that I can digest from a red flag, no he is full on being mean and insulting & looks like he hates mc with every fiber of his being (I mean he literally clenches his jaw when he sees her coming) I don't like this (and this is coming from someone who loves romancing red flags) I really hope he has a GREAT excuse for why he acts that way other than he has a secret crush on her or else that would be stupid and I will use all my diamonds in making him miserable anyway I can

I was really expecting better from an RC writer not to do this annoying ass trope ESPECIALLY because GOE has already done it and it was no less ANNOYING...like what's going on with the "Boy is mean to you because he secretly likes you & you think he is in love with your dead twin sister but he is actually in love with you" trope?? Did Alice just take inspiration from anastasia's cas route or did a book recently blow up in book twt that had this trope, making other authors go crazy & venture into it or what?! Stop it, it's annoying & childish 🫵🏾

It's just been 2 episodes and I can already see that Lada has little to no backbone, why did anastasia write Lada being in love with that dragan idiot as the canon?? No like even on the determined/stubbornness path....Lada just keeps blushing like a fool thinking about dragan immediately after the idiot says the most insulting thing about her ever, even when I hadn't taken diamond choices with him, she was already blushing?? I hate my mcs being canonically in love with a character especially when said character is a jerk

Not only that but she also seems pathetic over him too, she obsesses over any little interaction her twin sister has with him, EVEN IN HER DEATH & FUNERAL, like what??? your sister just died and the main thing that made you finally drop a tear was whether dragan's gift was sincere or because he liked your sister so he gave you a gift because she asked.....like I would have been able to accept her having a crush on that idiot if she hated herself for it too or had strong internal monologues struggling with liking someone who despises her, like girl have some dignity please. I don't think I have found any mc so pathetic (in how she treats her romantic feelings aspect) in just 2 episodes.....plus she just feels so empty written (yes it has only been 2 episodes so we can't know much about her but still) it feels like there isn't even anything to know about her and please don't bring up lane because that is a very differently written character, she is written as cold and apathetic but we still could feel out her personality but lada? she isn't even described as being cold or empty, just average yet she still feels so.....meh

(I will humbly offer my apologies and give Alice all the praise if she progresses in the upcoming episodes, please note this isn't my analysis for the WHOLE story just this 2 little episodes so yes I do know there is still room for more and I am excitedly waiting on it. This is not a hate post)

Good thing I can say about Lada is that all her sprites are pretty and even though she feels bad about being average compared to her sister, she doesn't go the pick-me "woe is me, oh look at me I'm not like other girls route or develop some grudge or inferiority complex towards her sister for being better that her, No she accepts the way she is and instead find something else she loves doing that makes her whole)

The races

I either don't have eyes or I'm delusional because let me tell you, I haven't seen ONE black character in this story yet that was all the russians could complain of, either racists are that obsessed with black people that they pretty much see them every where, they aren't or there are some hidden characters that maybe I didn't see because where are the black people everyone was talking about? Only black person I saw was the opportunity to choose your mc's sprite

Infact, the race that I kept on seeing was asian (this also seemed weird to me but I googled it and it says slavic people extended to some parts of asia so they rightfully belong there & I don't really know what the russians have to complain about)

[malbontesmrs]

No spoilers review of the update:

I think it’s time for me to admit that Alice is my favourite writer on the app. I’m so happy to have another currently updating story to be excited about (ATHWTU) after a three month slump of feeling overall meh about the updates. I loved it, I’m invested. I have done a whole character analysis of Lada and I will fight anyone that hurts her (and in the case of Dragan, probably kiss him too 😅)

ABH, Soulless and HSR (especially) were pretty good this update too. I could take or leave the KFS update (which is disappointing because it was one of my faves) and I’m not super wowed by SCN yet, though I’m early into it (edit: it was better than I was expecting!). I’m still anxiously awaiting LS&E but I know how complicated that finale has to be for the writers and developers so it doesn’t bother me too much it’s not out yet. I haven’t ventured into the new story yet but tbh Jester isn’t my favourite writer so I’m not in any rush.

Anyway, prepare yourselves for an influx of ATHWTU art I guess 😂.

[art-that-fucks-you-up-tournament]

SET TWO - ROUND THREE - MATCH ONE

"Diary Page" (1953 - Frida Kahlo) / "Dead of Night" (? - Dragan Bibin)

DIARY PAGE: This is the page of her diary from the night before her surgery to amputate her foot. It is the origin of her quote, "feet, what do I need you for, when I have wings to fly?". The quote is used often kind of flippantly I feel, but seeing it illustrated on the page, the blood-red watercolor dripping behind it, the thorns snaking out of the calf, the pedestalization of the feet, contorted almost in a dance step, even as one is severed? It's powerful to me. This image is the lockscreen on my phone, and has been for almost 5 years. I saw this diary page a couple of years back in person at a frida kahlo exhibit in nyc. Though small it commands respect in person.  This piece makes me feel so so many things. Mainly the will to keep going. When I see this drawing on my lockscreen, it's like hearing a voice directly in my ear saying, "you have to keep going. You simply have to. It will hurt but you must keep going forward". The quote is so powerful to me-- imagining knowing the pain and loss immediately ahead of you and laughing in the face of misery, insisting on taking something so painful and turning it into beauty. (This is such a crass oversimplification of Kahlo, her ethos and her work, I'm sorry, there is so so much more, but that is what moves me most about this art piece.) There is more I feel from this piece-- fascination with the desire to turn pain into beauty, questions about whether her feet here are meant to mimic a dance step, or even the crucifixion, joy and rage and despair and love and hope-- but I can't reasonably go into ALL of it. Let it just be said that while I don't think this is Frida Kahlo's most interesting or impressive piece (she has done SO MUCH, SO WELL) , it is the one closest to my heart. (sepulchral-pulchritude)

DEAD OF NIGHT: -scary -no seriously where the fuck does that rope lead?? -cute dog (unendingballofstress)

("Diary Page" is a page from Frida Kahlo's diary from 1953.

"Dead of Night" is an oil on canvas painting by Serbian artist Dragan Bibin that measures 50 x 80 cm (20 x 31 in).)

[sepublic]

I love the Castlevania show, but I can't help but be miffed by how much of the source material and colorful bestiary the show tends to ignore in favor of more vampires. I love characters such as Striga and Morana, but then you've got fairly generic ones like Dragan or Nikolai, who are just there to be obstacles and don't have any real personality themselves.

It's just a little confusing, because why do the writers keep trying to come up with OCs when they have plenty to pull from the actual games? In the games, vampires themselves are actually very rare; They're usually only represented by endgame bosses like Dracula, Bartley, Brauner, etc. Otherwise, the vast majority of enemies are night creatures, ghosts, haunted suits of armor, and the like.

But instead of embracing the weirder monsters like the Minotaur or Werewolves, the Castlevania show keeps defaulting to regular old vampires who are basically just humans with pointy ears and teeth. The show keeps defaulting to Vampire melodrama, like it's trying to emulate other pieces of Vampire media, instead of embracing what sets Castlevania apart from those stories. It has a concerning lack of weird castle exploration for a show called Castlevania.

Skeletons only appear in one scene, and I'm sorry but a common staple of a series should not be reduced to a mere fanservice cameo. It's like the Resident Evil live-action films making everything about zombies and reluctantly including a Licker as the ultimate monster. It's like if the Super Mario Bros. Movie barely had Goombas, they made the show too normal from the source material.

That isn't to say the source material is a perfect narrative, far from it; It can get pretty damn repetitive at times, especially with certain character roles and dynamics. I'll die on the hill that Annette's reimagining was justified, and Ortega and Hugh Baldwin are admittedly less interesting versions of Maxim Kischine.

The repetition makes sense! Castlevania's priority is gameplay, and each installment is meant to be its own thing. But when you're doing it as a TV show, a story, and having each story arc play a part in a larger narrative, you have to mix things up in terms of story and characterization, because you can't rely on different gameplay mechanics and levels to differentiate entries in an animated show.

But all that said, it's tiring how much the show will ignore aspects that wouldn't conflict with the writing at all in favor of more generic vampires. I don't want to see vampire politics and melodrama, but it's infinitely more interesting if its melodrama and politics between slimes and minotaurs!

I dunno, it feels like the show is limiting itself on an aesthetical level. What difference does it make in terms of writing if there's a flying Medusa head, or an Axe Armor? I think the writers are afraid of coming across as 'corny' as if Castlevania itself isn't crazy and anime as hell, but this just makes them come across as lacking sincerity. It's like how people complained about a bunch of 2000's movie adaptations of superheroes watering down everything to be more 'serious' and 'realistic' and 'believable', but it just made it grey and boring and cut away what made it unique.

The writers could've easily replaced characters like Dragan with, say, Sir Grakul from Super Castlevania IV, or had freakish looking night creatures be the ones to monologue (instead of treating Flyseyes as the one exception). There's acceptable departures from the source material, and then there's just straight up ignoring it, and then going out of its way to make up new things when stuff is already there to use. It's not as if the animators struggle with animating non-humanoid beings, considering how many unique night creatures they've come up with. So can we please stop being lowkey embarrassed of the source material???

It'd honestly make the show so much more memorable if we got to see Richter fighting a Skull Knight or Mummy. It's just so much wasted potential, especially when they ignore game Richter's compelling narrative of a Fallen Hero, in favor of making up something completely different. I can understand revising protagonists who barely have anything to them, like John Morris from Bloodlines, but Richter HAD a meaningful storyline to expand on, and one that deconstructs his role as a vampire hunter!

Given the show's attempts to be a grittier deconstruction and its suggestion that killing vampires isn't 100% good, I don't know why they didn't go with the idea of Knight Templar Richter whose desire to be needed in battle leaves him vulnerable to Shaft's brainwashing. The deeper, character-driven writing does not have to be mutually exclusive from fantastical and weird elements.

[i-willstealyourtoes]

Ahhhhhh I have a thing I wanna ask, the heisters + Bain with an super cuddly S/O?? Pls I just wanna cuddle them, like AAAAAAAAAA-

Yes, I've decided it's time to write for (almost) everyone, excluding Jiro, Rust, Ethan, Hila, Bodhi and Dragan because I'm not good with them. These ones will probably be smaller than usual, since there's so many of them lol-

Bain + Heisters with a cuddly s/o

Bain

- Since usually Bain stays in the shadows (like a little teen emo) he's not used to the whole... attention thing

- Like... at all

- He's a little shy/flustered about it at first

- 'H-hey, what're you- Oh. Heh, okay...'

- He doesn't know how to respond other than to hug back

- But he grows to like it

- He only realises how much he actually enjoys it when you aren't there

- Like, if you're a heister, you obviously can't be there the entire time, you've got work!

- After a hour or two, he's like 'I need hugs oml help'

- He's too embarrassed to actually ask for them, because he's not used to feeling so loved and touch-starved

- He just kind of... gets near to you to indicate it 💀

- He has to fight the urge to call you over for 'something urgent' so he can hug you :)

- (Everyone knows that he's lying though)

- '(Y/n)! Bain needs you!' (Dallas or something)

- 'For something important this time? Or...is he just being clingy again...' (you)

- In all seriousness he low-key needs to hold back because the amount of times you've been called over just for this-

- I mean, you like hugs so it's okay tbh-

Dallas

- Is not embarrassed at all

- He proudly hugs you back

- I mean why should he be shy about having an awesome partner like you???

- If anyone judges him about it, he just brushes it off as jealousy

- (It almost always is anyway)

- 'Hey, you're just jealous my partner's better than yours!'

- If anyone makes fun of you, they better prepare for his wrath

- But yeah, he's kind of into PDA himself anyway (though not as much as you)

- So he was gonna hold your hand and stuff even if you didn't initiate it

- No matter how much you do it, he always feels butterflies when you hug him

Hoxton

- I think he usually isn't much for PDA himself

- But he doesn't mind when you do it

- It's just something he doesn't do often by default

- Even though he enjoys your hugs a lot so

- I'm ngl, he becomes a little grouchy if you're not available to hug/haven't hugged him in a while

- ('Where's my hug at' mf 💀)

- Like Bain, he won't admit it, he'll just... gesture to you that he wants to

- Either that or he'll just hug you himself

- According to him though, it apparently 'doesn't feel the same when he starts it'

- It's kinda funny just seeing him kind of gesture to you

- Please tease him about it that'd be really funny

Clover

- Like the previous two, she is obviously not shy about this

- Similar to Hoxton, I don't think she's super big on PDA, but she likes doing it now and then

- Absolutely adores the way you just come up to her to cuddle

- Like... awww

- 'Awh, c'mere love..!'

- Will actually fight anyone who comments on it (in a negative manner)

- 'What'd you say about my partner?! I swear to christ-'

- Okay be careful unless you want her to actually beat up a dude

- She can't help it okay, she just doesn't want you to be hurt

Duke

- Usually isn't one for PDA

- It's not like he's embarrassed, it's just...

- He doesn't think of it ig? It doesn't come to mind tbh

- He doesn't mind the hugs, he'll hug back with no problems

- Even in public he has no issue with you coming up to hug

- He won't do it himself though

- He's much more of a private dude ig?

- If anyone actually bullies you about it, he will defo be mad

- 'Since when was it your business to meddle in my relationship?!'

- He's usually quite protective of you so :]

Houston

- He enjoys and actively participates in PDA usually

- Though he just does it casually, like a hand on the leg/thigh or an arm resting on your shoulder

- Not to say he doesn't enjoy the hugs you get

- He really enjoys them

- The feeling of being loved enough to just willingly prove it in front of everyone

- He loves it so much I stg-

- In the start he was probably very flustered about the surprise hugs

- Especially if they're from behind or something

- 'H-hey! What-What're you doing?!'

- (Bro's a cutie patootie 💀)

- Eventually he gets used to it and isn't as flustered

- He still gets a little pink in the face though-

- If you ask, he will deny it 100%

- 'What do you mean? I- I don't know what you're talking about...!'

- He has no issues hugging you back so dw about that :)

- If anyone teases you, he will defend fr fr

- 'Hey, how about you shut your single ass up!?'

Sydney

- She's kind of like Houston???

- Expect her to have an arm around you or hand on yours, etc...

- Doesn't opt for a hug usually, but welcomes it anytime :)

- 'Did ya miss me or something babe?'

- Absolutely adores the attention fr, she will accept said hug whenever-

- Feel free to hold on to her whilst she draws or something !!

- If someone teases you about it, Sydney will absolutely hit them or something

- Either she'll make fun of them for being single or she'll actually hit them 💀

- 'Don't worry babe, they're just jealous I've got a partner and they don't!'

Bonnie

- I feel like Bonnie also likes PDA

- Even if she doesn't, she definitely doesn't get shy/embarrassed when you hug her

- Like why would she be embarrassed about having a loving partner????

- Hugs back with absolutely no issues whatsoever

- If anyone judges you she won't hesitate to square up fr

- 'If I hear another word out of your mouth, I'm gonna bash your head on this table!'

- Protective girlfriend slay we love that

- She'll literally threaten a man one moment then immediately go back to hugging you the next

- The duality is impeccable girl

Jimmy

- Absolutely adores the hugs

- He enjoys the PDA, and actively participates in it when possible

- Anything like holding hands, an arm on the shoulder, head pats or hugs!

- Although his hugs are more like... clinging on kind of stuff-

- (Like a koala or something 💀)

- It doesn't matter when or where, he will always have room for your hugs :)

- You could probably hug him in the middle of a fight and he'd still reciprocate

- He'd just have to hug with one hand shoot with the other 💀

- Would probably go feral if someone bullied you about your behaviour

- Okay maybe not feral but definitely aggressive

- 'Hey, and how about you shut up?!'

- Will protect you and your hugs forever fr fr

Sangres

- Is more than happy to receive hugs :D

- Is definitely a PDA guy, but doesn't hug that often???

- Like if you initiate it he has no issue hugging back, it's just something he doesn't initiate himself in public

- He usually opts for hand on the waist, arm around you, kisses, so on...

- Low key off-topic but he'd probably like picking you up so if you ask be prepared to be lifted-

- Will probably reciprocate anytime like Jimmy

- Okay maybe not during fights though?

- If you tried during a fight he'd probably just pat you or something then lightly push you off

- If anyone bullies you about this, they're genuinely so dead bc he will shout every Spanish swear in the book and point a gun at them

Chains

- Uh okay so I feel like he isn't the biggest on PDA, so he might not accept your hugs every time

- Mostly he will, but if it's during a fight he'll probably lightly push you off

- He wants to give the heist his all

- He can't be hugging you in the middle of it :'/

- Not that he doesn't like your affection, he loves it!!

- It's just, he's professional like that lol

- But once the fight is over and you all get home safe???

- Feel free to cling to him he will not complain at all

- Especially when it's just you two, he'll cling to you as well

- Cuddling on the sofa 100% :>

Wolf

- Doesn't matter where or when, he will almost always reciprocate when you hug!

- During heists he probably will have difficulty doing so, as he's literally going insane on the cops fr

- I mean if you're okay with getting blood on yourself then it's probably all good 👌

- OH also, no matter what, it doesn't matter if he knows it's happening, he will always get flustered at your hugs

- It's really cute bc if you hug him and listen to his heart you can tell it gets really fast all of a sudden

- Y'all could be married and he would still get shocked

- Once you're home, he will actually cling to you

- If not by literally hugging, just holding hands or having you within a meter radius is good

- Once you leave that radius he'll follow where you're going like a dog (or wolf)

John Wick

- Is very professional, so no hugs during missions :[

- Will just pry you off and say 'We have a job to do love.'

- He doesn't mean anything rude by it, it's just because he needs his head in the game

- He always gives 100% and he wants you to as well!

- And hugging kind of takes focus and stuff :/

- Although when you both get home safely, he probably still won't reciprocate too much if there are people watching

- Like he won't push you away when you hug him, he'll probably just put one arm around/on you

- However, when it's just you two?

- Will not hesitate to reciprocate and initiate hugs often!

- Hugs from behind are his favourite thing to do :)

Jacket

- Okay so it depends how tough the fight it is tbh

- If it's not going too bad/it's stealth, he'll mostly keep an arm around you when you give him a hug

- If it's getting rough, he'll probably give you a quick pat/ruffle your hair then slide away to focus on fighting (he'll say 'later' or 'focus on the objective')

- Once you two are out of the fight, he'll have no issue hugging back in public

- I think at first he might have gotten a little flustered, but the more you do it the more he expects it (in a /pos way)

- Hugging on his couch, you leaning on him as you snuggle is probably his favourite thing in the world <33

- Will fight/kill anyone who interrupts fr

Sokol

- Will not reciprocate if it's during a heist

- Like John, he wants to give his full attention to the mission, and hugging won't help :'/

- If it's just before the start of the heist/a wave, he'll give a quick squeeze before moving on

- If you successfully pull off a heist, he will pick you up and hold you tight while spinning you around

- No, it doesn't matter if you're bigger than him he will not hesitate to at least try

- 'We did it (Y/n)! Хорошо!' (I'm not good at Russian sorry if it doesn't make sense in this context)

- Once you both get home he doesn't mind hugging back and will also initiate some hugs too!

- He also enjoys hugging/holding you from behind :)

- If it gets you flustered then his day has officially gotten 100% better

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

charlotte!! congrats on your milestone 💚 i would love Vigée Le Brun, mostly because i am always looking for new artists that exude the kind of ~feelings~ i like from art

i love dark and atmospheric works, my favourite artists are francisco goya, jamie (and andrew) wyeth, edward hopper, paul klee, van gogh, and théodore géricault (specifically his anatomical studies on corpses and his work with the mentally ill), and dragan bibin

it has only also just now occurred to me we haven't talked about art lol 💚

visit the art gallery

ahhhh finnie!! thank you so much for the request! you are the first visitor to the gallery and I'm so excited!!!!! 🥰🥰

dark and atmospheric art also holds an incredibly special place in my heart, and all the artists you've listed are so wonderful! I hope I can suggest something that gives you the same vibes 💙

here's a list of artists I think you might like (with more details and images below the cut!)

John Atkinson Grimshaw

Leonora Carrington

Odilon Redon

William Blake

John Atkinson Grimshaw (Thro' the Woods and Roundhay Park Lake)

I picked Grimshaw for you because he has these lovely, haunting nighttime landscapes that are both beautiful and unsettling. the darkened trees and lingering mist seem to engulf the small, featureless figures as they traverse deeper into the darkness. these are two of my favorite examples, but he has many others in this genre as well!

Leonora Carrington (The Ancestor and Self-Portrait in Orthopedic Black Tie)

on the more abstract/surrealist side, I picked Carrington. she is such a compelling yet very under-studied artist who painted in a surrealist style for most of her career. for me, surrealism is often an "I love it or I hate it" kind of thing, and I love Carrington's work. her pieces really give off that dark vibe that is kind of creepy and slightly off-putting, yet also make you want to lean in closer and figure out the story behind the images. there's that element of both horror and fascination, which is why I think you might like her art.

Odilon Redon (The Eye, Like a Strange Balloon, Moves Toward Infinity and Mystery

Odilon Redon was actually quite heavily inspired by Goya, so he seems like a great fit for you! just like Goya, he was a prolific printmaker as well as a painter, and he produced tributes to other artists like Goya and even writers like Edgar Allan Poe (the first image here comes from his tribute to Poe). he was a symbolist artist, and his art is just really fucking weird (affectionate). there's darkness, there's horror, there's weird uses of color, there's strange, indistinct spaces, featureless figures, and just this sort of nebulous floaty-ness to many of his works. not only do I think you'll like him because he was inspired by Goya, but also because of this kind of whimsy and weirdness he mixes with horror elements.

William Blake (Ancient of Days and Hekate)

although he is much better known as a poet today (he's the "tiger tiger burning bright" guy), Blake was also an artist and illustrated his own poems as well as other works such as Dante's Inferno. his work feels almost symbolist, but about 100 years earlier. he was close to being a contemporary of Goya, and I think you can definitely see some resemblances in his art. at the time, his work was considered the product of "madness" and "visions," and it certainly has an eerie, otherworldly quality to it. kinda like Redon, some of it is just plain weird. I picked Blake both because of his resonances with Goya, but also the strange, mystical, and terrifying worlds he creates in his art.

I hope this was interesting/fun/helpful and that you found a new artist or artwork to explore further!

again, thank you so much for the request! 🥰

love and hugs,

charlotte 💙

[crispy-bonnie]

YESS I loved your rejection prompts! How about for the payday gang?? The concept of betrayal is prominent in the payday storyline (especially for Bain, who has apparently been betrayed all his life)

As for characters, I would say to write for your favorites :) ooo ooo CHAINS chains also he needs more love (more angst)

guess who's back bitches !! i'm gonna take writing a lot slower because i'm still having a bit of writer's block , but requests will be up and running again !! i also plan on making some catch-up posts for houston , bain , and chains ! gotta give them some love too :]

You reject them — THE PAYDAY GANG

Dallas

He thought you accepted the confession when he saw a rose and letter on his desk

But his heart dropped when he realized that it was the same rose he had given to you, but now it was wilted due to lack of care

Dallas eventually read the letter and oml he was doing his damndest not to sob

He put a lot of effort just attempting to stage the confession but his fears ended up being reality

After this? Isolation, as per usual.

He did a lot more stealth heists alone, wouldn’t talk to anyone. If someone tried to have a conversation with him, he would do his best to walk away or he’d be really dismissive

Bombards himself with work. Like…A LOT. In an attempt to distract himself

He ends up forgetting his basic needs and he has to be dragged out by Wick and Dragan

Dallas even considers leaving the Payday gang. He couldn’t seem to find a reason to stay anymore

TDLR: Isolation and depression

Wolf

Literally holding back tears when you said you weren't interested

"Yeah no I understand I'm gonna go back to my workspace now okaybye"

Wick was confused when he saw Wolf stumble into the room and nearly slam his face against his desk whilst sobbing

After a nice little crying-fest, he'll immediately start to distract himself by tending to his tech

He'll also drag Hoxton with him to Jimmy's bar to start sobbing his eyes out again while having a shit ton of beer [when you're not at the safe house of course]

Wolf got so fucking drunk that he nearly set the fuckin safe house on fire

Hoxton has to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't do it again

Overall an unstable mess. Not violent, but definitely bad

Hoxton

What

No seriously

What the fuck

Hoxton's expression immediately drops once he heard you deny his confession

After that he just kinda left you and the entire picnic there

Unlike Wolf and Dallas, he ends up being aggressive about it

He goes on a lot more heists to take his aggression out elsewhere, but will sometimes slip and end up taking it out on you or someone else

Once he's done with the heists, his immediate impulse is to head to the nearest store and buy a shit ton of beer

So when he heads back to the safe house, the escape van is just packed with beer instead of cash [which annoys the heisters quite a lot]

Has gotten drunk and very violent during this time period

Eventually calms back down and slows down on the alcohol consumption, but is still generally upset over the whole rejection thing

He had put in so much effort only for you to answer with a no

He'll never not be mad about that

Sokol

After Sokol explained his feelings, he was literally fucking MORTIFIED when you said you didn't feel the same

Starts apologizing profusely, and once he's done with that, he does his best not to interact with you after that

The rest of the game is awkward, the drive home is awkward, and everything after that is pretty awkward

Even if you do actually manage to warm back up to him again, he's still embarassed about it

If any of the heisters know about it and try to bring it up in any way, it'll result in a very angry Sokol having to be dragged away from a bloodied and beaten heister

However, if you're the one to bring it up, he'll just be sitting there trying not to have a damn heart attack

Sokol might even be teary as well. He feels so awful for doing that, and he wishes he hadn't even invited you to that game

Clover

So when Clover wakes up and is going through that hangover, she pales and fucking panics when you mention what she did last night

She tries to apologize but you just dismiss it since you knew that she was drunk

But since you didn't say that you reciprocated those feelings, it still had her worried

After that initial period of worry, she ends up being depressed as all fuck

Like Wolf, she'll hang around Jimmy's bar and get drunk about it, more so than usual

She'll be sitting there sobbing while Bobblehead Bob has to sit there and be a therapist for the duration that she's there

Clover can't even be in charge of security anymore because of how drunk she gets

She doesn't change much even after the fact

Just gets drunk at any moment she possibly can

Jacket

Rather than staying on the rink with him for the duration of the couples' skating, you instead actually pull away from him and leave the rink

Sydney had a fuckin mortified look on her face while she stared at the scene for a moment before focusing on the pizza she was munching

Jacket kinda just stood there, disappointed as you left, now staring down at the tape recorder with the special tape he had in specifically to confess to you

He took that tape out and dropped it onto the ground before crushing it with one of his rollerskates

Jacket then left the rink to go and join you and Sydney in having some pizza while the couples skated around, leaving the crushed tape there

After the whole fiasco happened, he didn't seem to change

He wasn't as aggressive during heists, he wasn't reclusive to anyone, he just remained as normal as ever

Okay well

Maybe not

Y'know how he has special lines for certain heisters? I like to think he has special mixtapes that he uses whenever they come around

Yeah well

Your's was crushed and burned. He never responds to anything you say either

He acknowledges that you say it, but never responds. Not even with a gesture.

[dennydraws]

I'm unsure to get Unicorn Overlord since I like Fire Emblem but generally dislike other strategy RPG games (I didn't enjoy Triangle Strategy). Would you recommend it?

Oh boy... I'd want to say absolutely but I will try to describe pros and cons as best as I can without any spoilers first :D

First off, you have to know what makes you like FE as a game?

Second well, I too didn't really like Triangle Strategy even though I did my share of fan arts... okay I only drew Dragan a lot lol....

Gameplay

Overlord Unicorn uses gambit system (it was my first time hearing that!) so you don't move individual characters, you assign the characters into a unit and the whole fight is automatic (though it still has some rng involved.)

You assign skills and can tweak conditions to them, which can be a lot of fun if you are into min maxing or want to experiment and optimize. I did some tweaking and played on medium difficulty (?) and had no issues, if anything it started to feel too easy after a while.

It is real time movement and not like with how FE has turns. It can seem scary or maybe overwheling if you're not used to such systems. I adapted very, very fast. I didn't feel any weird difficult curves and everything flowed very nicely.

The menu may seem very overwhelming at first because it is very busy ...but after an hour or two of gameplay, the menu and the whole UI felt like some well designed work of art and became very intuitive.

Open world

Unlike FE, here you can roam and explore and do side quests and find treasures, restore areas you liberated... it has a lot of small activities which I loved to do between battles. So the game felt a lot more relaxing and fun to me because it wasn't just cutscene > battle > cutscene battle. You can tackle regions out of order and pretty much can go into the final battle right away if you really want to!

Story!

Hokaaay so... A lot of people do say TS had better story and I think yes, but UO felt way more satisfying to me. At the end of a game, I want to feel satisfied not conflicted or bittersweet or feel like "ah if only this or that happened". But if you are more into realistic outcomes and an idealistic finale doesn't vibe with you then you may cringe at some parts.... or you can of course just execute everyone you see if you rather do that!

You do get very basic beat bad guy, liberate area, reclaim your home kingdom so it's not anything over dramatic or gut punching. If you like a character, chances are you will recruit them. Nearly every enemy you bump at you end up recruiting (as long as you don't execute or jail) so at least no surprise your favorite died I guess? :D;;;;

I don't want to spoil but you do get some nifty lore and explanation on why bad guys do the bad things and while simple, I really enjoyed it.

The romance in the air! (or not)

Okay I will be a little blunt, that's not the kinda game for that xD;

It's heavily biased towards hetero couples and the male options are like none. Nearly all if not all of the female ones end up romantic and become Alain's queen. It's obvious what the target is here. Nothing that can stop the power of fanfiction or fan art though!

Other characters than Alain don't really get affected by the amount of rapport conversations so you don't really ship other characters like in FE games and their endings don't get affected by how much their rapport developed.

Personally, I saw the maiden ring as fancy status accessory and just slapped it on my favorite character and moved on. Lore wise, it is important and you do get 2 variations of the ending where your chosen maiden ring bearer plays a bigger role.

About the jiggly wigglies

I don't know how you feel about fan service but it sure has some of them jiggle mechanics on some female character! It's not too bad and it doesn't feel out of place given how...everything kinda jiggles. (the food especially!) so it didn't personally bother me but I know some people may side glance it so I thought to bring it up.

Final thoughts?

I am not sure... If you pick it with more open mind without trying to compare it to FE, I think you may enjoy it.

My final thoughts on UO is that I felt extremely valued as a player. Again, I try to avoid spoilers but I could see where they thought "lets add this" or "lets give that" to make the experience more fun/smooth/enjoyable. My perception is slightly wrapped as someone who has experience working in game development, I can tell when a dev team put thought and tested things and when a dev team just wanted to meet a deadline and publish something. This game is not the later.

I read it took 10 years to make this game and it kinda shows with the amount of polish it has. But I also don't want to set some extremely high expectations just because I had so much fun. xD;

Maybe download the demo, see how it is and if you think it's your cup o tea, grab it on sale!

I hope this helped some! ^o^7

[thewritetofreespeech]

Yooo open asks!! Could I get Castlevania HCs for Varney, Ratko and Dragan? If you write for them, that is. I'm wondering how they would cope / handle having a human lover, and maybe how their relationship would work were it not for the war? Thank you, I love your work so much. It's rare to see writers for the more background characters of CV ^^

Varney

As Varney, he would be very cheeky & commiserating to his human partner. He likes toying with people and creatures of the human world. It’s a fun past time.

As Death, he has no patience for humans. Their greed. Their pettiness. Their pathetically short lives where they bow and scrap and whine and piss is an annoyance he can only tolerate in the thinnest sense so he can eat. It he didn’t need souls, if he didn’t need death, he would have no use for humans at all.

Ratko

Never gonna happen. At the very best there might be some bar maid/bar fly he’s fond of. Their sassy come backs and ‘fuck the world’ attitude is something he appreciates. He would never take a human lover, but when he slaughters the town (since that’s why he’s there) he will spare them.

Dragan

He does not have the same delusion of his exulted Dracula. Would keep them as a pet, and nothing more. Though a person can love their pets, cherish them, keep them safe, they are not equals.

[space-spring]

14, 15, 16, and 23 for the Triangle Strategy Ask Game!

14. Favorite Soundtrack?

I was SO hoping someone would ask this because the soundtrack for tri strat goes so hard hahaha. I think my overall favorite has gotta be "Combat -Destiny-" because DANG that opening and the moment the guitar comes in is so so so good!!!! It's also the song that plays during the level you fight in the gardens against Avlora, which is one of my favorites. But I do also really enjoy just the plain battle prep song, "Arise, Warriors." It's the first song I think of when I think of Tri Strat's ost, and it's just got such a fun oomph to it.

Also side note but the composer for Triangle Strategy is Akira Senju, the same guy who did Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood! "Crimson Might" in particular is one I listen to and always go ":D :D :D FMA music!!!!"

15. Favorite character dynamic and relationship (and why)?

Avlora and Cordelia probably have my favorite dynamic! I have so many thoughts and feelings about their relationship and how they think of each other. Watching as Avlora went on the journey of "hmph. a spoiled princess from a corrupt royal family" > "if she wants to ask questions I suppose I'll answer" > "hey. hold on. she's really struggling. am I supposed to just sit back and watch?" > "I'm going to die for you actually" was so fun and cool, and similarly I love seeing Cordelia reach out to her more and more for advice and help. I go a little insane every time I think about how much Cordelia comes to emulate Avlora in a lot of ways (standing up for herself, dedicating herself to her duty, even her whole Self-sacrifice spell is really similar to Avlora's Reckless Maneuver).

They're just so so so cool both as individuals and as a team. I mentioned in the other ask that I think about their relationship as platonic/familial, and it really gets to me when I think about the fact that neither of them have really had a ton of familial support during their lives (Avlora due to the whole being an orphan thing, and Cordelia just for being the youngest of three children who kind of got underestimated and ignored). I think both of them really genuinely want the other to be happy and to provide that support that neither of them ever had and. it just makes me feel real normal about it all.

16. Any headcanons you enjoy?

I mentioned the Maxwell thing on a different ask, but I also have a ton of worldbuilding-type headcanons that I'm really fond of!! One of my favorites is the idea that, since salt is pretty rare, Norzelia probably turned to other methods of preserving food. One common way to do this is through sticking low-water-content fruits/vegetables in honey, THUS I propose that Glenbrook in particular (no Source and no snowy mountains to keep food frozen) has a prolific beekeeping industry we just happen to never hear about. (I also think a lot about the fact that people in Aesfrost for instance have probably never eaten a tomato before but probably have had ice cream at least once)

23. Any unpopular opinions?

Hmmm okay not sure if this is an unpopular opinion so much as an uncommon experience but I didn't actually feel that bad when Dragan died the first time around. I saw other people posting about how crushed they were that he died and I kinda went "........... the guy who got wasted at a party, attempted to threaten his own home country into giving him power, and then lied directly to Frederica, Roland, and Serenoa's faces about it? I'm always down for a little treason but c'mon he wasn't even GOOD at it"

He's definitely grown on me since then though, especially since we later on get to see more of just how much Svarog loved him + how much helping his dad must have been a part of Dragan's decision to do what he did. And on subsequent playthroughs I was able to pay more attention to how much he cared about Frederica and Serenoa by extension. I still think he's not good at the whole treason thing but that's part of his charm and I love him for it <3

[loregoddess]

1, 13, and 16 for the TriStrat ask meme?

1. Favorite Playable Character/Unit? Oh, definitely Corentin. Love that guy. I'm also super fond of Anna, as she was one of my favorites in the main storyline and also my MVP in battle. I basically like all the playable characters though, everyone was super unique in battle and offered a lot of different ways to form strategies, but also the range of characters was really fun and I enjoyed their story stuff a whole lot as well.

13. Were there any npcs you wish were recruitable? It would literally make no sense, not a single bit of sense, negative sense in fact, for the overall story, but damn do I wish we got Dragan as a playable character. He was just so, so interesting for the few scenes he got and I would have loved to see more of him. Unfortunately the entire story could not work at all as it does without him dying, so...

That said I wouldn't have turned my nose up at a playable Svarog either. I think he would have been really fun to play with that big warhammer he has, but it also would have been interesting to see how his character was explored further in the character stories.

16. Any headcanons you enjoy? Oh boy, if you feel up to it I've actually written out quite a few headcanons (here, here, and here), but of these my favorite is the silly "Corentin invents refrigeration".

For new headcanons though, I've been turning Clarus's characterization over in my head for a few months now, and like, he's such a weird character. Because I played the morality and golden route endings first, (and also never discovered the secret fight club in either of those runs), I got to see the best side of Clarus first, and was therefore very confused by the fact that he looks like a villain in his official art. When I checked out the other two endings (as well as the fight club route option earlier in the game), I figured out why he was probably designed to look like the greediest most scheming merchant who ever schemed. That all said, I still think it's really strange that he was so willing to help Serenoa and Frederica in the morality/golden routes with breaking the Roselle out of the Source, so much so that he endured what is heavily implied to be torture at Kamsell's hands (in the golden route at least).

Now, Clarus does side with Hyzante in the liberty route, but only after Benedict makes it impossible for Clarus to side with Serenoa--so I'm still sort of "wild mass speculation, waving hands at a corkboard with pins and strings on it" here, and this is half theory half wild headcanon, but like. I think Clarus might have had some connection to the Roselle, in some way, that makes him so sympathetic to Frederica's cause, and so willing to go to extreme lengths to help them escape the Source. Like he is very much the sort of character who looks out for himself first and foremost, who's only interested in profit, except when it comes to trying to free the Roselle, and the only thing I can imagine is that maybe he knew a Rosellen person, maybe even loved them, and then lost them.

So uh, yeah, that's my wild theory/headcanon for the day. I still haven't finished letting it stew, so sorry for being a bit scattered there, but uh, *finger snaps* yeah.

[arc-of-smiles]

Do you have any favorite shippings in Yu-Gi-Oh!? I see you have favorite characters, but I can't find anything about shippings.

hiya! idk why i never put my fave ships down. i remember when i was going to, but i never did.

well, that being said i ship a lot of things so like... yeah. i think it's bc i don't wanna name everything i ship but idk. i can't really remember the reason why. but i can tell you some of my ships! i'll just name some from each series.

dm: deathshipping (yami marik x ryou bakura), chaseshipping (tristain taylor/hiroto honda x duke devlin/ryuji otogi), puzzleshipping/blindshipping (yami yugi/atem x yugi), puppyshipping (joey wheeler/katsuya jounouchi x seto kaiba), and of course theifshipping bc they're basically canon. i also enjoy anzu/miho too... bc miho deserves love. again, this isn't all of my ships, if you're curious i'm like... hella into deathshipping LMAO.

gx: rivialshipping gx (jaden/judai x chazz/jun), idolshipping (fubuki/atticus x zane/ryo), kenzan/shou, jim/jun, medici/samejima, johan/edo. i love johan/edo so much, i loved them for YEARS. since i was a child. jim/jun is one of my new fave ships, i think they would be funny and cute <3. idolshipping on top (imo), i loooove fubuki/ryo, i want them to be HAPPY.

5ds: crow/aki, yusei/aki, jack/carly, yusei/kiryu, yusei/bruno, harald/brave/dragan. when i was younger i was super into bruno/kiryu but not so much now. i think they're still cute! but i'm not as into them as now. i swear to god i had more 5ds pairings but i haven't seen it in a bit so my mind is a bit hazy. carly/misty lived in my mind rent free when i was a kid too. i thought they were great. again, i can't think of anything lmao.

zexal: HELLSHARK, i fucking love hellshark. they've been my fave since i was a child and god they make me insane. yuma/astral, mizael/durbe, rio/kotori, iii/gilag, v/kaito, alito/vector. i love ewjhfbwe yuma/astral, they make me wanna cryyyy. and and wejhfbwe mizael/durbe??? I LOVE THEM, but damn hellshark makes me so fucking insane (iv/ryoga)

arc-v: reiji/yuya, yugo/rin, yuto/shun, yuzu/masumi, dennis/yuri, yuto/ruri, dennis/shun, shun/kaito, sawatari/gongenzaka, yuya/sawatari, reiji/sawatari, reiji/yuya/sawatari, crow/shinji, wjehfbwe. i'm super mentally ill abt dennyuri + reiji/yuya JHBWEFBHWE. and in general, shun ships too. like i love shun so much wejhfwe. yuzu/masumi was actually my first arc-v ship!!! so they're still very dear to me <3 <3.

crossover: the ONLY one i'm not embarrassed abt sharing is bruno/jun. i love them so much, like i'm not even joking. they make me SO very happy. yes, it's very random and "crackship" BUT I DON'T CARE I LOVE THEM!!!!! and yes, i do have more crossover ships but wejfhbwe i am shy to share LMAO.

DISCLAIMER: i am a multishipper, and these are like... not all of my ships. basically: if i think they look cute/good/have enough chemistry (or brainrot potential) together, i will most likely ship it. i think multishipping fun and it's fun to see a bunch of couples <3.

so i hope this answers your question!!!

[jennibeultimate]

My, very late & unprompted, opinion on Varfolomeev’s case: she’s not the most artistic gymnast in history, but neither Aghamirova, Dragan, Lytra, Santos, Mizuno, Ikromova, Cocsanova, any Ukrainian that’s not Onopriienko, Soldatova and even Kolosov is not in the “usual” sense…people even praised the twins that shall not be named and Kramarenko for their routines! The russia-belarus ban made fans from other ex soviet countries and italy act like russians, thinking they would have won everything and not even thinking that other countries grew in the meanwhile. I actually enjoy Darja’s gymnastics, i love her ball routine sm, and she does everything asked by the code + very high d scores, so acting like she won by bribery or luck when she has said things and crazy consistency is arishadina’s level of pettinesses. Also she’s not even 17 and works very hard to get the scores she gets, she doesn’t deserves the hate and i’ll defend her to the end of time.

Thank you for your opinion!

I think it's completely fine to not think of her as artistic, but to call her scores sh*t for it when there is so much more to a score than a subjective "she's not artistic" is just proving that they don't know what they are talking about. Darja may not be my favorite in this regard either (I enjoy her routines though) but it's still just an opinion. Ppl should accept that her gymnastics is of the highest level. Ppl also act if her wins were a given, when in reality many more gymnasts had a chance to win - I would even say the outcome of the events was one of the most exciting worlds ever as a medal could have been about anyone's in the final - in the end Darja won all 5 titles but it could have turned out differently.

In the end ppl are just petty that their favorite didn't win and they have to tell their disapproval to the whole world because they like others to care about their opinion...

Darja deserves all the best in the world. Darja is a sweet girl and works very hard. I saw couple of interviews in German with her and she is adorable. Btw actually her German is pretty good for living here for just 4 years. And she was very proud of singing the German anthem (a thing most Germans can't even do bc no one actually care s learning it including me), which I also found extremely endearing. Ppl don't realize how little known rg is in Germany and how being an athlete in Germany is not all that easy because education comes first and financially it's nothing you can make a living out, so bribery is something quite laughable bc no one in Germany does actually care if Darja wins medals or not. There wasn't even primetime news reporting on her wins (they however do report about everything related to soccer 😑) , it's sadly just a sidenote on some internet sources. I hope she gets more recognition now that she won all 5 🥇 medals!

Darja deserves her success and I wish her all the best in the world. Any kind of hate towards her is uncalled for and I will also defend her against it.

Ppl will always have favorites and that's fine, anyone can say their opinion, but manners are important and no athlete deserves hate for doing their job, which is doing rhythmic gymnastics on the carpet.

[hoxooster]

HELLO I was referred to you by lilspacewolfie a while ago let’s scream over characters

Btw the au thing I talked to her about ended up rotting until there was nothing left of it in my head and now I’m sad (fantastic)

Anyway I don’t know where I’m going with this shit I love characters so much but uhh socializing isn’t my strong suit which makes me wonder why I’m even sending you this but hey why not ?? :’)

Ok I’m giving up on my social “skills” now (I will most likely be back with more stuff some day)

Well, there are a lot of characters in Payday, and I could probably talk for quite a long time about most of them. So, narrow it down to a few specific ones you wanna discuss, and I'll be happy to oblige you. I got all the random deets and opinions, both my own and others' over the years, bruh. I gotchu. If you want a bit of a taster on that, here's two different asks I answered for my opinions on Duke and Dragan & the Butcher a while ago.

Also, as a bit of writing advice, whenever you have an idea for something, write down a few sentences that go over the major plot points for whatever given thing you want to work on. This will help you to remember what you wanted to write, while also giving you a basic outline to adhere to as you figure out the smaller details to enrichen your story. You can write them down on a piece of paper, put them in the notes section on your phone (if you have that app), text it to yourself, create a Google doc, send yourself/keep a draft of an email with the outline inside, et cetera. The world is full of ways to help you with your writing--especially when it comes to remembering to do it.