#i'm aware it's a valid way to play the game

[candidateofloyalty]

In my mind the Persona trilogy protagonists are all top of their class but their methods and attitudes towards it vary wildly, so like Kotone was a decent student before coming to Tatsumi Port Island but then Mitsuru makes a comment about grades early on and Kotone dedicates herself to becoming top of the class without apparently trying just out of spite. She'll invite the group to Tartarus saying it's to train whoever isn't on the main fighting force but then she spends the whole time listening to audiobooks and vaguely waving her spear at shadows.

Makoto I think has mastered the art of putting in as little effort as possible for a grade. Does one class's homework in another class so he doesn't have to do it at home; half the time this is the period before the homework is due. He knows how to pad an essay and make it look like you're just being thorough about your research, netting you bonus points for less thought. It would be infuriating if he ever called anyone's attention to his scores but he's just coasting along.

Yu is a nerd. This kid organizes study sessions with his friends and takes notes in class and no one thinks twice about his grades because obviously.

Ren wanted to give off that impression when he first arrived at Shujin, visibly studying in the library and all, but he very quickly stops caring about that again now that he has friends and his reputation doesn't matter to him. What he also has is an excellent memory for trivia and a knack for bullshitting. He reads a book about shogi to try to impress Hifumi and two months later he finds a way to make a shogi analogy while explaining something in class that obscures the fact that he's parroting what the teacher just said. (This also drives Akechi crazy, because Akechi will painstakingly decide his stance through research and then Ren will go "well I don't know about that exact thing, but" and then somehow have an angle that Akechi didn't know about. Someday Ren will chain himself through three different fun facts and only hold back from a fourth when Akechi "jokingly" threatens to throttle him.)

[nemesyaaa]

buffalo'66 au ! old!serial killer! rafe x young!sugardoll!reader

warnings : daddy issues/kink. slight of rafe having a god complex. smut. sick love/obssession/behavior. age gap. size kink. gunplay. spit. mean!dark!rafe. mentions of kidnapping/murdering. dark content. be careful with the warnings.

author's note : i think a lot about rafe having a god complex. and the way it could fix him to have a girl who cherish him and love him like he's just the only one. as the same i think a lot of rafe being a cult!leader with a sweet lamb. anyways, enjoy !

you knew you weren't allowed to touch his gun, but you couldn't pretend that the forbidden rules didn't excite you either. the proof being that you were still with rafe even though he had kidnapped you. you had found the glock in the drawer, and now you were having fun with it to the point where you hadn't heard your jailer come home. you were too captivated by the handgun to pay attention to that.

“ will you teach me how to shoot ? ” you asked in a soft tone.

“ obviously not. but i can swear to you that if you don't put the gun right in my hand in a second, i will show you how i use it. especially on a little tiny thing like you. now stop playing and give it to me, sugardoll. i already told you to not get on my nerves. ”

“ are you a serial killer or something ? ” you said to him, not aware about his job.

“ no obviously, i'm a babysitter. see ? how well i care about little silly girls ? ” he answered with the most sarcastic tone. “ i think you already know what i am, but you like playing dumb. because you're desperate for my attention. you need me to explain things, to satisfy your need of validation. that's right ? ”

he moved from his place, and placed himself behind you, your small body caged against his bigger size. you could feel all the pressure of his strength on you, and you started to shiver when his breath came near to your ears.

“ since you want to play with daddy's gun so bad, i'm willing to give you what you want. ”

“ no, i don't want to play anymore ! ”

“ oh i'm afraid to tell it's too easy like that, sugar. the game doesn't stop when you decide. the game stops when i’m done playing. got it ? nod your head if you got it.”

you really started to be his doll, accepting to nod whenever he wants, to use you whenever he feels the need, to move whenever he decides. when you nodded your head, giving him a little look, he grabbed the gun.

“ you will kill me ? don't, i can be good ! ”

“ you can ? no, you will. choose your words better, sugardoll. why are you crying right now ? the worse it yet to come actually. now, open that pretty mouth of yours. ”

you refused, shaking your head. you were terrified that he would kill you.

“ i said open it. if i have to repeat it, i swear that i will snap dry this gun further in your cunt, and everytime a sound will come out your mouth, pushing it deeper inside. do you understand me ? now, don't you want to be a baby sugardoll, full of kindness and sweetness ? show me how sweet and pretty you are for me. and listen to me. ”

with tears on your cheeks, you slowly opened your mouth. you could feel rafe’s smile against your neck. you were so submissive, the perfect victim. he had chosen you well the day he saw you. like a true serial killer, he never missed his prey.

“ this is why you call me sugardoll ? ”

“ see ? i'm good enough to give you a nickname. ”

it was sick but you smiled, you felt like you were special in his eyes. maybe rafe had a collection of little dolls but you felt unique.

“ don't kill me. i'm begging you. ”

“ fuck, you don't know how hard you make me when you're desperate like that. but trust me, i will make you see soon how good you make me feel. it will be your reward for being this sweet for me, sugardoll.”

he spread your legs, holding them wide with his strong hand covering your trembling thigh while his other hand brought the front of the gun down onto your skin. passing the coldness of steel across your tummy, while you shivered at the thought of dying. when he got to your underwear. you had heard his smirk.

"oh sure, you don't want to die. you want to be fucked. it's so wet here, i could stick the gun in without even preparing you, it would slide off so easily.” his mocked tone made you yelp.

“ i'm not controlling myself ! ”

“ and you don't need too. let me take care of you. keep your mouth open. i will put my gun in. ”

“ i can't do this ! it seems very dangerous…”

“ then suck it well, sugar. especially, if you don't want me to empty the gun on your gorgeous throat. ” he warned you, while pressing his lips on your neck. it was not a kiss, but you were so soft for this little touch. you wanted to please him, to see him proud of you.

he rushed the pistol between your wet plump lips, and you almost choked on it. “ be careful, doll, daddy's gun it's loaded. ” he said with a smile that made your tears even saltier.

while you had started to do your job, his fingers were lightly pressed on the surface, fiddled with the trigger. he loved seeing your petrified eyes, he loved feeling your blood freeze inside your veins, the way you resembled a frightened and helpless animal. you were defenseless and he had no limits.

you lapped at the cold metal at first, your tongue rolling over the barrel, swirling like a needy pet, and licking every bit of the object. you didn't waste anything, moistening the weapon with your own spit, some trails dripped down your tits. rafe had pushed the gun farther, almost into your throat. you choked, a trail of saliva raining over your jaw.

there was nothing amusing about it, but he found it fun. you sucked like your life depended on it even though let's be honest, it did. you moved back and forth quickly, rushed every movement with a softly sloppy gasp. he loved, no he adored the view of your ruined face and your mouth stuffed by the cold weapon. your great job made his dick painfully hard. you could feel the gun under your tongue, and the way it abused you. you drooled, a batch of saliva engulfing one side of the charger.

“ slow down, sugardoll, you're about to melt. ”

you felt dirty for being turned on by something so humiliating, the way you were pathetic for every single thing he introduced you to. it was as if he knew what you wanted, and how to exploit it. he could destroy you as well as shape you. you were nothing but the doll he wanted to play with. he knew more than anyone how to make you feel good. he knew well how to play with his toys.

you were killing him slowly with the way you were going about it, your pink tongue tickling the barrel, your mouth swallowing the entirety of his gun. every inch moved in and out of your parted lips. you lost count of the number of times you almost choked to the point you could throw up, you did your best.

the cold air of the room hit the soaked fabric of your underwear. it had gotten so wet down there.

you tried to focus on this dangerous game but you saw his bulge growing, his crotch distorting his pants.

“ keep sucking, i'm not done. ”

“ but ..."

he ignored you and took off his pants and boxers, freeing his hard cock. the next minute he was inside you, completely buried to the point where you could feel him all the way to your stomach. you salivated on the handgun, making a rain all over it.

as he filled you up, his thick cock abusing your tight pussy, the position was totally different, you were lying there, still the gun in your mouth, but now he was fucking you. his eyes were on you, and you could feel that motivating him even more to pounded you. your juices pooled on the surface the deeper he went. the slobber gathered around the metal. he rushed away your tears with his thumb.

“ stop whining, sugardoll. you can't cry when daddy takes you so well. ”

you really wanted to listen to him but it was too much for you. you were full of tears and they constantly wanted to come out, even when you felt good. but it was like the more you cried, the more he bullied your pussy, and by that, giving you more reasons to whine.

“ jesus, i'm pretty sure that you really like that gun in your mouth. ” he said with a firm thrust that made you squirm, your eyes wettering as the sentence. “ you like being this pathetic ? don't worry, i got you, i'm not judging you, but don't mind if i take advantage of it ? of course, you don't mind. you love being this sick, you're just a needy freak. ”

he pulled out before putting it back in you, inched himself deeper and deeper, letting you breathless. he was more rough this time, his fat length stretching you wider. his hips slammed your skin, his sweaty balls slapping you in motion. you nodded your head, your loud moans echoed in the empty room. his heavy hand on your tiny throat, pressuring it every time your walls tighten him.

his big other hand squeezing your small waist, as your core wrapped him harder. “ see ? daddy's making you a new home, right now. ”

his breath was heavy and short, the sweat of his body pressed against yours, while you were about to explode, so close to the orgasm. you were crying even more. and he covered your mouth with his large palm. he hitted the right spot again and again, without a break. you reached the second orgasm quickly, and you waited for him to explode at his turn. but he was taking his time on purpose. he obviously liked to abuse this little cunt of yours, wrecking like it was nothing your cervix. he glared at your glistening eyes with a proud face, while hurting your sloppy cunt. “ be patient, sugar. it's a matter of time but daddy will make you melt, and you will make a big mess on his dick to show how grateful you are ? ”

you didn’t answered, even when he released your mouth from his hands, because of the overheating.

“ you better answer because i can go to the next round. ”

“ yes .. yes !! ”

“ you're so naive, sugar. trusting me this easy, it's your own fault if old men like me use you. like did you really think we will not go on another round ? i'm about to make you dumb. not only your brain, your pussy, all of you. after this, you will not be able to think, to talk and even to walk. ”

your tears made him cum, and you let out a noisy and desperate whimper. “ it's sad for you that i'm the only god you can pray for, because i'm going to ignore all your prayers, making you on your knees every time for nothing more than my own good. sweet lamb, i'm such an uncaring god. but you can't hate on me, even a little, such a pretty precious thing you are. ”

“ why ? ” was the only word that came out of your mouth.

in fact, you were a little sad about this, because you wished that he cared a bit, even an hint about you.

“ nobody deserve you like i do. nobody deserve to touch you, or put an eyes on you, no one. you're just mine, and i need you to understand that clearly. do you got it ? do you even understand what i mean ? i will never let someone have you. never. ”

“ i really love you. ”

“ not only you love me, sugardoll. you adore me, you cherish me, you can't breath without me. do you understand ? how trapped i made you.”

“ bu…”

“ quit crying. you wanted this, you begged for. ”

“ i thought you only wanted to kill me ! ”

“if i wanted to kill you, it would already be done. i don't mind having blood in my hands, i'm a killer after all. but yours, i promise, i would never dream of, sugardoll. ”

it was very sick. but his words made you smile.

“ i want to hug you ! ”

“ don't make me regret my words. i still can choke you to death. ”

“ can i ask a question ? ”

“ jesus, if you don't yap more than a thousandth time each day, you're dead or what ? i swear, tell me your question, but choose it carefully because it will be the last. so, use your dumby brain very well. ”

“ i just wanted to know…if it's the first time you do this with one of your victims ? ”

“ why do you want to know ? ”

“ you need to answer ! ”

“ and you need to mind your own business. ”

“ i asked you a question ! it's not fair if you don't answer it ? ”

“ you better not try to raise your voice at me because i can shout, and trust me, the tears i will bring in your face will not be that pretty. ”

“ you're still mean to me…nothing has changed. ”

“ and you're still annoying. yes, nothing has changed.”

and you smiled at him, your sweet eyes melted on his unhichanged look.

“ someday i know you will love me too ! ”

“ bold to have faith, better to work on it, sugardoll. ”

you gave him a sweet look, even if he was grumpy, you wanted him.

[verdantlights]

Thoughts/Analysis Part 2 (but its coherent)

OKay so i slept (finally) after staying up since wednesday morning and only getting roughly 5 hours of sleep in total?? until I finally managed to get decent hours of sleep last night. anyways. i am still not normal in the slightest over round 7 but i have many more thoughts, am a lot more coherent, and have had it swimming in my head for a while.

TW for mentions of drug use. I'm gonna start with Luka. I've stated in the edit I made of the original post as well as in a few reblogs, but Luka is a victim. A lot of people are Luka haters, and that's valid! I am also, to an extent, a Luka hater.... even if I have a thing for blonde twinks with issues. But his character is also incredibly interesting. If you are familiar with Honkai: Star Rail, then you might understand what I'm saying when I think Luka is a combination of both Sunday AND Robin. He has the trapped bird in a cage mentality from Robin with the need for order and control mentality from Sunday. Order and control referring to winning being the only thing keeping his sanity in check.

Luka, as a human pet, is aware that he is playing a losing game. He needs to win, but he knows that winning Season 50 is not the end. He may have won against Till, but now the segyein are going to put him against Hyuna, considering Hyuna and Mizi were referred to as special guests. The way he looked at Hyuna in that last scene was part of him realizing this. It's the face you pull when you realize something horrible, but you need to keep face/keep your composure.

Their ear pieces are similar to their collars in that they show the emotions of the wearer. We can clearly see Till's earpiece glowing red the entire time (up until Mizi appears), and Luka's is constantly glowing green. Luka was seen in hysterics pretty much the entire time like the one frame where he's holding in his laughter.

Luka was drugged on something that makes him euphoric and lose his sense of control, like weed or cocaine. He found fucking with Till to be the funniest thing ever, but it's not normal for Luka to be so outwardly expressive of his elation. We know he enjoyed fucking with Mizi, even if it let to getting his ass beat, but even then, he wasn't as expressive then as he was with Till. That leads me to believe that he has something in his system to heighten his emotional output as well as some sort of adrenaline drug like what Till was most likely given.

What bugs me is that they don't show us what color his earpiece is as he looks at Hyuna. We see Till's earpiece turn green at Mizi, but does Luka's stay green as he looks at Hyuna? I feel it was orange, but that's just me.

Luka now knows what's about to happen, which is also why Hyuna tries to stop Mizi. Hyuna knew the whole time that if they were to save Till, they'd be walking straight into the trap. Mizi's heart is too kind and she's desperate to save Till.

Thankfully, what Hyuna had gone there for originally seems to be completed. Whatever files she was downloading was complete before she went after Mizi, and I think that's where were gonna see Issac and Dewey again. I think she might've been uploading those files to them so that they can take the lead from there. This leads me to my prediction for the next episode. (ill get to till last, hes my little meow meow and im not normal about him)

I don't think Blink Gone is done. I believe there is a part two to the Finals, and that round 7 wasn't even the final round. I've already stated that the most likely thing to happen next is Luka v Hyuna, but then I also talked about Issac and Dewey.

Hyuna could have gotten her hands on high profile data regarding Alien Stage. She sends the data to Dewssac, and they shut down the stage from the inside, allowing the resistance to come in and do a massive sweep, hopefully before either Hyuna, Luka, or Mizi dies.

Now, as for Mizi. We know Mizi is the main character, and there are people who are saying Till's death boosts her hero arc. Now there are two ways I see this happening, either:

Vivinos keeps up their streak of tragedy and kills off everyone, leaving Mizi isolated entirely.

Or someone (dewssac, hyuna, mizi, maybe even luka) pull through and live to save more people.

If it's the first one, Till is dead dead. If the second, Till has a chance at being alive.

There are many reasons why Till is most likely alive, and as a hopeful feeler... I also am clinging onto the more hopeful ending (the second option). Not just because "Haha guys I need Till to be alive, he's my bias" but also because seeing Mizi completely isolated and forced to fake a smile and perform would absolutely fucking destroy me and I don't think I'd ever be the same after that, honestly. Like that genuinely scares me.

There's the narrative of ALNST and vivimeng's beautiful storytelling. That is my number one hopeful reasoning for Till being alive. If Till dies here, it would be utterly nonsensical and it would ruin the narrative. It would completely void all of Ivan's character, for starters. I was just talking about this with @rockwgooglyeyes and Vant (idt they wanna be tagged here), but Ivan's character is static. He is not dynamic or fluid, but he is extraordinarily complex which makes up for it. He never really had an arc of his own unless you count what happened in his past during/before being bought by Unsha. His death is meant to haunt the narrative, meant to haunt Till. So why would he die, only for Till to die a few hours later? It would completely ruin what he was meant for and it would be so unsatisfying and bitter.

However, there's also the thematics of ALNST. Rock called out @pwippy for this already, but I'm gonna call them out too because fuck you plip (/j i love you plipster). Rock put it really well in these two excerpts I took from his post:

"Alien Stage is a universe full of suffering and pain for humans, forced to perform until they literally die on stage, all for the entertainment of the audience. It's not even meant as a way of exerting control or oppressing them, though it serves that purpose, because why would the seygein bother to oppress something that can't even fight back? Why go to the trouble of controlling something that is just a pet, whose cries are the fuel for a new age?"

Once again mentioning the Hunger Games because I genuinely can't help myself I love THG way too much, but that's the key difference between ALNST and THG: the human pets aren't being forced to do this because of a past rebellion and are being punished by the oppressing government... They're being thrown into this for fun. Full credit to @alien-til-i-stage who said this as a joke, but it is really fucking real, but the segyein bringing their human pets to watch ALNST in the audience are like people bringing dogs to a dog fight in real life. And that, I fear, puts into perspective as to just how much of a pet the humans are to the segyein. They are only there for entertainment. The resistance is mostly a thorn in their side as of right now (dewey and issac better change that next episode or istg) and killing these humans is simply just fun for them. They know humans can be hostile, just like dogs, but they tame them and make them docile and obedient, only to make them kill each other in the end, even if it's through a singing competition rather than an all out teeth and claws brawl. (except for round 5, that doesnt count)

"In this world of pain and suffering, perhaps death is a mercy. If Till is truly dead, then he no longer a tool for his oppressors, he is free of their control. For Ivan and Sua both of their deaths were mercies to them- Ivan was able to die for the one he loved, as was Sua, and neither of them were forced to live in a world without their beloved."

(thank you rock i love you pookie snookie)

He also mentions that it's not in character for Till to die, which I completely agree with. Till's persona is that of someone who wants to win, but not in the same way Luka needs to win. Till wants to win to live and survive with those he loves, he wants to win to beat the system, but considering how dystopian of a world this is, as much as he wants to win and save Mizi, he craves death as a freedom.

That out of the way, another thing that @junebluues actually got me to think about was this:

The bomb has Till's eyes and is crying as it knows it's going to die (assuming it's a sentient alien like Freddie). And the comparison here honestly opened my eyes a little bit and got me thinking.

Was Till a catalyst? Because that was a smoke bomb. I ended up thinking about it for a minute and came up with three possibilities where Till is a bomb/smoke bomb:

Mizi is using Till to hide her feelings

Till is the bomb that sets off a chain of events

Till is used to hide/cover up the real plan for either the segyein or for the resistance

I don't think it's the first one, I feel like it'd be closer to the other two, but any three of those could work. Because Mizi's feelings of despair over her situation can be hidden behind the hope as she reached out for Till. But as the smoke clears (Till dies) she remembers that it was, in fact, a bomb.

EDIT: Also, the lyric that plays during the smoke bomb scene is "No, don't look back now" which also kinda leads me to believe that Till is the start of a chain/domino effect. Once you knock the first domino, you can't go back.

I think someone somewhere had also talked about Till being forced to be used as a catalyst/bait again considering how well it worked here. There's a good chance Urak might have supplied the drugs to Till and also paid out or WAS paid out by another person to use Till as bait. Urak wouldn't want his pet that he is grossly possessive over to die that easily without every ounce of use being wrung out of him,,, something something Till being a Trojan Horse of sorts (thanks rock for that one, too).

EDIT: I also remembered that during the sequence in the song where the audience is singing the chorus and we see Ivan on the screens, is when Till looks like he's about to pass out. What gets me here is the fact that it is quite literally a chorus of vultures. The audience singing the chorus with images of Ivan surrounding him and seeing Luka mimic Ivan made Till realize that he was surrounded and that's when he started losing hope. It's why his reaction to Mizi is so prominent, because it's like she was there to save him from the vultures. The audience singing is my favorite and also least favorite part of the video/song because the feeling of being surrounded and cornered with everyone against you and their voices echoing in your head... really does it for me. I really want to animate this sequence from up close in Till's POV.

Anyways the 4th reason i had for the bomb theory was that Till is smoking hot (sorry). okay im done now i think,,,,,, i might actually come back with more because i think i forgot something... but i cant remember..... i forgor.....

other tags: @shakingparadigm @aakaneeee @ivanttakethis @k9punkout @crustyfloor @apriciticreveries @bluemoonscape @tsukacchako @nottoonedin @paperstarry

side note that i genuinely put more effort into my analyses than i have ever put into any school essay ever

edit: FUCK I WAS SUPPOSED TO ANALYZE THE LYRICS AGAIN GOD DAMNIT i dont feel like doing that anymore ill just do it later maybe

[utilitycaster]

I've been meaning to make this post for a while, and a few others provided some similar insights recently (this being one of those posts) but: in actual play, and fiction generally, just because a character feels a certain way does not mean it is generally true.

The example I had in mind is Keyleth and Vex's feelings towards the Raven Queen as covered excellently in this post. It's extremely valid for them to feel that way; it does not mean they are objectively correct about what happened. It is easier to blame the Raven Queen than to be mad at your dead brother or partner for devoting himself to a cause; it's even easier to blame her than Vecna because the party was so used to defying death, and because Vax did come back temporarily from that (via the Raven Queen). But this is a very fair, if not necessarily overly merciful, agreement, into which Vax entered voluntarily and repeatedly was asked for - and gave - his consent.

This is something we see at times play out in game - I don't know if forgiving is the word, but Beau is much more willing to consider that perhaps her father had a point before seeing him months into being with the Mighty Nein and having supportive friends and mentors. Her view towards her father makes a lot of sense, but it is ultimately her extending good faith that we learn immediately is undeserved. Ashton's belief they should take the shard is another - it was pretty clear to the audience that this was something they'd been extensively warned about but it makes perfect sense that given their personal experience, they would. And then it blows up in his face, but it still makes sense that he would have made this choice.

It's deeply irritating when fans of a work say "why didn't the characters act in a perfectly logical way that includes all the information I as a viewer know that they might not be privy to and discounts their biases and emotions", but I think fandoms are relatively aware of this flaw. What I'm talking about is a reverse of that: fans looking at characters acting with all of their biases and emotional baggage and lack of complete information and saying "see! This character agrees with me therefore I must be correct in some objective sense."

[hitomisuzuya]

Don't mind this, everyone. This is just me high typing cause I am lonely. I should probably be typing fluffy Childe smut, but I digress. Bear with me.

I really love the idea of self aware Genshin characters. It's such a Yandere thing. I am gonna include my own experience a little in farming for Scara and using him in game for the sake of flow of whatnot so I can talk about this. The narration may change a bit in some places. I'll change the font style and whatnot, continuing on.

My best friend has this fun little headcanon that Scara came somehow manipulate the game in some way, make it glitch for lack of better word. Like, he would know when you are playing him. He would sense it, mainly being able to feel how you feel through your hands, seeing as how, especially if you are a mobile player like I am, your hands around your phone the whole time.

He could feel when you are happy, and when you get unsure about something. He would notice like dependent habits you have, like if you have him in your party and rotate him out for say like his cool down for his burst or ESkill, or to put up a shield with whatever character (for me, it would be Noelle, my girl🥰), he would feel the unease you feel having to rotate him out for a few moments.

Or if you are fighting and have another character on field, and you freeze in the middle combat whether it be because you hesitated or weren't sure about having this particular character on field, and you rotate him back in and he instantly feels you relax because you can rely on him to carry you (no joke, get that boy up in the air and let his tracking go to work😌).

You depend on him, and that's what validates him. He can feel how you feel about him. It sends him reeling when he realizes that someone could depend on him. Could love him? You loved him despite everything he did, and everything he'd been through. You trust him, love him, and rely on him with every fiber of your being.

You were loyal. He can even hear the affection in your voice when you tell him good morning or good night. He loves that you love him.

Basically, the more he feels you through your hands, the more he comes self aware. This feeling is doubled, especially if you are in a high stress situation like..*twitch*..The Spiral Abyss. My two teams are obvious strike teams built around Scara and Childe.

He always went on somewhat of a power trip whenever you went to the Spiral Abyss. You built one of your teams so carefully around him. He'd felt how much thought you'd given it. If he had it his way, you wouldn't need a second team.

He was the only one you needed. Meandering in the Spiral Abyss was just another way for him to prove that he could take care of you.

You were his.

He is even able to see what you look like, being able to widdle away the barrier between you, him, and the game. Soon, very soon, he would be able to breach the barrier and reach his fingers into your very world.

I'm sure we all remember putting our noses to the grindstone farming for him. We all twitched from the same trauma of farming Rukkhashava Mushrooms, all while still exploring a newly released Sumeru. And the Handguards.

He wondered what it had been like preparing for him. You'd had everything all gathered in a nice neat pile for him. He hated that you'd had to rely on another character even though you were preparing for him (for me it was Xiao).

He couldn't stand that you inevitably do have to be away from your phone (or whatever you use). He has a lot of time on his hands to whatever in Teyvat until you returned, but all he could think about was you.

What were you doing? Who were you talking to? Or who you were with? He wouldn't need to worry about that much longer, he could by now hack into your phone and find out whatever he needed to know.

He has to have you now, especially when he saw just how in love with him you really were. Question is, would he stay here in your world with you, or would he steal you away and take you back with him?

Those two questions echoed in his mind as he looked down at you in the dark of your room while you slept. His precious treasure was now close enough for him to touch, to brush some hair off of your face.

Who the hell is gonna read all this 😂 But, I am going to bed now, I gotta get up early tomorrow. Thank you if you even read this far. Goodnight, everyone.

[elllisaaa]

Hihi , im not really sure if it would be ur style of writing but i had a dream abt it and i thought u could write smth along those lines(i think for this fluff would be good🥹 but if u wanna add smut is fine too hehe)

Heres the prompt:

Basically most of the days you would be hanging out w ur bff beomgyu after sch, just hanging out in each other’s presence is enough. You guys wont force a conversation if its not needed n sitting in silence gives you both a peace of mind.(thise type of fs)

But one day u told him that u were going to an event with ur girl bff , where she could see her fav artist , and you being a supportive bestie decided to go with her!

Somehow thru the night things changed and you ended up with beomgyu saying these words: “ It’s always been you y/n, my eyes are only for you”

(Not rlly sure if this is how a prompt should be(if im giving too much cos this is my first prompt) but i hope it sparks interest >_<)

hiii anonie !! this definitely so damn cute, i got a little overboard with this one but i love it so much, it's so soft omgg ! this definitely such a good idea i love it, and don't worry - the longer your thoughts are, the more i'm happy !

BFF!BEOMGYU who never stops annoying you every day, be it by sending you tons of texts or by dropping by your place when he's done with his schedule. well, you always claim that he's annoying but he knows that it isn't the truth and that you're always happy to see him.

"by the way, i will not be there for our movie night tomorrow, i'm sorry." beomgyu turned to you with a judgemental look on his face. "you're letting me down !?" you rolled your eyes as you threw one of the cushions of your sofa at him. "don't be so dramatic. i'm just going to a fanmeeting with one of my friend because she didn't want to be alone."

and even if your reasons were very valid, beomgyu couldn't help but be bothered. you always spend your free time with him, and it didn't even matter if the two of you just laid in your bed in silence, watching a serie while playing stupid games on your phones. it didn't matter because what he seeked was your presence, feeling you by his side. he loved to know that he could lay his head on your lap anytime and that you would drop your phone to thread your fingers through his hair until he fell asleep.

but sometimes, just sometimes, he wished he could be even closer to you. the type of closeness that would allow him to feel jealous about you going to a fanmeeting of another idol. the type of closeness that would allow him to kiss you, and love you like you deserved to be loved.

a pout was visible on his face, but what was even more striking was the slighlty hurt look in his eyes. and even if your best friend was always a little drama queen whenever you cancelled plans with him or hung out with somebody else, you never took him too seriously, knowing that he just liked to yap. but today, it seemed different.

beomgyu didn't want to separate from your warm body, but he still sat up, already missing the feeling of your hands in his hair, but his heart was hurting too much to keep pretending this time. it was nothing, he was aware, and he didn't have any right being jealous or feeling like he was. but he did, and he wished you would feel the same even if it was impossible because he was him and you were yourself, and there was simply no way that you would love him like that.

"why are you taking it like that gyu ? i know it's a little late to let you know, i should've told you before but it's no big deal, yeah ? i'm free this weekend if you wanna come by after practice, i'll even cook for you if you want."

beomgyu could feel a knot forming in his throat the more you talked, realizing how wrong he was for making you feel guilty about something you weren't responsible for. but the question he was dying to ask still got out of his mouth, the words coming out almost against his will : "do you like him more than me ? do you think that he sings better ? is that why you're letting me down ?"

his shaking voice made your heart clench, and you paused the movie that was now serving as a background noise, focusing entirely on your best friend and the way he was fidgeting, not daring to look you in the eyes but he seemed more than anxious, more than sad.

"where is that coming from gyu ? i've never said that. or did i make you feel this way ?" but beomgyu shook his head no. "you didn't. it's just…" he stopped for a moment, seemingly thinking about something before he curled up on himself on your couch, gaze fixed on the frozen tv screen. "forget it, i'm just being selfish."

the entire mood had changed, but you couldn't care less - you were only very worried about your best friend. "you know you can be selfish sometimes, i don't mind. tell me what's going on, please ?" and beomgyu finally looked at you in the eyes, biting his lips as if he was still unsure about what he was going to say : "i'm making a big deal out of this because i want to be the only one you're fangirling over, okay ? i want to be the only one you find handsome, and the only one you gush to your friends about. i wanna be the only one for you because for me it has always been you y/n, my eyes are only on you."

you looked at him dumbfounded, as you clearly didn't expect a confession, especially from your best friend. but quickly, a little smile spread on your lips as you reached for beomgyu's hand. he let you do that, and he let you pull him closer to you too, your face only inches away from the other.

"you've always been the only one for me too gyu, i simply didn't think that you would feel the same because you're always surrounded by the most beautiful girls of the country, so why would you choose me ?" - "because i'm in love with you, so in love with you it hurts sometimes." your smile was matching his, and you could see his brown eyes sparkling with joy again. "i'm in love with you too, have been for so long." - "does that mean i can kiss you now ?" you chuckled but still nodded : "yes, you can."

so beomgyu kissed you, and the way his heart exploded in his ribcage was only another proof of how down bad for you he was. and he didn't want this feeling to ever stop if that meant he could wake up by your side every morning.

[fathercharlesoffdensen]

Ngl as a veteran Cherik shipper, Charles Xavier apologist, and someone who watched the '92 X-Men animated series, I kind of assumed going into the '97 series that Charles' death/'death' was a known 'ruse,' borne not just from the Shi'ar having the technology to keep him alive following Gyrich's assassination attempt, but also from the logic of keeping him safe/protected going forward. If some of the veteran X-Men didn't 'know' (although I question how that's possible at least with Jean) that he survived, then I figured Magneto surely did, hence Charles willing his legacy to his mutant husband. Charles seemed fully aware while still living amongst the Shi'ar of the ongoing developments regarding Genosha, almost certainly, I assumed, because it was his and Magneto's passion project. I didn't NOT expect Magneto to be jelly of Lilandra - that's part of the fun/'fun' of Cherik's dynamic, after all - but I did assume/hope that their reunion would be more of a reunion and less essentially blaming Charles for all of mutantdom's past and/or current woes.

Some choice bits from the "Graduation Day" series finale of the original X-Men animated series to 'prove' my point(s). Context: Magneto's magnetism is the only way to give the dying Xavier the energy to contact Lilandra using their "unique, personal, telepathic bond" so that he can be saved using "the superior technology of the Shi'ar," though Magneto is busy gathering mutants on Genosha.

"Don't you get it? Xavier was about as normal as we mutants get. He was famous, rich, and human-looking, and someone went after him in front of the whole world."

"Xavier ... dying? [...] A sad ending to a great life. Out of respect for Charles Xavier, I will let you all live."

A huffy Magneto, after Jean asks him, "How much do you love Charles Xavier?": "How dare you ask me such a question? He was my only equal. I owe him my life."

Jean, redux: "What would you do if you knew you were the only one on Earth who could save his life?" [Magneto: "Do not play games with me!"] Jean: "LIsten to me: A telepathic message to Lilandra is Xavier's only hope. You may be able to supercharge his mind just like you did mine. His brain waves are electromagnetic." [Magneto: "You lie to torture me."]

Scott has to weigh in, of course: "You know what you should do." [Magneto: My greatest enemy, and perhaps my only friend. But I have waited all my life for this moment!"] Scott: "Wouldn't he do it for you?"

Instructions given to Magneto when he arrives at the school: "Focus your magnetic powers on his brain waves and increase them in gradual increments. Though beware: If he should pass away while connected to you, the psychic stress may destroy you as well."

Charles (in bed [heh heh]): "Hello, Magnus. Surely you have more pressing business to attend to than nursing an old friend." [Magneto: "Nothing more important."]

Xavier's students are told that Charles "will survive," but "only under Shi'ar care": "I know you cannot bear to see him go, but it is the only way." Then, when asked whether Charles can "ever come back": "Perhaps not in body, my children, but my spirit shall remain among you where it was always meant to be."

TL;DR: I'm not saying Charles and Erik/Magnus becoming Chancellors of Genosha together after probably using Bastion / Mister Sinister / Jean / Madelyne / etc. to 'fix' / reverse the damage from the recent staged terrorist attack and then Marvel allowing them to get married (extremely belatedly) just in time for Pride Month is the only appropriate way to end season one of X-Men 97, but ... we're so close to an extremely gay Cherik reconciliation and validation since the '60s, and yet still so far away.

[fashion-foxy]

The full overview of the Ever After High and Monster High server based games as of 4/11/2024 (also a cry for help):

This is without a doubt a loss cause. Does that mean I'll stop trying? No.

Mattel in either 2015 or 2016 decided that their weird fairytale franchise that made no money and lost them the Disney princess doll license needed a server based mobile game.

Being server based meant that you would download an app (think of this as your locked safe). In this app you would create an account. This account became your 'key' to open the safe. Unfortunately, the key only works if the company that runs the server decides your key is valid. They checked if your key was valid with their server. So, no login = no playing the game, but also no servers = no playing the game.

The current problem is we can't even make a key without the servers, and even if we could, the servers couldn't authenticate our key. So we're out of luck. BUT, if we can get a copy of the servers, then we could make a key and maybe get the server to authenticate it. This would hopefully allow us to open the safe and play the game.

So, I had an idea. Monster high also had a server based mobile game and I was hoping that they had a similar way of authenticating their keys. The best way of checking this is to see if they share a developer. Same developer likely means same way of authenticating keys. Unfortunately, it appears that MH had a different developer than EAH did.

Eah, as far as I'm aware, was developed by [x]cubegames and used RedHat Inc for their servers. While Monster High was developed by fucking unknown. I couldn't tell you who developed this. Everywhere I can find a download for it says Mattel made it but I know for a fact they didn't. The best lead I could get for who developed it was ari.games but they don't seem like a company that makes game.

The only thing I haven't tried yet is that Amazon has a version of the game that no one else does. That is supposed to be working as late as 2022. But that date concerns me because it's about the time all other eah games stopped working and were taken offline.

So, not the most inspiring update ever but I sincerely don't even know if this can be a thing that gets working. If you have any ideas please let me know

[anneapocalypse]

25 for Dragon Age? :>

🔥 Choose Violence Ask Meme 🔥

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

Honestly, 95% of the time with complaints I'm sick of hearing in this fandom, it's less that I don't feel there's anything valid to complain about, and more that I get exhausted with the level of active malice ascribed to devs/writers regarding that complaint. Like, just to give one example, "Sera's writer clearly wanted you to HATE her" (I will grant this is less common these days)--yeah, having played her romance and spent a lot of time with her character, knowing the work her writer put into developing her speech patterns, I highly doubt that. The far more likely explanations for your grievances are a) you just don't like her or her story, which is okay, or b) you don't like the way the Inquisitor is written interacting with her, which is a fair complaint but one that probably has development reasons rather than malicious reasons behind it. I get how tempting it is to ascribe very specific motivations to the people behind media we have complex feelings about, but some of the outright vilification and very personal attacks toward Bioware writers in particular is frankly over the top and it makes me less inclined to engage with those conversations even when I agree with the complaints at a base level. I think it'd be good if fans were more aware of how many of the valid thematic and narrative issues with video games probably arise from boring process reasons rather than deliberately malicious reasons.

[therentyoupay]

im completely feral over all your jelsa stories!!!!!! do you ever write established relationship jelsa or have any headcanons about what they would be like together in a serious relationship or marriage????

THANK YOU SO MUCH. 😭😭😭😭😭😭💕💕💕💕🙏 thank you thank you nonny for this super sweet ask and this really lovely question and all of your love and support!! 💕💕💕💕💕

i have... never actually written established!relationship (in any fandom), now that i'm thinking about it? that said, i guess i can come up with a quick list of some headcanons, maybe? 😂 i will have to think about this more, but for now, here's a quick drop:

elsa is an early riser; elsa helps jack create more sustainable sleeping patterns and habit formations 😂

when jack gets Impetuous Urges to Do Something Rash and Impractically Spontaneous, elsa will ground jack, reminding him to think before acting. (he occasionally Still Does It, anyway.) elsa knows what she signed up for, lol.

jack loves to play Harmless(!) Pranks, just to watch elsa’s reaction. (he is no longer allowed to sneak up on her after The Incident).

they also quibble over the definition of "harmless" and the specific logistical implications of that; for a while, jack was banned from further pranking, but then he got more creative at showing elsa that pranks could be wholesome and genuine, in which they could both be in on the joke. however, due to elsa's deeply-rooted Need to Excel and her (Not-so)Secret Competitive AF Streak, her retaliation in escalating the Cleverness Prank War quickly resulted in jack's prompt implementation of the Prank-Free Zones and Time Periods. (no, he was not scared.)

elsa, usually reserved, has learned to let her playful side show more often with jack. she might still pretend to be exasperated by his antics, but sometimes it's part of the game (or habit).

elsa sill struggles with opening up emotionally sometimes, but she progressively feels safe enough to share her innermost thoughts and fears. with time, she confides in him more about her worries. she still never likes the idea that jack sees her Imperfect Parts, but at least she can tolerate the discomfort (and, yes, take comfort in it) now

(jack loves elsa's Imperfect Parts, and jack admits that he is Weirdly Proud and Competitively Honored to be one of the only people, even including anna, who gets to see them. he also is strangely Comforted and Validated that elsa is, in fact, not perfect because for a while there, he was pretty freaked out and intimidated by how fancy she is.)

until he realized that no one ever let her actually be a Weirdo before, and once he realizes the Truth of Elsa Also Being a Secret (albeit perhaps more Subdued) Weirdo, the Universe Aligns.

jack listens to elsa's Big Conversations intently, activating varying levels of Serious Mode.

jack is getting better at recognizing the moments when elsa needs him to play and needs him to listen or Give His Opinion or any combination of those things.

jack learns that it's not always about Saying the Right Thing (which he is not very good at, anyway, or so our Serially Unreliable Narrator thinks), but rather being able to read elsa's mood and anticipate what she might need (even if she is not aware of it herself yet).

elsa is meticulous about planning and preparing for special occasions.

elsa likes traditions! jack likes tradition only because elsa likes them, lol, and hey, okay, these are more fun than he thought?? (who knew fun could be organized??!!?)

so he really wants to show (off to) her by pulling off Incredible Planning Feats in her honor, too (they do not go as smoothly, lol).

jack will often go out of his way to spontaneously create something meaningful, a moment or a gift or a gesture, that reminds elsa that he cares. he is big on words of affirmation, gift giving (but like, souvenirs that he collects on adventures like, "i saw this rock and it reminded me of your cousin olaf, we should put it on the window after we paint his face on it"), and acts of service, as well as physical touch and quality time. HE WANTS LOVE. he wants TO BE LOVED. he wants to prove that he is worthy of being loved.

(and elsa has to get him to Chill Out sometimes, remind him that he doesn't have to Do Things For Her/Anyone in order to be deserving of care; he is more than what he provides for other people.)

(jack gets its, and appreciates it, but also, the Urge to Provide and Protect is still strong, even after so much time, and sometimes Old Habits Die Hard.)

i get the sense that he'd be the type to he wake elsa up in the middle of the night to take her on a surprise adventure, or convince her to Do a Fun Thing without any preparation (/warning).

and she would Be Alarmed at the Lack of Plan (especially if/when jack Did Not Think This Through), but he also took precautions to ward off Concerns by pacifying her with tea, or reassurances that yes, he did call ahead to make sure the restaurant was open before they left the house, of course he did, he would never just leave home without double-checking beforehand (and frantically googles it two minutes later when he thinks she's not looking; she is, naturally, and even occasionally pretends not to be).

elsa approaches conflict with a desire to resolve things Calmly and Logically. she tries to understand jack’s perspective, even when she disagrees, and she’s careful with her words, not wanting to escalate the situation.

however, she can sometimes withdraw emotionally, fearing that she might say something hurtful if she’s too overwhelmed.

jack was initially (and, honestly, still is, even though he understands more now) hurt by her tendency to shut down when she Feels Too Much, and understands (although it's still hard) that elsa needs time to process her feelings and organize her thoughts.

jack also helps elsa actually Feel her Feelings, instead of just trying to intellectualize and analyze them. (she hates it, BUT sees the value. jack lives for these moments in which he realizes that he's actually contributing positively to her life and helping her in some way, rather than just being a burden or a nuisance, as was/is his fear.)

his initial reaction might be to push for a resolution quickly, but he’s also deeply afraid of Creating Distance between them, so after the first few fights, he really makes an effort to find the right balance between Pushing Hard Enough and Not Pushing Too hard, so that he doesn't drive a wedge between them as they work things out.

jack FEELS intensely, and can be so stubborn. he does not always have the most precise vocabulary or tools to describe his thoughts and feelings, or identify the root causes of what is actually going on inside him; sometimes elsa asks a lot of insightful and guiding questions that help jack come to the conclusions himself, and other times, she Puts Into Words the very thing that he had been thinking or feeling, but could not name, and it is very reassuring to have someone who understands him well enough to be able to do that.

after conflicts or arguments, they take time to Decompress and reassure one another (especially if at least one of them, if not both, was Overthinking again).

when they argue (and healthy couples do, remember!), it’s a dance of patience and understanding: elsa might need a moment to Collect Herself, and jack learns to give her that Space while also making it clear that he’s ready to talk whenever she is, and that he is going to try very hard to be Rational and Patient About It.

in the end, they both prioritize their relationship over any disagreement, always finding a way back to each other.

[rey-jake-therapist]

You know, Sauron gets called a narcissist a lot and we should talk about it a bit. The thing is, from someone who's read books, watched films, and done tons of info gathering all because I lived with a narcissistic parent, it's surprisingly to me how so many ppl only look at his tendencies from an angle of victimhood (but understandable), and not the angle that if you're cunning enough, you can play the reverse uno card on their dumb asses. I lived in emotional pain for years until I realized I decided to accept the role of victim, and that I didn't have to. So I decided to research everything about narcissists, and found psychological ways to play them at their own game by taking advantage of their blind spots.

For one, since they have this inflated sense of grandiosity, they find it very hard to believe a lie that flatters their ego. Idk if ppl realize this. Because denying a compliment with /some/ truth in it would mean they are being humble, and thus downplay this false image they desperately want others to believe about them (unless they're faking humility for reason, like to get a promotion or to flatter themselves to someone above them on the ladder, or in Gals case, because he thinks it would look good on him in her eyes to appear 'humble'), as well as admitting to that egoistic part of themselves that they aren't as great as they believe they are (and they do). Like I said how I lived with a narcissistic parent? I figured out that if I pretend to hype them up when they're in a good mood, they would genuinely think I cared about them and thought they were this amazing dad, and they would be like 'hey let's go get some mcdonalds!' It was nothing like the genuine love from a nonnarcisstic dad, but I learned how to manipulate him to get things that I wanted, simply by playing to his need for admiration and validation.

I'm not saying this tactic works for every narc you come across, but if you can get yourself into their head, be the master to their puppet strings, instead of opposing them or correcting them (they hate criticism and anything that hurts their ego, as we see with Annatar), you can use them just as they see you as a tool.

Idk if any of this makes sense. I do think that I may have absorbed some of my dad's traits for seeing things this way, but I know in my heart I would never ever treat my own kid like this. I see it as a form of adaptation to living with someone with such a vile personality disorder. But in terms of Sauron, he's got to be one of the dumbest narcissists I've seen. He is praised for his masterful deceit and manipulation but he's genuinely stupid in that he doesn't have the self awareness (like the audience, particularly haladriels) to realize that Galadriel is a huge blindspot for him in everything.

I'm not JRRT and I can never hope to write anything near the world he built, but if the forces of good have any brain they would take advantage of this blindspot in some way instead of furiously kicking against the current and thus causing a lot of bloodshed and losses for their own side.

I hope you don't mind if I copy/paste your second message here since it's the continuation of this one... It avoids that I make two different posts :)

And also, just to add to my last ask: And this is why I think Gal jumped off the cliff. She still has some sort of emotional entanglement with this whole mess, which is a HUGE RISK if she were to try to play him at his own game (at this point). It's one thing to completely divorce any kind if feeling between me and my narc dad, who I've lived with for years, and slowly realized that he would never be the dad I am owed. It took a lot of pain and tears when I finally realized it (Dont feel sorry for me, I'm not even emotional about this anymore, I just see our past in this clinical detached way. I find narcs fascinating in same way a scientist studies a lab rat). But for Galadriel, her situation is different. She didn't have years by his side to slowly realize this. To slowly pick apart and coldly analyze Sauron's pattern of action, thoughts, and habits like I did with my own dad. Her feelings at that meeting were raw and unorganized, she was angry, more emotionally betrayed, unable to stop galloping until the very end, when she stumbled upon a last ditch idea (really it was a gamble) to get away as far as she can from him. Idk if its because of the crown wound or her own resolve that she fears is weakening her, but she needed distance asap. But I really think my idea is interesting and I hope to see more fics in the future that take on Galadriel using herself as his blindspot to weaken him. It doesn't have to he canon compliant, but it would also play well into how canon ends. Just some interesting food for thought. A lot of fics I see are pwp and redemption focused, which I already love, but I also kind of want to see them become like chess masters as manipulation. Gal in particular has so much potential and we know she has a very vindictive dark side. ;)

I know you said you said there was no need to feel sorry for you, and I actually admire your strength of character, but I still want to say this : no kid should have to suffer from having narcissist parents. I myself lived with a narcissist for years, so I know where you come from, even if it was of course a different dynamic. And you're right about not accepting to be a victim ! It's very hard, because it involves accepting that you deserve better, something that a narcissist will constantly make sure you don't. Needless to say that the Annatar/Celebrimbor relationship was very hard for me to stomach, because of the way Annatar behaved towards Celebrimbor. It felt very familiar, and I really didn't like it. I'm worried about my kid now, especially after reading your post... I'm worried about how my ex's behavior will affect him. Hopefully, I am able to balance things out. I'm a lot of things, but I'm damn sure I'm not a narcissist.

I won't comment the rest of your post, not because I'm not interested, but for the exact opposite reason : I couldn't add anything smart or relevant to what you suggested for the Haladriel dynamic :) Thank you for sharing these ideas with me !

[skaruresonic]

idk why so many antis took the whole "like long lost sibling would " on that alt text for the promo of dark beginnings as canon and 'solid evidence' that shadria have a sibling relationship when the text can also be read as sarcastic or mocking? I might be reaching but sarcasm doesn't really translate well in text but putting any indication like ' or () when it doesn't flow in the original text always feels like somebody making snarky comment to me, idk to me personally I could argue w antis that it mocking them by being like 'isn't this obvious ship bait totally platonic' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Idk it just so annoying to see so many antis go 'haha shadria fans must be weeping' when it a fucking alt text on a promo that I doubt any writers or higher up would quality check in comparison to the fact in canon that shadria has yet to be label unlike other characters in the series as well as ignoring how many opportunities the series had to outright have shadow call Maria his sister no media be it games, shows or comics has him calling her sister or vice versa. So unless the new game outright has him referring to her as sister in all languages, shadria will still be a valid ship and even if that does happen it still won't erase all the moments the two had either shippers r still gonna ship.

I don't understand why antis think one little text line that not even in any media is gonna make Sharia shipper suddenly stop. Apology for ranting but omg it so annoying seeing anti act so high n mighty over something so trivial 💀

Personally, I'm inclined to agree with Beev on this one. It seems like they threw in "as long-lost siblings would" in order to placate the antis. Which would, ironically enough, imply an awareness that the piece could be read as romantic.

There was really no need for a parenthetical note to dictate the tone of the piece. If they left it at "Shadow and Maria reach out for one another in an infinite abyss," the reader could interpret it any way they want.

(Random tangent, but describing space as an "infinite abyss" also strikes me as a bit strange. You can see stars in the piece.)

I think SoA knows the flavor of the food they've been serving us recently, but they did this as a sort of PR move to cover their asses. They might be worried about losing face with Shadria antis, who form a not-unsizable portion of fandom now compared to Shadria shippers.

...but I mean. Come on. There's no way they're not aware.

And the thing is, it's not like the manga or anything else is explicitly confirming the dynamic is definitely romantic, either. It's not like we shippers aren't aware we have our ship goggles on; we just wanna vibe in our space.

Ever since playing SA2 as a kid and wondering if Shadow was in love with Maria, I've always had the feeling that their dynamic was supposed to be left open to interpretation. Antis want to impose their reading upon pain of accusing you of being a freak, while the shippers are more like "haha... unless?"

Also, it's really funny to think this is the ship they consider worth calling people "demented dogs" over. Have you literally played any other video game ever? Read any book? Watched any movie? Oh no, a ship the game probably wanted us to ship a little! OOGA-BOOGA.

This is probably one of the least problematic ships in existence tbh. Methinks the antis doth protest too much.

Besides, you're (general you) being disingenuous to claim there are no undertones whatsoever. Why include them if the dynamic is only supposed to be interpreted a certain way?

Using Sonic X as an example of what I'm talking about might be cheating, but since it's about as non-canon as the manga appears to be, it seems fair to mention it.

In Sonic X, Shadow also tends to recall Maria through a romanticized filter; he remembers her as being extra beautiful and ethereal compared to other characters who recall her as simply an ordinary girl.

Compare Shadow's flashbacks to the flashbacks of the soldier who shot her:

In the soldier's flashback, Maria is just a frightened child who pulls the lever. We're not shown her body, but rather his reaction:

In Shadow's flashbacks, Maria slumps tragically to the ground and/or lies on the ground, calmly speaking her last words while bathed in soft blue light.

There's a heightened sentimentality to Shadow's memories of Maria which serves to emphasize, I guess, the "beauty" that the ARK tragedy took from him. Considering Shadow is stated to like "nothing," maybe he finds nothing or no one else as beautiful.

Not that her death wasn't tragic in and of itself, but there's a marked difference in tone. One feels like a child's senseless death viewed from the POV of the man who killed her, and the other feels like... to be frank... something romance anime-coded.

It's worth noting that Shadow maintains this romanticized filter even when fantasizing about an alternate timeline where she survived (or perhaps the future they had been looking forward to after she was cured), so you can't always chalk it up to a product of Gerald's brainwashing:

...let's unpack this on the therapist's couch, hmm?

---

I don't understand why antis think one little text line that not even in any media is gonna make Sharia shipper suddenly stop.

Very true, and it's a fool's errand to try. I was going to reblog that piece without tags, as per usual, but I decided to tag it as "Shadria" just to flip antis off. Fuck you, you can't tell me what to ship on my own blog. xP

(also tagged it "Shadria" because "Shadria" was the original ship name and it's still a perfectly good ship name. it's a pet peeve of mine, how antis chased shippers off the Shadria tag and forced them to come up with less elegant portmanteaus. "Shadaria" and "Mariadow" sound so much clunkier than "Shadria")

---

Apology for ranting but omg it so annoying seeing anti act so high n mighty over something so trivial 💀

No worries, antis are annoying at best. Wish they would just go away. >.>

[lotusflw3r]

A lot of people tend to agree that Mephisto keeps around Amaimon specifically because it pertains to whatever plans he has meticulously crafted. But I think it's worth emphasizing that they do play games together, as demonstrated by small omakes.

And I'm by no means implying that they are buddy, buddy with each other, canon has supported that much, but I do think Mephisto keeps him around at least partially because he's so goddamn lonely.

I truly think Shiro was probably one of the only true friends Mephisto's ever had, at least in the past few decades, which makes me wonder just exactly what his social life looks like to begin with.

Mephisto's a huge attention whore, as demonstrated by his eagerness to be on TV around the time when civilization was beginning to become aware of the existence of demons, so, to a certain extent, he definitely craves social validation.

I can't imagine him being much of a fan of cocktail parties, just because I feel like he'd find himself "above" that sort of thing, in the sense that I feel like he'd find them to be a stupid and superficial human ritual, (mind you he thinks humans are cute, most definitely in a condescending "why do you even care about that sort of thing" way but maybe also as genuine admiration on his part, because he can't have that for himself) but he might indulge them every once in awhile as a means of fulfilling personal social quotas (and social networking as a means of maintaining his status as a socialite) because who else is there to intellectually stimulate him (as if priveleged, psuedo-intellectuals could ever do that pffftt, not like he has much of a choice though.)

He definitely engages people in a superficial way as a means of getting some, and in a way, it works for him, simply because I don't believe Mephisto has it in him to be vulnerable with anybody like that.

This sort of behavior may also give reason to why he's always observing others and their interactions, perhaps as a means of living through others, because he doesn't allow himself to do the same. This could also serve as an explanation for his degenerate ways, because you can't be out here binge playing otome games without some social ineptitude on your part (I'm mostly joking but it's far too fitting tbh.)

So, who else is there to keep him company, except for his little brother, who he can't even really share much of an intellectual connection with because... I mean, it's Amaimon? Amaimon definitely does not care to discuss the endless possibilities of the universe, but he will most definitely indulge Mephisto's litte video games, so long as it doesn't require much effort on his part.

THE POSSIBILITY IS KIND OF SAD TO THINK ABOUT TBH.

[yaksha-lover]

OH MY GOD I FINALLY FLIND YOU AGAIN! I remember finding your blog a long time ago when it was new I believe and sent a request later on

https://www.tumblr.com/yaksha-lover/691627436629213184/hi-idk-if-your-writing-rn-but-if-you-are-how-about?source=share

(this one)

I remember reading this response and was so excited and happy! I I just want to say thank you again for it ☺️🙏 (if I didn't say thank you then I'm sorry I was really nervous to send asks back then)

Request part! Can you make it the same as my last ask, but instead of the first years it being Lillia and anyone else you think will fit!

I think it'll hit harder with him since he's the one in actual power to let us go 🌝

Have a lovely day!! Make sure to drink water 💓

Haha happy you found me again! Thanks for the request, I hope you like it! Part 1

MC who believes they’re going back home (Vampire AU) - Lilia, Idia, Leona, Vil

Lilia:

You would probably try your best to avoid saying things like this around Lilia because of both the awkwardness and the fear that he’ll misinterpret things.

He’d end up overhearing you say this to others sometime and his reaction is definitely ambivalence. While Lilia does feel guilty for keeping you at the mansion, he knows the guilt is worth protecting everyone.

He wouldn’t be angry or anything at your words, he understands your reaction is completely natural. If this is at a point where the two of you have gotten closer, he may feel a bit upset that you’re so desperate to leave everyone behind, but he’s aware enough to realize it’s pretty much his fault.

Lilia would approach you to talk and explain that, while he doesn’t feel comfortable just letting you go right now, he’s willing to compromise and give you some more freedom than before, like chaperoned trips.

He’d ask what else he could do to make your life comfortable and make you happy, other than letting you go. Lilia would do anything in his power, spoiling you with gifts and luxuries. He would also try and send Silver to comfort you, because he knows you would rather be around his son than him.

He’d also be willing to promise you that one day you would be allowed to leave, even if it isn’t soon, but he hopes that you will at least come back and visit them occasionally, even though he knows you rightfully resent him.

Idia:

Idia would be pretty down whenever you bring it up, going from being normal around you (since he’s gotten used to you) to suddenly closing up sullenly when you start talking about going home.

Not many of the residents can tolerate him for too long, so he pretty much relies on you and Ortho to keep him company and not become a complete recluse.

Idia is far from delusional and, given his own experiences of feeling trapped, understands your desire to leave and live a normal life again where you have freedom.

That said, it’s hard when one of the only people who actually likes him and who he doesn’t get anxiety hanging around wants to leave.

This kind of talk, while rationally he knows has nothing to do with him, is pretty upsetting for him to hear because he feels like he’s not enough for you to stick around.

He can also be pretty blunt about it, telling you to be realistic and that it’ll be a long time (if ever) before you leave. Also isn’t afraid of weaponizing his little brother against you by telling Ortho to ask if you’ll keep playing games with them forever to guilt you.

It’ll probably be a big source of conflict between you, until you’re able to actually sit down and have a conversation about why he’s saying these things and why he feels this way.

Leona:

Leona is similar to Idia in that, while he’s smart enough to understand that your feelings are valid, he also can’t help but feel annoyed at your desperation to leave.

He thought the two of you had gotten pretty close and it feels like a bit of a slap in the face when you’re willing to talk about how happy you’d be to leave while simultaneously cuddling beside him.

When Leona is feeling rejected or hurt by your words, he’s quick to become more cold and dismissive, pushing you away when you try and touch him affectionately.

You don’t seem like you’ll miss him when you leave, so why should he allow you to touch him now?

If you keep pushing the issue, he’ll probably start mocking you, saying what a naive little herbivore you are for thinking you’ll ever escape. Unfortunately, Leona is hardly forward about his true feelings so you’ll pretty much have to be the bigger person here.

He’ll stay grumpy for a while unless you’re able to catch on to his feelings being hurt and properly comfort him by saying you’d want him to come with you or that you would be willing to stay with him.

Vil:

At this point, Vil is just getting to know you, so he doesn’t respond with the same vitriol as some of the other residents.

He’s pretty neutral about it, he understands your reasoning and thinks it’s understandable, although it does annoy him a little when you constantly bring it up, completely oblivious to the change in mood from your friends.

Vil sees how upset you make Epel when you talk about leaving, so he’s willing to have a private conversation with you about it later. He explains that while he understands, it would be nice for you to spare the feelings of others.

If you argue back, I think Vil would begin to point out that, while it definitively sucks that you can’t leave, other than that you have a good life. You don’t have to work, Lilia gets you everything you want, you get to spend endless time with people that care about you. That’s much more than other people can say.

He would just emphasize to you that while the situation isn’t ideal, all you can do is make the best of the situation and not spend all your time dwelling on leaving.

Although his words may seem harsh, they come from a place of maturity and care for both you and the others. Vil would offer to try and get you more freedom with Lilia, taking you to his filming sets when they’re nearby enough, bringing you back souvenirs, etc.

[strwberri-milk]

On my way to Getting into your ask Queue>:3

This might sound personal but I want Angst/Comfort Cyno, s/o Prefer to wacth rather to play Tcg, they knows how to play it, but Prefer not too because always loses and although it's just a card game, shouldn't be taking it personally, but it's been swallowing s/o alive, slowly they become less confident and have cruel thoughts about how bad they are, so they always just throw the game.

But Cyno insist on playing a game with him so finally S/o accept but while in the middle game, she just want to get over with it, but Cyno will notice if she just throw the game, Reader knew they were going to lose, just as Cyno about to Finish, a single teardrop on the table. Without Realizing Reader had tears up as they blankly stare at their cards, not realizing Cyno finished his round. And when Cyno ask about are they crying, Reader immediately tried to play it off. S/o afraid to tell why they are sad because it would sound pathetic and maybe sounds like a sore loser, doesn't feel like it's a valid reason to be sad about.

I'm sorry, I honestly don't know why I ask this, it's just random ask. Feel free to ignore this. This is just me wanting comfort from my fav character, I tend to get upset at the smallest thing...

Cyno just wanted to enjoy a came of TCG with you. It's something you enjoy watching him play and he doesn't understand why you wouldn't enjoy actually playing with him. He knows you're aware of the rules as sometimes you'll help him out slightly or give him a suggestion.

When you finally agree he's happier than he shows you, shuffling and dealing the cards out with a speed you've never noticed before. You chalk that up to his excitement and you try to monitor yourself as he does so. There's a very slight chance you'd actually end up winning against him and you really hope that you won't end up getting upset when he does win because you don't want him to think any less of you.

It takes no time for you to realise that you've been backed into a corner pretty effectively by him and there's nothing you can do to redeem yourself. You can feel the way the anger and shame rise up in you, egging each other on in an awful loop. Your eyes drift down to the table you're playing on, not sure how you'll be able to speak to him.

Cyno's trying to draw your attention back to him, concerned about the way that you've gone totally silent You don't respond to him, barely looking up when he calls your name. He decides to come around the table, kneeling on the ground so he can get a better look at you without needing you to move. When he sees you're crying he brushes your tears away, trying to get you to talk to him again.

After some time and more tears you admit to him the reason for your sadness, shaking your head and telling him you know it sounds dumb and that he's going to make fun of you but thankfully he doesn't. Instead, he gives you a hug and tells you it's okay. He decides that the two of you should play together a little more often,. He'll help you deal with your feelings and also help you get better.

You aren't sure if it's a good idea but he's patient enough to give you the room to decide whether or not you want to continue playing w him. He's happy when you come up to him to ask if he wants to play with you, taking his time to make sure you're enjoying the game.

[xf-cases-solved]

i'm aware that ACNH hasn't been relevant since the plague, so i'm not really sure why this headcanon even came to me in the first place--mb it was gifted to me by god like a prophecy or some shit idk--but i came to the sudden and unrelenting realization the other day that, if given the opportunity, scully would get WAY too into animal crossing

[this ended up being a ridiculously long stream of consciousness headcanon ramble, so i'm putting it under a read more bc it is silly and self-indulgent, but i had to write it out somewhere 👇🏽]

to clarify, the scenario i'm specifically picturing is if switches existed in the 90s and original-run scully got to play new horizons

she would never pick it up on her own accord, but imagine her at her godson's birthday or something and he introduces her to this silly little game that has cute animals and "oh, that's nice and wholesome, glad there are at least some video games out there that aren't all about violence" etc etc

but then somehow she ends up with her own copy. mb she does it for the social aspect of having something to share with her godson or whatever, the why of it doesn't matter. what matters is that, due to some series of events, scully ends up with a copy of animal crossing that she then proceeds to lose her entire sense of self inside of

it's the literal perfect game for her! first off, it's incredibly chill, and lord knows she can never get enough chill time. second off, the little quests in the game would stimulate the parts of her brain that like Tasks and Puzzles and Validation. she'd get a huge kick out of figuring out how to breed all the different types of flowers, and knowing during what time of day/type of weather/time of year certain bugs or fish were around. the good grades she would get on her house and island would fuel her. she would have the EXACT right amount of trees. no weeds. all the fruits. she'd find the most logical way to terraform her island so that it was both cute and efficient. she would lose HOURS to this shit, ok?

and it would take mulder a little while to notice

bc scully obvi wouldn't play at work, and also would be kind of embarrassed that she was spending so much time with a video game, so she'd hide it. but the longer it went on, the more there would be slip-ups

mulder asks her one day when they stop for gas in some random town how much the sunflower seeds she grabbed for him cost, and she says, "75 bells," before immediately correcting herself and saying, "cents! 75 cents!" (this wouldn't be the last "bells" slip)

mulder's on the phone with her one night rambling about a case, not really noticing that she hasn't been listening to a word he's been saying until he hears her mutter, "oh fuck you, astrid," and when he questions her she hastily explains that astrid is her annoying new neighbor (who is decidedly NOT a kangaroo, obviously)

she's always been brilliant, but suddenly she knows a lot of seemingly random trivia about different types of beetles and butterflies for some reason

he wonders if she's always had such a strong aversion to sea bass

eventually he catches her in the act, probably when he bursts into her hotel room through the adjoining door one day to tell her a new theory, only to find her curled up in her bed wrapped in her comforter, clutching her little yellow switch, and staring at him like he just caught her with a vibrator

and ofc he makes fun of her a little, but mostly he thinks it's cute

until

she makes him get a copy so they can trade items

which he does, bc 1. he always likes to have a reason to spend time with her outside of work, and 2. he cannot tell her no

which is how, on nights when there aren't any monsters to chase down or aliens falling from the sky, he finds himself lugging virtual supplies to scully's island (bc "i need more hard wood, mulder" and like, it's not the type of hard wood he wants to give her, but ya kno), and getting chastised for how cluttered his dumb animated house is ("you won't get a good ranking from the happy home academy if you don't coordinate your wallpaper, carpet, and furniture, mulder"). he hasn't picked a weed on his island the entire time he's had the game and it drives her Insane, which is why he does it, bc watching her silly little character running around his island in a frenzy plucking weeds is adorable (and god, how pathetic is it that he finds her adorable even in animal crossing character form??)

he does find some personal entertainment from the game. he likes collecting shooting stars and swimming and trying to guess which pieces of art are counterfeit. mostly, tho, he just likes how much scully likes it; he likes how, when she's playing or talking about the stupid game she laughs easier. he likes seeing her do something silly, just for the fun of it, and he likes that she lets him be a part of it

she invites him to her island one night, and she takes him to the shore, where she shows him where she terraformed a little area with a bench, flowers, and a telescope, and tells him she made it for the two of them to go stargazing together

their dumb little characters sit next to each other and watch pretend stars in the dark, and they both feel immensely loved

(she'll ask him if he brought her that new seasonal wardrobe he got later. she needs it to complete the set, but she can wait. not like, a super long time, obviously--the happy home academy sends their letter tomorrow and she'll be pissed if she doesn't get an A--but they can stay out under the night sky together. for a little longer, at least ❤️)