#it's on steam btw if anyone's interested~

[eliseliedl]

Paper Lily Chapter 1

[monsterfuckerconfessions]

There's this vr game on steam that I discovered called FarmD. It's a free early access game that works in vr and desktop for anyone interested btw but anyway! Basically it's an experience where you play as your choice of a male or female anthro wolf, fox, kobold, or big cat and you have a gryphon or drake partner that you can fuck or they can fuck you. You can customize you and your partners looks and anatomy to fit your needs. I've personally had a passing interest in monster fuckery but this game made me question a few things. One, I'm a straight male but seeing myself as a sexy female fox girl turned me on and awoken something in me that I'm not sure what it is yet. Two, being able to fuck this female dragon partner has made me buy a BD fleshlight like a day after I got the game. Sorry if this turned into a bit of a tangent but I just needed to talk about this to someone. Sooooo yea!

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[varilien]

(character uses they/it) i keep wanting to start posting my ocs over here again and then Just Not Doing It so uhhhh !!! some stuff from february, had a dream about knives that made me think of a plant oc with a constant power output so extreme that it generates a deadly radiation field around them. because of that they've been living alone this whole time, avoiding contact with other living things, and over the years they've learned how to suppress that output for short spans of time or "safely" pour out the excess in order to be safe to be around, though they ultimately prefer their solitude due to a history of bad experiences with humans. they're very blunt, spiteful, and curious

@whatever-you-can-give-me suggested lr would make good friends for them since they are 🤝 about being extremely hard to hurt lol

also! wrote like 2k about they and razlo's first meeting below the cut if anyone's interested in some good ol violence + gore :3

that was a fr content warning btw read at ur own discretion:

Chance encounters with violent strangers out in the open desert are nothing new to LR, even when Livio purposefully had tried to find the quietest possible route to travel.  It’s not even necessarily surprising to run into someone a little to the left of human, someone a bit bigger or stronger or more durable than they really have any right to be.  The Eye aren’t the only ones designing freaks on this planet, that much is obvious, evidenced sufficiently by the odder fights LR have ever gotten in.  

And this one is shaping up to be one of their oddest fights yet.

Livio hadn’t seen the fucker coming, occupied as he was with the slow realization of why this stretch of road doesn’t see much use anymore: a creeping heat across his nerve endings unrelated to the overcast, evening suns, the taste of metal in his mouth, and a deep-rooted nausea twisting up his guts.  Radiation sickness.  He’s dealt with it before, and as unpleasant as it is, it’s hardly enough to slow him down too bad.  

It’s damn distracting, though.  A good enough excuse for not noticing them hiding up along the rockface above his head.  Not a good enough excuse to keep Razlo from tagging in, especially after something’s pierced straight through the back of his neck, nearly taking his head clean off.  

Razlo rolls for cover with a strangled sound, blood gushing from his forced-out throat and foaming at his lips.  Even with his senses jarred and his vision blurred, it'd take more than a near-decapitation for his instincts to be overridden.  He's slinging out a Punisher before he even knows what he's up against.  

There's a blur of motion to his right as soon as his sights are raised.  They're probably surprised Razlo's still standing, but so was everyone else who's gotten a lucky shot at him.

He can track their motion by sound alone.  They're sloppy.  Feet hitting the cracked earth in hard thumps, every one a warning that Razlo can aim a spray of bullets at.  And by now Razlo's healed enough to notice and wonder why the hell his head is still so fucked up.

At least now he can mostly see them when he turns, hanging back a ways, out of Razlo's reach.  Shorter than him by a head and a half, covered toe to tip in layers of sun-bleached rags, save for their face.  That's hidden behind a tall, curved mask, shaped in a way that looks an awful lot like a tomas' crest, with the false eye markings to match.  Even the glass for the lenses is opaque.  The only part of them that’s exposed is their left hand, extended delicately aside to keep Razlo’s blood dripping off it from getting on their clothes.

Razlo physically tries to shake out the buzzing in his skull that only gets worse by the second, only to notice the foul smell of burning meat and risk an instinctive glance down at his arm, where his flesh has started to bubble and steam seemingly on its own.  He looks between his arm and his opponent, the way their body tenses and head begins to tip, shaking hard, simultaneous with his skin boiling that much more fiercely.  

Something clicks in his brain.  There’s no way.

And no time to find out.  This time when they dart in he’s expecting it; he takes a swing at their head, and they dodge right into his follow-through, slamming his Punisher into their skull with a crunch and a wet sound from their throat.  They drop, like he’d expect them to, like anyone would.  And like no one does, they just roll out of the way and onto their back, braced to spring back up again.  Razlo puts his boot through their ribcage before they get the chance to.  That should be the end of it, too, but the fucker just keeps kicking, trying to get away, the only sound they make being the gurgle of their lungs filling with blood, and they keep kicking.

At this point Razlo doesn’t even have a plan anymore.  Needless to say, he doesn’t go up against an awful lot of guys who match him in the department of being a pain in the ass to take down.  Razlo's just starting to come up with a new idea when those long arms swing up, claws digging into and making ribbons of his right leg.

Razlo curses and tries to pull away, which only makes them hold on even tighter.  He's staring that four-eyed glare down when that burning feeling across his whole body raises in pitch again, and it's the sight of his flesh starting to disintegrate around their fingers that finally makes him back off.

Razlo rather gracelessly falls on his ass in trying to take a step back, not expecting his right leg to simply break off halfway down his thigh.  He scrambles back a ways, ready to keep going, missing limb or no, but— they aren't following him.  They're collapsed in the sand, limbs akimbo as they fight to draw a full breath.  Razlo watches with morbid curiosity as his severed leg dissolves into nothing more than an off-colored patch of sand beside them.

All that angry tension has gone out of their body, leaving them limp and motionless except for the stutter of their chest, and Razlo can hear the damp gasps muffled behind their mask.  By all rights, it should look like more of a struggle.  They should be dead, really, but from where Razlo is sitting, it looks a lot more like they’re just taking a rest.  He feels more sure of that when they roll their shoulders back a bit, arms braced in the dirt as they delicately arch their spine.  There’s some sharp popping sounds, and a little exhale from them; setting their ribs, Razlo figures.  He’s had to do the same thing before.  Once they can move their arms more effectively, they start to gather themself up into a seated position, bones and joints still crackling like popcorn here and there as they go, til they’re all the way up, with their hands resting in their lap, looking far too fucking comfortable for the fight they’d just had.

"You're not dead."

Their voice startles Razlo despite being as soft as it is, and his gaze flicks up to that mask, just slightly tilted to the side, orange lenses glinting in the harsh sunlight.  They don't move at all that Razlo can see.  Even their breathing has evened out enough to have become imperceptible under their heavy shroud; if they're in any pain still, Razlo sure can't tell.

"Nope," is all he says, or can manage to say.

He scrubs at his eyes with the back of his hand, blinking hard a couple times to scrunch up his face in the hopes his nerves might start feeling right again soon.

Another wave of nausea hits him, but his stomach was empty before the fight even started, so he leans forward to put his head between his knees and dry heave for a while.

The whole time, he's aware of his little opponent continuing to sit in silence, watching and eerily unmoving, even when Razlo manages to sit up again and wipe his mouth with his wrist.

"The fuck's yer deal, anyways?"  Razlo asks.

"'Deal'...?"  They echo.

"Couldn't exactly kill you, either."

He wasn't expecting them to spill their life story or something, but he was thinking he'd get something more of a response than their head tilting back the opposite way.  There's not a lot to work with here in trying to get a read on them, but Razlo feels it's safe to hazard they're probably just pretty damn confused, the same as him.

"You kinda smell like a Plant.  M'not an expert, but I've met two others."

Now that gets something out of them.  A tiny wiggle of their head that makes the pieces in their mask rattle.

"I wouldn't know.  I've only met me."

“Huh.”  

Whether it’s a confirmation or rebuttal hardly matters at this point.  He’s feeling sure enough that his assumption was correct, now, anyways.

"You, uh…"  Razlo has to pause for breath.  Unlike the thing across from him, he's having a hell of a time getting his back.  "You're the one making this radiation field?"

"Yes."

"Any way you could turn it down?"

They say nothing, though Razlo feels suddenly that he's being studied very intently.  And shortly after, slowly, slowly the fire in his cells begins to go out, and he can spit the worst of the sourness off his tongue.  Eventually he can't feel any radiation left at all, though his body's had a rough enough time from the dose he got, he'll be getting the sickness out of his system for a while yet.

Regardless, Razlo’s fingers twitch against the triggers when he hears that mask rattle again, and his eyes are on it in an instant.

"You didn't answer my first question," Razlo reminds, cautiously.

More silence, for a while.

"You wanted to hurt me."

There's no malice in the statement, at least that Razlo can tell.  Just the simple facts.  Still, he narrows his eyes.

"You started it.  Figured it was mutual."

"That's true."

Razlo grins.

"So, what now?  Regrow my leg, and get back to not killing each other?"

"If you'd like to."

That gets a laugh out of him.

"Nah, I think I’ll pass, if it’s all the same to you.”

“It is.”

That much is obvious.  They stay put, seeming transfixed on watching Razlo’s leg grow back, only a little more slowly than any of his other injuries, now that he doesn’t have the radiation to slow him down.  It leaves him feeling itchy and achy all over, and he’s got a bad hunch that right ankle doesn’t have the best chances of coming back right.  Once there’s enough of it to fuss about, he gets his foot in his hands and starts experimentally rolling it on its hinge, checking that the range of motion is right.

And still, those orange lenses glint at him curiously.  They don’t flinch or look away when Razlo considers them in return; he guesses they don’t know it’s not polite to stare.

“What's yer name?"  Razlo asks.

"My name?"

"Don't tell me you ain't got one."

The silence that follows is pretty self-explanatory.

“I’m Razlo.”

He can just make out the sound of them mumbling his name under their breath, like they’re not sure how it’s going to come out.  Almost warmly, almost shyly, they manage to say: “hello, Razlo.”

[mikuni14]

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans - Ep 1-5

I didn't plan on watching this series for one simple reason: both main couples in PitBabe did nothing for me, so I had no reason to watch another show with one of those couples. (The interesting thing about PitBabe was that while the main romantic couples were of zero interest to me, all my attention, steam, energy, and obsession went to the side characters and ghost ships. Not to mention the actual real life and my obsession with Sailub and Nut's friendship, whose chemistry ruined for me their any other relationship with other actors 🤡) That being said, I've seen this cutie on my dash so many times that I finally decided to watch this series just to stare at him:

(you ask: omg mikuni how can you be such a shallow person to watch a series just to stare at some dude?? I answer: that's exactly the kind of shallow person I am, for example I once endured an extremely boring Mads Mikkelsen movie just to stare at Mads Mikkelsen, but you know, what can you do? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯).

Anyway, my experience with TLDHLB is very similar to my experience with PitBabe: zero interest in the main couple (although Sailub is GREAT and kisses like a devil), and all my attention is taken up by the side characters.

I really like JJ and Nubnueng and how they are being good friends to Plawan and Oab. I love them, I love how supportive they are and how they refuse to buy into anyone's bullshit. Btw, I think they should unionize and file for financial compensation for the psychological and mental damage they're suffering lol

It's been a while since I've seen a show with such an, um, unappealing character as Plawan. I'll be honest: I have a hard time believing in a romance where I'm constantly wondering, okay, but what do people who like him actually see in this guy????

Garfield as JJ is the absolute brightest star of this show. It's amazing how different he is from Kenta. I love every scene he has, every word he says, the way he carries himself. His character is so awesome that when I watch him I feel like not a single second is wasted. He elevates every scene he's in. 💯💯

Methas is also a great character. I especially like that it's been 5 episodes and he doesn't change much. Personally, I would have preferred if he stayed a dick until the end and became nice only to JJ (within reason of course, their fights are very entertaining 😉). But I 99% expect a redemption arc and that he'll become "good", find a "family" in JJ and everything will be "kumbaya". I'm rooting for that 1% that Methas will remain a ruthless business 🦈

The pretty boy I started watching this show for is a real eye candy and he's a slippery snake hiding behind an innocent face and glasses, so yay!

Michael is also easy on the eyes 😏

not to mention Garfield: in his work unifrom, when he's pissed at Plawan and/or Methas (or both of them at the same time), when he has that sexy smirk or pout, gosh he is absolutely 🧁🍬🍰

Well, let me tell you, I didn't expect this, but I'm having a lot of fun watching this series lol

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the JJ/Methas couple is one of the best and most REAL "enemies to lovers" romances I've ever seen. Like, they really wanted to kill each other 😍

[givemea-dam-break]

hi honey! can you do a anthony lockwood x reader, with #49 from the prompt list? maybe reader is close friends with kipps and anthony gets jealous so he hangs out with another girl to make reader jealous, and it works, so kipps threatens lockwood?

i love your work btw 🫶

a/n: of course!! thank you for requesting, and i’m so glad you like my stuff, thank you for your support <3 I'm assuming you mean my angst prompt list as that's the only one with a prompt that makes sense lol. i hope you enjoy! also (for anyone) let me know if you want to be added to my tag list for any lockwood and co fics <3

warnings: mild language, angst prompt: "Are they really just a friend?" gn reader

tag list -> @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy

Lockwood has been avoiding you, and you're not sure why.

It started a few weeks ago.

Usually, the two of you would spend mornings together in the kitchen, talking over steaming cups of tea as you waited for Lucy and George to get up. Your afternoons could go any which way - relaxing in the house, taking consultations with possible clients, running around London for god knows what. Evenings, well, they were your favourite. If you weren't on a case, either with the whole team or just paired with Lockwood, you'd sit in the library together, simply enjoying the other's company as you read one of the many novels in the house and he sifted through magazine after magazine.

Now, though, it's all changed. Lockwood is never in the kitchen when you're there on your own. He doesn't sit next to you during consultations, or invite you on his errands around the city. Worse, he isn't taking you along on cases with him, opting to take Lucy or George instead.

It shouldn't upset you the way it does, but it's not like you can help it. He's your closest friend. Your partner in crime. Without him, what are you?

Lucy has her theories but you're not overly convinced.

One of her theories sits in front of you currently, sipping a mug of coffee under the bright lights of the Costa you chose to hang out in today.

"Any interesting cases lately?" Kipps asks. "I can't imagine Tony would like to take any of the boring ones, but I suppose he'll have to take anything he can get, really."

You glare at him half-heartedly. "We take anything we can get, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing. We help out the people who can't afford your fancy services. And, yes, I'll have you know we did have a particularly strange one, recently."

One of his eyebrows quirks up. It looks like a bushy caterpillar. "Go on."

"This murdered woman, right, who had been wanting revenge for her death. Turns out, the house was being occupied by some descendant of her murderer. He got ghost-touched, ended up dying, and then his husband came to get our help. You'll never guess what her source was."

Kipps thinks for a moment. "Her favourite necklace, stuffed under the floorboards somewhere."

You cross your arms in an X shape and make a 'wrong answer' buzzer sound. "It was her old record player that had gotten passed on from owner to owner. Apparently, the record on it had been on it for so long that it had melted onto it. The song had been playing while she died."

"That's awfully grim." Kipss takes another sip of his coffee, but he frowns as if it no longer tastes as nice. "And any improvement with Tony? Any conversations longer than five words?"

"No," you say miserably. You stir your spoon around in your tea, hating the way one guy has made your mood go from relatively okay to the opposite. "I don't know what I've done. I invited him to come to Arif's with me the other day, yeah? You know what he said? Lucy would love to go. And that was it! Lucy wasn't even home. The prick."

His gaze flickers to the door of the café. "You might want to keep your voice down."

"Why?"

When you turn, you realise why. In comes Lockwood, hair damp from the rain that pours down outside and jacket dripping, but still as radiant as ever. His face is almost glowing from the brightness of his smile as he laughs at something the girl beside him says.

Something in your chest squeezes horribly at the sight.

You turn back to look at Kipps, plastering on a smile as you swallow the burning feeling in your throat.

"He's coming over," he says, sipping his coffee - not - casually. He seemingly can't decide whether he should look at you or the person approaching. "Act normal."

As you sip your tea, which has gone a little cold after being left untouched during your conversation, Lockwood's shadow covers the table.

"(name)," he says, and you can hear the smile in his voice. "What a surprise to see you here."

You press your lips together. "Yes, well, I told you I was coming here today. What a coincidence."

When you look up at him, he's wearing that dazzling smile of his, and your breath catches. How long has been giving this other girl - the one who floats by his side - that very same smile? Has he smiled at her in that private way of his, where the corners of his lips twitch a little? Has he told her why he's got a scar on his forehead, and the stupid story of how he got it?

"Tony," Kipps says, giving him a curt nod. "(name) and I just met up to catch up on things. It's been a little bit since we last saw each other."

It's almost unnoticeable, but a muscle twitches in his jaw. "Two weeks, if I'm right? That time when our cases were next door to each other." he pauses then, glancing at the girl beside him "Oh, sorry, how rude of me. (name), Kipps, this is my friend Talia. Talia, this is Kipps, supervisor for one of the Fittes teams, and this is (name), my employee."

Your teeth grind together. "Just an employee? Hmm, okay."

"Nice to meet you," Talia says, smiling.

She seems nice, and you want to like her, you really do, but you can't. Still, for her sake, you repeat the phrase politely.

"Well, we best go get a table," Lockwood says, "before they all fill up from the lunch rush. Let's go, Talia. See you soon, (name)."

Despite wanting to swear at him, you give him the best smile you can muster. When he's gone, you visibly deflate, glaring at your croissant.

"Don't look at the pastry that way," Kipps says. "It hasn't done anything to warrant that."

"Oh, shut up."

--

Back at 35 Portland Row, the house is quiet. As far as you know, George is at the Archives researching for the next case you have coming up in a day or two, and Lucy is out getting supplies from Satchel's along with general shopping. You half wish you had gone with her rather than going to see Kipps.

During the rest of your time alone, you get some cleaning done. You've been putting it off for a while, but the washing-up basket is so full of dirty clothes that there is a mound as tall as your hips beside it. At this point, it's unavoidable.

You're halfway through folding the first load of washing when the front door opens.

"Be careful!" you call from the bottom of the basement stairs, hoping whoever it is will hear you. "I mopped the floor, it's slippy!"

For a few minutes, no one comes down to see what you're up to but, finally, you hear footsteps on the stairs.

"I boiled the kettle not long ago, it should still be warm if you want a cup of tea."

"Thank you, but I just had some."

You freeze for a moment before continuing your folding. Without turning around, you ask, "How was your date with Talia? She seems nice."

Lockwood pulls his chair out from under his desk. The sound is screechy, to say the least. "It was good. She's an agent at Rotwell, you know?"

"Mm."

"How was yours with Kipps?"

The disgust in his voice is palpable, but it doesn't even begin to compare to yours.

"It wasn't a date. Kipps is just my friend."

You can feel the look he's giving you - the disbelief is thick in the air. "Is he really just a friend?"

"Well, Kipps is six years older than me and an adult so, yes, he is just a friend because it would be illegal otherwise." The shirt you're folding probably doesn't deserve the amount of aggression you're handling it with. "It also wasn't a date for the reason that Kipps is my cousin. Now that I think about it, that's illegal, too."

Silence. It makes you feel a little triumphant, to be honest. It isn't often Lockwood is stunned into silence. He's always got something to say.

"Kipps... is your cousin?"

"Yes, he is. My mum is his aunt. Do I need to explain how that works for you?"

"No. No, that's alright. I just didn't know."

You shrug. "Never asked. Not like we were always super close. We've only really started catching up since I joined you guys because I'm in London now and he's my only family here. Not that that sentiment seems to be appreciated."

"If I'd known, I would've -"

"You would've done what, Lockwood?"

Finally, you turn to look at him, practically throwing down the jumper you're folding. He's already watching you, that smile of his nowhere to be seen. If you didn't know any better, you'd think that's guilt in his eyes.

"Would you have stopped avoiding me? Because Lucy seems to think that started when I reconnected with Kipps. I don't - Even if he wasn't my cousin, it makes me ill thinking that you might've thought we had a thing. Ugh, I can't even say it without wanting to be sick. Is that what all of this avoiding-me business was about? Be honest."

His lack of an answer is enough. Usually so full of things to say, it's a shock seeing him this quiet. You wait for him to say something, anything, but nothing ever comes. He just sits there, staring, supposedly figuring out what he should say.

You turn away from him again, folding the last item of clothing. "Your pile is that one on the end. Second load of washing will be done in an hour. I'm going out."

"Going out? Where?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business. I am just an employee after all."

"I didn't mean it like that -"

"Well, that's how it sounded. Jealousy doesn't suit you, you know." You pluck a jumper from your pile, tugging it on. "I'll be back before dinner. George is in charge of food tonight."

"(name), you don't need to go out. Let me just explain a few things."

"I have a great idea! Why don't you explain those things to Talia? I'm sure she'd love to hear it."

--

"I think I was a bit harsh."

"Oh, I don't think you were harsh enough."

Snorting, you stare out at the park. The bench you're sitting on right now, accompanied once more by Kipps, is soaked from the rain, but your jacket is long enough to save your jeans from getting soaked. The rest of the park isn't in much better of a state; there are massive puddles lining the paths, and the trees are sagging from the weight of the rain.

You pull your hood further over your head. "Tell me why you wanted to sit out in a park while it's chucking it down? I would've much rather had to sit in the same room as Ned Shaw than be out in this. My hands are freezing."

"You're the bait."

"The bait? What for?"

"Ah, there he is. My plan worked perfectly."

"Kipps, what are you -?" Turning your gaze down the path to the right, you realise. "No, Kipps, you're not going to bother Lockwood. I can handle myself."

"He needs to get a grip. He acted like a ten-year-old by avoiding you instead of talking to you, and it upset you. This just gives me the perfect excuse I've needed to give him a bollocking."

As he stands, you make to grab his sleeve. "Kipps, no."

But he's already sauntering up to Lockwood. The two meet halfway, drenched in rain. Lockwood's cheeks are flushed from the chill, and, though Kipps is the one speaking to him, he's looking at you.

"Kipps, stop it," you grumble, hurrying over. "I don't need you to mother me. It'll make things worse."

"I for one would like to hear what he has to say," Lockwood says. The challenging tone he always takes on with Kipps really should've been there, but it isn't. It's more of a guilty statement than anything else.

"You're acting like a kid, Tony," Kipps says angrily. "Do it with anyone else, but not with (name), not when they don't deserve it. I've been warning them not to fall for your tricks, but they've been insistent. He's a good guy. He's just going through a lot at the moment. Bullshit. Buck up your shit, or get out of their life."

"Kipps," you hiss. "Just shut up."

"No, I won't shut up, because he's hurting you. I won't stand for that."

"Just stop it! I'll handle this myself. I don't need you to do it for me."

"We all know that you weren't interested in that girl," Kipps says, glaring at Lockwood. If looks could kill, he'd be dead five times over. "You did it to be petty because, what, you were jealous that (name) was spending their time with someone other than you? Grow up."

"Kipps -"

"I'm going to leave now." His voice has grown quieter, even sterner, taking on the tone of someone using his age as leverage. "You two are going to talk this out. But if I find out that you've hurt them again, Tony, we're going to have major problems."

For a moment, he doesn't move, but then he squeezes your shoulder and leaves. You watch his figure disappear out of the park, blurred by the rain, before turning back to Lockwood.

His hair is plastered to his forehead and he's breathing a little heavier than usual. "(name) -"

"Kipps basically said everything that needed to be said," you say, pursing your lips. "I might've done it a little more gently."

A little laugh parts his lips. "He's right, you know."

"Oh, yeah, I absolutely do know. And it makes you a prick."

"It does." He looks down at his feet, guilt clouding his eyes. "I just - I was upset, and I know that gives me no right to have done what I did, but I felt - I don't know. Pushed aside? So I avoided you because it hurt a little less not having to see you all the time and wonder if you were thinking of someone else. Now I know how entirely wrong I was."

You stuff your hands into your pockets, desperate for warmth. "I was worried I'd done something to make you hate me. Lucy had tried to tell me that my hanging out with Kipps was a possibility, but I just didn't think it seemed like a logical reason. That's why I started spending more time with him - you avoiding me made me feel alone, and, yeah, I've got Lucy and George, too, but it felt nice to have someone shake some sense into me."

"I'm sorry, (name). Truly. If I'd known, things would've gone so much differently. I was more than a prick."

"You were." You laugh softly, and the sound has Lockwood's eyes back on you. "Lockwood, you mean the world to me. I thought you realised that."

There it is: that little mischievous glimmer in his eyes. The corners of his lips twitch. "Well, since I obviously didn't, maybe you could show me?"

"Are you sure you don't want Talia to show you? She did seem lovely after all."

He rolls his eyes, taking a step closer. He's near enough that you can feel the warmth of his breath. "Are you jealous?"

"Well, I wasn't the original jealous one, but, yes, I suppose I am."

When his hand touches your arm, you can feel its heat even through your jacket. You wonder if he can feel your heartbeat. It's never gone so fast before.

"So, about showing me that I mean the world to you?"

"You are insufferable."

It doesn't stop you from pulling your hands from your pockets and pulling his lips to yours. He may be insufferable and frustrating, among other things, but you wouldn't have him any other way. So long as he's yours.

[dealingdreams]

The Acolyte s01e01 : Lost/Found

I'm going to put all my thoughts as I go into this one post, and at the end summarize some of my thoughts over the whole episode.

Also before you get any further just an fyi obviously there will be spoilers for this episode but I have already watched the whole season so I'll be referencing things later revealed so proceed with caution.

Notes while watching:

Mae's outfit is so fucking cool. I love the subtle pattern on her cloak.

She does crack me up...she's so dramatic 'attack me with all your strength'

I love this when Indara says 'the Jedi do not attack the unarmed' and Mae's response is 'yes, you do' what an efficient way of peeking interest into what this conflict is about.

I also idk. I don't know how to explain this well but...I don't like when shows make their characters unnaturally gifted. Like Indara has been doing this for a long time so her fight skill would have been better than Mae's so I like that it indeed was yaknow. Mae however, doesn't fight fair which also love.

Osha waking up and putting her hand over her heart...right where Indara was stabbed. I think this was the first real sign that Osha might feel like she hasn't been accessing the force she still is very connected to it.

Little hints at what to come there with the trade federation needing shields prepared. Love to see it.

Osha is so snarky.

Osha is doing an illegal job btw

She does seem genuinely happy to see Yord. It kinda what makes him reaching for his saber even more upsetting.

Sol's quote 'close your eyes, your eyes deceive you' really fucks me up when you think about how that's exactly what Sol's eyes did. He saw something he didn't completely understand, he had good intentions but ultimately he let it blind him.

I like the texture they did to Vernestra's makeup

I do like that Sol immediately was in Osha's corner.

I think Osha's kindness is so sweet. she immediately was concerned for that prisoners wellbeing and saved his life when she could have just left him.

Amandla's scream is so good.

Sol saying let me take accountability is interesting. I think he always was caught between genuinely believing he did the right thing and knowing he was in the wrong. I don't think you need to justify your actions if you genuinely think you were right yaknow.

Yord steaming his cloak cracks me up.

'as above sits the stars, and below lies the sea. I give you you, and you give me me' very as above so below vibes. I feel like the twins might be destined to remain on opposite sides.

I don't think Sol remotely thought Mae was dead when Jecki asked him.

Yord is that know it all in your intro to sociology class.

I think Osha slipping was more to show us her disconnection with the force.

"the Jedi live in a dream. A dream they believe everyone shares. If you attack a Jedi with a weapon you will fail. Steel or laser are not threat to them. But an Acolyte an Acolyte kills without a weapon. An acolyte kills a the dream."

See, I think everything The Stranger says is layered. He's talking about killing without a weapon but also that it's more than the physical death of the Jedi...but the dream as well. This idea of the Jedi supremacy, that they are so powerful. That only the Jedi can access the force. Anyone Killing a Jedi without the use of a weapon would ultimately show that there are others that are capable of using the force.

Anyways so thoughts:

I think this episode was immediately engaging. I really enjoyed how the set up the characters...layed some hints on what is to come. Overall I think it is a solid pilot episode.

Also I think it's heartbreaking that Osha has so much faith in the Jedi but aside from Sol they all were very much convinced of her guilt from the jump. Sure her having a twin wasn't in her file but they had her convicted before they even really investigated it.

Amandla carried herself just a bit different for Mae than with Osha and I adore that. She is so amazing.

Anyways love it...I also think this is the type of show that gets better with every rewatch it's so rich.

[wildwinterlunas]

heyhey!! i love your page so much and your analyses of characters.... when you posted cassidy and mysteriousness and how he would only share the most with mina, it could be interesting to expand on that with echo being the closest person and personality to her as a result. it could be a grief amplifier but also it could close up cassidy even more and make him so much more reluctant to share anything real at all,, i've been thinking about this all day!! this is why i love your thoughts!!

Oh trust me I think about this a lot.

The way Declassified described Mina and Cassidy's realationship reminded me so much of something that was mentioned in Deadlock Rebels. That being that Cassidy had walls up, a line that not even Ashe could cross. Those walls being his mask, his persona, something that not a lot of people could see past, let alone break though, but Mina is described as seeing through it instantly, and even breaking through it. She did something that no one else, not even Ashe could do, she saw who Cassidy was without the persona, without the mask. She's the one person we see that Cassidy probably fully opened up to, and the way she died probably altered Cassidy permanently. He was just outside the building when the explosion happened, he raced to where Mina was and was the only person with her in her final moments. That would change anyone, and we see that it changed Cassidy, making him more hostile in the beginning but then he just began building those walls again, stronger this time. Hiding behind the mask even more so he wouldn't be hurt like that again.

One of my biggest HC's is that Cassidy and Echo have a father-daughter relationship, as some of Echo's personality wouldn't have come from Mina, but would have definitely come from Cole. Such as her outwardly sassing people like Ramattra, that and the way she teases people along with how she empathises with people and comforts them. We also know from her short story that the first people Echo could copy were Mina, Cassidy and Jack, Mina and Cassidy being the people she was around the most. That doesn't detract from the fact that Echo is still very similar to Mina, having similar behaviours and mannerisms.

Considering how we see Cassidy interact with Echo, it's very obvious that he isn't as open to her as he was with Mina. To me, Cassidy isn't the type of person to treat Echo as just a copy of Liao, she's her own person. However considering his history with her and Liao, it would be hard for him to not see the similarities. Also I would like to point out that the way that Echo and Cassidy talk about Liao feels like child asking an alive parent what their deceased parent would have thought of them.

Something else I would like to add is that Cassidy was so focused on revenge he wasn't able to attend Mina's funeral. Which probably adds another layer of grief on an already steaming sess pool of shit, because on top of all of that, Gerard gets injured and Reyes shoots a guy out of a window, basically signing Overwatch's death warrant. Then right after that the Zurich explosion happens and Cassidy looses his arm, his family, his home, and what fragile stability he had from being an Overwatch agent. During this time, Echo is also put in quarantine.

He probably feels like he failed Echo, that he failed Mina. It probably being part of the reason why he sounds so hostile about Jack "chasing ghosts", he knows what revenge can do to a person, how it can affect the people around them.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Cassidy's story is so much more complex and tragic if you stop and really think about it.

(btw, writing this reminded me that shortly after this, he would have had to watch as Genji and Lena were critically injured while fighting Doomfist.)

[becauseimanicequeen]

My Two Cents on White Being Non Pt. 2

I’ve previously written a post about my thoughts on White being Non and I have some additional thoughts to add to that (mainly because I’ve been thinking about Tee’s interaction with Non and White respectively throughout my day and I can’t seem to stop…).

In that post, I wrote that White’s hallucination of the boils/rash on his skin could indicate his fear of something being off-putting about his appearance and how that could be linked back to Non being called “greasy”.

The first time we see Non, walking into a classroom three years earlier, Top (being his usually charming assholish self…) exclaims that there’s no shampoo there and that Non should go home and shower instead (or something like that).

While I was thinking about this earlier today (as I was creating drips on a current abstract wip of mine), Tee and White’s shower scene in the first episode just popped into my head.

(Yes, this is how my mind works when I’m in right-brain-land.)

I feel like there’s something more to their shower scene than just a sensual rendezvous in the steam (yes, their dynamic is definitely more sensual than, for example, Phee and Jin’s, but I’ll get back to this in a sec). And I believe it has something to do with White and his insecurities.

(Btw, considering Tee’s reaction to protect White when they all watch the footage from the security camera is another indication that White is feeling vulnerable in a situation like that, and Tee knows it.)

Considering that Por suggests that Non should take a shower because he’s “greasy”, and the fact that Non’s been called “greasy” by almost everyone in that group (including Tee), I don’t think it’s very far-fetched that White (Non) don’t want to have sex with Tee with the risk of being dirty (greasy) or off-putting hanging over him. And so, they have their rendezvous in a shower.

But I also feel like there’s another aspect of this since (as I’ve read many point out) the boils/rash White sees in his hallucination show up on the area of his neck and shoulder that Tee kisses in that scene in the 1st episode. This could indicate that sex, or even touching and kissing, makes him feel dirty.

And, since I’m writing this from the perspective that White is Non, there’s a perfect explanation for this…

The video of him and Keng.

That video being filmed and uploaded onto the internet was the thing that destroyed everything for Non. It was a public humiliation. He was in a compromising and vulnerable position for the world to see and criticize. Anyone could’ve started associating sex with being dirty in a situation like that (especially after reading people’s comments on the video).

There’s also the fact that he was groomed and coerced into having sex with Keng, which could’ve also made Non feel dirty. But having it on display for the world to see, that’s on a whole other level.

In other words, White’s (Non’s) hallucination of the boils/rash makes sense based on this.

But, let’s get to another point by going back to Tee and White's shower scene.

This scene is really beautiful and you can sense the vulnerability (especially since White is often shown having his arms and hands close to his own chest, which can be an indication of wanting to protect oneself). This scene is also very much in contrast to Phee and Jin’s scene in the same episode. Phee and Jin’s dynamic is more sexual while Tee and White’s dynamic is more sensual.

What’s interesting about the topic of sensuality, though, is that there’s another relationship that has a sensual dynamic. The relationship between Phee and Non. The short montage (in episode 7) showing the start of their relationship and their interactions throughout that episode definitely show a sensual dynamic between the two.

(Sure, Non doesn’t show any sign of feeling insecure or vulnerable in Phee’s company, but Phee doesn’t know Non as “greasy” like Tee does, so this could explain that difference. But if we’re just looking at the sensual vibe, it’s definitely there in both relationships.)

And what’s the common denominator: Non.

(Also, let’s not forget that little moment of Jin being absolutely captivated by Non when they’re editing the movie. There’s definitely something about Non that’s very captivating to all these bitches, which I’m planning on further developing in another post. But, I digress…)

If what I’ve already written isn’t enough, there’s also the fact that both are intelligent.

Non was the one who answered Keng (with a correct answer) when Keng asked them to solve the equation he’d written on the board. Non also had all the correct answers on the test he got back from Keng.

And what does White offer Tee in the backstory they showed us in the 11th episode? He offers to tutor Tee because White’s a smart little bee. He might play two years younger, but his intellect is not (not that it’s a feat being smarter than Tee, but I digress…).

Not to forget that we have, time and time again, seen White find the clues and information at the house. He’s, at the very least, as smart as Non. And, no wonder (since he is Non).

Are all these similarities between Non and White a mere coincidence? It’s possible.

Am I reading too much into this? Most likely.

Am I delulu? Yes. But I choose to be. At least when it comes to certain things (like DFF theories).

[meatsex]

btw i finished totono, here are my thoughts with spoilers ofc even though i doubt anyone here gives any particular fucks but i dont feel like going to backloggd

i actually ended up liking it a lot, i had gotten it back in 2020 on steam, but then i found out it was censored and was highly discouraged from playing it so i just refunded it

i think its probably for the better i played it now anyways, i also played it knowing the ending, or at least one of them it seems, which is what made me want to play it to begin with, but i still found myself impressed and perplexed at its twists and mechanics

aoi and miyuki are both really hateable and really likeable, it was incredibly hard to pick only one at the end of it all, i went with miyuki regardless since as much as i love aoi im the kind of guy that has a moral compass he swears his life on most of the time, but even after picking her i felt regret on not picking aoi, either way its done and im happy with it

however, the ending felt infinite and never-ending, its a mix of me playing it for 4 hours straight for sure, but i had actually put it down for a week or so (miyuki in fact did give me such a reminder) because i really did assume it finished after aoi's route just like that, but it seems not, so i was surprised to see there was more to the game, for better or for worse

if it were for me it could have ended back then, with miyuki killing her and shinichi, and i would have been satisfied, the true route became a chore at one point, even with a guide, and incredibly convoluted, which isnt bad, just tiring when it felt like it just kept dragging on and on, especially with the abundance of sex scenes (because aoi got like 4 in her normal route, they had to thrown in all of miyuki's in here and it shows) and im no pornography expert but my god were they such slop to skip through, the art itself is good (<-gooner) but i couldnt take any of the audio seriously and it just kept going and going and going

im glad i decided to get it uncensored anyways, i think its important to experience totono with these scenes even if they suck, some are actually at least a bit important to the story (unlike saya's...)

the final puzzle sucks ass, i dont care

overall i liked it a lot, the art and music and story and presentation is all quite interesting and eye catching, im sure it was groundbreaking back then in 2013

[drop--pop--candy]

stares at u autistically. I know we're strangers but I'm curious about that dgr au

HIIIIII nws i love when ppl ask me abt my aus :D i was planning on writing it at some point but the prsk hyperfixation has faded juuust enough that i don't think i could do it now shdjdhfjhd anyways all of this to say im gonna explain the whole plot (of ch1. i lost steam so bad) to you now. hits you with my autism beam

(cw violence, death, drug abuse but like it wasn't on purpose?? this one isn't as bad as it sounds i swear)

so! starting with the basic facts this au is a saki protag. i noticed she dies in pretty much every dgr au (usually really early) and i love her so that rly pissed me off and that's what motivated me to make this au LMAOOO anyways the supports are tsukasa and toya because i am just a liiiittle insane abt the tenma siblings

nothing Particularly Interesting happens in the prologue except for the miku design drop. she's got elements from every sekai's Miku, one pigtail is dark pink like l/n's miku and one is her regular green like mmj's miku. her hair is twisted like vbs miku and her voicebank/tuning is in the style of wxs miku. also she's got heterochromia and different height socks like niigo miku. also this wasn't in the prologue (because i did actually write it) but everyone's tablets have a dm feature so they're basically just phones except they don't let ppl out of the sekai. also also wasn't in the prologue but important detail that it's against the rules to go in someone's else's room even if they have the door unlocked/open unless they give you explicit permission OR they're in some way incapacitated (passed out/dead). all the other rules are pretty much the same from previous dgr games

chapter one time!!! this one is Sad. they're all sad actually dgdhdhdjdh anyways so the motive for this chapter is like a million dollars. and everyone agrees that's a stupid motive and none of them would kill for money. nobody's gonna kill anyone we're better that that ‼️‼️‼️ <- moments before disaster. anyways so all the money is in a giant cube in the gym and a few people talk abt how just having it so out there in the open could entice people. and minori is not having that at all so she gets shiho to help her take this massive box from the closet that's on the second floor of the dorms. the box doesn't actually weigh that much so minori lifts it on her own and instead gets shiho to stand just a few steps down on the stairs and guide her down since she can't find a way to fit the box down the stairs when she's facing frontwards. but when she takes the first step down backwards she slips and falls down the stairs, knocking shiho down with her. the fall breaks shiho's neck, killing her pretty much instantly. it also breaks several of minori's bones, so she takes more painkillers than she should and is really really Weird for the entirety of the investigation because of it.

she doesn't make like. a huge effort to hide that she killed shiho because she was planning to confess, but she doesn't end up doing that because at the start of the trial miku is like "oh btw if you're the murderer and you get caught you get executed lol" and minori just. can't make herself do it bc of the Fear. i think if everyone hadn't figured it out she would've ended up confessing to save haruka and all her friends but everyone did figure it out so she didn't have to do that.

in minori's execution she's got wings like icarus (held together by wax) and she's flying over the ocean. she's still hallucinating from the painkillers so she thinks the glow from the sun is a bunch of glowsticks that are in her color so she flies towards it. the wings melt and she falls into the ocean. minori can usually swim but between the broken bones and the current of the sea she can't keep herself afloat and drowns. and that's the end of chapter one :)

negl to u this took me an hour to type up HAGSHSGSHSGSH i can explain more but just. later i need a break lol. so if u want to see more feel free to send me another ask and i'll answer it in a few hours or maybe tmrw or something but Soon i promise

[swanhild]

Btw, if anyone here has a Steam account, you can currently download a demo version of inZoi's character editor (think Sims 4 but with less cartoony/more realistic graphics) for free.

Since there's so much hype around it atm I tried it and made some Silm elves. The results are kinda creepy (the graphics style is a bit uncanny valley for me), but it's pretty fun trying to recreate the blorbwës from your head.

Have some 3 Cs (Curufin, Caranthir, Celgorm):

Not super happy with them because the editing options are a lot more limited than I would have expected (though maybe it's just because it's only a demo version) and I just couldn't get some things right. So this is not quite how I picture them in my head, but it was an interesting exercise.

More silliness behind the cut:

[nightcolorz]

im not sure/can’t remember if I’ve ever seen anyone else share this opinion or make a meta similar to this, so I might be coming out with an absolutely steaming, boiling, straight out the oven, call the fire department hot take, which has the potential to ratio me to the sun, but here it goes. (Before proceeding, TW for some discussion of eating disorder like themes and topics, ie vampires restricting how much they drink blood for complex Catholic guilt reasons that may be reminiscent of how eating disorders present + how ppl with eating disorders may think about eating, themselves, etc. Also additional, vaguer cw warning for Catholic guilt and depression + self neglect. Take care of yourselves loves.)

I don’t think book!Louis actually values humanity, or is overly sensitive/empathetic in the way he’s claimed to be/sometimes portrayed. This differs in the show btw. Show Louis I think is very much sensitive and appreciative of humanity and life in a way the other vampires aren’t. But I don’t think book Louis feels guilt for taking life because it weighs on his conscience to do that to another person. I think that’s a very small part of his aversion. Louis doesn’t actually care about being a morally good person, or avoiding harming others, what he actually cares about is being a “pure” person. His morale strivings rely heavily on his capabilities in comparison to other vampires of abstaining from fleshly pleasures and “sin”. It’s very much a Catholic guilt thing. Being a “good” person has nothing to do with it. It’s all about being “pure” and godly. Louis doesn’t feel bad for killing because killing is a terrible thing to do, he feels bad for killing because he enjoys it. His moral compass isn’t about empathy, or feeling for others in a way the other evil vampires aren’t capable of, it’s about him, and how he feels. It’s why in the post iwtv VC, particularly totbt, he does kill people, but he only does sometimes, and he makes sure that everyone knows how much it tortures him. His “morality” and “humanity” is about feeling a grim satisfaction as the other vamps rave about how weak and human-like he is and go on about “When was the last time you fed Louis?” “Why do you live like this Louis?? “You’re so dusty and you dress like shit Louis!” Because he knows he’s succeeding, he knows the other vamps can’t bare to see the way he suffers because they’re just so indulgent and gluttonous in comparison to him. Something something that thing Akasha said in qotd about Louis being the most predatory of them all etc. And the hottest take of them all is that I actually prefer Louis that way. He’s objectively a worser person then show Louis, for many reasons obviously, but the way he justifies himself and thinks about his actions is just so much more interesting to me tbh. Not that I don’t love show Louis, but he doesn’t get my gears grinding and my cogs turning the same way complicated and terrible book Louis does. If a character doesn’t make me at least a little angry because they’re so unwell and so evil then they’re not for me lol.

[groenendaelfic]

Regarding the Fate of As Long as We Have Each Other

Dear Anons,

First let me say that I absolutely love your wonderful messages and compliments. They give me life and I treasure them and few things cheer me up more than a nice word or two about my fics and knowing I'm not just typing into the void.

I'll keep trying my best to answer asks if they include questions or bring up interesting points others might be interested in as well (in fact there are quite a few I have been putting off answering because I want to do it properly and that'll probably take an hour or two each, but I haven't forgotten about them!) and you can always message me with other stuff so I don't have to answer publicly (although admittedly it sometimes takes a while for me to reply because irl and anxiety), and I don't want to sound ungrateful, but please,

PLEASE stop sending me melodramatic asks regarding the fate of As Long as We Have Each Other. I get that you are impatient, but they aren't helpful and I got eight of them over the past ten days.

Don't get me wrong, a 'btw I still love that fic, will there be an update anytime soon?' is totally okay and appreciated, those are not the kind of asks I'm talking about.

Now I'm not sure if it's one anon or multiple ones, but my answer hasn't changed so let me copy/paste it from a previous post:

I have decided to finish A Pack of Two first,

Not because I love it more, but because it'll be a MUCH 'shorter' fic than ALaWHEO and I simply cannot keep switching between feral!Wille pov and official boyfriend!Simon pov, especially because both have a very narrow pov and are only aware of like a third of what's going on, and it's driving me bananas.

So yes, As Long as We Have Each Other is going on a short break, but I will definitely get back to it once APoT is done because I'm as enthusiastic about the story as I was on day one, maybe even more so.

ALaWHEO is my favorite fic across all of my fandoms and my baby, but I simply cannot write both it and APoT at the same time. I thought I could or else I wouldn't have started APoT, but I can't and so I had to make a choice.

If it helps, both my notes doc and my outline for ALaWHEO have grown significantly over the past seven weeks and it will definitely end up being over 400k, but only AFTER APoT is done.

Also in all my 23 years of being in fandom (in fact my fandom anniversary will be in 4 days! wtf is time even?) I have only ever given up on posting one fic that made it over 20k and that was because the fandom was an absolutely toxic dumpster fire and not because I lost interest, and even that fic I one day plan to go back to and post in its entirety once the fandom has shrunken considerably and all the 'I might not speak the language or have ever been to the country, but I've read a fan translation with footnotes and a few background posts and so now I totally know the time period and topic you've written your thesis on better than you' people have lost interest. So I promise ALaWHEO will get finished. I'm a completionist. I have all Civ6 steam achievements and believe me that was not fun. The only reason ALaWHEO will not be finished is if I am suddenly for whatever reason unable to write anymore (aka dead or gravely ill).

Anyway. Sorry for the rant. I don't want to call anyone out or seem unappreciative, but my anxiety can only handle so many versions of 'have you completely abandoned ALaWHEO? do you hate it? do you hate me personally for once stating that I didn't like abo fic? I don't know how my poor heart will be able to cope if you give up on ALaWHEO forever and ever but my hope lives on' (no that was not as much of an exaggeration as you might think)

So please stop or I'll disable anon asks, which I'd hate to do because I love hearing everyone's thoughts and comments and also it'd be unfair to everyone else who has been so absolutely lovely, motivating, encouraging and most of all inspiring.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk. (are those still a thing?)

[lottieratworld]

finished luxor 2 on easy difficulty for the first time :)

for anyone interested in my progress through my Balls Adventure, i have finished:

Luxor Amun Rising (aka Luxor 1.5)

Luxor 2

Luxor 3

Luxor Quest for the Afterlife (aka Luxor 4)

luxor 1 will be next, however i will probably play luxor 1 hd since the original doesnt have variable difficulty selection, and from what ive heard in the spherematchers community is about as hard as luxor ar/2 on hardest difficulty. luxor hd has an easy difficulty option so.

should you be interested in these games do be aware that apparently the versions on steam might not work on windows 10/11, probably something to do with the outdated version compatibility checker since they work fine on linux if u set the wine version to Windows XP... the hd versions of luxor 1, ar, and 2 should work however

btw i do have screenshots from beating luxor AR a few days ago, heres that if ur interested in seeing my score. also done on easy difficulty. didnt get a screenshot of the final level like i wanted tho :(

[faerociousbeast]

fae gamer moments! games i played this weekend, a review (part 1, saturday edition)

trapped with jester: short, but fully voiced and also animated! i didnt really. go Into this with expectations but it somehow managed to defy them anyways. twas fun piecing lore through different endings! a good play. this one is also available on steam afaik

404 shinigami: grims cute i like him. also short but its pretty funny 👍 i legitimately got jumpscared the first playthrough when the music started tho dhshhfjsjf

project kat: a prologue to some other game, but i havent gotten around to playing that one yet. this ones actually a horror type thing, had a good concept, i liked clicking around, i think its on steam too?

i didnt get all the endings for this one tho since it was longer then the other ones i tried on saturday but i am planning to go back and do that at some point

teisatsu: I REALLY LIKED THIS ONE one of my favourites from this weekend tbh. was a nice change of pace after all the horror-esque type things. you get to choose to be a guy or a girl if that means anything to anyone? but basically you are a SPY! also its a dating sim 3 love interests all guys. But the spy part is more important

personally my favourite is haruki bc. Well. yeah hes cute but everyones pretty cool. left a lot of unanswered questions in term of character backstories and plot, you dont really finish the main goal either but given the length i dont mind. the aesthetic kinda reminded me of p5 too

all of the above are free btw^

[doberbutts]

Undertake already was going to be widely popular because it was a game that in its inception already had a gigantic fan base because many of the early fans followed Toby Fox from his work on Homestuck. Homestuck was HUGE, at one point one of the most popular if not THE most popular webcomic out there during its heyday. And while Fox didn't come up with Homestuck itself, he DID put forth a lot of effort into helping Hussie with it, and Hussie was also partially involved with the making of Undertale as the two of them at least *were* friends during that time.

Then you add that as OP said Undertale was 10 bucks and could be played on a toaster if necessary, so not only was there already a gigantic rabid fan base at launch but also this gigantic fanbase could play it regardless of the machine they had.

But wait! There's more! When undertale first released on Steam, it was marked as playable on Mac. It very wasn't. I bought it at launch and the damn thing wouldn't open. I was in art school playing on the school-supplied macbook pro. So I did the only thing I could think of without refunding and negatively impacting an indie creator, and emailed Fox directly based off the email on his website at the time. I asked him if he knew about the glitch preventing the game from opening and if he knew of a workaround. His response was more or less "I told Steam their UI broke it and they wouldn't listen to me, I knew this would happen, sorry about that here's a DRM-free version no problem".

He then announced to his fan base that the Mac version was broken and if anyone bought it not realizing that, to email him and he would do the same. To my knowledge he made good on it for every person who contacted him. He didn't ask me for a receipt. He didn't ask for proof of purchase or proof it wouldn't work. We didn't email back and forth troubleshooting. Simply "sorry, here you go" and a download link that, btw, still works last I checked tho I don't have a Mac anymore and can play it on steam easily with my gaming laptop I've purchased in the mean time.

And also. It was just a really good game, with great sound design, a fun game play loop, and an interesting story that gets more interesting the more you investigate it. Of course it's hugely popular. Fox grew up in the age of cult classics and went "I can do that" and then did it.

But also I think with all of these things going for it, plus the fact that Fox clearly knows how to take care of his fanbase, he would have had to have been *trying to bomb it* for it to fail. And to this day he still holds my respect for making things right immediately.

can i be so honest for a second. with the initial disclaimer of 'undertale is also just a really good game', i cant take anyone seriously who asks why undertale got more popular than like, any triple A game or game that requires a console/beefy computer. undertale was 10$ and could be played easily on my 6 year old apple laptop that used to emit sparks. it was accessible to the most powerful audiences: broke people and teenagers