#just to keep some storyline options open

[cicadaknight]

teleporting the party down to the gooshy oubliette just to make em all covered in blood and gorgeous

[dinogoofymutated]

Hi. Could you please write some Gambit fluff headcannons? The Gambit Nation is struggling right now and we could all really use some fluffiness from the man himself.

Btw I'm absolutely OBSESSED with your writing. Like, seriously amazing.

Gambit/GN!Reader

I Know you sent this in forever ago after that one godforsaken episode of 97' and I'm so sorry I'm just now getting to it!!! It's been sitting in my drafts for forever and I've just been struggling to come up with fluff hcs! TBH, It started as general fluff and not a whole ass storyline and eventually i just got too far deep to stop! This isn't even as fluffy as I was quite expecting, but once i started writing it just came out and atp I couldn't stop. It's been a rough night, but this really just turned Into being Remy's comfort person HCs.

TWs: rocky family life mentioned. Sneaking out, underage drinking, so on. Smooth timeskip to adulthood. very much fluffy with a lil bit of somber tones. Not enough to be angst tho.

Think about being Teens with Remy Lebeau. The late nights, sneaking out, ranting to each other in the streets and alleyways of New Orleans.

Getting into fights with your parents/guardians or siblings and wanting nothing more than to just shrivel up and disappear. Curling up underneath your blankets with a pillow wrapped around your ears trying to just block out all of the bad thoughts when you keep hearing a persistent Tap, Tap, Tap. And then a much more obvious pop! Against your window.

You know who it is before you even unwrap yourself from the comfort of your bed, opening your window with a lot less energy than you usually have. You're tired and sad, but the face of that Cajun boy your parents don't like always makes you smile.

The red-eyed teen's smirk falls when he sees the rough state you're in, right before ducking back behind the trashcan when a light turns on in your parent's bedroom. Eventually, it turns back off again, and by the time he's back on the sidewalk you're ready to go. He helps you out of the window much more gentlemanly than a thief and a scoundrel probably should, but he's nothing if not a sweetheart. (And a loverboy, but you wouldn't realise it then.)

"Ah, hell wit' them. S'not like they worth your time anyway." Remy's got an arm wrapped around your shoulders, a beer in hand as the two of you lean against the wall of a particular mausoleum. -Course, you had offered whatever ghosts has resided there the first sip as a courtesy, so you're definitely not cursed, right? Not that Remy was even worried about that, but he puts up with your superstitions to comfort you.

"Don't say that, please." You whisper, rubbing your tired eyes. He frowns, knowing that he wouldn't know the first ting about how "normal" families work, but he doesn't quite get why you worry about what they think so much.

"I don't get why you stay, Cher. Not when they treat you like this." You can feel the rumble of Remy's voice through his chest, and find yourself tucking yourself closer into his side. He sets his head on top of yours when you do so.

"What other choice do I have? They're my parents." You whisper, fidgeting with some strings at the hem of your sweatshirt. In hindsight, maybe wearing pajamas to a graveyard wasn't the best choice. You hear Remy chuckle after a moment as a thought crosses his mind, and he swirls the bottle slowly, a few times, before he hands it to you.

"Well..." He starts, giving the words a moment to rest. "There is one option..." You take the bottle from him, cocking a eye as you sit up a little bit to look at him.

"And what's that?"

"Run away wit' me."

He's smirking when he suggests it, a playfulness in his eyes. If only you knew just how serious he was.

"Remy LeBeau!" You scold, unable to fight back your smile as he chuckles at you.

"What? S'not a bad idea, no? No thieves guild, no drama, Jus' you an me." He laughs when you give him an incredulous look and take a dramatic sip from the beer, only to make a face at the taste directly afterwards. Damn, was it rancid.

"Don't get me dreaming, Remy." You mumble. There's only a little bit left it the bottle, and you decide it's better suited for the graveyard. Remy complains about it, trying to fight you for the rest of the beer. The two of you are a couple of idiots to be laughing this loud in a place like this, and even bigger ones to start play-fighting, but neither of you really mind.

You were each other's safe space. The one person the other could run to as the world falls apart around them. Life as a teen was never easy, especially not when you're mutants- but at least you had each other. But as his life was being consumed with the thieves guild, and the prophesy that came with it, you saw less and less of Remy as the years went by.

When you did meet again, it was under the roof of one Professor Xavier. The others were nervous and distrustful about this ex-con entering the team, but you never doubted him for a second. Your person was finally right where you needed him once again. Your Remy. And as smooth as he is around the team, you knew it was a wall, almost an act. Something to befriend the others- but you knew Remy, and you were grateful that after all the years that had passed, he still came to you when he needed you the most.

"Long day?" You ask. Remy hums in response, plopping down onto the bed next to you. You set your book to the side when he rests his head in your lap, soothingly running your hands through his hair as he sighs in content.

"You know it, ma chérie." Remy says in your lap. You can't help but blush at the name still, despite how many years he's spent calling you by the words. Remy's eyes are closed beneath you, giving you the freedom to fully take in the features of his handsome face whilst keeping him unawares. His stubble is growing in, and he's got a few new freckles and scars from your years seperated, but he's still the same wild, reckless kid you fell in love with as a teen. He hums as you brush your thumbs across his cheekbones, catching your hand and pressing it to his lips, leaving a kiss there. He then kisses your inner wrist before holding your hand to his face.

You still don't really know what to say when he does things like that.

"Can I ask you something?" You ask after a moment.

" 'Course, Cher."

"Would you still wanna run away with me?" When the last words leave your mouth, you can feel Remy frown. His eyes open about halfway, your hand still in his hold as he presses it to his face.

"What brought this on?" He asks, and you only shrug, looking away from him as your thumb idly strokes his face.

"I dunno. I was just thinking about it." His skin on your own is starting to feel too warm, your nerves becoming unignorable. Remy cocks an eyebrow at you, before he smiles. Not a smirk, a real, genuine, smile. He takes your chin in his hand, and moves your head so that you're looking at him again.

"If you needed me to run away with you, Belle, I'd do so without looking back." His words make you smile brightly, holding onto the wrist of the hand that holds your chin. You lean forward to press a kiss to his forehead, but Remy moves. He sits up just slightly, and before you know it, Remy Lebeau's lips are pressed against yours in a sweet kiss.

Remy chuckles at the surprised face you're making when he pulls back, sitting up a little further so that he can press his forehead to your own, leaning into your space.

"You' always known me to be an opportunist, Cher. Can't help but steal a kiss here an there." Remy says, and your laugh is partly from disbelief, surprise, and outright giddy joy.

"Please tell me you haven't been waiting to say that since we were kids." You ask. Remy smiles brightly in return.

"My poker face 'not good enough for you, huh, ma chérie?."

[infamous-if]

So sorry for the delay! ! My VS Code program wasn't calibrated with CSIDE and in the indentions basically messed up. The prologue coding is so wonky that honestly if I do anything I end up fucking up 2839393 lines of code. If you've been following a while, you're probably well aware of much hatred for the prologue's coding lmao but we live and we learn.

Storyline wise, not much has changed. Scenes are largely the same, since I'm pretty happy with what I wrote a year ago. For this rewrite, I focused mainly on the big things like choices that will impact the rest of the story and O's gender selection. Some new things include:

you can now play with Orion or Oriana Quinn

you can now express if the band went through a musical rebrand after seven and what the old genre was (which will come up later).

you can now choose whether mc "changed" after seven and what change that was (there's 4, technically 2, options and a "default" vague option, im open to more options since I wanted to do this but couldn't really think of any believable ones beyond the four).

new mc personality: attached vs detached. your mc can have an extra attachment to the band for obvious reasons, or can feel the opposite.

coordinating outfits can now be exclusive to the band members. your mc can be the unique unicorn of the group since they're the lead singer (this is definitely not gonna bite them in the ass later)

adding to that, your mc's reason for fame can be due to wanting to keep the band together.

a new flavor text feeling about seven is now added which is basically "idk how I feel" instead of hating or loving them, you can just make it that MC's feelings for them is just a big question mark. REALISM!

stat changes: stern/playful -- same thing as humorous/serious I just wanted words that encompassed a wider range of behavior Leader/follower - whether mc takes on the leader role or not camaraderie - a band stat that measures the trust/morale/closeness of the band

u can probably see where im going with the stats huh....

smaller changes include:

more choices and options

prose changes + dialogue additions and expanded/ added scenes

The beta testers have not touched this yet, as I wanted to bring it out to collect some last suggestions, ideas from Patrons. Of course, as always, if you do catch errors, please let me know.

My main concern for errors: O's pronouns. It was a long process but I may have missed a few pronouns here and there. Please let me know if you catch any <3

PROLOGUE: 93K WORDS (for context, the old prologue and chapter 1 were 92k together. The prologue is a tiny bit inflated but :))) 

I will make a post about beta testers soon. I've been quiet on that front because I've been just prioritizing getting this out first.

Now available for Band tier! (6$)

[within-your-eyes-if]

FAQs

Welcome to the FAQs post for Within Your Eyes. More may be added in the future!

Do you take NSFW Asks?

Yes! [Though at the moment, Asks are closed]

Will there be more poly routes?

Right now, the polyamorous routes I’ve included felt "right" to me. While I'm open to the idea of introducing more, I want to ensure that each route is well-developed and fulfilling. Therefore, I’m carefully considering any additional paths. My main focus right now is enhancing gameplay elements and keeping a manageable workload. Future updates might bring new possibilities, but for now, my energy is dedicated to enhancing the current experiences.

How many NSFW scenes will there be?

I let the story guide me a lot on certain things, letting it unfold organically, including NSFW moments. While I do follow a detailed timeline for the story, it's flexible enough to accommodate new ideas, including unplanned NSFW scenes. So, the exact number isn't predetermined — there could be quite a few, depending on how the story unfolds.

You should do __________!!

I receive a variety of suggestions for many aspects of the game. To streamline this process, I've set up a dedicated Feedback form. Please note that while I'm open to hearing your ideas, especially about technical aspects, there are limits to the changes I can implement. I encourage you to read the guidelines carefully before submitting!

Why can't the MC be a virgin?

Initially, I thought the MC's virginity could be an implicit aspect of their background, but I now recognize its significance to some players. While my story isn't purely NSFW, I can see the appeal for having this option, and I'm actively working on incorporating it — this includes adjusting existing scenes. I apologize for any oversight and appreciate your patience!

You said you've been working on this world for so long, why isn't it done?

Bringing a world that's been growing in my imagination for over a decade into an interactive format like Twine has been quite an endeavor. Initially, I envisioned a linear story with three main characters across three stories. However, as I started adapting it to an interactive, choice-driven narrative, I realized these characters wouldn't work as I had intended. This realization led to the introduction of a new character—our beloved Warden—and a shift in the storyline that hadn't been part of the original plan. These adaptations have opened up possibilities that have significantly enhanced my world. It’s taken time, yes, but the depth it's brought has been absolutely worth it!

"Who is ???" or "I already know who ??? is!"

While I love your curiosity and detective work (looking at you, code divers), I must tread carefully here. There’s definitely more than meets the eye. What you think you know is just another piece of a much larger puzzle. Regardless, I hope it will be worth the wait!

I love your story, thank you for sharing!

I promise I see you, and words cannot convey how much I appreciate and adore every message I've received. I keep them to uplift me on the hard days. I may not be able to answer them all, but know I cherish every one! Thank you for being a part of this journey ♥

[phenphoenix]

Something I wrote with a semi-canon mindset. This could happen, it may not. Just for fun, really

[In Charlotte's room at the hotel, an alarm goes off which Charlotte blows up. Razzle blitzes to the kitchen to gets coffee whilst Dazzle gets Charlotte's bathrobe and wraps it around her. She takes her coffee, drinks it and puts the mug back before standing over Vaggie] Charlotte: Rise and shine, Vaggie! [Charlotte gets passed an accordion, with which she plays it loudy and wakes up Vaggie] Vaggie: *groans* Babe, not the accordion again… Charlotte: jumps into bed Hey, blame dad. He inspired my love of music and showmanship. [Razzle play the same note on the accordion as Dazzle hands Charlotte notes] Charlotte: So, on top of the usual shit {mutters} redemption, love and feelings... {normal voice}, he wants a talk about what happened with the… vibrators… I got a thing down in Lust with uncle Ozzie, sorry you can't come. I'll… get some more vibrators… but that should allow us time for dinner. I know this great place just outside of Cannibal Town we can try. Vaggie: *sits up in bed* Charlie… I… are we doing the right thing? Charlotte: sighs Again, Vaggie? Look, I don't give a shit who knows who I date, and neither should you. *cute cuddle moment* Vaggie: Yeah… *looks down at her phone* Charlotte: *teleports to her side* I know some breakfast will cheer you up! I got us burgers! Vaggie: *snickers as they get out of bed* Anyone tell you you're a maniac? Charlotte: Burger time! Burger time! BURGER TIME! [laugh together as they exit the bedroom. Vaggie gives a sad look. Cut to later when Vaggie enters a room and walks to Velvette.] Velvette: Well, did you get it? Vaggie: takes phone out Yeah… [Vaggie reluctantly hands her phone over, Velvete snatches it.] Vaggie: Please, don't-. Velvette: Did I ask your opinion? [Vaggie looks scared then sad] Velvette: *looks through the phone* Hell's princess in my back pocket. I won't just be an overlord, I'll be the queen bitch! [Vaggie looks sad about what she did. Velvette smiles and opens the opens a file, causing the phone to fly across the room in a grand display and project a widescreen image. Much to their shock, Charlotte stares at them] Charlotte: Hi, Velvette! [The two stare in shock] Charlotte: Oh yeah, I know who you are. And I know you put Vaggie up to this. Seems you have no idea who you are FUCKING with! [Vaggie looks scared, Velvette rolls her eyes] Velvette: Calm down, babydoll. It's a recording [Velvette swipes at the image of Charlotte, only for her to be right behind it.] Charlotte: No, it isn't [Velvette stumbles backwards in fear] Vaggie: Charlie, I-. Charlotte: Was told to get blackmail on me by this little bitch? I know. The youngest and dumbest of the overlords who thinks she's tough shit. *hugs Vaggie* Don't worry, I don't blame you. [Vaggie starts tearing up. Charlotte lets go as Vaggie disappears, teleported by the princess. Charlotte walks over to Velvette, who's scrambling to leave] Charlotte: Ah, ah, ah~. You and I have business. The way you treat Vaggie is… shitty. So, you have three options; You can give her to me and I'll never see your dumbass again. You could keep Vaggie's soul… under supervision… [Velvette looks to the side, seeing Razzle or Dazzle with a bat.] Charlotte: Or… I can fucking END YOUR LIFE!! [Velvette looks up in fear] Charlotte: We both know what Vaggie is. So if I can't do it on my own, and I am going to be thorough, I know where she keeps her spear. *leans in* What's it gonna be?

Ohhhhh! I like this! Could def be the base for a more fleshed out storyline that happens later on!!

[thefirstknife]

idk if you've talked about this, but Maya says something interesting in her "final" message to the Young Wolf. She says the YW should ponder "iterations" of the conversation on the riverbank (iirc) but I don't remember the YW mentioned in the Dark Timeline, and in the Epistemic lore tab, Praedyth says "the figure always changes." Is the YW a unique individual or do they exist in other timelines too? (I feel like I've missed a few details so I'm hoping you can answer. 😅)

It's a really cool message that will be interesting to revisit from time to time.

I leave this to you now, when it is too early to act. Before you have the faculty to understand its gravitas. You were offered the age you've fought to restore. Everything we've lost. You won't find it on this narcissist's station. I will set it in front of you, finely crafted and tuned. You mistakenly label it hubris, and resist. And you know... failure is a catalyst: it breeds invention. Would you comprehend the endless permutations of our conversation on the riverbank? I was only trying to change your mind. To help you see a better future. That exchange... did not always end in your favor. It does not have to still. You believe my ideology, virulent. All right. Know that I have bled across time, and under the skin of the cosmos. My knowledge became its fabric, filled its vessels, through its mind. Humanity is scattered, yet to see a Collective, focused. But in this infinite network the Vex have created... There is one answer. A Golden Timeline... With a heavy cost.

It took a few reads for me to wrap my mind around this. Maya definitely confirms that this happened in multiple timelines, in some way. We're not really sure if it's exactly the same though, obviously, since we can't really check.

The interesting bit is that the few timelines that Elsie has seen, all of them have failed because, essentially, the YW never became what they did because we didn't destroy the Black Heart. Those timelines have failed completely. But there seems to be other timelines in which we do exist, except we're always someone else (kinda like keeping everyone's Guardian canon, in a way) which we know from Epistemic as you've noted, and it's really cool:

Some visions he gets once, while some come back over and over again. One recurring image: a piece of the Traveler cracked off from its body, lying belly-up in a forest, with a small figure standing in front of it. The figure changes every time, but the sickly glow of the Traveler doesn't.

This is us regaining our Light at the Shard of the Traveler in the Red War, so it's post-Black Heart.

I think the YW is unique in a way that they only exist in the timeline where they destroy the Black Heart (D1 base story), but since there's an unknown number of timelines, this person is always someone different (so there's no one canon YW, it could be any of us). There's also timelines where we never become the YW because Elsie never helps us and we never destroy the Black Heart and things spiral from there.

It always remains a question if anyone using the Vex and their Network and technology is actually seeing real existing things, or perhaps simulations or possibilities. I do wonder if they left Maya around with the Echo for some future purpose or at least to keep their options open. Also intrigued about her mentioning "a Golden Timeline" and if that will mean anything in the future or if it's just her yapping from the Network. I did not expect her to stay around and especially not with the Echo in her posession so I'm super excited about the possibility of storylines with this in the future.

[noturlondonboy]

An open letter to Kevin Fiege

Note: please do not take this too seriously chat, I was assigned with writing an open letter for my English class, and I decided I needed to diss on Kevin to my English professor for a little while.

————

Dear Kevin Fiegi, (I know I spelled your name wrong, it is intentional.)

I’d just like to start off with a very sincere screw you. And if this wasn’t a school assignment that my professor is going to read, I would be using some choosier words.

Second, kindly go to Hell. Emily, my apologies. Moving on.

Let’s start with one of the most glaringly obvious problems you created and let happen in the MCU- the confusing and unnecessary death of Natalia Alianova Romanova, otherwise known as Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow.

I can understand Natasha insisting that she be the one to sacrifice herself instead of Clint- it fits her character archetype and offers a solid way for her character to die with dignity. If it weren’t such a stupid idea to kill her off in the first place.

Might I offer an alternative to keeping one of the arguably most important characters in the Marvel Universe dead in the cinematic adaptations? Did we even think about Tony Stark bringing her back with the Infinity Gauntlet when he revived half the world’s population? Did we consider at all that maybe when Steve Rogers made the (horrible) decision to stay behind in the 40’s, he could have warned the team about the dangers in Endgame? Maybe he could have prevented the Snap in the first place.

Maybe, maybe, maybe… so many options, and yet, here we are, onto Phase 5 of the MCU and Natasha Romanoff-less.

More on Steve in a second.

Natasha’s death felt unnecessary, shallow, and forced in order to create a narrative with enough drama and angst to soothe the most particular crowds. While we already had very few strong, main female characters, the loss of the Black Widow only adds the problematic misogyny in the MCU. This is aided by the fact that we received only one Black Widow movie (after she had canonically died, mind you) and have three Iron Man movies, four Thor movies, and three Captain America movies with a fourth on the way.

I’m sensing a pattern here, Kevin. A pattern I do not like.

If we wanted to stay on the topic related to misogyny, we could talk about Wanda Maximoff, and the injustice served to her character in Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. The show Wandavision gave us a beautiful narrative of how Wanda reacted to her immeasurable grief, and wove together an exciting story that provided us with intriguing lore and storyline options. However, in the absolute dookie bomb of Multiverse of Madness, almost every single point of conflict and character development that Wanda experienced was completely trashed and ignored in favor of turning her into a villain for the sake of villainy.

A terrible reason, by the way. Literally what the hell. Kevin. I am so incredibly upset with you.

Back to Steve Rogers, as promised.

Steve in himself is an incredibly in-depth character that absolutely lives up to the hype. He’s Captain-freaking-America. His actions are purposeful, his morals and strong and set in doing what is right, not what is expected. *cough cough* When Steve decided to stay in the 40’s when returning the Infinity Stones, he disrupted several important plot points. In Agent Carter, Peggy Carter moves on from Steve when he’s lost to the ice and finds love and peace and happiness with someone else. Steve ultimately steals back her affection from that life she had built for herself, and the importance she completed in her life with that man.

Have you ever watched Agent Carter, Kevin? Have you read any of the comics that you’re adapting for the screen? Have you seen the movies? The shows? Do you understand the plot lines you’re supposedly in charge of?

Secondly, we cannot forget about Bucky Barnes, even though Steve most certainly did. Remember Bucky, Kevin? Remember Steve’s best and closest friend? The man he promised to always stick with, “to the end of the line”?

No, Kevin. Clearly, you do not remember. Steve absconding Bucky was entirely out of character and makes no sense. What are we even doing here?

Thank you, but no thank you, Kevin. Please hand the MCU reigns over to someone who actually cares about the characters and what the fans want (in a reasonable sense.)

-London, aka the one you should hand them to.

[sixth-light]

Having a fascinating conversation with @markantonys and @butterflydm in notes about the Tower Coup (& how it will go in the show) and I need to take my thoughts to a post, in roughly this order:

How did it START in the books vs how did it END?

What changed along the way and where did that work/not work?

With the benefit of hindsight, how could the show make this arc more coherent?

How it started vs how it ended

The Tower Coup starts in the books as a pretty clear moral issue: Siuan is deposed on the sketchiest of pretenses, she and Leane are tortured and stilled immediately, a lot of people die, and Elaida dissolves the Blue Ajah (basically all our friendly Aes Sedai up until this point are Blue). That's a lot! Then the Tower faction, on Elaida's orders, also kidnap and torture Rand. By the time Egwene is raised as Amyrlin we're fully ready to get behind her taking names and kicking Elaida's ass. Elaida is doing nothing to help her own cause, instead descending into paranoia and tyranny with nobody at the Tower doing anything to stop her.

And then...from ACoS on it becomes clear that there's plenty of Tower Aes Sedai who are good people (the Black Ajah Hunter plotline), and also that the Black Ajah and the Forsaken are working both sides of the conflict to keep it as amped up as possible. However, at the same time the Tower is collapsing into conflict, the Salidar camp under Egwene is rewriting the rules in a way that the books make clear offer the Aes Sedai as an institution new relevance and scope, by opening the novice book to all who wish to apply. Meanwhile, the Seanchan return and the seams of the Pattern start to fray because the Last Battle is getting real close now. By the time Egwene is kidnapped by the Tower, her mission becomes to negotiate the Tower Aes Sedai as a group (rather than Elaida, who is too far gone) into dealing with the real existential problems the Tower faces - the Seanchan and Tarmon Gai'don - rather than 'winning'. Once we hit the Sanderson books we're fully into 'the Tower is fine, it just needed to have the right person leading it', Gawyn's storyline is revealed (charitable) or mildly retconned (uncharitable) so that the Warders attacked first and he and the other Younglings were arguably justified in fighting them, and Egwene ends up demanding that the Salidar Aes Sedai apologise for their rebellion before the Tower is reunited under her.

Was this a change of direction? How well did it work?

I would argue that in general scope the Tower arc was always meant to end with a reconciliation between the two sides in order to face down the real enemy - Elaida literally Foretells this very early on in the piece, and it's signalled frequently that besieging Tar Valon with an army, even if it feels like the only option, is playing into the hands of the Shadow and supported by Darkfriends within the Salidar camp. There's also a strong theme throughout the final RJ books of our heroes having to make their peace with people they are fighting in order to effectively confront the Shadow. E.g., Perrin is rewarded for his truce with the Seanchan by getting Faile back. So I'm pretty sure the plan was always for Egwene to reunite the Tower by winning the respect and allegiance of crucial people within the Tower faction, rather than military action, and for the conflict between the two sides to be decisively derailed by a Seanchan attack.

HOWEVER.

I also feel pretty strongly that the way that arc finally ends feels like a weird and hard swerve towards 'rebelling was wrong actually' and ignores the extremely real grievances that caused the Blue Ajah and their allies to gather in Salidar in the first place. Despite the Ajah Heads' plotting there is never any viable path to negotiation presented to the Salidar faction - yes, some of this is down to the work of the Black Ajah but like. Tarna Feir wasn't Black! Elaida wasn't Black! None of the non-Red Ajah Heads were Black! The Tower as an institution is pretty fundamentally broken and instead of a renewal and a vision of what it could look like in the future, what we get in the last two books is kind of...a return to BAU except Egwene is in charge now...? and also we stop checking in with all the Aes Sedai we know in favour of charity namedrops, yes I'm still mad forever thanks. I think some of this is exacerbated by Sanderson but I do also think it's the result of RJ having a pretty sketchy idea of how the post-unification Tower was going to look or act except knowing there were crucial plot points to hit in terms of the conflict being derailed by the Seanchan attacking the Tower, and Egwene and Rand clashing before the Last Battle.

In addition, for me personally, Elaida in TGS is also almost a parody of her original self - she's a sexual harasser, she's physically violent - in a way that sure you can write off as the influence of Padan Fain but feels cartoonish. I think this is somewhat of a minority opinion but this makes Egwene's whole Reason You Suck speech very unsatisfying to me! None of it engages with why Elaida was able to become Amyrlin in the first place. It's not a tragedy, it's a farce.

Anyway, it's all a bit unsatisfying and the big question I have is...

How could the show do it better?

The show 100% has the benefit of hindsight and being able to simplify down its story instead of try and tie up ALL the dangling threads - it can just not weave those threads in to start with! - so I think it has huge potential to make this arc more elegant plot-wise and emotionally. For me there's three key ways it could do this:

Make Elaida a charismatic leader (to start with) Largely due to the books/RJ wanting the coup to come as a shock, we have very little insight into how Elaida persuades the Hall to take down Siuan and we never see Elaida as a genuinely charismatic leader people might want to follow. Coming after Siuan, sure - why choose her as leader? If the show can demonstrate why people follow her, it will make the Tower faction seem more reasonable to start with. And there's endless material to mine from the books in terms of her slide into tyranny as a more subtle and tragic arc.

Give the Salidar Aes Sedai a genuine chance to back down I don't think it's bad for readers' expectations to be challenged, but through the books it's really hard to see what other genuine options the Salidar Aes Sedai but particularly the Blue Ajah actually had. Elaida never resiles on her proclamation disbanding them; that's cataclysmically bad given how the structure of the Tower traditionally works. Frankly it should have made a lot more Tower Aes Sedai (and independents) turn against her! For the Salidar Aes Sedai to have any genuine apology to make at the end, they need to have a choice to reunite that they could take...and not take it. I think it's obvious in her later appearances that Tarna Feir was meant to be a 'Worst Person You Know Has A Point' character but that's left on the table for a loooooooooooong time through the Slog.

Show how the Tower has changed for the better Egwene's demand is part and parcel of her fairly sudden change into an Amyrlin who is basically happy with the Tower running as it always has, but with her and her people in charge now. Let's see how the post-reunification Tower is a genuinely different place which has learned from its experiences! Let's see how the influx of novices and new organisational systems, as well as the new engagement with the Windfinders and Wise Ones, are requiring Aes Sedai to contemplate new ways of doing things! Let's see Egwene leave a goddamn legacy that will outlive her. Going out in a blaze of glory is all well and good but that's what makes the Tower Coup arc have meaning. The Tower broke but wasn't defeated.

Anyway, that's enough brain-dumping - interested in what other people have to say about this!

[theupstairskid]

Based on the articles we've gotten over the last few days it seems pretty likely that there's going to be some possible tension between Henren and Madney over Mara. As Madney have stepped in as emergency fosters for Mara until Henren can get their fostering license back and adopt Mara officially, I think the conflict will stem not from Madney potentially wanting to keep Mara but rather from Mara suddenly having essentially four different parents.

The idea that Madney might not give Mara back I think is a little too dramatic for 9-1-1. I think it would be way too devastating to the Henren and Madney relationship and it would severely impact the 118. I think it's ultimately too much. It doesn't seem "fixable."

But I do think that Henren and Madney clashing over parenting styles is a totally viable option for what might cause some tension between the couples. Hen and Karen could be visiting Mara over at Maddie and Chim's and they might try to parent her in some way like they normally would and Mara could simply say, "(Mama Maddie or Daddy Chim) said it's okay" or "they let me do it all the time." Suddenly your daughter taking parental cues from their Aunt and Uncle essentially could definitely stir up some issues.

If Hen and Karen confront Maddie and Chim about why they allow Mara to do XYZ or why they do this instead of that when Henren would do the opposite, it definitely opens the door for the couples to start criticizing each other's parenting styles/experiences and each couple getting defensive over it. Hen and Karen are already hurting from losing Mara in the first place and it's possible they could see how much fun Mara might be having with Madney and get jealous over how easy it seems for them.

With Gerrard back as Captain of the 118 and basically the confirmation that he's connected to Councilwoman Ortiz, Hen is going to be focusing on keeping her head down and her nose clean in order to not make anything worse for her considering all of the things she's facing at the moment. However, just because she might be calm and collected at work, it leaves an opening for the stress and weight of the situation to find an outlet elsewhere.

Ultimately having Henren vs. Madney in the arena of who should and how to parent Mara is a relatively easily resolvable bump in the road for their friendships. Once the Gerrard and Ortiz problems are resolved and Mara goes back to her family, the bonds between them will repair and strengthen. It also opens the possibility of Madney wanting another child but not wanting Maddie to go through another pregnancy and risk the Postpartum Depression all over again and Henren helping them discover that adoption or fostering is a wonderful option, very similar to Karen's IVF storyline.

If this is the route things go in S8, it's definitely going to suck to see the Han-Wilson family fight but I don't think it will break them.

[longbobmckenzie]

Too Hot to Handle 3: Episodes 1-3 Thoughts

We're back, bitches.

And as always, I have thoughts.

First off, the customization. It was fine. I like the hair options and that there are additional prosthetics/CGMs, but the rest of it felt like the same thing all over again and it took me a good 10 minutes to come up with someone I was relatively happy with but not thrilled with. Also the smiles are still creepy but at least we get to preview them this time

I love being a bombshell as it adds something fresh and means I didn't have to sit through the opening where everyone comes in because that takes soooo long sometimes (maybe next time we're an OG we can be one of the last to arrive?)

FREE PASS!!! Buuut all we got was some kisses and making out? Like come on. They should've either said we get a free kiss on the date or at least let us be extra naughty

I also like that we got to customize the LI we took out on the date and the customizations were permanent instead of limited to during the date

I picked Taz. I gave him a beard and manbun, and now he looks like Marshall 🤣 I have a type, okay?

I typically like to whore around during my first playthrough but after picking Jirayu for the tour and Mattias for something else (clearly not memorable since I don't remember what it was), I just keep gravitating back to Taz. Him being stuck-up about the food on the date kinda sucked but then he said he liked that I wasn't just saying stuff based on what he likes and he relaxed and became a lot more fun and then we made out and I shared a bed with him and yeaaahhh I like him. So I've been picking him every option ever since

But that doesn't mean I'm not already dying to see who comes in as bombshells

As for the other LIs, the biggest disappointment to me is probably that... WHERE ARE THEY?!?! If you don't pick them for scenes, they're almost non-existent. I've seen Bear more than I've seen Carmen or Beatriz. I'd love for them to be more integrated into the storyline, which I think S2 did a great job of. That said, once we lock in to our LIs I'm sure we'll see more, but how am I supposed to get to know these people if I never see them and don't want to choose them over Taz?

That brings us to the non-romanceable (yet) characters. We know from the achievements that there are 3 achievements for a BFF-to-lovers route, so I guess 3 of them will be possible endgames (not sure if this also includes any future bombshells or if it's just from the 4 OGs). Anyway, so far... I'm not liking them. Victoria's a fugly bitch (spoiler: good riddance to her), Sean is cartoonishly annoying (he gives me Felix vibes but I also wonder if they're trying to make him like Hamish), and I'm just not vibing with Julian or Giselle as friends, let alone future love interests. And the problem with that is that they're the ones constantly being pushed in my face instead of the other LIs, which is just making me more annoyed with them. Again, I think S2 did really well with this, so hopefully it changes. But otherwise, ugh.

Back to Taz - I love that we have such amazing chemistry and he's willing to break rules with me, and it's all just purely physical at this point. Like yeah, we've talked a bit about ourselves too and expressed an interest in getting to know each other, but I don't feel like either of us are emotionally invested yet and I love that - because this is THTH, not Love Island. We're not here for love, we're here for sex. I don't wanna feel after a day that my LI is already half in love with me. There's plenty of time for that

Is it just me, or have there been a lot of potential rule breaks already? I've only been in there a couple days and I've already spent so much money - lots of heavy petting and manual gratification with Taz so far, plus kissing

I'm so getting kicked out 🤣

I'm intrigued to see more of Bad Lana and how that plays out - I've only seen the first episode of the new season of the show, so it'll be interesting to see how they do it in the game

another HUGE plus: less time in the beach hut!! They're not doing a full chapter of beach hut confessionals anymore, just tacking on a bit to the start of one of the chapters, and I LOVE that change. it also means we get more actual game time!

There's a threesome in the achievements. I'm ready.

Anyway, overall I think I preferred the start of S2 (I remember being pretty blown away by the potential and the branching), but this is still a good start and I'm excited for the season. I'm ready for bombshells, and I'm definitely gonna play a 2nd profile to see what Jirayu is all about because I'm intrigued by him. And I wanna be messy on one route and more loyal on another, because I love seeing all the branching when you play both ways!

[maygrcnt]

something i think is very imminent in 911 season 8 is a change in the professional dynamic of the 118. we barely got to see them in action this year (and when we did it was often isolated sub groups who were progressing a personal storyline. save for one or two genuine emergencies), and i do think that’s because they realized that since nothing has changed about how the team works the emergencies have gotten a bit repetitive— bobby gives the orders, buck and eddie pull off the rescue, hen and chim save their life. so i was kinda mulling it over and trying to see how this could be solved in a full length season where they can’t get away with the lack of emergencies and will probably need to shake up the 118 dynamic a bit.

the first option is obviously to just split everybody up into different stations. it’s what i’ve been speculating about for a while and i think it’s a genuine option. the only reason i say maybe not is because it kind of defeats the idea of having more emergencies because it would be difficult to show casual rescues if everyone is everywhere, and they’d have to hire quite a few guest actors to play the other firefighters. also because lone star kind of already did this storyline if im not mistaken and i don’t want to just rinse and repeat from them lmao.

so what i think is actually going to happen is that bobby is no longer captain 118. i don’t think he retires and i DEFINITELY don’t think he dies. they’ve dropped the thread that the chief wants to run for…. some sort of office i don’t know what. but that medal ceremony probably looked reallll good on his campaign so i wouldn’t be surprised if he won and needed someone to fill his shoes. they made a point of having bobby call himself “the star captain at the star firehouse” so obviously since season three he’s built up his reputation back quite well in the LAFD and a promotion would probably be very realistic. i could even see them do like station 19 did and have the promoted character use the shows station as a “home base”. i do not care if this is realistic i care that bobby is still here!

this creates a hole in the captain ship at the 118 and while they could do the “navigating a new captain route” i just… wish they wouldn’t. also they NEED to give more of these characters some professional development SO, i think captain hen is incoming. we could finally put a satisfying pin on the end of her journey for more and it would go together nicely with finally finding closure on her family storyline as well.

now with hen as captain we need another EMT and i think eddie finally getting the full paramedic stuff would be so cooll! ryan mentioned that eddie would be exploring all new territory (yes i do think that’s also about gay eddie) and it would be so nice if that was eddie learning some new skills and knowledge. this would also give us a severely severely underused character dynamic in chim and eddie. would love to see them get up to shenanigans.

we’ve now shifted eddie over to the paramedic team so buck is all alone isn’t he… WRONG. ravi main character season 8 is REAL and it’s HAPPENING. he’s literally the perfect choice to pair with buck professionally! now that he’s not a probie (i would presume? timeline might be truly fucked tho so who knows) and he’s definitely seemed to have found his own voice within the 118 i want to have the buck and ravi work dynamic back. see them work together, figure things out, and most importantly let ravi show off that he’s COMPETENT. this also opens us up to have a new recurring character at the firehouse (please be a woman please be a woman please be a woman)

i realize it sounds a little bonkers crazy to split up buck and eddie at work because we’ve done that before and things were honestly miserable to watch. plus tim has said he wants to keep the interactions up as it’s “the core of that coupling” (his words not mine). and i agree! it’s DANGEROUS to split up this professional dynamic that we have grown to love. but i do believe that splitting them in the workplace is how we bring them together romantically.

think of chenford, in order to pursue their romantic storyline first we had to get out of the trainee/TO dynamic. and it was a little scary because that was how we got most of their scenes together! but we didn’t lose the chenford dynamic, we simply moved it into the personal lives part of the show instead of the cop part of the show. that’s what i think will happen with buddie. we move them out of work partners and into (even MORE into i should say) life partners.

anyway the tldr of it is: bobby should get promoted, hen should be captain, eddie should become a paramedic, ravi should be a main character.

[atiny-for-life]

Xikers Full Storyline Explained - Part 5

Masterlist

위치 (WITCH)

Regarding the title, the Korean means "Location" but sounds like "Witch", making it some clever wordplay they actively utilize throughout the song.

If you played Maze of Choice, the YouTube multiple choice game they released as part of the album promotions (and which I covered here), you will already have an idea of what this MV is about

We open on a ticket booth standing amidst a narrow path colored similarly to the album cover - orange and black

The sign above the booth asks "WHERE IS YOUR LOCATION?", indicating once you're in, you won't know where to go

Junmin then appears, walking into the empty corridor, only for black smoke-like creatures to rush by and make a desk appear right in front of him (you can hear their screech just before his own voice comes in in the song's opening)

Going by his behavior, it's clear he has no idea where he is or any recollection of donning the clothes he's now wearing, which means their memories were wiped before they came here, presumably by TRICKY

With no other option but to play along, Junmin picks up the folded card on the table ahead and finds the words "Do you want to make a bet with me?" in a golden cursive font

Except, there is no way for him to choose: the moment he finishes reading, he's dragged away by an unseen force

My best guess here is this takes place at the same time as Maze of Choice and is showing us the recruitment process they all went through at the hands of TRICKY before they were given their powers in Rockstar

The lyrics seem to support this by telling us "You're already in TRICKY HOUSE"

We see them all in their formal uniforms after this, hair either nicely slicked back or free of product, prim and proper students as Namoo (and presumably the government and society) desires in this corporate-run world where fulfilling your predestined role is all you get to have in life

We next get Yechan's verse where they first use the wordplay of "I know your location (위치) but I'm not a WITCH"

While the others are running through parts of the maze, he's being actively attacked by the black cloud-like creatures who restrain his arms, presumably after he failed to choose the right direction

At the end of his verse, we get the first sign of TRICKY and the dokkaebi's blue fire as he wears his schoolbag and reaches for a falling sheet of paper which ignites upon his touch, presumably indicating he's picked the right one

We next see Jinsik and Hyunwoo in an office meeting room in which all the employees wear white masks

Just like in Maze of Choice and the Bittersweet Preview, we see them navigating this world together, which leads me to assume they were the only ones who already knew each other prior to getting chosen by TRICKY

Going by the lyrics, we can tell they're all going a little bonkers in this maze - constant dead ends, looping back to the start, everyone they come across lies to them, and they keep falling for trick after trick

Huge shout out to the choreography at this point (BBTrippin never disappoints) - it truly is a theatrical performance visualizing the lyrics and if you haven't watched a full live stage yet, you absolutely should - they're crushing it

Following Junmin's lines, we move on to Sumin's rap verse during which one of the dokkaebi's blue flames guides him to a locker through which he enters a new section of the maze

Note here how we transition with the blue flame and now see Sumin in red-white-and-black clothing as opposed to his school uniform (we'll come back to that in a second)

There are more masked workers in this section, all wandering a warehouse full of garment bags filled with clothes kept in shades of red, white, and black

While he's there, it suddenly gets darker and a spotlight finds him before white crumpled up paper falls from the ceiling which reminds me of the end of Tricky House when all the paper airplanes, dust and ghost-like objects were flying around

Minjae, already changed out of his uniform as well, is up next and also finds the garment warehouse where he gets surrounded by the masked employees who seem to capture him and throw him to the ground

Upon hitting the floor, he pounds his fist against it which seems to make the employees disappear, leaving him by himself

And this is when the lyrics first indicate he's actually enjoying this... he thinks it's a beautiful night

The music video has taken a turn: we've skipped to the present and, as we've seen in We Don't Stop, in the present, Xikers have already gotten used to their powers and befriended TRICKY, willingly choosing to live in its world

And that world includes the maze they started out in so, as they switch from their school uniforms to black-white-and-red attire, we can see them becoming a part of TRICKY's world with all the powers which come with it

After escaping, they learned the maze's layout, they know where to go, where to find everyone, how to trick and mess with them - we're now their victims

We see Junmin in his new outfit, his fist still on the ground, presumably after also making the masked people disappear, the floor now littered with clothing items in greens and blues

And we also see Jinsik, sitting in the clouds above the maze (on what we later get to see is a giant pair of scissors with the name 'xikers' engraved on it), free to look down and watch the lost people wander the maze now that he's also all dressed up in TRICKY's colors

They highlight this contrast between then and now in the next shot as well: we see Yujun wander the hallway full of doors in his uniform before we zoom out to Hyunwoo in the present looking at the maze's model, all cool, calm, and collected

The way to escape seems to be to not just follow the blue spirit fire, but to actively entrap one of the orbs, which we get to see Minjae do near the end of the video after our rap-trio's shared verse

One more shoutout the choreography at this point because, after this, they make it seem like Hunter has freakishly long arms through simple visual blocking and strategic arm placement - it's such a neat little trick

We close out with a group performance to the chant of "We already know your location" contrasting the opening question on the ticket booth and further playing with the song title

The final shot is all nine shushing us, index fingers to their lips, as we see their acquired dokkaebi spirit orbs - 10 in total because Junghoon is here in spirit

[will80sbyers]

I’m sorry but... why do you think mike is bi? I mean, look at him! he’s so gay

Is this a serious question? "He's so gay!" was funny though lmao 🤣 if it is... this is very summarized and you can go look in my pinned post if you want more, I made a whole power point about it when I was fixated in a unhinged way during the summer 🌞

actually I'll link it here ( keep in mind it's old so for some details I might have changed my mind but in general it should explain many things of how I'm reading Mike's character when I watch )

but anyway, there are multiple things in the show and outside of the show that make me think he's bi:

the storyline makes more sense to me with him being bi because of how he talks in the show about his relationship

I don't think he's lying about much on the show and I place his actions in context with his low self esteem and fear of things changing + confusion about his feelings for Will

the way the show is filmed takes his relationship with El seriously and frames them as romantic multiple times

in the script of season 2 the writers made it clear Mike had romantic feelings for El at that point

I think there's bi color coding and jokes in the script specifically for him

there are lots of parallels in the show with romantic couples and Byler and lots of the parallels are also with Milven which means Milven is a real romantic couple to me and I can't ignore that because if I ignore those parallels for Mlv then I can't take the parallels Byler has with romantic couples as romantic coding either, it would be a double standard to say one has a romantic meaning and the other doesn't

There are parallels between S1/2 Mike liking El on screen and Mike S4 starting to like Will which indicates to me that he had feelings for El too as he does for Will

The marketing takes Mlv seriously as a couple and did this for years selling stuff about them and I think the writers just deleting the relationship is not probable also because of that

The whole st*ncy - Mlv parallel doesn't make much sense to include if the reason Mike can't love El is because he's gay and not because they aren't compatible as a couple

And I think that's all (again, very summarized) ...

but in general all the posts about Mike being gay, while they are very interesting, didn't convince me because more often than not they don't fit with the general context around it- logically there's something in the show that doesn't make it make sense- although I keep this option always open because even if I think that in the end the writers could still do it!

In general as long as Will and Mike are together in the end I don't really care about what they decide to go with but for now to me it makes more sense that Mike had puppy love feelings for El when he was little and then he's now realizing Will is who he should be with ❤️

and also, I mean, look at him! He's so bi!

[lemotmo]

https://www.tumblr.com/lemotmo/751241780793622528

I’m confused by the timing of it. Like if it was to move momentum forward you’d think it would have been after episode 4 or 5.

To announce a hey we’re going to be giving more focus on this relationship next season, it be after the finale.

But now it’s just…. it’s airing before the episode airs tonight so like…. They already have very little to talk about relationship wise, and removing episode 9 and anything that happens in it from being able to talk about gives them even less lol. And it’s also happening after Tommy hasn’t even been seen or mentioned once by anyone in the last two episodes?

I know we keep saying Tommy is a plot device but I wonder if Lou is “plot devicing” here, by which I mean it’s mostly going to be about bucks bi journey itself (which is what Tim and Oliver and hell sometimes Ryan oddly enough lol, keep focusing on) and since Tommy is currently part of it, Lou has to be there as well.

Ah Nonny! You speak my language well!

I was just thinking about this. The timing is off. Something is going on. What an odd moment to do promo for a couple that barely had 20 minutes of screentime. You would think they would do promo after the finale, assuming they would have had more scenes together and they would be more established.

I think there are two things that could be at play here:

It's good promo for more people to watch the penultimate episode. The bisexual Buck storyline has garnered some new viewers and since Tommy is part of his storyline (as a plot device to make him realise he is actually bisexual) he has to be there.

Something might actually happen between them that won't be so positive at all. Their relationship might take a hit or even a fall. So, they won't be established by the finale and they won't be able to do any promo for them anymore.

Personally I think it'll be a combination of both of the above. I could be wrong of course, but the way the promo of this season has been going (mostly Buddie-related) and the way Oliver refuses to promote Buck/Tommy (which is something he has done before because he doesn't want to lead the fans on) I have a pretty good feeling about this.

If I'm wrong about this? Well, there is always next season. I'm convinced that Buddie is in the works. Everything in the episodes and the way they portray Buck/Eddie and Tommy in their scenes, to the promo, to the strange social media postings (Vertigo poster), to the way Ryan talks about Eddie pressing a refresh button and the audience will get to know an unexplored side of Eddie? Yeah, I'm sorry, but I'm firmly seated on my Buddie-train. I've got a strong feeling that we're riding the Endgame Express at this point.

Sorry, not sorry. 🤷‍♀️

PS: Oh and Buddie peeps, don't let anyone tell you that you are delusional. We've been here for 6 seasons. We've seen it all. But this is different now. Buck is canonically bisexual. This is no more delusion or clown noses/clown cars situations anymore. Buck is bi and all the possibilities are open now. So yes, Buddie is definitely a viable and valid option. This is something that can happen. No more clown make-up for us!

[mythoughtsandrandomcr4p]

Life is Strange: Double Exposure- Initial thoughts

So. I bought the early access version and want to give my initial thoughts on this game, having played Chapter 1 and some of Chapter 2.

PLEASE DO NOT READ AHEAD IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET SPOILED!! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

First of all, the biggy. The huge issue everyone on social media and who has seen spoilers/played the game is ranting about right now. Some people (actually, a lot of people) are even choosing to refund their purchase, or to not interact with the game at all anymore due to this...

Deck Nine have seemed to dismiss the player's major choice from the ending of LIS 1, where we either chose to sacrifice Chloe or Arcadia Bay. The way they chose to (pretty lazily) write in how Max and Chloe broke up- (via a letter from Chloe, if we chose the 'we broke up' dialogue option at the start of this game)?.....a pretty shitty decision, and, for the majority of fans, seemingly a deal-breaker. A lot of fans are also disappointed in Chloe seemingly not being in this game at all...but I'll write more on that in a sec.

As for my opinions so far...I'm not gonna lie, yes I was a little disappointed and I can fully appreciate why so many people are hating, but it was something I could personally look past (even though I chose bae over bay). Firstly, the trailers and teasers leading up to this early access release pretty much set my expectations for this going in- that Chloe would likely not be a main part of the storyline at all, and that the major choice made at the end of LIS 1 wouldn't be, either. Okay, yes, the writing connecting this game to LIS 1 could have been a lot better. But...

Max is much older, and the story is centred on her time at Caledon, with new friends, a new setting and a new storyline. I went into this game really excited about all of these new things, instead of having my heart set on a game centred around the continuation of LIS 1.

LIS 1- related things aside for a sec... I LOVE the new setting, it's really gorgeous, I love the design of the university and all the new characters we get to meet, the soundtrack is amazing, and I'm just having such a blast playing this game. It's so cosy. And it certainly keeps the charming, cringe-at-times but hilarious dialogue and vibe we get in every other Life is Strange game, and I love it so much. The characters are all pretty unique, too, and I am quickly growing attached to some (and already hating others...lmao). Max's new ability to switch between universes is really well-done. I love using it and seeing all the, often subtle, little differences that really add to the atmosphere and the story-telling of the game imo.

So...personally I am really enjoying Double Exposure so far!

Back to the whole 'Max and Chloe' thing... it feels as though the game could (take this with a pinch of salt) go a certain way in regards to Chloe. I have a theory (a VERY far-fetched one, but a theory, nonetheless). If there is a chance of them actually having Chloe be in this game in Chapters 3, 4 or 5, it might just redeem a bit of respect back from the fandom. I don't think they will, but something in the back of my mind, a slither of hope, if you will, is saying that they might just do this...

So, in Chapters 1 and 2, Max finds polaroids that neither her in the 'Dead World' or her in the 'Living World' have taken. Suggesting that there aren't only two alternate universes. Now, all of these other alternate universes may have only 'opened' to Max in the present, but surely they aren't only influenced by what has happened to Safi. What if an alternate universe, perhaps the one that these mysterious polaroids are from, had Max and Chloe's relationship (or breakup) happen differently? Who's to say that we won't get a sudden, unexpected change in a future chapter where Max and Chloe meet in an alternate reality, where they didn't break up, or where they did break up but differently, or something like that?...I don't fucking know. I'm rambling lmao. I don't want to give false hope. Maybe I'm clutching at straws atp. But in LIS 1, remember when they (Don'tNod) completely baffled us with the whole, sudden 'polaroid time-travel, William being alive and Chloe ending up disabled' reality? If Deck Nine really wanted to take that kind of route with this game, this would be a hell of a way to do it. Take a sudden turn in a non- early access chapter, have people fooled, and all that. But this is Deck Nine- they have a 'reputation', and maybe they just fucked up.

Unless I've missed a crucial point of LIS 1 or LIS: DE where this just would not be possible (?), I just can't help but think that there could still be a little bit of hope for the people who wanted to see Chloe, or who are immensely effected and disappointed by how her and Max's relationship played out according to this game.

Probably not gonna happen, though. Just food for thought. If nothing close to this happens then I'm still going to fully appreciate and love this game either way, as I already currently am.

This is a hell of a waffle, but I just wanted to get all my thoughts down. Would love to hear anyone else's opinions on this whole thing. Do you like this game? Are you avoiding it now after hearing 'the news'? Do you hate Deck Nine? Are my thoughts on a potential turn-around completely wacko? lol. Any and all opinions welcome!

(also, I stream on twitch occasionally. I've been streaming some LIS:DE early access, but I play all sorts of games. if thats your thing and you wanna check out my twitch, my channel is 'splritwolf') :)

[phoenixcatch7]

Thinking about possible totk dlc again... Listen, we all know we want it XD.

Thing is, I've read the interviews, and I think Nintendo is right. There's just no more mechanics they can add to the game without completely breaking it. Totk is maxxed out on mechanics and options and playability. There really is nothing more they can add ability wise without bogging the whole thing down and causing a million problems, both for themselves and players.

But that's not all there is in a game, is there?

There's master mode, for one. Gold enemies are missing from totk entirely, never mind all the craziness of regenerating enemies, new mob camps just floating around, the gleeok they'd probably put on the great sky island. People loved master mode in botw, there's no reason not to at least drop that button back in.

But... People do have a few complaints. There's stuff they're missing, stuff that leaves loose ends, stuff that wasn't explained well enough. It all mostly boils down to one thing.

Story.

We could have an answer to where the divine beasts and all the sheikah tech went. We could find a giant scrapyard at the bottom of a new/old chasm because hyrule tossed everything in that could be pried up. There could be like five remaining active guardians, just so we can mess them up like we did in botw. There's voids where water is on the surface, there's plenty of space! It'd solve both the 'where tf did they go' and the 'man I wish we still had guardians' issue in one fell swoop.

We could get casual dialogue that all the divine beasts were driven out to sea and sunk! I don't know! Some sort of closure! We could talk about generational trauma responses! The instinctive fear of sheikah tech if there is one! Link is certainly canonically traumatised, did you see him with the first sky tower??

We could get wolfie back! Update his teleportation code so he can keep up with our stupid endeavours and not get caught in crossfire! Make him immune to zonai tech, idk.

We could get a resolution to kass and Penn! That whole storyline ended so sadly, and the lack of kass is straight up disturbing. We could rescue him from the depths where he fell in or smth idk!! Just because you're a bird does NOT mean you can fly a kilometer + straight up in pitch black through a narrow cylinder with lethally toxic sides. Now he's got enough material for life! (and probably trauma. The only food down there is stuff the yiga brought, which - well, it's not like they'd worry about thieves down there.

That stupid chef from lookout landing who ran off to the castle. That's TOTALLY a quest come on :(. Let him come home.

More lookout landing expansion, if you're desperate for stuff that isn't 90% dialogue! Please let me install bigger towers and a bathing area and more shops or SOMETHING. Little outlet stalls from every capital! Let me rebuild the first home in castle town! I! D! K!

More newspaper news! We could randomise it like the spider man ps4 news feed, that was hilarious. Absolute hogwash rumours and stupid feuds between neighbours and the results of pumpkin growing competitions! Mix it up, traysi had bonkers stuff, it was so good. What does life look like from inside the world?

Hylia gossip? We know she doesn't keep strictly to her 'find shrine rewards for increased gains, link' thing. Let her ask link for random stuff for 'power buffs' and give him, like, a random buff that lasts precisely 24 minutes.

Maybe even a 'now we opened the plateau again, people want to investigate' side plot. No one wanted to see :(. I didn't like that the only people up there were yiga :((. Send some new research team dude to wax lyrical and beg link for photos of different areas or symbols.

Gloom hands should be able to attack link in the depths. This would solve nothing and in fact make things much worse, but it happened to me twice and it was so much worse than on the surface lol.

Maybe some idiot managed to make it to a Sky island with balloons but now they can't get down, whoops lol. Some of them really aren't that high up and there's a lot of very determined people XD.

Someone's been captured by the yiga and link has to do a full infiltration and smuggle them the keys to their cell. Come on, the yiga base is underutilised!!

The gerudo stable was being shut down because of the sandstorm turning away travellers. After we solve that, maybe we could help reopen it? It made me so sad...

Link vs the flower lady. She wants a sample of every single flower in hyrule to get it all nice for her majesty! She remembers his crimes...

Link and the new sages could have a silly bonding quest each! Let him test his mettle against them in a spar! I don't know!

The ability to pet dogs and horses! An idle sitting animation that makes link sit down properly to enjoy the view!

Heck, a master cycle equivalent....

There's just a almost infinite amount of options available for real, actual content, it doesn't just have to be new mechanics and new dungeons. Yes, it gets the adrenaline going, but neither the fans nor Nintendo want nor need more of that.

We know the story is more lacking in botw/totk than previous zelda games, an understandable and acceptable sacrifice when you're working with such a huge and complex open world as this, but this is the perfect opportunity to fix that, Nintendo, don't you see? Give that incredibly elaborate coding a break and give the writers something else to chew on.

Tag what quest line or question you want answered in the comments or tags!