#like to be fair this was done to a lesser degree at the end of God Games when they show the first time she h3ld Tele im just relistening

[aceyanaheim]

NO SHUT UP ATHENA MATCHING TELEMACHUS' MELODY FROM I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER

[yanderes-galore]

yay, I can request funger!! Can you write a yandere concept for D’arce? :D

I'll try, sure! I've done Cahara, time to do another Funger 1 character!

Yandere! D'arce Cataliss Concept

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Fear of loss, Death, Murder, Violence, Grief, Jealousy, Blood, Manipulation, Clingy behavior, Unhealthy behavior, Forced companionship/relationship.

D'arce has been described to be a loyal knight.

Her one true love has been Le'garde, in fact he's the reason she ventured into the dungeons.

She has been depicted as meek and hesitant at times, but her soul type makes her a natural leader capable of bravery.

There's times she looks down on people too, seeing those lesser than her as "commoners" due to her noble background.

D'arce probably met you in the dungeons.

At first she's hesitant to group with someone else.

That is until you end up saving her in the dungeons.

To repay you, she vows to help you on your journey through the dungeons, so long as you help her find Le'garde.

D'arce's more yandere behavior doesn't develop until after you find Le'garde.

You end up arriving too late, seeing the man dead before you.

You don't feel much towards this death, only really doing it for D'arce.

D'arce, however, is devastated.

You catch her trying to hold back tears, the darkness of these dungeons finally setting in.

Without thinking too much you pull D'arce into a tight embrace.

The ever loyal knight pauses for a moment, going rigid in your hold.

Yet with a hiccup, she returns the gesture.

You try not to spend too much time comforting her due to the amount of guards and other creatures shambling about.

You do reassure D'arce you're here for her.

You'll both survive this dungeons, no matter what you come across.

You standing beside the knight is what stirs something within her.

Her team and captain may be dead...

But she feels she can have a new start with you.

D'arce, as a yandere, is protective and devoted.

She is willing to slay anything for you.

She feels she becomes second to you.

D'arce seems like she'd use you, her newest obsession, as a replacement for Le'garde.

She refuses to lose you to these dungeons like she did Le'garde.

You can see her desperation in the way she fights enemies.

Her hits are harder and she cares little for the blood on her armor and face.

When it comes to you she ends up acting like she's your knight.

She's civil and polite with you, even after she decapitated a creature from these depths.

You end up scolding her at times for getting herself hurt on your journey.

She apologizes yet continues what she was doing before.

D'arce attempts to remain civil when you recruit others into your party.

In all honesty she hates them but goes along with what you say because she cares about you... to an obsessive degree.

D'arce does prepare to use violence against any fellow party members if they fall out of line though.

I personally feel the biggest and main part of her obsession is her motives.

She was so attached to Le'garde that seeing him dead broke her.

Which made her latch onto the second closest person, you.

Her obsession is a coping mechanism.

She has a feeling her obsession is bad, especially when she manipulates you...

But she feels she's nothing without you.

If she loses you, what else does she have?

To be fair, despite her jealousy, D'arce is not too much of a possessive yandere.

She has her moments and maybe with low sanity she'll get worse... but she's primarily a devote worship yandere with protective behavior.

She'd give you anything, just ask.

She'll kill for you, care for you, even be hurt for you.

She wants to be a tool you can use.

She's disposable to you, just like she was with Le'garde.

It's all unhealthy... but it's how she was once treated.

She's a mostly well behaved yandere.

An obedient knight willing to sacrifice it all for her obsession.

But when she snaps... when she realizes anything can take you away from her in this place...

She may turn violent against your own party... all to keep you safe and to herself.

[ask-artsy-oncie]

Why is it that people intrinsically tie fan-culture to mass-consumerism? "You're not a real fan unless you buy all the official merch/multiples of certain merch items" and this pressure to be validated by how much money you pay.

To a degree, I do get it. I'm a collector. Much less so now than I was back in college (I have bills to pay now that I didn't back then), but I do still consider myself so. I like to find obscure merchandise (for me, most of the fun is in the hunt) for the things I love, and I like to display that stuff proudly in my home. But if someone did not, in fact, do that, I wouldn't claim them to like that same thing less. I'd probably actually commend them for being more practical with their money. (Like, yes, it's healthy to get yourself treats, but I need to be clear that it is not financially wise to be spending full paychecks on every piece of media from an obscure 90's video game series you can get your hands on.)

This concept of tying validity to money spent specifically on official merch really only serves to benefit the copyright holders of the media you enjoy - it doesn't benefit you, it certainly doesn't benefit other fans, and it barely even benefits the individual artists who work so hard to create the thing you love (within a case-by-case basis). It's a form of corporate ass-kissing and creates these environments within fandom that actively discourages people from liking media with no active official merch, such as more obscure media or old media - at the very least if actively discourages them from sharing their love for it.

There are games are no longer available to buy outside of overpriced secondhand markets made for consoles that can barely be played on modern TVs, there are shows that never got home media releases, there are songs by musicians who didn't get industry deals. There is some media that can be exceptionally loved by people who cannot give money to their copyright holders in order to enjoy them, period. These pieces of media are worth caring about because someone out there damn well cares about them, and finds value in them. The passion they have for preserving them and talking about them means more than any amount of money ever will.

And speaking of passion, when the hell did hand-made fan merch become "lesser than"??? How does dropping money on something somehow mean more than the time, dedication, AND money someone pours into making their own fan art from scratch? For someone who was born in the US in the 90's, but who's first media special interests were from the early 80's and European comics, I had NO avenue of expressing my love for these pieces of media outside of fanart. I started making my own T-shirts, my own dolls, my own keychains - and to be clear these things looked like SHIT!! I was a child, I had never done something like that before, of course it looked bad. But it was an authentic display of passion. Do you think it'd be fair to gatekeep that declaration of passion from someone just because other people were born in the right time and place to be "real" fans? I certainly hope not.

Kill the damn cops in your head and stop bending to the will of copyright holders. Whatever is or isn't a "real" display of love has nothing to do with the sheer amount of money spent. Shopping addiction is also a real and harmful thing that shouldn't be made the standard for expressing love. Gatekeeping fan culture does nothing but make said fan communities not want you in their community. Kindling hierarchical spaces so you can be sat atop can - and I say this from experience - only end in self-cannibalization. You have nothing to gain long-term from this mentality.

[vendetta-if]

I have a question. Is there different levels to the revenge path? What I mean is there are many ways to go about getting revenge, and some are worse than others. In lots of games I find that the path of revenge is almost always a character doggedly chasing their quarry, not caring who they hurt along the way, be they friends, family, or just innocent strangers who have nothing to do with their pain. They also push everyone away in their anger and just become this lonely, hate filled person. Not that this can't be interesting, but..... It's been done. Like a lot. And it also takes the idea that revenge is always wrong as a given, instead of exploring other ideas on the morals of vengeance. Basically what I want to know is, will the revenge path always negatively affect our relationship with others? Will we be depicted as bad, or with impaired morals simply because we want to make the murderer of our father pay?

I know a lot of stories do what you described for vengeful and ruthless characters, but it just doesn’t work that way for my story. Actually, it’s almost the opposite because MC actually meets and ends up befriending (if you want to) Skylar and Santana because they want to find this killer so badly that they accepted the offer from Yvette to join the little investigation group 😆

So, the short answer to your questions is no, vengeful path won’t negatively affect your relationship with other characters in this story. And no, you won’t be depicted as a bad guy for wanting vengeance. The matter of fact is, humans are emotional and passionate creatures inside and we often make decisions based on that. To want to have revenge when something bad has been done to you is something understandable, and in this case, MC’s father is murdered.

It would be shallow of me to make a whole story revolving around cycles of vengeance and to end up portraying vengeance in such a one-dimensional way where the story and characters are all strutting on their moral high horse and will shit on your character for being human wanting revenge. I’m not saying that all vengeances are right and justified, but, there are a lot more aspects to revenge and nuances that affect it that it’s not fair to simply paint all revenge as morally wrong in every story.

I’ll talk/rant more about vengeance and how it plays in my story below the cut for those who are interested in reading it 😂

First, most of the characters are just as vengeful and bitter as MC, including Luka, Ash, and Grandpa (and even Takashi but to a much lesser degree, of course), and Rin would be more than happy to help vengeful MC. There’s really no really logical reason as to why MC would push them away when they’re so eager and willing to help and support MC in their quest of vengeance in the first place. Birds of a feather flock together or so they say.

I suppose MC is lucky enough to have that kind of support from their closest friends and family, or else, they might become an even more bitter and spiteful person and might end up becoming like the vengeful character you described above.

Some might also think that Luka already forgot or moved on from Viktor’s death, but he doesn’t, just like MC. He’s just being careful and patient, but he doesn’t forget and he sure as hell doesn’t forgive. Another important thing to note and keep in mind is that this is not only MC’s vendetta, it’s Luka’s, Grandpa’s, and Ash’s too. They are also hurt personally by this killer.

As for Santana and Skylar, if you go down their routes, they’ll also learn more about MC and what happened to Viktor (So, it’s kinda like a two-way thing where the ROs also learn more about MC and MC also learns more about their story). And while they probably try to discourage MC from killing the killer, they’ll also understand why MC does it and sympathize, if they go through with killing the killer. They won’t hold it against MC and take the moral high ground, condemning MC for doing it.

So, yeah, rest assured that Skylar and Santana won’t immediately dump MC for making the killer pay and Ash and Rin are more than happy and will cheer for your MC if they decide to make the killer pay 😂

[beevean]

It's probably been said before but the biggest issue with IDW sonic is that it treats itself so dang seriously. It never comes off as an over the top thrill ride, like any other sonic story. Even in the most garbage hilariously edgy sonic stories, there's some level "we're just trying to be cool so enjoy the ride lol" IDW sonic on the other hands comes off like it's actually trying to make you feel bad/rethink your life and it fails horribly. There's no excitement to be had with idw sonic.

Very true in regards to the biggest arcs such as the MVA and the Imposter Syndrome arc. It's bonkers how they both tried to have this big morality debate painting Sonic as a flawed hero, but done in a shallow, OOC manner that can be excused with "wahhh go read adult material if you care so much 😭". No genius, nobody asked you to write a whole 20 issue arc about a serious, edgy, gritty, depressing zombie apocalypse that hinged on the moral dilemma "should have Sonic killed an amnesiac Eggman?".

To be fair (not that I'm in the mood to be after #63, but oh well), they seem to have thankully dialed down the edginess, and both the city arc and... whatever this new arc is are much more down to earth and slice-of life. In fact, the city arc, which sounds serious on paper, is complete fluff and only serves to establish the new Diamond Cutters.

They aren't good by any stretch of the imagination, as they're rife with terrible character moment that enraged me to an embarrassing degree :P but at least they don't take themselves so seriously. Now I wonder what's gonna happen when Surge and Kit rejoin the fray.

As for the games, that's one of my biggest gripes against Frontiers, and to a lesser extent '06. Frontiers is nothing more than an excuse plot à la Generations (Sonic has to save his trapped friends), but takes itself so damn seriously, with the voice acting and the music and the pretense that it's actually giving those characters development, ignoring that said development is either old history (Tails and Amy) or completely out of nowhere (Eggman). '06 has some cute, genuinely heartfelt moments (the beginning and ending of Sonic's story, the heart-to-heart between Shadow and Rouge), but most of the story is told in a flat, stilted manner, and the story very much wants to come off as a complex epic.

shth keeps being the superior game because it's so damn goofy it's impossible not to laugh along the ride :P

[gmwsuperfan5467890]

My Extensive Opinions on XO Kitty

-The best part of the show are the interpersonal relationships between the characters, especially the friendships between Kitty, Q, Yuri, Minho and Dae.

- I also really liked the direction they took with Dae because it would have been really easy to villainize him in order to create the ‘he has a girlfriend so we can’t be together conflict’ but they swerved on that cliché and created this really interesting plot of Dae and Yuri fake dating to appease her parents and to get him his tuition money.

- I’ve been rooting for Yuri since her very first scene.

- I really like Q as well and I hope we get more of his backstory next season.

-I was not a huge fan of Minho at first but then he grew on me later on because his scenes are just so comedic.

-I appreciate Dae’s character.

-I hated Yuri’s mum at first but then she grew on me at the end when she accepted that Yuri is gay and embraced getting to know her son. Though the switch-up was quite fast. I assumed she was extremely homophobic but then as soon as Yuri stated her sexuality and left the house for a few days she accepted her, which doesn’t make too much sense, but I’m glad she’s not homophobic anymore. I can assume that it’s because the dad is homophobic and being gay is a big taboo in South Korea so she felt like she had to cover it up to save her family’s reputation and appease her husband.

-Yuri’s dad is a dipshit. Divorce.

-Mr Lee also sucks but to a lesser degree than Yuri’s dad.

-Madison is cool, I liked her character.

-I liked Florian’s character for the most part.

My Opinions on Specific Plots

-Qe having to essentially choose between keeping Dae or Florian at KISS is a doozy. He will obviously choose Dae because he’s his longtime best friend and he already disapproved of the cheating but how will they execute it? Will Q try to convince Florian to confess or will Q have to report him to the board? Will Dae find out? Will this cause a falling out between Q and Dae or Q and Florian?

- I still don’t get why Yuri’s mum hated Kitty’s mum so much and why does Kitty’s mum have all the mementos kept between Yuri’s mum and Mr Lee.

-Honestly, I assumed Mr Lee disliked Kitty so much because he knew that she was Eve’s daughter and Eve was his ex but my theory was disproved because a) he didn’t even know that Kitty was Eve’s daughter and b) he always referred to Eve as Eve Song, which implies that they are not close and he never says her name with any anger or malice in his voice or body language

Ships

-Kitty and Dae were a good first bf/gf type of relationship but I think they’ve both outgrown each other. Their relationship is actually the fake-out to real love triangle of the show, Yuri x Kitty and Kitty x Minho. I say this because their break-up was definitely a sealed and done closure type of deal. I think the show will focus on the other two relationships and keep Kitty and Dae as friends and confidants.

-Honestly I like both Kitty x Minho and Kitty x Yuri and I would be satisfied with either couple ending up together (as long as they give both couples a fair chance). Both couples have chemistry and their own unique dynamic even though both couples fall under the enemies to lovers trope. I also like how both couples (if you exclude the romance) have great friendships. I like Minho and Kitty’s banter and I also like the ease and comfort Kitty and Yuri have around each other.

[crusherthedoctor]

7, 9, 10 and 11.

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how the fandom acts about them?

I try to avoid this as much as I can, since I know it's usually not completely fair to have a low opinion on a character purely for the way their fans act about them. With Surge for example, I already hated everything about her, with or without her stans' assistance. :P

But regardless, the Freedom Fighters are a special exception. There are some things I genuinely don't like about them (Sally being a terrible friend to Sonic in Archie half the time pre-reboot, Antoine being annoying, etc), but for the most part, I would normally just be indifferent to them. But with how long their stans have been completely unreasonable, it was only a matter of time before I could no longer turn a blind eye to how their hype does not match up with their showing.

To a lesser extent, Sage. I say lesser extent because it's true that I already didn't like her at all due to how she's bland enough to cure insomnia, and what they tried to do with her and Eggman. But needless to say, the fandom's enthusiastic drive to reduce Eggman to a loving father figure, with little-to-none of his villainy present, it's become impossible to separate Sage with the damage done when the seeds were already planted for the fandom right there in the game.

9. worst part of canon

There's the ones I always mention, like Eggman constantly getting disrespected in favor of lamer villains and the overreliance on DBZ copypasting.

But I'm also not big on the occasional implication that the other characters are essentially nothing without Sonic. I don't just mean dealing with big bad threats, but also everything about their own lives in general. I get that Sonic is the central character, and him influencing his friends and others is fine and fits with the motif of the series, but there should still be some degree of agency for the other characters that some games and adaptations seem to callously omit.

10. worst part of fanon

11. number of fandom-related words you've filtered

I've actually yet to filter any words because, Tumblr being Tumblr, it all ends up seeping through anyway lmao.

[art-of-manliness]

Skill of the Week: Paint a Room

An important part of manhood has always been about having the competence to be effective in the world — having the breadth of skills, the savoir-faire, to handle any situation you find yourself in. With that in mind, each Sunday we’ll be republishing one of the illustrated guides from our archives, so you can hone your manly know-how week by week. Painting can be one of the hardest and dullest of all household projects, which is why many people put it off. When done wrong, painting is time-consuming, frustrating, back-straining, messy work. When done right, it’s still all of those things, but to a lesser degree. As with any chore or project, careful preparation and patient execution are your friends. Take the time to do it right, and you’ll avoid ending up with a splotchy mess of a room. Like this illustrated guide? Then you’re going to love our book The Illustrated Art of Manliness! Pick up a copy on Amazon. The post Skill of the Week: Paint a Room appeared first on The Art of Manliness. http://dlvr.it/SzLdhz

[huhhugh]

Ok, so I see alot of horseshit in the fucking notes of this post and let me just say, although this movie was quite well executed, ultimately the story is that ken was neglected and ignored by literally everyone around him and snapped before getting told to shut up and go back being stomped on, let's elaborate shall we?

In the beginning of the movie it is explicitly stated that "ken only has a good day when Barbie looks at him" and you could, if this were the real world, say that he was basing his life around Barbie to an unhealthy degree, but this isn't set in the real world it's set in Barbieland, a place where ken was made to serve functionally the same purpose as a tote bag, he is an accessory to Barbie by design so I would say he is basing his life around her as much as he was made to, but that she doesn't care about him, at all, not even as a friend (because I think alot of people see this as ken being mad about friendzoning) but the thing is you would not treat friends like she treats ken, for instance take a second to flip the roles of Barbie and ken throughout the movie, and suddenly it's super misogynist, and of course you could say that we only have one day to look at in Barbieland but the things we see are called out to be normal if not constant so I would say it's fair to call it a representative sample, ken is ignored and belittled constantly when he just wants to hang out with someone who, supposedly, enjoys his company (y'know like friends do) but Barbie is constantly patronising to him at every turn she thinks he is lesser and you see it in her every action, and as the movie moves into the real world segment we see her getting harassed instantly which, would not happen realistically because it isn't socially acceptable anymore and you would get in trouble for it, at most you would get quiet leering which while uncomfortable I can say as a woman myself doesn't even make top fucking 25 of my biggest problems that I experience, and frankly if being leered at is your biggest problem I'm putting you into one of two boxes either

A. Leering is triggering to you due to past sexual assault

B. Leering is a big problem simply because it makes you uncomfortable

And if it's A, valid you're chill, but if it's B, go fuck yourself if it makes you scared get stronger I'm sick and fucking tired of people just waiting to be helped, people don't help unless it's convenient, it's the sad truth so if you want something done, if you want to feel protected, protect. Your. Self. And yes this may not work for everyone and yes, I am, functionally telling you to get PTSD and move on but you don't get to look at me, an autistic trans woman with PTSD and DID and say people making creepy comments is The Big Problem Of Society, but I digress. Now let's move forwards a bit to where they get back and ken rules barbieland so lemme start with mojo dojo Casa house is in fact fun to say and I'm sorry you hate having a good time and he does in fact look neat and I am, once again, sorry you hate having a good time, and he specifically says something to the affect of (although I forget the specific wording) 'oh it sucks when it's you huh' because this is how ken was treated, he was the one begging for attention just to feel like he had worth and he was the one who is heavily implied to NOT HAVE A FUCKING HOUSE in the Barbie dream world, and when the Barbie's are being un-brainwashed they talk about various societal expectations (that I will add aren't exclusive to women but I'll elaborate in a bit) that they 'have' to confirm to, but the thing is yeah, it sucks and you end up on the outs but you can in fact break them and live, and I know this because I think all societal norms can go die in a fucking hole regardless of who they're about, if you abide by societal norms that hurt you that is decision you are making and I'm not gonna say that anyone but you is taking your agency. And the societal expectations for men are equally strict, men are (if they want to be considered 'good') expected to be emotionally available but not clingy, and open but not expecting help, supportive and feminist but not subservient, strong but not angry, and there are others but they slip my mind, social norms hurt everyone and, like any good ruling class seek to make everyone think it is everyone else's faults so they can't take a second to take down the actual architect of their suffering, and let me also say the ending where he was crying, if you listen you can hear the Barbie's making sounds of disgust as he goes to cry which let me just say, GO FUCK YOURSELVES, do you how goddamned often the message that '''boys don't cry''' is perpetuated??? FUCKING CONSTANTLY. And then Barbie is so goddamned condescending the whole time she's talking to him up there, its fucking nausea inducing, once again, take one goddamned second to switch the genders in this movie you goddamned blind assholes, and this isn't even touching on how, when you take the way they treat/talk about weird Barbie combined with how they treat/talk about ken shows that they just want conformity, the Barbie's are absolutely the fucking villains of the movie, and the moral the movie perpetuates is that there will always be an abusive power structure but hey, at least you can be top dog now.

In summary ken deserves better than he got, the only good Barbie is weird Barbie, and the true villain everywhere is gender essentialism and idealized normalcy being used to crush those who don't fit.

note: this take actually adresses some sensitive topics, including some that i didn't know how to tag, but may require content warnings - so just be careful

also, i had to post this early because for some reason tumblr kept deleting this specific post every time it was queued or saved as a draft

HOT TAKE TOURNAMENT

TOURNAMENT OVERTIME #182

Submission 527

the Barbie movie (2023) was horrible

[SUBMITTED JUSTIFICATION UNDER THE CUT - PLEASE READ]

Propaganda is encouraged!

Also, remember to reblog your favourite polls for exposure!

Submitted justification:

unfortunately this is a dead serious take of mine. that movie was a story of a horrible tragedy portrayed as justice. and the subtle violent radfem undertones were deeply uncomfortable. my reasons for disliking it are very complicated and personal, so I'm going to try and keep this brief and try to avoid saying anything too charged.

i understand liking it— it was a very fun movie! the way they did the practical effects and props and setting were all genius and very cool!

but.. the way they handled Ken and his struggles felt extremely minimizing, cruel, and violent. I've *been* the reject kid before. I *know* what that's like. I've been humiliated and degraded before for being too much, for having ADHD, for being autistic, for wanting to be included in friend groups that didn't want me.

ken's story is a *tragedy* of a person who dared to ask for love and inclusion, who dared to ask over and over until the only option left to him was to be made into a villain for it. and instead of realizing that maybe, just maybe, this was a cry for help... that maybe, this was the last straw in a long long long line of instances of horribly cruel social bullying and humiliation.... that maybe Ken never wanted to hurt anyone, that maybe he just wanted everyone to see how much he was hurting, that maybe he never wanted power or violence, but empathy instead.... instead of considering any of at, the movie has Barbie and her friends *laugh* at his suffering, and watch him on the brink of tears with the grim satisfaction of a bully that got away with it.

i came away from this movie thinking, what should Ken have done better to avoid this? what could he have done to be truly accepted? what was the "good" choice, if what he actually chose was actually so evil?

and the answer is, nothing. he was spending his entire life serving and worshipping a group that wanted him quiet, polite, and dead. from personal experience, this is the kind of friend group that would probably find it at best a personal irritant, if he had attempted suicide.

this movie was so hurtful. it really felt like they said "people like you are better off dead or behaving like perfect mindless dolls, because when you try to get what you want, you just bother the people around you." conform or else.

i know people get icky when people claim that misandry exists, but.... consider the plot of this same movie, if ken had been one of barbie's girl friends. or if ken had been a trans girl. or hell, even a trans girl egg. i just see people only praising this movie and... no one seems to acknowledge how unnecessarily, brutally cruel they were to Ken, and how little empathy he received both from the general audience and from the writers and Barbie herself.

[merakiui]

Half-Off Love

yandere!scaramouche x (gender neutral) reader art credit - kentasha1236 on twt cw: yandere, nsfw, unhealthy behaviors/relationship, gold-digging, implied yandere!childe note - thank you so much for 600 followers! o(≧∇≦o) I’ll work hard!

It’s strange. There’s no other adjective to describe the situation you’ve found yourself in. 

The ring slides itself onto your steady finger and it’s a miracle your discomfort doesn’t show. Your eyes struggle to meet his, but when they do you’re searching for a reason—for a meaning behind such a generous gift. You’ve witnessed this scene plenty of times before, having scoffed at the couples who decide to take their relationship to the next level. Whether it be in Mondstadt or Liyue, you’ve watched your fair share of angelic proposals. Although this is far from a proposal—at least, you hope it’s not a proposal. You’d feel powerless to decline if Scaramouche put you in such a position, and you’re almost certain he’s aware of this. 

But the main thing—you now realize—that’s holding him back is your status and his relationship with you. It’s nothing special, just mere physical attraction rather than the emotional hindrances that come with real, heart-racing love. There’s nothing wholesome in the way you regard one another; it’s just sex. 

“Do you like it? I made sure to find only the highest quality gemstone for you.”

And yet when he performs this caring charade, it doesn’t feel like loveless copulation. 

Ew, you think, plastering a smile to your face. Since when was Scaramouche so concerned with materialistic signs of affection? He’s far from loving; he’s just pent-up, frustrated from his rigorous job as a Harbinger and so he decides to use you as a means of coping. He almost sounds like Childe with his ineffective flirting methods. You’ve received your fair share of spoils from him as well, and you’ve done everything you could to cull that relationship before it grew out of hand. But now you’re stuck with the lesser side of the coin: another troublesome Fatui Harbinger. 

If you didn’t know any better, you might think to chase after Signora or Dottore next. Maybe you’ll aim for the Tsaritsa Herself if you’re especially daring. After all, your life has been nothing but deceit and faux pleasures; there’s little value to a liar’s life. If the Archons wish for your swift end, you’re positive it’ll be a result of your insatiable greed.

“It’s lovely. The color matches my eyes.”

It doesn’t, but you lie about it anyways. And he looks pleased to hear your approval. 

“Then perhaps I should get you a bracelet as well? Or would you prefer something with a little more use, such as a pocket watch?”

Why don’t you just lock me up with a collar instead? you think bitterly, already keen on pawning the ring off once the initial luster fades. Since you’re so eager to buy these things for me in hopes that I’ll return. It’s annoying.

“This is more than enough. I don’t want you to spend a fortune on me.” There’s a sweet lilt in your voice as your hand cups his cheek, and he leans into your warm touch, starved of the affection like a stray mutt. ”I only need you per our agreement. You do remember what that is, right?”

He’d be caught dead bending to the desires of someone so insignificant, but he just can’t stay away. Not when your every word is intoxicating poison he’ll readily ingest. 

“I’m aware." There’s a sigh in his tone as he pulls away, almost as if he wants to simply sit there and indulge in playful conversation. As if he actually wants to familiarize himself with the real you. But that emotion doesn’t last for long and an irritated expression crawls onto his handsome face as he silently recalls something. 

You’re slipping your silks off with grace, curiously tracking his movements. “You look upset. Was it because of what I said?”

“Of course not. You could never upset me.”

Until you get bored of me.

When you cast your robes aside, reaching for Scaramouche’s elaborate outfit, you murmur, “Let me guess. It was that traveler again, wasn’t it? I’m not sure why you’re so hung up on them.” A whimper leaks into your voice and you fix him with a pout. “I’m sad you’d think of others when I’m right here. Aren’t I the only one you need?”

It’s ironic how quickly that line hooks him, dragging him up from the murkiest depths of love that has skewed into obsession. When you tried it out on Childe, he wasn’t so easily swayed. You find their differences to be invigorating. If the arrangement with Childe was still ongoing, you might’ve considered a threesome, if only to wring more glittering treasures out of the both of them. Mora and jewelry galore, it all goes towards your stockpiled savings. And it’s times like these when you’re lucky to have avoided economic business with the Fatui. Being free of Fatui debt has its perks, a bright miracle in your dark relationships. That’s one less tether to Scaramouche and one less reason to cling to him after you’ve had enough. 

He smirks at your forced envy, easily pushing you backwards onto the plush mattress once he’s fully undressed. For a brief moment, he pictures your pliant body sprawled across an office desk while he pounds into you from behind, putting on a lewd show for his leering underlings. There’s something arousing about your secret relationship that has strange ideas formulating within his head. He entertains a simple scheme, one in which he’d shed light on your connection; however, the other side of him wants to keep your existence for himself, where no one will disturb the two of you in your pleasurable endeavors.

Perhaps you would truly belong to him if he were to expose you for the fraud you really are. Oh, the joy of trapping an unsuspecting rat in a corner, with no way out but into his open arms. You’ll hardly have any semblance of a choice, but he knows you’ll choose the option that guarantees another chance at life.

Scaramouche thinks about that as he revels in soft, tantalizing foreplay. He knows you aren’t as dedicated to this relationship as he is and he’s almost certain you’ve got others waiting for you in different parts of Teyvat. He’s just another plaything you’ve picked up for the fun of it. And in these moments where you surrender to his touch, your back arching with avaricious thoughts, you seem to forget about the power he truly wields. The thought that he could suffocate you in this very bed with his love alone should have you taking precautions to cover your vulnerability, but you only have your eyes set on one thing—not exactly minding the outcome so long as it’s monetarily favorable.

And if playing into your covetous hands ensures your weekly arrival, he’ll gladly empty his pockets of spare change.

You don’t like this new side of him. Lately he’s been treating this as if the two of you are lovers: slow, sensual thrusts accompanied with the sweetest of promises. You’ve never really minded the filth he’d moan in your ear and now you wish he’d resort to that instead. Loveless words spoken through the veil of lust—that’s what you want to hear.  

He envelops you like a smothering fog, fitting himself snugly inside of your tight hole in an embrace that’s oh so familiar. You aren’t used to such gentle treatment and as he kisses along your collarbone you feel yourself going under, having fallen victim to a Harbinger who is normally so cold-hearted. Perhaps he’s more sensitive than you originally thought. Months ago, you wouldn’t have imagined your relationship would grow into something so uncertain, where emotionless love becomes packaged and bogged down with so much feeling.

His lips ghost over yours and there’s a slight pause in his actions. You turn your head to the side, denying his choking affection before it can drag you further into a spiraling abyss of regret. Annoyance swells in his hazy gaze, but he uses your new position to his advantage.

“It’s cute,” he says in a hushed voice, breath tickling your ear, “how you seem to rid yourself of my gifts as soon as they fall into your hands. I wonder where they’ve gone. Into the harbor? Traded off for food and shelter? Do tell me.”

When his grip on your hip tightens to a threatening degree, you resign yourself, opting to hold your tongue as his pace remains brutally slow. Rather than speaking out of line, you raise your hand to his face, and he clasps your wrist in a forceful hold. 

The look in his eyes is far from loving—it’s that same obsessed expression Childe wore. And even if he still searches for you for reasons other than sex, you’re aware there’s no luck where Scaramouche is concerned. You can run from Childe because he’ll allow it—because he adores the chase—but Scaramouche hardly finds delight in a game of cat and mouse. You should’ve expected this. After all, he is just as conniving as the rest, always inventing new ways to track down and eradicate that peculiar traveler. Of course he would know about how you handle his presents when he isn’t looking because there’s no denying the stern gazes that would pierce through your backside whenever you went to the market.

"I’d never throw them out like that...” you mumble through another soft moan, hoping he’ll just pick up the pace and be done with you. “Your gifts are priceless.”

And yet the price for your own love is so hefty. If he weren’t Fatui, it might be enough to throw him into lifelong debt.

“Is that so? You seem to put a price on them whenever you visit the marketplace.” His fingers grip your chin, forcing you into an inescapable eye contact. “If you enjoy putting prices on items that you claim are priceless, you won’t mind if I collect a refund for your dishonesty.”

“A...refund?” 

Your lustful thoughts evaporate once you realize his pace has become horribly slow, his dick stilling and creating an itch of barely noticeable ecstasy. You wiggle your hips to increase the friction, wanting to get yourself off before his words can sour the mood. Though it’s already spoiled when you recognize the carnal victory shining in his twisted smirk. Your unfortunate fate was sealed the moment you welcomed his company with foolish openness, and you’ve been indebted ever since he decided to spoil you with lavish foods and accessories. 

For love that is far from cheap, interest must be paid and your very being makes for the perfect bargain.

It’s weird when he kisses you on your lips rather than on the parts of your body that are normally obscured with delicate cloth. And it’s even weirder when that metaphorical collar binds your throat in a vice. It’s more harrowing than any sort of debt you might’ve garnered and it’s just as inconvenient as his boyish adoration.

Scaramouche doesn’t have to purchase your flimsy, half-off love when it’s already prepackaged and ready for the taking. 

“You heard me. A refund is hardly enough punishment for a lying brat, but it will have to suffice for now.”

For now.

Spurred on by his own insinuating threats, he seeks to bruise your very insides with thrusts that are filled with physical vexation rather than the emotional ministrations from before. And since you’re so accustomed to him, your greedy hole eagerly welcomes him. 

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: May 15th Part 2

And here’s the next part of the long answer set of the day!

When will OL: N&F take place? Beginnings and Always took place during summer breaks, will now and forever take place during a fall break or will the characters be going to school at the time of the events we play through? 

It takes place over all of the fall season, so school will be happening in OL2. Some events do take place in school, though many times events only start after school is already out for the day, haha.

Hey!! I have kind of a weird question?? I’m sorry if it’s been answered before and I just haven’t seen it but is OL 2 taking place during the same years as OL 1? I’m just curious, thank you for such amazing games!!! 

It’s a similar time frame, but not 100% exactly same.

Do you have any idea when the demo for now and forever will be available? 

Hopefully this fall! But that’s not a guarantee.

Okay the crime show in Step 2: Growing up. Long blonde hair, police station, crime series? Was it The Closer? Because I’m the same age as MC and Cove and my mom was constantly watching that when I was 13. 😂 

Haha, yeah! The Closer and, to a lesser degree, Medium were the kind of shows I was referencing there. My mom also used to watch those back in the day.

Hey um this might be an odd question but if the setting of OL: N&F is  fall/autumn, what country or city will it take because my mind tells me it is either Poland or Canada. Also I can't wait for the game I am hyped 

It’s set in the USA again. We’d like to be able to have cameos and that’s easiest to do if the OL games take place in the same country.

Is it possible for the PC of OL to have non-seriously dated other people in the in between years even if they’ve had a consistent crush on Cove? 

You can causally date Baxter in Step 3 if you get his DLC and then ultimately choose Cove in Step 4. If you mean off-screen people, it doesn’t really come up, but you can certainly headcanon that. The game never says Cove is the only partner you’ve ever had.

Is there going to be a Kickstarter for Now and Forever as well? For like voiced names and stuff again? Didn’t find B&A until after it was released and I’d really love the opportunity to hear my name in the game 🥺 

Yeah, we are gonna have a Kickstarter with getting a voiced name as a reward! Though, it will be more expensive than it was for OL1. I feel bad to raise the price but we realized too late the first time around that it was being super undersold for the amount of work it took, aha.

Do you know how much the remaining DLC for OL will cost? (Step 4, Derek, Baxter) 

Step 4: Free

Wedding DLC: $2.99USD

Derek DLC: $4.99USD

 Baxter DLC: $4.99USD

Has an artist for the new position been picked yet?! I'm super excited for the new game! 

We did fill that spot. Thank you so much for taking the time to apply!

hmmm what would it take to get each of the XOXO jerk squad to feel the need to hug you? 

They’d have to first like you a fair amount, otherwise the most you’d get is maybe a pat on the shoulder. If they were attached, they might hug you if you broke down crying or if you gave them super good news.

Unless it’s Shiloh, of course. If you want a hug you only have to ask!

May i ask how the Derek DLC will work? I believe that there aren’t any memories in step 4 and doesnt derek’s dlc take place during that step? So will the dlc add memories? Thank you! 

Derek’s DLC will add five Moments to Step 2 (a new page will appear on that screen if you get the DLC). Then in Step 4 you’ll have to choose between playing the default epilogue or going through the Derek romance story.

Is the pc version on itch,io different from the steam version? Like an offline one or something? 

Steam has achievements, but that’s about it. Both can be played offline, if you prefer.

I've been wondering this for awhile, what determines if cove winds up with a ponytail in step 3? I've done multiple runs with different MCs with varying hairstyles. Or does it have to do with a particular moment in step 2? 

I’m afraid I can’t say exact choices that determine things. But generally it’s preference based options in the Step before that decide those things.

Any Floret Bond updates? 

No, the artist had to leave the project and it’s been on-hold. I’m not sure if I want to try working just with what we have or replacing it all entirely. The design is a bit too specific for us to easily find someone who could mimic it. Hopefully we’ll work things out later, though.

In step 3 is Cove's plan always to stay in sunset bird? 

Yeah. He is never ready at 18-years-old to make a big life change.

I love your content! If it's alright to ask, you answered in a previous ask about how Jeremy was too particular with what he likes his types to be romanceable with just any MC and it's sort of got me wondering.. What /are/ his types and/or preferences and such? Sorry if it's a lot! 

Jeremy likes stubborn jerks and will not date someone who’s sweet or even generally a decent person, haha.

uh, excuse me if you said this somewhere before, but how will step 4 be actually? Will it he like an actual step and have moments and dlc and all? Or will it be more like a long epilogue of some sort?

Will the step 4, the wedding and extra routes dlcs be paid too? Im just confused, sorry if im asking too much

Step 4 is only an epilogue, so it’s just a long series of scenes one after the other rather than a collection of Moments you can choose from.

The Step 4 epilogue is free, the wedding DLC, Derek DLC, and Baxter DLC cost money.

i’m not sure how much of the wedding dlc you have planned already, or if this would be to spoilery, but what kind of wedding traditions will be included? i keep thinking about how flustered cove would get over a garter toss & was wondering if we’d see a scene like that haha. obviously no worries if it’s not included, i’ll enjoy literally anything cove related 

I don’t know for sure yet, haha. Right now we’re focused on the parts before the big day. We’ll see how many scene alterations we can include for the wedding itself later on.

Hello! Firstly, thank you for creating such an amazing game like OL, and I couldn’t be more excited for OL2! Out of curiosity, are you looking for any writers to come on for OL2 or are you all pretty much set in that department? Just thought I’d shoot my shot haha but I’m still excited regardless ^^! 

We will be hiring writers for OL2 later this year! Thank you for the interest.

Will we be blessed with a spin-off Yandere Cove, like XOXO Blood Droplets? 

Sadly, no. It’s a shame but there’s not enough time to keep making OL1 bonus/spin-off content.

How is Q pronounced?

I’m afraid Q’s full name hasn’t been publicly announced yet so I can’t answer here (Q and T are the first letters of the names for the new LIs in Our Life: Now & Forever).

Question; is the steam version getting a Mac update?  I purchased the dlc there thinking it had Mac support without realizing it and just wondered if I’d need to refund it to purchase on itch.io 😭 

I’m really sorry, you will need to get a refund from Steam. We do hope to have it there for Steam eventually, but have no idea of when it’ll happen. Apple requires special notarization to be an officially accepted app for their devices. We don’t have that. Steam requires having that, Itch will let you release it as an non-notarized third party app. That’s why Itch is the only place that has the Mac version right now.

would you mind posting outfit sheets for Cove in every step? it would make things a lot easier for us artists. it would save a lot of time spent looking for references 

I think we did do the earlier steps when they were finished way back in 2019 (this game took a long time to make, aha), but we can probably repost them sometime!

In our life n&f, will we be able to get into qprs/will there be more options in regards to having deep platonic relationships with the love interests? Because as an aroace individual, it would be great if there could also be emphasis on platonic love so that it's more aspec inclusive. 

It’s a little hard to say at this point. There may not be things like a wedding DLC for OL2 and so the relationship for platonic and romantic feelings might not go as far as it did in the first game. We’ll kind of have to see how much we can do based on timeframe/budget constraints that will only be set near the end of the year. But we will be keeping things like that in mind at least.

hi! i really really like your game and im absolutely in love with it! i cant wait to try your other games like xoxo droplet and future OL NF :))

during the step 3 erands moment i got curious, which fudge flavor is his favorite? it seems like he likes all of them, but which 4 do you think he would like best?

also i noticed that in some playthroughs cove would let me give him a piggy back ride, and in some he wouldn't, how come?

how does your choices affect cove's interests or looks? i replayed the game without changing any choices but i got cove to look different, is it just random?

thank you!

Cove’s favorite flavors are ones with nuts and that are fruity! But he appreciates them all. Whether or not you can give him a piggyback ride depends on if your MC is fit/large enough to hold a muscular 6-foot-tall beach boy, haha.

Cove’s appearance does depend on choices and it’s generally tied to choices that are preference based rather than emotion/action based, such as which key chain you pick in Step 1.

Is it possible for cove to reject MC's proposal at the end of step 3? 

Nope. He’ll always accept.

hi! i was wondering how heavily the side characters will be featured in the our life wedding dlc? obviously it'll be cove & mc focused, but i was thinking it'd be sweet if we could take lizzie dress / suit shopping or dance with cliff at the wedding or something. 

The side characters are there about as often as they are in normal events. So, it’s clearly focused on Cove but he’s not the only person you have any meaningful moments with.

When will responses be sent out to applicants? 

I’m afraid we don’t send responses out to all applications, only ones we’re interested in offering the position to. Not everyone likes rejection emails and the amount of applications is too high to contact them all to say we’re not hiring them. We post updates on the job page when a position has news. Right now we’ve filled every role that was open.

Is there also going to be the option to keep your relationships with the love interests platonic in Our Life: Now and Forever? That's something I really appreciate in Our Life: Beginnings and Always

Yeah! OL will never force you to end up in a romantic relationship with someone.

I was wondering, in the Step 3 Happiness moment, what are the different fishes Cove can compare MC to? I got "you'd be a paradise fish, because being with you is paradise," but my friend got "you'd be an angelfish." Are there more variations? 

He says paradise fish if you’re a couple, angelfish if he’s just crushing, and then a royal dottyback/queenfish/emperor tetra (based on your gender) if he likes the MC platonicly.

Hello! So, in one of the Step 3 DLCs, Cove's arm was gone. I think it was to show him putting his arm behind his back. But if that wasn't the case, did it get yeeted? 

Thanks for letting us know. That was an error we tried to fix a little while back. When did you make the save file you were playing? If it was older that might be why it happened. Or maybe the error wasn’t fully fixed after all.

Asking for your opinion, but do you think Cove would at all be into ABBA? Because all I could imagine during the car trip in step 3 was him and the MC belting to Mamma Mia. 

Haha, yeah, there’d definitely be some ABBA songs he was into.

So throughout the game, Cove can develop different interests depending on the player’s choices; does this mean that he can have different careers in Step 4? Or his is line of work in adulthood never mentioned at all? 

He can have different career paths in Step 4!

Hi!! I'm so so sorry if this has been asked before but I just acquired knowledge about the so famous nsfw dlc for OL and nearly chocked on my bubblegum 💀💀💀 So, my real inquiry is if that specific moment will have any kind of impact at some point of the fourth step OR if it will just be treated as a side-story-ish “what if” scenario.Also, is there any chance there'll be something similar for Step 4? Haha jk,,, unless 😳Questions apart let me thank you profoundly for making the best visual novel I've ever played 😭 Really really looking forward the epilogue and OL2 💕 Have a nice day 

It’s just a bonus side story that’s fully separate from the main game.

It would be nice to have one for Step 4 too, but I sadly don’t see us having time to actually do it. I don’t know, if people are still asking for more OL1 content several months from now it might be doable and worth doing.

I'd just like to ask, when is Baxter's birthday :0 -- I'm really curious esp with their zodiac signs so ;w; 

I don’t know, haha. Maybe I’ll come up with one someday.

Please help!! I bought the Step 3 DLC but I still have no idea how to get to where you can propose to Cove - any tips? 

&

How do I get the option to propose to Cove at the end of the game?

You can click HERE for a discussion on that.

I love that Miranda and Terry are getting together! I'm curious if you have canon sexualities for them? Also just wanted to say how much I love OL and how much joy it brings me everytime I play it <3 

Terry likes ladies and Miranda likes dudes!

ngl Step 4 Terry's design reads like y'all see trans guys as their assigned gender more than you see them as men to me (a trans guy)... like maybe if he isn't heavily dysphoric, I could see it, but everything you've said about him doesn't line up with that. Even then, immediate warning bells go off in my head looking at him. I wouldn't have touched the game if I saw him ahead of time.

I’m sorry you aren’t comfortable with the way the design looks. The situation with Terry is that he’s now open about who he is, but the body he was born with is still physically the same. He only came out recently as an adult and hasn’t gone through any treatments/procedures yet (his chest is flatter because he wears a binder). However, even though his body hasn’t transitioned at the point Step 4 happens, no one treats him as anything other than the guy he is. Having a trans character who’s identity is supported/respected from the start is what we’re going for in this case. But what we’re doing with Terry isn’t the only trans content we’ve ever had/ever will have in the future.

how would baxter react to bae pyoun and vice versa? and can you please detailly explain both love interests personalities from our life 2: now and forever? i was just curious, sorry for dumb question!! 

I imagine it’d be pretty opposite experiences, haha. Bae would initially think Baxter is pushy and thoughtless, but would quickly realize, oh, he’s instead a soft, considerate boy. Very cute. Baxter would first be struck with the impression that Bae is charming and gentlemanly, but then would realize that, no, he’s a sarcastic asshole. And I’m afraid we can’t reveal the personalities for the next game yet.

Sorry if you've already answered this, but I have a question about the patreon exclusive moment you're working on. I was wondering if it's mainly going to be CGs or if it's mostly character sprites + backgrounds with some CGs.

Either way, thank you for doing the Lord's work and not only making Cove, but making this bonus moment as well 😌😌😌

It’s mostly sprites/backgrounds with two CGs!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you again for the interesting questions everyone :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[gffa]

Just read your post about if Anakin would've been fulfilled living a quiet life with padmé and it made me wonder. In a universe where the war ended do you think they'd have made it as a couple or gotten divorced later on? (you don't have to answer this obviously it's a tricky topic haha but I'm curious)

Hi!  I will admit upfront that I am not always the most fair when it comes to Anidala, it’s just not the dynamic of my heart and the interest I do have in it, it’s generally not explored in the way I would like.  (Which is fine, nobody is obligated to write me the kind of Anidala I’m interested in!  😂) I could honestly see it going either way.  I think they genuinely love each other, but without addressing Anakin’s issues (and, to a lesser degree, Padme’s as well), that they would be destined for a blow-up at some point or other regardless.  Because even GL talked about how his attachment to Shmi and Padme made him into Darth Vader--”He turns into Darth Vader because he gets attached to things. He can’t let go of his mother; he can’t let go of his girlfriend. He can’t let go of things.“ (TIME Magazine, 2002)  That doesn’t go away even if the war ends. So, the question then becomes--in a universe where the war ended, do I think Anakin would have really done the hard work of looking inside himself and figuring out what he really wanted?  I’m on the fence about that one, too. Generally, though, I do think that he would have gotten there without the temptation of Palpatine’s words to listen to, that as long as there was the lure of being told what he wanted rather than what he needed to hear, he would always listen to that instead.  Without it, I think he had a much stronger chance of actually listening to Obi-Wan and the other Jedi trying to help him, which would mean he would have to make a choice, about what he actually wanted out of life. I’m not sure what that is, to be honest.  My heart wants him to choose the Jedi, because I think it would have really benefitted him if he could have accepted their teachings emotionally and I think he loved the Jedi even if he held them at arm’s length in a lot of ways, but I’m not always that fair to Anidala, which I often can’t help but see as being built on loving the idea of each other just as much as they actually love each other.  Because they never got the chance to really know each other, they barely had any time together, their relationship was built on moments, instead of years, it was built on ten years of longing and the epic romance that had them getting married like a week after they met, it was built on holding onto each other through the war as one of the comforts they could soothe themselves with. But, in order for their story to have any meaning in the plot, they have to have loved each other genuinely, there has to be something genuine there, and of course they have some very cute moments and the comfort they gave each other before everything went to shit was real! I think a lot of it comes down to how much Anakin was willing to come to terms with himself, because that affects Padme’s role in the relationship as well--she loves him, she sticks with him through some truly monstrous things (she’s still willing to run away with him even after finding out he murdered the children), but she also has a breaking point where she will step away, if he doesn’t get his shit together. If it was up to me, I think they’d part ways and Anakin would finally be able to accept the Jedi fully, but, well, I would say that, wouldn’t I?  LOL.  I tend to think that, as long as Anakin was with Padme, he was going to want to keep filling himself up with over the top intense feelings, always chasing that epic, sweeping romantic feeling that he was so intoxicated by, rather than stepping back and finding balance within himself. And if that were anyone else but a level 300 psychic space wizard who connects with an energy field that literally works based on your emotional and mental states, then that could work out fine!  But Anakin is a level 300 psychic space wizard and the Force is an echo chamber of your feelings being blasted back into your face already, never mind when they’re extra intense feelings and thoughts.  And I’m not sure he really wanted to love in an in-control sort of way, as well as Padme was really, really into the epic, sweeping romance of it all and it shouldn’t be on her to put on the breaks constantly. So, I lean towards the idea that they’d separate, but I’m willing to be convinced that they’d have worked things out, too.  /sits firmly on the fence!

[maglover]

I’m thinking that if my theory about what’s going to happen to the Tridentarius twins happens in Alecto the Ninth, it will cement for me that Coronabeth is a morally inexcusable character. I won’t hate her in like the literal sense but I will admit that it will make her morally repugnant and justly so.

I was talking to a friend just now about sisterhood and what it means to be an older sister. And we were like yeah. One of the implicit responsibilities of being an older sibling is wanting the world to be a better place for your younger sibling. That looks different for everyone but it is The Job.

Having this conversation really helped me nail why I may not hate Coronabeth, I do think she's morally inexcusable. And not even like "as much as Ianthe" no I mean she is in her own league and there's nothing Ianthe has done to even come close to her shit.

I'm going to skip the Muir's "Cainabeth" and "Abella" stuff and get down to the nitty gritty, like what we know. Ianthe has been covering Coronabeth's ass for nearly their entire life, not even for like a reward or exchange but because her parents wanted two necromantic twins and also Corona is their favorite child. She literally did not have to do that. She could have stopped or just have like killed her do anything else. But she hasn't. She's literally accepted a life of being the "lesser one" to like spare Coronabeth the bullshit.

Now if you consider that Coronabeth not being a necromancer highly implies that she's supposed to Ianthe's cav, she just like straight up saved her from nearly certain death. Why? Because she's her fucking sister. I get that people are suspicious of her which I think is fair, but I think like taking it a face value that's seems to be the most solid reasoning for this.

There also seems to be a non-zero chance that it was actually Coronabeth who killed Naberius trying to become cavalier primary and if that's also the case Ianthe has covered her ass AGAIN. For no fucking reward other than being like normal and regular and not wanting to kill and eat her sister.

If you consider Corona wanting to be Ianthe's cav being about protecting her, you have consider being killed and eaten by your sister is the pretty much the opposite of protection. And the fact that Corona seems aghast by her sister's choice to not kill and eat her, that's not even just crazy, that's unbelievably cruel.

I said in an earlier post that like Coronabeth is the most important person to Ianthe and nearly all of her actions are made in effort to protect to sister in some degree. I also mentioned this is likely going to be what ends up getting her killed. But I think given the insane sacrifices Ianthe has made, like forget theory, Ianthe covering her ass for so long just because is like an incredibly morally selfless act. She is the "less bad" twin.

This is why when Muir threw in there that Corona being birthed first deprived Ianthe of oxygen. I don't think it was like a fun fact but a huge foreshadowing of their fates. The older sibling has the duty to protect the younger one. Its not even like a religious thing but a moral expectation. Corona has eschewed this and happily given the responsibility to Ianthe and CONTINUES to still take from her. You can't like sparse it any other way but Corona is a leech, born a leech and will die a leech. And I think that's such an interesting and compelling story about a woman.

[lady-divine-writes]

The Hitchhiker - Chapter 1/4

Picking up a hitchhiker isn't exactly the dumbest thing Kurt has ever done, but it's not exactly the smartest either. When he comes across Blaine Anderson caught in a sudden downpour, he can't just leave him on the corner to drown... can he? (1756 words)

Read on AO3.

“Excuse me? Sir? Do you need a ride?”

Kurt flashes as confident and honest a smile as he can to the man standing on the side of the road. But the second those words leave his mouth, he hears his father’s voice in his head yelling: “Kurt Hummel! What the hell are you doing? Picking up a hitchhiker? Are you out of your mind!?”

And Kurt has to admit, the voice is right. 

There is a fifty-fifty chance that this man, standing alone in the dark by the side of the road, is a violent serial killer. His outfit alone perpetuates the stereotype - indigo jeans, white t-shirt, leather jacket. He has an olive-green duffel slung over one shoulder and he's carrying a guitar case, for God’s sake! What are the odds that there’s actually a guitar in there!? If Kurt picks this man up, he has a greater chance of becoming a statistic than of that man being a musician! Kurt should drive away now without an inch of guilt, floor it without looking back.

And he probably would have deferred to his better judgment and stepped on the gas had it not been for a few things. 

It's pitch dark out for a start. Only a handful of street lights line the curb, installed twenty or so feet apart, which creates long expanses of shadow in between. The road they're on is in the middle of nowhere, with trees towering on both sides of them. This doesn’t help Kurt’s argument any since it seems like just the place a killer would lie in wait for a potential victim. But, in that same vein, someone or something could be stalking him, waiting for Kurt to drive away so they can pounce on him from the trees. Then it would be up to the reach of this man's legs and his athletic ability to save him.

This leads directly to reason two: the man is a klutz. In the five minutes Kurt has been stuck at this red light, he’s seen him smack himself in the face with his own bag, drop his sunglasses (pink rimmed Wayfarers, no less), catch them, then fumble them again, and step in the same puddle twice. If this man is a serial killer, he may not be the most competent one on the planet. 

Three, just as Kurt’s light turned green, it started raining. And not the light drizzle he has come to expect during his infrequent forays to San Diego, but an honest-to-God downpour. Kurt saw the man turn his face up to the sky, his shoulders slumped, wholly defeated by this new development. He put the butt of his guitar case on the toes of his shoes to keep it out of the mud, then attempted to wrap his jacket around it.

And Kurt’s heart melted. 

Kurt is a musician himself. Singer more than musician but he has friends who play the guitar. His stepbrother Finn owns a Fender that he sold plasma to afford. Puck's Gibson is the only thing he has never hawked when he needed money. And Sam, in this man's position, would take off every stitch of clothing to protect his Blueridge if it came down to it. Kurt can imagine this man’s whole life wrapped up in that case, which he is now convinced does hold a guitar.

Kurt isn't a gun enthusiast by any means, but he thinks a semi-automatic should be able to withstand some weather. He may want to Google that one later on… provided he’s still alive.

And about that guitar case: it isn’t a plain, generic, black guitar case. The thing is covered in travel stickers and bling. It has a personality all its own. An easily identifiable personality. If this man is a killer, Kurt is pretty certain every human on the West Coast would know about it. He’d be nicknamed the Kitsch Case Killer or something along those lines. That case sticks out like a sore thumb. There’s no way a man carrying a guitar case decorated like an old-school Lisa Frank binder is getting away with swiping a pack of gum, not to mention murder.

To a lesser degree (Kurt tells himself so he doesn't have to admit how idiotic this idea is), this is the most a-dork-able man Kurt has ever seen. He looks more like a puppy than a predator (weak reasoning, he knows). But Kurt has instincts about people that are usually on the money. He has to give himself credit for making it this far in life. Kurt is tougher than he looks. He has taken his fair share of licks, and he’s still ticking. 

Plus, he has bear repellent in the pocket of his jacket the size of a can of Aquanet. He feels he has his bases covered.

The man walks slowly towards Kurt's car, the curls piled atop his head hanging heavily down his cheeks the wetter he gets.

No, Kurt can’t leave him out here.

“Um. Thanks. Thanks a lot,” the man says, cautiously eyeing Kurt up and down as if he may be asking himself Kurt’s same string of questions in his head. “But I… ” The fact that he isn’t jumping at Kurt’s offer, that he’s glancing anxiously down the road, mulling his options even as rain pours down his back, puts Kurt at ease. The man looks like he’s trying to gauge if Kurt might have a weapon hiding somewhere on his person, contemplating if he’ll come out of this alive if he accepts this ride. 

Ironic, but that proves that there are two sides to every situation.

The man looks about to step away and decline until a fork of lightning turns night into day for five seconds, a boom so loud following it shakes Kurt’s rental car. 

“Sure. Okay. Why not?” He pulls open the rear door in a rush but still wary as he puts his belongings into the backseat and joins Kurt in the front. “Thank you so much. I didn’t expect it to rain this hard, or I might have stayed in my hotel room one more night.” He runs a hand through his hair, cringing at the water that sprays the headrest.

“Not a problem.” Kurt reaches behind the seat and grabs the towel he’d fished out of his luggage earlier when he’d done the same thing. But the rain was only a sprinkle then – angel spittle, his mom would have called it. “I couldn’t just drive by and leave you out here to drown.”

The man chuckles. It, much like the rest of him, is too cute for words. “My name’s Blaine.”

“Kurt.” Kurt extends a hand for Blaine to shake. Blaine looks at it, hesitates a second before taking it, still questioning Kurt and his intentions, Kurt assumes. Despite being stuck in the rain, Blaine’s hand is warm, comforting in a way Kurt speculates a serial killer’s hands would not. “Well, Blaine, where you headed?”

“Oh, uh… I’m trying to make my way to L.A. But you can drop me off anywhere between here and there.”

“Ooo. Actor? Producer?”

“Unemployed schlub, unfortunately. Currently riding my brother’s couch. He’s the actor. I’m the… the failure.”

Kurt pulls onto the road again and heads for the highway. “That’s a really unkind thing to say about yourself.”

“It’s what… well, it’s what my father would say.” He wrings his hands uncomfortably. “He’d also say I’m a disappointment, a waste of a Harvard education, a bum… ” He shivers. Kurt raises the temperature of the heater. Blaine glances at Kurt in embarrassment, and Kurt gets the hint that it’s not the cold that has him trembling.

“I know it’s not my place to say, but I’d stop listening to your father if I were you. It doesn’t seem like he has anything worthwhile to say.”

“How can you say that? You don’t even know me,” Blaine says under his breath, with an edge like a growl, the kind wild animals give when you stumble into their territory unaware. It sets the hairs on the back of Kurt’s neck on end, and he starts second-guessing this decision. 

Relax, Kurt. The man’s just beat down. Exhausted. You understand what that’s like.

Blaine sighs, sinking into the passenger seat and leaning his head against the window. "I'm sorry. I know you're trying to be nice. It's been a long day." 

“I understand. And I may not know you, but I know fathers," Kurt continues. "A father’s job is to be supportive of their children, no matter what they do in life. Succeed or fail, win or lose, they should always be in your corner. And if he’s not, screw him! Surround yourself with people who want to lift you up, not tear you down.”

Blaine winds his arms around his torso, hugging himself tight. “I---is that the way your father treats you?”

“Yup,” Kurt answers with a subconscious smile at the mention of his dad. “He supports me in everything, even the stuff he doesn’t entirely agree with. And when things don’t work out, he’s the first person there, helping me to my feet and encouraging me to try again.”

“Sounds like a great guy. You’re lucky.”

“He is," Kurt says proudly. "And I am.”

Blaine fixes his gaze to the road ahead as Kurt merges onto the highway. He chews the inside of his cheek, stares too hard at the rain-slick asphalt, not shifting focus. It's as if he can't bring himself to look at Kurt when he asks, “So, you think you’re a good judge of character?”

Kurt nods. “Yes, I do."

"How do you know?"

"Experience. I have a decent track record.”

"Surround yourself with a lot of questionable people, do you?"

"I guess you can say that," Kurt agrees with a laugh, thinking of the people who have come into his life that he has adopted as his own: Rachel, Dave, Santana, Puck, all of them rivals or bullies. Or both. But now, a cherished part of his found family.

People he hopes will miss him if SDPD finds him by the side of the road tomorrow with his throat cut.

Stop it, Kurt! Relax! You're in no danger! Everything is going to be fine!

Blaine shrugs, examining his wet hands as if he’s reading something etched on his skin. “Someday you’ll be wrong.”

“Probably." Kurt meets Blaine's eyes in the reflection of the windshield, flashes his confident smile again. "But I don’t think that day is today.”

[hlvraik]

Had an angsty thought for the Kid Science Team but Bubby isn't kiddified bc Tube Logic spin-off: Bubby watches Gordon try and fail to get the kiddos in order, and after Gordon snaps and accidentally upsets a kid, he's trying to apologize when Bubby makes a snide remark on his parenting skills. Rather than a scalding retort, Gordon goes dead silent. The lack of response gets Bubby's attention, and he glances over in time to catch the look on Gordon's face and he realizes he just took it WAY too far.

Despite the fact that Gordon's way to familiar with Bubby's snarky and snide remarks regarding his parenting skills, usually responding with an equal or lesser remark, a click of his tongue, or just disregarding them in general-

  -somehow, someway, this particular remark broke the camel's back..

Gordon's first guess was this was maybe due to him simply being overwhelmed by everything that was happening around it. [As just now, he's trying to comfort a crying K!Benrey the best that he can after just recently snapping at them, while Sunkist, K!Tommy, and K!Coomer ran aimlessly in between his legs.] However, upon reconsideration, maybe it was due to Bubby finally pushing him to the limit with all those sly one-liners..as what exactly do they know about raising and taking care of kids? Ok, they might have some general knowledge about kids and their basic needs, but they were born in a tube for fuck's sake-

Meanwhile Gordon on the other hand was a single father for as long as he can remember and had his fair share of hardships; giving birth to Joshua and taking care of them while attending an ivy league school and getting his master's degree, getting top surgery, moving halfway across the United States fresh out of college as they got hired at Black Mesa, finding and renting  a affordable apartment while looking for a perfect school to enroll Joshua in-the list can go on and on. [So it would make sense why hearing Bubby's constant remarks would make Gordon's blood boil as not only is Bubby's criticizing Gordon's on his parenting skills even though Gordon's 100% sure that Bubby's doesn't have parenting expertise  to begin with, but also that he was the one who was taking care of the kiddos 24/7 while Bubby just sat and watched from a distance.]

Gordon couldn't help but break down and cry out of a mixture of  frustration and stress-hell, he ended up giving Bubby a piece of his own mind and lashing out on them. This catches them extremely off guard as not only is it the first time that Gordon genuinely got upset at them, but the fact that he disregarded the kids while doing so. Gordon  soon comes to their senses and realizes that they've done and sighs heavily. He ends up putting K!Benrey goes down and proceeds to walk away from the group, claiming that he just needs some time to calm down and reassure himself and that he'll come back so there's no need to worry.

After minutes pass without any signs of Gordon returning, Bubby begins to worry.

Before going after and looking for Gordon, Bubby decides to leave the kiddos with Sunkist and appoints Sunkist to protect them while they're away. After searching for what seemed like several  minutes, Bubby eventually finds Gordon sitting alone on a bench and they sit down next to them and starts apologizing for somewhat being a dick and poking fun at his parenting skills. Gordon accepts their apology before saying sorry themselves for how they acted claiming that they're extremely stressed- and as they're making their way back to the group, Gordon  brings up that they're questioning if they're even fit to be dad, as lately they've been feeling unworthy of being one. To which Bubby's immediately all like;

"GORDON FUCKING FREEMAN YOU LISTEN HERE- YOU ARE FIT TO BE A DAD AND DON'T YOU FUCKING DOUBT  IT. YOU GOT YOUR DOCTORATES DEGREE WHILE TAKING CARE OF JOSHUA FOR FUCK'S SAKES- YOU ARE SO AMAZING-JOSHUA'S SO LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS A FATHER-' 

[vampiresuns]

In The Quiet, In The Dark | Asra x Milenko

☽  IN THE QUIET, IN THE DARK ☽

1.5k words. Written for Asra Week 2021, day 5: Memories. Set when 4.5 years before the events of the game, Milenko and Asra took the mutual decision to break up, despite the love they have for each other, but the death of someone they both cared for brings them back together, even if the moment isn’t meant to last.

You can catch up with Milasra’s pre-game canon, ‘Like Thirst Holds Water’, here.

CW: Character death, talks about trauma, unhealthy family dynamics and controlling parents.

Though Paris De Silva died amid the first cases of Red Plague, it was coincidental. She had been sick for a couple of years, a blood disease that was incurable and would progressively eat up her defenses until she died. She was Anatole’s maternal aunt, one of Louisa’s younger sisters. She had run away from the De Silva’s native Altazor when she was short of 23, after finding out the real reason why her sister had left the country.

Louisa had been politically exiled for being against the Dictatorship that had once ruled the country, but her parents had lied about the real reason to her sisters. Paris, who had realised their lives where built upon lives and would always be, with her parents shortcomings and their hypocrisy, ran away with the help of their younger sister, Alma. 

She had found Louisa in Venterre, where she was living at the time. She had travelled with her to Zadith, where she had learnt magic, settling in Vesuvia at the same time as Louisa fell in love with Anatole’s father, Vlad Radošević-Cassano. Though only related to them by marriage, Paris had become one of them either way. Still, no amount of resources or contacts could save her, something Paris had known right away, after the first time she collapsed. 

Milenko hadn’t seen Asra in a while so even if he knew he was bound to be in Paris’ funeral, he couldn’t help the surprise when he saw him in mourning wear, not knowing what to do with himself. Paris had taken him in early on, both of them not too dissimilar with their free spirits and love for magic and dance, she had also taken Muriel in, to a lesser degree, before Muriel was forcibly kept in the Coliseum. Paris had opened her home and her shop, Moonstone and Jasmine, to Asra as if her call in life had been becoming everyone’s aunt. She had always treated him in the same way she treated Anatole, which was also the same way she treated Amparo and Milenko. 

“You four will go places,” she always said, “and you better send me postcards.”

Asra and Anatole were on speaking terms again, the friends bouncing back after a couple of weeks. Asra had reached him out first, to Anatole’s amazement, too afraid danger would befall on his Nana. Anatole had, of course, gone too close to danger, but he had been unsuccessful about getting into the Coliseum. Asra didn’t need to know that, nor how if it wasn’t for Valeriy throwing his weight as the Consul around, Anatole would’ve been in serious trouble.

Asra wasn’t with him, nor anywhere near their family. To anyone else it would pass for Asra not wanting to interrupt the De Silva in their grief. Not just out of respect: with Louisa exiled, Paris a runaway and Alma, while staying in Altazor, siding with her sisters and going away from her parent’s home in an act of defiance after they discovered Paris had run away, it was clear that the relationship between them was patched up, rocky and incredibly uncomfortable, even in grief. Louisa looked angrier than Milenko had ever seen her, her proximity to her parents the apparent cause. It made even more sense if one considered Joaquín and Aureliana had tried to make Louisa leave Balkovia, and heavily disapproved of Vlad. 

A foreigner communist, they had called him, who would make Louisa waste her life, and make her raise a likely child, with no opportunities in life. Asra was aware of all of that — both Anatole and Paris had confided in him, but Milenko knew that wasn’t the reason why he was lingering at the edge of the funeral.

Even broken up, Milenko would know Asra anywhere, anyhow: he was keeping his distance because no matter what anyone said, Asra felt incredibly out of place among the Radošević-Cassano. It wasn’t the house, the position, or anything material. It was because they were borrowed, and Asra felt like he couldn’t make them his own without leaving other things behind, not realising Milenko’s families would never, ever require Asra to be anyone other than who he was, with everything he was, no matter how messy, or how much hurting he felt. 

Asra couldn’t see it, he was in no place to see it, always fairing everything alone. It was one of the reasons they had broken up. A mutual agreement as they could both see all the rifts between them grow. Asra was going through so much, at all times, and the more time that passed and the less he opened up, the less space there was for Milenko, no matter how much he loved him. As for Milenko, well... he would’ve loved to wait a year or two more to marry Asra, but he would stall his growth. Even if Milenko understood that destabilising fear in Asra because he had one of his own, he would never understand Asra’s reaction to it. 

The world was wild, and unpredictable, and dangerous, and beautiful and full of love all the same. Protecting yourself against it, even if it was to use your openness as a shield, would never make you safe, it would just make you alone. You looked out for one another, and you planted the palm trees, hand in hand, song in song. 

Milenko couldn’t demand that of Asra, so they had parted ways, even if Milenko was very consciously walking towards Asra, acting with his heart rather than his head. He didn’t care, no one should carry their grief alone. He certainly didn’t want to carry his on his own. 

As he gently wrapped his hand around Asra’s shoulder Milenko thought maybe it wasn’t a conscious walking. Maybe his heart would find Asra’s in the dark, maybe if Asra called his name and he was dying, he’d bring him back to life. Milenko didn’t know, he didn’t ask, and he certainly didn’t say it. G-d would have to help him through this one. 

“I thought you’d be with Nana,” Asra said, trying not to lean into Milenko’s touch.

“I thought you’d be with him.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt… What's your excuse?”

“I don’t want you to be alone.”

Asra protested, grimacing. “Milan—”

“Please, just for now, I know how much she meant to you. I don’t want you to carry this alone.”

The plea in Milenko’s voice was obvious but the poet didn’t care. Asra agreed and that was all that mattered. He slid down the wall he was leaning his back against, plopping himself down on the floor, sitting unceremoniously and patting the space next to him for Milenko to sit. He obliged, the two of them sitting close to each other, almost touching, almost speaking. 

Milan ended up asking Asra how he was doing, not very sure where the conversation would go, or if it was a good idea. The magician smiled ruefully at the question, looking at his own hands as he played with his fingers. Instead of anything Milenko would’ve anticipated, he told him he was thinking about cutting his hair short. Milenko raised an eyebrow at him, Asra seemed to sense it, despite not looking at him. 

“You know I’ve always been torn between keeping it long so I can braid it and put flowers in it, and cutting it short to feel the breeze on my neck.”

Milenko smiled to himself, a soft laugh falling from his lips, accompanied by an even softer: “Yes, yes I know.”

One way or another, the question seemed to have done the trick, as both of them found themselves conversing easily about whichever topic their minds decided to go to next, talking quietly in their own corner, an attempt to reach for each other’s hands here and there, none of them fruitful. 

They ended up talking about themselves, about a trip to Zadith they had taken together one late summer. They talked about the things they did, memories dancing between them, of a time when they thought they would be happy forever. Milenko looked at Asra, trying to memorise his profile, hoping he’d never forget what it feels like to be in love with him, even if life decided to take them in different ways. 

They sat together, keeping each other company, until Amparo found them first. She sat next to Milenko, and not long after Anatole found them too. The dark circles under his eyes were deep. He sat down with the other three without saying a word.

Part of Asra wished they hadn’t found him, wanting to keep Milenko to himself for a little longer, just this time. Even then, he had to admit Milenko was right, perhaps it was better to go through this not alone, even if he didn’t quite know how. So he didn’t ask his friends to leave, just like he didn’t get to ask Milenko everything he would’ve liked to ask him: what he was doing with his days, how he was feeling, what he was writing, if he had eaten.

All they could do was stretch out their hands in the dark, and hope life brought them together again. Even if Milenko felt, no, knew, everything would be about to change, whether they wanted to or not. The water had never lied to him, and as the four of them sat in silence, he could see the water creep through the floor, the bright moon shining on it.