#play the game however you want (genuinely if you enjoy this idea more power to you and i hope you have fun telling the story u want)

[sun-marie]

not a hardened!lucanis romance mod....... say it ain't so.....

[gatitties]

Hi! I’m a big fan! Your writing is so goooood! Jjk ask: If you can would you mind having yuji, Sukuna, and gojo react to a reader who’s in a similar situation as Yuji is with harboring an ancient curse deep inside of them? To give some context yes there is another powerful curse within the reader but unlike Sukuna this curse seems rather friendly at first glance. The curse rather enjoys what humanity has to offer and takes it easy.

What is really shocking is that the relationship between this curse and the reader is quite good with the curse allowing reader to tap into their power if needed. In turn the reader will allow the curse to fully take over their body once in a while as a sort of deal they made.

Sukuna also KNOWS this curse. Back in the day this curse was just like him. Cruel, feared, and unsettlingly close to him on the power scale. Now he sees them being so unguarded and trusting a human of all things he doesn’t know if he should feel insulted or just laugh.

The reader is very happy go lucky with everything quite carefree and seeing the curse as family in their eyes. They aren’t a sorcerer but manages to find themselves in trouble. They are rather naive and blindly trusting of anyone but can defend themselves with their own skills. The curse’s personality is jovial very upbeat and coy. To some it feels like they have some type of ulterior motive but nah- this curse just likes to keep people on edge. But don’t think any less of them they can get serious and down right vicious almost feral especially if the reader is in danger. It’s when everything goes silent is when shit goes down.

─Itadori, Sukuna & Gojo x vessel!reader

─Summary: A ridiculously friendly curse lets you use their power whenever and however you want in exchange for living at your expense, sounds pretty cool.

─Warnings: none

─ He loves not being the only one with a curse inside, although he is jealous of the relationship you have with your curse, Sukuna only causes problems and you seem so happy and carefree with yours.

─ They are not even looking for you to kill you like him! You are not part of the Jujutsu school because you did not like that world, you already had your idea of ​​the future and what you wanted to work on, something much simpler than risking your life exorcising things.

─ Poor boy, you don't know how much he envies you.

─ He will ask you for advice to try to get along with Sukuna, but you don't know what to answer him, your curse liked you for the simple fact of being a normal person, since it appreciated what genuine humanity entails.

─ Although your curse can offer him some tricks to use Sukuna's energy without him noticing.

─ You meet more often to do trivial things, go to a cafe or play video games, in general something that can take Itadori out of the cursed world for a while and relax.

─ You don't usually like it very much, but you offered him that if he was really in trouble during a mission, you would be willing to help even if you are not too fond of fighting, luckily your curse took control of your body on those occasions.

─ Sukuna tries to put shit about your curse just because they knew each other before, your friend is so angry when that happens that they start a verbal fight between them from each other's cheeks respectively.

─ They don't really care much if someone insult them, but anything towards you will be an unforgivable offense, nobody can mess with their little and kind human.

─ He's so angry, he'd spent years with your curse, razing villages, killing sorcerers, it was a completely violent and shameless thing, and now… they're trapped inside a human with useless aspirations, able to control your body but not doing it out of "respect".

─ He really hates them, had it been your fault? Had you appeased his former companion? He was intimidating you for a while to get you to talk, but you decided to ignore him, the king of curses made you too nervous and was too stubborn for your liking.

─ You tried to avoid him as much as possible, but sometimes you just got stuck with him because of Itadori (he wasn't aware of it), when that happened your mind seemed to cloud over during that time.

─ Your curse and Sukuna argued like a married couple during that time, they must have fought more than once and left you and Itadori confused after coming back to your senses with the room in a mess.

─ The king of curses can't accept that they simply decided to have a peaceful life with you, he also didn't understand what kind of pact you two had, you seemed to have control over everything, powers whenever you wanted or your body if they wanted.

─ For him it was ridiculous that such an insignificant being, who tended to get into trouble here and there, was accompanied and protected by someone who could very well be of his caliber, that kind of power was to destroy humans, not to help them.

─ He will continue to think that you used some cursed technique to brainwash them, but you don't even know how to do those things, your curse is who guides you and does all the work, but whatever makes him sleep better.

─ If Sukuna ever saves your ass, rest assured it will be for your friend and not for you.

─ He's a little irritated, because your curse manages to get on his nerves, he always seems to be plotting something evil, and when he thinks he's going to uncover the evil plan, he only finds you laughing while you calmly converse with a mouth on your cheek.

─ This man has tried every possible way to persuade you to be a jujutsu student, but you completely refused, your life was fine as it was, but you offered to help on small missions if they were tight, since you had the gift of your curse, the least you could do was help a minimum.

─ You're completely fine with Gojo, but your curse doesn't seem to get along very well with him, when they take control of your body they always get into little verbal fights over any nonsense just to show superiority.

─ Don't be surprised if you find yourself completely in pain on a random day, if you went out and ran into trouble and Gojo was there to fix it, he and your curse would fight until they got tired just after complete the mission.

─ Without really hurting each other, it was a fight of attrition, since Gojo appreciated you as a person and since you liked him too, your curse respected your preferences avoiding hurting the man.

─ Gojo will end up accepting that, one, you wouldn't join his team and two, your curse isn't really something to worry about unless you yourself were in danger.

─He would prefer you to lead a peaceful and normal life after seeing the brutality of your curse after you were seriously injured when you tried to help, if you were subjected to this kind of situation, who knows if your curse could get out of control.

─ It's better for them to continue with their carefree personality by your side than their wild side without you, as much as it bothers him to accept it, Gojo wouldn't have another new student.

[sayitdido]

♡♡bf!txt and things you can do for them♡♡

synopsis: small or big things/gestures to show your love for them or things they would love in their partner and their reaction based on my observations and astrology /seperate

genre: pure fluff and nothing else i swear

wanings: delulu headcanons, might come across cringe to some, is fluff a warning? imo it is! fight me about it if you want, kissing?

i love my tubatu boys so much, i want to cry~

let him what he needs to do show love

i think yeonjun would get very upset if you were to say stuff like how overwhelmed you are with his gifts since you can't do the same for him or judge him for wanting to show pda

so he is most likely to settle for bare minimum in this case. he has high standarts in everything else but this one in particular restricts him and his love for you. so just let him love you however he wants~

listen to his advices

he no means to control you but let's just say you made changes in your style just because yeonjun suggested you to do that particular thing, he would be so happy. this may include lots of variations of advice but like i said not in a controlling way.

wear matching clothes/accessories with him

not cringe ones like "his/hers" or "look at my bf/gf" but like waering the same necklace he bought for you or same themed clothes that do not necessarily scream couple clothes.

tumbling down his walls

i don't think yeonjun likes showing weakness. i have similar placements with him, i would know. so when you be the person he can truly feel comfortable around to show his real self, he is considering you love of his life.

encourage him in what he does

although this may apply to everything he is passionate about, his job in particular is where he needs you to be hyping him up. call him "4th gen it boy" or compliment his lyricism and him being all rounder. yeah almost everyone does that but he also needs you to do that, too.

let him take care of you

soobin has this great parental energy that traditionally falls under father figure roles. what i mean is for example if you have a problem you are facing, just let him be the one who helps you solve it. i am not saying he wants to be your savior but he cares so much and this is his way of showing.

cook/bake together

soobin likes to cook/bake even though he is not the best at it. he tries. but he loves to cook/bake with you. especially if you are excellent cook. he feels like this is your love project together and also a fun activity on top of it. what's not the like?

be his equal

i don't think soobin would enjoy an obvious power imbalance in a relationship. of course there is some places he is better or worse than you but they balance each other out. and i mean this also in a way that no one in the relationship should hold the power, it would make him so uncomfortable.

get along with his friens

he is the introvert that has lots of friends for an unexplained and mysterious reason but he loves them and you so you getting along with them genuinely makes him happy. just like the one of the biggest hit there is: spice girls - wannabe. lyrics are just so soobin.

enjoy the things he enjoys

you get a joke he made and laugh at it, he is happy. you like the date idea he suggested and excited to do it, he is happy. you watch him play video games with his friends, he is happy.

basically he is happy to be understood and seen. many more examples can be given

not be boring

always stimulate his brain. play hard to get. (not too much tho) be cool in general. get his jokes. at least try to enjoy things he loves.

may seem a lot but he doesn't like the idea of being bored in general. (this i can relate) but it heavily influences his love life the most.

listen to his worries

beomgyu is also a human being. he needs nurtiring just like everyone else. no matter how small the problem is, show that you care. and also beomgyu deserves it. most people deserve this but beomgyu deserves it more than the rest.

be his star crossed lover

he wants to believe that it is more than his and your choice. he wants to believe that some powerful being or universe wants you to be together. call it soulmates, call it twinflame. doesn't matter. just be his true love.

validate him

he doesn't nor necessarily seek for validation from others,he does but not in the unhealthy way, but his s/o is a different story. so when you are proud of him, he is proud of himself. don't make him feel untalented or stupid or useless or someone who is trying or some- one who is not really nice.

open up to him

he feels uneasy with someone who doesn't share. it feels like you don't trust him. he talks about his problems, right? so why don't you. like i genuinely think he wants you to trauma dump. he wants to learn why you are the way you are.

be different

he doesn't want to commit to someone who is just like everyone else you can find on the street. maybe it is your style, maybe it is your personality, maybe it is your taste, maybe it is your dislike of pop culture... but don't be a poser and don't make this all of your personality.

take care of him when he is sick

idk why but i think tyun would show his vulnerability to his s/o but would also make sure that he has borders. but it changes when he is sick. he is a baby, okay? so take care of him!!!!!! (he lowkey likes the motherly/parental vibe you are giving, too)

let him take control

i am talking about your relationship. he likes independent people who take care of themselves but he would prefer leading the relationship. not in the toxic way i swear, he asks for your opinion of course.

kiss him a lot

some of you guys may know my taehyun the expert french kisser theory... and if you don't, here it is again. he is a expert french kisser. loves kissing so much. doesn't need to be mouth to mouth action. just kiss him or let him kiss you.

work out with him

i know some people make working out tyun's whole personality but i mean this in a way that be a part of his routine and also take care of yourself. two birds one stone, you know. he likes this activity so even you watching him do it is enough sometimes.

get along with his members and family

we all know hyuka doesn't let anyone to be in his life. he has his members and family. so if you are blessed enough to be in it, you should get along with them. he also values family so much. he seems to have very healthy relationships with his family and members so it is unavoidable that he wants his s/o to be part of it.

be a geek with him

i don't think hyuka is geek btw but he would love it when you play mario kart with him or watch batman the animated series with him. you know traditionally geeky stuff. also make commentary and jokes while engaging with the media. and react his commentary and jokes, too.

be nostalgic with him

this is why i think he would want someone his age or close to his age or older than him since they can experience his childhood memerioes. kinda related to the one above but if you enjoy the things he enjoyed when he was younger, that would make him happy.

cook for him

he would really appreciate this one. may want to help but the thoughtfulness of you makes his heart flutter. definitely loves your cooking even if you are not the best. also he may want to try different foods so when you cook something he wanted to try, he is in love. the experience is definitely better than a fancy restaurant.

beautify yourself

i am not saying fit in the beauty standart. i am saying be fashionable and confident. like if he likes your aesthetic, you are beautiful to him. so try to have your own style and aesthetic. if you put an effort, he would also put an effort. he likes to adorn himself for his s/o and expects you to do same.

a/n: i had this on my notes for so long. i am just glad that i finally got to share. i also tried to do moodboards. though i think i failed a little, it was fun to do it.

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

Thoughts on Jason Todd’s choice of weaponry?

:D an ask! Yay!

Oooh, lets see, I'll start with the crowbars because I appear to be like one of three people on the entire planet who actually likes them.

They're a tacky as fuck riff on the fact that Jason's death is central to his character. They overemphasize the manner in which he died, muddy the waters about what part of his death is important to him, and strangely cheapens the manner in which he died through the parody feel of it.

No one seems to really disagree with my analysis here, but I happen to enjoy that about them and think it's very on brand for Jason. What can I say? They're fun!

Best Quality - His Wiggles

This ultra-sharp curved blade used to be his signature character design feature, the way the white streak in his hair is now, and I'm really not sure why it didn't stick!

Best weapon he's ever had, bring it back please!!!!!

The All-Blades

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...

I have mixed feelings about the All-Blades. Like much of Lobdell's work: phenomenal idea, poor execution. Giving the guy who is most known for being morally grey a set of powers that is exclusively based on moral absolutes sucks shit, I gotta be honest, and the trick he pulled on the blood blade was cool but ultimately does nothing to solve those problems.

HOWEVER

I want to love them so fucking badly. A set of glowy soul blades is a dope sicknasty off the chain concept and I wish the well wasn't poisoned with the moral implications and the restrictions to use them only on the "Untitled", a set of enemies that only exist for Jason so far as I can tell. If someone seriously took Jason down a magic based path that removed the DnD alignment chart bullshit, I would be so game to see them come back! Hell I wouldn't even insist on a better cooler design for them!

...though uh, yeah those are the least interesting magic sword designs I've ever seen tbh

Normal Ass Swords

They're alright I guess. Like, there's nothing in it really, but it's not bad?

Guns - Real Bullets

Excellent, evocative yet simple, straightforwards and to the point. It makes hella sense thematically to boot, love this for him, please give him back his pistols and miniguns and shit

Guns - Rubber Bullets

Hate. HATE. hate ick disgusting bad NO.

I just fucking hate rubber bullets, like, as a concept. I refuse to accept "non-lethal" bullets as a valid use of gun, either in real life or in fiction. Guns are for putting many holes in things very fast!!!! If you're gonna use a gun, fucking well own up to that!!! Do not play this silly ass game of pretending that you can change out the material and do the same things as with lead bullets but with the video game status effect of "non-lethal" applied. YOU ARE GIVING PEOPLE SMALL CIRCULAR BRUISES. This is still harmful, yes, ooph ouchie, but it is not even slightly a good use of a gun, you are wasting holster space, and carry weight, and the physical materials used to make it all!!

JUST USE A FUCKING STICK! YOU DON'T RUN OUT OF STICK AMMO!

My belief in his capacity to take out enemies is shattered the instant those fuckers are on panel. Maybe this ain't entirely rational, or realistic to how fights go with rubber bullets IRL, but I hate them so much on principle that I will ignore any counterargument you might have that they'd work. I will die on this hill. Rubber bullets BAD. Please stop making him use this!!

Bombs

Love it, give him more bombs forever

ka-BOOM!!!!

His Brain

This is actually his best weapon - sorry wiggly knife, you're being shunted down to number 2 on a last minute technicality! I think Jason is at his best when he's outsmarting people and making long term fucked up schemes to ruin people's lives.

He's so good at it! It's so fun to watch him do it!

Genuinely a shame that this facet of him was mostly lost after Flashpoint, though to give credit where it is due, in Rebirth Jason did ruin the Penguin's life in an impressively elaborate way, which I did really enjoy. I want to see him be a tactical deliberate menace to one person in specific again idk, that's part of why I do kinda agree that he works better as an antagonist than a protagonist - which it should be noted does not mean I think he works better as a villain necessarily, his ethics aren't what matter here - he's just had his best moments as the schemer, and it's hard to have a protagonist schemer even when you make them ethically the good guy.

I hope you enjoyed my nattering on about Jason's weapons :D thank ye again for ask!

[madforhoran]

Astarion & the seductive vampire trope

"The whole idea of a bite on the neck may seem exciting to some audiences, and the dark, occult, and taboo concepts have helped keep vampires popular for so long." (x)

I'd like to bring up this banter between spawn!Astarion and Jaheira, specifically her emphasis on Astarion's non-vampiric charms.

Astarion presents himself as suave and mysterious at first, trying his seduction attempts once you reach a certain approval threshold.

The initial bite scene where Tav offers Astarion their neck is shown and described as being overtly sexual, playing heavily into “sexy vampire is sexy because he’s sexy and nothing more” fantasy. Even more so when Tav allows him to bite during sex. Astarion enjoys it, Tav enjoys it too, and it nets approval. After the sex scene he uses the cliche "I didn't want to go too far" formula, implying if he'd lose control, he could hurt you (pretty much like Edward in Twilight).

The facade cracks a bit when Tav discusses any future feeding. Even if the feeding was enjoyable on Tav’s end, he isn't very enthusiastic when Tav says "you can feed on me but let's talk about it first". Instead, he's happy and approves the suggestion of feeding on villains who are about to die anyway.

[However, you can RP this situation both ways, confirm you enjoyed it and keep the feeding option available by not going along with feeding on villains, or that it hurt and you only did it to make him stronger and agreeing with feeding on villains effectively removes "you can feed on me tonight" option from the dialogue.]

The same facade cracks fully in act 2 after the confrontation with Araj. It's an optional encounter and you don't get to experience it if you already had the confession after killing Yurgir, but it gives insight into how Astarion doesn't want to be seen as an object of someone's vampire fantasy.

"I'm sorry, you want to be bitten?"

"There's nothing more desirable than a vampire, is there?"

It’s also very obviously pointed out when Tav suggests he should be throwing himself at them as a thank you.

During the confession after Yurgir, there's a little bit more insight given how Astarion feels bad for treating Tav like one of Cazador's victims.

Act 3 is obviously the big choice where Astarion gets to decide if he remains a spawn or ascends.  Putting the morality of this aside, one choice follows and progresses Astarion's development while the other puts him back to square one.

We also need to take into account Cazador's abusive gaslighting which made Astarion think of himself as a prostitute and that he's only good for one thing - sex & luring victims.

Spawn!Astarion is the same man who in act 2 apologises for manipulating Tav and who doesn't want to use his body as a tool anymore. He professes his genuine love and suggests having sex freely without any sort of manipulative intent behind it. Tav has seen him for who he is and who he can be in the future. The graveyard scene symbolises his rebirth and a new journey.

"You believed I was enough, just the way I am."

Hence bringing up the banter with Jaheira and her mentioning “non-vampiric charms”. Tav loves the man, not the vampire. There’s no more need for performing.

ascendant!Astarion is the vampire reverted back to act 1 where his behaviour was originally just a front but has now been affirmed by ascension - that this is how he should be. He's over the top seductive, even luring Tav to become his spawn. He admits this is the game he knows how to play - luring someone with sweet words (that he continues to use after Tav becomes his spawn - lovers eternal, precious treasure, pet.)

When Tav helps Astarion ascend, what happened in act 2 doesn't matter anymore - not his personhood or boundaries. Hence dialogue options such as "I want you, I want your body" or "I want to be a vampire like you" are in there once Tav speaks to him and he asks what would they desire in return for granting him powers because he's only good for that one thing.

He becomes the vampire trope,

becomes what Cazador taught him to be.

[drdemonprince]

hello hello, i am autistic with my special interests being psychology and philosophy and because I'm super into activism and social justice issues as well a lot of my conversations with friends always go in the direction of talking about trauma and classism racism ableism, all the isms and i've had trouble keeping relationships because i'm a "bummer". i don't think im necessarily being negative or trauma dumping but i'm just talking about these things that i think about all the time that interest me and they just so happen to be very sad topics. while i know that i should embrace my special interests and enjoy them however i want i also am aware that constantly talking about sad things and everything wrong in the world is emotionally taxing and draining on the people around me. do you have any advice for helping to change subjects? i've tried talking about more light hearted things but they aren't my special interests and i get bored easily...

I relate to this a lot, and it's a problem I see play out in some of my relationships. Without meaning to, we sometimes get into a mutual downward spiral of only talking about bleak things.

My suggestion is to get you and your friends together for some activities. Not a video game that you can play passively while still discussing the looming threat of climate change or that horrible self-esteem ruining thing your dad once said. Challenging, dynamic, hands-on activities that either have to be discussed while you are doing them, or that are so labor intensive that they prevent you talking in depth while engaging in them.

many Autistics tend to be indoorsy nerds and so we miss out on the genuine bonding experience that is playing on a sports team with someone, for instance. You barely have to speak but you develop a real sense of trust in and gratitude for one another and learn to read one another on an instinctual feeling non verbal level. and you feel the genuine reward of accomplishing something with support, which is something many of us are not familiar with.

I'm uncoordinated as shit, i was in special ed gym, so im not saying it has to be joining the local intramural soccer team. It can be things like building a complicated lego set, organizing records or comic books, helping someone clean out their house, developing a wiki or database of some kind for a fandom or mutual interest, tending to a garden, volunteering at a soup kitchen, visiting a museum, babysitting someone's kids, power washing the deck, going for a jog, visiting an unfamiliar nature trail and documenting the plant life, giving someone a manicure, anything that is challenging and collaborative and ideally somewhat tactile (because most of us are really damn dissociated from our bodies and from physical space).

I used to really discount any form of connection that was not rooted in the exchange of ideas and really intense personal disclosures. I thought everything else was superficial, dull, and not "real". i was so incredibly fucking wrong. i love discussing complex topics and connecting over real raw shit with people but life cannot be all or only that. and there are real, valuable, loving connections to be found in getting a team together to tear down the sets after the end of a play, learning a complicated dance routine with somebody, having someone teach you how to sew for the very first time. and then talking about it. you wont like everything you try but some of these activities will hook you enough that theyll become an interest you can make pleasant conversation about too.

[autolenaphilia]

Broken Sword: the Shadow of the Templars

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is a point-and-click adventure game by Revolution Software from 1996.

Broken Sword is an attempt to tell a serious conspiracy thriller/mystery story, with a complex plot and intelligent writing. Yet one that isn’t too serious and has plenty of humor and told with colorful visuals reminiscent of 2D animated movies.

It starts with a murder and bombing in Paris that our player character, the american tourist George Stobbart witnesses and narrowly avoids being killed by. And he decides to investigate the mysterious killing. He teams up with french photojournalist Nico Collard, and they soon discover a complex conspiracy involving the Knights Templar and their lost treasure.

Broken Sword is very much an amalgamation of its various influences, with there being clear influences by Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,various stories and myths regarding the Knights Templar, and Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers. Gabriel Knight overall is the most obvious influence, which is not surprising, because it was one of the few prior attempts to create this kind of serious mystery adventure game. The protagonists are even a comedic blonde-haired american man and a dark-haired intelligent woman. Yet it does synthesize its various influences into something that feels fresh.

The story and writing is excellent. It is a story that treats its audience like adults and respects their intelligence. So it isn’t afraid to drop in references to things like Alfred Jarry’s play King Ubu. And the writing carries this learning lightly, with a genuinely witty sense of humor. It’s one of the funniest games I ever played.

And you need the humor, because this kind of conspiracy thriller stuff needs a certain tone to work well. It needs to take itself and its characters seriously enough that there is some genuine tension, yet not take the conspiracy theories too seriously. And Broken Sword manages this balancing act well. The conspiracy theory about the knights templar is used to provide the story with a dramatic weight drawn from history, and combines that with modern paranoia about the chaos caused by global neoliberal capitalism, yet it never takes that stuff too seriously. I like the Eco-inspired reveal that the modern evil conspiracy isn’t actually ancient, it just pretends to be and wants to appropriate the power and prestige of the templars. And the game knows how to keep the conspiracy stuff just fantastical enough to remind us that this is a fantasy, without being too over-the-top for the game’s serious tone.

It’s not the same as Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, where both the author and his most ardent fans took The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail conspiracy theory underlying the novel’s plot as fact. Broken Sword is often suspected of being an influence on The Da Vinci Code, which might be true, but might be a case of similar influences on both works. Broken Sword does reference The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail several times, characters are named Plantard and Lobineau, although the Jesus bloodline idea isn’t part of the actual plot, like it is in Gabriel Knight 3. What I would argue however is that Broken Sword is the kind of intelligently written conspiracy thriller that Dan Brown wants to write, but isn’t capable of writing.

The game is not perfect. The characters in the Syria sections rely on ethnic stereotyping that hasn’t aged well, even if I like the boy who learned english from Jeeves and Wooster tapes. And while George is far more likeable in this regard than Gabriel Knight, his closest predecessor, his infatuation with Nico does go into creep territory at one point very late in the game. These are both things that director Charles Cecil himself regrets. Still, I very much enjoy the writing in this game.

The fairly grounded if humorous tone of the game is reflected in the gameplay too. The game is very standard point-and-click adventure, no surprises here. But the game’s puzzles are largely devoid of the moon logic that could sometimes be a problem for contemporary adventure games, a design decision that reflects Broken Sword’s tone. The puzzle design is fairly simple, but therefore fairly intuitive. And that makes for a rather fun game to play. There are a few dodgy puzzles, but overall this game feels fair.

This is an adventure game where you can die, at multiple points in the story. And this does work to make the gameplay reflect the tension of the game’s thriller plot, by having actual stakes, game-overs, that George can actually die. And true to the game’s tone, they can be funny too. And while your progress can be set back quite a bit by a game-over if your last save was a long time ago, that’s perfectly fine. It has a point in creating tension. And there are no Sierra-esque “dead ends” or unwinnable situations that I could find, of the type “the player missed an item they need to progress, but can’t go back for it, so they are stuck,” so the game doesn’t become too hard. Those are not fine, and they are thankfully not in Broken Sword.

Finally the game’s presentation is top-notch all around. The graphics on a technical level is nothing spectacular by today’s standards, it’s fairly low-res 2D graphics. But by 1996 computer technology had progressed to the point that Revolution could use more detailed and slicker-looking 2D art than the pixelart of many previous point-and-click adventure games, and they took full advantage of that. The art design of this game is excellent. This game looks gorgeous, especially the lovingly-detailed backgrounds. Broken Sword has this warm and colorful cartoon-like look to it, reminding me of traditional 2d animated movies and the Tintin comic books. And the game’s animated cutscenes fit fairly seamlessly with the rest of the game, due to artstyle consistency (not always the case with video games), and help with the animated movie feel.The animated movie feeling is so convincing because Revolution Software hired people with that kind of experience to do the game’s art and animation, such as Eoghan Cahill and Neil Breen who worked for Don Bluth, or Roslind Allen who had actually worked for Disney on the Ducktales movie.

They similarly looked outside the video game industry when it came to the game’s music. The game’s composer Barrington Pheloung had composed music for various theatrical films and television shows, most notably Inspector Morse. And Pheloung composed an excellent soundtrack, that helps with the game’s epic feel, and the music is actually performed by an actual orchestra, instead of just using MIDI as many game soundtracks did at the time.

The game is fully voice-acted, which was becoming standard at the time, but the high quality of the voice acting is anything but common, not even today. The accents are often dodgy, but in a fun way. The standout actor is of course Rolf Saxon as George Stobbart, which would turn into the role of a lifetime for him. He would reprise in all future Broken Sword games and he feels irreplaceable as George.

Broken Sword: the Shadow of the Templars was a huge success, and remains popular and beloved to this day. It spawned a franchise that is still on-going. It feels like a point-and-click adventure game milestone. And this is despite it not being a very innovative game, there is little in the gameplay, story or presentation that we haven’t seen before. As a game, it really doesn’t do much that we haven’t seen in its predecessors in the genre by Lucasarts or Sierra or even Revolution Software’s own previous games, like the excellent Beneath a Steel Sky.

Broken Sword is still an adventure game classic that deserves its accolades. That’s because it does what it does very well, with a minimum of flaws. The game is not all that original in concept, but the execution is of the highest quality. It manages to become a classic milestone game by that alone.

Broken Sword is such an enjoyable experience to play that it feels like a benchmark of quality for point-and-click adventure games, one that is rarely met. In fact, Revolution Software’s Broken Sword sequels haven’t really reached the heights of the original, as much as I like the second and even the third game in the series.

Revolution haven’t even been able to fully recapture the magic in the game’s remaster from 2009, the Director’s Cut, which is overall a weaker version than the 1996 original. It adds puzzles and entire sections of the game where you play as Nico, but they don’t add much to the story. These additions are artificially grafted onto the original and feel like it, as they detract from the pacing. It reveals how tight the original game design and pacing is. The new art is by the great Dave Gibbons, but similarly it clashes with the original art. The new animations are worse too, often looking like a cheaply made motion comic compared to the movie-like original animations. The remaster also removes things, including bizarrely censoring the blood and violence in cutscenes. It’s a weird decision that maybe has to do with the fact that the remaster was created for the DS and Wii consoles, made by the sometimes aggressively family-friendly Nintendo. This also included removing the ability for George to die and get a game-over, removing the tension that created.

However, if you buy the Director’s Cut on GOG, it includes the original MS-DOS version of the game as an extra. And that version is easy to get running on non-dos systems with Scummvm. And this is something I recommend you do, it’s a great game.

[transsexualhamlet]

4 and 8 for the character section of the fandom ask game for Mairon :)

hiiiii!

fandom ask game

4- NOTP for character

I am pretty open to anything when it comes to people's ideas about who's fucking Mairon because let's be honest, he really and truly does get around. However those bonkers Amazon Rings of Power watchers who think Sauron and Galadriel are getting jiggy with it are where I draw the goddamn line. It's blatantly out of character, our lord and saviour has never been able to maintain eye contact with a woman (but in all seriousness i dont care do what you want)

8- A headcanon I have about this character

I'm not going to lie I've gotten so in my head about this man that some things I had fully convinced myself were canon I realized I had just utterly made up in my head. I must admit I was so obsessed with the image of Mairon bestowing the crown that would lead the both of them eventually into ruin to his master I had utterly forgotten Mairon did not forge the Iron Crown and that in the Silm it is credited to Melkor himself. My solution to this was that Mairon did forge the crown itself, but credits it to Melkor because Melkor insisted on setting the gems (both because they would have burned Mairon and because he was very weird about them). I just think that after 3000 years of holding down the fort waiting for Melkor to come back Mairon had a lot of time to get Neurotic and very obsessed with Doing This Thing For Melkor, especially with the added stress of Ungoliant's wounds on him.

Another thing I think about is that, although there is something very satisfying about walking around seductively covered in jewelry and showing the whole world that you have those in power in your pockets, Mairon sort of grows to hate it. Like, really, really bad. He reinvents himself completely in the second age, and that pretty twink anglerfish lure he makes himself is fun, because at the beginning of the second age everything is still fun- even though he lost Melkor, in some ways he still thinks he can get him back, and that this is just playing the long game, which he is proven well in (see first paragraph). But as time goes on it starts to grate. He enjoys looking pretty and talking pretty. But he misses running around naked in the woods with the wolves and ripping people's throats out, which the further he gets into this con he realizes he's never going to get back (single tear rolls down face, I know, so sad) This is something sort of under the surface with Celebrimbor because in some ways he is actually being genuine in his desire with the elves to put things back the way they used to be. But when he has to stick on that face again in Numenor, he is already tired. He doesn't like Pharazon, he doesn't like Numenor, he doesn't like anything about the world anymore, really, and he's very sick of pretending otherwise. I believe this must eventually have been quite evident to those who witnessed his whole Death Cult Phase.

I think this is why he utterly gave that up in the third age, it is not that he physically lost the ability to 'appear fair' as if it was some injury or accidental loss of power, it is moreso a metaphor- that he actively could not bring himself to drag himself together ever again. It was moreso damage that Eru's action did to his spiritual state of being, and I think unintentionally on Eru's part (I think Eru is always more confused with Mairon than anything else). He simply did not wish to desire love anymore, only fear. The desire to be loved was removed into the Ring.

[startwelve]

Hello, I saw that you take request! Could you write a fic with Anthony Bridgerton where he falls for a prima donna (opera singer) but she plays hard to get more than every other lady Anthony was with? Thank you and I wish you a wonderful day!

-🪷

I loved this idea!

I hope you enjoy the fanfic. If you didn't like something, just tell me, and I'll improve it, it won't be a bother, I love writing.

Have a wonderful day too!

The night was starry, with no signs of any bothersome clouds. Perfect for libertines to attend gatherings and find a lover for the night. And for families and spouses to attend the opera gala.

Anthony Bridgerton, the handsome Viscount, attended the opera gala in the City of London alone. The elegance and luxury of the theater always attracted him, and this night was no exception. However, something on the stage caught his attention in a special way. It was her, a beautiful prima donna with a voice that seemed to touch the stars.

Her name was Isabella D'Aubigne, and from the moment Anthony heard her sing, he knew he was lost. He decided to approach her after the show and introduce himself, but Isabella, already aware of the viscount's reputation, greeted him with a cold and distant attitude.

"Viscount Bridgerton, a pleasure to meet you, but I have little time for frivolities," she said with an enigmatic smile.

Anthony was not accustomed to being rejected by women in this manner. That only fueled his desire to conquer her even more, and so began a game of seduction between the two. Isabella played hard to get, but Anthony was determined to win her heart.

In the following weeks, Anthony attended every one of Isabella's performances. Every time she took the stage, the world disappeared for him, and only her voice existed.

One night, lying in his chamber, Anthony couldn't fall asleep. He wondered if Isabella only sought to get more than any other lady he had been with. If she wanted the title of Viscountess.

One day, after a show, Anthony found Isabella alone in the dressing rooms. Unable to contain his desire any longer, he decided to be honest with her and express his feelings.

"Isabella, I have come to every one of your performances because your voice has completely captivated me. You are incredibly talented, and I cannot help but fall in love with the person behind that voice," Anthony confessed.

Isabella looked at him intensely for a moment before sighing.

"Viscount, it's not that I'm playing hard to get. It's just that men like you have many options, and I am just an opera singer. I can't afford to be just another name on your list," she explained with vulnerability in her eyes.

Anthony gently took her hands and looked at her seriously.

"Isabella, I don't care how many options there are in the world. What I feel for you is genuine and unique. You are much more than an opera singer. You are an extraordinary woman, and I want to know every part of you," he said with determination.

Isabella looked at him incredulously before a shy smile formed on her lips.

"Alright, Anthony. I'll give you a chance," Isabella said. "Just one."

Anthony smiled widely and, with her approval, he kissed her lips with the eagerness and tenderness he had hoped for.

And so began a love story between the handsome Viscount and the talented opera singer. They discovered that the notes of the heart could be as powerful as those heard on the stage and that together, they could create a melody that would endure forever.

FIN

[sorcerous-caress]

Sirius would so try to hit on Jubilee

Sirius hitting on pretty women? what gave you that idea?

Okay, yeah, she 100% would.

Despite her whole ruthless cunning and manipulative tactics, she never uses methods such as seduction or else when it comes to the political game and gaining power in court.

Not out of principle, mind you, it's simply because Sirius enjoys courting women and having sex with them far too much to turn it into another job on her chore list, keeping this one pleasure of life to her own self rather than using it to gain leverage over her opponents.

So while yes, she does befriend people out of niceties and to trick them into trusting her—if they prove to be useful for later—She'd never hit on someone unless she 100% fully meant it. Sirius is genuinely interested in whichever woman she ends up flirting with, zero ulterior motives besides wanting to get to know her better, both mind and body.

While she might be a serial dater that breaks it off with her partner once they get too close to her heart for comfort, she wouldn't seek another while still in a relationship, no matter what propositions are thrown her way.

But again...her faithfulness isn't out of principle either. It's not morals that drive her—she lacks them—it's possessiveness. The mere idea of anyone even touching her or her woman drives her up the wall. She'd humiliate someone into their knees if they gave her partner a mere sultry look across the room. Her jealousy is no joke. She offers complete faithfulness and expects the same in return. Utter devotion to her and her love.

It doesn't necessarily mean monogamy, however. If an arrangement can be made and Sirius likes everyone involved already, she doesn't see why not? But it's not sharing—Sirius does not share, don't get it twisted, she views all of them as belonging to her and only her, but if her gems wanted to play amidst each other who is she to make a fuss?

Sirius would also find it extremely endearing how clumsy Jubilee is with her sorcery. A cute draconic thing, grown yet acting fresh out of the egg? Poor thing, she'll take care of you. Definitely shows off her magic abilities more.

But keep in mind that Sirius is a magnet for people with the "I can fix her!" Syndrome. All those who came before Jubilee were made to feel that they are The One, and all those who will come after her will as well.

[unrealisticexpectationsofspring]

Rising back from the dead to review Udon’s English release of the P4A manga, because I love P4A, I love the P4A manga, and I hate this book.

I’ve been a big fan of Persona 4 Arena for a while now, so I was really excited when Udon announced an official English release of its manga adaptation. I’d read the unofficial translation a couple of times, and I felt that it adapted the story well, especially given the unusual way that P4A presents its story. The first volume was originally going to be released in February of this year, but was delayed until May for no specified reason. I was finally able to get my hands on it today, and oh boy does it suck. Oh FUCKING boy it does it suck.

In this post, I will be talking about why that is, not just to vent, but also to warn anyone who might be thinking of buying this. I’ve even included pictures. Please enjoy (because I’m not).

Let’s jump right in.

The dialogue is so unnaturally wordy that makes regular conversation very awkward, and ruins the comedic timing of almost every joke.

For example, compare this scene with the one from the unofficial translation. First, the unofficial:

Then, the official:

Words words words. You don’t need that many words.

And it’s not just with that panel; you’d be hard-pressed to find a single text bubble that doesn’t use at least three more words than it needs to. For example:

How hard is it to just say “Sounds fun.”??

Then, we have an issue that you may have already noticed from the examples above. Scenes that were taken directly from the game are completely re-translated, and are often nothing like what they’re supposed to be. The Midnight Channel cutscene is a glaring example of this. (I can’t post the whole scene because of the picture limit, but these are the highlights. If I had to read “eat my powerful dragon kick”, then you do too.)

Given that they play this cutscene in almost every story episode, I think I remember what it’s supposed to sound like, and it’s not this.

There’s other little things too, like calling Naoto “she” in a scene where she is most definitely meant to be referred to as “he”.

Like, seriously?

All of this would be bad enough, but it’s nothing compared to the book’s biggest sin.

So, if you’re aware of P4A, then you’ll probably be aware of a character named Labrys. If you’re aware of the English version of P4A, then you probably already know that it makes the interesting decision of localising her Kansai accent as a Brooklyn accent. The reason why this is an interesting decision is because, typically, Kansai accents are converted to Southern US accents for English dubbing, so the use of a Brooklyn accent is quite notable. One possible reason for this is because Persona 4 is already set in rural farming town, and her accent is (one of the things that are) meant to make her seem out of place, so using a Brooklyn accent is far more effective than using a Southern US accent (which would commonly be associated with rural farming towns).

Whatever the reason was, however, doesn’t change the fact that her accent is supposed to be unlike anything around it, otherwise the other characters making particular note of it wouldn’t make sense. And yet…

Oh Lordy Lou indeed, Labrys. Oh Lordy Lou indeed.

I was so excited for these books. I had even considered buying the Japanese release before the English version was announced. The art is nice, the little fragments of each story episode were chosen and interweaved well, it has Labrys in it, it was accurate… what more could you want from a video game adaption?

I’m not sure I’ve ever been more insulted by a book in my life. I want to burn it. Genuinely. I have no idea what to do with this thing. I kept trying to get through it despite all its issues, but it just kept getting worse. My god, if I had just stopped reading halfway through, I could have spared my eyes (and sanity) from Yee-Haw Labrys. Why did I not?!?!

Do not make the same mistake I did. Please. You don’t deserve this.

TL;DR: This book saved me £25.98 during the cost-of-living crisis by being absolutely unbearable to read. I’m so glad I didn’t preorder the other two volumes before I read this one. Go read the unofficial translation on a manga piracy site if you want to read this manga. Or, just play P4A. Just don’t buy this book.

[antisocialxconstruct]

IM PUTTING IN MY TWO CENTS HERE because I think the entire conversation about why people choose certain potions and routes within non-linear choice based game,s, or any game that provides some level of illusion of choice. I remember talking about this extensively in my Psychology class for Game Design, and though of course theres a multitude of reasoning, I think what peoples idea of fantasy or even coping is largely at play. I know one of your thoughts on playing questionable or morally challenging characters is because you already conform to a societal expectation to "be nice" or an upstanding citizen, and Honestly thats super understandable! Im not here to analyze anyone, but a good chunk of other people I talk to have some sort of revenge fantasy and I dont mean that in a bad way! Rebellion to rules that plague reality and the ability to let lose, or just an interest in consequences for your playthrough that dont actually affect you is another reasoning, albeit the rarer of the two options. On the otherhand, as someone who loves to make The Most Morally Good Characters, and is also a big baby when it comes to being mean in most video games, My "revenge fantasy" IS being nice, because we are all forced to tiptoe around the same sociteal expectations but even those on the other side dont have much power in helping people on a larger scale that video games allow! To be The Hero that helps as many people as possible, that has to power to fundamentally change the world for the better, that is a unrealistic reward of its own. And I know you also mentioned briefly how you see it as limiting, and I think to some people this might ring true of them allowing themselves to cave and actually enjoy the "morally questionable" decision making, however I think for the other half its not limiting? Its Highly Rewarding. Theres also something to mention in how Linear people are themselves, its much more common to hear about people replaying one exact route despite there being 100000s choices vs those who do every route imaginable, so the more likely someone is to lean one side esp in their initial playthrough, the less likely they are to want to go the other way. I HOPE THIS DOESNT COME OFF AS LIKE...A REBUTTAL, Its not! I think this is a genuinely facinating phenomenon that ive had to think and write about in school, theres so many layers to it Id love to discuss and love to HEAR discusssed so youre so smart for actually starting that poll bc Ive been enjoying searching through the replies of it

hfdsgfsdg Javi your enthusiasm is a TREASURE it most definitely does not come off like a rebuttal. And I think your points are really cogent and in line with what I've kinda been angling at, which is that they're two sides of the same coin of "indulging in a fantasy." And it probably makes me a bit of a hypocrite that I'm like "I just don't get why other people can't see the appeal of Doing Bad Things as an escapist fantasy!" even though I would also say with my whole chest that being the big damn hero who saves everyone and changes the world for the better holds absolutely zero appeal to me LOL It is truly just a matter of taste.

It's probably beyond the scope of a tumblr poll but I feel like an interesting follow-up re: people not choosing to behave badly in games, would be to ask people why. Like there's the obvious "it's usually not written as well/doesn't let you have the full game experience" reason which is valid, but of the remainder I wonder how many people would honestly say it's just not fun to be mean, and how many would admit that it makes them uncomfortable because they still feel the need to conform to societal standards even in their fantasy world. (I feel like this reads as me passing a judgment on either stance and I'm not! Just thinking out loud. In text.)

also lmao

Oh man I forgot to touch upon this in my initial ask BUT tldr; yes I think games that present themselves as choice based and yet lean heavily towards one morality (usually the good Guys) and dont give second thoughts to the other side, defeats the purpose of allowing players to play how they want. I think this is actually why the only game I like being morally questionable in is fnv, bc both "choices" actually present interesting outcomes. Theres also something to say how in games the good side rewards more which I think is stupid.

You are SOOOO CORRECT I think whenever I'm like "I think I just need to spend like 60 hours or so being completely feral" FNV is the first place I go.

[thrythlind]

So, reddit wasn't letting me post this comment so I'll just post a link to the reddit discussion that I was trying to respond to.

My first comment is that it is perfectly valid to have preferences in the style of game that you desire to play. I also respect the "I'd rather be doing it in real life". Some people are just not going to enjoy the hobby. However, the phrasing feels very judgmental. Instead of being satisfied with just stating the preference, the request is stated in a very "wrong bad fun" manner.

I appreciate the push for media literacy to understand some of the things that exist in the periphery of various games and it is good practice to keep yourself aware of some of the societal forces that inspire some game styles. But at the same time, sometimes a game is just a game. I personally like finding a deeper meaning in my fiction and game play. Finding what it means to me, often separate from the meaning assumed by other people. And I do occasionally interrogate myself as to what I find enjoyable about a particular story or game but for most games it is just a shrug. There comes a point where the urge to find deeper worth to our recreation feels like an internalization of good old Protestant Work Ethic where we've been convinced that enjoying things is a sin and that there must be a purpose in all of our activities. (Never mind that enjoyment is a purpose in and of itself and vital to mental health.)

As regards the points in summary:

For the first point, I do sometimes enjoy playing ordinary people. I wrote a whole supplement about slice-of-life gaming, and I have an entire setting where the average supernatural person is just as much a civilian as the humans of the setting. I thoroughly enjoy a setting where people are people are people and games where the big challenge is building the best booth for the school fundraiser fair. But sometimes I just want to punch some bad guys. That power fantasy can be cathartic especially in a life where we have little to no power in real life.

I am also fairly offended by the idea that wanting to play someone exceptional is ableist. Specifically, I am offended by the idea that wanting to play an exceptional person is ruling out the disabled. This feels like a bit of condescension to me. Like they would be among the people who would complain about adventurers in wheelchairs being unrealistic. I have some minor physical issues (apnea, lymphedema, and recurring anemia) and also have had regular issues with depression and anxiety. This may play into the fact that I play a lot of characters that have mental issues and appreciate mechanics that give me a genuine feel of such issues while remaining distant and safe so I can appreciate overcoming them from a clear mind.

For that matter, while I've not been diagnosed, I am some manner of autistic and have a lot of markers for ADHD as well. If I lived in a health system that isn't set to wringing me for money like a towel for water, I'd have gone to get an official diagnosis. This is part of why when I go to D&D, I've leaned heavily into the yuan-ti culture. Back when Volo's was posted, they had a section on the psychology of the yuan-ti where they tried to justify why they were evil and they did the obnoxious thing of "they do this neurodivergent thing and that's why they're evil." But cutting it down to just the neurodivergent things, they were a host of relatable experiences which I've had that have never led me to wanting to be cruel or murderous to people. So, yeah, yuan-ti became very much a "this is me" group.

All this is to say, that I kinda find it ableist to label the desire to be a hero as ableist.

On the second point. This isn't really a standard in a lot of games I imagine it's more prevalent in video games where proper modeling of societal change is very difficult. Tabletop games I've been in have largely been more focused on resisting or toppling oppressive or corrupt regimes. But also there's a very real difference between protecting the status quo in a game versus protecting the status quo in real life. I mentioned earlier that real life can grind you down and sometimes you want to come back from that and just have a feeling of being able to protect something. And again, that catharsis is useful and healthy. Yes, there's a point you reach willful ignorance, but that's not going to be the majority of players.

Sometimes that status quo you're protecting is your own hope and self-worth and you just embody it in your mind as some fantasy kingdom or superhero city.

Likewise, I'm going to pull out the Terry Pratchet and point out that fantasies are important towards the purpose of taking an ideal and making it into something real. When we put a noble king or mayor or priest or some other authority figure into a game, that's not a real person. It's going to be some version of what we wish authority figures are... as in actual authorities in the sense of authority meaning someone who knows what the fuck they're doing and means well. Again, most of the time there's nothing really deep going on, but like we have to be able to imagine an ideal government if we're ever going to create one. And giving it the face of a queen or king or mayor or whatever is fine.

In this regard, I like playing characters with a lot of faith or who are religious in some ways and usually in ways that are different from the stereotypical holy types. Ranging from ace sex worker paladins to artificers imbuing prayers alongside arcane formula into their crafted items or priestesses whose class is bard or celestial warlocks bound to massive couatls or the Book of Exalted Deeds. And yes that's all D&D, but also I play a fair amount of Scion 2e where you are often on the path to being a god. And you know what my favorite enemy is to face for these sorts of characters? Oppressive religious figures. And that's definitely because I find megachurches and the plethora of false prophets preaching hate and violence in real life objectionable to my personal faith. Which is a whole other conversation. Suffice to say I was raised Catholic but am more agnostic these days.

Again, sometimes the status quo you're protecting is your vision of the future you hope to see created.

On point three, yeah, this can definitely be an issue. And the one I have the least problems with. I find it weird to call it a "glorification of the war on terror" because again, that's a single interpretation and such interpretations will be different from player to player. Also that's a very young interpretation and this tendency is far far older than the war on terror. I'd point toward colonialism instead. While there are definitely companies out there doing their best to address colonialist approaches in games, this is going to be very different table to table. A game thoroughly imbued with colonialist thought can become thoroughly anti-colonialist in the hands of one table while a very progressively written game can become horribly regressive and oppressive in the hands of a different table.

That said, this does seem to counteract the second point, because if you're protecting the status quo then that tends to imply you're part of that status quo and thus one of the locals. Not necessarily true, I know. But still feels weird.

Also, my favorite way to do this is to show that the heroes are NOT the only competent team out there. Campaign situations are vast and complex problems with many troubles. There are going to be other teams that the PCs occasionally work with that are contributing their own issues. Heck, my games our groups tend to encourage building up the locals and working with other heroes to get things done.

Once again, the helplessness of the locals is going to depend on how your table runs things.

On the 4th, I've played a D&D campaign where over the course of 10 sessions we had 3-4 rounds of combat. Not per session. That was over the entire stretch of 10 sessions. My group leans heavily towards diplomancy and talking out our problems with the locals. That said, this is another case of catharsis.

There's a lot of complex problems that are so big and hard for a single person to address in real life. But you come into a game and you can give misogyny or racism or ableism a face and punch this incarnate form of the abstract issue that is giving you issues. It's a vent for the frustrations we experience trying to deal with corporations, megachurches, and bigots. Once again, asking yourself why you enjoy the violence in a piece of fiction is valid, but fantasy violence is not the same thing as real life violence. And the threshold of when it becomes unhealthy is not nearly as thin as many people think.

This is the same line of thought where people say video games cause violence.

[fadebolt]

This is an amazing question, one that I've been thinking about quite a lot. The game does give a couple hints, when it comes to this matter. Though nothing is outright confirmed, leading to a situation where there isn't a right or wrong answer (unlike with the story of the two iterators we meet, where we do know exactly what has happened with them).

A lot of people like to point at Gourmand's crafting mechanics, when it comes to points about their campaign not being real. And I have to agree - the game prides itself on being incredibly immersive, yet it has also given Gourmand some abilities that don't make a lot of sense in-universe (namely, the damage to creatures through falling/sliding/rolling, the ability to craft strange things like Fire Eggs or Singularity Bombs, and the ability to both craft and cough up living being). This has never bothered me, considering that one of my other favorite games has buildings catching on fire when they get whacked by swords and axes. So I just accepted that games often don't make sense, and often don't tend to be realistic, which has been true even before the video game medium has existed (case in point - the Queen being the most powerful fighter in Chess).

However, Rain World is a bit different from most games, as there was a genuine attempt from the devs to make everything as believable as possible. There are a few parts of the base game that don't really make sense when you think about them, but they're concessions the devs had to make, to ensure that the experience of playing the game will actually be good. They're decisions the devs were forced to make. This does not apply to Gourmand. Downpour's devs were not forced into giving the Slugcat these crazy unrealistic abilities that don't make any sense, yet they added them anyway, knowing that good immersion is something the audience is expecting from the game.

Because of this, I'm really not feeling the third option - as it implies that the devs didn't think Gourmand's campaign through, which I would heavily doubt, considering the incredible quality of the DLC. There's no way the devs would be careless/incompetent enough to leave such large and obvious plotholes within one of their campaigns. Looks to the Moon's response to Fire Eggs is a pretty strong indication. She says "Ah, well, if it tells a good story then I won't question it too much~" for a reason, and I'm very much getting the impression that the devs knew exactly what they were doing.

The first two, on the other hand, are options that both could potentially be true. But if I'd have to pick one, I would definitely go with the second option, as the first would require a new explanation to the Outer Expanse karma gate being open for Survivor and Monk, while the Slugcats would also need the appropriate knowledge about Hunter, their condition, and the Rot. The second option simply doesn't require these extra add-ons to make sense. The one last factor to consider are the OE karma gates being opened only if the player actually finishes on Gourmand run on the savefile. This means the canonicity of it is a bit up for debate. My personal interpretation is that it's a player choice type of thing (sort of like LttM's Cloak), where Gourmand doesn't actually go out on their expedition, until the player starts up and finishes their campaign.

It might be a tad far fetched, but I did put a lot of thought into this, and the details do line up. You could say my ideas lean more towards the 'something else', but they are very much centered around the concept of the story being true, but exaggerated. Apologies for going a bit too long here. Rain World theorycrafting is quite fun, and I enjoy rambling about these sorts of things. I love Gourmand, and I wanted to take the opportunity to explain some of my thoughts on them, and their campaign.

[verlaines-corner-archive]

Hi! If you aren’t busy at the moment I was wondering if you could do Sigma, Chuuya, and Dazai (separately) x Kitsune! Reader and could it be fluff?

Also have a wonderful year and make sure to stay hydrated!!

Oh I absolutely love this idea. You have a wonderful year as well dear anon.

Dazai, Sigma, and Chūya with a Kitsune s/o

Genre: Some good old fluff!

Dazai

 -> Well this is a match made in hell heaven.

 -> Dazai should never be paired with another trickster, at least if you were to ask any member of the agency that is. Or the Port Mafia. Or the general public. Or-

 -> It is of no surprise that he’s absolutely enamoured with both you and your powers. 

 -> Now his love for your magic can actually be rather wholesome at times. Late nights where he watches you perform tricks, whether that be the creation of fire, illusions, or even the bending of space itself.

 -> He sits there ever so quietly, watching you with pure adoration in his eyes, a small that is for once genuine playing on his lips.

 -> The other times are as typically “Dazai” as one can imagine.

 -> Want to see Kunikida lose his shit over his book of ideals being a carefully crafted illusion? Wanna see it again? 

 -> He also enjoys being challenged! He’ll make a game of it even. If he can figure out what five objects are illusions within five minutes you’ll be paying for dinner. If he fails however, he’ll be the one paying (after much reluctance and a fair amount of whining that is).

 -> Now there are actually shrines dedicated to kitsune, in which one can leave offerings, usually in the form of Kitsune Udon. 

 -> Dazai will sometimes leave such offerings for you, usually after a fight or as payment for lending him your powers. He’s actually rather respectful about it too, in his ever playful way.

 -> He won’t ever visit a shrine to give offerings however, unless of course you were to do such a thing.

 -> Now I know what you’re waiting for dear reader, and yes he does cuddle with your foxtails. Yes he falls asleep there, no you cannot get up from the bed.

 -> This love for your tails also means that he’ll try to see what makes them pop out.

 -> Does a sudden surprise work? Or is it more when you’re tired?

 -> Some of his methods are more nonsensical than others. Twenty pokes to the side, a mini ritual dance he made up on the spot. He knows they won’t work too, but seeing the exasperated look on your face is just too good.

 -> He’s also rather fond of having you accompany him in your fox form. Even more so if he can carry you.

 -> Will jokingly suggest a leash, please slap him.

 -> Expect lots of head pats too, along with random tugging on your ears.

 -> Now being as old as you are, you’re going to have lots of stories and Dazai is more than happy to listen to all of them. 

 -> While he is definitely interested in all the big things, such as battles you’ve fought in or your recounts of historic events, he’s actually much more interested in all the trivial facts you know, the more mundane things.

 -> One part of that is because he just genuinely loves hearing you talk, but the other part is because there’s a high chance he won’t actually know any of it and he strikes me as a man who likes learning, especially if it’s from someone he cares for.

 -> One thing he truly treasures is being able to converse with someone as intelligent as he, so there’ll be lots of late night talks about anything and everything as he finds himself falling deeper and deeper in love with you. 

Sigma

 -> Now Sigma has probably heard of Yokai before. Either by overhearing it in passing conversation at the Sky Casino, or by listening to one of Kolya’s many passionate, if not a bit nonsensical, rants about the theatre. 

 -> He’s somewhat surprised when you reveal what you are, but not as surprised as he could be, he knows Bram after all. More curious than anything.

 -> And with that curiosity comes a lot of questions, mainly in regards to what you know, or what you’ve seen. He finds your wisdom and memory to be fascinating, if not a little intimidating at times.

 -> He may even find himself going to you for information and help regarding certain topics or situations. While he undoubtedly likes being independent (or more correctly has grown used to it), he can’t deny how nice it is to be able to actually turn to someone for such things instead of dealing with it all on his own. 

 -> His feelings towards your powers are positive for the most part.

 -> Not only are they a pleasure to watch but they’re also incredibly useful.

 -> With your permission he’ll start giving you tasks around the casino. They range from using your illusions to rig games to putting on shows as a way to keep guests entertained.

 -> In some cases he may even ask you to manifest in a guests dream if he suspects them to be up to something or liable of causing trouble. The goal there being for you to find out if the suspicion was correct and to persuading the guest otherwise if it was. 

 -> After enough trust has been built up, and he can ensure that you know how to manage everything, he may even task you with transforming into him, as kitsunes are said to be able to duplicate a specific persons appearance. He’ll have you handle the people while he continues with his paperwork and he finds out that things run smoother with two people in charge, they get done quicker.

 -> Which means more time to spend with you :D

 -> He will also sometimes task you with patrols around the casino, to ensure the safety of both her and her guests.

 -> Now one thing he hates about your powers is that you use them on him.

 -> Sure never maliciously, but man they really do his head in at times. Between you and Kolya he’s surprised he hasn’t ripped all his hair out.

 -> Speaking of Kolya, he loathes the idea of the two of you working together to annoy him. It’s gotten to the point that if he sees the two of you in the same room he just leaves immediately (if possible).

 -> Despite this he is acutely aware that if you were to simply stop your little antics he’d be at a loss. He’d miss them, though he won’t ever admit such a thing, especially to the likes of you.

 -> They’re a nuisance, but they’re a part of his day nonetheless.

 -> He loves touching your tails. Cuddling them, brushing them, simply running his hands along them. It’s absolute bliss for him, especially after a long day at the casino.

 -> When the two of you are in bed he likes it when you use them as a blanket of sorts. He’ll be out in no time and it’s absolutely adorable.

 -> Will also ask lots of questions about them. When you got them, how it felt, and so on.

 -> Another one that gives you head pats, usually accompanied by a soft forehead kiss. Maybe even a rub behind the ears. Never comes off as condescending, just a little teasing.

 -> Will let you scamper around his office in your fox form, as long as you promise not to knock anything off the shelves. He may even let you run around the casino like that too if you so wish. 

 -> Lovely lovely man is just so in love with you.

Chūya

 -> Another one that isn’t all too surprised. 

 -> His first reaction to finding out was actually amazement, like “holy shit that’s so fucking cool”. 

 -> There’s an immediate respect for you when he finds out, along with a sense of camaraderie, understanding.

 -> Ever since he found out what he was he’s struggled with his own humanity. He wouldn’t consider himself human, at least not fully anyway, and so to find out that the person he cares for most is also not human gives him a sense of comfort. Like he doesn’t have to worry about it as much anymore, it’s no longer as important as it used to be. 

 -> Now your more mischievous nature does remind him of Dazai to a degree, which is very annoying, but he also doesn’t hate it as much. 

 -> Don’t get me wrong, get him on the right day and he’ll be yelping like a chihuahua (sidenote: did you know that kitsunes are apparently deathly afraid of dogs?), but because it’s you it’s ultimately more endearing than anything.

 -> He also finds your abilities to be useful, especially for keeping people in line. You’re intimidating, the most powerful person in the room at any given moment, a class A threat and he knows it.

 -> Though he can never stop himself from worrying about you he’s a big fan of going on missions with you! All sorts, even just information collecting.

 -> He does have a preference towards jobs that require fighting though. He enjoys watching you fight and he also enjoys showing off. 

 -> It also serves as a learning exercise of sorts. If he sees you do a move that looks especially cool he’ll tuck it away in his memory to practice later.

 -> You also might know some tactics that would be useful for the mafia, and so next time there’s a meeting between executives he’ll bring them up to Mori, to see which ones would be wise to implement.

 -> Now in regards to your mind he finds it to be something worth admiring and he’s not afraid of letting it be known. He has made it clear to his subordinates that your word should be held at the same level as his own, that you should be as respected as he is. 

 -> He adores listening to you speak, but even more than that he enjoys learning from you. He has no preference in what it’s about either, and while he isn’t fully interested in everything it serves as a lovely break from his duties either way. 

 -> Now surprise surprise, he’s a fan of your tails. Sometimes anyway.

 -> Given his stature you could, hypothetically, completely hide him in them. I’m not saying you should of course, but I’m not saying you shouldn’t either. Just be prepared for him to ignore you for an hour or so.

 -> His favourite form of affection regarding them is helping to groom them! Chūya is very big on looking his best and now that’s extended to you. The highest quality brushes and shampoo will be hand delivered to your doorstep, along with some udon and a bouquet.

 -> He really enjoys the domestic nature of such a thing and you’ll find him leaving little kisses to your back and shoulders as he works.

 -> Now something he doesn’t plan on admitting is that he wants you to sit on his lap in your fox form during a PM meeting. He thinks it’d make him look badass as all fuck.

 -> Though, not as badass as you of course.

[husbandohunter]

A Small Predicament [Baby Genshin x Reader]

Characters: Scaramouche, Diluc, Kaeya, Childe, Xiao, Zhongli, Albedo

Synopsis: Cursed for a week, the boys either have to live with it or find a cure as soon as possible. You on the otherhand hoped otherwise.

(A/n): It only takes ONE glance for me to start having ideas. It was twelve in the morning yall, enjoy~

Oh here's part 2

--------

Scaramouche

• "Oh you shrank? I couldn't tell-"

• Threatens that he will murder you to pieces and burn your remains but his voice was so squeaky and high pitched (voice crack) that you couldn't help but burst into a tearful laughter. 

• Its payback time  Bully him, take his hat and hover it above his head. Truthfully, without his hat Scaramouche looks like a little schoolboy. Overall less intimidating.

• Tries glaring. Cute. He's really bratty as a kid, sitting on a high chair (which you had to help him get on) and demanding his servants to do his bidding. In reality, his personality never changed. You realized that even as a grown up he still acts like this (bratty kid in a grown man body).

• The curse made his week a living hell. Signora had the audacity to pull his ear when he misbehaves. Childe constantly messes with his hair while giving head pats and the WORST of all, pinching his cheeks. Scaramouche never wanted to commit arson so bad in his life.

• Eventually finds a cure so he doesn't have to deal with it anymore and orders everyone to never speak of it again. Though, he's plotting how he'll get revenge on everyone who made fun of him using the very same curse (You better run).

~~x~~

Diluc

• "Oh…Oh my! Diluc you're just so cute!" 

• Diluc grimaces as you glomp him in this state. How can you help it? With his head so small it makes his hair all the more fluffier! His coat no longer fits him to the point the sleeves had made past his fingertips. He tried wielding his claymore again, only to lose balance and fall flat onto his bum

• (insert kid voice "Retribution!") Did I mention the babyface?

• Diluc tries to act as if everything was normal, acting like the Darknight hero and Mondstadt's Tycoon but fun-sized. He couldn't. There was no way people would take him seriously in business meetings. Same with fighting abyss mages, his smaller form was too much of a disadvantage. Thus you ended up doing most of his paperwork.

• One time you caught him sitting on the floor couldn't reach his office desk  while reading away the various books for a cure. It was three in the morning. You told him it was way past his bedtime and he argues saying when did he ever have a curfew schedule. In the end you managed to convince him and he begrudgingly obliges.

• The type to NOT ask for help even when it's obvious that he really needs it. Before he was the one who helped you reach things from the top shelves, oh how the tables have turned. He avoids Kaeya like a plague unless he was in it for another round of funny remarks. When he wanted to go out and get some fresh air, you insisted on accompanying him. Worst mistake in his life. A travelling merchant bumps into you and commented that you had a very cute son. Diluc was mortified.

• The day ended up with him sulking in his room. Although it was tempting, you resisted from cooing over his adorable form after days of treating him like a child. It wasn't because you were teasing him, Diluc just works so hard that you wanted to spoil him a bit. At least he could still play a game of chess with you.

• When things went back to normal, Diluc ensures that you will NOT see him as your son.

~~x~~

Kaeya

• "Well look who it is, my little Prince Kaeya~"

• Tries really hard not be bothered by it at all. Kaeya still maintains his suave facade, throwing in a couple of flirting lines here and there (and forcing his voice to go a few octaves too low in which puberty has yet to occur HA). Though no matter what approach, he couldn't ignore the sparkling mischievious glint in your eye. You were obviously not taking him seriously.

• Things couldn't get any worse. He lost his masculine physique and boob window, he wasn't able to go to certain places without supervision. But the worst thing of all was that he was underaged. Kaeya hated the fact he couldn't drink anymore, he even insisted you to sneak him a few bottles (which you refused) and had to settle with plain beverages such as fruit juice (what an insult). He was never really grounded since his childhood days but he certainly felt like he was grounded now. 

• Kaeya still kisses you on the lips whether you like it or not. If you ask him to sit on your lap, he will find a way to turn the position into his favour such as resting his face between your breasts. You're not gonna treat him like a kid, nuh-uh, he actively avoids it.

• Since his personality still remains, Kaeya is a naughty child. He will use his innocent appearance to sway people (even you) to get what he wants. That was how he was able to take a sip of the wine he stole somewhere (he wouldn't tell you). Diluc scolded him heavily and threatened to ban him from drinking from his Tavern for a week (they ended up arguing, Kaeya being the passive aggressive little shit he is).

• He was extremely relieved to return back to his normal form again. He has so much to catch up (specifically his bedtime activities with you *wink wonk*)

~~x~~

Child(e)

• "Hmmm to be honest, this actually suits you very much."

• Unlike the other boys, Childe was completely okay with it. Turns out that YOU were the one who was not going to be okay. If you thought taking care of Teucer was energy-draining then expect Childe to take that tenfold and beyond.

• You've officially became his full-time babysitter who is in desperate need of a raise (and rest). You can't take your eyes off of him and archons forbid that he will ever meet Klee. One point he'll be running ahead by your side and the next you'll find him getting himself in a 1vs7 situation with some shady looking treasure hoarders. Childe genuinely thinks he could take them on but the curse downgraded his abilities. You carried him and barely made out of it alive. (This made you ponder whether the best solution would be to strap him against a chair for the time being…)

• Childe being a child will eat all the candies and ice cream he pleases. You wonder if the curse also turned him a few years back or was it that he acts like this simply because he wanted to (it was the latter). He loves being spoiled, spoiled by you! Childe demands your full attention, spoon-feeding his meals, back rubs and head pats. Yep, he's definitely doing this on purpose.

• Did he just call you 'mommy'? (Childe has mommy kink confirmed).  He has so much energy that it was exhausting, you literally had to drag him away from what ever he was doing in order to get him to bed. "No Childe, your sleeping time is 9p.m stop whining." He bargained that he'll sleep if you sleep beside him (you didn't get any sleep. You knew what he was planning. In the end, you tried to make sure he didn't sneak out behind your back.)

• Finally you were able to get out of that hell-hole. Childe promised to make it up to you, you deserve it after all~

~~x~~

Small (aka Xiao)

• "Did you know in the Liyuean language, Xiao translates to small?" You didn't say that out loud. Not when he's this angry (this angy)

• He just stands there, crossing his arms and grumbling. You were hesitant to touch him in case he might hiss at you. Xiao has always been short, maybe an inch taller than you, but seeing him like this made you think 'my almighty yaksha can't be this cute♡'

• He gets mad when you no longer call his name for help. How could you? He's just so precious~ Xiao makes it clear that no matter what form he takes, it doesn't make him weak ("Adepti and you mortals are nothing alike." Or so he says but you could tell he wasn't running as fast as he used to because…small legs). You may not comment on it aloud but he can tell just by the look on your face and it irritates him.

• Also the type to not ask for help but worse. Xiao is an agressive little kid, he seems as if he'll be willing to bite someone's finger off if they try to pet him (He gives strong cat vibes, so thats understandable). His spear was too big for him to wield so he often has to put it away or else he might knock someone over with it. Xiao hates being short so you'll be hearing him complain alot.

• Since he was an adepti, he didn't need to sleep however, the curse must have brought down his power by a significant amount to the point you DID catch him napping. You almost swooned out loud just by taking a glance upon his face. For once he didn't wear his signature grumpy look. Xiao appears like a normal child, one full of innocence. His snoring was soft and breathly but that just meant he was deep asleep. (You wished to take a picture). 

• Of course, everything had to come to an end (much to your disappointment), he still complains about the incident to this day.

~~x~~

Zhongli

• How is it possible for a baby to still look so handsome? (Must be his godly abilities)

• Zhongli is unfazed by this 'curse' since his past lives have already taken many forms. Though for some reason whenever he walks down the streets of Liyue, young girls, mothers, ladies all come him was and start complimenting him and gushing over him (he was suffocating). They'd squeeze him tight or squish his cheeks, it only takes once glance before the little girls start blushing and hiding behind their moms.

• Needless to say, despite what form he is in, Zhongli is still able to get free stuff. He got some free candies and some free kites to play with. You had to help him carry his items. Zhongli ends up tripping too much because his tailcoat reached his feet (he decided to just take it off. You had to hold that too). Seems like he can have anyone do things for him in the end HA.

• He still got that drippy voice and you're just like ???? "What on Teyvat Zhongli, you're a kid." This is why you can't see him as one, its nearly impossible.

• Actively avoids Hu Tao and Childe. Once Hu Tao caught sight of him and chased him for hours, he couldn't stay in one spot knowing that she might just pop out of no where. Childe still spoils him, however Zhongli feels irritated by the fact the only things Childe buys him toys (its different when other people do it.)

• Everytime you guys go back strolling through Liyue, you had to hold his hand in case more women come swarming hin again. You swear that at this rate he might get kidnapped because hes just such a beautiful baby.

• Zhongli learned an important lesson after his curse was lifted: no matter how many years he lives throughout  never take a form of a child.

~~x~~

Albedo

• You find him buried beneath a pile of books and had to dig him out before he suffocates.

• Albedo has the cutest eyes, they're big and round full of curiosity and they sparkle too (he has the prettiest eyes out of everyone tbh). He is the only person who is fascinated by this outcome and immediately goes in the wild to test out his new physique. 

• He was always curious why Klee T-poses when she runs so he decided to try it out himself. She was thrilled to find out that she now has a little brother to play with. In the end, Albedo indulges in the games she always wanted to play but couldn't because he was too old: princess dress up tea parties.

• You felt many things when you saw Albedo wearing a frilly gown and a plastic tiara tucked on his head. Deep down you knew regardless of what gender Albedo was still pretty. Klee even had the guts to redo his hair and hardly anyone was able to recognize it was him at all. He has pigtails, PIGTAILS! You made sure to burn that image into the very depths of your mind forever.

• The only advantage was the he was ablw to fit through small spaces, other than that, being small was way too inconvenient. He knocked down a few of his potion bottles which damaged the floor (thankfully not him) because they were lethal (he wonders how Klee was able to not injure herself when using bombs). You carried him and lifted him to alot of places such as trudging through the snow because Albedo would surely fall on his face due to his small form.

• Enough was enough, he only lasted a day with this and decided to just make a potion and put an end to the curse once and for all.