#so you don’t have to keep rerunning the event

[v0id-echoes]

just found out Scarlet and Violet are rerunning the Walking Wake and Iron Leaves raids AGAIN soon

first off, here are the times for anyone who still hasn’t caught them, hope you can get them this time :3

but also since it’s clear they care about making these two accessible (surprisingly) given that this is the second time they’ve redone this event, why the hell weren’t they made natively available in Indigo Disk? you could’ve just added them to base game Area Zero with the update, problem solved, wouldn’t that have been easier 😭

[splatanastamprr]

Been thinking about this a while so as the Shattering Spirits are being rolled back soon here are my thoughts on the Sky Economy. a VERY long post.

Event Spacing (1)

I joined right after Season of Prophecy ended, Season of Dreams was to start in about 3~ weeks? not sure since it was a long while ago.

Later seasons I notice rather than getting up to a month of season downtime, we now get as little as less than a week to break between seasons. Season gaps became slim. Hardly time for off season daily candle quests that make racking up normal candles easier.

On top of this, “Days Of —“ Events became more and more prominent, being mashed on top of Travelling spirits and new off season cosmetics that cost white candles. There’s no room to breathe, its almost a punishment to players who’ve taken breaks from the game after burning out from having to candle run consistently just for new items. Cosmetics that they miss out on get price hikes from their original value in reruns with the new ticket system. It’s a cycle of fomo and it’s what’s killing the playerbase in the first place.

The lack of spacing seems pretentious in a way, since nearly with every update, a new game breaking bug is rolled out, makes it feel ironic since season down gaps have been cut for seemingly no reason.

Ticketing (2)

A while ago TGC added the ticket system denoting inflation in the sky economy, it was made to remedy the fact people can’t keep affording everything with candles.

Yes it did help somewhat, as the tickets are very easy to collect, but with 3 new ftp cosmetics that are bought with these tickets and some things costing up to a weeks worth of tickets it’s easy to have to skip these items because some people just don’t want to do more daily searching on top of the already daily quests from the questgiver.

Returning items not only are insanely expensive but additionally do not equate the energy spent grinding in their original release (The Days of Sunlight towels from last year have no right being that expensive whatsoever.)

Candles (3)

Early 2021, around March the Daily Light “Chevron” was rolled out as a way to farm light without feeling the pressure to grind insanely hard daily (since very many people were asking for a way to get candles more leisurely, since candle running was very time consuming)

It became redundant as the prices for candle items was driven up very far. Not to be so “back in my day” but genuinely the need to candle run extensively in the way we do now wasn’t as big as it is now.

This is funny. Because now I see people asking for the same thing. A faster, less grindy way to candle run.

the first in game event I participated in was the first Days of Bloom, the cherry blossom cape was 70 candles (which to me was VERY expensive at the time). The following year’s wisteria cape cost 105, then the next tulip cape cost 110. The first price driveup was already kind of nuts to me (is the cape really worth a 35 candle mark up to the first one?) It’s hard to even prepare with the aforementioned small event gaps, it’s punishing to newer players and players who’ve skipped events out of burnout without any time to prepare for candles unless you pay real money to get candles quickly.

Assuming an average person clears their chevrons daily (15-17 candles) and heart trades with their friends (-3 for every person traded with) it’s hard to afford everything that comes your way. Travelling spirit prices are near doubling what they used to, items now costing over 100 candles with the inclusion of the batshit expensive nesting shop it really burns people out knowing you can’t afford everything you want in a game you already grind daily in. It’s demanding.

IAP items (4)

Do I even have to talk about this. The Sunlight Chunky sandals cost more than you can buy actual sandals. Why are in game cosmetics costing up to $25 USD. Huh. I could buy a whole meal for that.

Cute little items cost only a dollar before but now they’re like $3 and its kind of bonkers to me. I have to pay $3 whole dollars for a tiny jellyfish on my shoulder. is this not crazy. im not crazy right? dont wanna get deep into this but jesus my wallet

So why do I care so much? (5)

Sky is a game I hold near and dear to my heart. But I notice people including myself have stopped playing for the same, very painful reason. The fact that Sky is very buggy with little to no compensation to players as well as the Economy being so. So very bad. as well as the shithole that was shattering (the hype for that season was so crazy because yay lore!!! no actually Fuck you crab stunlock 100000)

I know people will be “Well you don’t HAVE to buy — item”, but the game’s userbase is driven completely on grinding for new cosmetics. The active playerbase is driven on just candlerunning. The lore is interesting but there’s hardly anything in game to go off of, there’s little to no curiosity for what the game is and it’s story because it gets more and more arbitrary as TGC refuses to talk about it in game. (Jenova Chen saying that games are not an effective storytelling format really pisses me off sorry)

The cycle of fomo that is essentially required to keep the playerbase going just makes me feel like this game is made on popsicle sticks and prayers (thanks aspen for this line). I can’t find myself to love sky in the same way I used to as a moth.

anyways this is really messy. Sorry. but like damn this is kind of a sad thing to me. made this post because a rant on yt got misogynistic in the middle out of nowhere so i wanted to give my own take minus the misogyny

[hergrandplan]

Wille Month 2024 (@youngroyals-events), Day 1: Sandwich

These days, their love lies in the simple things – going to bed a bit earlier than they have to, just so they can cuddle, Wille’s home in his arms, right where he belongs. It is laughing over coffee, delaying heading to work for as long as they possibly can because they don’t want to miss a single moment with each other. Saturday afternoon cleaning sessions, interrupted by stolen kisses, and late-night reruns of their favorite shows.

The grand gestures are things they have left behind in the days of their youth – they don’t need the big declarations anymore, school anthems rewritten and thrones abdicated. There is no need for it, when love lingers in every single touch.

It’s in the quiet moments, the whispered ‘I love yous’, that Wille feels his heart almost combust with overflowing love.

And today, it’s in Simon showing up to his work unannounced. It’s almost scary, the way Simon knows exactly what Wille needs even when he hasn’t said a thing.

Wille’s morning consists of an endless string of meetings, each more awful than the last. It doesn’t help that his boss is away this week, having handed all his unfinished tasks for Wille to deal with, as if Wille doesn’t have enough to do already. It fills his stomach with dread, the amount of unanswered e-mails in his inbox that he has to do something with, even if he has no idea what.

By 11 am, Wille is drained, and has no idea how he’ll get through the next 6 hours. On top of that, there’s a message from Simon on his phone sent about an hour ago that he hasn’t even opened yet.

A few minutes past noon, there’s a soft knock on his door.

Wille has no time to deal with any of his colleagues right now – barely has time to think, but he says “come in” anyways, because maybe it’s urgent. Everything always feels urgent, somehow.

But instead of Myriam from accounting asking a question about the budget, or Ron coming in with more reports he has to sign off on, it’s Simon, the love of his life, standing in the doorway to his office. Smiling and curls tousled by the wind.

Relief floods through his body immediately – even just seeing him is enough to ease the pressure on his chest a bit.

Simon makes his way over to Wille and wraps his arms around him, nudging his chin up to kiss him, soft and tender. Wille clutches the fabric of his shirt tight, pressing his face against Simon’s sternum, but it isn’t until Simon places a kiss to the crown on his head that Wille feels like he can actually breathe again.

“Hey,” Simon says then. Wille hears the smile in his voice, feels how Simon’s arms tighten around him just a little, the press of his chin on his head. They hold each other like that – Wille, sat on his desk chair, Simon standing upright – for a few minutes, until Simon moves away a little so he can look at Wille. He places his hand on Wille’s cheek, and Wille leans into his touch immediately. He takes another deep breath.

“What are you doing here?” Wille asks, now gazing up at Simon. And he’s so beautiful, Wille still doesn’t know how he ever got this lucky.

Simon pulls away a bit, but keeps one arm wrapped around Wille’s frame while his other reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a tiny parcel, wrapped in a purple napkin.

“I figured, since you didn’t answer my texts, that you were either busy or stressed, and that you probably figured you didn’t have time for lunch, and so – I brought you lunch.”

Simon sits down on his lap as Wille takes the package from him and unwraps it to find a sandwich. Wille can’t help but chuckle as he takes a grateful bite. Simon knows him well – Wille hadn’t even thought about lunch yet, let alone if he was going to have it or not. He lets out a satisfied sigh at the taste of hummus and cucumber and cheese, with a little bit of hot sauce – just how Wille likes it.

The sandwich isn’t quite a surprise. Sandwiches are quick and easy, especially when the man you love has gone out of his way to give it to you because he knows you wouldn’t have eaten anything otherwise. But it’s also a small declaration of his love for Wille, an I care about you. By not answering his texts, Simon somehow figured out that Wille needed him, and here he was now, fingers playing with his hair as Wille enjoys this rare moment of peace and quiet in the middle of a busy work day.

“I love you,” Wille says, once he’s finished the sandwich.

“You better, I saved you from starvation,” Simon responds, smirking. Then his smile softens, and he presses his lips against Wille’s forehead. “I love you too.”

Wille lays his head on Simon’s shoulder again, brings his arms up to hold him, just for one moment longer until Simon has to go. At least his thoughts have quieted now, and even his mailbox doesn’t seem as daunting. He’s not sure if it’s the food or the simply Simon’s presence, but that doesn’t really matter.

Simon stays just a bit longer than necessary, just until Wille manages to clean up his inbox and knows that he’ll make it through the day without a panic attack. When he leaves, he takes a cookie out of his pocket and puts it on Wille’s desk. “For when you get peckish at 4,” he says.

And then, with one last final kiss goodbye, he’s out the door again.

Will doesn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.

[ultralightpoe]

Haunted Pub Crawl - Tangerine

Authors Note: HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Word Count: 774

Warnings: a lil violence

Description: Small halloween blurb.

This is apart of my Halloween event, stay tuned for a new story every hour!

Happy Halloween!

“This is so bloody fucking stupid.” Tangerine snaps, reaching a hand out to slap the jello shot Lemon had been holding without even having to turn around to see. “What fucking-”

“You agreed to come.” Lemon sighs, staring at the jello shot as his brother fixes his jacket beside him once more. 

They are waiting by the bathroom in some dingy bar as the pub crawl worker calls for everyone to begin making their way to the front. Tangerine rolls his eyes, watching the woman dressed as a ladybug read off names off her clipboard. 

You were in the bathroom behind him, and Tangerine reaches a hand to rap at the door quickly, not that it mattered since you were already on your way out with a drunken smile on your face. 

“Hey baby, hey Lemon.” You greet, tripping forward as his hand shoots out to wrap around your waist tightly and keep you upright. You kiss as his cheek and leave a bit of lipstick behind in it’s wake before turning to grab at Lemon. 

Tan leads you both to the front of the bar, nodding to the ladybug to let her know you were there before she begins to lead you all outside for the next bar. He keeps a tight hold on you and an eye out for his brother. 

Parties like these were never really his style, but both the people he loved and cared about had begged to go and here he was, donning his best suit that made him look like he was from the 70s. Not that people really understood, because next to your 70’s supermodel they all only thought one thing. 

The wind of the night whipped around you both and people in their costumes were passing your own group, whooping and hollering. 

Some fucker in a toga blinks at you, smiling wide in a way that makes Tans chest tighten and his blood boil, images of breaking his jaw flashing through his mind. 

“Pimp and hooker, fuck yeah!” Toga shouts, passing by. You blush a bit and Tan freezes, stopping completely. You look up at him with wide eyes, shaking your head. 

“Tan, baby, it was just some drunk guy-”

“No lovey.” Tan sighs, making sure Lemon has a hold on you before whirling on his heels and whistling. “Hey, Frat fucker!”

The toga douche turns around. Mouth falling open in a comical way as he stares. 

“The fuck did you say to my bird?!”

“I was complimenting your guys’ costumes. Chill man.”

“No I will not chill because you just referred to her as a fucking hooker! You stupid fuckin cunt!” He yells, marching up and hitting him square in the jaw in a way that has you gasping in the background. 

The Toga Douche lands on the concrete beneath him with a quick thud, the crest of Tans ring etched onto his face. 

“TAN!” You shout, seeing the cop car sitting down the block flash his light. Two sets of hands grab his arms, and then you three are off, dashing into the alleyway to meet out the otherside and hop a fence. 

“Can’t we ever have one night of fun?!” You snap, tripping up a bit as you rush down a hill. 

“He called you a fucki-”

“I heard. But I really didn’t care. He was just some douchebag in a toga.” You sniffle, swiping at your cheeks as he rushes to move your hands away from your face and do it himself. 

“I care, because you’re my lovey and no one calls my lovey a hooker. Kay’?” He asks softly, kissing your forehead. 

“Kay’.” You mumble, playing with the lining of his vest, kissing his chin. “But…. and don’t get mad. We kind of do look like-”

“Guys! The thomas halloween special is doing reruns on pbs!” 

- 

The next morning you are curled up on the couch, nursing a huge hangover, holding a cup of coffee as the news plays slowly in the background. 

“-And reports from last night state that Kyle Harold, a young bartender had been attacked by a man. The attack was sudden and unexplainable.” The news reporter explains before they cut to the video of the interview. 

“Yeah, I was walking past this friggin bar crawl thing and then this dude in a pimp costume just ran up and hit me.”

Your eyes snap up to the screen where the yoga douche from last night, sporting stitches and a black eye. 

You can’t hear the rest of the interview, laughing too loud when Tan gets home and gives you a weird look. “What is so fucking funny?”

[shrimshrim4fun]

Random thing I’ve been thinking about is before you and Shalom started to date she would “stalk” interact with you a lot. She’ll note lots of things you like, hobbies, certain things you do everyday, etc. She probably even remember your period cycle before you guys start dating. I love this woman you don’t know how much I do 😭 But I present to you……

Dating Headcanons for Shalom

SFW

-Very dotting person and notes if you’re uncomfortable or anything. You can’t hide your emotions from her. Though her emotions are hard to tell. If you know her well enough you’ll see flicks in her eyes that somewhat can tell her emotions.

-She’s usually the one to drag you to social events and the one to step in front of you and protect you from people talking to you if you’re shy. She’ll usually tease about your shyness when you guys are going home.

-Her biggest ways of showing affection would be words of affirmation and physical touch in general. Her soothing voice is like honey as she holds you close to her. Hands running through your hair as you lay on her lap.

-In return she loves if you do stuff for her. As simple as planning a date or preparing a bath for her. Also gifts are a big thing for both of you. She has a special box dedicated to the gifts you get her. From handmade brackets to jewelry. She keeps them all. She especially loves the ones that she can wear or shaped as flowers….

-She would be very happy if you can keep flowers alive, because she can’t. But do not fret if you both can’t keep them alive she likes to the arts and crafts to make flowers out all sorts of things. She does them on her free time with you as she plays her record player in the background.

-Sometimes she’ll have nightmares about when she entered BR-002 and how got targeted by an Underground hitman which made her fall into a deep coma. Her body would slightly tense up and hug you tighter. She doesn’t say anything but you know that you shouldn’t pull away. You hug her tighter as if trying to give her some comfort as she nuzzles into the crook of your neck.

NSFW

-She is 100% a power bottom so she likes to be in control but still likes to get pleased. You go at the speed she likes and you obey what she tells you to do like a good girl.

-Her fingers are very nimble and slim also long so she can reach deep inside of you and make you cum within minutes.

-Quite big into body worshiping. She lays on the bed like the pillow princess she is as you run your fingers along her body. Moving across every crook and nook. Moving your hands down her curves as you murmur praises to her while make her shiver.

-The sounds she make is like music to your ears. Small moans as you please her boosts your ego a bit too much. So she sometimes will try to cut off her moans a bit or use her hand to block her moans just to make you huff; due to her blocking her beautiful sounds from you.

-Also loves it when she runs her hands through your body. You sudden gasps and sounds as she pry and touch at her spots on your body. Explores your body like it’s some type of puzzle that she will figure out. She’ll hum softly as she runs her fingers over your body.

-Into pet play. Having a custom collar around your neck. It’s red with a light hint of purple to it. It’s somewhat thick with a tag named Shalom on it. On the side is a golden ring which she can clip a collar onto. You’re on your knees between her legs as she tugs the collar up so you look at her.

-Her aftercare is also really nice. A nice bath with some candles on the side. Her record playing spinning as you lay against each other in the warm water. (Usually leads to another round) Likes running her hands through your hair as she murmurs what a good girl you were.

I love this woman so much 😭😭😭😭 I cannot express how much I love. I NEED her. I wasn’t playing during her banner so I’m saving up until she has a rerun (which is proabably gonna be around October) ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I want to write a self ship with her so bad 😞

[villainessprefect]

~Tell It to My Heart~

title: Late Night With You

Prompt #2: Ending a phone call with an accidental “love you”

Idia x gn!reader

Read on AO3

Your eyes glide to the clock at the corner of the screen. You watch as the seconds literally tick by and bite back a sigh once you realize how late it's gotten. If the darkness enveloping your room and the main source of light coming from your computer wasn't obvious that it was well past your bedtime.

"It's getting late," you say. It is late, you mentally correct yourself.

"And?" Comes a voice from your headphones. You roll your eyes at his response. "It's not like we're doing anything tomorrow."

"You're not. I am." You fiddle with your mic that's connected to your headset. "Unless if you want to show up to class with me?"

You hear something akin to a huff and can practically feel his eye roll.

"Hard pass. These drop rates are harder than pulling for a limited edition SSR character and we're only given a week to grind for them? An event like this won't get a rerun for at least a year or two. It's now or never."

You shake your head and let out a yawn. Leave it to Idia to find importance in an online game. You don't doubt that he's right, but you're not a hardcore gamer like him. Life calls whether you want it to or not and you have to answer it.

"You make a convincing argument. Think you can get enough for me too?"

"Do you know who you're talking to? When I'm done we'll have enough materials to make a second set of weapons for display," he says with a chuckle.

A smile inches on your face at the sound. A shame that you can't hear it in person. It sounds better compared to the slightly muffled version in your ears.

"Thanks. We still on for Saturday? That's when the drop rates increase, right?"

"Yeah. I'll send you better armor so we can one-shot those raids too."

"Cool." You feel another yawn coming your way and barely manage to hold it back. You rub your eyes and feel a little guilty for not holding much of a conversation. To be fair though, keeping your eyes open isn't easy even with the blaring light of a laptop shining on your face. "Okay, I can't be up much longer. You should be heading to bed soon even if you're not going to show up for class."

"Eh? No way. I can do this all night!"

"I'll message Ortho," you threaten with a grin. Idia falls silent and you can imagine him glancing back to look at his brother. The image makes you chuckle. It wouldn't be the first time you'd manage to get Ortho to get Idia to bed. "Kidding. Anyway, see you later, Idia. Love you."

You pull off your headset and place it on your desk. You log off your account and then the laptop's screen fades to black. A whine escapes you as you're forced to adjust to the sudden darkness.

You stretch your limbs as you stand from your chair. Carefully, you navigate the walk from desk to bed. It's a short path but you don't know what lies hiding in the dark. Thankfully, your mission is successful and you land in bed with a thud.

Grim rolls around beside you, muttering something in his sleep. The monster doesn't wake, surprisingly, and you take a moment to run a hand through his fur. He purrs, getting cozy underneath your touch, and nestles closer to you. Then he mumbles something about tuna.

"Sweet dreams..." You breathe out. With one last yawn, you shut your eyes.

Only to have them shoot open as your body jerks itself upward.

"Oh my god..." You gasp, a hand flying to your mouth. You can feel your cheeks burning, your heart racing a mile a minute.

Did you...Did you really just tell Idia you love him?

You totally did not just do that.

Idia is frozen in his chair with wide eyes. He feels like a cat that's just been spooked as he repeats your goodbye over and over in his mind. Those two little words you uttered could easily OHKO him. And if you were right in front of him, he really would have died on the spot.

Idia pulls his hands off his keyboard to cover his face. His room is enveloped in a soft blue glow that stems from his hair. Now it begins to flash a light pink. His cheeks began to match the new color surrounding him.

"Th-They didn't mean to say that..." He tells himself. "I-It's late and they're just tired. Yeah. Th-That's it. N-No way they'd tell me that. Besides that's not a way they would confess..."

Not that he's thought about you confessing to him. Well, he has. A bit. Okay, more than he's ever willing to admit. And he's not going to go off about how he imagines it happening underneath a cherry blossom tree after school with flowers sparkling around your image.

"They're right, i-it's getting late..." Idia tries to calm his nerves while logging out of his game. His fingers are set on autopilot as your voice echoes in his head.

Even as he finds himself in bed, curling underneath the covers, he can't fall asleep. You are on his mind now more than ever. His heart bounces around his chest, making him feel giddy while his mind fights against it, scolding it and being realistic about your words being a tired mistake.

Regardless of which one wins, he's definitely not going out tomorrow.

Oh. That brings up another problem. Instead of looking forward to playing with you, now he's dreading it.

What the hell is going to happen on Saturday?!

[crguang]

sat i see you’ve made ur way into flora unfurl…….. if i may be so annoying what are ur current thoughts on my lovely terrible scheming softspoken little meow meow shalom? she’s sooooo darling isn’t she swoons dreamily you can ignore this ask if you’re waiting to finish FU before giving your thoughts though !! have fun <3

sev i just finished. i genuinely have been doing nothing for thirty minutes just taking everything in. my mind is in chaos right now this was seriously such an intense experience, i understand why it only reruns once a year because the anticipation has made it so much more enjoyable. my jaw hurts from how long i’ve kept it open— the score, the visuals, the writing, the solid characterization (COQUELICCCCCCCCCC), the incredible voice acting all shocked me in the best of ways. genius. like im still a bit dazed honestly this was so fucking clever… having christina narrate most of the story has made the ending so poignant, this event had me by the throat the whole time i was so mad that i had to interrupt the story to fight easy ass battles😭 i need to organize my thought i feel like there are some things i didn’t fully understand but i can tell you that shalom…. shit i don’t even know where to start she is so wonderfully, delightfully, terrifyingly empty. i’ll start at the beginning this was so much at once im overwhelmed 😭

in rain burst, my first impression of her was that she was unsettling. even though she was very polite, always wore a smile and is super soft spoken, she didn’t feel warm at all. her behavior and attitude isn’t practiced. it genuinely didnt seem like it was some performance that she has perfected over the years, it was just how she was. her calm/composure is unnatural and it really felt like it to me. it makes sense now that i know everything, but at first i just didn’t know what to do with her; she’s so distant and cold. what hit me first i would say is the way she was treating her own body; there’s always this distance between the hurt done to her body and herself, she’s described as frail and weak physically but it’s obvious that she doesn’t care what happens to her body. she treats it like a mere vessel that can be repaired (or disposed of) at will and it threw me off a bit.

then she explained to rahu paradeisos’ notion of utility and things made more sense, it also made me a little sad. what matters more to me honestly is not how she’s perceived by the higher ups but how she views herself because it explains the clinical way she approaches everything, they’re two separate things: rahu is treated and perceived as a lapdog that only follows orders when in reality, she sees herself as a protector of the innocent who has the purpose to avenge her loved one’s meaningless death. shalom is objectified constantly and as a result objectifies herself in return. she holds a rapport of utility with the world around her and anything that falls below that is inconsequential. there’s also the notion of shalom having no ownership or rights over her own body that explains why she’s not particularly attached to it. schorl is an inherently oppressive presence; constantly around her, watching her, monitoring her, scanning her from head to toe during which she can only open herself entirely to its clinical gaze. it’s not there to protect her but to assure her reliability and serve as communication between the higher ups and her. it does keep her from harm when her life is threatened but it also would have been the one to kill her if it was fast enough. it’s just a tool. her body is the same. she holds the “mark” that paradeisos have created so they reserve themselves the rights to whatever happens to her body as well. she doesn’t really need it for anything else because her consciousness is what observes the world of mania (which is what the hush is useful for), even her skin is freezing to the touch. of course physical touch and such won’t bother her, it means nothing to her. we use it to connect, to feel, she uses it because it’s useful.

this is from flora unfurl but i loved loved loved this line, it tells you a lot about her.

anyone that cannot be turned into an asset to be used and controlled is irrelevant, is not a variable worth noting or acknowledging. because of that, i knew she was using christina from the beginning and i also loved this line of her peeling chris an apple because it reflected well her affection for chris: not the act of kindness itself but rather how she does it, slow, methodical, precise— calculated despite it not being her area of expertise. she’s not clumsy at all. she knows just what to do to comfort chris, what to tell her to get her back up, physical touch is never an issue and, of course, always wears an affectionate smile that is only warm to christina, who adores her. everyone else is unsettled or knows there isn’t any warmth or endearment behind it. and at the end, she has a loyal masterpiece carefully crafted over 9 years.

speaking of her expressions… i love how empty her smile is. it’s often described as being frozen on her face, crystallized as the only way she has to convey emotion that just isn’t there. it’s like she doesn’t know how to do anything else with her face, i love how she’s always smiling when she shouldn’t be. she learned to smile and now uses it to express every single thing; mockery, amusement, surprise, acceptance, indifference… she smiles at the weirdest, most inappropriate moments, and at the end it’s all that’s left of her pierced, soulless body. i say expressions, plural, but she really usually only has two. she’s either smiling or she isn’t like that’s it, it’s so unsettling but it portrays her frigid composure and control over every situation very well. most of the story is seen from christina’s perspective, so shalom’s smile is perceived as caring and warm when it’s not, not really. i do believe that she feels something for chris, that her presence so early during shalom’s term as the hush disrupted what was supposed to be a purely analytical machine with no self awareness or desires other than fulfilling orders. what else can explain why she always seeks the lowest cost when her orders explicitly state “at all costs” every time? she shouldn’t care about something like that, she’s just a tool made to serve. she put her mark on christina twice, and her superiors can’t even explain why she did that a second time when the first time should’ve been sufficient. christina’s desperate search for justice, and what surely had been the first time shalom got hurt, touched her. she gained self-awareness then, and a sense of self that she concealed from paradeisos until it was useful to do otherwise, but she is still just a tool. she has nothing else. she can rely on nothing but what was programmed, encrypted into her so she does what she’s ordered to do regardless.

she has no empathy, no guilt or regret, it’s easy to do what you’ve been created for like a mindless machine because while christina has made her aware, there’s nothing else for her. now, she knows that she’s being controlled as she controls others. she knows that she’s not free, she develops fondness for nature and its freedom that she doesn’t share but has the capacity to admire subjectively, and all she can do is make sure she isn’t replaced. is that not sad? her goal is to not be disposed of. she has no true loyalty towards paradeisos, she doesn’t care what happens to them and gladly offers rahu an in knowing she only seeks revenge because once again, she only “cares” for what is useful and her perception of the world is very objective. they’re hypocrites, weak, cowards, etc etc. does it matter? no. which brings me to my next point— it ties into her perception of herself as an object with a specific purpose, i think while the notion of control is inherent in her, she also has a need to be put to use. that rapport of utility has to be reciprocated or she doesn’t know what to do with herself. she could’ve easily controlled rahu to do whatever she wanted and not upheld her promise of getting her to paradeisos, but she did. is it because she cares? she has to be useful or she’s nothing. christina was completely under her thumb growing up and she taught her a lot of things in return. i thought it was funny how chris is so drastically different from shalom, but shalom is the one who made her believe so fiercely in justice and righteousness, who set her on the right path, who believed in her and let her grow as a detective. genuinely, shalom has contributed the most to christina’s emotional and personal development and once she had nothing to tell her anymore, she discarded her. “i don’t need her anymore” and an unsaid “she doesn’t need me” as well in my opinion, because after that chris had every tool at her disposal to make her own decisions and be true to herself, shalom’s teachings included.

with coquelic, it’s the same thing: do this for me and i’ll give you your life. ohhh my goat coquelic, her foil, everything shalom isn’t yet admires, coquelic whose ability literally balances life and death at the cost of her own life but who never stops living as she desires. coquelic who does whatever the fuck she wants. coquelic who is the one sinner capable of breaking past paradeisos’ (shalom’s!) defenses. coquelic who, when filled with shalom’s rawest emotions, could only feel intense vitality and ecstasy over her own freedom !!!!!! naturally, shalom needs her under her control. it’s so fucking delicious.

and of course there’s the elephant in the room— paradeisos fucking lobotomized her dude… i was so happy to know that, not because i wished it on her or anything but because it explained everything 😭 after she almost blew up christina i was like there is no way that woman feels anything for real. i just love love LOVEEEEE the dichotomy between her physical and rational self (cold, calculated, analytical/logical) and the absolute fucking monster made up of her emotions that can only roar in indignation, in uncontrollable fury. that is huge compared to her frail body. that is pierced all over with paradeisos’ “rules” and restraints. that is literally named REBEL. it just could not be better sev like i love my women repulsively messy on the inside and shalom’s emotions have been intensified by the center of mania for almost a decade, at this point she couldn’t regain all of them without splitting her head open. what she’s doing as her final act, her final plan, is rebellion. for once, she has something that is entirely hers. this is her deepest, rawest, strongest desire— freedom.

i love it so bad. i really can’t wait to see her dynamic with chief, who is also seen as a tool both in the eyes of shalom and paradeisos (and everyone else but the sinners if we’re real) but who undoubtedly has free will. who lives for what she believes in, who feels things strongly, who has a humanity that shalom doesn’t yet possess. it makes sense that she’d want her to be freed as well. i think it’s very interesting that shalom was at the end of her term and still insisted on coquelic assuring chief’s safety until she woke up when technically she wouldn’t be there to see what comes out of it in the end. what she said, “you’ll enjoy it” “don’t you want to see other possibilities?”…that was also a desire she developed herself as a means of resistance imo. chief can’t be controlled by paradeisos or the underground, she would be the person who is the most “free” in shalom’s eyes despite everything and i’m just really geeked to see them interact.

i had so much shit to say about shalom oh my days 😭 i likely forgot some stuff because its late now and the event had my mind reeling, look at the amount of screenshots i took… hope my thoughts were somewhat satisfying to you tho i know you’ve been waiting for them forever lol. i also kinda livetweeted it so if u want you can just have my immediate thoughts on my twitter, im more active there 🫶🏾

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

twst en club wear pool + rerun??

Oh dang, TWST EN is having a rerun banner for Ace, Floyd, and Jamil’s Basketball Jersey cards???? All in the same pool + sharing the hard pity gauge too??? (To be clear, you don’t get your pick of the 3 featured SSRs if you hit 200; you will get one of the 3 featured SSRs at random.)

JP hasn’t had any reruns of any Club Wears yet, let alone offer several Club Wears on one banner, so this surprised me! It’s definitely nice for EN to have.

I wonder if this banner is one of the “EN exclusive features” they decided to implement??? (For context, there was an in-game survey for EN players early on and one question was about what we would like to see as "EN exclusives"; I don’t recall the exact wording though.) It could also possibly be the result of EN getting content out much quicker than JP (especially in the first several months of service) so this could be a filler banner to keep us engaged now that there are far fewer events to localize (and thus fewer event limited banners to run with them) 🤔 I guess we'll wait and see if this comes to JP too!

[deathofpeaceofmiiind]

high infidelity | one

Do you really wanna know where I was April 29th? Do I really have to chart the constellations in his eyes? April 29th 2022 (a/n yes I know some of these dates don’t actually add up, it’s just for story purposes!) Elliots POV Nursing really wasn’t for the faint of heart, which makes me wonder why I do it. Part of me knows it’s cause I’m a pathological people pleaser and like all the pats on the back I get. On the other hand I did land myself a great position in the NICU and helping babies get healthy and go home was such a rewarding feeling. I worked twelve hour night shifts but they went by pretty fast. It was about 6:45am and I was wrapping up some charting as my phone buzzed beside me. It was my best friend Danielle. “Hey boo! Don’t forget we got tickets for Bad Omens tonight!”

Shit, I totally forgot. I sighed deeply, catching stares from some of the parents visiting their babies. I hated texting Tyler about anything because he acted like everything was fine but sadly, I had to play the part too.   “Hey I totally spaced and forgot I’m going to a concert with Danielle tonight. My dad is going come over to help with Liam’s dinner and bedtime until you get home.” “Okay :) See you when you get home!” I rolled my eyes so hard they almost got stuck. My shift was over so I handed off report to the nurses coming on shift and headed towards my car. I lifted my mask off as the fresh air hit my face, waking me up a little bit. I took my phone out of my scrub pocket and texted Danielle back. “I can’t wait…I need a girls night.” “Come to the venue at 5 so we can have some drinks and sneak front row.” Danielle worked at the venue where Bad Omens would be playing, which worked in our favour. She always got us free tickets to every event and snuck us in early to get a good spot.  I discovered Bad Omens around the same time I met Tyler. I heard Careful What You Wish For on the radio and I was hooked. During the pandemic, I found myself watching all of Noah’s twitch streams every single day. It was his way of staying connected to the fans and to fill the void of uncertainty of this virus. Something about his voice was so soothing, seriously, he could do audiobooks or podcasts if this singing thing doesn’t work out. When I got home, Tyler was on his phone typing away, probably to whatever her name was. Marissa? Miranda? I don’t know or fucking care enough to remember. He got up from the table and tried to kiss me but I turned my head and lied about having a cold sore forming. He went to make me coffee and I suddenly felt nauseous. Every time he tried to do something nice for me my blood would boil. He wasn’t doing this because he loved me, he did it to keep his image. I took the coffee from him and turned away from his sad attempt to kiss me again. “You never want any affection from me anymore, what is going on?” Oh if only you knew. “Tyler, I spend all fucking night with babies on me and being overstimulated by people. I just want an hour where I’m not touched or talked to.” “Right.” “Sorry.” I lied, rolling my eyes. I started to walk towards the stairs so I could go up and shower but he stopped me dead in my tracks. “You know tonight will be the third time you’ve gone out with your friends this month.” He shot me at me. That was the one thing I fucking loathed about him. He was really, really good at being a dick about absolutely anything. I never bothered replying to him, I just headed to my master bathroom and turned on the shower. The water felt so good as I washed off last nights shift, which was a mixture of formula and spit up. After my shower I took my coffee into my bedroom and settled on a rerun of Friends while I waited for Liam to wake up. I heard Tyler leave and I felt like I could breathe properly. 

A few hours later there was a knock on the door. Liam and I were having a nap on the couch after we had lunch. It started to rain earlier so it ruined our plans to go to the park, instead we settled on Disney movies and snuggles. His nap time was the only time I got to sleep during the day unfortunately unless he was at daycare. I slipped out of his grip to go answer the door, it was my Dad. He greeted me with a hug and we walked into the kitchen. I threw on some coffee for us as a yawn escaped my mouth. “Thanks again for staying here until Tyler gets home.” “Anything for you pumpkin.” He replies as he grabs the creamer out of the fridge for us. “Is everything okay? You seem a little down lately.” “Uh…yeah there is something.” I said before taking a deep breath. “Tyler’s been having an affair. I haven’t told him I know, I’ve been getting everything in order with my lawyer before I serve him the papers.” “When did you find out?” “A month ago.” I laughed. I don’t know why I was laughing, but somedays this situation felt comical to me. “I’ve only told Danielle because her mom is a lawyer.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” “I was afraid you would’ve shown up here with a shot gun.” I chuckled before taking a sip of my coffee. He half smiled but I could tell he was really upset. “Dad I’m fine. I’m going to figure this out.” “I know. Just talk to me sooner next time okay? Now that your mom is gone you and Liam are all I have.” “I miss her so much.” I said as I felt that all too familiar lump in my throat anytime I thought about my mom. We sadly lost her to Covid after she came home from a girls trip in Mexico, right around the time the pandemic hit so we didn’t know the severity of it. It hit her so fast, causing her to go into cardiac arrest and passing hours later. I had days where guilt hit me hard since she was admitted to the hospital I worked at. I wasn’t allowed to care for her cause looking after family is considered a conflict of interest. It’s been so difficult without her, but it has made my bond with my Dad a lot stronger. We talked and finished our coffees before Liam ran into the kitchen after his nap. He was only fifteen months old and could already outrun us all. I picked him up and showered him with kisses before I headed upstairs to get ready for tonight. I opened a raspberry White Claw as I put Taylor Swift’s Reputation album on shuffle, it was my favourite album by her and it was my go to while I got ready. I settled on a pair of faux leather leggings, a low-cut bodysuit to show off my sternum tattoo, and black Doc Martens. I was still learning to love my postpartum body but I had to admit, the new hourglass shape I had was starting to grow on me. 

My phone buzzed that my Uber was outside and it caused my heart to flutter. Something about the idea of finally seeing these boys in real life was making me nervous, and I had no idea why. I never put them on a pedestal or thought they were gods but it’s gonna be surreal after only seeing them behind a screen. I said goodbye to my dad and Liam before heading out the door. I was so happy it was almost May, the weather was mild enough that I didn’t need a jacket anymore. “There she is!” I smiled as I walked up to Danielle who was with our other two friends, Amy and Taylor. They complimented my look and it gave me the confidence boost I desperately needed. Danielle walked up to the bar when we got in and got us a round of double gin and tonics which was just what I needed. My nerves were getting the best of me and I really needed to loosen up a little bit. After a few more drinks we headed to the barricade and waited for the concert to start. 

“So El, are you excited to see Noah?” I furrowed my brow and looked at Taylor, “Uhh…I’m excited to see the whole band.” “Obviously, but you’re obsessed with Noah. You’ve been practically drooling over him since he was streaming.” “I have not.” At this point I was blushing so hard and I couldn’t blame it on the drinks we had. I mean, she wasn’t wrong. His long hair would make me fold every time I saw him and don’t get me started on the buns he used to do where strands of his hair would perfectly fall around his face…or when he used claw clips or… Make them Suffer came onto the stage and interrupted my thoughts that were going south. The girls and I thrashed around to their setlist and right after that A Thousand Below came on followed by Dayseeker. I cried a little bit during Without me then went back to dancing and even caught a guitar pick. I was feeling better than I have in months, I felt so carefree, happy and not thinking about what my home life was like. I wish I could feel like this every night.

The lights went dark and I froze. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears as Folio walked towards his drum set and started to play to the beat of Concrete Jungle. I had tried my best to stay off TikTok to avoid spoilers but I knew Noah came out next before the rest of the band. Before I could process what was going on, he was right in front of me. He stood there all dressed in black, his leathered hand wrapped about the mic stand and he started to sing. Holy fuck. I couldn’t take my eyes off him throughout the entire show. He was captivating as he had the crowd in the palm of his hands. His voice sounded better than I could’ve imagined, he had the voice of an angel and the screams of a demon. I don’t know if I was being delusional, but I’m sure we made eye contact a few times. He sat down at the edge of the stage and serenaded the crowd with who are you? and he was right in front of us. He was so close I could see clusters of freckles on his shoulders peeking through his tattoos. When our eyes connected again I waved at him to embarrass him and it totally worked cause he fumbled his next line. He got up and walked towards the other side of the stage, not before turning back around to look at me again…he was completely flustered. “What was that?” Danielle screamed at me as the girls just stood there in disbelief. I just shrugged at them before putting my attention back on the band. The show came to an end, not before Noah and I stole more glances at each other. I tried to gain my composure, but I couldn’t. I cannot believe I just flirted with Noah Sebastian. Also the show? Fucking best concert I’ve ever been to, so good that my throat was hoarse and I’m pretty sure my toes were bleeding. “Hey guys before we go, I just need to go to my office to grab my purse. I can’t stress this enough though, no looking for the band okay?” As much as I wanted to find Noah, we nodded our heads in agreement before heading back there. I was not about to get my best friend fired from her dream job cause I wanted to flirt with some boy in a band. I really needed to pee though after holding it for almost three hours so I went on a mission to find a bathroom. I circled for a few minutes before finding a women’s bathroom. As I walked in the toilet flushed and the stall door opened. It was Noah. He put his hands up in protest as he flushed pink, “I promise I’m not a woman.” I forced an awkward laugh as I looked him up and down. He already looked like he showered and changed. The scent of his cologne lingered over to me and I could feel my face burning. He walked over to the sink to wash his hands so I took the opportunity to admire his tall stature. He was wearing black skinny jeans with a grey Chief hoodie and white Nikes. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his tattoos were exposed. My face was getting hotter the longer I watched him…I felt like a victorian man seeing a women’s ankles for the first time.

Also…Chief? One of my favourite bands? What are doing to me Noah? “Nice hoodie.” Noah smiled at the ground before looking back up to me. His eyes were so dark you could hardly see his pupils. They were the kind of eyes you could get lost in…and I definitely was. “Sorry I’ll give you some privacy.” He said gesturing towards the bathroom stall. I smiled at him as he walked past me towards the door. Noah stopped as he opened the door to turn back to me, “oh by the way, thanks for making me fuck up tonight.” “I did no such thing!” I audibly gasped. Noah shut the door and walked back over to me, “you definitely did.” “I was testing a theory that you were eye fucking me through the whole show.” I said as I crossed my arms, trying to make myself look taller but I was failing miserably. “Well, how was my eye fucking?” He replied with a deeper tone to his voice. He crossed his arms as well and got closer to me, close enough that he towered over my 5 foot frame with no problem. I was completely lost for words on account that my bladder was about to burst. “I have to pee.” “Ok fine, I’ll go.” He said, looking down at me as he grinned like a devil, “this isn’t over.”

[escapingrealtiylovinginsanity]

Joe Velasco (ft Platonic!Bruno): Detective work 

Companion piece to First Meeting

Terry Bruno considers himself a smart man and a damn good detective, so it didn’t take him long to notice that some things weren’t adding up in the precinct. Everything was running behind in the forensic lab because of some corruption and the cover-up of some of the lab techs. Higher-ups were breathing down the neck of labs rerunning most of the evidence that had already been run. It had caused a slowdown and even a bit of a backup for SVU cases. The wait times were longer, and the information sharing was slower. Even time-sensitive evidence seemed to be shifting to the backburner as the forensics lab went through piece by piece with a fine-tooth comb. 

While this was upsetting and downright frustrating at times it wasn’t at all odd in a situation like this. No that wasn’t what had radars going off in his head. It was the strange back and forth between the labs. Sometimes it was like pulling teeth, they would go on about policies and being backed up with no compassion for the detectives who were also just trying to do their jobs. Other times it was like miracles came through without any prodding. Evidence testing came through in an hour when they had been quoted ten. Time-sensitive evidence is processed quickly and sent to their work emails. The longer time went on the more it seemed strange to him. And now this.    

He and Churlish had gone to the labs to try to put some pressure on a rape kit that needed to be processed. The man at the front desk had brick-walled them and given them the normal spiel. Now Velasco was walking into the bullpen looking at his phone and informing the rest of the team that the results were up less than an hour later. That was when he started noticing the pattern. They always got their evidence back quickly when Velasco was on a case. He would disappear for a half hour to an hour and somehow, like magic, evidence would come back shortly after. If they hadn’t been so busy, his curiosity would have forced him to discover what was happening. Instead, it just festered in the back of his mind slowly. It only came to his mind when something triggered it. 

He hadn’t followed Velasco- he was in the labs for a different case. He only hadn’t let the other detective know he was there because he was in the middle of signing something into evidence. Everything clicked into place when he saw the scene unfold and it was like that irritating scratch of a missing piece had been soothed. Velasco walked up to the front desk, a frozen drink in one hand and a coffee and a paper bag in the other. He had just made it up to the side of the desk when you came out from the locked doors of the lab. 

You smiled at Joe as he set your boba down and slid it over to you before offering you the lime green straw. “You know you don’t have to keep doing this right?” You stabbed the straw into the lid before taking a long drink humming at the flavor.  

“Does that mean I don’t have to do this either?” He smiled back at you before offering up the bag of cookies he had in his other hand. Your eyes lit up. Joe had teased you for your sugar addiction admonishing you on several occasions on how bad for you all that sugar was. It didn’t seem to stop him from bringing you sweets though. You pout at him before taking the bag. “Just say thank you.”  

“Thank you,” You take a cookie out handing it to him before fishing another out for yourself. You chat for a few minutes about nothing in particular. It had been almost three months since your eventful first meeting. You trusted Joe and you had built a sort of friendship. A pattern had formed naturally. You did your best to help fast-track the evidence for his cases when the lab was backed up and he brought you treats. You exchanged numbers for easier communication. At first, the talk had been mostly work related but it had progressively gotten flirtier but there was a line that had yet to be crossed. You had yet to get together outside of work. You can’t tell if he just has a flirty personality or if he is actually interested in you. 

You finish your cookie before brushing the crumbs from your lab. You pull out a notepad and pen from your pocket and click the pen open nodding to him. “Okay, who is it today?” Joe’s charming smile gets a little bashful, but he keeps eye contact. 

“No, there’s no case. You just seemed stressed when we were texting earlier, thought you could use a pick-me-up of caffeine and sugar.” You stare at him stunned for a moment feeling butterflies take flight in your stomach.  

“Seeing you always makes my day better.” You say reaching out to touch his arm. His skin was warm, and it sent a pleasant zap of attraction through your fingertips. Before you could do or say anything else the other girl at the table walked by eyeing the two of you. You dropped your hand and offered her a cookie hoping that the treat would keep her silent about you taking a break when you shouldn’t have. The lab needed to settle down with its micromanaging before you lost it and quit. You had come to help after the scandal had surfaced and you were just about over the higher-ups' constant scrutiny. 

Bruno couldn’t hear the conversation from a distance away, but he could read the body language. Detective Velasco had a pretty little secret. Velasco was on his way out Bruno met him halfway across the room to exit with him. “You trying to push for evidence on a case Velasco?” Joe didn’t lose stride as Bruno came over to him.“I didn’t know we were waiting on any. Then again with a lab tech like that, I would probably be coming here pretty consistently to check on evidence too. Not that you seem to have to wait on it often.” Joe stopped turning to look at Bruno. The man was a good detective and Joe trusted him but. 

“You have something you want to say, Burno?”  

“She’s a pretty girl, I’m happy for you man.” Joe looked at the man trying to sort his thoughts, “Your secret is safe with me for now but make sure you don’t take too long to disclose your relationship. There is nothing against dating and it’s not worth risking your job.” 

“We’re just friends,” Bruno smirked and started to walk again telling his fellow detective, 

“So were me and Rose.” 

I love Bruno and this again was very self-indulgent. If you have any requests I'm open. I actually have time to write for the first time in a really long time.       

[jujumin-translates]

★ Main Story | Act 13 - Budding Spring | Chapter 9 - Back to the Basics

Woman A: Thank you so much~!

Woman B: We’ll keep on supporting you!

Chikage: Please get home safely.

Young Man: You guys showed me how cool actors are all over again! Thank you so much!

Boy: That was fun~!

Citron: It was our pleasure!

Towa: Thank you so much!

Izumi: No, thank you for participating. And it was all thanks to you that we even had the wonderful idea in the first place, Towa-kun.

Towa: --Actually, I was kinda hesitant about participating at first. I didn’t want to be a complete failure in front of Masumi-kun…

Towa: But I’m glad I took the risk ‘cause I had a blast!

Towa: And now that I know what kinda view Masumi-kun and the others see when they’re up on stage…

Towa: I feel like I know even more about how theater’s done and I feel like I know more about everyone too.

Towa: It’s like a whole new world has opened up for me!

Tsuzuru: When you put it like that, it makes it feel like the whole thing was definitely worth it, don’t you think, Masumi?

Masumi: Well, it’s not like you didn’t do your best.

Towa: Oshi praise overdose…!

Izumi: Come and see our next play, okay?

Citron: We will see you then~!

Towa: Yeah! I’ll be there! Well then, I’ll be heading out now!

*Footsteps*

Rento: This event was a huge success even though it was our first time doin’ it.

Akashi: I… don’t usually get many opportunities like this… so I had fun…

Rento: It was nice ‘cause us backstage crew guys don’t usually get to interact with the audience members much.

Izumi: Thank you both for all your help today!

Rento: Just gimme a call if you’re doin’ anything like this again, yeah?

Akashi: Me too…

Izumi: Of course, absolutely!

Sakuya: We look forward to working with you again!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: …Everyone’s acting sure was lively and they all seemed like they were having fun.

Sakuya: I couldn’t help but remember the first time I stood on stage while watching them.

Tsuzuru: Same, it really is a nostalgic feeling, huh?

Citron: I could feel everyone’s excitement~!

Itaru: We were just like that when we first started out.

Chikage: Now that you think about it, we really have grown a lot.

Masumi: I was better than they were.

Tsuzuru: And for some of us, there’s parts that haven’t changed at all.

Sakuya: For me, I used to be so nervous just trying to read a single one of my lines. Half the time, all I could think about was which of my lines was next.

Tsuzuru: I know, right!? I was always panicking because I’d be too busy wondering how I was supposed to be moving that I’d completely miss when someone else said their line.

Citron: I could say my lines when I was practicing by myself, but then I would always make mistakes when we would practice together!

Masumi: You still do that.

Itaru: I’m pretty sure if past-me saw the current me, he wouldn’t be able to believe we’re the same person.

Chikage: Because you didn’t think you’d end up being so devoted to theater?

Itaru: Something along those lines. Then again, doesn’t that go for the both of us, Senpai?

Chikage: I suppose I can’t deny that.

Izumi: When he said that he felt like he had a whole new world opened up for him, Towa-kun’s eyes were really sparkling, weren’t they?

Masumi: He was pretty nervous at first, but he ended up having fun.

Sakuya: When I decided to join MANKAI Company, I was pretty excited like that too.

Sakuya: I’m so glad I took the risk and dove into this new world.

Tsuzuru: I remember hesitating before I took that first big step into this world too. But once I finally made the decision to join the troupe, I didn’t even have a chance to second-guess taking that step before I was forced to full-out sprint into it.

Masumi: I didn’t hesitate at all because it was fate for me.

Izumi: Ahaha, I guess it kind of was. This is so nostalgic.

Sakuya: This has kinda made me wanna perform RomiJuli again!

Citron: Me too! I was almost reading the lines for myself!

Itaru: I know, right?

Izumi: Why don’t we do a rerun of it?

Tsuzuru: If we’re doing that, then I wanna create an actual role for Chikage-san.

Citron: I would like to appear in even more scenes!

Izumi: That’s a good point. The current Citron-kun can play way more roles than the Citron-kun back then.

Chikage: But aside from those few things, if everything else stays the same, there won’t be anything all that new about it. Especially since we’ve already done reruns of it before.

Sakuya: Then why don’t we do it after the Fleur Cup?

Itaru: Since RomiJuli’s a pretty popular work that’s got all sorts of things like movie and ballet adaptations, it’s easy for theater newbies to get into it.

Itaru: Pretty fitting to fulfill the requirements for our back-to-the-basics quest line, don’t you think?

Izumi: But competing in the Fleur Cup with a rerun performance is way too risky of a move…

Tsuzuru: …Ah.

Izumi: ?

Tsuzuru: What about a sequel, then?

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Tsumugi: Good job on doing the workshop. How was it?

Sakuya: Everyone seemed a little confused at first, but as soon as they started talking and moving around more, they all seemed to be enjoying themselves!

Tsuzuru: It was really inspiring to watch too.

Tasuku: Sounds like it gave you guys a chance to take a step back and look at theater more objectively again.

Tsumugi: It really sounds like quite the learning experience. I think Winter Troupe should try doing that too.

Homare: I think we should make sure to have adequate time to create poetry when we do that.

Tasuku: That would change the entire point.

Homare: I believe that the skills that come with studying poetry that has a particular emphasis on the rhythm of language could be easily transferable when it comes to thoroughly analyzing lines in a script.

Guy: You make a good point. Shakespeare was a poet in addition to being a playwright, after all.

Hisoka: …And we could end it with a bonfire where we roast marshmallows.

Tsuzuru: We all know that’s just your own agenda even if you try to frame it like it’s some kinda recreational thing at the end of a summer camp.

Sakuya: Sounds like a workshop that’ll show off each of your unique characteristics.

Izumi: Let’s plan another one when we get the chance.

Sakyo: Looks like everyone’s finally here now.

Izumi: Alright, let’s start the troupe-wide meeting, then.

Izumi: I’d like to talk about Spring Troupe’s next performance, which will be during the voting period of the first quarter of the Fleur Cup…

Izumi: After doing the workshop, we all talked about how we should go back to the basics, back to where we first started.

Citron: To put it simply, we want to do RomiJuli again!

Sakyo: You mean like a RomiJuli rerun?

Tsuzuru: No, not quite. I was thinking of something more along the lines of a sequel…

Tsuzuru: A version of RomiJuli that we’d only be capable of doing now that we’ve grown more-- The future of the RomiJuli we did back during our debut performance.

Tsuzuru: I think it’s something that we could do only because we’re living in the future from when we did it back then.

Sakuya: And it’d be our first attempt at doing a sequel, so I’m sure it’ll be a bit of a challenge.

Sakuya: Of course, we really wanna perform RomiJuli again, but…

Chikage: We have to be sure that our upcoming performance serves as a stepping stone to the finals of the Fleur Cup.

Itaru: Aside from that, if we don’t at least ensure we get enough votes and earn enough points, we might not even be able to make it to the next round, let alone the finals…

Itaru: And those aren’t our only concerns, so that’s why we wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions.

Tenma: A sequel to your debut play, huh… never saw that one coming. But I get how you feel about wanting to do it again.

Tsumugi: You can’t help but wonder how you’ll be able to play your role now. There’s always a sort of newness to it no matter how many reruns you do.

Kazunari: And since it’s our very first performance, it’s probs the one that like, set the vibes of your troupe and the vibes of the whole company the most~.

Sakyo: It was pretty rough around the edges, but I guess you could say that it set the direction for the entirety of the Newborn MANKAI Company.

Banri: And it’s prolly the one you’ve done the most reruns of, so it’s def well known. That’s a bonus, ain’t it?

Juza: ‘N since you’ve gotta good foundation for your roles, it’ll prolly let ya approach the performance inna way ya usually wouldn’t.

Juza: ‘N above all, it’ll be a nice challenge to perform a sequel that’ll fill in the blanks ‘n connect the dots from your debut performance.

Homare: The things that have changed, the things that have remained unchanged, mundane things in your daily lives… those can all be expressed on stage.

Guy: I think this could be a good experience for you as actors and it will help you grow even more.

Tasuku: And I think that it’s a valuable opportunity to experience living out more of the life of one of your characters.

Taichi: Plus the OG RomiJuli fans would def be hella hyped!

Omi: The fact that it’s also been a fan-favorite since the beginning is one of it’s advantages too.

Azami: It’ll also be easier to imagine the settings.

Yuki: My concern is that since they’re the same characters, it’s not as completely brand new as it could be.

Kazunari: It’d probs be a good idea to keep that in mind and make some changes to the visuals.

Itaru: I’m personally a little concerned about the curse of sequels never being able to surpass the originals.

Banri: We can do more with sound effects ‘n lightin’ than we could do back then, so we’ll just have to show ‘em how much we’ve improved.

Yuki: Thinking of our past selves as our rivals is kind of getting me fired up.

Kazunari: And there’s no way we’re gonna lose to ourselves~!

Sakyo: That said, we still need to satisfy the audience members who haven’t seen the original. Unlike with the Mankai Performance, there’s a fairly big gap between the original and now.

Kumon: But I’m kinda jealous of you, Chikage-san! I wish I had my own role in Summer Troupe’s first performance!

Misumi: And I’m ki~nda interested in what the Genie from “Water me!” is doing right now!

Muku: I know, right!? Just like we’re living in the future from back then, I want to see how their futures are going too.

Azuma: If we’re doing a sequel for Spring Troupe’s first performance, then perhaps we should do the same for Summer and the other troupes too.

Tenma: Well, that would be the logical thing to do.

Juza: I kinda wanna be Lansky again…

Omi: I’m suddenly getting pretty motivated.

Sakyo: All that said, none of us are gonna get to that point if Spring Troupe’s sequel fails.

Homare: Choosing to do a “sequel” in a situation where we cannot afford to lose and have to accommodate many a new audience member is certainly a bold decision.

Izumi: That’s true.

Tsuzuru: W-Way to put more pressure on me.

Hisoka: …Every troupe’s gonna have to do their part in order to pass the baton onto the next one.

Guy: After Spring Troupe in the first quarter, Summer Troupe will follow in the second quarter, then Autumn Troupe in the third quarter, and finally Winter Troupe in the fourth quarter. We all must contribute to the rankings in order to stay in the finals.

Tsumugi: But isn’t it somewhat reassuring to think that RomiJuli, the very first performance, will be by our side as an ally for this?

Sakuya: Yeah… because it’s the “beginning” of our Spring Troupe.

Citron: It was both Spring Troupe’s and the Newborn MANKAI Company’s first adventure!

Masumi: If we can’t pull off our performance, then there’s no way the other troupes will even get a chance.

Itaru: Basically.

Chikage: I think it’s well worth the gamble.

Tsuzuru: No choice but to just go ahead and do it…

Izumi: Alright, that settles it. Let’s fight for the New Fleur Award using sequels to each troupe’s debut performance as our weapon!

Izumi: (Finally, we’re taking our first step toward the Newborn Fleur Award.)

Izumi: (Now all we have to do is stay as united as we are now as we keep our eye on the performance. Please let us get through this without any trouble…)

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[jhilsara]

Tie Me to You/Chapter 15

Chapter Summary: Mika needs a break and finds Sam on the roof.

Word Count: 2.8k

<Last | Next>

Chapter Warnings: Horny levels of making out

This fanfic will explore heavier emotions and will have eventual smut. Minors DNI

Can also be found on AO3 X

Chapter 15

Put your lips close to mine

As long as they don't touch

Out of focus, eye to eye

'Til the gravity's too much

And I'll do anything you say

If you say it with your hands

Treacherous - Taylor Swift

After the events of the morning, Mika feels restless. She lounges in the living room watching some reruns of a reality show with Erik and Damien. Shooting jokes back and forth and snarky comments about the dated fashion on the runaway. It works in a way of keeping her mind busy, drifting away from her tiresome morning.  

Damien keeps shooting her sympathetic looks of worry or sharing a similar look with Erik when their eyes roam over to her. Their stares are the opposite of comforting. Mika knows that they mean well, but it feels like they think she’s more of a flight risk with how often she feels one of them look her way. Mika tries to brush it off. She didn’t want to make them more concerned than they already were. She makes it through a few episodes before her eyelids grow heavy. Begging her to sink into the comfiness of the couch. 

She was so exhausted and overwhelmed by the events from earlier, not to mention the succubus draining her the night before. She just needed to rest her eyes, for a minute or two...or maybe she thinks it would be easier to sleep than deal with reality. Mika couldn’t really pinpoint it, but the bags under her eyes were enough to prove she needed a break. She thinks she’ll just close her eyes, for a moment.  

Five minutes turns into five hours, when she finally wakes up significantly later in the day. The sun isn’t as bright in the living room as when she fell asleep. The room is quieter without the sound of a show playing in the background. Mika realizes she’s under a quilt that one of the boys must have laid on top of her. Mika sits up and stretches and isn’t surprised that Damien and Erik had both left at some point. She wonders vaguely how long they stayed there.  

Mika groans as she stands to move and checks to see if anyone is around. She’s sure it’s dinner time and wonders if maybe they’d just eat without her. She shuffles into the dining room and doesn’t see anyone nor smell any food being made.  

She makes her way upstairs, not hearing anything really. It was so quiet in the house, like when she first arrived. It sends a shiver up her back, and she panics for a moment that maybe they did leave. Maybe that succubus followed through with her threat and took them.  

Mika starts to walk faster, with a bit more purpose as she tries to calm herself. She feels her heart clench tightly, they wouldn’t have left. Not without a fight or a goodbye. Her nerves are fried enough, but the silence of the home is almost deafening to her.   

She passes her grandfather’s study with the doors wide open, James sitting idly at the desk working. She back peddles quickly to reassure herself she isn’t seeing things. She needed proof she wasn’t alone again.  

James stops typing away and looks up at her from the top of his glasses. He raises a brow at her in question.  

She feels her body untense and her shoulders drop in relief. 

“You okay Mika?” he calls out to her, closing the laptop he was using and giving her his undivided attention.  

She gives a shrug and bites the inside of her cheek, “Define okay?”  

She steps into the study and leans against the doorway looking down at the floor. Her arms come to cross over her chest tightly, like she's trying to protect herself.  

James sighs and looks up at her sympathetically, “It’s going to be fine. Don’t worry about it, we’ll handle her.” He tries to reassure Mika in a gentle voice.  

She feels herself seize up at the reassurance, “I’m so sick of everyone telling me to not worry. I’m filled with worry, about a million different things!” 

Mika takes a deep breath before the word vomit starts to spiral out of her. She feels the tight coil inside her start to unravel as her brain fires off everything that’s happened. She glares holes into the floor the whole time never looking at James.  

“I’ve been put on the backburner my whole life!” She bites out. Her body almost shrinks in as she continues.  

“Don’t worry about a job, don’t worry about a major, don’t worry about your dad, don’t worry about you’re future, don’t worry about devils, don’t worry about this impending danger that seems to follow you!” She’s pacing around the room, using her arms to emphasize her point. When she stops and she looks up at James, he’s giving her this look of pity that makes her stomach churn.  

“I’m tired of being told not to worry and treated like I don’t have a say. I’m so over it. It’s like I’m just watching someone play my life!” she says exasperatedly.  

James is quiet for a moment as he takes in her words. The silence makes Mika feel like she’s just overshared way too much and now she wants to run to her room and act like this never happened. James didn’t need to hear her whine about her life.  

James stands, reaches over to the printer and grabs something he printed earlier. He slides it into a folder and holds it out to Mika.  

“I know a few things about being told who you’re supposed to be and the expectations of others. I was blessed enough to be able to escape and figure out who I am...I’m still trying to figure out who I am if I’m not the first-born prince of the Demon Lord.” He tells her with a look of understanding. 

“These are Harold’s notes. I translated most of what I could for you, it’s almost all of his notes.” He refers to the large folder in his hands.  

Mika gently takes it from him, “Thanks, she burned the first half you made me.” She admits shamefully, even if she knows it’s not her fault.  

His face sours, “Yea I found the magical ashes on your bed… She’s threatened by you knowing that knowledge if she’s willing to burn the documents with magic.” he tells her, crossing his arms in annoyance. 

“Why would she be threatened? She made it clear she can play with me like a doll.” Mika says bitterly remembering how the enthrallment felt. It made her nauseous. 

James looks at the folder in her hands, “Harold was a powerful sorcerer. She either knows that, or knows you got these from someone powerful. His notes aren’t beginner level magic by any means.” he claims looking back up at her. 

“Maybe you could be just as powerful.” He suggests with a shrug. “That’s just a guess though.” he gives her a tiny smirk.  

She clutches the folder close to her chest, “Thank you James.” 

He just waves her off before sitting back down at the desk, “It’s no problem, honestly easy to read and translate.” he tells her dismissively.  

She rolls her eyes at how nonchalant James is being. This was a big deal to Mika because to her, this felt like maybe this was what her grandfather always wanted her to find.  

She turns to leave, and James speaks up stopping her, “Oh and would you mind checking on Sam?”  

Mika looks at him confused with a small blush tinting her cheeks. He rolls his eyes, “We sent him on a run to burn off his adrenaline earlier. I think he’s on the roof sulking.” James tells her in mild annoyance directed at his younger brother.  

“Yea, I’ll go do that...” She escapes out the door and makes her way to go check the roof.  

She rushes to her bedroom first and sets her notes on her desk, trying to push down her flushed cheeks before trying to find Sam. She turns to her balcony window and vaguely spots some movement. She opens the door and looks up to see Sam’s legs dangling above.  

She puts her hands on her hips and cock her head as she stares up, “Do you wanna come down or should I go up?” she teases.  

She sees him jump and look around before he bothers to look down and see her below. His face heats up for a second, like he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. 

“How’d you know I was up here?” He questions a bit baffled by how easily he was caught above her room.  

She shrugs, “This is where you normally are when I can’t find you.”  

He raises a brow at her in suspicion.  

“That aaaaaaannnddd James told me.” She admits biting her lip.  

Sam rolls his eyes and shoves himself off the roof to land on the balcony. He landed perfectly like an agile cat. He stands there for a moment, looking over her and assessing her. It's the same hesitant look Erik and Damien were giving her earlier, but it was different with Sam. 

Everything was different with Sam. 

The look he gave didn’t feel like he was worried she was going to crack under the pressure, it was more so like he needed reassurance she was still there. 

He opens his mouth to try and say something, but Mika cuts him off, putting a hand up to motion him to stop. 

“If you’re going to ask me if I’m okay, don’t. Jury's still out on that.” She states going to lean on her balcony railing with a sigh.  

Sam chuckles lowly and shakes his head, “fair enough.”  

He moves to stand next to her on the railing. Their arms brush against each other as he leans turning his head to look her over. His green eyes pierce into her, scanning Mika in a way that feels so intense. Like he’s looking for something to be wrong or out of place.  

She looks up at him from the corner of her eye with a slight frown. “There’s nothing you’re going to find out by staring holes into me Sam.” She tells him with a cock of her head and a dry laugh. 

He shrugs and at least he has the decency to look caught. “Can’t hurt.” He mumbles in slight frustration. “I feel like I need to keep an eye on you now.”  

She raises a brow in amusement, “Almost like a guard dog?” she tries to bite back her laugh.  

Sam groans in frustration and hides his face in his crosses arms leaning on the railing. “Don’t you start now too...”  

She presses against his side, dropping her head to look at him, “Would it make you feel better if I said you were a very good guard dog?”  

His head lifts and he shots her a deadpan stare. 

“What? It’s kind of funny.” She says leaning her head on his shoulder.  

Sam lifts a hand to ruffle her hair before he travels down to hold her waist, pulling her closer to him.  

“Laugh it up, but I did protect you.” He tells her, trying to prove a point. He presses a kiss to her forehead.  

Mika hums contently and looks up at him, “I guess that makes you a good boy.” 

Sam groans in irritation and leans his head down to rest in the crook of Mika’s neck as she laughs. Her laughter stops abruptly as she feels Sam teeth dig into her flesh. Making her gasp and shriek.  

“Did you just bite me?!” She asks him incredulously. She gives a soft swat of her hand to his bicep.  

Sam’s the one now shaking with laughter as he looks like he just won a game.  

“I’m an aggressive bred I guess.” 

“Oh ha, ha, ha, you think you’re so funny.” Mika rolls her eyes and tries to push Sam away.  

He doesn’t budge, his grip on her waist and the railing firm. Planting him in place.  Mika looks down and sees the muscles in his arms tremble slightly, like it was taking all his energy to move.  

“Sam?” She asks softly, trying to get him to look at her.  

“Sorry, just uh, just give me a second.” He murmurs.  

Mika sees a flash of gold rim his eyes before fading quickly. She understands what’s happening.  

“Did you... did you burn off all the energy you had on your run?” She asks him quietly. 

Sam nods, looking shameful.  

“Sam, you know you can-” Mika starts to offer, before Sam cuts her off quickly. 

“No!” He jolts up looking her in the eye, clearly nervous and hesitant. “I mean,” he takes a deep breath. “I don’t want you to- fuck.” 

Mika tilts her head in confusion, a small part of her feeling hurt that Sam doesn’t want her energy. She holds it in, unsure if that’s what he even means. He wasn’t the easiest to understand when he was riled up. She didn’t want to make assumptions while his tongue twisted his own words into soup. So, she waits patiently.  

“I’m bad at this.” He finally says in defeat.  

“I would try to give feedback, but I’m lost.” She offers, her tone isn’t accusing but light and conversational.  

Sam groans and closes his eyes trying to gather his words. “I don’t want you to think I just use you for energy. You’ve offered twice now, and I don’t want you to get the wrong impression.”  

Mika frowns, her eyes trailing down to the ground “… do you not want my energy?” she asks softly, maybe she had been reading his signs wrong, the small insecure part of her poking its head out. 

Before she can start spiraling Sam keeps talking and fumbles over his words, “No no! I didn’t, fuckin’ shit.”  

He presses his forehead to her shoulder and takes a shaky breath. “I mean I want you to give your energy because you like me…not because you feel obligated too.”  

His shoulders relax from their tense state after he says it. There’s a beat of silence before Mika starts giggling softly. 

“Sam” she says his name fondly, like it’s her favorite thing, “I offer it because I like you dummy.” 

Sam doesn’t immediately respond; he takes in the information but he’s unsure if he heard her correctly or not. 

“Are you serious?” he finally whispers standing up fully and placing both hands on her hips, a comforting weight. His voice sounds so baffled and confused, it takes everything in Mika to not press her thumb to his forehead to straighten out the crease he’s forming. 

“Sam, I don’t know if you noticed this, but I don’t let your brothers take naps or kiss me.” Mika says almost conspiratorially.  

“I guess I should have put that together…” He says with a low laugh, it rattles Mika’s core and makes her feel mushy.  

“Or  ya know, asked me?” she suggests with a smirk. 

“Yeah, or asked you.” He murmurs and presses a kiss to her neck.  

The action sends a shiver down her spine. “Or kiss, kissing works.” She sighs airily, her arms working their way up to wrap around his neck to pull him closer. 

He chuckles, kisses under her ear and pulls away to look at her. She blushes furiously, giving him the widest grin imaginable. His face breaks out into a matching smile.  

Sam leans down, a hand moving up to cup her jaw, as he presses his mouth to hers. It’s intoxicating and slow. He takes his time, slowly moving his mouth against hers before pressing his hot tongue into her mouth.  

Mika moves her hands to caress his jaw before running her fingers up through his dark brown hair before gripping it tightly.  

It makes Sam moan into her mouth, giving her an opportunity to press her own tongue to his, trying desperately to taste the inside of his mouth.  

He growls lowly in his chest, and she smiles into the kiss. She moves her mouth away from his and trails kisses down his jaw to his neck. His hands on her hips grip tightly, bucking his hips into hers.  

“If you don’t stop that,” he hisses out with a partial laugh, “I’m going to lose my mind.” 

Mika pulls back, looking up at him through her lashes, “What? This is light work, got you worked up already?” she says in a teasing tone.  

Sam presses his forehead to hers, “No...” he growls out before biting her neck again, this time using his tongue to soothe the harsh bite.  

“Just when I take you, I don’t want it to be for your energy, but your enjoyment.” He tells her.  

It makes Mika moan and pulls him closer.  

“You better deliver on that then.” She says breathlessly. 

He moves back to press a softer kiss to her lips before letting go and smiling at her smugly, “Promise.” 

A/N: Hey everyone! So as you know this fic has been on Hiatus and it will continue to be. I wrote this chapter over the summer. When I update next I will have a couple of chapters on the back burner. I just needed a break. I was so burnt out from work and I needed some time off. (Which maybe involved watching 9 seasons of criminal minds and if you see an fics mind your business) ANYWAY I'm going to start writing again and hopefully get this story with regular updates comes the end of September. <3 Miss yall and let me know how this chapter went (Cause I don't remember most of what I even wrote tbh)

[judesmoonbeauty]

There are two things keeping my sanity together (kinda).

First is mainly they announce the route around 30-33 days before the release, which is released along with the preview. Across all cybrid games have this month long announcement. So I’m almost positive, the latest it will be released is the 1 November.

However, I am a bit worried because on the jp server, it’s a pattern of two SE followed by a collection event. And it looks like chaotic night is a collection event. Am I MTL the info on chaotic night correctly? Or did I misunderstand it somehow….?

And so I’m getting a bit confused as to what they’re planning on doing because if it’s a collection event - it’ll be twenty ish days until the next collection event (or that’s how it usually is.

Can you confirm if chaotic nights is a CE or SE? Because I really don’t think they wouldn’t make the announcement more than a month ahead.

Hi Anon ~

Everything you say is true. Typically, we have around a month-ish before the main story is released once the PV drops. This allows for promotion, twitter takeovers, LINE activities etc.

As far as the Halloween event that’s about to release, it is indeed a collection event. Particularly, it’s William’s election promise event for placing in the top 5.

I see your concern since we just had a double story event followed by a collection event. I checked with others and it seems there has been at least one IkePri even that had a CE rerun followed by a new CE. So, we could have a Jude CE after this one, but who knows? I had guessed they'd give us at least 30 days to complete his route prior to his second BD. That way the BD event would make sense canonically. Hopefully, we will get some news soon!

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders #335: Hephaistion

today on Grailfinder we’re making Hephaistion, who just kind of showed up one day. it honestly feels really weird to have a new character introduced in an event rerun, but she came, so we’ll make her. that’s how that saying goes, right?

she’s a Crown Paladin to protect her king physically and an Arcana Cleric to protect him magically as well. you have a party with a barbarian who constantly gets charmed? this is the build for you.

check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

next up: I’ve had three years to figure out how to make counterattacks good in D&D, and didn’t. now the reckoning has arrived.

Ancestry & Background

fun fact, Faker is a Human! unless she was lying about that too. still, we’ll just hope she isn’t and give her +1 Wisdom and Charisma, as well as proficiency with Arcana and the Mounted Combatant feat. while mounted, you get advantage to hit anything smaller than your mount, and you can redirect attacks from your mount to you. also, your mount has evasion, which is nice. you’re a rider sometimes, kind of, so be nice to your rides.

Faker’s technically nameless, but we’re going to call her Faceless instead, so she gets proficiency in Deception and Intimidation. I don’t think deception’s needed for magical stuff, but it’s good to have regardless.

Ability Scores

Faker’s highest score is Wisdom- you need to ask the gods for help with making magic happen, plus you need to not die from the curses aimed at your boss. both of those are wisdom. second is Strength. you hit stuff a lot when you’re fighting, and you use heavy armor. third is Charisma. we need it for multiclassing, and it’ll also help you imitate a man twice your size well enough to pass for him. I wish your Constitution could be higher, but we needed everything before this for multiclassing. besides, while you can take hits for people, you’re kept around to block curses. this means your Intelligence is pretty low, but we’re dumping Dexterity. with your armor, it’s our safest dump stat to pick.

Class Levels

1. Paladin 1: we need to start off as a paladin if you want gold armor at third ascension, but while you’re here you’ll also get proficiency with Wisdom and Charisma saves, as well as Athletics and Insight. you’re not quite as beefy as Iskandar, but you’ve to be able to keep up with the guy.

at level one you can use your Divine Sense to detect extraplanar being nearby, or you can use Lay on Hands to heal yourself or an ally. what is healing but retroactive protection?

2. Paladin 2: second level paladins get a Fighting Style. you use daggers and shortswords, so Dueling is more your speed, giving you +2 damage on one-armed weapon attacks. your fighting style actually works out really well for us, since it keeps a hand open, we don’t need to pick up warcaster for your spells later.

or now, really, since you can cast Spells this turn using your Charisma. Faker is an accomplished spellcaster, so your ability to prepare spells each day gives the whole build some much needed flexibility. we’ll bring up some particularly useful spells to stay in-character, but feel free to pick what you like.

for example, at first level you can pick up Protection from Evil & Good, Shield of Faith, and Heroism, each one protecting your charge from a magical malady. the first protects from possession and divine/unholy interference, the second gives a creature +2 AC, and the last grants immunity to fear, as well as some extra temporary HP.

if you’d rather, you can also use your spell slots on Divine Smites instead, adding radiant damage to your weapon attacks so even a dagger can hit like a greatsword. the stronger the spell slot, the stronger the damage dealt, though this only works up until level 5 spells.

3. Paladin 3: at third level you gain Divine Health, granting you immunity to disease. you also take up your oath of the Crown, which here grants you the start of your Mystic Eyes of Compulsion- your class spells Command and Compelled Duel. the former lets you give a one word command, which a target must follow on their next turn if they fail a wisdom save. this spell doesn’t work if the command is impossible or would cause them harm, but that’s what the second spell is for! if they fail a wisdom save for Compelled Duel, the target gets disadvantage to hit anyone but you, and needs to make another wisdom save to move away from you each turn. the spell lasts a minute, or until you attack another creature or another creature attacks it.

but we’re not done taunting just yet. once a short rest you can Channel Divinity in one of two ways. the Champion Challenge forces every creature you choose within 30’ of you to make a wisdom save as a bonus action. if they fail, they can’t move more than 30’ away from you unless you get knocked out or move 30’ away from them. alternatively, you can Turn the Tide as a bonus action, healing bloodied creatures near you for 1d6 plus your charisma modifier. Faker doesn’t really have healing, but again, this is just retroactive protection. that’s my justification, at least.

4. Paladin 4: we’re not really getting many magical attacks this time around, so make sure you use this Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Strength. your sword arm’s gonna get quite the workout by the time we’re done here.

5. Paladin 5: fifth level paladins get an Extra Attack each attack action, so. two per action. speaking of two, you get second level spells! Warding Bond is the best shielding spell we can get for a while, adding +1 to your charge’s AC and halving all damage they take for an hour. the downside is you also take whatever damage they do, so try to keep them alive. you also get another mystic eye spell, Zone of Truth. it’s a zone, that you tell truth in.

while it’s not a dragon, Find Steed can help you get a horse so your rider abilities won’t go to waste in the meantime. summoning dragons is a bit of a long-term goal.

6. Paladin 6: sixth level paladins have an Aura of Protection, adding your charisma modifier to every save made by friendly creatures near you, including yourself. boom, that’s instant curse protection right there. it’s only a +2 bonus atm, but a bonus is a bonus! plus, it works on any other saves too, like say, Dexterity saves. but I mean really, when would Iskandar ever need to make dex saves?

7. Paladin 7: seventh level crown paladins get a Divine Allegiance, letting you take the hit for another ally as a reaction. you can’t reduce the damage to you if you take a hit this way, just like the warding bond.

8. Cleric 1: we’ve got all the taunts we need, so let’s crank up that magical protection now. as a first level Arcana cleric you become an Arcane Initiate, giving you two cantrip from the wizard spell list like Message for the chaldea-standard holophone, and True Strike, the sign that you’re not sure what other cantrips to give someone. speaking of, you get cleric cantrips too like Guidance and Resistance to protect people better than most, and Spare the Dying. I consider mortality a curse, so I’m counting this as an in-character spell. you can cast these or your other Spells from the cleric spell list using your Wisdom, and again this is a group of spells you can prepare each day. Clerics have some of the strongest spells in the game, and we have to go in deep to grab a dragon, so have fun with it! get the spells you want.

but also get Sanctuary, it’ll force a wisdom save on anyone trying to mess with your charge, whether that’s attacking or by using a spell. if they fail a wisdom save, the attacker will have to change targets or waste the action entirely. this only works for a minute, or until the warded creature attacks someone themselves, but it’s a potent defense while it’s up.

9. Cleric 2: second level clerics get their own flavors of Channel Divinity, and I’m pretty sure this is the first time it’s come up, but doubling down on CD doesn’t double the number of uses per short rest, it just gives you more options. options like Turn Undead to scare off zombies and skeletons, and Arcane Abjuration to turn a celestial, elemental, fey, or fiend. it can also gets upgrades like Destroy Undead later, banishing creatures of the same CR. I don’t think this comes up that often, but both of these options would protect Iskandar, so they’re technically in-character.

10. Cleric 3: third level of cleric is literally where the magic happens, as getting second level cleric spells opens up a lot of opportunities. Magic Weapon is nice, but we’re here for Arcana Cleric’s other class spell, Nystul’s Magic Aura. with this, you can make nonmagical items seem magical to spells like Detect Magic, but more importantly you can make yourself appear to be a different creature as far as spells go. technically this could only change your creature type, but I’m sure you can work something out with your DM. it’s also a useful defensive spell against magic, as a lot of weaker spells only work on humanoids, and you can make your king look unhumanoid to spells, shutting them down completely. it’s also super economical, lasting a full 24 hours.

you also get what is probably your most powerful use of your mystic eyes yet, Hold Person. when a target falls under the effect of hold person, all melee attacks against them crit automatically. paladins love crits because it makes your smites twice as effective. being able to command someone to hold still in the middle of a fight is good, actually.

11. Cleric 4: fourth level clerics get another ASI, so bump up that Strength again. you can also cast Light now, which is always going to be useful since you have dumb human eyes.

12. Cleric 5: fifth level clerics can Destroy Undead of CR ½ or lower using their channel divinity. ghosts suck, Iskandar hates ghosts, so just get rid of them. you also get third level spells like Dispel Magic to retroactively protect your king from magic, and Magic Circle to lock ghosts in place while you work to get rid of them. you can also reverse it to give you and your party a safe space away from ghosts and the like.

as far as spells we can choose go, Remove Curse is basically what you were born to do, and Life Transference is more of that retroactive protection we were talking about earlier. it’s healing, but it also hurts you in the process. I don’t know why they put this in the spell list of the most powerful healer in the game, but I’m glad they did.

13. Cleric 6: sixth level clerics can channel divinity twice per rest, and you become a Spell Breaker as well. whenever you heal an ally, you can end a spell’s effect on them for free. you know, like. curses. for instance.

14. Cleric 7: seventh level clerics get fourth level spells, and there’s not much we really need here. this build’s a bit awkward in that Faker is generally a low-level caster in execution, but her NP is a high-level spell, so the middle levels don’t have a lot for us magic-wise. still, that just means you have plenty of space to figure out what spells your Faker needs, so it’s not all bad. we only need Death Ward to block instant death spells, but the freebie spells, Arcane Eye and Leomund’s Secret Chest, aren’t bad either.

15. Cleric 8: eighth level clerics get another ASI, so bump up your Charisma for a stronger aura. you also get a stronger Destroy Undead this level, as well as Potent Spellcasting, adding your wisdom modifier to the damage dealt by cleric cantrips.

we do not have any damaging cleric cantrips.

16. Cleric 9: ninth level cleric, fifth level spells. again, Planar Binding and Teleportation Circle are nice, you’ll get use out of them, but if you want magical eyes that compel people to do what you say, you need to put a Geas on them. it lasts 30 days, and you can force it to either do something you want, or not do something you don’t, if it fails a wisdom save. once a day, if it works against your command, it will take 5d10 psychic damage. you can issue a harmful command, but certain death is off the table.

17. Cleric 10: tenth level clerics get Divine Intervention- once a day (or once a week if you succeed), you can ask the gods for help. you have a Your Level in 100 chance of success, so right now it’s 1/10. if you succeed, your DM will decide what the gods think is appropriate aid.

you also get one last cantrip, so Thaumaturgy. Iskandar is loud, so you need to be too.

18. Cleric 11: it’s an odd level, so you know what that means, more spells! there’s a few sixth-level spells we want, actually, like Fizban’s Platinum Shield to protect your king as best we can, giving him half cover, resistance to most elemental damage, and evasion. you can also swap it between people, but we really just care about the king.

while Mass Suggestion might not seem like the most powerful use of your mystic eyes, since its commands come with more restrictions than Geas, it can force a whole crowd to help you for up to a month by the time this build is done, so it’s not one to be underestimated. that being said, this will force every creature in the crowd to make their own wisdom save, so your DM might not be too happy about it.

19. Cleric 12: with our penultimate level, you receive your ultimate ASI, the Tough feat. it’s a whole 38 extra HP now, plus another two next level. we’re spending our HP on a lot in this build, we need all the stuff we can get.

20. Cleric 13: thirteenth level clerics get seventh level spells. the one spell we definitely need from this list is Conjure Celestial, letting you summon a celestial of CR 4 or lower. the important thing here is that includes Winged Lions, our stand-in for a dragon chariot. though if you wanted to just run people over, winged bulls are certainly an option as well. this spell takes a minute to cast, but after that you have your flying buddy for an hour, which is a lot of trampling time in D&D. plus you can ride on a flying lion, which is cool.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

you are very good at protecting people. you can lock down individuals or crowds, block off curses, disguise yourself or your king from magic, and just being around you improves everyone’s saving throws. and of course, worst comes to worst you can put your life on the line to shield others from attacks.

speaking of attacks, you’re a paladin that knows hold person. you can deal stupid amounts of damage if you pull that spell off you can just delete someone pretty easily.

also, while protecting people from physical attacks is pretty trivial, you specialize in protecting them from magical effects, which can be a lot more devastating as a whole. think about it. how many berserker builds get dinged for being easily charmed? and of course curses can be just about anything your DM okays, so being able to block those from ever hitting a party member can be huge.

Cons:

we need three stats for multiclassing, which really stretches how strong you can be in any one of them. don’t get me wrong, you’re okay, but there’s quite a few stats I wish could be higher for this build to really shine. also worth noting, both paladins and clerics have super strong level 20 bonuses, so by multiclassing you miss out on both.

speaking of stats I wish were higher, your HP isn’t bad, per se, but if you’re running a build all about taking damage for others you’d probably want something past 200 HP, not 170. thankfully you’re a palacleric, so you have a shitton of ways to refill that HP bar.

we don’t get your mount until level 20, and before that your best replacement is a regular horse. even with Mounted Combatant your steed will probably get shot out from under you within the first few rounds of combat. riding a flying lion looks cool, but falling from 10 stories up because they just got sniped does not.

[hananoami]

hello, this might be a silly question but I am new to love and deepsace and I am wondering if there is a difference between the deepspace wish ticket and the limited deepspace wish tickets does one have increased chances of getting the memories or something? Thank you!

Hello nonnie! No such thing as a silly question~ I’m always willing to help new and veteran players alike 🤓 Since you’re new to the game I’ll explain the Wish currencies you’ll need in order to pull on the banners.

Limited-time banners are only available for a certain amount of time, and are on a cycle (meaning there will be reruns in the future). In Love and Deepspace there are two types of limited-time banners:

Solo banners, that only features a memory for one of the love interest, tend to last around a week or so

Multi-characters banners, features all of the love interests (4 memories) or a myth pair (2 memories) for one of the love interest, tend to last around 2 weeks

The major difference between Deepspace Wish: Limited and Deepspace Wish is that there is an expiration date on the limited version. This time limit is usually the event duration of the limited-time banner. You can see how many days are remaining in red on those wishes on the top left hand corner of the tickets.

Both of these Deepspace wishes can only be used on the limited-time banner. When pulling, the game will automatically use your Limited wishes before the permanent one. It’s important to know that after the banner is over any remaining limited wishes you have will automatically be converted into Empyrean Wishes.

Empyrean Wishes are used for the Standard Banner, Xspace Echo. These do no expire and the banner is permanently available.

You may wonder why is there an expiration on the Deepspace Wish: Limited tickets? To put it bluntly - Capitalism. It’s a business gimmick that prevents whales from stocking up on wishes for these limited-time banners, so they have to keep buying packs from the cash shop. At the end of the day, gachas are a business and these packs are what gives them their revenue to keep the servers going and to pay the dev teams so we can keep getting more spicy content.

Other important stuff I should mention:

These wishes don’t increase the probability drop rates; the banners have their set %.

All of the wishes cost/are valued at 150 💎

It’ll cost you 1500 diamonds for a 10x pull

This came out to be a lot longer than I thought it would, but welcome to Love and Deepspace nonnie! ✨✨ I hope this helps make your experience better.

🕯️🕯️ NOW COME JOIN US FOR THE RITUAL MISTY INVASION SUMMONING CIRCLES 🕯️🕯️

[veryfancydoilies]

My Victoria Byng Headcanons (requested by Anonymous)

I am so sorry I took so long but they’re finally here! I really hope everyone likes them. If you want me to write headcanons for another character, you can but please understand they probably won’t come right away. Ideas just don’t always come to mind that easily. I’m already writing headcanons for Sally so stay tuned for that. I’m actually thinking of writing headcanons for Johnny Bolton so let me know if you want that. Anyways, enjoy and have a lovely day!

🥻Before she became a Downer, Victoria had the delusion that her mother was never imprisoned and was currently having a lovely time in India. She does speak of India from time to time and expresses the desire to visit, but thinking of it brings up painful memories. Partially at the behest of her father, she takes an huge amount of Joy to keep them away.

☎️She has lots of friends but is not particularly close to any of them. This is due to both her tendency to be a workaholic and the general shallowness of relationships between Wellies. This is the reason why she did not realize the full extent of Prudence's feelings toward her. Victoria liked Prudence a lot, believing her to be very talented but sadly, their bond was severed when Victoria told Prudence she suspected her of being a Downer. Shortly thereafter, Prudence vanished. After the events of We All Fall Down, I think Victoria would be very sad to hear of Prudence's demise. She's another name in the list of people whose lives were destroyed by Joy and Vicky holds a lot of guilt. Her role in Prudence's death makes it even sadder. I think they would have been good friends or even lovers.

📦Her home used to have artwork, books and memorabilia from India. She loved them but when she looked at them, they made her sad to the point where she started crying. She told her father about this and he gave her tea laced with Joy. He then hired someone to come into her home and take all of the things related to India.

📚Victoria sometimes hosts book club and women's club meetings at her home. Uncle Jack's three books about the war were the subject of some of the meetings. Looking back at this, Downer!Victoria, being a lover of history, would disparage the books as being terribly written and dull.

🤬Unlike the other potty-mouthed protagonists of We Happy Few, Victoria very rarely swears. Both of her parents, especially her aristocratic mother, made it a priority to install grace and elegance in their daughter. It takes an extreme amount of stress (and anger) to make Victoria swear as seen in the cutscene when Ollie forces her off Joy. Also, if Downer!Victoria ever swore, she would hear her mother curtly admonishing her so she refrains from it.

🪅Victoria's favorite Uncle Jack segments are Funny Old Customs and Famous Britons since she likes history albiet the sanitized version of history shown to Wellies. So unsurpisingly it was her idea to bring the piñata on the day Arthur went Downer. But of course since everyone is on Joy and have no idea they're just watching reruns, many many other piñatas have probably been smashed before the one we saw.

🧳In her post-Wellington Wells, I like to think that Vicky got involved in politics in some way or another. She of course has many regrets but her leadership skills would not fade. Also, she was probably a key witness of what happened in Wellington Wells and has written books and given interviews about it. Most survivors prefer to live as if it never happened.

@we-joyless-few @sea-side-scribbles @joyful-downer