#star ocean 3: till the end of time

[daily-rayless]

Happy Birthday to Star Ocean 3's Cliff Fittir, your leather-clad rebel pugilist mentor friend.

[jooqlz]

[jessjustplay]

Story Analysis of Star Ocean Till the End of Time (Spoilers!)

June 2, 2024

Simple, complicated, philosophical. That's how the story rolls in Star Ocean Till the End of Time.

When the game begins, Fayt and his family are on a spaceship that gets attacked. Fayt is separated and ends up on an unfamiliar planet. He meets Cliff and they eventually find themselves teaming up with a stern woman named Nel (she's cool, I like her). Nel needs them to defend her country, Aquaria, against Airyglyph. That's the simple part. A planet with countries at war? Seems to be a normal occurrence (unfortunately) in all realities.

It's during the next arc that things get complicated. The team meets Maria, and they go to space to defend the universe from some god-like creatures. (I mean... it's a JRPG, what do you expect?) Even the people of Aquaria and Airyglpyh realize this is no time for fighting amongst themselves.

Now, instead of traveling to a new city, the team finds themselves needing to find a way to an entirely new dimension: the 4D. To top it off, they're hit with the news that their existence and the world they know is a complete fabrication. They are indeed, inside a simulation.

The wild part is that, we the player, are technically living in the same world as Fayt, Cliff, and the rest. It's established that Fayt is from Earth, and that is also our home. So the game is technically including us as being part of a simulation. Or on the other hand, we are in the real world, playing a game that is a game inside the game we're playing. (I love it here.)

Anyway, the big baddie of the game is called the Creator, but he's just random man named Joe. (His name is actually Luther, but he might as well be a random man named Joe.) After defeating this guy, Fayt and company are actually deleted along with the universe. (Kinda shocked the game followed through with this.)

"I wonder what's going to happen?" - Maria "Just believe. Just believe that we exist, here and now." - Fayt

"Choose to live!" - Fayt

However, as Fayt finds himself amongst the great big world of nothingness, he becomes aware that he is having a thought. And as René Descartes argues for the knowing of our own existence: "I think, therefore I am."

"There's nothing left. Everything has completely vanished. Light. Air. Even my own body no longer exists. Absolute nothingness. Hmm? Nothingness? So nothing really exists anymore? But if that were true, then what about this thought? This thought is real. And I am aware of this thought. So... there is something left. There has to be. That means... that I'm still alive!" - Fayt

THE WHOLE STORY IS A PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNEY OF RECOGNIZING YOUR EXISTENCE AND THE WILL TO LIVE. It's simply hidden behind flashy PS2 graphics and sci-fi lingo. Incredible!

"All that we can see in our dimension, and everything we can touch, it's all been a fabrication created for us to perceive. And now Luther has disabled our perception of such things, effectively erasing them from existence. Without perception, there is no existence." - Maria "And yet... even though everything around us was an illusion, I'm positive that our minds, which perceived that dimension, really do exist." - Maria "You're right. No matter what Luther claims, our minds are the only things that were real." - Fayt "That's exactly why Luther was unable to erase our consciousness. He merely deleted all the illusions around us. Doing so could not possibly erase that which actually exists outside of his creation." - Maria "So, you're saying Luther never acknowledged our existence? Does his failure to do so explain why we still exist here?" - Sophia "Maybe... strictly speaking, the universe as we know it most likely no longer exists. Nevertheless, we still feel its existence in our minds." - Fayt "If everyone in that universe still feels like we do right now then that universe really does exist." - Maria

Humanizing the characters with ethics, morals, empathy, and compassion

The game includes a variety of moments that evoke emotion in the characters, and us (the player) too! The cutscenes are examples of how humans are, how they react, feel, and think.

These are the reasons why the game's revelation at the end is so impactful. Because, not only were the in-game characters feeling sad, angry, and confused, but so were we.

The characters in this game experience loss, betrayal, hurt, and confusion but also happiness, joy, and relief. They ask themselves and the Creator, if they are just simulations, then did any of those moments actually matter?

And that translates over to us in real life too. The emotions that we feel are what make us feel alive. The good and the bad. If thinking means we are, then feeling means we are, too.

Ethics

When Fayt first lands on the new planet, he is very careful to not break any codes from the "The Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact" (UP3). So much so that Cliff will tease Fayt about this throughout the game. Fayt is showing how he abides the law and it's important for him to do so.

Morals

Fayt also knows when it's necessary to break the rules. He helps those in need, like the cute brother and sister (Niklas and Meena) at the beginning of the game. Meena has a broken music box that Fayt decides to fix with his technology. He also uses his device to help Niklas escape the jail. Fayt's morals are shown here as well as later in the game when he decides to help Nel with the Aquaria-Airyglpyh war. He isn't a part of this world, but he decides to help because he knows he should.

Empathy

The characters, particularly Fayt and Sophia, display a lot of empathy towards each other and the situations at hand, but I believe the most empathy is felt by the player. Playing a story video game is the epitome of empathizing since we are playing as putting ourselves in someone else's shoes. I felt so much emotion with the Ameena and Dion subplot and felt so sad when they both passed away. (Tears were shed.) It was incredibly sad, but a testament to how the video game successfully humanized the characters.

Compassion

As the player and genuine true controller of the game, Fayt's desire to help us can only happen if we decide to keep playing. As the story develops and we learn more about the hardships the people of Elicoor are facing, we, unknowingly or not, feel compassion for these characters and we decide to do as Fayt would and fix the problems. (Or you're just a trophy hunter and none of this applies to you. 😶)

So does any of it matter?

The characters wrangle with this question, and thankfully come to same conclusion as I. Yes, it all mattered. It made them feel, that made them real, and that allowed them to exist.

"No matter what the real truth is, the fact is we have thoughts and feelings of our own. We want to save our dimension and everyone in it." - Sophia

"Now that they've developed minds equal to our own, how are they any different from us? The evidence is clear. It's getting harder and hard to interfere in their dimension as we please. Doesn't that prove that they've become equals? That they deserve to live?" - Blair

To think is to be, to feel is to be. To think about your feelings is to be alive. The game purposely gives these pixels, 0s and 1s, human qualities that we relate to and bond with. Star Ocean Till the End of Time also does a great job at making you think about your own existence. Would finding out that your life is a simulation change your thoughts about it? Would it still matter to you?

All the pain, heartache, happiness, disappointment, and joy that you felt up until this point, does it matter or is it meaningless? I'll reiterate that yes, it all matters. Living can be as simple as experiencing fleeting moments of good and bad and embracing that we are here - in this moment alive, until the end of time.

[secrets-of-the-library]

A little bit of Star Ocean 3 for probably the other 4 people still out there obsessed with this game as we still are.

[carbonfellow]

Summary: You're a 4D being exploring your possibilities in life through Eternal Sphere. You didn't expect to grow so attached to a complex series of 0's and 1's.

An unfinished collection of scenes with Albel. I never even thought of a title for it, I'm sorry. Still very worth reading if you're interested in Albel.

There's pelvic pinochle in some chapters

[ithydoodles]

[dragongirlpoet]

Dark Signs 3

Summary: As Alucard grapples with his grief over what he has done, secrets are unveiled and graver foes awaken. Is it too late to save you? (Plot takes off months before *that ending* in part 2. Some parts are off-canon.)

This chapter is written in Alucard’s POV.

Themes: Dark fantasy, horror, romance, angst I Words: 4k

Warnings: MDNI. Horror, blood, gore, violence, religious themes, mentions of suicide, grief, depression, anxiety, slight smut

Pt 1 I Pt 2

_____________________________________________________

To the lovely folks who are holding out for part 3, thank you! 💛 Sorry I couldn’t put this out sooner.

@s-i-l-v-e @kawaiiskeletoneggsnerd @celly-fahrenheit @skychaser777

I tasted blood, cherry and salt. 

And I wanted more, more, more.

We were tangled in each other, our bodies suspended in the cosmic cerulean of the deep ocean. 

She was my salvation. Her kiss was my atonement. And her blood, oh her blood…it was a gift so heavenly. All my immortal life had desired only that very thing, and now that I had it, I couldn’t let go. 

Every shred of my primordial essence — powerful yet cursed, now entombed in the marrows of her soul. My blood now flowed in hers, as her blood, mine. We were fused as one, we were divine. 

My darling’s fingers traced the sharps of my jaw as she kissed me, our married blood spilling from her mouth, diluting the water. They formed red rivulets around us, as if in symbolic reverence that we were the almighty givers of ichor. 

We were safe, entwined together in eternal damnation.

I love her. I love her so deeply that I’d doomed her with my blood curse, so I could have her by my side till the sun swallowed us whole. And for that, I’d forever fester in my blasphemous sin.

“Adrian…” she seemed to say, but the snare of the ocean strangled her words, slowed our every caress… as if time at all wanted to still for our undying love.

Oh what I would give to hear her voice — seraphic, like a birdsong, my name chaste upon her lips. 

Her ivory chemise clung to her body like sculpted granite, her nipples just peeking through. They were for my eyes only. Yes…her being, her blood, her body…they all belonged to me.

But in that sacred moment, something felt…amiss. There were those jade-green veins, palpable under her eyes… they ran like fine cracks on marble, so like those on a delicately-carved statue.

Raven hair hovered around her tiny frame, resembling venomous serpents held buoyant by witchcraft. They were so in contrast to my gold, like the exact moment dusk bled into dawn.

There was the red rivulet again, this time saturating the white ribbons of her nightdress. They coiled around my arms, binding me to her. Not that I’d ever let go. 

But I had to, for her lingering touch was frost impaling even my vampiric skin. Why was she so cold?

“Adrian…” again she seemed to call out.

Her eyes, despite being underwater, were wide open, the blacks of them bereft of the soul I once knew. She was pale. So pale. And she looked every bit the angel of death. 

My angel…when did she slip from my arms? 

Our fingers entwined one last time, before a sombre gloom dragged her under. Slowly she sank, like a fallen star ousted by the heavens, syphoned of its light. 

But I’m right here, darling. Stay. 

I willed all of my immortal power to reach for her outstretched hands, but my body was deadened, as if held prisoner by spirit shackles. Further and further she sank from me, and I so terribly wanted to tell her that wasn’t where she was supposed to go.

Words evaded me, as my tears had.

The hollow abyss seemed to rise up — impatient, almost — to receive its new sacrifice. 

Blood gushed from her mouth — they were viscid, as if so thickened they had to be forced out or she would choke. The blood kept coming. They streamed out of the sockets of her eyes, running like bloody tears of the living dead. 

They say that monsters like us lack the ability to fear, yet I’d never felt more afraid than I did then. The love of my life, drowning, dying, yet I could do wholly nothing. Alucard, son of Dracula — weak, worthless…

A fissure cracked her chest open, the cavity creeping wide to reveal her beating heart. Her human heart. 

The blood kept coming. 

“Come back to me…” I begged, the futility of it sickening me.

Still, she descended. I watched in horror as the godless ocean buried her in its oblivion, until all I was made to see was the compunction of my sins. 

On her neck that I used to so lavish with kisses, lay the wounds only a wretch like me could inflict. 

I did it. I killed her. 

“Adrian…”

____________

I jolted awake. 

A numbing despair perforated my insides, a feeling I knew all too well. I stared out the window through heavy eyelids, the red moon magnified by sweat teardrops trickling through my eyelashes. 

For a long moment I just sat there, my lungs crushed by torment, my heart shattered by grief. I’d lost count of the nightmares that had plagued me over the decade…no, it’s been 96 years, Adrian. A century. A century she’s been gone.

What was I living for? 

Memories I longed to forget writhed their way into my mind, forcing me to once again relive the hell that fateful night. 

I had sat in the castle hall for days, her lifeless body cradled in my arms. My eyes burned from tears, and I wanted to die. I fed her so much of my blood, my immortal blood, still she slept. I summoned spirits, conjured the most powerful of magicks, still, she slept. My hope hanging by a thread, I fused my father’s sciences with my mother’s elixirs…still, she slept. 

I was about to drive my own sword into my heart — the only one ensorcelled enough to kill a dhampir, when a familiar voice stopped my contemptible deed. 

“Alucard! This place reeks of death, and here I thought we’d gotten rid of your father long ago.”

“Stop it, Belmont!”

“What? He may be pristine but his home sure isn’t. Alucard! Honey, we’re home!”

“Will you stop yelling?”

“Alucard’s probably busy shoving it in her, ha. I need to make sure he can hear me above their grunts and moans. Have you forgotten how loud you get, Sypha?”

“You’re disgusting, Belmont.”

“Alucard! Ah, there you are. In the hall, really? You two really are something. Do you have food? I’m starving. I…”

“Belmont.”

“Fine, fine. Beer is good as w…”

“Belmont!”

It took Belmont a long minute before he alas perceived what Sypha meant. My two dearest friends — immobile in silent trepidation, distress distinct on their faces.   

“What happened, Alucard? Was she attacked?” Sypha was the first to speak. As always, her presence seemed to bring solace, but it dissipated promptly.

“I killed her, Sy…Sypha. She asked mmme… to…tto turn her, and I…I drank too much…I killed her.” 

Mere speaking incinerated my throat, and it was then I’d realised I hadn’t stopped crying. I could scarce breathe through my wheezing, let alone enunciate words.

“I…I tried ever…rything, help me please…ppplease…save her please…”

Belmont, in a rare display of empathy, knelt beside us and took my hand in his. “We will find a way to save her, and we will not stop until we do. I promise.”

At his oath, I collapsed into Belmont’s arms. Anguish, shame, relief…they all coursed through my body — my face buried in his shoulders, weeping. Every emotion that I’d held in, all unfettered at the fact that I had someone, that I wasn’t alone to fight my battles. 

“Fault yourself not, Alucard. She never would’ve blamed you.” Sypha’s voice was soft, soothing, enveloping us in a reassuring embrace. I fell apart completely. 

A loud pounding at the doors disturbed our bittersweet reunion, arousing our every alarm. There seemed to be a clamour of sorts — yelling, mocking…definitely humans. Belmont took to receive the unusual affair, leaving a gap just wide enough to acknowledge a throng of men — bishops, priests and followers of the church. 

“I don’t remember ever calling for your conceited services, Father.” Belmont sneered. 

“It’s Father Caine to you, and I could hardly expect couth coming from especially you. Excommunicated and still, never learning the error of your ways…

I sense a great evil here…more so than I daresay…Dracula himself. Forgive our ruckus, for we, the good men, merely wish to rid the town of all that is malign…Hand the girl over, and all shall be well.” 

Sypha and I exchanged uneasy looks. What was he talking about? 

Belmont, entirely irked by the bishop’s pretentious drivel, was barely holding it in. “Take your horseshit hubris and shove it up your a…”

“Oh, but don’t you want to know why we want the girl? Not the speaker-magician…the dhampir’s lover.” 

What?

The dastardly bishop, words of scorn and malice, continued, “She now has the blood curse of the dhampir, and something in that transformation awoke creatures of the night…dark, hateful creatures…ones that possess an ancient evil…It is easy. We exorcise and burn her body, and as I’ve said…all shall be well.”

Blood searing in my veins, I raced past Belmont, the parasite parish’s body dangling midair in my chokehold. Eyes bloodshot and fangs hungry, I crushed his throat harder. He let out pathetic struggles of breath, rosary still firmly clasped in his hand. 

“Where is your God now, Father? If we are the impurity you so seek to vanquish, then what of the innocents you slaughtered unrepentently, all because they did not fit your cause?” 

I thought of my mother, the Belmonts, the heathens who simply held their own beliefs…and most of all, I thought of my sweet angel, so kind and full of love…

“What the…” Belmont cursed when we were doused with buckets of Holy Water. The “Men of God” started chanting prayers, as if their contrived communion would somehow free their pious leader. 

I let out a laugh. 

“The absolute gall you have, Father. Despite my mourning, I shall grant you this last mercy. Command your men to leave and never again return, and I shall kill only you. Fail to do so, and I’ll rip the tendons from all your wicked hearts. After all, I am a monster, am I not?”

A few men flinched at my words, casting hesitant glances to the others, while some implored Father Caine to choose wisely. Such cowards.

The bishop shifted a little in my grip, a faint smirk splayed across his face. “M…ark my words, vampire. Dark times ar…are ahead…The girl must di…” 

I tore his heart right out of his ribs.

He was right. I was a vampire. I was omni-sentient. I was a monster and a God all at the same time. The farcical impudence he had to order the execution of my beloved…Anyone who touches her will die.

With his blood on my hands, I felt my hunger creep in once again, ripping off the human mask I wore like a virtue. I needed to feed.

It wasn’t until Belmont started swinging his Morningstar than I realised the tumult that had ensued. “And God shits in my dinner once again…Alucard! Left!”

Veins palpitating from the heart I’d just consumed, I saw that the rest of the church, quite possibly under the predetermined order of the bishop, lit a pyre that massacred the foliage we used to read under, devoured the quince fruit trees we so loved to frolic around.

They will all die. 

“Get back!” Sypha cried, mutating the fire into swirls that wavered to her bidding. She channelled them towards the men, trapping them in rings of flame. Out of nowhere, fire arrows flew in our direction, narrowly missing Sypha’s face. That was enough to send Belmont into a scalding rage. 

His Morningstar cleaved through half of the men, dismembering some, dissecting others. My estoc weaved through throats and hearts, beheading some, mutilating others. The tragic irony of it all — the very men whose sole mission was to protect mankind, to do good, on an aimless rampage to kill because of a misguided prophecy.

And so the fighting went on for months, years... Night creatures, more members of the parish, vampires seeking a new world order…valiant efforts, alas they were no more than vermins effortlessly exterminated by us three. 

We weren’t certain why they had kept showing up. Whether it was a curse set off by my turning her, or the fact that they simply wanted us dead…it mattered not, nor did I make it my business to find out. I was going to kill them all. 

Sypha and Belmont had kept to their promise. Come hell or high water, they stuck with me, even moving into the castle with their son. We battled foes, and never once did they abandon their cause to revive the love of my life.

“Alucard, you need to seal her. Keep her somewhere safe, where no one but you can find,” Sypha had one day told me. I was no fool, I’d known they wouldn’t be around forever, and if I’d succumbed to my grief, all their efforts would’ve been in vain. 

“Promise me that when she wakes, you two will look after our kids, and grandkids, and great-grandkids, and…” Belmont trailed off, seemingly stumped by staple discourse.

“They’re called descendants, you idiot.” Sypha rolled her eyes. 

Managing a genuine smile I haven’t had in a long while, I replied, “I promise.”

“My lord.”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to yet leave my reverie.

“My lord,” Centrio again addressed, this time with more urgency. There, bowing by the door, dressed in fine leather that I had gifted, stood the first human I’d turned after…her. I’d found him by the docks, and he was all but an emanciated vagrant on the brink of death. Perhaps it was the matyr in me, but I thought it more I had wanted to experiment…if he indeed turned, perhaps there was a way…

“The council is ready for you.” 

Donning my guise of Imperious Vampire Overlord — terrifying, deadly, merciless — I made my way down to the great hall with my most loyal emissary. I clutched at the pendant around my neck — a vial forged with obsidian and laced with gold, encased with her blood. It was the only way I could feel her if she woke.  

An excruciating sorrow once again took shape, like an enemy planting tiny splinters in my heart, except those splinters were tainted with the most malevolent of poisons, inching slowly to ravage my vital core. 

“My lord,” 

The council all greeted in unison, heads bowed in utter veneration. Men, women, young, old…I had sired them all. To have a contingency if I ever needed one, to delegate my task of finding a cure, to have some goddamn chatter in the forsaken castle…

“We’ve received word that the denomination led by Gwyth is storming in from the highlands of Brasov. They are…angered by the vampires you’ve sired. She thinks just because…” 

“Just because what?” 

The gathering fell silent, as if fearful to draw my ire. Good…that’s how I intended it to be.

“Tell me, Finnor, does your gallantry waver in my presence? If so, perhaps it was my oversight in appointing you General?” 

“Forgive me, my lord. She thinks it’s a travesty that we, vampires a mere century old, are…” Finnor cleared his throat before continuing, “...exhausting all the human blood supply here in Braila. Some of our own have gone over to bordering cities, and they’re most displeased. She thinks that just because you’re… Dracula’s son, doesn’t give you the right…”

“Dracula’s son?” I scoffed. 

“Did I not sire you all? If Dracula is my father, then does his blood not also run in your veins? 

“Yes!” My council concurred in earnest. 

Does that not make you powerful?”

“Yes!”

“Good! Then let them come. We will defend what is rightfully ours, will we not?”

“Yes!” 

At that, they broke into a resounding cheer, half howling, the rest pounding staffs, swords and what have you on the marble floor. Contrary to the revelry below, I, worshipped like a God on my throne, felt wholly insentient. I cared not for war, nor truimphs, nor reign. If I’d created bloodthirsty monsters, it was merely a means to an end. 

I wanted only one thing. 

Was this how my father felt when my mother died?

“Kindly see to it, Centrio. I wish not to be bothered.”

“At your service, my lord.”

There she was — immaculate in white, clutching the garland of daffodils I’d made her, so detached from the pain I’d caused…I had all but little choice when I’d sealed her in the underground castle chambers. I had cast a spell so powerful, that save for the both of us, no one could enter, or find, our fortress in Wallachia.

Living in the castle without my friends, without her, seeing her lifeless body…it went on for months, years…I couldn’t bear it. Her lying there, bereft of a heartbeat, of a breath, broke me in ways I never knew existed. 

And so I resolved to start over in Braila, it was the only way to keep her safe, it was the only way I could honour my vow to save her.

Cape dragging behind my lifeless steps, I trudged back to my study, thoughts once again lost in her. Innumerable letters I’d written, infinite words I wanted to say — all frozen and wayward like misplaced luminaries in an interstellar void. 

What have I done, darling? I’ve created…abominations... so many innocent lives lost because of me…Will you still love me when you see what I’ve become?

“Adrian…”

I spun round, completely entranced by her voice. 

In the doorway, against the crimson glow of the stained-glass window, wearing the white chemise just as she always had, awaited my beloved. It suddenly became daunting to breathe, my mind apprehensive to behold the sight.

“Darling? Is it really you?” I uttered, my words close to a tremble.

She said nothing, but merely moved to me with such litheness I was taken aback. Her steps were languid, like a lone willow swaying in a bleak winter tempest. 

“H…how did you find me? You don’t look well, do you need to feed? Here,” I offered my bloodslit wrists to her. She pressed her lips to them at once, as though thoroughly acquainted with my gesture. 

“I missed you so much, I…”

“Shhh…” she hushed, sinking to her knees. 

Her hands made quick work of my trousers, and too soon had my entire length in her mouth. My cock twitched as her tongue lapped over the ridges of my growing erection, licking hurried circles around my tip.

“Fuck…baby…I missed you so fucking much…” I panted, pushing her face deeper between my thighs. “Ahhh…that feels so good…” and threw my head back, shutting my eyes, relishing in the absolute ecstasy of her eagerness. 

Pumping my sex in rapid fervour, she took it further down her throat, sucking, constricting…the weight of my every burden reduced to an indistinct drone.

“Slow down, darling,” 

“Yes, my lord…”

My eyes flew open. My lord?

From where I was, I alas saw it. The sable of her tresses ran an incomparable lustre to my darling’s raven. I flung the devil thrall into the windows at once, shattering the glass, red fragments giving way to golden gleams of the inconspicuous sun. 

“How very dare you,” my voice dropping to a haunting hiss as I stalked towards her. “The audacity you possess to employ such pitious artifice…who sent you?” 

The thrall quivered at my unrestrained wrath, straining to speak against the bleeding shards skewered in her throat.

“Y…you…did…m…my l..ord…” 

I froze, the lunacy of my suffering clear as day. I must already be dead. 

Refusing to bear the yoke of that truth, I instead directed all my shame and hurt at the dying vampire whom I’d sired. 

“Why do you get to live, but she doesn’t? Why do all of you get to persist in endlessness, possess my blood gift, but she is doomed to sleep for all eternity? Why!”

All that remained was the anguished aftershock of my tirade, and the spurting of blood that had slivered their way to the soles of my boots. 

“F…forrr…give me, mmy…lord…”

“I want you to listen closely. She transcends your every breath. You will never be her.” 

I compelled my estoc to sever her head. 

____________

I liked it out here. At times the ocean waves would susurrate, tonight it was a thunder against the cliffs. It offered a quiet respite from my heartbreak, the inane vampire politics, and the endless blood war of the undead.

My hair whipped in the frigid windstorm, yet I felt nothing. I was a lighthouse abandoned — hollow, crepuscular — fleeting through the years devoid of purpose. There were nights where I would see her in the middle of the violent sea — so alone, so tormented — does she know? I would cross oceans of time to find her.

Something snapped. 

I remained still as death, my gaze shifting calculatedly to the untimely intruder foolish enough to trespass into my castle grounds. Their steps, though fairly distant and furtive, stood little chance against my heightened hearing. 

The clanging of chains reached my ears long before my sword ensnared the metal. Holding it mere inches from my face, I studied the peculiar weapon — intricate weaving of iron, spikes flared at the tip…and that leather whip. 

“Simon Belmont. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Save that garb for someone who gives a shit, vampire.”

I smirked at his salutation, perhaps a little more than necessary. “I see the Belmonts have a tradition.”

Unlike his forefathers, Simon had fallen out of favour with the Belmonts, insisting that vampires, regardless of their intent and relationship, are considered foe and should, at all costs, be exterminated with their bodies wrung out to dry. 

“The odious horde you have sired are arrogant beyond their means. Do you not care for the turmoil they have caused? The innocent lives they have claimed?” 

I no longer have the capacity to, I wanted to tell him. 

“I come here not to befriend, or beg, or ask. Halt the atrocities of your vampires, or I shall finish what my grandfather so failed to do — kill you.”

“Are you threatening me, Belmont?”

Taking advantage of my affront, he wielded the Combat Cross — one I’d noticed too late — for it struck the pendant around my collar, barely missing my chest. I watched as the vial containing her blood fracture into pieces, her lifesource splattered and devoured by the earth below. 

Seething, I lunged for Simon, teleporting behind him while coiling the Morningstar around his neck. He threshed around his imminent asphyxiation, blindly stabbing his dagger, attempting to find purchase on any of my organs. 

The tip of his Morningstar however, managed to etch itself onto my arm, igniting an unsteady glow. It would not combust in me, for I was neither human nor demon. Still, a searing pain barelled through the recesses of my body.

I released Simon as he collapsed onto the ground, his chest heaving from the lack of air. Hovering my sword above his heart, I recalled the promise I had made to Belmont. 

“This is a fight for another day, Belmont. Take your weapons and leave, for I have little forbearance for charity such as now.”

Flinging a shard of the Transmission Mirror next to Simon, he was pulled into its magic before he could contend. As the mirror engulfed him in its sorcery, he glared at me with such loathing I thought it incredulous I had loved his grandparents dearly.

But it was his last words ahead of being teleported that unnerved me, roused me back to the verity of that very moment — “I know what you’re searching for, Alucard.”

I stared at the spot where Simon was, now an insignificant mass of rocks, amongst them lay fragments of my obsidian vial.

An uncanny cold snaked about my heart. Clutching at it, the hammering intensified to a booming knell, in the same manner as nights where the parish would pound at my castle doors with boulders, clamouring to burn her. My breathing soon withered to a wheeze, then a gasp, and I fell to my knees.

Without the pendant, I could feel her no longer. 

What if she woke? The indefinite dangers she would face outside the castle walls…Simon…what if he knew a way to find her…to kill her…

I was sickened with fear. Haste was of the essence, but the Transmission Mirror teleported at random — there was no telling where I would end up. Trembling, I raced to ready my stallion. 

I was going back to Castlevania. 

Pt 1 I Pt 2

[marcsburnerphone]

And they were roommates

(Captain John price x F!reader)

Summary: that captain wants somewhere more homely to settle down and when an offer like yours comes alight on Zillow he must take up on it.

Warnings: some awkward moments but nothing crazy.

part 1 - Part two!!! - part 3 - part 4

—————-

You indeed did not see John price the next morning but what you did see was a handwritten note stuck to the fridge beneath a magnet.

“Good morning, as I mentioned my job is demanding. I’m not sure how long I'll be gone for but I can estimate at least a month. If you need me, my phone number is below along with my check for this month's rent and the next. - John price”

You reach for the envelope that is attached behind the note and pull it open and what the fuck. You knew he had to have money but in what world would someone pay this much rent for a house with a roommate? You immediately grab your own checkbook and write him for the amount that’s overpaid, making a mental note to make sure you give it to him.

————

Weeks pass slowly and life goes on as it did before. The only difference is you're no longer struggling to make ends meet. So to celebrate your success you order that 6 foot canvas you’d been wanting for ages and a new oil paint.

When you got the notification that it had arrived, thank god for two day shipping, you squealed and ran to grab it before the mailman even walked away. He offered to help you as he watched you give it a bear hug and waddle it through your door yelling out a meek ‘no Thankyou’. You dragged it down the hallway and into the sunroom resting it up against the wall. Ripping the clear plastic film off of new canvases comes in third place to the best things in life.

Sitting in the sun that evening you stroke deep blue oil paints that try their best to replicate ocean waters, and white specks that wish they could induce the same feelings stars do.

You’ve been at this same painting for 3 weeks, coming home and straight to it. Now that it’s finally done it sits sunbathing till it dries. You still visit it and admire its larger than life beauty.

John’s been gone for 1 month and 3 weeks now and in that time some problems have arisen, 1. The faucet in the kitchen leaks and below it the pipe also leaks and the only plumber that’s willing to drive out to your house and inspect it says he won’t be available for another week which means the water bill will sky rocketing till then. And 2. you have no idea where the huge painting will go.

You walk around wondering where to place it. You thought maybe the living room, or even in your room but after testing both those places it still didn’t look right. You can only think of one other place which is the hallway to John’s room. Of course that spot is perfect, maybe he wouldn’t notice since he only spent one night here. You grabbed the drill and got to work mounting it immediately. Once all was said and done you gave it a once over, smiled, snapped a picture of it to send to your sister and walked away.

———

John arrived back exactly at the two month mark early in the AM. He opened the house door as quietly as possible and removed his boots by the door to avoid the creaking wood of the floor and continued sluggishly hauling his bag to his room. Being the man he is, he notices everything, those watchful eyes of his never miss a detail so he does indeed notice and take a second to admire the newly found painting hung in front of his bedroom door before unlocking it to set his stuff down.

After a much needed and appreciated shower he reads the clock at 7AM thinking he can sleep for a little, that is of course until he hears a knock at the door. Making his way down the hall he peeps through the window and sees a handyman?

“Good morning sir, how can I help you?” He says opening the door.

“Good morning, your wife called for a leaking pipe, told her I’d come by sometime today.” He looks down the hall towards your room and confirms the fact that you're definitely still very well asleep.

“My wife? Oh yes my wife, that lady I could’ve sworn I told her to cancel this appointment we actually got it all sorted out.” He lies like it's second nature.

“I actually charge a late cancellation fee that must be paid upfront.” He inquires slightly annoyed.

“How much?” John replies feeling sorry for this man that drove out here and is now being sent away.

“100$ flat.” John shuts the door and quickly fetches his wallet from the pocket of his cargo pants and returns with two bills one for the inconvenience and sends the man on his way.

Sleep can wait.

—————

You wake up to the sound of clanking in the kitchen and as a woman that technically lives alone in the middle of the forest you're terrified.

Grabbing the bat beside your bed still fully dressed in the least threatening attire, you tiptoe to the source of the noise and breathe out the strongest sigh of relief ever known to man.

“Jesus Christ John you scared me, what’re you doing?” You loudly admit startling him in return.

“Fixing this pipe that you called an overpriced handyman for.” You stare at him subconsciously admiring the way he looks, slightly disheveled, face screwed in concentration and strong hands twisting the wrench in his hand and let’s not mention the rise of his shirt.

“You okay?” He says removing himself from under the sink leaning back on his knees to stare up at you.

“Yeah, yes I’m so sorry, um so where did the handy man go?” He stands with a grunt and leans his back against the counter.

“On his merry way.” He replies, turning around to turn the faucet on checking if it leaks, then off to see if it still drips and as he expects, it does neither.

“How much do I owe you for the late cancellation fee?” That man has handled your plumbing issues before and you’ve definitely canceled late more than once.

“Technically you didn’t cancel on him, I did so don’t worry.” He says picking his tools up off the ground placing them messily into the tool box.

“Well Thank You.” You say awkwardly.

“Of course.” He smiles making the dimples beneath his beard awfully noticeable.

“Oh and by the way your rent is only two thousand five hundred a month.” You say walking to the kitchen drawer beside him and pulling out a check that’s already filled out and handing it to him.

“Utilities included?” He asks, grabbing the check written out for three thousand and also taking in notice that same scent that clung to those sheets you made his bed with weeks ago as you sweep by.

“Yeah I don’t mind paying more cause I mean look around, this place has my style written all over it which makes it feel more like mine than yours.” He looks baffled at your reasoning.

“I actually like the decorations, not sure I’d change a thing about it.” You laugh at what has to be a lie.

“I doubt it.” You chuckle and slightly blush at his kindness.

“No I'm serious, I especially love that painting in the hallway, where’d you get it?” You seem surprised at the mention of it and even more flattered at the compliment.

“I actually painted it.” He gives you a surprised look.

“See you’re even hand painting the art, please I can afford much more than twenty five hundred.” You act like you're considering it for a moment.

“As much as I’d appreciate it, I'm already grateful for what you pay.” You say truthfully.

“Also, welcome home.” You quip before turning around walking back towards your room to get ready for the day

—————

John’s been home for nearly two weeks now and he’s slightly growing on you and you on him. You co-exist in harmony most times. That doesn’t mean the two of you still don’t clash from time to time.

“Good morning.” He says scrambling eggs in a pan as you walk into the kitchen reaching in the cabinet for a coffee mug.

“Morning to you too.” You say groggily, setting your feet flat on the ground and placing the cup on the counter, reaching for the pot to pour some coffee.

“If I can just- oh I’m so sorry.” He says accidentally bumping into you making the coffee spill on the counter.

“Oh no don’t worry about it, I can just clean it.” You say turning around quickly to go grab paper towels and end up accidentally running into his chest.

He grabs your shoulders to hold you in place and let your brain catch up with the speed of events.

“We will learn to both be in the kitchen together someday.” You affirm with a laugh that makes you feel alive.

“Hey the first week this happened almost everyday. If anything this is a huge improvement.” He jokingly abides.

“True.” You say as he turns around handing you the kitchen towel to clean it up. He watches you with amused eyes and a smile that still hasn’t left either of your faces and for a second something alights in John something that scares him so bad he doesn’t hear a thing you’re saying.

“John, I said did you sleep well?” You speak a bit louder, snapping him out of it.

“Yeah darling sorry I’m just going to take this to my office. I've got some work to cover.” He says hurriedly plating his food and scurrying off.

“Okay well I’ll be heading to work soon.” He doesn’t even let you finish before closing the door leaving you to stand there a little stumped.

“So I’ll assume he didn’t sleep well.” You say to yourself before pouring another cup and heading to your room to get changed.

——————

Comments and reposts are appreciated <3

@beebeechaos

@ttsbaby01

@arminarlertssword

@quakeroaksguy

@waves-against-a-cliff

@depressed-but-make-it-cute

[wallofchynax]

(90s)Shawn Michaels x Actress!Reader

request: i remembered that shawn had acting roles in ‘pacific blue’ & ‘baywatch’ and politely want to request AU headcanons of 90s actor shawn x actress reader falling in love on set?

got a request? send it over to me <3

tag list: @coffincorey @sultryfandoms @prettylittlegleek16 @dilanmoodboards @chaerityy @sparkinthedarkuk @vixenhatesyou

if you want to be added to the tag list: comment or answer this.

You want a guest role on an episode of Baywatch (or Pacific Blue, depending on your taste) for one week and it's nothing major but you are excited nonetheless. You love the ocean and it's nice to be doing something that's nonserious for a change.

What you don’t expect is to be paired up with some crossover guest star from the WWF. You roll your eyes when you hear his name.

"Shawn Michaels? What’s he gonna do - superkick the tide?"

Until you meet him.

He shows up to the first table read like a walking sunburned ego in Oakleys and a tank top Late. Of course. He waltzes in like he’s the main character, gives you a wink across the table, and sits way too casually in his chair. The second he opens his mouth to read lines, his voice smooth, teasing, laced with that smug Texas charm, you want to throw your script at his head. Or kiss him. You're not sure which.

He calls you darlin’ three times that day. You make fun of his hair once. The tension is already there.

On set, your characters both have electric chemistry. The script says your characters are supposed to hate each other at first, but somehow every argument ends with you inches from each other’s faces, breathing hard, staring at each other’s mouths like it wasn’t part of the scene.

The director never really cuts, just lets the silence stretch and tells you both;

“Whatever that was? Do it again tomorrow.”

Shawn often pretends to forget his life's. He'll corner your outside your trailer and be like, “Hey, think you could help me run this scene real quick? Can’t seem to get it right.” and you will yes, of course because you always do and you spend your afternoon pacing the beach with him, going over dialogue that he knows PERFECTLY well. He messes up on purpose but you can tell it's him trying to make you laugh.

At once point, you are yelling a line and he'll grab your wrist, which isn't in the script, and look at you softly.

"You're so good at this, you know that?"

You blink. You’re still holding the script, but your brain has gone blank.

Rehearsing moments where your characters are flirting can get blurry. You both practice the scene in private, no cameras. Just the two of you. And the lines get a little slurred. A little slow. The space between acting and not acting vanishes.

You fumble a line or two getting flustered. But he just smiles and waits.

“Wanna run that again? I liked where it was going.”

The paparazzi get a shot of both of you on set, sunglasses pushed up on your head with his hand on the small on your back.

Next day, it’s TV’s Hottest New On-Set Couple? splashed across a grocery store magazine. You tease him mercilessly. He pulls out a Sharpie and autographs the cover.

“For my future wife,”

Your heart skips but you pretend to gag instead.

He'll write you little notes on your script. Mostly just notes like;

“If you get bored later, I’ve got a bottle of tequila and no plans. —Your favorite co-star 😘”

You'll then find him lounging in a deck chair like he doesn't have to be in a scene with you in twenty minutes. He'll give you a look as if to say "Are you coming over or not?"

After a long day of filming, he will often take you out for a long drive. Sometimes you don't really go anywhere but often he'll take to some dive bar, where the drinks are cheap and the jukebox only plays 80s rock ballads. He buys you a whiskey, rests his arm on the back of your booth. Sometimes you will both stay out till 3am. It's not just banter anymore. He listens. He opens up to you too about his life, being a famous wrestlers and things that he's never spoken to anyone else about,

During breaks, you both sneak off to hang out like two teenagers.

His dressing room becomes your favorite hiding place. He leaves notes in your script binder, terrible jokes, sweet compliments, his hotel room number scrawled in Sharpie. You steal his denim jacket and pretend it’s because you’re cold.

He steals your heart and doesn’t pretend at all.

When the episode airs, your scenes are highly rememberable. Your agent tells you to play up this sizzling relationship up - do interviews together, get caught by cameras and all that. There's no acting involved though. You are truly in love with Shawn.

And when the director calls that’s a wrap, Shawn just pulls you into a hug and says quietly in your ear:

"Let’s not let this be a one-episode thing, huh?"

[daily-rayless]

Today's second birthday belongs to Sophia Esteed from Star Ocean 3, your imperiled childhood bestie with a hidden super power. And no, it's not her love of cats.

[nekosqueako]

i like imagining a conversation with my younger self and just taking her by the shoulders and going, "you're gonna be better at art than you could ever imagine you'd be and you're gonna still be drawing albel nox".

i was looking thru some old middle/high school art and as a surprise to no one, there was plenty of albel. he's always been here and will always be here.

[jessjustplay]

Just frolicking through the Star Ocean forests, looking for treasure 🌳🌱

April 29, 2024

This area was really cool, I loved the crazy winding roads through the forest. I had Kacey Musgraves song “Heart of the Woods” playing in my head!

I’ve really been enjoying my gameplay of Star Ocean Till the End of Time. It’s addicting?? 😭

[voidspiraling]

Man what is it with IvanTill and being small in the comp but having such meaningful interactions.

TWICE THEY USED THIS COMPOSITION TWICE

UR NOT SLICK I SEE U (I already analyzed the last two pic in another post so imma yap abt something else)

Anyways abt the red sky have you guys heard of the saying “Red sky in morning, sailor take warning, Red sky at night, sailor’s delight”? I think it comes from the Bible but there’s a scientific explanation for that “sunlight traveling through a long path of dirty atmosphere at sunrise or sunset is made up of primarily the reddish wavelengths when it reaches the observer”

(Source:

Hehe I did research)

To sum it up, when it’s a red sky during sunrise that means bad weather is coming. When it’s a red sky during sunset that means good weather is coming! This is in the context of being on a boat in the middle of the ocean but I am delusional so I am applying it here.

Red skies are also used in media to represent doomsday or the end of the world, looking at you Evangelion and Genshin. Red can also symbolize danger. So while Ivan and Till are running through their awful and tragic world, they’re actually heading to a better tomorrow (💔 except they don’t but whatever) The downside however is that they’re running in the opposite directions that the stars, meteors whatever, are falling. There’s a superstition that stars falling to the left symbolize bad luck (not backed by science just superstition). And generally when we see shooting stars depicted in media, the characters generally move in the direction the stars are moving, almost like they’re chasing after it. There’s two conflicting ideas here, running from your awful reality towards a better tomorrow vs. leaving behind your dreams (for Till it’s singing probably) and running to a doomed future.

Another thing I wanna point out is how far IvanTill actually got. The main focus of that part was of Till letting go of Ivan’s hand, sacrificing freedom so he could avoid the unknown. But Till actually went with Ivan most of the way. If only Ivan held on tighter maybe Till would’ve felt more secure and would’ve taken the final step to freedom. 🫠

Anywho the pic of Till looking at Ivan against a background of everyone leaving the garden shows how loving Ivan is associated with freedom to Till. But what does the meteor shower scene symbolize since we’ve only ever seen it from Ivan’s perspective. (A nice person told me that in the art book Till ran away cuz he was afraid of freedom prob bc he’s a kid in an unknown world. So Till def doesn’t have any positive feelings abt this moment… probably. Idk anything abt Till tho so take my yapping with a grain of salt)

Well well well depression my old friend. Here we see Ivan’s distorted perception in real time! Can you spot the inconsistencies here? After my 429th watching Round 3, I noticed that things don’t make sense here. Like specifically the distance between Ivan and Till, right after Till lets go both of them stop moving. So they should be standing closer together, instead Till gets smaller and smaller, the distance between the two becoming larger. Logically after Till lets go he should only be a couple of steps behind Ivan.

Another thing is the shift in focus. Ivan starts out the main focus, probably to highlight his shock. But I think it also shows where Ivan’s attention was in this flashback. Ivan likely assumed he and Till were on the same page, so he just focused on himself and doing what he thought would be the best to do given the situation. However that was just Ivan’s assumption he never actually understood Till, as seen as Ivan being in focus and Till being blurry. He watched Till constantly but he never truly paid attention to Till.

Now we see Till in focus. This is probably when Ivan finally recognizes Till, and realizes that Till feels differently abt this situation. But even though Till is in focus we (Ivan) can’t see his face. In fact we know from the Round 6 video that all Ivan saw was the back of Till’s head as he was running away.

The exaggerated distance and the shift in focus shows the moment where Ivan felt rejected. I think before this Ivan was in love with Till and assumed that Till loved him back. Otherwise why would we spend so much time together? Why would you let me lean on your shoulder as you draw?

If Ivan thought his love was unrequited, that Till never liked him, he wouldn’t have bothered running away with Till. Bc he would have known that Till would never leave with him. However I think he knew that they were mutual and that’s why he schemed to run away together.

This lil idiot forgot to tell Till about it tho. I remember reading that Ivan was actually very quiet and had speech delays. So while Ivan was plotting his getaway with his wife he never told Till what was going on. This left Till disoriented and confused, and generally when we get pushed too far out of our comfort zone we retreat back to what is familiar no matter how unsafe it is.

The main point is that this red sky scene is the moment where Ivan loses all objective perspective on his and Till’s relationship. Its where he gets the (wrong) belief that Till never loved him, never cared about him. Because he assumed that the reason Till left was because he didn’t want to run away with Ivan. To Till it was fear of the freedom and the unknown that made him run back. To Ivan it was rejection that made Till run back.

In essence this scene represents heartbreak moments before their happy ending. IvanTill attempts at happiness have left them in a deeper pit. With Till being haunted by the consequences of his choices, and Ivan spiraling and feeling lonelier than ever. IvanTill is about miscommunication but also about how people who care so much about each other are being ripped apart because of the world they live in.

This moment happened when they were kids and it never got resolved, it was so romantic and hopeful but now it is just another shackle.

That’s IvanTill ig ;-;

Also poor Ivan, that’s why you believed Till never loved you. And why you assume that nothing you do will make Till like you. You and ur low self esteem just self sabotage everything. I mean is it even possible to fall in love with someone who is that indifferent to you. You could be attracted sure, but to go so far for someone who doesn’t even like you. I’m pretty sure Ivan knew on some level that Till liked him, but after this perceived rejection he becomes fearful of being wrong again. Of being rejected again. So now he just assumes the worst all the time.

And the mind is a powerful thing, if you believe something hard enough it becomes a personal truth. This makes it even harder for their relationship to move forward. It’s why their love isn’t just love but obsessive and filled with hate.

God being in love sucks idk why doomed yaoi couples do it anyways.