#still the best way to solve violence is through a hug with a struggling victim

[dragonsruby]

Aladdin felt his hands shaking. He wanted to punch the power-monger so bad, but there was a definite risk here. They were here in the city, and Mozenrath was already upset enough to bring others into it, so he shouldn't say anything too crazy. …But he could certainly toe the line. “Sure, I could finish, but I don’t think you'd understand the woes of ruling without killing off your workers for fun while you sit in a chair and read books that have tongues. Must be difficult. You can hang with my guards if you're lonely.”

Aladdin's arms crossed, and he raised his eyebrows as he stared at Mozenrath. "Up your game? Like what you've been doing the last eleven times or so that we've met? You upping your game has never ended well for either of us, and I've been trying to help you without us resorting to violence! If you could stop hiding behind your gloves and pretend to actually care about surviving this…”

He didn't finish his sentence, but he figured that the idea got across anyway.

Aladdin reached up and moved his hands behind his head, half in exasperation and half in a mocking show of surrendering. “Oh yeah, that'd be a good read. I'm sure you've enjoyed it, too, since you'd just take a book that Destane wrote and put your own name on it, like everything else you do.”

…He was definitely asking to be killed now, but it did feel nice.

And then... 'Get over it.' Right. Aladdin began slowly moving just a little bit closer. “Yeah, and maybe not the weirdest that's happened to you either. This is a safe place, so you can admit that you just wanted to tie me down and hold my hand for a bit longer. Don't worry, it's okay to speak your mind."

By this point, he'd probably earned a painful death. Still, as long as Mozenrath was around, Agrabah was in danger from Aladdin speaking his mind at the wrong time. He had to distract Mozenrath somehow… and the way to do that was to try and get close so that Al could lift up his arms and hug the sorcerer again. Remind him of better times when he was being humiliated by hugs. That would depend on if he could even get close enough to Mozenrath with his arms raised anyway.

Either way, this day was going to be fun...

————

Aladdin looked at his wife who had the eyes of someone who's seen enough. Someone who... well, someone who had learned to tell when he was lying, and knew how to get him to speak. Al looked away. “I love you. So much.” He took a deep breath, looking around real quick to see if anyone nearby was listening. “And I… may have given Mozenrath a black eye this morning. With a fig.”

Al waited for the blow to fall. He and Jasmine had been looking forward to this day for weeks, and he at least had the courtesy of (usually) not being at fault for the other times things went wrong. This time, it was definitely going to sound like something he instigated.

Al turned his face away, rubbing the back of his neck. “He… It's hard to explain. He put something in my drink the other day because someone was… threatening both of us. Him and me, I mean, and he wanted to test something on me. It made me see things like- like you… It was… messed up, and I was mad, so I went to punch him in the alley this morning.”

He gave a small, apologetic grin while gesturing to his outfit, which he had tried and failed to get all of the soil off of. “...And that is why I have this today.”

Aladdin smiled at Jasmine, then hung his head down as his smile faded. “I'm sorry. I… wanted today to be perfect, but Mozenrath… I didn't want to upset you.”

Thinking about the plans they had made for this day brought back the memory of another topic that Jasmine had brought up. Something that she had just mentioned, but that he didn't even think about. He lifted his head again. “...Did we ever hear back from my father? Or… from anyone who knows where he is?”

“Y-you’re here…!?” Surprise flashed across Mozenrath’s face for just a moment, before it was overcome with a sigh of relief. He placed his left hand over his heart, as he continued, backing away from potentially being punched. Or tackled, then punched. Repeatedly. “I was worried about you! You were rather sick last night, but I see you’ve made a full recovery.”

(Heyo! I was thinking what if Moze ‘accidentally’ killed Al in a time loop, and Al confronts him about it (basically the only time he manages to kill him is when it doesn’t count 😋))

Upon awakening once more, Aladdin enacted his two-step plan. The first step was asking Abu for help finding some figs hard enough to cause injury when thrown at someone's face. The second step was sneaking off to find Mozenrath and throwing a fig at his face.

"Are you happy now?!?" Al advanced forward with clenched fists, eyes set on Mozenrath's face but aiming to put a fist at his stomach. "Yeah, you'd know I'd be sick! I'm sick of everything in you!"  He went to swing at the chest again, regardless of the sorcerer's distance to him. Even if Moze dodged out of reach, Aladdin had plenty of figs lining the royal garment's pockets.

"You said that you didn't plan to spend your life here with me! Well, I can certainly change that!" He went for another attack, aiming at the lord's jaw. "As long as I'm the only one trying to get us out of here, I'd be more than happy to have you locked up here to rot away!"

If only that would get them any closer to actually leaving this time.

He didn't want to wait, he wanted to scratch up Mozenrath's neck and face enough to leave scarring, but any escalation right now would lead to more resets and more excuses for Mozenrath to torture him with whatever that was again. His head no longer felt that it would split open, but he wouldn't mind the pain again if he could deliver the same to Mozenrath's skull with his own head.

Anyway, whatever was keeping him and Mozenrath in the same recurring time period could have a motive for doing so. If the motive was positive by any stretch then scarring up Mozenrath wouldn't net him any points in generosity there.

He'd just have to wait for a good reason to make it painful.

[om-headcanon]

imagine several months have passed since the exchange program, the bros are asked by diavolo to go to the human world and investigate a rumor about a demon unlawfully making humans fall into temptation. how would they react when the find out that the perpetrator was mc, who used to be human? (make it angsty and extra painful please and thank you, i lov ur headcanons)

hey!! honestly i kinda struggled trying to figure out how i should make this ~super angsty~ and i was slightly confused in how to interpret this prompt, so i hope my interpretation is satisfactory! this is such a clever prompt, thank you! (and thank you for supporting me!!)

[for this headcanon, lets assume that upon turning into a demon, its hard for mc to access memories from being human... and that their demon form isnt as human as the brothers. also i didnt know how dark you wanted it but tw for blood and death/violence descriptions!]

lucifer

with trust, diavolo sends his best companion to investigate the mystery

he studies the day before on recent locations to get an idea of where this demon might be

he leaves the house early next morning heading to the last known location of the demon

it stood as if it were searching for yet another victim to tempt, and lucifer decided to make it known of his presence

“there is no way i, lucifer, could lose to something you, so maybe itd be wise to admit youve lost”

but allowing the demon to hear his name was a mistake, as it screaming his name sent him flying an acre

the only time he has ever felt power that strong was from your pact

it became very clear to him that not only you were the corrupted demon that stood before him, but also the pact you two shared was not tainted

lucy knew he was at an unfair disadvantage, but his pride couldnt let him flea

“end me right here if you must, mc, but at least ill die fighting”

mammon

hes terrified, but since lucifer is busy, he decided to handle it for him

he sent a few of his crow familiars to investigate where the demon was last, and proceeded to go to that location

“hey, uh, i dont think its wise for ya to be tempting humans, yanno”

upon meeting, he realises theres something off... he almost feels connected to it

but he decides to ignore the feeling

until he notices the demon wearing a ring he once gave you

mammon knew you felt familiar

but he learned fairly quickly the familiarity wasnt mutual when the demon punched his chest hard enough to shatter some ribs

you didnt care enough to fight him any more, and for some reason, that hurt him more

“i thought youd be the one to never hurt me”

leviathan

originally he didnt want to go, but then he realised this could be like a video game where you kill demons but in real life

that made him quite excited

in fact, he has a game like that (not shocking) and so he believed his experience could come to use

he used methods he learned from the game

levi left a trail of common human items to lure the demon to where he was

it was quite successful but not in the way he planned, as the demon stood behind him snarling

“woaaah- ah... wait...”

he noticed the demon wearing what resembled a ruri chan friendship bracelet he made for mc

he held its hand to get a better view and ensure thats really what it was

“mc... that cant be you in there...”

the demon pulled away from him abruptly and ended up slinging levi 20 feet across the ground

he couldnt tell what hurt more... his back from the impact, or the fact he lost his only friend

satan

hes way too excited about this

he gets to be a detective AND punish the demon in question once he finds them? this is like a dream to him

it shouldnt be difficult because theres no way he could lose a fight being one of the most powerful demons

satan follows a trail of footsteps that seem to accurately match the descriptor diavolo gave him

to his surprise, the demon was already there

satan feels as if hes solved the case, but he still has to take the demon back to custody

“look, sorry but im going to have to kill you. if you want, you can cause trouble and make this more fun for me when i torture you.”

the demon turns to his direction and he sees a faded pact mark of his on skin that used to be human

“no...”

satan tried backed away but the demon managed to pierce through his stomach with its finger

hes never once shown any hostility towards you... but he now knows youre really not you anymore

and as he lay on the ground coughing up blood, he regrets showing peace

asmodeus

he really doesnt want to do this, but because asmo is capable of charming, diavolo thought hed be the best fit for this expedition

all of the reports regarding the demon making humans fall into their temptation were from the same location, so he heads there

he sits on a curb in the near vicinity waiting for any sign of movement

when he hears the sound of growls approaching, asmo puts down the majolish magazine he was reading and gets up with a smile

“wow, a fiesty one are you! we cant have you causing more damage so if youd just look into my eyes, thatd be wonderful!”

asmos smile falls when he notes how familiar those eyes are

“mc...? i- how? how did this-“

with no effort, you slash his chest with your claws and he falls onto the ground bleeding

he never could charm you, could he...

beelzebub

because of beels excessive strength, diavolo thought sending him to handle the demon would be best

he packs a good 125 snacks to take with him

he laughed to himself on the way, thinking about how the last time he willingly walked into a battle was the war

“oh-“

lost in his daydream, he ended up walking into the demon he was looking for

the smell was all too familiar, and he quickly made the connection regarding who this demon was

“mc! i missed you so much”

almost as if he forgot the circumstances, he tried to hold you in a hug

the demon reacted suddenly and aggressively, throwing beel to the ground

he would have taken more damage if he didnt offer some of his food as a peace offering

regardless, the blow to the back didnt hurt as much as his heart did watching all that was left of both his sister and you walk away forever

belphegor

the only reason he went through with investigating was to satisfy his own curiosity, not because diavolo wanted him too

he went to the human world himself to the location of the last known incident and waited

he walked around a bit before he saw a demon sleeping on the curb

one thing about belphie is he always remembers how someone looks when they sleep

“theres no way this is mc...”

belphies voice startled the demon awake and it started fighting as a result, puncturing his chest and leading him to fall to the ground

“i killed you once and ill kill you again if i have to!”

thats something he never thought hed say and his eyes water as his heart aches knowing the one he once loved stands in front of him like this

blood rushing out his heart, he decides to use his twin telepathy one last time

“goodbye, beel...”

[cerealmisandrist]

Best PC Games I Played In 2016

So, this year has been pretty shitty for me and I haven’t been able to blog much unfortunately, but I’ve decided to start the new year off with at least one long-ass post written by moi and I’ve decided to do a fav games list! (Sorry for all the no doubt mindless attention to detail but I had to lol!)

Now let’s begin shall we?:

DROPSY

tw: murder

- This is the most charming and heartwarming game I have ever played, the rather scary looking main character not-withstanding.

Touted as the cause of a fire during a circus performance that ended up killing several townsfolk as well as his own mother, Dropsy is a point-and-click adventure game mainly about showing the people who hate the protagonist that he is innocent by helping them out with their problems in order to make them happy again and see Dropsy for who he really is: a rather freaky looking dude in clown makeup that genuinely loves everyone and who’s favorite activity is hugging literally everything he comes across (I am not even lying he even hugs a port-a-potty and it is adorable). Although not really driven by a main story, there is, in fact, more to Dropsy’s narrative than meets the eye as we learn the truth behind the fire as well as the revelation of the story’s antagonist, and the ending is as equally heartfelt as Dropsy himself is. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing and even though you might have a hard time discerning the images that the characters use in their speech bubbles instead of written dialogue in order to solve its puzzles, this game has quickly become a go-to for me when I’m feeling particularly glum and need a pick-me-up – and for that alone, Dropsy has become one of my favorite games of all time.

FRAN BOW tw: child abuse, tw: child sexual abuse, tw: Nazi experimentation

- Ok, this one was a no-brainer for anyone who has read my previous theory post about the game, but I am completely serious when I say go play this game asap.

The plot is about a spunky, mentally ill child named, of course, “Fran Bow,” who is trying to escape from the mental asylum she is being held in against her will  as well as the dark presence of a demon-like creature named Remor during the 1940s in order to find her cat Mr. Midnight and reunite herself with her aunt Grace, and while the art style, imagery, and various themes are EXTREMELY dark and foreboding, this game will change your life – or, at least, your previous held views on young girl protagonists, mental illness, and young girl protagonists struggling with mental illness and still managing to be heroic, empathetic, and all-around badass. Although some will find this game hard to swallow due to all of the violence directed at young children as well as the fact that this game is basically just a giant metaphor to begin with - Fran travels through supposed different realities during the game and even Fran herself is not sure if what she is experiencing is “real” or not - I cannot recommend it enough. This game changed me and not only is it now one of my favorite games of all time, but I truly consider the ending to be one of the best in all of my rather meager knowledge of gaming history. 

LIFE IS STRANGE tw: murder, drug use, sexual assault, sexual relationship between an adult and a minor

- THIS. FUCKING. GAME. This game made me fall in love with each of its characters, tore my sorry heart apart bit by bit as it’s story and its mysteries were slowly revealed, and it didn’t even have the decency to sew it back up together again at its end - and yet, somehow, I cannot help but love it so.

Life Is Strange is basically about a teenager named Max Caulfield who returns to her hometown Arcadia Bay - and her childhood friend Chloe Price - in order to attend a prestigious art school named Blackwell Academy to hone her photography skills and discovers she has the ability to travel back in time, with and without one of her many photographs as a medium, when she saves Chloe’s life after she is shot to death by Blackwell’s resident evil rich kid Nathan Prescott. After that one scene, Max is sent on a long wild week with Chloe at her side discovering who she really is as a person and trying to uncover the truth behind the terrible events happening at Blackwell, all while trying to save her friends and the town from the terrible storm that she repeatedly has visions of in the near future. The artistic direction is groundbreaking, and while the dialogue can be clunky, the voice acting is devastatingly top notch, and the early parts of the narrative - which differs based on the choices Max makes throughout the game - more than makes up for the rushed, bordering-on-lazy ending. Life Is Strange, though not perfect in any sense of the word, is a game that is an absolute must for any hardcore gamer, and like the rest of the games on this list has become one of my all-time favorites.

TORMENTUM: DARK SORROW tw: grotesque imagery, suicide

- If H.R. Giger and Heironymous Bosch had a love child that was babysat now and then by their good friend Immanuel Kant (who is quoted before you actually play) you would get this little point-and-click adventure game that is truly a hidden gem.

You start out as a rather mysterious and androgynous amnesiac who has recently been captured along with a rabbit-humanoid character to be taken to a giant castle that endlessly tortures its victims for being terrible people and its your job to escape this horrific and hopeless place. The artwork is STUNNING. Like if you don’t agree with me on this then you are an idiot, I’m sorry, there is no getting around that. It. Is. stunning. The story itself is also quite interesting, although I can see that some people could find it pretentious if you miss the subtlety of its themes. The game also goes hard right from the start with the inventory-object puzzles and it could be overwhelming for some, but I can’t help but overlook it in the face of it’s absolutely phenomenal art direction, character design and its Kant-isms. Again, this is another one for the all-time favorites list.

THE CAT LADY/DOWNFALL/DOWNFALL REDUX

tw: suicide, character death, depression, SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, mental illness, did I mention suicide?, murder, cannibalism, cancer, eating disorders, psychosis, cat’s murdering humans, serial killers, gore, the list goes on and on really

- This trio of three games really surprised me, especially because there are so few games out there that deal with suicidal depression in such a realistic and hopeful way.

While DOWNFALL/DOWNFALL REDUX is really about a psychotic character named Joe Hill coming to terms with his wife, Ivy’s, own mental illness through a hallucination-filled fever dream at the mysterious Quiet Haven motel, its really THE CAT LADY that brought attention to the universe these games exist in as well as the fantastic narrative. While some can say that the narrative of DOWNFALL (the original game made by the creator which was released as freeware and is oddly more charming in a way compared to its re-release after the THE CAT LADY to cement it in THE CAT LADY’S universe due to it missing its original B-horror movie element) and its remake DOWNFALL REDUX is better since it lacks a lot of the exposition that can drag on for some in THE CAT LADY, it’s THE CAT LADY that is my favorite although I admit I love all three. THE CAT LADY is a game about a suicidally depressed woman named Susan Ashworth nicknamed The Cat Lady due to her habit of playing her piano in order to call and feed the feral cats that live in her neighborhood, who manages to successfully kill herself at the beginning of the game and in a limbo-like reality is given immortality by a woman called The Queen of Maggots so she can come back to life and kill 5 “parasites,” aka serial killers that will be drawn to her once she returns to the real world. All of the serial killers either suffer from what I call Steig-Larson-Syndrome (they’re murderers AND kidnappers AND cannibals AND a host of other bad things) or are completely forgettable and both the sound, voice-acting, and image quality is blaringly low budget at times, but trust me when I say that it more than makes up for it in it’s extremely well written narrative and character design, as well as one of the best friendships between two women in any game ever (and said women are from two different age generations! which never ever happens ever!). I don’t want to spoil anything, but all three games also give you more than just two endings which are all (strangely) equally extremely satisfying – and in THE CAT LADY’s case, manage to be uplifting to top it all off, which is why this game, as well as its follow up ones, made it on this list.

UNDERTALE

tw: murder, serial murder

- Another no-brainer, UNDERTALE takes all your pre-perceptions of your average game goals and throws them all out the window in the most charming way possible.

Like THE CAT LADY it is ruthless in its realism despite its cute characters and hilarious jokes, pulling no punches when it points out the sheer amount of violence you as the player expects to dish out towards even the most non-violent characters in your usual game. On top of all this, its completely original backstory, loveable characters, and groundbreaking soundtrack will bring every single one of the feels to even the most shriveled of hearts. Honestly the only con I can see in this game is its replayability, which I admit is rather low due to its lack of different endings and its over abundance of obvious homages to other games like Earth which does give it an air of laziness even though its clear that the game is like this in order to critique it….but to me, there‘s no question as to why I have chosen this game for this list and why, like all the others above, I have added it to my personal list of favorite games of all time.

And that’s a wrap! Feel free to send me recs to other amazing pc games in my inbox, I love trying out new gaming content.