#the whole point why i work here is so that i can travel lots especially during spring convo season

[calpicowater]

Week 17/52: April 24th - April 30th 2023 | Abbotsford 🍟

In Abbotsford for work for the next 10 days... this was my week one. Fairly uneventful. Just work, scroll, rinse, repeat. My hotel was the worst... did not have a functioning shower... but otherwise, weather was super warm. Hello to summer weather! Had some really good Church’s Chicken. 2 piece spicy combo with fries and biscuit... and fanta! 🍊

[drtanner]

You know, I think I'm starting to understand why the sharing culture on this site is such dogshit now.

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I spent several solid hours going through my art and writing tags as far back as 2012 and manually deleting everything I found, including all of my own reblogs, because I don't expect my opt out from having my blogs' data scraped to be honoured, and seeing the difference in the way people interacted with my work back then and the way they interact with it now (or the way they don't interact with it at all, more specifically) was deeply and tragically enlightening.

tl;dr, despite having had a fraction of the followers back then that I have now, as well as being an objectively better artist and writer than I used to be 10+ years ago, my work travelled further and people engaged with it more, and they also sent me asks with drabble prompts and questions about my OCs all the time, whereas none of that happens at all anymore. This place was a lot more communal back in that pre-2016 era and generally a lot more rewarding and fun.

There's been plenty of posts going around over the last few years begging people to reblog because that's how this site works, but every one of those posts always winds up lousy with people saying they just click "Like" on things because they like them but not enough to put them on their own blog, or because they don't want to clutter their blog, or because tagging things is too much effort or whatever, and I'm noticing a pattern. There's something that all of these common responses have in common:

All of these people are wholly concerned with themselves and the way their blog looks, or what their blog is supposed to be for, or some other similarly entirely self-centred point of focus.

Listen. Other people have already tried to explain to you that that's not what this place is about or what this place is for or that you can make as many sideblogs as you want if you're trying to curate something specific, and they've had little success in emparting understanding to you, so I'm going to try a different approach.

Here are ten (10) benefits of reblogging that will make this site more fun and engaging for you, personally! ( b ._.)b

You get to keep the thing for yourself, but you also get to pass it along for other people to play with, too! Best of all worlds. How often do you get to keep a thing and share it?

Look in your Activity after you reblog something you enjoy to find other people who like the same things that you do! This is a terrific way to find new people to follow.

Sometimes you'll make a comment when you reblog something and later find that an awful lot of strangers are reblogging it from you directly for some reason. This is usually because someone else later down the line made a much stupider and worse comment and those strangers are now all clicking on your reblog so that they can reblog the post without that other person's stupider and worse comment on it. I like it a lot when this happens. You can get a lot of new followers this way, too!

Even if you don't have the time or spoons to play with jpegs like dolls yourself, your reblog can put the post in front of those folks who do. Playing with jpegs like dolls is half of what makes this site function; give it a bit of time, and the jpegs will cross your dash again with new additions. As it is with anything you love, set it free, and the love will come back to you one hundredfold. 💜

Look in your Activity after reblogging some art or writing to see people going nuts in the tags. You can also go nuts in the tags if you want; everyone loves seeing this when it happens, especially the artist or writer themselves.

Commenting with your reblog is like raising your hand to share your opinion with the whole room, whereas reblogging with your comment in the tags is more like whispering to the person next to you and keeping it between yourselves. Contrary to what you might have been told by others, both are perfectly fine and good and they each have their place. You can do both on the same reblog, even! Take part in the conversation!

If you're too shy to talk, reblogging without commentary is a lot like parallel play. You're all enjoying the same thing quietly together!

When you reblog things a lot, you'll start to see the same people popping up in your Activity feed all the time. These people are your friends whether you actually talk to them or not.

Stuck for something to say? Point out something you liked about the post! It can be something small! Acknowledging things that make you happy out loud is good for your mental health and also your soul.

Reblogging also invites other people who are doing all of these things to find and follow you!

There's so much to do on here beyond checking your dash and occasionally looking at the For You tab. You can discover all kinds of people and things by making a bit of an effort and having a poke around in your Activity feed and on the blogs of people who interact with the posts you're seeing and passing along! I promise you don't need an algorithm to do this for you; the action of exploring the landscape around you on this website is fun in its own right!

Get out there and see who your neighbours are. 💜

[grandhotelabyss]

Advice/hard truths for writers?

The best piece of practical advice I know is a classic from Hemingway (qtd. here):

The most important thing I’ve learned about writing is never write too much at a time… Never pump yourself dry. Leave a little for the next day. The main thing is to know when to stop. Don’t wait till you’ve written yourself out. When you’re still going good and you come to an interesting place and you know what’s going to happen next, that’s the time to stop. Then leave it alone and don’t think about it; let your subconscious mind do the work.

Also, especially if you're young, you should read more than you write. If you're serious about writing, you'll want to write more than you read when you get old; you need, then, to lay the important books as your foundation early. I like this passage from Samuel R. Delany's "Some Advice for the Intermediate and Advanced Creative Writing Student" (collected in both Shorter Views and About Writing):

You need to read Balzac, Stendhal, Flaubert, and Zola; you need to read Austen, Thackeray, the Brontes, Dickens, George Eliot, and Hardy; you need to read Hawthorne, Melville, James, Woolf, Joyce, and Faulkner; you need to read Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, Goncherov, Gogol, Bely, Khlebnikov, and Flaubert; you need to read Stephen Crane, Mark Twain, Edward Dahlberg, John Steinbeck, Jean Rhys, Glenway Wescott, John O'Hara, James Gould Cozzens, Angus Wilson, Patrick White, Alexander Trocchi, Iris Murdoch, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Anthony Powell, Vladimir Nabokov; you need to read Nella Larsen, Knut Hamsun, Edwin Demby, Saul Bellow, Lawrence Durrell, John Updike, John Barth, Philip Roth, Coleman Dowell, William Gaddis, William Gass, Marguerite Young, Thomas Pynchon, Paul West, Bertha Harris, Melvin Dixon, Daryll Pinckney, Darryl Ponicsan, and John Keene, Jr.; you need to read Thomas M. Disch, Joanna Russ, Richard Powers, Carroll Maso, Edmund White, Jayne Ann Phillips, Robert Gluck, and Julian Barnes—you need to read them and a whole lot more; you need to read them not so that you will know what they have written about, but so that you can begin to absorb some of the more ambitious models for what the novel can be.

Note: I haven't read every single writer on that list; there are even three I've literally never heard of; I can think of others I'd recommend in place of some he's cited; but still, his general point—that you need to read the major and minor classics—is correct.

The best piece of general advice I know, and not only about writing, comes from Dr. Johnson, The Rambler #63:

The traveller that resolutely follows a rough and winding path, will sooner reach the end of his journey, than he that is always changing his direction, and wastes the hours of day-light in looking for smoother ground and shorter passages.

I've known too many young writers over the years who sabotaged themselves by overthinking and therefore never finishing or sharing their projects; this stems, I assume, from a lack of self-trust or, more grandly, trust in the universe (the Muses, God, etc.). But what professors always tell Ph.D. students about dissertations is also true of novels, stories, poems, plays, comic books, screenplays, etc: There are only two kinds of dissertations—finished and unfinished. Relatedly, this is the age of online—an age when 20th-century institutions are collapsing, and 21st-century ones have not yet been invented. Unless you have serious connections in New York or Iowa, publish your work yourself and don't bother with the gatekeepers.

Other than the above, I find most writing advice useless because over-generalized or else stemming from arbitrary culture-specific or field-specific biases, e.g., Orwell's extremely English and extremely journalistic strictures, not necessarily germane to the non-English or non-journalistic writer. "Don't use adverbs," they always say. Why the hell shouldn't I? It's absurd. "Show, don't tell," they insist. Fine for the aforementioned Orwell and Hemingway, but irrelevant to Edith Wharton and Thomas Mann. Freytag's Pyramid? Spare me. Every new book is a leap in the dark. Your project may be singular; you may need to make your own map as your traverse the unexplored territory.

Hard truths? There's one. I know it's a hard truth because I hesitate even to type it. It will insult our faith in egalitarianism and the rewards of earnest labor. And yet, I suspect the hard truth is this: ineffables like inspiration and genius count for a lot. If they didn't, if application were all it took, then everybody would write works of genius all day long. But even the greatest geniuses usually only got the gift of one or two all-time great work. This doesn't have to be a counsel of despair, though: you can always try to place yourself wherever you think lightning is likeliest to strike. That's what I do, anyway. Good luck!

[stormblessed95]

Okay so I’m on my fourth watch of the travel show

It gets better the more you watch, they are just so much fun

They have me smiling from ear to ear the whole way through

I know there is a lot of conversation about the car conversation but seriously, apart from Jungkooks beautiful ‘finally’ (and I’m glad that is in English so we hear it without mistranslation), what struck me upon this watch, is that he could actually mean them being in content together. 

Hear me out, but the kid spent the better part of the first half, and even to a degree still asking in the later half, of 2023 begging to go live with Jimin, inviting him over on lives. Including the bed begging live days after this filming, and now I’m framing it that he was probably thinking they have filmed this show, why can’t they have a live? I know that the show wasn’t going to be aired straight away but I can totally see him going with that thought. 

But it just struck me, he’d been asking and probably denied so many times, whereas Jimin had gone live with Yoongi and Hobi etc during work promotions, but denied JK. This was his olive branch, his two birds one stone, a trip for them to spend time together when free, but also for them to be alone in content (albeit airing a year later atp). If we remember too that they could not leave SK without work and a permit, the chicken and egg, hence the show. Jimin had the time at that point to plan it with the company, it makes sense he pushed it, though I’m sure Jungkook was involved too. 

People are moaning about Jungkooks attitude and they are so wrong and miserable, not to mention they misunderstand him. They guy is glowing with his Jimin, he’s being cheeky and kids around and it’s so beautiful to see it. To see their dynamic, as they are. 

Seeing them say they hasn’t planned another trip in NY, and the Forbes article said this too, they must have thought it a success enough to plan jeju and so on. I think a post from another blogger here also helped frame this for me, bc at the end of the day they talked about and proposed the show, just the two of them, to the company and needed a deliverable product. This involved planning to a degree, scouting locations and a vague idea of activities. They definitely had more freedom than Bv, and they had to rely on their natural chemistry, which is there in spades, but they still had to deliver/ this is where Jimins panic comes in when he is sick, bc he has to power through to make the show work, hence the are you sure? It’s so logical when I think about it all in that framed way. 

And mainly I think this also because they do not present as people who had had a falling out, or massive distance, or had issues, or something more ridiculous people are proposing. I mean logically do we really think Jimin (sensible Jimin) would even think it a good idea to do this if there was bad blood or feelings. Exactly, he would not.  There was no tension there, not that I saw anyway. They just vibe with each other. They present as pretty domestic, in tune and loveable goofballs. 

Also when you think about MS application being a month after this, they had to have seen and spoken to each other, it’s a complete reach to think they didn’t. Also, it’s their habit, Jimin literally said the same sentence in the very brief restaurant scene, that JK says to him in the doc and we know that was a complete fib. Also I feel the way JK looks at the camera in that scene and in the hand holding scene is very telling about how he felt around the cameras at first, especially when Jimin touches his throat, like he hesitated. 

I also hold in mind that at the end of the day we got about 5/10% of their time on screen, the rest is on the cutting room floor, and also probably not even filmed (esp given Jimins condition). Leaving them plenty of time for them. 

Just my thoughts. 

.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

So now we have all the behinds and the show in it’s entirety, nobody can convince me this wasn’t a vehicle in which to establish themselves as a duo and to show their bond.  

The first episode and the behinds cemented this for me, along with the 3rd episode. 

I also want to clearly state I mean this in a positive way, as in the why of their decision to make the show, and it is not in any way negative. If we go back to Jimin saying he mentioned it a while back, doing a travel vlog, it was obviously an idea they knew they both liked and felt comfortable with. It’s something they had also done with the group and by themselves. They know they can travel together and it works.

So then comes the idea of a duo show, just them in theory. However as filmed content it was never going to be just them, let alone the guest, and although they are used to staff and cameras, it’s still invasive to a point, and they know this. I’m sure there is footage that will never see the light of day, the staff said they were worried about editing it, but there is trust there obviously they knew they were in good hands, and they did let their guard down somewhat, at times. 

The behinds actually show more of the staff than the show itself, you can see they are ever present in reality, while they are eating whilst camping they are wandering around, while Jimin films the firefly there is a woman right next to him, whilst they are packing up in Japan, packing in NY, you can clearly see staff wandering and sat around. 

So back to my point, they weren’t ever truly alone alone at times, but this was and is for content, for fans. Let that sink in. Although it was a chicken and egg, as in they wanted to probably travel alone but couldn’t leave SK without a permit for work, because of MS approaching, so this became work. A trade off. So yes, whilst it was a way to spend time together being free (and it’s a testament to them they felt that despite the staff and cameras), it was still agreed content. And truly what I mean by that is there was a reason why, a deeper reason, why they wanted to do this just them. A blogger said it the other day on here but it’s to establish themselves as Jimin x Jungkook. A duo within a band. It had to be them, no one else. It’s about showing the world at large, or really those willing to see and listen, them. 

Less, making up for something gone wrong. Nope, this became a plot device of sorts, one I personally expected, one that fit the narrative they had largely created themselves during chapter 2, especially in early 2023. This wasn’t about fixing a divide, because Jimin would never do that on camera anyway, that’s not his mo. This was a long awaited way to be in content just them. I also say this because I read on twitter an op ot7 who visited the kayak place, and the owner told her that location scouts came out three months prior to filming, that’s around April, this was not last minute, this was planned. They knew extremely what they were doing, and again the last minute narrative became a plot device to explain the show, friends catching up. This is also clear in them mentioning the members a lot in ep1 especially, keeping the ot7 connections. What aired was Jimin saying he missed V, then calling Yoongi, but the behinds have him saying he missed Namjoon, and Hobi. Jin was also mentioned a bit and also JK said he missed the members. Aside from the guest in jeju, the members weren’t mentioned again in such a way. 

In episode 3, Jimin said he was speaking about having a meal all three of them for something to say for the show. This gave a glimpse into the reality, and an understandable one, that they tailored their conversations for the cameras, found that’s interesting/acceptable to talk about. That absolutely makes sense, they aren’t going to talk how they usually would when together in front of us. That goes for the band as a whole really. 

All in all, these things all added together supports my theory that this was about us seeing them, and by that I mean them as a duo, not necessary making amends, or anything so dramatic. The other piles of evidence to support this is the fact that they don’t seem distant in terms of their behaviours, they seem to loose grasp of that in ep2, and never heard of again. Then the fact that they’re inside jokes and the way they know each other so so well is off the charts, that doesn’t come from spending time apart, that’s married behaviour. The way they prioritised each other is evident in all that they did, the activities and food they picked out, they did for each other. They were really out there living their best life, travelling under the guise of work. Love that for them and I for one see them

Hi, anon! I've been meaning to answer this earlier, but as this is a longer ask that touches on a lot of points, it took me a while. Anyway, you mentioned some things that I don't see going around much in terms of jikook "narratives" made by shippers, which is basically the only reason why this ask stood out to me.

The short version, I agree with mostly everything, but I want to address individually some of the points you made.

1. Jimin x Jungkook establishing themselves as a duo. Yes, that certainly became clear with AYS?!, although they had already did that in terms of performing as idols. But with this show, they took one step further. A bold decision, but I see it contextually. And I'm a glass half empty kind of person, so you or others might not agree with me. I think that AYS?! could only be made in the context of this small window of solo projects before enlistment. It was part of Jimin's projects in which Jungkook was brought on board and both of them decided together what to make of it. And the wish had been granted. Do I think jikook as a duo is something that will exist post-military in the context of a bts reunion and subsequent solo paths? Not really. At least not from what I can see now from this position. Once they are all together, the company might suggest to replicate the success of AYS?! with the entire group, or turning it into some dumb ot7 army dream and have the guest gimmick become a regular thing. Have other duos be established. Wasn't their group leader enthusiastic about the idea of units with the most predictable and fanservice-y combinations? I don't trust BH/Hybe and never will. I want and hope to be proven wrong.

2. Anyone who believes that AYS?! was something spontanous that could have been planned in a month or a couple weeks is naive. There's no need to have any sort of industry knowledge to just think a little bit and you can image the amount of work that goes into pre-production. From preliminary talks which would involve getting the idea out and presenting it to the company and the producers, deciding how it's going to pann out, how will it work in the context of jikook's schedules (no, Jimin did not ambush JK in NY, in case a nutcase is reading my blog). Scouting the locations takes a while. Deciding the most suitable place, if it's available during the period in which JM and JK are also available and so on. And from everything we know, both of them were involved (there's even that interview with the show's director?) throughout the process. And what you said about scouting that place 3 months in advance? It tracks, obviously. If it's the type of production that has a substantial budget that will be streamed on Disney+, you bet your ass they didn't do anything last minute.

3. This last point is connected to the second one. I don't subscribe (never did) to this idea that this is truly some show in which the idea of spending time together for a short while, away from album work, is somehow a way to compensate for some perceived distance or not seeing each other and all the implications (read "fiction") that some have come up. I won't go into too much detail because I find it pointless*, but I guess Jimin watching and commenting on Jungkook's wlives as early aa Feb 2023, saying stuff like "my baby eat well" or "I want to tie your hair neatly" or all that ridiculous flirting that happened each time, was basically a big red neon sign that said in capital letters BREAKUP! Such a distance, such an abyss, worse than Mariana's Trench!

Don't get me started on the amount of talks and planning that most likely went into applying for the buddy system. I thought that would shut people's mouths, but I guess it's a case of short memory and some lack of logic (common sense?) Hopefully this doesn't come out as a surprise, but you don't do that with a person with whom your relationship is a bit rocky or has been through a recent rough patch. Unless jikook are masochists and decided to spend 18 months together in an isolated unit near the border. Fun, right?

*This is for everyone else who will read this post. DO NOT take it as an invitation to use my inbox to share your opinions about break ups, breaks, distance, nature of relationship, timelines, etc. Your opinion over an uncofirmed relationship between JM and JK is not better than mine, nor is mine better than yours. Until jikook do a tell-all interview or they give a tour of their home, I don't care. I've heard everything. All the theories. Save yourself the time you'd spend on typing 300 words and then find yourself blocked. It's not worth it.

[bricreative]

Thoughts on Life is Strange: Double Exposure so far (SPOILERS) because I think about this stupid series way too much

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings. Some of it’s good, but I’m mostly just sad and disappointed about the whole thing. I’ll try to keep it just about the game, but I also want to talk about the build up, how the marketing (so far) has mislead fans about certain choices and characters, how fans have been teetering on harassment to the devs, and what I’m hoping for in the chapters 3-5.

I'm sure there are others out there who can articulate these points better than I can and I'll probably repeat said points, but if you want to see a rare ramble from me, here are my thoughts, either in full paragraphs or bullet points ->

EDIT: Leaks are already coming out so half the shit I say in this probably doesn’t even matter 🙃

Early access has been out for more than a week now and I was only able to finish parts of it until I had to go on vacation. Parts of the story were spoiled for me before I got around to finishing the second chapter. So any “ twist” or revelation that did occur wasn’t as exciting as it could’ve been. And that’s mostly on me because I never really feel the need to block words/tags to avoid spoilers, unless I actually cared about said story.

And well, as much as I try to give Deck Nine some grace, the outlook for this game wasn't looking great to begin with…

Like the fucking break up with Max and Chloe?? While it wasn't a total shocker, the marketing has been leading towards that, it still left me heartbroken that this is how it's playing out. I was trying to be hopeful (delusional) that maybe they were going to do the long distance route. I thought that just made the most sense. I thought that’s why they were only releasing the first two chapters.

(I also know it was to get people to buy the ultimate edition, I know, I know)

I can see a route where taking some time apart could make sense given the overwhelming guilt, pain, trauma they obviously faced. But the way Chloe is currently written just feels so ooc? I don’t think she would’ve thrown so much shit Max’s way, especially about her rewind powers. I would think given it's been 10 years after the events of Arcadia Bay, she would trust Max completely. It’s also crazy considering Deck 9 made a whole ass prequel game revolving around Chloe?? And made a cute DLC with Max and Chloe as kids. It’s just baffling me how they’re treating her character.

I wonder what the reason was for not including Chloe more into the story. Did Square not want her in it at all? Did they even attempt to try and bring Ashley Burch back? I figured, they probably couldn’t get her to reprise the role full time, so maybe they opted her for a part time role, or a meaningful cameo. Are they hiding Chloe because they only have Rhianna and they’re afraid of disappointment/ backlash? 

And now we have lines from the original game redubbed by her, so it’s looking more and more like that’s the case. It’ll be Rhianna...

And look, I don’t hate her or her performance in Before the Storm, I’m just not crazy about it. She has some powerful scenes in it for sure, but I do think it is the weakest game of the series. At the end of the day, Ashley will always be Chloe, and she has the best chemistry/dynamic with Hannah Telle.

It doesn’t help that we barely know what happened in between the events of LIS and DE. It’s crazy to me that the writers didn’t even bother to put simple dates on text messages, some journal entries, etc. They have in the previous games, why not now? Are they hiding something or was it just an oversight or lack of care? And don’t get me started on the artwork in this journal....

It’s not bad but it's SO not Max’s style. It’s so cartoony? She’s writing less and less. What would’ve been cool to see is a portfolio of all of her previous work so far. She would’ve had SO much from traveling the country? Such a missed opportunity. AND an actual photo mode, hello?? What we have right now is kinda lackluster

I don't like that this series is becoming a glorified dating sim.The romances that did work in the past were built off of genuine connection and chemistry? They just jump right into this one?? 

While I actually do like Amanda, I can see them working in a BAY route only

Max would not go for a guy like Vinh in any timeline. Holy fuck, he’s so gross

It's just so obvious they had to shoehorn his romance route last minute

At this point, i'm agreeing with the argument that Max is a lesbian rather than a bisexual (even though I love the pattern that all lis protags are bi)

Or better yet, we don't have to go the romance route at all

I know all fandoms are annoying but the way certain fans have been acting towards the official accounts/ developers has been frustrating to witness?? I'm not saying you can't be critical, especially when it's on your own personal posts/accounts, but it's getting to the point where y'all are harassing them for every little fucking thing. I don't know, I just don’t have the energy to pester or harass accounts this fucking much. Don’t yall have better things to do? There are bigger things going on in the world

Focus all of that energy into creating art, writing, etc.

Remember that these characters are made up, it is a game

There’s a difference between thoughtfully criticizing and just plain bashing people

While I do think it’s frustrating, I can kinda understand why Square/D9 decided to be cagey about Chloe’s appearance. They’re walking a thin tightrope right now

There have been issues revolving around leaks even before the official announcement of the game came out AND there are leaks going around as we speak

They went the Last of Us II marketing route and essentially tricked people, yes. It sucks, it’s frustrating, I get wanting to build hype, any press is good press I guess

Maybe Chloe will have a bigger role in the later chapters? I’m more than prepared to eat my words but I’d rather maintain a little bit of hope here

I also think it's important to point out the things that I do like, at least to keep me sane:

The performances, especially from the first chapter, are pretty strong! Particularly from Safi, Max, Amanda, and Moses. Like that performance capture technology doesn't get talked about enough! The level of detail, the expressions, it’s incredible! You don't even see that in AAA games sometimes!

I do love that D9 brings in talent from outside the gaming industry, really makes the performances feel well rounded. True Colors did this very well, especially with Erika Mori

The doppelgänger power that’s being hinted at is SO cool imo. Every time I think that there aren’t any other worthwhile powers they can bring into this world, they surprise me. I’m interested to see where they’ll take it

Maybe they’ll do something fucky with Bay/Bae route. It’s hinted that timelines are overlapping. Maybe something crazy will happen.

What if we encounter multiple Max's (again) maybe another Chloe, were already jumping between timelines

Maybe they’ll bring Rachel back, maybe the doppelgänger ruined Max and Chloe’s relationship. We don’t know!

And look, I love this series. That much is obvious. The brain rot has always been there. I can joke and jest that this new story makes me sad and depressed, (even my playlist that I made is hitting different knowing that they broke up Max and Chloe,) but at the end of the day it's a GAME

I feel like I need to reiterate this for people but the game is still not fully out yet! I, at least, want to reserve some judgment before I fully decide how I feel about the game. Maybe they’ll surprise us, maybe Chloe will show up in the later chapters, maybe there will be a positive twist.

If it doesn’t turn out that way then that’s fine too! There are other games and comics and books to fall back on. There is so much more to this series than just Max and Chloe. I wish more people would realize that and give the other games a real chance

[oncewhenalongtimeago]

Sorry, but I Think I Lost Your Plot pt 8

Pairing: Onesided!Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III x Modern!Fem!Reader

Words: 1,794

Hiccup learns. Or, well, he tries. And then he doesn’t.

Tags: Time Travel, Reader into Movieverse, the earth is round, the earth is flat, quiet moments pt 2, Changewings

<Previous - Next>

“Chores?”

“Yeah, you know, fetch water, deliver parts and do laundry. Clean carts, a bit of herding on the side, I wash down dragons sometimes for a few extra coins. Plus doing all of my stuff,” You picked at the sleeves of your tunic then decided better of it.

“Your stuff.” Hiccup stated.

“Laundry, clean out the hay in the barn, cook, repair the shed, which is really nasty by the way, I hate it, something’s always wrong. Like that.”

“That’s… A lot. And you’re not getting paid? For all of it?”

“Yeah. I am, I mean. I get food and board. Coin, I only get that sometimes. The stables get kind of chilly in the winter, otherwise it’s alright.”

Hiccup looked at you oddly, “No, no, it really is not. You live… in the stables.”

Most Vikings even across clans would take the time to hunker down together during the winter, especially during the devastating season even if they hadn’t yet gotten to the point where everyone had to be ushered into the Great Hall together. You knew at least that much, which was maybe why it came across as odd to Hiccup.

“I mean, yeah? I don't see you getting paid for working in the forge.” You shrugged.

“I guess, well, point, but also I get to build what I want with whatever I want. Which can get kind of… expensive.” You nodded. That made sense enough.

“Well, I guess it is what it is. I can’t really be picky, you know.”

You were both sitting on the hill in front of his house. He’d caught you in between jobs somehow. You always seemed to be busy.

There were a few Vikings below putting effort into rebuilding 

“This is really comfy,” You sighed. While making a delivery for the Chief, Hiccup had come by and the two of you had stumbled into each other, getting whatever he had in his arms spilled all over onto your shirt and sizzled a bit.

It probably had something to do with the cleanup going on. You were just glad you cleaned up fast enough to avoid getting burned.

“It’s my favorite,” He said.

“Really?” You sat with your knees up to your nose, arms wrapped around your trousers, which were salvageable, though your skirt was not. Your arms were donned in red fabric of a familiar shade, which was extremely comfortable despite its scratchy exterior.

“You gave it to me, so…” Hiccup shrugged his shoulders oddly. He avoided looking in your eyes as he spoke.

“That’s awfully flattering.” You said kindly. You could tell why it was. Or maybe you were just extra thankful to be in something dry. Whatever Hiccup had been carrying was very sticky and hard to scrub off, which you had a ball doing, hidden away behind a curtain in their home with a small wash bin and rag. 

You spent the whole time in a rush hoping that Stoick wouldn’t come back early and catch you in the nude, or something, despite the irrationality of it. That would be incredibly embarrassing.

“I’m sure,” Hiccup nodded his assent fiddly, before he gestured with his hands, laughing awkwardly, then staring down at his own knees, “But, you know. So, what brings you up here?” 

You yawned, resting your hand over your mouth, “Well… Package for the Chief, mostly. Also, I wanted to say thank you.”

“Thank you?”

“For helping me out, earlier. I would have died, you know.”

There was some drama earlier, a Dragon attack that had something to do with lucky stones, which you didn’t have a lot of time for. 

You paused running, probably not a very smart move, as you spotted a small group on the other side of the clearing standing far enough apart for you to watch and ogle as someone who you thought was Tuffnut pet the base of a fire tower.

“Oh, well,” Hiccup said, scratching his neck, “It was nothing.”

Hiccup was the one who got you out of the way in time. To not die. You owed him another favor, you guessed. You sighed.

In the time it took for either of you to come up with something new to say, Toothless came and lumbered in from the back. You’d seen him wander off there earlier. He probably spent a lot of time out when he wasn’t stuck like glue to Hiccup’s side. Berk was going through a very rare and treasured heat spell, which the dragons were very much taking advantage of.

“What do you think about?” Hiccup asked, leaning backwards.

You blinked at him, and at the set of bandages peeking out from under his green tunic.

“Not much. What I’m going to do later, what’s for dinner. I think about home sometimes. And… The world is round,” It was a bit random. Admittedly, You usually avoided talking about future your-world things, but you had gotten into a tizzy over a few things earlier with one of the Vikings by the fields. Maybe you were feeling a little peckish about it still.

“What?”

“Yeah.”

“But…”Hiccup raised his eyebrow, squinting quizzically, “The world isn’t round.”

This world, apparently, did not operate on cartoon physics. It would have been a really cruel joke on you if it had, you thought, You double checked. It was just the people. So there was no reason as to why they shouldn’t be able to get it.

“You’re kidding, right? Come on, Toothless.” 

Toothless deadpanned at him, turning around to walk away, his tail ending up smacking Hiccup in the head and arms as he made an effort to protect his face.

“Oh, wow, great, thanks, Bud.”

Hiccup squinted, and waved his arms at his dragon, mock brushing him away.

“See? He agrees.” You grinned.

Hiccup turned to look at you, “That’s my best friend, if you would believe it.”

“Are you sure about that?” You sniped, “Because I’m not so sure about that.”

“I can tell.” He deadpanned, shrugging playfully.

You shook your head. There were more important things to be talking about. Like…

“I don’t understand how you guys fly around all the time and you still don’t know the earth is round,” You snickered.

“It’s not,” He insisted, “Flying wouldn’t change that.”

“It would!” You insisted, “It’s all about perspective.”

You shook your head as one of a pair of vikings down below dropped a large log from his shoulder, causing it to roll off and back towards the other houses.

“You’re up in the air, or somewhere up high, really, and you see that the horizon line is round.” You’d been up to Gothi's enough to be sure, “It’s like when you look really close at a ball or something. And the ball is spinning a lot. It’s physics. Science.”

“What kind of science? The Thorston kind? I find it hard to believe, if that’s the case.”

At some point, you realized that, despite it all, he didn’t actually know a lot about you. Where you came from, what your family was like, if you had one. What you liked to do. You really did have to explain.

You wrinkled your nose at his sarcasm, ignoring it as you decided to go on, “The world is really heavy. Like I said, it also spins. Like when you sit on something soft and it sinks. It works like that for both the top and bottom. It’s Gravity.” You used the English word for it.

There was a thump on the roof above you as a flock of Terrors landed by your feet. Probably one from the group. They tended to spin out of control often, especially if it was breezy out.

“It’s common knowledge where I come from,” You said, 

“Is it?” Hiccup squinted, as if he was seeing you in a whole new light. A whole new, mental light, “Well, I don’t know about the whole round thing, but- What next, are you going to tell me that the sun revolves around Midgard?”

“Also yes,” You interjected, with a vendetta, gesturing with both hands, “Why do you guys always lead with that? Is it really that crazy of an idea? Seriously.”

You glowered at him, “I think you all are busted in the head. Or the lightning scrambled your brain, or something, because I have no idea how you’re seeing this.” 

“What? No,” Hiccup said, “No, I’m perfectly healthy.”

“Yeah,” You snorted, “You guys lack what I would call common sense.”

There was a loud rumbling from back inside the Haddock House. It was definitely Toothless. At least someone had your back. It probably didn’t help that the only ones who agreed with you were the twins.

Hiccup turned back to shoot a nasty look at Toothless, probably forgetting about his bandages. And the burnt skin under.

“I probably owe you another favor, don’t I?” You winced as he jerked back around, cursing. It was kind of silly, and kind of nerve-wracking watching his scrawny shoulders curl in over his stomach. 

“Nah,” Hiccup looked up from his knees and feet, resting on the steps to his home, to you, and then back, trying to hide his wheezing, “This one’s… on the house.”

Your hands hovered over his bak unsurely, worried if you tried to help you might agitate his burns more. You would probably take a trip up to Gothi later and ask if she had anything more to use to help.

“And, well, We’re Vikings.” Hiccup grimaced, “And, hey, I have some common sense, too.”

You stayed silent, giving Hiccup a moment as he gathered himself. You hoped he hadn’t any acid left in his skin. You felt awful about it.

Hiccup sat up steadily, and you made sure to scoot back and give him space as he did. He kept an unhandy smile on his face, the corner of his mouth twitching, eyebrows pushing up as you attempted to make sure he was alright.

Your face fell, molding into something more confused, as he mouth a question under his breath.

“Why did you leave?”

“What?”

“Sorry, I’ve just… Been wondering. What brought you to Berk?” Hiccup brought a shaky hand back up to his neck.

You felt your eyes unfocus a bit.

You guessed it was probably the natural progression of things. You wondered whether you were supposed to come up with something, or just not. You decided on something more square in the middle.

“I don’t know,” You huffed, a little lost, “One day I just started walking and ended up here.”

Hiccup looked at you skeptically, though not without sympathy. You were on an island surrounded by all water, but still. You stood up straight, puffing out your chest.

“Take it metaphorically, if you don’t believe me.”

[cocogum]

The theory behind the sick eliatrope explained.

‼️SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4‼️

LEAVE AT THE WARNING IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN EPISODES 7 AND 8 YET.

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If you’ve been thinking the same thing about this then you’re right.

There’s a high chance that the sick eliatrope is Nora.

This theory started to circulate among the primordial eliatropes when Adamaï explained there was a hole in the deepest part of Abuela’s ocean that looked a lot like an eliatrope portal, especially Qilby’s.

Of course, Yugo immediately assumes Qilby was the one who opened a portal for the necromes but Qilby does not waste any time and straight up tells Yugo that he’s wrong.

And it’s painfully obvious Qilby was being honest but Yugo doesn’t see it.

Qilby had already attempted to destroy the world and the only reason why he hadn’t put his plans into motion earlier was because he was still weak from being stuck in the White Dimension for so long.

Yes, when he created a portal for the shushus, it looked identical to the one Nora and Yugo found in the Sadida kingdom. But that’s just what an eliatrope portal would look like if it was used to travel to another dimension.

Not to mention that when he attacked Toross with the eliatrope dofus, he genuinely looked like he didn’t mean to strike Toross with wakfu.

Therefore, in defense of Qilby, if he was the culprit, he would’ve admitted it a long time ago. The only thing I’m betting about him is that he would have loved to have been the one responsible for this.

So to clear out the problem and see what’s really going on, the three eliatropes and Adamaï, accompanied by Joris and Amalia, all travelled to Toross’ world. When they took a look at the portal that was linked between the two planets, it was finally deduced that it was in fact made by an eliatrope.

However, they also realized that the portal created by this presumed eliatrope had lines of stasis in it which made Adamaï conclude that the one responsible for this was not only guilty but physically sick.

Yugo obviously interpreted Adamaï’s words at face value since he already believes Qilby is sick in the head and does not see the logic behind the fact that Qilby couldn’t have been working with the necromes because of Yugo himself (keeping him in the White Dimension).

Qilby is not the culprit no matter how many times Yugo claims he is.

The actual sick eliatrope is Nora for the following reasons below :

1. Her eliatrope portals are diamond-shaped just like the one that brought them all into Toross’ world.

2. During Nora’s exposition about how she managed to rescue the Eliatrope goddess, we can see how she painfully holds her chest from something. Nora doesn’t specifically explain this part, it is only shown to us but this could’ve been the exact moment when she got infected by the necromes as soon as she landed on Toross’ planet.

3. When she was fighting the rogues in that one mission given to her by her mother, if you pause at the right moment, you’ll only see the purple color flash on her while her weapons remain blue.

All points directly line up with Nora.

She’s the one responsible for the portal leading to the World of Twelve.

But the real question here is how come she doesn’t seem aware of all this?

Throughout the whole time she’s been in Toross’ world, she felt and looked scared, skeptical, and confused.

Some who believe in the theory might’ve deduced that she’s been acting but that doesn’t seem right. The way Toross talks to her doesn’t imply that she’s working for him and we can see how his words affect Nora as she looks completely petrified.

So I came up with three possibilities as to how this happened :

Toross already knew how to make portals because he had his dofus. After eating some of the Eliatrope goddess’ power, he was finally able to fully use his ability properly.

Toross doesn’t know how to make portals but after Nora came into his world, she accidentally got attacked by one of his minions which allowed him to use her energy to make portals.

After consuming Efrim’s energy, he was able to use Nora’s power through Efrim since primordial eliatropes and their dragon siblings share a special bond.

In short, the sick eliatrope is Nora but she is not guilty of being the one to link the two planets together. Toross is the one using her ability.

Because as Qilby said, it’s not just the eliatropes who can create portals. Some others have the ability to use this power in other ways.

[lfghughes]

Stay Forever

a/n: got a little barzy request about moving in and it’s been a long while since i got a barzal request

“Mmm, I don’t want to go to practice.” Mat stirred next to you, his fingertips traveling up and down your spine. You seconded his statement, last thing you wanted was for either of you to leave this bed especially when soon enough your time here would be coming to an end once again. Living in a different city had its challenges. It could definitely be worse but a three hour drive was still rough especially when it was mostly you making the drive.

Not that you were blaming him at all but during hockey season you understood he couldn’t just come and go as he pleased and there was no way that after a game he’d want to drive three hours to your place so you usually made the sacrifice. Again it could be worse but this was still tough. “Are you still planning on heading back home later today?” He asked and you could hear the tone in his voice was slightly on the down side. 

It would definitely be another week before you’d be able to make it back down since you had a few projects you needed to focus on this week and you knew Mat wanted to spend as much time with you as possible. “I’m probably going to head out as soon as you go to practice so I can beat the traffic.” You could still feel his finger tips on your skin as he cleared his throat slightly like if he was nervous.

“I’ve actually been thinking that maybe we should start thinking about maybe you moving in with me. That way you don’t have to drive as much and I mean there’s plenty of space here for you to work and do your own thing.” The idea was beautiful but there was also a big part of it that made you feel anxious. You had lived with an ex before and it clearly hadn’t ended well. Not that you saw yourself and Mat breaking up but living together changed a lot of things. 

You pulled away slightly from his touch and a frown grew on his lips. Immediately you felt the guilt settle in. “I don’t know, I have to think about it. I like my place, you know. I know it’s far but I’m not sure if I’m ready to change my life yet.” Maybe not the right set of words for this moment. “I mean I want to. It’s not that. I just…living together will change so many things and what if it’s not for the better.”

Luckily, Mathew knew all about your previous relationship and he knew how it affected you and the insecurities you had now so right away he knew why you were worried. “It’s going to be a change but not a big one. I mean you’re here pretty much every weekend but hey we can do a slow move in. Whatever makes you comfortable.” His expression had softened and you knew that he would let you take this at your pace which meant the world to you. “I really have to get to the rink, but just think about it. You already have a key and half your stuff is here but whatever you need, I’ll do it.”

With all that being said, Mat slipped out of the bed going off to his practice and leaving you with your thoughts. He had a point and even though it wasn’t ideal you could pay rent on your own place for a few more months until you were sure this was a good idea and once you felt more comfortable you could sign the lease over to someone else. You knew you could trust him but seeing how he was willing to move at a slower pace and the fact that even if you did say no he wouldn’t get angry made it so much easier to make a decision. You took out your phone sending out a quick text to him “What about we try this whole moving in thing next weekend?”

[urhouseisnthauntedurjustlonely]

Hatchetfield & the Real Musical References

That theory of ‘the plays-within-plays foreshadow the next musical’ got me thinking about the real musicals referenced in the Hatchetfield Series and how they could connect to the story. That led to these findings.

CW: Relgion (Godspell), spoilers for the Hatchetfield Series, Godspell & Brigadoon

(I know there are more details I’m missing, as I haven’t seen either musical, but I’m just excited and wanted to share. Wikipedia is my ride-or-die.)

So. Godspell. Or, ‘God-awful’. Or, ‘Gotdamn That Was Bad’.

Y’all…

First, Godspell is mostly based on the Gospel of Matthew. Like Paul Matthews, the very guy who did not like musicals himself.

Skipping to Act II for a moment— there is a scene where…

“Jesus returns to his followers to find them all asleep. He begs them to stay awake, but they all fall asleep again, and Jesus warns them that they will all betray him three times.”

Remember in Act II of TGWDLM, after the song ‘Not Your Seed’, when Alice, Deb, and Hatchetfield Bee are talking to Paul after they killed Bill? And remember when they said:

“Bending countless civilizations to our will, yet, you, Paul, have defied us thrice!”

Insert The Incredibles’ (2004), “Coincidence? I think not!” meme here.

Godspell includes the tale of The Parable of the Prodigial Son, also known as the Parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father.

“The parable begins with a man who had two sons, and the youngest, who is impatient and greedy, asks his father to give him his share of the estate immediately. The father is like, “Y’know what? Fuck it. I’m feelin’ kinda funky today,” and agrees, dividing the estate in half.”

“Upon receiving his portion of the inheritance, the younger son travels to a distant country, where he squanders his wealth through reckless living.”

The younger son gets humbled, he comes back home in shame, blah, blah, blah, lesson learned.

If that’s not Emma Perkins, then I don’t know what is, especially considering she literally inherits land. I’m looking at you, Nightmare Time episode Perky’s Buds!!

And I admit, this is a reach, but the Parable of the Prodigal Son starts in Luke 15:11. Emma’s favorite band is 311. In military time, 3 pm = 15. So, 15:11 = 3:11 pm. This is either a happy accident or an intentional tidbit that managed to work out well.

Similar to the beginning of TGWDLM, it begins with God and the characters breaking the fourth wall and explaining shit via song.

At the end of Godspell, Jesus is crucified, and he is carried off stage by the cast. There has been a lot of controversy over the ending, because the musical does not mention Jesus’ resurrection at any point.

Almost like how in TGWDLM, Paul sacrifices himself, and when we thought Paul was resurrected at the end, he wasn’t. (To put it simply.) And we can’t forget how the cast carries a screaming Emma off stage, and the show ends on a (good) controversial note.

Brigadoon!

Brigadoon starts with these two New Yorkers, Tommy Albright and Jeff Douglas doing that fancy kind of hunting white people do when the men hear music coming from a village nearby. But wait a hot second! There is no village on their map! And yet!! Turns out that village is a special place called Brigadoon. Why is it special? Here’s some WIKI for ya’.

“200 years ago, the local minister prayed to God to have Brigadoon disappear that way it would remain untouched by the outside world, only to reappear every 100 years. All citizens of Brigadoon are forbidden to leave the town, or it will disappear forever.”

Kind of reminds me of the whole ‘no one can ever truly leave Hatchetfield’ thing. So, could Hatchetfield be seen as a mirror of Brigadoon in some sense?

Hm.

There is literally a character named Tommy who ends up falling for Fiona, a lass from Brigadoon. The issue is, he’s engaged to a woman named Jane who he isn’t really that into. Even after he leaves Brigadoon, Tommy still thinks about Fiona.

Tommy is Tom. Jane is Jane. Fiona is Becky. Of course, this isn’t to be taken as they are the Hatchetfield equivalent to that character.

And it turns out, Emma Perkins hates Becky Barnes. Why? Sisterly principle. (Emma knows Tom always viewed Becky as ‘the one who got away’, even after marrying Jane.)

Going back to Paul and Emma!

After after meeting Fiona, Tommy asks the Brigadoon schoolmaster, Mr. Lundie, if outsiders were allowed to stay. He replies:

“A stranger can stay if he loves someone here – not jus' Brigadoon, mind ye, but someone in Brigadoon – enough to want to give up everythin' an' stay with that one person. Which is how it should be. 'Cause after all, lad, if ye love someone deeply, anythin' is possible.”

In TGWDLM, Paul and General MacNamara have that Iconic Conversation which has a similar vibe.

MacNamara: I follow a higher law than any institution could decree, and that is the universal truth of love and the strength of the human heart.

&

Paul: I can’t leave without Emma.

MacNamara: Who’s Emma, Paul?

Paul: A friend of mine.

MacNamara: Friends don’t move my heart, son. Is there a chance at something more?

Paul: […] I’d like there to be. I want there to be.

Shout out to Mamma Mia, and Bill wanting to see a feel good musical with his daughter about a daughter and her three possible fathers.

I stand behind the idea that Alice is Bill’s biological daughter, she’s just white passing. I’d also like to appreciate the fact that Alice’s favorite restaurant is Red Lobster.

I plan on actually watching these musicals soon, that way I can make more in-depth posts, but like I said— this just made me really happy and excited, and I wanted to share it.

Feel free to reblog and add onto this post! Seriously! I love when that happens! Okay, bye!

[all-hail-trudos]

The way Zelda redditors behave like BotW is going to be the template for future titles is absolutely hilarious. They are convinced that Nintendo is done with classic Zelda elements forever. TotK proves it! Never mind that they can barely agree on whether this even deserves to be called a new game or overpriced DLC. Or that Nintendo themselves have said that this was a very big experiment, where they let a team comprised of mostly younger devs run the show, and the director of BotW has actually left the company to go work on Infinity Nikki of all things. I don't know what the future of Zelda is going to look like. I can't see Nintendo just walking back everything they did in BotW. (And they better not. Skyward Sword is the worst mainline Zelda title, and BotW was the exact opposite of the hand holding the series had gotten really bad for). However, we can guarantee one thing for sure. The open-air game concept that specifically defined Breath of the Wild and its direct sequel Tears of the Kingdom is not simply going to be the new template for the series.

I could leave it there with a "because Nintendo said so" but it's midnight and I'm already making bad decisions, so I'm going to go one further and back this up with a second supporting argument. That's not how Nintendo as a company works. That's not how they've ever worked. They stopped doing rational, clear iterative upgrades when they followed up the Gamecube with the Wii. The Zelda series itself has constantly been one of self reinvention. Ocarina of Time is incredibly special in that Breath of the Wild is the first time they've so clearly broken away from the model it set. But when you look at the rest of the series, it's obvious BotW was the biggest experiment, but not even remotely the first. Majora's Mask turned the main gameplay concept on its head by putting everything on a Very. Tight. Timer. When you hit midnight of the third day, that was it. Rewind or die. All your progress was reset except for your sword (iirc), your masks, and your rupees if you put them in the bank (because the banker was a time traveler?). Wind Waker flooded the whole continent and had you sailing around on a boat, using a proto-physics system to fill your sails. The wide open world of OoT was gone altogether, and Princess Zelda didn't show up until halfway through the game (we won't talk about what they did to Tetra). Twilight Princess made the game super linear and made Zelda herself almost secondary to the plot. Actually, TP almost feels like the most direct callback to OoT with the doubling down on horse mounted combat, an art style that looked more like it next to whatever WW was doing (but which would ultimately age a lot worse), dungeons that also felt more directly inspired, and a combat system that was a little less fluid and reactive. But it also had Link temporarily become a werewolf, and gave us an egregiously underappreciated Spaghetti Western shootout that came out of nowhere and was all together too brief. Then Skyward Sword came along, which was the least reinventive of the bunch mechanically, but which did at least try to turn the classic narrative on its head. Also Zelda went from being barely there to being a driving character in the narrative. And she walked so BotW Princess Zelda could run. That said, imho, you can see why they leaned so much harder into experimentation with their next game that nearly skipped a whole console generation, because by SS the series tropes were getting a little too strong. The series was actually drifting into iterative territory, and that's not the typical Nintendo way. Especially not with one of their two core in-house franchises.

(Please don't bring up Pokemon here. I know it's Nintendo's third core franchise. But please remember, Zelda and Mario are solely owned by Nintendo, while Pokemon is at this point is at the center of an entire corporate conglomerate, which Nintendo is only part of).

I get that some people didn't enjoy BotW. I can sympathize with the people who did not want more like it and who were consequently less than thrilled by TotK's arrival. But bemoaning the fall of the franchise and saying Nintendo is going to be like Ubisoft, EA, and all the other trend chasing studios out there is really going too far. Nintendo has spent too many years baffling investors to start doing that now. Yes, Tears of the Kingdom exists. No, it's not proof of the trend. It was a planned sequel (itself an enormously rare concept in Zelda history). You can't make a planned story and gameplay sequel to a game and just throw away the concept you're following up on. That would be an enormously bad idea. (Worse, even, than trying to make your sequel game stand on its own for new players and erasing nearly all memory of Link from the same people he helped save. I love TotK so much, but I am not blind to its flaws, what few there are).

ALSO yes Echoes of Wisdom has Zelda stacking beds into a diy staircase. NO that doesn't mean we're seeing a return of this apparently beloathed systems-based physics gameplay in 2D fashion. If there were physics, the beds would have fallen over. That's like calling Minecraft or Dragon Quest Builders a physics based exploration game just because they have objects you can stack. That is the dumbest take I've seen come out of a community that is profoundly skilled at coming out with dumb takes.

[thenightfolknetwork]

Hello,

I need help. Or maybe I don’t. Maybe I need someone to tell me to stop worrying? Oh let’s be honest I have no idea what I need, that’s why I’m writing in.

See, I have a perfectly ordinary job during the week. I work in an office. It’s nice. Spreadsheets, cake on birthdays, quarterlies. It’s a boring existence but my afternoons and evenings are my own and the pay’s good. Sapio-Liminal relations are improving, but by bit. Honestly I’m just impressed my coworker got the time off when they wound up expecting in two of their three dimensional shifts.

So that’s during the week and you’d be forgiven for thinking I’m just about the most sapio a sapio can be. My liminal properties tend to activate on Friday afternoons, when I- travel.

Teleport?

Move. I move. To the same general area of a whole new plane of existence. It’s a known family trait- I’ve got a grandfather who became king of a small nation in my secondary plane, and my sister’s the apothecary for the capital city. She sells the really good potions, by the way, so if you’re in the area of Spirits and Sundries or someone gives you a radiant quest to bring ingredients to Amaranthia in the Bronze Quarter, just be polite and she’ll fix you right up.

Ah, but this isn’t about my sister’s business, it’s about me and what I do. See, this shift is so regular that I went and got myself a weekend job, just to have something to do. So if you’re sent to the Caves of Madness just north of the Foresaken Forest, be ready for the Riddle Master!

I’m in the first room of the dungeon, just after you pass the initial key puzzle. I keep my uniform in a chest in there, and there’ s a nice break room off the back. I like the work a lot! I see lots of new people and I’m always gathering riddles- there are some chat standards but I like to mix it up sometimes. They aren’t supposed to be hard, or else what’s the point of trying to conquer a dungeon? So sometimes, I admit, I give hints. There’s always the rude adventurer who attacks me first but when you take a job like this you don’t die, it’s in the fine print. I don’t like cleaning the blood off my stuff, though. Takes ages.

Anyway now that we’ve walked halfway around the block, my point.

I look very plain. Humanoid, two arms, two legs, a beard. It’s never bothered me but I am very distinctly ordinary which tends to be recognizable and last weekend I was in the village during my break and I saw a coworker. Not from this side, not from the Caves of Madness, no. It was Tina, from accounting. She was picking up a quest by the stocks.

And I realized, she might wind up at the Caves of Madness. She might make it through the puzzle door and be faced with the Riddle Master only to realize this Riddle Master is Jeff. From the office.

I don’t have hangups about my two worlds meeting- it’s hard to, when your sister pops in for Christmas still dressed for the Winterscratch Festival, or your brother’s filing out taxes for a whole kingdom over lunch. I just really like my job in the Caves, and I like to think I do it well. Our rating as a starter dungeon’s quite high, and I’m proud of that. What if my transdimensional adventurer coworkers encounter me and just- aren’t impressed? That’s not the Riddle Master, that’s Jeff. He has a rubber band launcher on his desk. His mug says ‘party naked’ with a balding chicken on it and he won’t let HR throw it away.

I don’t want to disappoint adventurers, especially not ones who work with me in my primary plane. I also don’t want to cause harm to my dungeon’s reputation. But aside from the whole ‘moving planes’ thing I am utterly dull. What do I do if my performance isn’t enough to make up for not being fantastical like Mordrath the end room boss or Reyala the sidequest kobold queen?

Is it okay to just be Jeff the Riddle Master?

Thank you for writing in, reader. Your letter serves as an excellent example of quite a common genre of letter we get through the inbox here at the Nightfolk Network and I think it might be rather illustrative for other followers.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but what you've done here is make up a scenario in your head based on the worst possible interpretations of everyone involved, and then worried yourself sick about that scenario coming to pass.

This may sound a little blunt, but please understand, I don't mean that dismissively. I only hope to offer you a little perspective, and to help you come to a more accurate understanding of the situation as it actually stands.

You enjoy your work in the dungeon, and are clearly doing a good enough job to keep your managers happy. None of your previous visitors have expressed any disappointment at your relatively mundane appearance, and it hasn't been an obstacle in the job so far.

Perhaps your co-worker will end up in your dungeon. Perhaps she'll make it to your section, and perhaps she'll recognise you. So what? I don't see any reason why she should be any more likely to be disappointed by you than any of your other visitors.

And even if she is disappointed, that doesn't have to mean anything to you. She's a co-worker, not a treasured friend whose opinion could make or break your self-esteem. You owe it to her to be a conscientious, respectful colleague. That's all. What you get up to outside of work, and whether she enjoys your efforts, is irrelevant.

You haven't let down your dungeon so far, and I see no reason to believe you will in the future. Stop borrowing trouble from the future, and concentrate on having fun and being the same old Jeff the Riddle Master you've always been. He seems plenty interesting to me.

[For more creaturely advice, check out Monstrous Agonies on your podcast platform of choice, or visit monstrousproductions.org for more info]

[the-new-ribbon]

I've Been Loving You For Quite Some Time (and it's about time we do something about it)

synopsis: Gwyn Berdara and Azriel Night have been friends since their senior year of college. Years later they find themselves both working at Moonlight University. They've strictly stuck to being friends, but when they travel to Nesta and Cassian’s elopement, the last thing they ever expected was to wind up drunk and standing at the altar of a drive-thru wedding chapel.

word count: 1664

read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54767785

or below the cut.

Gwyn

The smell of luggage and coffee filled the Velaris airport. The chiming of the arrival and departure boards were white noise for Gwyn as she sat at Gate 30 with her nose in the latest Sellyn Drake novel. She knows she should be grading the essays for her Romantic Literature class, but she’s on vacation for the weekend and her best friend is getting married. The grades can wait.

Plus there’s Azriel sitting next to her and she knows she won’t be able to get any grading done with him there. His black button up shirt hugs his arms perfectly, the swirls of ink drawn on his arms and chest, even slightly on his neck drive her crazy. Especially when the whole ensemble is paired with those glasses. Round silver frames, rounder than glasses lots of other people in Velaris have. And they’re a thousand times sexier.

Flight 1456 with service to Adriata will be boarding in ten minutes. Again, Flight 1456 with service to Adriata will be boarding in ten minutes.

With that announcement, Gwyn tucks her bookmark (a white ribbon) into the spine of her book, luckily she just finished a chapter so it was the perfect stopping point. Though it wasn’t exactly like she was comprehending what she was reading, the thoughts of Azriel flooded her brain like a hurricane in the Summer Court side of Prythian.

“Az,” she whispers to the handsome man, one of her best friends, the best man in Nesta and Cassian’s wedding, and her crush. “You’re saving me a seat right?”

Unfortunately, Gwyn was in the middle of teaching about Pride and Prejudice and didn’t check into her flight soon enough and got stuck in the C boarding class while Az was in the A boarding class. And there’s a chance they won’t be sitting next to each other, even if Az tried to save her a seat.

Azriel looks up, “Actually, I upgraded both our tickets to first class.” he tells her, a small smile forming on his lips. “I thought it would be nice if we could sit together. Plus they have really good snacks.”

The flight was only a few hours but to see Azriel put in work to make sure she would be comfortable, it meant more to her than he would ever know. Warmth spreads across Gwyn’s face and she notices it on Azriel’s face too. Gwyn knows they’re just friends, but she also knows she has a giant crush on Az too. Could Az have a crush on her too?

No, no, why would he have a crush on her? There’s no reason or evidence that he would feel that way, at 

“You didn’t have to do that, Az. I would have been okay sitting by myself.” 

“Okay, that’s the key word, Berdara. You wouldn’t have been okay. Not only would you have gotten a middle seat, there would have been strange men on either side of you. Now, you get your own seat, fancy coffee, and a nice view.” of me, was something he chose not to say but Gwyn knew he was thinking it, she saw the glimmer in his eyes. It was always there when he said something that could be perceived as flirty. She also pretends not to notice the butterflies taking flight in her stomach. 

He takes a moment to push the glasses up his nose. The rings on his fingers glisten in the sunshine peeking through the floor to ceiling windows. She notices his throat bob as he swallows and he clears his throat when he turns to face her.

Did he catch her staring? But there’s no time to think about it because another chime rings through the gate drawing everyone’s attention.

Any first class passengers flying to Adriata, please line up at the desk, you’ll be boarding in just a moment.

“Alright, ready Berdara?” 

Azriel’s scarred hand slides across Gwyn’s back, goosebumps and sparks shoot across her body.  “Yeah, yeah.”

The weight of her teal bag weighs her shoulder down, a slight pain shooting down her arm. Azriel must have been able to tell because his ring covered fingers attached to those tattooed hands Gwyn stares at too much (though she’d never admit it outloud) reach out and grab the bag off her shoulder.

“Az, I can carry my bag.” Gwyn says, reaching to grab her bag away from him. “You already have yours, you don’t need to carry mine.”

“Gwyneth, let me be a gentleman and carry your bag. I know you have at least five books in there, plus all your clothes and toiletries.” there really wasn’t a reason to pack a huge suitcase for a two day trip, Gwyn thought, but now there’s a small tinge of regret bubbling in her chest.

Sparks fly in her chest at him saying her full name. She often hates when people call her Gwyneth, but there’s something about Azriel saying her name that makes butterflies take flight in her stomach and turns her knees wobbly. He also knows her way too well. She did in fact have five books in her bag. Though there was no way she would be able to read them all over the weekend, she liked that there was a variety in case she didn’t know what mood she’d be in – therefore affecting the genre or tropes she’ll want to read. 

“Azriel,” she says, mimicking the tone Az used just moments ago. “If I give you this, can I buy you a drink when we get to Adriata?”

There’s a spark in Azriel’s eye as he looks down at her, she crosses her arms over her chest, not backing down. She may not know it yet, but Azriel Singer would do anything for Gwyneth Berdara.

“Deal.” He holds out his right hand, waiting for her hand to grab his. A challenging look spreads across his face.

Gwyn’s hand slides into Az’s, and they try to ignore the glowing string they both feel, unaware the other feels it too.

She slides the bag off her shoulder, handing it over to him. The swirls of black ink poke out from the cuffs of his shirt. 

“Thank you,” she tells him. 

“Next!” the gate director says through the overhead speaker. Gwyn jumps and Az softly laughs as he places a hand on her lower back, and she leans in closer to him.

It’s romantic. Two friends in such close proximity, bodies brushing against one another and the warmth of Azriel’s hand on Gwyneth’s back. She wonders what the people around them are thinking. 

There’s a higher chance they’re minding their own business, the stress of a flight taking over their thoughts, and not the actions of two strangers in an airport on a Friday afternoon. But as Gwyn looks around as Azriel scans their tickets, she sees a few people looking at them.

Could it really be possible that they look like a couple to the outside world? Not just the imaginary life that constantly plays in Gwyn’s head.

The first class cabin has light blue, almost teal, lights illuminating the floor from under the seats which are separated by a small wall. Not like she would say it out loud or make any expression, but a small bit of disappointment hit her. What if she wanted to hold Az’s hand? There isn’t that option anymore. 

At least the flight was only a few hours.

*~~~*

Azriel

Azriel tapped a small beat on the table in front of him. He could have been grading assignments for his computer science and security courses but like Gwyn, he’s now on vacation and could torture his students a little while longer by making them wait for their grades. He was not nearly as fun as Professor Gwyneth Berdara. Or as beautiful, or as smart.

Looking over the barrier, Azriel caught a glimpse of Gwyn with her nose stuck in the bodice ripper of a novel, the latest of award-winning Sellyn Drake.

The smile on her face is small enough that others around her might not notice but he does. He notices the way her cheek bones are slightly raised and notices the light pink on her cheeks.

What are you reading, Gwyneth?

He thought about taking the book from her and reading it. He knows plenty of things about Gwyn but taking this book would give him insight on what she likes, ways to help him show her he has feelings for her. This could be what is needed to get her to fall in love with me, Az thinks.

“Hey Gwyn,” he whispers once.

No response.

“Gwyn,” he says again.

Once again, no response.

“Gwyneth.”

“Azriel, if you don’t stop saying my name, I’m going to hit you with this book.” Gwyn’s eyes don’t leave the pages of her book. 

“Can I have one of your books to read, please?” 

That gets Gwyn’s attention. The book closes, nothing marking the page or spot where she stopped reading. “You want to read one of my books? I didn’t think a broody, mysterious man like yourself would be interested in romance books.’’

“Today I am looking to broaden my horizons when it comes to reading. And you are one of my very best friends so I know I can trust you.”

Azriel trusts her with more than just books. He trusts her with everything, and one day he hopes that she’ll accept his heart because she’s the only one he trusts enough to give it to.

“Sure.” She reaches down to her bag and grabs one of her books. Their fingers brush as he grabs the book and he feels his stomach drop. “I’ve read this one before so there’s some annotations and post-its in it in case I ever want to go back and reread some of my favorite scenes. Feel free to ignore them.”

Her favorite scenes are highlighted. This is perfect. 

Operation: It’s Time We Do Something About Our Love begins now.

[heroictoonz]

Thoughts on season 17?

So I talked briefly about s17 last night in a 2am haze here are those rambles but I'll try to give a whole debriefing on my opinions here (spoilers ahead obvi)

So, honestly, going into s17 I was very skeptical. I hate s16 with a passion even rewatching it last night to do this little 'finally finishing the show' thing I'm currently doing. I also have heard a lot of people talk about how Tucker was done dirty in these ending seasons. And I'm the kinda guy that does his best to hold of on having opinions on stuff I haven't personally watched cause I just don't think anyone can realistically have a strong opinion just based on other peoples thoughts and words. Buuuut it still didn't put much hope in me that was for sure lol

Going in though I was, admittedly, pleasantly surprised. It wasn't, like, amazing but it didn't suck! And it was FAR better than s16 and at this point that's all I can ask for lmao. The first thing I wanna talk about is, obviously, Tucker (lol) and his whole thing in s17.

So, like most RVB seasons, s17 is the continuation and end of of the time travel arc thing so it's coming off of s15 and s16 but mostly s16. Now, I'm actually gonna go ahead an preface all this with saying I fucking HATE time travel in media it almost always gives me a headache and I will talk about that at some point but I wanted to get that out of the way here.

SO Tucker. My guy of all time the dude of always and forever. He got probably ones of my favorite arcs of all time for a character especially in RvB seconded only to like the Freelancers. And I've talked about how much s16 basically turned me off the show for a LONG while and most of that was because of how they were writing Tucker.

S17 is not nearly as bad here. So they actually give a reason to his weird ass behavior in s16 and where I don't think it was perfectly executed it made it a lot more bearable for me, honestly. It put more context as to why his personality did almost a complete 180. It also gave me the time to really pick apart what they were clearly trying to do with him. Like having him work through his masking he does for his insecurities and still processing the whole hero arc he got a few seasons back. That's all super interesting I just do wish they'd have done it better.

But I will say; TUCKER IN THE LABYRINTH? TUCKER IN THE LABYRINTH??? FUCKING HELLO???? Like. No one said anything in the episode really. But like. My brother in christ he had a panic attack and then passed out on the fucking floor cause he watched his friends disappear and didn't know what to do or how to get them back. LIKE OH MY GOD??? Like Chorus we saw him get pretty frantic about the others being 'taken' by the Federation. So he gets pretty obsessive when someone is missing it seems but for his greatest fear that the Labyrinth used to try and get him to kill himself was juts? A fear of being alone??? That's insane. Like lots of people fear being alone! Lots of people fear their friends and family leaving them! That's normal ish enough. But for Tuckers fear to be so fucking strong that the AI believed it was enough to kill him?! DUDE WHAT? THATS INSANE! IT MAKES ME ACTIVLLY CRAZY WHAT THE HELL! I think blowing up is the only way I can cope with this thanks

Also, speaking. Of Tucker. UM THE TIME FRAGMENT HE HAD TO FIX? THANKS. THANK YOU. THAT WAS SO PAINFUL. THAT WAS FUCKING FOR ME PERSONALLY. THEY DID THAT SHIT FOR ME. No joke that happened and I fucking scrambled out of my bed and ran to my qp's room like STARRRRR and I'm over here like climbing into their bed and half to tears about to sob like a clown just like "STAR STAR THEY DID THE THING THEY DID THE THING ITS FRECKLES SHAKE STAR STAR HE HAD TO RELIVE FRECKLES SHAKE STARRRRR" and they're like "... yeah?" (<- They have seen like two seasons of this show and have no idea what the fuck I am on) BUT LIKE DAMN HIM HAVING TO SABOTAGE HIS OWN TEAM TO MAKE IT TURN OUT THE WAY HE NEEDS IT TO FIX THE TIMELINE. FUCKED UP. ESPECIALLY TO LEARN HOW FUCKING SCARED HE IS OF SHIT LIKE THAT EXACT SITUATION HAPPENING? FUCKING AWEFUL I LOVED EVERY SECOND IT WAS AMAZING BEST DECISION SINCE SLICED BREAD HOLY FUCK!

So, uh, yeah they made up for s16 at least for me :)

ANYWAYS. Other parts I loved: so like, fr? The time travel in this season wasn't as bad as other shows. It was p easy to grasp and the whole "reliving events to fix those points in time" actually made more since than most bullshitted time travel plots (I'M LOOKING AT YOU NINJAGO SEASON 2 EPISODE 6 WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME. IM LOOKING DIRECTLY AT YOU) so I did really appreciate that. Also them jumping through time like they were doing especially when Donut was with Wash? FUCKING AMAZING. It was like genuinely hysterical them continuously going back to the point where he shoots Donut and Donuts like WHY DO I KEEP DOING THIS??? It's great peek comedy especially when its Wash that brings them back to that moment n hes like oh fuck im so sorry its GREAT

ALSO MORE OF THE FREELANCERS !!!! I LOVE THEM!!!! I love seeing our silly guy Wash interacting with the other Freelancers. Wash and Donut in this season were literally perfect. I loved them befriending each other and being silly together. Donut and Wash adventures are honestly the best part of this season actually.

Also WASH AND CAROLINA THIS WHOLE SEASON OH MY GOD. OHHH MY GOD. They make me so insane this season watching both how they started and then how they had like their mini breakup but came back together CAROLINA CALLING HIM HER BROTHER FUUUUCKKKK ITS SO EVERYTHING TO ME MAN THEY ARE FUCKING FAMILY DAMNIT

Speaking of family DONUT FINALLY GETTING RESPECT FROM THE REDS N BLUES! HOLY SHIT!! I've always hated how sidelined Donut got cause I love him I think he's great. But like, they pretend like he's so forgettable or not even there. And having TUCKER learn his character development in this season from DONUT and him and Wash telling ppl like no assholes listen to Donut he knows what he's talking about he can lead us THAT FUCKED ME UP THAT WAS SO GOOD ILL BLOW UP

I do, however, wish that Donut had more self respect. The whole "they may hate me but theyre till my friends!" bit was kinda not great LIKE if it had come in AFTER some of the stuff between him and Wash or him n Tucker then that would be fine but idk it felt weird that Donut chose the reds n blues over Chronos in s16 finale to me like it would make more sense if he was like nah fuck BOTH yall but we still gotta save the planet for me at least and then coming around like woah wait yall do care about me? n the apologies n shit

Speaking of apologies fucking Wash being like "you are all going after him and saying youre sorry" was so funny hes such a dad

HMMMM ALSO CAROLINA'S BIT IN THE LABYRINTH!! THAT WAS ALSO SOOO GOOD not to be insane but when she talks about having people in her life and that makes her stronger the camera is specifically showing Tucker and Wash behind her and this is where I blow up I just explode I cannot cope WAH

There's like just so many good character moments like with Grif and Kai in her Labyrinth god that was so so so good. And Huggins and Grif was also the perfect of all time as always. Huggins and Grif are so good I love them.

I will say another negative admittedly was how hard Kai had it out for Tucker like when they were trying to snap him out of the time thing and out of the Labyrinth idk like I'm sure it was all for laughs but it felt like when they had their talk that things were gonna be better for them like as friends obvi not as an item since she shut that down. But then like idk it felt kinda off to me but also the whole s16 thing just made me SUPER put off on any Kai and Tucker stuff in canon material. I LOVE the idea of them being friends I used to hc Tucker being super super close w both Grif sibs and I personally still do! But the show eh idk hard to explain ig lol

the TLDR is i liked it! it wasnt perfect but it was waaaay better than s16 and i had a good time either way !

[kanerallels]

Okay here are my many, many thoughts on Jedi Survivor. I'll keep the spoilers beneath the cut, so all who venture forward have been warned!

The way the game started out was so fun!! The stealth heist! The crew members Cal was teaming up with! Being on CORUSCANT of all places!

I really, really love the gameplay over all. It felt like they took the last game and just improved these tiny little details that I remember from the first one. Tiny things that would seem stupid but also made the game play that much smoother!

KOBOH MY BELOVED IT'S SO MASSIVE SO BEAUTIFUL SO GORGEOUS I LOVE IT THERE VERY VERY MUCH

Also I don't know who decided we should get Fast Travel but I would die for them

I'll probably make a separate post about this, but Cal introduced BD-1 to almost everyone he met-- ALMOST. Not Dagan, and not a couple other people that it was clear he didn't trust. And I for one LOVE that detail

Jedha was so fun other than the fact that I almost died every fifteen seconds

CERE!!!!!!!!! AND MASTER CORDOVA!!!!! WORKING TOGETHER!!!!! WITH THE HIDDEN PATH!!!!!

The Merrical was *chef's kiss* absolutely amazing. They are so April and Andy from Parks and Rec I love them

As a fan of the High Republic books, I thought the Nihil references, along with Dagan Gera and Santari Khri, were pretty neat! He was a fun villain to fight

I really really loved... pretty much all the Greez content? How happy he was to see Cal, and the fact that he had a room set aside for him, and the fact that he ventured back out into the fight just to keep Cal safe. I was mostly neutral on him during JFO, but Battle Scars made me really, really love him, and this game definitely built on that! Also I love that he named his saloon after his grandma (I think?)

Rayvis was an interesting villain! I liked him a lot, especially the final battle with him. They did a good job developing his character

Speaking of villains... I do be feeling some emotions about Cal's fight with Masana Tide. I'm a redemption arc girlie at heart, what can I say? But I see why they did what they did

RICK THE DOOR TECHNICIAN MY BELOVED

THE PONCHO!!!!!!!! THERE WAS A PONCHO!!!!!! I GOT TO WEAR MY BOSS BATTLE OUTFIT TO THE FINAL FIGHT!!!!! IT WAS AMAZING

That one scene where the whole crew was at the campfire together and for like five minutes it felt like everything was going to be okay warmed my heart so much

Yeah I don't remember what happened after that (obvious lie)

I like the new open world features, and the bounties you get to hunt, and the customization and stuff! And those Force tear things are terrifying, but I've completed two of them, and plan to do more as time goes on!

Kriff. Okay I gotta talk about the Horrors at some point. Thanks to my lack of self control, I'd seen some spoilers and knew that Bode was gonna betray us. I didn't know about Cordova (sad) and I didn't know about Bode's secret (SO MUCH SHOCK THAT WAS AN AMAZING PLOT TWIST)

I will say, Cere's final battle against Vader was SO FREAKING COOL IT WAS AWESOME PLAYING AS HER

I also love the fact she set Vader on fire. It's ironic

AULSDKFJLSDKJFLSDKJFLSDKJF AND HER LAST WORDS REALLY JUST SHOT ME IN THE CHEST I'M FINE OKAY I'M FINE (more lies)

Uhhh the Tanalorr plot line was pretty cool! I like the idea of there being somewhere safe from the Empire, to prevent Cal from being killed for plot convinience

Bode's betrayal... yeah I'm not gonna talk about that. I'm not ready, and honestly I have an objectively awful take on the whole situation that no one will like

OKAY THE SCENE WHERE BD-1 REUNITED WITH CAL AFTER HE CHASED AFTER BODE AND JUST LAUNCHED HIMSELF INTO CAL'S ARMS I DON'T THINK ENOUGH OF YOU GUYS KNOW THAT I WOULD DIE FOR THIS DROID

The part where BD-1 was going to scan the trontoshell, and Cal called him BD and THEN BD-1 like he was his mom, full naming him into safety. I love it so much

OH ALSO BD AND KATA'S DYNAMIC IS SO HECKING CUTE

(can you tell I love BD-1?)

I also really, really loved Merrin's entrance. Ten out of ten, the only thing I would change is that Cal should have immediately proposed

Oh! And Merrin and Kata's relationship is so fun I really really like it

Ummm yeah I think I've addressed everything there is to talk about (the most obvious lie yet) so yeah! The brainrot is still strong with me so I might end up posting some screenshots and more thoughts later on!

[imagine-silk]

Hi! I’ve got a request if you’re still doing fallout 4 ones. Can we have our companions reaction to a SoSu who affectionately treats synths, especially their synth companions, as their grandchildren given most of them were made with Shaun’s DNA?

Like checking in on them a lot, making sure they’re taking care of themselves, being a bit overprotective given the lose of their spouse and Shaun, etc.

》Very cute. I've actually seen a comic that covered this topic kind of by nimblerscout here.

》I'm gonna retcon the plot a bit so the player knows they need to get to the Institute but needs to find a way in. So they know what a synth is and where they technically land on their family tree.

【Cait】 "Should I care? All I'm hearing is there a lot more people on the planet."

At first she doesn't really care, the act is genuine at that point. But when she sees how well you treat them and almost baby them she gets a bit jealous. No one ever did that to her, even when she was young. She will never admit to it, not even if you tried to torture it out of her. If you fawn over one of your grandkids in front of her she'll roll her eyes and look away pouting. Sometimes she'll think about if she's a synth so she can get the same treatment.

【Codsworth】 "Just so you know, I don't expect to make five-hundred lunches everyday."

He supports the idea to a reasonable degree. He loves the idea of you having grandchildren. Maybe you have a little more than the average nuclear family but that's they charm of it, wouldn't you say. That being said he will not allow you to house them all, there's hundreds of them. They can visit but only a few at a time and no more than four can live with you, not including Shaun, he will always make room for the young master.

【Curie】 "Oh my! A gift? Thank you. What a lovely thought."

When she gets her new body you immediately treat her as family. Not that you didn't treat her good before it's just different. And she loves the way you make her feel, absolutely loved and pampered. She doesn't really see anything you do as weird or questions it because you are technically right, she does come from your DNA one generation removed. With her new emotions you help her express what exactly she's feeling and try to give her positive emotions to understand first by giving her gifts or asking what she's working one and allowing her to talk your ear off. She's also the one that is most comfortable calling you grandpa/grandma.

【Danse】 "Good boy."

He was very confused when Dogmeat kept smelling him and basically fell in love with him immediately. Not that he ever really complained about it, he actually got very attached to him. If you were traveling with him Dogmeat would stick to him like glue. After he found out why and that you never told him it fundamentally broke something inside him. You knew and that's why you always tried to steer him to a different path. Your love was not only conditional but irreplaceable and would never stop. Unable to turn to anyone else he leaned into your love, knowing what it meant now. He can't remember the last time someone treated him like a child, not even in his earliest memories.

【Deacon】 "That's better than anything I could come up with."

He thinks it's funny... up until you give him the details about your son and spouse. He'll try to joke on the subject and shows you around the Railroad HQ, introducing who's your grandkids and who are just regular people. Because you have such a personal stake in synths well-being he has no doubt about where your loyalties lie. If you want to keep it a secret he won't tell a soul. You wanna tell the whole Railroad he'll get the equivalent of popcorn ready to watch the whole thing go down. He will also help you deal with Desdemona by stalling her so you can spend as much time with your son as you can.

【Dogmeat】 Sniffs before letting out a happy bark.

He's noticed how you are more protective of some people verses other, and he can tell the difference with how they smell. He can smell if someone is a synth or not which outs a lot of people as a side effect. To make up for it he is extremely protective of them and will go to bat for them as much as he does for you.

【Hancock】 "These are our new brothers and sisters. Give them a warm welcome.

As much as he didn't like the Institute after they were gone and the synths were displaced he had no issue with them, quite the opposite. He is more than willing to integrate them into Goodneighbor safely when news spread that the Institute was gone. Everyone is welcome in all shapes and sizes. When he sees you doting on them every time you visit he laughs. When you tell him they are your grandkids he laughs even more and encourages your behavior. The idea of you having nothing but love for freaks and weirdos makes him happy. You love the residents both old and new so he's all for it.

【MacCready】 "Grandkids? I mean, I guess you could call them that. I'd go for 'clones one generation removed' but whatever you say."

At first he doesn't understand why you even care for them in the first place. Sure they have your DNA but can you even call them your family. Once you explain exactly what happened he imagined if his son grew up and had kids he'd probably kill for them. Still, his son would never have hundreds of kids but he can kind of understand it. If he spots one of them he'll also help them knowing you'll probably pay him for it, or if you already have a close relationship with him because he knows it will make you happy.

【Nick】 "I'm not even sure we come from the same branch. Got a bit too many holes in me, if you know what I mean."

As far as proving you have the same DNA he doesn't really care about that in the slightest. If it makes you happy to believe that he's fine with it. But do not treat him like a child. He'll humor you most days and will allow you to go out of your way to help and protect him but he draws the line at patronizing him. He's mentally older than you and has to deal with weirdos and bigots all the time, don't add to that list of people that annoy him. But if you wanna crack a joke or two about it that's fine by him. Sometimes he even finds it funny.

【Piper】 "You knew?!"

You don't tell her about what Dogmeat does and what it means, you tell her it's just something he does that you can't explain. After you find the Institute expecting your son to welcome you with open arms you find out he's dying. So you spend what time you can spare with him as he slips away inch by inch. Piper doesn't know anything about what you're going through with him though and thinks the only reason you haven't destroyed the Institute is because your little boy is still in there, that you still need to find him or gain a way to access him. When she does find out she's pissed. When you've finally dealt with the Institute, after your son died, you decided to tell her. She doesn't stay mad for very long because you did follow through and ended their reign of terror.

【Preston】 "Can you... maybe help me figure out where to place them?"

He does and doesn't understand. He cares about the hundreds of synths that were displaced and you had a direct cause in that happening. Of course you felt a responsibility to them. But to treat them all as your children was strange to him, even more so when you had a hard time choosing where they should go. They couldn't stay in one settlement, there were too many. He regrets ever going to you to help decide this, you were taking a long time because 'you didn't want to choose favorites between your grandkids'. He ended up taking care of it and watched you say bye to every single one.

【X6】 "Could you refrain from touching me? No, I am not embarrassed, you are dirty."

He tries to avoid your fawning and doting as much as he can, especially while the Institute is running. If you don't listen to him he will eventually get annoyed enough to smack your hand away and tell you to stop again. But after a long period of time he just doesn't comment on it hoping you'll stop one day. You don't. When the Institute is gone and he gets stranded on the surface he better understands where you're coming from and will allow you to dote on him. But he will never allow you to protect him. He will always put himself between you and danger, forcefully if he needs to. You could talk him into most anything, a family picture, give him gifts, in private you can even get him to call you grandpa/grandma. Only in private.