#there are at least 3 versions (depends on what you count as version) and they don't even care to play ONE

[this-charming-primevalmusic]

EXACTLY

one big thing i think people outside fandom (like, all fandoms, fandom in general, not any particular one) tend to misunderstand is they know it's a subculture of people who are weirdly deeply invested in fictional media, and they hear about drama caused by people in those subcultures being unhinged in not-fun ways, and they think the unhingedness comes from the fact of being overinvested in works of fiction.

which is a natural assumption, but in my experience that's not really the case? like in my experience the drama llamas in fandom are usually not the ones who are just genuinely very deeply into the fiction. i've known people who are basically thinking about star trek or x-men comics or supernatural pretty much 100% of their free time and ime that type of person is usually very nice and surprisingly functional in their regular life. when someone's a constant nexus of fandom drama it's usually not that they are obsessed with the actual work of fiction the fandom is about, it's at least one of the following:

what they're obsessed with is not the source material but their unhealthy parasocial relationships with one or more of the people who created it

what they're obsessed with is not the source material but some elaborate shared-universe subset of fanfic about it that's only barely related to the original at this point, and/or an esoteric reading-against-the-text reinterpretation of the source material (often if the canon is active and ongoing this leads to becoming actively hostile toward it for its inevitably increasing failure to conform to their preferred fanon)

what they're obsessed with is not the source material but the fandom itself and gathering clout within it, so that the source material basically only exists to them as a tool for scoring points in increasingly arcane fandom disputes

and very often you get the same person doing 2 and sometimes even all 3 of these, and that's where the trouble really starts

[dokries]

things seventeen take pride in doing for their partners

pairing: seventeen x gender neutral reader

genre: fluff, established relationship

word count: 2.2k

warnings: mentions of food, some kissing

author note: hello! i’m alive!! thank you anon for requesting this, and i’m so sorry it took…literally 5 months to write this 😭 i hope you enjoy it though! thank you to my awesome friends who helped me write this <3 (honestly i have no idea where so much for chan came from but extra chan love!!)

masterlist

seungcheol (s.coups) - buying you groceries

⟢ seungcheol is a provider, and he’d love to be the one getting you things, especially if it was something as important as groceries.

⟢ he’d totally just text you for a list, and expect you to just tell him exactly what you wanted—plus later, you’d get a bunch of pictures asking which brand or version you wanted of something to make sure he doesn’t get the wrong thing.

⟢ he’d want to pay for most, if not all of it—but he wants you to be comfortable with what he does, so you could both figure out who’s paying for it (though he’d definitely make sure to pay for the small things at least).

⟢ he has his card (and wads of cash) and he’s not afraid to spend it on you—in fact, he prefers it that way.

⟢ it’s even better when you’re with him, since you can spend time together and do something essential (and perhaps it gives him a glimpse of what’ll come down the line, once you’re both older).

jeonghan - getting you the hot gossip from work

⟢ jeonghan is…honestly, he’d make sure he picks up all the gossip for himself—and for you both to discuss later.

⟢ he wouldn’t be nosy per say…he’d just keep his ears open when there were people around talking, okay? it’s not his fault they’re so loud.

⟢ and of course, he’d retell it to you in such a way that you couldn’t help but be completely immersed in the drama because his manager is dating who?

⟢ there’s multiple lines of gossip that you both follow based on who you’re talking about, and each week there’s at least one debrief session where the two of you sit down on the couch and you just absorb the information he gives you.

⟢ he’s glad to see the different expressions you make, and it makes him happy to see you so interested in something he’s telling you about, even if it’s something horrendous about his co-worker—and then when you snuggle up next to him, ready to fall asleep he gives you a small smile and pats your head in contentment.

jisoo (joshua) - buying you flowers or little trinkets

⟢ i think that while joshua’s love language is more like quality time, he seems like the type of person to also buy you flowers every few weeks—or whenever the flowers he previously got you wilt.

⟢ he’d totally get a bouquet for you and a flower for himself to make sure he knew exactly when to get you some new ones.

⟢ obviously, it’ll be your favourite flowers! or just ones that remind him of you, depending on the week.

⟢ if you’re allergic to flowers, he’d get you chocolate or something else you really like—it doesn’t have to be exclusively flowers :>

⟢ he’d see little deer characters and think it would remind you of him, so he would drop them over at your place so you’d always have a way to remember him! (you’d definitely have a little deer and cinnamoroll collection at home somewhere).

junhui (jun) - cooking for you

⟢ even though jun is busy, he knows you are too, so he makes sure to make dinner for you when you get home.

⟢ he immediately rushes you out of the kitchen when you try to help and shushes your protests.

⟢ he’d beg you to just let him cook for you—unless you really wanted to cook yourself. at that point, he would make sure to be the trustiest assistant chef you’ve ever had, just to make it a little easier.

⟢ he just enjoys seeing you have something he made for you and the smile you give him afterwards always makes it worth it.

⟢ if he’s not there for dinner, he makes sure to leave a packaged meal for you in the fridge, complete with a sweet sticky note telling you to eat well and text him a cat meme when you see it.

⟢ he’d make sure to note down your favourite foods, and try to remake some of the things you’ve liked when you both go out on dates to make you happy—because it makes him happy too.

soonyoung (hoshi) - bringing you snacks when you’re busy

⟢ if soonyoung noticed you hadn’t gotten up to get food or drink water in a while, he would come in himself, giving you a plate of fruit or whichever snack you liked the most with a water bottle to keep by your side as you worked.

⟢ he’d do this even in the late hours, when you were studying for an exam or an important report for work, and give you something sweet as a treat—and a reminder that no matter what happens, he cares.

⟢ if you didn’t mind, he’d just sit with you in the same room and do something else to pass the time so you wouldn’t feel alone.

⟢ if he couldn’t be with you but knew you were working or studying long hours, he’d get food delivered to you—or deliver it to you himself again, showing up on your doorstep later at night, hoping a hug and a good meal will energize you.

wonwoo - fixing all your tech issues

⟢ honestly, this is something he’d be really good at.

⟢ like yes, he’s good at so many other things but as soon as you run into any problem whatsoever, he’d know how to help—even if he did have to watch a youtube tutorial or read a guide for your tv.

⟢ he’d fix his glasses right after he managed to fix that weird glitch where your google results were all in a different language or your phone would keep shutting down on you.

⟢ would definitely guide you through fixing anything if he couldn’t be there, and wake up sleepily to facetime so he could see the problem—his glasses askew and his bed hair on full display.

⟢ wonwoo would be proud to call himself your tech guy, especially if it made you smile—and besides, he’s happy he can help you with any challenges, even if it’s something simple.

jihoon (woozi) - planning surprise dates

⟢ jihoon, honestly, spends a lot of time on his own in the studio, and while you visit, he really knows he needs to get out of his second home sometimes—and a date with you is a good way to do that.

⟢ he’d do it shyly, calling you up to first ask if you were busy, and then ask if you could come meet him at the studio (he…can’t drive, otherwise he would pick you up.)

⟢ it’d be nothing much in his eyes: a stroll at a park nearby, learning something new, going out for dinner—simple things that were better when he did them with you. 

⟢ sometimes he’d just show up at your home with flowers, his face red, since he’d been encouraged by soonyoung to do so and be “more romantic for once!” (or at least, that’s how soonyoung saw it. he didn’t really know about the archive of songs that jihoon had written inspired by you, and you had only seen a few of them anyway.)

⟢ he’d always make sure to look into places where you would be interested so you could go together, and he could watch you be entertained by something you wanted to do—even if it wasn’t something he would do himself. 

seokmin (dokyeom) - notes of encouragement

⟢ seokmin’s the type of person to send long, long texts about how much he loves you and how proud he is of you every so often, especially if you’re busy and he can’t see you as much as he wants to!

⟢ he’d leave little notes around the kitchen after weekly movie night, so that when you wake up the next morning, he can see your reaction when you see his shameless puns on the colourful paper—which are all definitely related to whatever you watched. or you know, dad jokes. one of the two.

⟢ if he ever brought you lunch while you were out, he’d leave a little note telling you to eat well and message him so he knows you’re doing okay!

⟢ he wants to make sure you know you’re loved and when you write your own notes for him, he just about melts, giving you a gentle peck on the forehead and a long hug until you both end up giggling.

mingyu - fixing things around the house

⟢ yes, he may be clumsy but mingyu is always volunteering to build you new furniture or fix things you (or he) has broken.

⟢ every so often, he’ll just scan through the entire house under the pretense of cleaning for you when you’re busy, and creates a mental list of what to do. it’s like he’s trying to sneak around but it doesn’t really work because it’s so obvious where his gaze is.

⟢ he also loves to help you rearrange furniture too! like your own little interior design helper except you only pay him in cuddles on the couch…wherever you two put it.

⟢ would totally text you pictures of furniture if he goes to ikea and asks if you want them so he can just buy them for you (and so you can have a little date at home building whatever it is).

minghao (the8) -  watering your plants / taking care of your pets

⟢ he would show up early at your door, ready to help out if he was available—and something he would always do is take care of your babies (plants and/or pets!)

⟢ he’d water your plants for you, leaving a note to remind you to not do the same later, and hum to them to help them grow faster and stay healthy.

⟢ he’d also make sure to help out with grooming or feeding a pet—whatever you needed so you could focus on yourself first.

⟢ if you don’t have either, well he’d take care of the sleepy you by making sure you get through your morning swiftly and happily.

⟢ he’d be proud of making sure you were alright in the mornings, despite how hard it could be some days.

seungkwan - making sure you’re active

⟢ seungkwan loves to do sports and go on hikes and the such, and i think that he would want you to be with him!

⟢ obviously, he wouldn’t force you to but hey, you do need to stay active, and it’s better if it’s with him than on your own—plus, it’s more fun by his side.

⟢ he would totally buy you matching jackets to go hiking in, and always pick activities that you’re comfortable with doing.

⟢ he lights up every time you would say you’re having fun and would run over and give you a quick kiss before continuing your badminton match.

⟢ once you’re both tired out, it’s time for cuddles on the couch…and maybe a quick cheesy rom-com where you can both make fun of the protagonists.

⟢ eventually, he can see the difference in your strength and stamina, and it reminds him to keep working hard too, because you do the same for him.

hansol (vernon) - remembering you

⟢ hansol is a bit of a forgetful guy but he would never forget you (well, for the most part at least; he still has his moments). 

⟢ you’re brought up casually in most conversations he has simply because you’re so important to him that you can be brought up anytime.

⟢ everything and anything ends up reminding him of you, even if it’s not meant to. he’d tell you about most of them because he loves getting a text back full of love, or a smile on your face as a reply.

⟢ even if you’re not present, he’s always hyping you up without realizing. 

⟢ with you, he’s always sending you cat memes and posts in general saying “us” or “u n me fr” 

⟢ he takes pride in simply knowing you, and having the ability to be around you so much :)

chan (dino) - driving you around

⟢ we’ve all seen the dingo video where chan drives a fan somewhere, right? yeah that’s him on the daily with you.

⟢ you’re his passenger princess !! (gender neutral <3) and he makes sure you know it, always offering you a ride no matter where you need to go!

⟢ the grocery store? your friend’s house? the optometrist? [insert any ridiculous place he doesn’t need to accompany you to]? he’s already waiting for you outside.

⟢ this goes even if you’re fully capable of driving yourself because he knows it can be tiring getting on the road some days, but he’ll always brave the bad traffic if it’s for you. 

⟢ knight in shining armour? no, he’s your knight in a really nice car, one that, in his mind, has your name all over the passenger seat. 

⟢ other than that though, he would offer to take you for a late night drive often, with your choice of music on the aux as he drives you over to a spot he researched about weeks ago because it was the perfect couple spot (at least, that’s what it is according to google).

⟢ he’d have a huge smile on his face every time you waved at him before opening the door and plopping in right next to his side, where he could sneak glances at you while waiting for the light to turn green.

thank you for reading ‎♡ - moon :>

[queen-aluett]

Sleeping in the Shadows - a Shadow Milk x Reader One Shot

au where shadow milk is a sleep paralysis monster, kinda like the boogeyman

You couldn’t sleep.

No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t sleep.

You had multiple instances of getting out of bed to get a snack, some water, go to the bathroom, or just do whatever. All in that order, over and over. Staring up at your ceiling, you let out a long and loud sigh. Your eyes fluttered a bit then you decided you’d try counting sheep. That always worked, right?

1…

2…

3…

4…

5?

Oh, wait.

You suddenly remembered an old urban legend you heard told multiple times in multiple different ways. It even had an episode about it on an old tv show you used to watch as a kid that was all about scary stories. The story was about a strange cookie called Shadow Milk. Legend has it he’d come for those who couldn’t sleep, and counting sheep was one of the ways to summon him. Depending on how many you counted before you gave up, he’d appear to you and ask you which of the sheep you counted is real, and which one is just an illusion. If you guessed correctly, you’d be rewarded. If not, you’d be dragged either in your closet or under your bed, into his spire, and he’d turn you into his puppet to dance in his twisted shows forever and ever.

Some versions of the story would have him come to those who played card games at sleepovers, in some he’d come to those who were up past their bedtime, which was the version you watched in the tv show. In some you could just summon him by putting a joker card in front of your closet door, telling a good amount of lies and then sliding it under, and of course the game with the sheep would begin, with the amount of lies being the same amount of sheep that were present. Sometimes, instead of sheep, you’d have to answer questions, and if your answer was a lie, his appearance would become more and more terrifying, before he finally took you and made you his puppet. But no need to reminisce on the past, that’s just a little legend anyways. It’s a nice story, but it’s not real at all!

Right?

You smiled remembering that show you used to watch and the one episode that actually managed to scare you, which wasn’t the one about Shadow Milk, oddly enough. Your sweet nostalgic thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a bleat. You jolted up in terror and looked around, only to see there was nothing there. You calmed your breathing and laid back down. “Maybe I should stop thinking about that, for now, at least.” You mumbled to yourself as you stretched your back in your bed. After a moment of silence, you heard the sound of a music box. Only problem is,

You don’t own a music box.

And you’ve never heard that melody before.

Peeking out over your covers, you were too afraid to even move. You had no idea where that music was coming from, and you did NOT wanna find out anytime soon! You covered yourself up with the blankets and laid under there nice and still, covering your mouth with your hands. A blue glow was coming from outside, but no matter what, you’d never take them off. The music came to a halt after what felt like way longer than the minute it was playing for. You peeked an eye out from your hiding spot, and there was nothing there. You shuffled out of hiding and went back to sleep as normal, convincing yourself you were just sleep deprived.

“Well there you are…~”

What… was that? WHO was that? You opened your eyes, and a man in a blue harlequin outfit sat in front of you on the edge of your bed. He smiled at you and your closet in front of you was full of glowing blue eyes watching you. “There’s no way…” you thought to yourself. “A-are you… n-no… no it can’t be… shadow-“

“Shadow Milk Cookie? The great and powerful? Who else?” You lay there, eyes widened. You could not believe it! The very urban legend himself, right in your house, right at your bed, right now! “Yes, yes, hold your applause. I heard someone can’t sleep. Someone’s been a bad, bad cookie, huh? Good cookies should be put to bed right away, but look at you, all wide awake like it’s nothing!” Your voice was shaky as you replied, “I- I’m sorry, I, I promise I was trying to g-go to sleep but I-“ He interrupted and held a finger up to you, “Shhhhh… I know, Y/N Cookie, I know. Which is why… we’re gonna play a game! Since you know me so so so so so well, I think you know what you’ve got to do, yes?” You nodded “Yeah. I gotta figure out the sheep that’s not fake, got it.” He clapped his hands, “What a smart cookie you are! Oh, you must be a HUGE fan! Let’s see… what number did you count to? Five? Ah yes, Five!” Shadow Milk snapped his fingers, and on cue 5 sheep came out of your closet. You didn’t really want to think about how this was possible, you wanted to focus on figuring it out. “Think reeeeeal hard, Y/N Cookie. You got this!”

You looked real hard at each one, eyes scanning over the herd. Their blue eyes eerily glowed as you tried hard to spot the odd one out, but they all just looked so similar, you had no idea. Your index finger began to tremble as a tear formed from your fear. You really didn’t feel like being turned into a puppet. The idea of being bound to strings and losing all your will was… everything but pleasant. “Awww~ There, there, Y/N Cookie.” He began to pat you on the head, “There’s no need for those crocodile tears! You’ve got all the time in the world! Unless… that is, unless I get too bored waiting!” You swallowed, and went with your gut and made a decision. “That one! That one there!”

“Oh?”

Your finger was pointed to the second sheep in the row. “I-it’s that one. I-I think that one is the real… sh-sheep…” You almost began to hyperventilate. There was no going back now. You looked to Shadow Milk Cookie, who was smiling. He stood there, watching you shiver with anticipation. The silence felt like an eternity till he began to slowly clap his hands and opened his mouth.

“So you HAVE been listening to the whispers of deceit!”

You sighed in relief. “So I… So I got it right?” He nodded his head, “Mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm! That’s right! Look at you! Such a good (girl/boy/cookie), doing the homework! I’m so proud of you!” He gave you a pat on the back, which made you flinch a bit. “Well, now that playtime’s over, I think it’s only fair I give you the sweet relief of slumber you crave.” He took a fistful of something out of his pocket, “But rest assured, I will be back, and I cannot wait to play with you again! Now then… Ready, Y/N?” You sighed and laid down on your bed, falling onto the pillow. “Heh! I’ll take that as a “yes” then!” He opened up his hand and blew a shiny blue powder in your direction. The blue dust made you sleepier and sleepier till you couldn’t help but drift off. Shadow Milk Cookie turned to exit from your closet into his Spire of Deceit. He turned his head to get a good look at how peaceful his new playmate looked all bundled up with their head in the dream world.

“I shall see you later~!”

[hyper-fixated-delusions]

All is fair in love and Mario Kart.

Wanda Maximoff x Avenger fem!reader.

A/N: I hope you enjoy and I apologize for any mistakes! Also comments, reblogs, shares and likes are super appreciated, thank you! :)

Translation: “Sestra.” Sister.

“Detka.” Baby.

“Amor.” Love.

Word count: 1,446.

Masterlist.

You should have known.

You should have known agreeing to a Mario Kart tournament with the Avengers was a bad idea.

But you were excited to try out one of the many new versions of the game.

Excited at the prospect of the nostalgia it would bring as it reminded you of simpler times.

Times where you weren't too worried about the next big bad. Times where aliens weren't invading and wreaking havoc on earth.

Honestly, this was all just supposed to be innocent fun. You relaxing while you played your favorite childhood game.

But when Tony caught you playing in the TV room of the compound and he made a bet that you just couldn't refuse, you found it hard to back down, and as many of your other teammates joined, your girlfriend included, it all got too out of hand.

On one team it was Pietro, Natasha, Steve, Bucky, Peter and you.

On the other team it was Vision, Thor, Bruce, Clint, Wanda and Tony.

Once the tournament began, you all played like your lives depended on it, pouring out all of your skills into each round. The competitiveness arising in all of you a tenfold at the stakes that were given.

There was coercion, and threats being thrown around, anything to ensure a win that didn’t include using your powers, it was there and having both teams at a tie as the final round was about to commence, you can feel the tension in the air as the last two players are randomly chosen and you gulp when you realize it’s you versus Wanda.

“Alright lovebirds, it all comes down to you two,” Tony begins as you shake your arms up and down, bouncing on your toes as if you're about to enter the boxing match of your life. “Whoever wins this round ensures the win of their team. Remember the winning team has no chores for 3 months, losers must take on those chores, got it?” He says, and both you and Wanda nod, “okay, go!”

Beginning the round against your girlfriend had you nervous to say the least, Wanda showing promising skills from her previous rounds as she quickly picked up ways to ensure her success. But as you finish the first lap of the race you quickly realize you're definitely going to beat your girlfriend, your skills slightly better than hers as you’ve played many times before and your loud thoughts cause Wanda to throw you a quick side glare.

“So smug detka, already thinking you’ve won when there's still 2 more laps to go,” she says, accent prominent in her competitiveness.

“Sorry amor, but what can I say? I'm just that good,” you say, shrugging with a smirk as Wanda gapes when you hit her with a series of objects, making her character move onto last place.

“Oh, you are so going down sestra,” Pietro exclaims happily, bouncing in his spot.

“Shut it Piet,” Wanda grumbles angrily. “Baby,” the witch begins with a sweet voice, causing you to tense, “if I lose, just know that no kisses will be given to you for the 3 months that it takes for me to complete my punishment,” your girlfriend says in a singsong tone and her threat makes you falter, making you immediately go from 1st to 5th place.

“Whoa, no, no wait. You can't do that! You can’t take kissing away from me,” you pout, “that's not fair!”

Wanda merely shrugs, a smug smirk on her face, knowing that you can't live without her kisses.

“Okay, hey! No!” Natasha exclaims suddenly, snapping her fingers beside you, “focus up Y/L/N, because if we lose this tournament, I will make sure you don't get to kiss Wanda for 3 months, you got that?” The redhead threatens back and you gulp using your objects to make it back to first place.

It's the final lap and Wanda's character is in 2nd place trailing right behind you, you could feel the tension in the air at this moment, everyone holding their breaths as they await a winner.

Quickly you cast your eyes to the bottom corner of the screen and see that Wanda has one final shell in her arsenal as you have a banana peel and by the looks of the approaching finish line, you know for certain your girlfriend is going to use it on you to help ensure her win.

So what you do before she has a chance to hit you is, you place yourself right in front of her character and deploy the banana peel causing Wanda's character to spin out of control just before she has a chance to hit you with her shell, making you win first place.

“Fuck yeah! Way to go Y/N,” someone from your team exclaims, as the rest of the group have their hands thrown in the air in celebration, rounding you immediately to hug you for ensuring their victory.

As you and your team celebrate your win Pietro suddenly jumps up onto the coffee table.

“Do you know how many basic bitches would kill to be like me,” he says as he fake sweeps his shoulders, “so many! I am a king, I am unstoppable, I rule the world!” He exclaims and the opposing team roll their eyes at the speedster’s antics.

“Oh please Piet, you didn't even win one of your Mario Kart rounds, get down,” Wanda says, pulling her brother off the table.

Smiling widely due to your victory and your girlfriend's actions you approach Wanda and pucker up your lips jokingly, “celebratory kiss?” You ask, as you get close to her face.

But before you can reach her lips, Wanda's hand comes in between your faces, “no, shut up, I'm mad at you for winning, so get away from me,” the redhead says, shoving your face softly causing you to let out a laugh.

“I'm sorry amor,” you begin, approaching your girlfriend slowly, “but I had to win, Nat is scary!" You say as you reach her, your arms go around Wanda's waist, “I definitely did not want to know what she was going to do to prevent me from kissing you for three months if I lost us the tournament,” you whisper, eyes quickly glancing towards the redhead assassin that's standing across the room and Wanda chuckles softly, arms going around your neck to play with the baby hairs at your nape.

“Oh, my poor big baby,” your girlfriend teases with a smirk and you roll your eyes.

“Yeah, that’s easy for you to say, she didn't threaten you! She may be small, but she's mighty,” you say, whispering softly in order to prevent your words from reaching the assassin's ears.

“Oh really, so I’m small? You want to start shit Y/L/N, is that it?” Natasha asks, as she suddenly stands behind you.

You turn around quickly, “no. No! I'm not starting anything! Also how the fuck are you already behind me?” You exclaim, eyes wide in shock and fear, “and hey, I said small, but mighty! So please don't hurt me,” you say, going behind Wanda for protection and the team laughs at your antics due to your fear of Natasha and the height difference between you and your girlfriend, your frame still in clear view behind Wanda.

“You won us the tournament, which means no chores for three months, so you're safe for now, but next time I won't be so kind,” Natasha says, a teasing glare on her face.

“Okay, okay. I'm sorry,” you say hands up in surrender, then you grab Wanda's hand and softly pull her towards you, “also, you know what? I'm just going to go to bed before I put my foot in my mouth again, so bye. Goodnight losers, enjoy your chores,” you say grinning smugly as you walk away from the group. Suddenly stopping when you feel Wanda stop from beside you, her hand being pulled out of your grasp and you turn to see a frown on your girlfriend’s face as a slight glare is directed at you, “oh shit, wait, no, not you baby, not you. They’re the losers,” you say, smiling sheepishly.

“Hey, so uh, where's that foot at Y/L/N?” Clint teases with a laugh.

“Hey, so uh, mind your business Clint,” you retort, blushing red as you turn to look at the witch, “baby, come on. I was talking about them being losers, not you,” you say as Wanda begins storming away from you, “Max, come on amor, I swear I wasn’t talking about you,” you exclaim as you jog to catch up to your girlfriend.

[zeroseuniverse]

One Chance

Word Count: 1K Summary: She expected lazy attempts at grand gestures, but Theo’s version of wooing was…annoyingly thoughtful. Pairing: Theo X Fem Reader

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New Year’s Eve had never been her thing. Too much noise, too many drunk strangers, and the pressure to have some magical, life-altering moment just because the clock hit midnight. But somehow, she’d still found herself packed into a rooftop party, counting down with a crowd of glittering, champagne-soaked people she barely knew.

And somehow—thanks to a poorly timed turn of her head—she ended up kissing a complete stranger when the clock struck twelve.

Her wide eyes met his the moment they pulled apart. He was handsome in a way that felt almost unfair—sharp jaw, warm eyes, and a smirk that spelled trouble.

“Whoa,” he breathed, looking entirely too pleased. “Didn’t see that coming.”

“Yeah, well,” she muttered, wiping at her lips as if that would undo the past five seconds, “bad timing. And too much champagne.”

His smirk deepened. “Or,” he countered, “fate.”

She rolled her eyes so hard she practically saw the fireworks behind her. “Right. Fate.”

The problem was, she saw him again. And again.

At her favorite coffee shop the next morning—where he, unreasonably bright-eyed for someone who had to have been at that party just as late as she was, waved and bought her coffee before she could stop him.

On the subway, two days later—where he slid into the seat across from her and grinned like he’d won the lottery.

At a random street fair—where he, against all odds, appeared right beside her, holding a ridiculous stuffed bear he’d won at a dart game.

After the third time, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Are you stalking me?”

“If I say yes, does it get me arrested or just a restraining order?”

She huffed. “Depends on how good your excuse is.”

“I’m just a guy trying to prove a point.” He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to something almost conspiratorial. “The universe is obviously pushing us together.”

She gave him a flat look. “The universe has a terrible sense of humor.”

He just grinned. “Let’s make a deal.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I love those. Usually a great way to lose money or dignity.”

“Neither, I promise.” He held up a hand like he was making an oath. “Give me 30 days. If you don’t fall for me by then, I’ll leave you alone.”

She snorted. “You really think I’ll fall in love with you in a month?”

“Not love,” he corrected smoothly. “Just…fall. At least a little.”

She squinted at him. “And if I don’t?”

“Then I disappear forever.”

That, she liked the sound of. Not that he was particularly annoying—well, okay, he was. But she liked winning. And there was no way she was losing this.

“Fine,” she said, smirking. “You’ve got 30 days, mystery man.”

“Theo,” he supplied, offering his hand.

She ignored it.

His laugh was low and easy. “You’ll be shaking my hand by day ten.”

“Sure,” she deadpanned. “And pigs will be flying by day fifteen.”

“Now that’s just unrealistic,” he said with a wink.

She expected lazy attempts at grand gestures, but Theo’s version of wooing was…annoyingly thoughtful.

Day 3: He left a cup of her exact coffee order at her usual table before she arrived at the café. No note, no name. Just a smirk from across the room.

Day 7: He walked her home after she got stuck working late, keeping the conversation light and teasing, like they’d been friends for years.

Day 12: He sent her a text—how he got her number, she refused to ask—saying: There’s a dog adoption event near your office. Let’s go fall in love (with puppies, obviously).

She told herself she wasn’t falling for him. Just for the damn puppies.

Day 17: He showed up outside her building at 8 AM with two breakfast sandwiches. “Just a coincidence,” he claimed. “Totally not planned.”

“Totally stalking,” she corrected.

By day 25, she stopped telling herself it was just bad timing.

By day 28, she started dreading the countdown.

Because now, she wasn’t sure what scared her more—falling for him, or the possibility that once the countdown ended… he might actually walk away

By day 29, she was completely, utterly screwed.

Somewhere between the coffee surprises, the effortless banter, and the way he somehow managed to know exactly how to get under her skin and make her laugh at the same time, she had stopped seeing Theo as just a temporary nuisance.

She was used to keeping her heart guarded. Love at first sight? Please. She wasn’t naïve. But this—this slow, steady tug—was somehow worse. Because now, with only one day left, she realized she didn’t want him to walk away.

Which meant she had lost.

She was still trying to figure out what to do about that when Theo texted her:

One more day. Meet me at the rooftop, 11:45 PM? No pressure.

No pressure, her ass.

Still, she went.

The rooftop wasn’t some glittering party this time—just the two of them, standing under the city lights, a bottle of champagne dangling from Theo’s fingers. He looked…calm. Like he already knew the outcome of this stupid challenge.

“Final day,” he said, offering her a glass.

She took it, trying to ignore the way her stomach twisted. “Guess so.”

Theo studied her for a moment, then leaned against the railing, gazing out at the skyline. “So?”

She swallowed. “So…?”

He turned to her, smiled easily but eyes were unreadable. “Did I win?”

Her fingers tightened around the glass. This was the moment. The part where she was supposed to smirk, tell him nice try, and walk away victorious. That had been the plan.

But when she opened her mouth, the words didn’t come out.

Instead, her stupid, traitorous heart whispered: Say no, and he leaves. Say yes, and maybe he stays.

The countdown to midnight began in the distance.

10…

9…

8…

Theo didn’t look nervous. He just watched her with that same quiet confidence that had driven her crazy from the start.

7…

6…

5…

“Alright,” she blurted. “Fine. You win.”

4…

His eyebrows lifted slightly. “Yeah?”

3…

She exhaled, dropping her gaze. “Yeah.”

2…

She barely had a second to see his smirk before he leaned in.

1…

His lips met hers just as the city erupted in cheers.

It wasn’t an accident this time.

And she couldn’t even pretend she minded.

[cawyden-gaming]

Rogue Trader - Heinrix romance - flirting differences (devil vs. closeness)

With Heinrix you can either flirt aggressively with him which will increase the "devil" counter or you are doing no or very light flirting which will increase the "closeness" counter. This affects in some cases his dialog.

Act 1 - First talk after he is recruited

Devil:

Two options for Devil - one at the start and one later. Both start the romance. The second one ("A little more..." excludes the closeness option.

Closeness:

Starts the romance. This option excludes the devil option "A little more...."

You can also start his romance by talking to him on the bridge after his recruitment. Both options start his romance but doesn't seem to count for the devil or closeness counter.

2. Act 2 - Footfall, when Heinrix returns (at the docks)

Both options can be taken, they do not exclude each other.

Devil:

Closeness:

3. Act 2 - Janus after dealing with the Governor / end of main quest

Devil:

With 3 devil points (or more) before starting the talk you get another response from him:

After this devil option there is another one available (excludes the closeness and corruption point options)

Closeness:

This option exludes the devil and corruption point options

There is also an option to increase his corruption counter (if you want him to leave the inquisition). It does not increase devil/closeness counters.

3. Act 2 - Conversation after his personal quest (in Kiava Gamma) is finished

Devil:

This line excludes the closeness option on top ("You can relate of course..."

The question regarding his romantic preferences has two versions.

If you have less than 3 devil points you get this answer:

If you have at least 3 devil points you get this one:

If you move to the regicide board you have additional options.

This one exludes the other two options that allow you to play regicide with him - so if you take this line you won't be able to do that unfortuantely.

If you have 4 or more devil points you can get a different ending talk with him for this scene (also works with "Running away, are you?")

Closeness:

First dialog option ("You can relate...") counts as closeness and unlocks other dialog for the second closeness option

The "Tell me a secret" line counts as closeness and the answer depends on if you took the first closeness option (in this case you get +2 closeness points)

or not (and you get only + 1 closeness point)

Another closeness option hides behind the question for his favourite food - if you use the smile option it increases the closeness counter

At the regicide board you can have a different ending dialog with him if you have at least 4 closeness points with him:

4. Act 2 - Dragonus ceremony talk

Devil:

Excludes the closeness option

And here seems to be a bug - kissing Heinrix does not increase the devil counter as one would expect, but instead holding his hands:

Closeness:

Excludes the first devil option

5. Act 3 - Start talking with him on the bridge about what happened at the ceremony

Devil:

There are only two devil responses here - I think this is another bug.

I will update this post if I find more, but the later (romance) scenes with him doesn't really seem to use the devil/closeness counters anymore.

Addition

-> You can use the toybox mod (on PC) to check the devil/closeness counters and to change them (or for other things, like seeing dialog options even if you do not meet the criteria or reset your skill points...)

(Mod on Nexusmods), install as instructed.

In game e.g. during dialog press CTRL + F10

For the devil/closeness counters go to "Search 'n Pick" tab and on the left side to "Flags". You can search for "Heinrix_R" to show his romance flags and change the values (don't forget to save before closing the toybox screen)

[mothinabottle]

i keep reading CoT| as CoTL 😅

do you every think about what your dol fellas would do in CoT? :3

Omg me too 😭😭. I actually play CoTL too! Obviously I put Narinder in the maid dress lololol.

As for your question... Heavy spoilers for my DoL PCs (+ yapping)

-First you gotta know that the ones in CoT are the male counterparts of my PCs (Except for May, who doesn't have one). Since May is able to live her life normally, they are all worse than in DoL.

That is, the DoL versions of my PCs are actually watered down.

Let's start with Hamin (Hana's male counterpart)

He really isn't that much different. His height is 215cm and he too shares the perfect academic record obsession (+ the aggression towards anyone threatening it), the love for music AND the crossdressing.

The thing is that this version doesn't feel forced to wear masculine clothes, unlike Hana in DoL who would never wear male clothes at school or places where her reputation could be threatened.

He does all kind of jobs, but his favourite right now is the River Rat's job. He is also very much a party person and doesn't care to be seen as proper. More tattoos and piercing than Hana, too.

The biggest difference is the complete disregard of anyone's feelings. (Also the fact that he is a bit better socializing)

Hana can be sympathetic and even romanceable (Though hard to do), whereas Hamin just outright refuses to consider anything serious, and would go as far as to laugh in your face at the suggestion. It's either sex or a shallow friendship.

He also doesn't feel uncomfortable with male clothing, but very much prefers 'female' outfits.

His class is English, with an Art class (if I remember correctly). He is in the swimming club.

Ah, this is the one who changes the most.

Karin is Kari's male counterpart. Not only does he lose the long hair (sob), but his hair is now naturally raven, dyed snow white. His height is 169cm

His personality is also way worse. While Kari at least pretends to get along with people, CoT Karin is a complete loner and is openly violent and callous.

He keeps his virginity, that's a thing in common. He also keeps his style between preppy and slutty, since he keeps th exhibitionist trait Kari has. He is also a HUGE masochist.

While I had planned Kari to have stages depending on interactions, Karin is only set to have the worst outcome.

He indulges in his canibalism more and has a complete obsessive personality that can't be changed (Take in count that you can't be a canibal in CoT. This is just things that make Kari Kari lol).

His class is full Science and he is in the football club.

If you are curious about romancing him...

Well...

You have to beat him up and become his enemy first. Then it spirals from there until he adopts Kari's goal of you becoming dependent on him.

You can turn the tables on him, though. That's the fun part. Kinda like the Classroom harasser, but even worse, considering this man is very much into gun play, knife play and more. This is because like Kari, Karin is easy to manipulate if you know what you are doing.

And May...

I think I've yapped enough, plus I would really need to spend some time drawing her new design. Let's just say she is happy and in a HUGE polycule created by herself lol.

Her class is Comp. Science + one Science class! She is aiming for her dream of helping people reach the space :)

Oh, and she is in the esports club.

The three of them are in the same timeline this time because I say so! So yeah, they know each other.

.

.

.

Also may I add that Karin and Hamin are exes? cof

If you'd like to know more about these weirdos, my asks are still open!

[stopmyhearts]

Okay. Going to be rambling about my sexual and romantic orientation and how that evolved over time under the cut. Because 1. I like sharing random things about myself 2. This is helpful background for when I get around to talking about shipping and 3. Honestly I've had a lot of things change and realizations in the past half year or so and I need to work through some of this a bit

Also please keep in mind that this is my experience specifically so don't use it to say stupid things (like it being a phase or something) about aspec people of any kind. They're all super cool and are the best part of this

Alright, so the most basic point here is that I kind of want to elaborate on the evolution of it all. Short version is that from about sixteen to seventeen I came to the (honestly hard and at times painful) realization that I was aroace. And I saw myself, I went through life and society as aroace for three, maybe close to four years depending on how you count. I'm out to my family, my friends and anyone who'll recognize the pins or struck up a conversation that went in that direction as aroace. But here's the part where it gets a bit more complicated. And the actual part I want to talk about. Because around last November I realized that the way I felt about a friend of mine weren't entirely platonic. And then I also listened to the gallifrey audios at the same time which I promise are relevant here. So now I consider myself an aro lesbian. At least approximately, I'll get into it a bit more later.

Okay so here's where the rambling part starts. I have no idea how to properly organize it so I'm just taking you along for my thoughts.

The question that I really want to explore here, is whether I was ever really asexual. and I think to me the answer is yes. It's hard to say, because now that I have realized I'm a lesbian, looking back, yeah, there were signs. the way I felt about some older girls as a young teenager, the way I admired certain actresses, the way I felt about certain friends. so maybe I just suppressed it all. but I don't think that's true. I think I was ace, as much as one can ever be. Because the most important thing I learned from all of this is that nothing is ever certain and that is perfectly fine. Something being impermanent doesn't make it any less real.

And really, that was what a lot of my journey in this regard comes down to. When I started out questioning, at first I actually considered myself an acespec sapphic, then 'fully' ace, then arospec, then 'completely' aroace. I know that fully or completely aren't the best words here, what I mean is that I considered myself to have no attraction of that kind at all. And the main thing is that I started out with a lot of maybes. Maybe I'm ace. And I thought I was okay with that until I realized I was only okay with 'maybe yes' and not 'maybe no'. I had to fully accept that I would never have sex, never fall in love, never marry or have that sort of life as society says you have to want. And that was painful! It was really, really hard and took a long time. But I got there. And that was good! and it still is good!

and I honestly think I would never have gotten to a point where I am now, not just in regards to my orientation, but to who and how I am as a person. It's helped me be a lot more okay with uncertainty (for example with my gender. which I was also questioning for that whole time but that's not the topic here). and it has helped me realize what sort of things are important to me in life, that i don't have to follow a set path. I don't know if I'll ever have sex, or a romantic relationship and that doesn't matter to me. if it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, it doesn't.

okay now, so I don't consider myself ace anymore, because I realized or developed or explored or whatever you want to call it that my feelings for (some) women were and are in fact sexual. that part is still relatively easy actually. wanting to have sex with someone honestly always made a lot more sense to me than wanting to be in a romantic relationship. especially because: what the hell even is romantic?

and that's why I continue to be aro. I can't tell what I'm feeling for my friends apart from anything else. I care so much about them! and I do not understand why I should ever put one relationship in a more important position than all others. I don't think I have romantic feelings for anyone. but I can't be sure because I don't know what those are or if that might change in the future. I honestly don't know if anyone can ever be completely sure. but I continue to live my life as aromantic. I see society through that lens. I love my friends, I love a lot of people, but not in a way that would be seen as romantic by some arbitrary definition. or by those people I have talked to that definitely see themselves as alloromantic. and I really don't think that matters at all. so I very much see myself as aromantic.

so, for me, the way I see it, I used to be aroace, and now I'm not. Now I am a lesbian and aroallo. And that could change in the future. But that doesn't make it any less real now.

and also: I hope it comes across here, but I want to repeat it again. seeing myself as aroace, even if it might have been a phase for me, isn't that for many people. and it didn't hurt me in any way, it helped me, it enriched me as a person. I like to think it made me kinder. Asexual people are super cool

okay I'm done now, I think. do feel free to ask questions if you want anything specified.

[spacemonkeysalsa]

For context, I’m putting together some training materials for my office, and something like this is going to make it into those documents. Though I will have to change the example to something that doesn’t reference BG3 or sex, since it’s like not appropriate or whatever.

I’m barred in Nevada but then I moved (dummy) and now I am studying to take the bar exam again in a different state because I moved somewhere that doesn’t have any sort of reciprocity (double dummy) and its fine, I’m not worried. It’s just a pain, but as I’ve been studying and remembering what the bar is like, I also have friends who are studying for the EA exam or the CPA exam. It's forced me to think a lot about this kind of test and here's my main takeaway from studying for it:

Say you have a question on the exam like: “Which of these statements is most correct?” and then the statements are:

A) Astarion tops his partner in all his romance scenes in BG3

B) Astarion doesn’t top his partner in every one of his romance scenes in BG3

C) Astarion bottoms his partner in all his romance scenes in BG3

D) Astarion may top or bottom his romance partner in every scene in BG3

And you think to yourself, “hang on, I am overly familiar with the 2023 Larian video game Baldur’s Gate 3 and I love Astarion, I’ve romanced him 30+ times, surely this question ought to be easy, except none of these are quite correct?”

Answer A bothers you because you know it’s possible for him to bottom with larger body types, and this answer seems to exclude that possibility in how it’s phrased. Or does it? We’ll get back to that.

Answer B bothers you because even if you can get a version of the scene when he doesn’t top, there still exists a version when he does, and this applies to all ‘his’ scenes. Circling back to A real quick, you might be able to save yourself some time if at this point you just recognize that with A&B they are trying to get you to fall into the trap of assuming mutual exclusivity where none exists, but let’s say you’re an overthinker like me and your brain needs to keep processing all your options…

Answer C is obviously wrong, but you might hesitate to dismiss it, because what if you missed something? It’s a huge game and if we are thinking about variations, are these options you haven’t considered?

Answer D makes your stomach drop because you realize that three of these questions specify ‘his’ scenes, but the last one says ‘every scene’ and if it just removed the phrase ‘in every scene’ it would be correct, but the fact that it’s the one that’s different makes you fixate on it, even though you know it can’t be right, because it says ‘every scene’ not ‘every romance scene’ and therefore on its face implies every scene in BG3 is a sex scene, which isn’t true.

And you really wish there was an option that read “Astarion can top or bottom depending on player choices” but that’s not there. You have to pick from what’s there.

And, maybe you get distracted for a moment, wondering if by ‘his scenes’ they really mean just the scenes written for his character---that’s what you assumed, at first, but now that you’ve kept thinking about it you wonder if they may just mean a scene that he can participate in, as a player character, in which case B is true, because it implies that there’s at least one scene where he’s always a bottom and you can think of some that would count Also, they purposefully used the similar phrases “all” and “every one of” for A & B because they are hoping you will waste time considering whether these two phrases have the same meaning or not, and if there was any purpose in writing it in a way that was inconsistent. To be clear, the only point in switch up the wording is to mess with you.

Finally, you decide that the phrase “his romance scenes” has to refer to the scenes written for his character. Because anything else would be too unclear for the purposes of this question, since those other scenes ‘belong’ to other characters.

A is the correct answer because even if it’s not the best way to summarize this topic, it’s the only answer that isn’t technically wrong. All his romance scenes show him as a top, even if variations exist where he’s also a bottom. That just means “Astarion is a top in all his romance scenes, and a bottom in some romance scenes,” which would also be another example of the kind of ‘more correct’ answer you might wish was on the page, but it’s not there, and you can’t write in your own answer. Saying ‘all’ doesn’t exclude other possibilities. He tops in all the scenes, and he also bottoms in one of the scenes, and both of these things can be true at the same time. There’s no mutual exclusivity.

They purposefully write these options like this because they want to trick you. They don’t care that you are knowledgeable on the subject, they are barely interested in testing your knowledge, what they really want to test is whether or not they can trick you into making a mistake.

And, on the one hand, I don’t think this is a great way to test people on a subject. Especially a subject that is dense all on its own. You’re not showing that you’re unfamiliar with BG3 if you get this one wrong, you’re just showing that purposefully unclear communication and pedantry can trip you up. That’s nearly totally meaningless.

On the other hand, the meaning that is there has to do with being careful when you read, and understanding common logical fallacies like false equivalence or fallacy of division. You know, the kind of thing lawyers are supposed to be good at.

It isn't so bad if you can stand how tedious these kinds of exercises can be, or if you’re a weirdo who kind of likes tedium, like me. It will make it more likely that you take psychic damage while interacting with normal people, though. And people will think you're a pedant, because in fairness, you are a pedant.

[yurislotusgarden]

Relationship hc's

ʚїɞ Nakahara Chuuya x Gn!Reader

ʚїɞ Keep in mind English is not my first language, so you may find mistakes!

ʚїɞ Dazai's version

ʚїɞ word count: 1425

ʚїɞ Tw’s: None! Just pure fluff, pet names are used, reader’s gender is not specified in any way

ཐིཋྀ I love this man

ཐིཋྀ Anyway

ཐིཋྀ We all know he would be a gentleman to you <3

ཐིཋྀ Whether you live together or not, there's always a bouquet of your favorite flowers in a vase somewhere. Once they show even a small sign of dying he replaces them

ཐིཋྀ You still aren't sure how he knows about the flowers starting to wilt even when he's in another part of Japan or even another fucking country

ཐིཋྀ This man does both fancy and casual types of dates. Prefers fancy ones tho

ཐིཋྀ "Why have so much money and not use it to spoil the shit out of the love of my life?" <--- Chuuya wanting to spoil the fuck out of you all the time

ཐིཋྀ You probably live together after quite a short amount of time, like less than 8 months kind of short

ཐིཋྀ He's just so worried about your safety :(

ཐིཋྀ Both generally and because of his position as an executive

ཐིཋྀ You don't mind tho, don't lie to yourself

ཐིཋྀ Protective. Not overprotective but it's definitely up there on the scale. Kinda justified though

ཐིཋྀ Possessive mf

ཐིཋྀ Again, you don't mind as it's not to the point of being controlling and shit

ཐིཋྀ If you're in the PM, he still worries, just a little less since he knows you can take care of yourself

ཐིཋྀ If you're not an executive, you work under him for sure. Chuuya requested a change (if you weren't under him from the start) as soon as he realized this funny feeling he gets around you is love <3

ཐིཋྀ You know Dazai. No questions asked or doubt

ཐིཋྀ I saw around some time ago that someone wrote that Dazai breaks into wherever Chuuya lives. I’m sure it ain’t canon so just saying I very much hc him doing that

ཐིཋྀ You can see what I’m getting at, you probably met because of Dazai breaking into your guys' place😭

ཐིཋྀ Imagine you're cooking or something and hear someone in the house (Dazai doesn't try to hide he's there since he thinks Chuuya's home because of the light in the kitchen), thinking it's Chuuya you go to greet him before realizing  it's not him but someone else-

ཐིཋྀ "Who are you and why are you here?"

ཐིཋྀ "Those should be my questions asshole!"

ཐིཋྀ "The fuck you mean?"

ཐིཋྀ "I live here? You literally broke into my house!"

ཐིཋྀ "You live here? But it's the slugs house isn't it? Did I break into the wrong place???" He knows he didn't

ཐིཋྀ "Wait 'slugs'-"

ཐིཋྀ You totally didn't realize who Dazai is because of that nickname, nope. Chuuya didn't complain about a mackerel at all no-

ཐིཋྀ That was literally yall's first convo

ཐིཋྀ Dazai standing like he should be there, and you standing there with a gun pointed at him (that you have from Chuuya because he has weapons all over the house just in case anyway. That one was in the kitchen)

ཐིཋྀ You guys proceeded to talk like you guys knew each other for years until the ginger came home and flipped the fuck out at the sight

ཐིཋྀ He thought you would have a peaceful life by not knowing the stack of bandages

ཐིཋྀ And to the gingers' chagrin, you and the brunette ended up being good friends

ཐིཋྀAs to who knows about yall depends on who you are

ཐིཋྀ If you're in the PM, most if not all will know at some point

ཐིཋྀ Mori would probably not do anything about it as long as it doesn't affect your guys' performance on missions

ཐིཋྀ If you're a civilian, the people who know about you are the people he's the closest to and Mori somehow finds out

ཐིཋྀ Kouyou adores you if you share at least some interests and you don't mind being friends with mafiosos (basically not judging them just because of their work)

ཐིཋྀ You guys drink tea together. Even if you don't like tea, she managed to find one that you like

ཐིཋྀ Even if you don't share interests, she will have nothing against you as long as you ain't hurting Chuuya

ཐིཋྀ Akutagawa siblings know for sure, you basically adopted them LMAO

ཐིཋྀ You and Gin go shopping together, sometimes tugging Ryu around against his will with yall

ཐིཋྀ I mentioned Mori, he at first didn't care if the relationship didn't change anything and Chuuya was as efficient as normally

ཐིཋྀ But Elise met you in the city by accident and decided she likes you and deemed you her friend, so Moto “asked” you to play with her from time to time

ཐིཋྀ Goodluck if you're a low-energy person

ཐིཋྀ If you're in the PM and Elise wants to Play with you, you are for sure a little bit safer around Mori

ཐིཋྀ He doesn't want to deal with her whining and throwing a tantrum if he doesn't have to, so if you not being killed will make Elise happy, he won't do it

ཐིཋྀ Going back to the topic

ཐིཋྀ Rides on his motorcycle with you holding him tightly from behind right?

ཐིཋྀ Mf rides faster than necessary just because he likes it when you squeeze his waist because you think you will fall off

ཐིཋྀ He won't let you but oh well

ཐིཋྀ Similar to Dazai, man has got a grip of steel, so good luck getting up from his lap, cuddling, or in the morning if he won't want you to. We all know he ain’t weak, not in the slightest

ཐིཋྀ Would teach you self-defense if you don't already know it. He for sure doesn’t complain at having to do that, the view he gets is quite pretty y’know? You can say the same about your view :)

ཐིཋྀ This is purely a hc of mine but he would teach you French if you will ask him!!!

ཐིཋྀ Yes I'm one of those who hc that Chuuya either generally knows French due to Kouyou teaching him and Dazai, or he has some French genetics and wanted to just learn it either way taught by Kouyou LMAO

ཐིཋྀ Hope you aren’t weak to French because he can and will flirt with you in it <3

ཐིཋྀ If you are tho, knees? Weak. Nonexistent. Goodbye.

ཐིཋྀ Mister here will use it to his advantage. He knows what he’s doing and he ain’t stopping

ཐིཋྀ If you know a language he doesn't, he will gladly learn it just to speak in it with you. Especially if you're a foreigner, he certainly will learn your native tongue at one point. But, if you know a language he doesn't just because you wanted to know it, he learns it anyway

ཐིཋྀ Another way to shit-talk people without their knowledge <33

“I'm so lucky to be dating your pretty ass”

“I don't understand, doll. Say it in a language I can understand.”

“No, I don't think so, pretty boy”

“Are you cussing me out or something?”

ཐིཋྀ ^You talking to Chuuya in your language before he knew it to confuse him

ཐིཋྀ He was indeed confused

ཐིཋྀ Speaking of hc’s, heterochromia Chuuya <3

ཐིཋྀ You love his eyes, one blue and one brown. You fluster him because of just staring at his eyes and at him generally

ཐིཋྀ He lets you play with his hair, style, and all

ཐིཋྀ It's so soft you considered stealing his hair stuff when you first run your hands through it

ཐིཋྀ He wouldn't mind, wouldn't even try to stop you. Would probably encourage it actually

ཐིཋྀ It's playing into his possessiveness 

ཐིཋྀ This man has style, we know that. He also happens to have a big closet with his clothes :)

ཐིཋྀ Want a Chuuya-looking puddle on the floor? Wear. His. Clothes.

ཐིཋྀ The ginger will literally die if he comes home to you wearing his clothes. Anything. Wear anything and you will spot a wild Chuuya puddle in its natural habitat the floor

ཐིཋྀ AND IF YOU ASK HIM IF YOU CAN WEAR HIS STUFF WHILE EMBARRASSED???

ཐིཋྀ You make him want to sob :(

ཐིཋྀ Happily of course

ཐིཋྀ Use his shower stuff like shampoo and walk around in his clothes

ཐིཋྀ It does things to him

ཐིཋྀ Both fluffy and unholy thoughts are in this man's head if you’re just wearing his stuff

“Doll, you can’t do this to me.”

“Huh?”

ཐིཋྀ You’re either genuinely confused by his words or playing with him

ཐིཋྀ It ends the same anyways :) 

ཐིཋྀ “Take my card and go crazy, love.”

ཐིཋྀ ^Chuuya on any occasion

ཐིཋྀ If he could he would spend his money on you, he would but you always stop him

ཐིཋྀ Therefore that’s Chuuya on any occasion because he has an excuse for it

ཐིཋྀ Price tag? What’s that?

ཐིཋྀ It doesn’t exist in his eyes, you are worth every single penny in his wallet <3

ཐིཋྀ You guys have spa days at home

ཐིཋྀ Share skin care routines if you can

Notes, comments, reblogs and anything else is greatly appreciated

[ari-rina]

6th LI Speculation

So while on the lads discord in the caleb-chat (I love you girlies!), we started bouncing off ideas about what the 6th Li could be, and I had a LOT of thoughts that I want to write down here. This is my personal opinion on what is 1. plausible and 2. cool in my opinion, so it will in the end differ from what we discussed in the server a bit. However, we bounced so many ideas off of each other that I want to give credit to @z8ynesnowman and @toukhi-0li. It was a blast chatting with you <3

First of all, it will most likely be a Rival to Rafayel, as we already have Xavier vs Sylus and Zayne vs. Caleb. A lot of my speculations hinge on this very same point to see what dynamics the other rivals show and make conclusions as to how 6th Li would be contrasting Rafayel.

As we can see with the other four, the hair color of the rivals is very similar to their rivals: Xavier = platinum blonde & Sylus = silvery grey and WILD Zayne = black & Caleb = dark brown/black and STRAIGHT So we can safely say that with Raf = purple and CURLY, the 6th Li might also have red (or other more fantastical hair color) and CURLY hair. As for eye color, looking at the stellactrum colors in game, which are also six, only Yellow or Green are left for grabs, depending on how you interpret Zaynes's eyecolor. At it looks mostly green to me it means 6th Li will have Yellow-ish eyes, maybe Amber?

As for the Background, we have 2 Aliens with present-day Sylus and Xavier 2 Childhood friends with Zayne and Caleb 2 Mythical Creatures with Lemurian/Merman Rafayel and 6th Li. I personally lean towards the fae for him because forest/land vs. sea. Although, we could also go with a more asian-inspired version of the fae with a spirit or a demon/oni, I can see that just as much because the folklore is fairly similar in a lot of ways. Both the fae and asian spirits also have this ambiguous morality and mythical danger that compliments the siren myth of Rafayel. Unfortunately, we don't have any indication towards other mythical places/creatures in the game so far as it had been with Lemuria, so it seems like a long shot at this moment to me. Maybe the game will only have these unlocked once the 6th Li drops, but I personally hope for pre-drop foreshadowing/hints. If we mix and match instead, I have a better proposition for him: 2 Mythical Creatures with dragon myth Sylus (because he remembers his past life imma count this) and Lemurian/Merman Rafayel 2 Time Travellers with Xavier and 6th Li. If Xavier is from the future, I suggest the 6th Li is from the past. It would also contrast very well with his rival Rafayel since Rafayel waited hundreds of years to be reunited with MC, whereas 6th LI would have decided to skip the waiting time and time-travel right to the time where MC is alive to see her again.

Myth-Wise we also have 2 Fairy Tale characters with Prince Xavier and Dragon Sylus 2 God-Defyers with Zayne and Caleb, as I am highly suspecting Caleb's myth will either be Adam/Eve or Fallen Angel, possibly with another appearance of Astra as the antagonist. And 2 Gods with God of the Sea Rafayel and potentially God of the Sky or God of Time for the 6th Li. God of Time would work well with the suggestion that he's a time traveler from the past, though I personally also like the idea of a more traditional-coded god. With Lemuria being the game's version of Atlantis, I could see the 6th Li ruling over the game's version of Olympus or Valhalla as a Zeus- or Thor-like figure. Since Rafayels Myth is more Greek/Roman Mythology coded, I think it will be either another Greek/Roman or another Western (Norse) Mythology for the rival.

This brings us to his EVOL: Again, we have a bit of something going on with the rivalries, at least for Xavier and Sylus: they look like light and dark, even if Sylus is actually energy. We also have ice and fire covered, as well as gravity. As a rival to Rafayel, I personally feel like lightning could be a good alternative. Considering there's also lore that could play a role here, I'm also throwing Time into the mix, though it might be too wonky a concept to put into the game (though I can easily imagine a resonance skill that adds 30 seconds to the time-limit fight). I'm personally leaning more towards Lightning, because we already have 3 non-elements with Light, Energy and Gravity, but only two elements with Fire and Ice.

Now, let us speculate on personality and other tidbits: Xavier, Sylus, and Zayne are all very calm and collected; they don't easily show their emotions and don't have emotional outbursts in general. Caleb and Rafayel, in contrast, are very expressive and wear their hearts on their sleeves to a degree. So, to even the numbers, I suggest the 6th Li will also be quite expressive with their thoughts and feelings. But since both Rafayel and Caleb also tend to keep things from MC, I do not expect him to be honest! He will probably hide behind a facade of approachability and teasing just like those two do! Furthermore, we have the following stereotypes: Cinnamon Roll + Serious with Xavier Mafia Daddy + Patient Girl-Dad with Sylus Reserved + Brat Tamer Zayne Manic Pixie Dream Boi + Tsundere with Rafayel Yandere + Social Butterfly/Jock with Caleb Notably missing is the Hothead, the Bighead, and the Playboi. As I don't think that Playboy persona will come to LADS since it's always MC as the focal point for the lore, I think 6th Li will be a Hothead who thinks highly of himself and has a massive Ego (which would fit well with red hair according to Anime-rules, and would connect well with the "god of the sky" usually being the ruler of gods). We also have Coworker/Hero with Xavier and Mafia/Villain with Sylus Doctor/Sweettooth with Zayne and Military/Likes Sour Food with Caleb Artist/Employer with Rafayel. Potential Careers that go opposite of that would be something with Finance, Business, or my personal favorite, IT/programming. And since Raf is the Employer, for the sake of opposites, maybe MC will hire him as a hacker to get some info on her past or on Ever? Just throwing that out there.

That's it for now! I know there is a lot of speculation about the 6th Li being from Ever or Astra, and while I enjoy a good enemies-to-lovers arc, I personally am not a fan of any LI being connected to Ever. As for Astra, I'm too much of a fan of this theory right here to ever want anything else.

To anyone who came this far: Thanks for reading all this! You're welcome to share your thoughts in the replies or reblogs ofc.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

I don’t know if you’ve been asked this yet, but is there any particular order you recommend doing the moments for each step in?? I’m trying to figure out what moments should be played when since some of the moments trigger events in others depending on what you played first. Or! Do you guys have a preference for which you do personally?

I would say that mine is more of a preference than a recommendation, especially because I'm still doing a deep, deeeep dive into the code to really see which moments influence another (so while I'm going to give this list anyway, I also will probably redo it later after I see which moments influence one another and in which ways).

For example, if you remember the moment in Shopping where you can ask Cove "why is your dad always giving people money?" it's completely different if you've told Cove about the deal in Sandcastle first, going from Cove being puzzled by the question to understanding why the player is asking.

And speaking of Sandcastle anyway, there are some moments that I just skip altogether, specifically Sandcastle from Step 1, none from Step 2 (unless you count Derek's DLC, in which case I'd skip his version of Soiree, Siblings, and maybe Responsible), and Serendipity from Step 3. Most of it is just due to a lack of agency/choice on the player's part and/or secondhand embarrassment that I get from them.

That said, here's the order I personally go in:

Step 1

Shopping

Grown Up

Long Day

Ghost

Runaway

Fireflies

Library

Barbecue

Sleepover

My reasons are pretty basic. Shopping is a good introductory moment for the MC and Cove's relationship, just as Grown Up is a good one for Lizzie and Cove's. The other two (Long Day and Ghost) being before Runaway is because I wanted all the "negative" experiences Cove has to be before it (so the balloon popping, fighting with Lizzie, getting yelled at by the mean old people, and getting scared by the ghost).

Ghost also has to be pretty far down-ish because the opening kinda implies that you've spent a bunch of time with Cove even if it's the first one you play, so I put it as late as possible to try and make it at least slightly accurate.

And for the moments afterwards, Cove (mostly) either has a slightly better/a neutral relationship with his dad (Library with him asking about a prize, for example, even if he ignores him overall, and Barbecue with the two of them watching the fireworks together) which feels appropriate after Runaway.

The last four are mostly just ranked by how much I like them. I know Fireflies is supposed to be super important because of how much it's referenced, but I find it slightly generic compared to the others.

I also think Sleepover is a really sweet ending to yours and Cove's relationship if you manage to make him stay for the whole night, and Barbecue is just before that since you can convince Cove for eat from your spoon. Library - unlike Grown Up - gives you a choice between spending time with Cove or Lizzie so that's just an extra bonus that I feel the player should have after spending enough time with Cove.

If you play Sandcastle, then, hrm... probably before Ghost? Since Cove mentions his dad "doing whatever he wants" in Ghost so if you tell Cove about the deal in Sandcastle then it adds a bit more context to that line.

Step 2

Family

Mall

Growing

Birthday

Dinner

Wave

Escapade

Summerwork

Road Trip

Soiree

This is slightly mixed up because I wanted to pace out the moments where either Kyra/Derek appears so it's not all shoved off in one big section. Family is also first because I wanted to try to start the player off with a better impression of Elizabeth since she's usually very grumpy and by the end of Family she's more relaxed with the player.

Birthday being after Mall is because Cove is less embarrassed about sharing stuff with the MC. Some people might question why it's still so early because you lose the gummy bear toss if you have a Mixed/Studious Cove and a non-athletic MC, so it might be best to give them as many opportunities as possible for the MC to up their athletic points, but the only time to do that is in the intro so it doesn't matter.

Summerwork might seem a little late but I also thought it'd be a realistic place whether your MC was actively working on their work over the summer or was just scraping by without much interest (the drama right before the relaxation of Road Trip also feels appropriate).

Escapade before Road Trip is important because if you asked for Cove's shirt in Escapade, then you get to take it with you in Road Trip, and Soiree's placement is just obvious (especially if you play Baxter's route rather than Cove, so you end the summer with getting to meet/dance with the "mystery boy").

Step 3

Hang

Drive

Boating

Talks

Happiness

Reflection

Late Shift

Errands

Charity

Hang, Drive, and Boating work as a nice re-introductory thing for Terry+Miranda, Kyra, and Liz+Lee+Baxter respectively.

I also tried to space out the multiple moments with potential drama (Talks, Reflection, and Errands), and Happiness takes place right after Talks since you can argue with Cove in that one and it feels very Cove to immediately jump to overdoing it on making you happy after something like that.

Late Shift is only semi-random since I wanted to space out the moments where you interact with Baxter (things would obviously be different if you're going for his route). Cove also picks from the dessert menu in it which leads nicely into Errands where the MC can buy him fudge.

Though Errands is admittedly 100% personal preference because I just really like it so I put it late on the list.

Charity is obvious, though if the player prefers to date Cove in Charity (rather than dating him in the in-between or confessing at the end of Step 2) and still have moments afterwards then it can be freely moved around.

As for Serendipity if you choose to play it, probably before Boating to add to all the introductory moments?

Again, the list isn't final but this is a rough estimate. Most of them are made for narrative reasons rather than moments that are directly mentioned in others so that'll definitely change.

[starlightdust-dreamergalaxy]

Okay so I am technically still new to Starlight Express fandom and all I've really been doing is listening to the music over and over and over again and like looking at fan stuff here on Tumblr, so I have some questions.

_________________________________________

1. Is each version of the musical it's own separate universe or do y'all technically have them all in the same place together.

I asked this because I've seen things where all of the CBs are related, so like does that count for the rest of the characters too?

2. Apollo Victoria I know that's the name of the theater, but like I've seen people use it for other stuff is that like where they're located in universe or is that like the name of the railway they all come from?

3. Does each version of the same character have a different name amongst the fandom or do they all just go by the same name because I've seen again CB called different things depending on which version of them it is.

4. What's everyone's general thought on height because like they're supposed to be like humanoid trains so like are they really big is that like a general thing amongst the fandom or does it just not matter and their whatever?

5. What are they what do you all consider them as like trains turn human or robots that look human that are supposed to be trains or like some other species of sentient thing that's looks human but isn't confused about like how people get like as a collective think of what the characters are in universe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway so those are my general questions.

Yes I know some of them can be subjective depending on what person answers them because we all have our own head cannons of Starlight Express but like I've seen overlap at least from what I've seen here on Tumblr I've seen overlap by what people think their universe is like and I just want to understand that. Because I always feel like the odd one out when my idea of the world like is just bafflingly different than everyone else's and it does make it easier to work out my own version of the universe would like the base idea that everyone tend to come to for things. Lol 😅

[cadaverviper]

Sega Rally Championship Review (Sega Saturn)

Originally released in Febuary 1995 for the Sega Model 2 arcade board and developed by AM3 Sega division, known almost exclusively for their high octane arcade games.

I'm sure back in 1995 this was hot shit at the time. Looking at old pictures in the arcade it definitely looks pretty cool.

I do not have access to any old arcade machines but hey who needs that when you have the Sega Saturn port! No need to go running to your local arcade your ass can stay firmly velcroed to your seat and still enjoy some good old arcade racing fun.

Via The V2 Elite Gamer you can see by thier comparison it honestly wasn't too far off. A really great port job (unlike some other arcade Saturn ports). You can tell some of the textures like the grass and road were more detailed in the arcade and I noticed while playing a significant lack of models that were present in the arcade version like the trees and some buildings and bystanders. All in all this is a perfectly reasonable way to enjoy the game.

Arigato Toyota and Mitsubishi? (I think)

Holy shit kicking up dirt so cool! (A 90s kid probably)

The game has essentially 3 modes. 2 player battle i could not try only 1 controller sowwy :3

As for the real stuff, you only have 2 options Arcade and Time Attack

Arcade mode consists of 3 count them, !!!3!!!! Maps in total, what a bargain. It's your job to get through all three and order and try to win the race. It starts with Desert, Forest and the Mountains to end it off. All three maps have there own aesthetic and surroundings so it's almost kind of jarring feeling like your moving between all of these places one after the other.

To Start off Desert i picked the first of the 2 available vehicles and went with automatic transmission, I fiddled with the manual drive and it felt like I was having to pat my head and rub my tummy while I drive, not an easy experience. Not fun. So Automatic it is. Desert is a pretty standard fair. Easy first start and the turns aren't too crazy here. The car controls in a very realistic way depending on the terrain you are driving on. At the time this was the big selling point of this game, dirt is slippery, asphalt is nice and smooth, and grass slows you down pretty dramatically. It took me a few playthroughs to get used to the controls but even then you will still find yourself bashing into walls..so is the will of the game.

After the Desert is on to the Forest. In this game every time you complete a stage it carries over what place you were in and adds a little more time. Very needed especially once you get to the third stage. As expected things ramp up a bit, harder turns and and tougher stuff to drive on. At this time I'm starting to notice how addicting this game can be. Every time i play this game i want to constantly go back into it to get a better time. Since the roads are always exactly the same you can memorize everything and always know when the next thing is coming and prepare for it.

And finally to end it off their is mountain. There is a secret last race track and vehicle but I am simply not skilled enough to get either, well maybe if i devoted more time i could get them. But for most lame brains like me this will be your last track and simply put it is ✨dummy hard✨ With some absolutely insane sharp turns that will have you slamming into the wall like a moron this is sure to give any racing game veteran a challenge. But hey at least you get to have that challenge with some absolutely beautiful scenery.

Sorry to say as of right now this is the best i could do. I'd love to hear the best times of others who have played this game and probably done much, much better than me.

Game Over jingle absolutely slaps.

The other mode is time trials which is a fantastic way to practice for the real arcade mode. And something very novel at the time is that you can race against your ghost trial to try to get a better time. There are also plenty of ways to tune your car in different ways but I cant say i noticed too much of a difference when i messed with the settings.

And thats all i can really say about the gameplay and general feel. Very addicting and something you can really sink your teeth in and strive to get better at the more you play. I definitely reccommend the game even to people like me who arent usually into racing games. There is enough unique qualities and it doesnt take up too much of your time that i can see anybody being able to get into this.

Rating: Kickin up Dirt/10

[cantheykillmacbeth]

Ecolo from Puyo Puyo. :-3

Yes, Ecolo from the Puyo Puyo series could kill Macbeth!

Depending on the game/version/translation, Ecolo is referred to with either masculine or gender-neutral pronouns, and is generally accepted to be canonically genderless. I couldn't find any instance of Ecolo being referred to specifically as a "man," though I suppose there is some potential for debate there for the Gender Clause; we'll be counting him for now.

Regardless, Ecolo's body is composed of space matter, and he is an inter-dimensional "spacetime traveler" that regularly breaks the laws of physics. From what I could find, we don't have any mention of Ecolo's creator(s) or origin, but it can be safely assumed that Ecolo, at the very least, applies for the Unconventional Birth Clause.

Thank you for your submission!

[colorfuldream]

Okay so I've seen it a few times now and there are people who genuinely believe the Squid Sisters have the least content out of every group. I mean, I get forgetting Deep Cuts but the Squid Sisters do have as much as Off The Hook. Sure, OTH is starting to look like favorites now but the SS aren't left behind. Here's an itemized list:

They're in every main story mode. They have three whole games about them. The concept of story mode revolves around them. Just because they aren't proactive in them doesn't make it not count. Their quips and banter are what made us care and learn about them. It did flesh them out. They don't have to actively help to be main characters and receive development. The only game you could argue that is Splatoon 3 but it has a writing problem in general. It did close their story, subtle but interesting and well-written (for what Splatoon is), across the three games.

A short story. They're the only ones who have that. That has insane development, providing a lot of details about them. Like, that's a MAJOR thing that's lore-dumping so many things.

They're in almost every concert. They're in all but two concerts. They're canon too. This gives them a lot of presence in the franchise.

Lots of illustrations. Makes sense. Of course they are with how long they've been around. Still an important sign that they're a major part of the franchise (obviously, the main story is about them). It's always nice to see them in different situations anyways. They also get some lore out of them, fleshes them out and whatever. Which brings me to my next point.

Different outfits. It's not only giving us a sense of how they dress, but it's telling a story. Said it before but, for example, we know Marie likes dressing up for Story Mode and be a mentor of some sort. If you pull that string, you can get that she's someone who puts on a façade depending on the occasion and likes teaching/guiding people, her idea of mature and cool is a traditional outfit from her hometown.

Special Fest variants. Yes, they all do. However, the thing that differentiates them is that this is outside their game and, even though they were mostly reskins, they did get fully new outfits and hairstyles which neither other groups did.

Technically, they got a DLC. Even if it's the old hub and basically promo for Side Order.

They're in Smash Bros. That's not nothing. They're not spirits, they're full-on assist trophies. They better be in it honestly, but it's still something they have over the other two groups. It solidifies their status in the franchise.

Many songs, including remixes. Obviously, but they're also on the Splatfest list which never happened before outside of special events. They started it in Splatoon 2's Final Fest and started it in Splatoon 3's regular Fests. They're trend setters! Which leads me to...

Boss Fight. Final Boss, even. Callie started it. Literally. She fought us. The fact that she was The Final Boss™ puts her above the others. They wish they were her.

Solos. They did it first. They've also got not one but two mash-ups of their solos so it gotta count. I would argue that theirs are special too as they're meant to be solo pieces while the Anarchy Poisons are always put together be it on the soundtrack or the concerts. They were made to, and it's lovely, as Deep Cut's continuing the trend OTH's set: a united group that values each other and their work over fame. Their music is made to be together. Anarchy Rainbow and its Poisons is just that, something that's all of them, always. They were also fused in every live version, and the in-game live version, unlike Tide Goes Out and Bomb Rush Blush. These were forcefully mashed up as each sang over the other, desperately trying to drown out their will and win this fight. It's only now, years later, that they get an unexpected mash-up, joyful and harmonious —which in a way is a part of their story, them reclaiming this song as they bring their solos together. The Squid Sisters are working for themselves, they now do whatever they want with their careers and what they sing, how they sing, when they sing is up to them and only them.

They're the end credits of every game. Special mention to Splatoon 3 that just sacrifices its own idol group for them. Unlike Splatoon 2, Deep Cut was involved in Story Mode and for all the 10 minutes they spent in it, the end credits should have been theirs as they sure as hell didn't get a DLC. Their equivalent was a last minute addition at that, unceremoniously added later on without much spotlight. Jeez, they could have had a second collab song instead or something!

They've got the final battle song for every game. Makes sense because it's their story and their games, it's the culmination of their work every single time. Unlike the credits, they at least shared the spotlight with Deep Cut... Hey, if Marie's their boss, doesn't that make her a part of their group or vice-versa? She better be, she's the one handling their paperwork after all (poor woman, it's a mess too and they're not spending wisely. Shouldn't have been talking about becoming a manager, Marie, you're getting roped up in too much silliness and Callie won't help).

Participation in 2 Final Fests. By that, I mean actually having a team and representing it. Otherwise, they're involved in every Final Fest.

Merch. I mean why wouldn't they have some?? But it had to be added. Special note for the concert CD and special edition. I guess I'd put there the interview bit Marie conducted in Splatoon 3's soundtrack bonuses. That's another bit of trivia/insight on her work. The Nintendo Magazine interviews also count as they're relevant to their characters.

Their song is a major part of their world and franchise. Calamari Inkantation has a special place in the lore and the franchise. It's THE song but also THEIR song.

4 amiibos. They might not give their outfits (which I kinda like because I'm not fond of how they did it for the others) but they give out gear related to their story, the game, and that we should have gotten. At least they're fixing that flaw I guess.

Storyline during the Splatfests. Not sure if it should be added but it did culminate into long lasting conflict between the two of them and started their storyline. Since it's missing in Splatoon 3, I think it should be noted. It fleshes them out and makes them feel a bit more alive, like they're affected by the results.

Most of these could apply to Off The Hook too. My point is that the Squid Sisters haven't been neglected, not from Nintendo's point of view. They're more than included, arguably the stars of Splatoon 1 and 3. The thing is that Off The Hook is the fan favorite right now so most of our attention is on them, not the others. The Squid Sisters have also been so ingrained in the franchise that we're used to it. We readily accepted they would be the stars of Splatoon 3 because they took over most of Splatoon 2 until Octo Expansion. We assumed the other two groups would get DLCs, or that Deep Cut would be involved in OTH's like in the Main Story, only to realize that Nintendo didn't give a damn and gave the spotlight to OTH alone in an attempt to replicate what Splatoon 2 did. Obviously, once we got over Side Order, we kinda realized this was unfair and that there was favoritism. It didn't help that OTH was featured in regular battles and that Splatoon 2 and 3 handled Splatfests differently, with special events and work done to the idols. We've come a long way since the first game, which itself had changed plenty during its time, so it feels unfair that the Squid Sisters didn't benefit from what the others got or for as long. That doesn't mean they didn't get a lot and weren't the favorites for a long time.

Now, I'm gonna address the thing that made me write this in the first place:

They do have a story and development. Just because it wasn't in your face doesn't mean it didn't happen.

Up until Splatoon 3, the story wasn't as obvious as it could be when it came to the idols. Marina's background is clear-cut, because you cannot be too subtle about it, but apart from some big lines, it wasn't directly stated, nor was her development in Octo Expansion (it's heavily linked to Agent 8 and the Octavian but the fact that she comes to be comfortable in what species she is and overcomes her fear of being found out and rejected should count as a story). She's fascinating and it's important to the world.

But that doesn't leave the Squid Sisters flat and boring. They had an arc! Them slowly resenting each other because of their time as Splatcast anchors, because they were always pit against each other, because of the way being an idol works, is a story in itself. It was bad enough to get Callie to free Octavio, who's a terrible, dangerous person as far as she knew then, and go to the Octarians, poor, underground enemies. The Hypno-Shades are more like heavily suggesting you to obey, we know that Callie had some sort of free will to put glitter, of all things, into their ink. She also was fully conscious of her actions when freeing Octavio, and we know this guy isn't a mastermind and world class manipulator. Marie wasn't doing much better, working a lot and being stressed. Fame drove them apart and broke Callie down to the point of going to people who wanted hers dead. She freed a war criminal. Once Marie saved her, mostly from her own despair, they decided to do their own thing. They didn't need fame or their careers. Family was more important. Tidal Rush was their solos crashing against each other, not listening and trying to sing over the opponent, until Marie blasted on a song that meant the world to them. The hymn of sea kind. The song that they won that fateful contest with when they were young, the reason why their dream came true. The song that they sang when safinf their dear grandpa, powerful enough to make Octolings give up everything and try to join the surface. A beautiful memory. Something that was theirs. And so they sang. Together. "I remember everything!" The innocent days they practiced for the contest, the terrifying ride to Inkopolis, the nervousness of their first Splatcast. But they were together. She wasn't alone. Marie had always been on her side. Neither of them wanted this. If it had been up to them, nobody would have compared them to each other. They wouldn't have been choices for their last Splatfest. It's a certain kind of cruel to ask which of the two teenage girls was the better one. Callie wasn't angry at Marie, she was angry at the system. She felt awkward, self-conscious, worthless because of her status as a celebrity, because she as a person didn't matter. Her comfort? Who cares. Take the photos, sing the songs, be careful to be perfect. She was overworked, isolated, and the only person she could count on was put in the same position and told she was a competitor.

Fresh Start is the two of them reconnecting away from show business. Going back to their roots. They stop being idols afterwards, they don't sing much anymore. They get their own careers. Callie slowly finds the strength to be in the spotlight after so long and goes back to acting, unlike Marie this seems to be more of her thing. Marie keeps on with her podcast, now using it to hype Callie up. Splatoon 3 even shows us that Callie is some sort of spokesperson, announcing that an Inkopolis stage will undergo reconstruction. She's rebuilding her career on her own and making it her own. The Squid Sisters, while some of the most people in the world, weren't recognized in the Splatlands. Sure, Shiver and Frye probably didn't give a damn about Inkopolis musicians but Big Man is a fan, he's even showed them their music, and he still didn't recognize them. They're known for their music, their names possibly for themselves. Splatoon 3 is the only game not to give them a story, even its details don't imply much. But the previous two games did.

It's a story of two girls who got famous too soon, too suddenly, and got eaten by showbusiness. It's two young women taking their power back and breaking free from the idol life. It's a family that managed to heal from the damage fame caused over the years.

I dunno but I think it's beautiful and I'm a sucker for stories that criticize being an idol and family coming together. The Squid Sisters' entire thing was being idols, that's their entire concept, especially identical ones which is dehumanizing enough. It's fitting and not something you'd expect out of Splatoon of all places but it's the kind of franchise that gets surprisingly deep and dark in its smallest details.

No, they're not neglected or underdeveloped. Their story is there, just not as flashy as you'd expect. Their presence is something we're so used to that we don't clock it anymore, moreso when the other group gets attention too. Splatoon 3 didn't handle the writing well, as fun and silly as it gets, and it shows in a lot of ways. It's easy to go "so what was the point of the Squid Sisters being there?" when the story didn't bother doing anything with them for once but they weren't the only one neglected nor did they not get content in other ways!