#there's already plenty of more personal and unique ways to express intimacy in this game

[quicksilversnails]

Rating Chapter II Princesses based on whether you would be able to hug them in their routes

The Damsel already canonically hugs you, and she’d do it again! (if that would make you happy) 5/5 would hug again :>

The Witch absolutely would not trust you getting close enough to hug her: she’d either interpret it as you getting close to try and stab her, or as yet another attempt to gain her trust and betray her later. If you tried, I think she’d bite you, or try to swipe the knife from your hands while you’re distracted. 1/5 just give her the blade instead

The Beast has no interest in hugging you: she's much more interested in consuming you, actually. The only way I could see you getting close enough is if you played dead, then jumped up to hug her once she approached you, but even that would be short-lived (and so would you. your life would be short.) 2/5

I don't think The Prisoner would willingly hug you: sitting too close to her is enough to break her trust, let alone trying to directly touch her. It's only logical: when someone has a history of being possessed into attacking you, it's wise to keep your distance; and that's not even accounting for her lack of agency in the situation. I guess you could hug her body after she decapitates herself... but that's gross on so many levels. The Prisoner doesn’t strike me as the type to enjoy hugs anyway, regardless of extenuating circumstances. 1/5 no one is happy with this.

The Adversary is only interested in fighting you head-on, but I don't think hugs and passionate violence are mutually exclusive. It's about the connection you share through physicality, y'know? The Stubborn would gladly hug her as he drives your blade into her side, and the Adversary would gladly hug you to crush your bones in the strength of her embrace. 5/5 for a passionate and reciprocated hug! 

I doubt The Tower would properly hug you herself because any attempt to do so would probably crush you, which wouldn’t be such a big deal for her if it didn’t involve using her hands. I could see the Broken hugging her by sort of clinging pathetically to her ankle, and the Tower might accept it as an act of utter devotion to her. 3/5 

The Spectre isn’t usually possible to hug, being a ghost. She becomes corporeal for a moment while ripping your heart from your chest, but hugging her then would be difficult since she’s actively restraining your movement, and she definitely wouldn’t reciprocate given the circumstances. You could also hug yourself while she’s possessing you, and if you were kind to her earlier I think she’d appreciate the gesture. 4/5 you could make it work

Hugging The Nightmare would be challenging, since physical contact with her breaks the Paranoid’s focus and lurches your body towards imminent death. That being said, in those cases the Nightmare initiates the contact rather than you, and you are capable of stabbing her with enough conviction. Maybe in one of your many forgotten lives before the Moment of Clarity, you could've concentrated your will in order to hug her? (I mean, you had to get the Smitten somehow...) As for how she’d feel about it… maybe she’d find it cute, in a pathetic way? Maybe she’d find your struggle meaningless, knowing how futile it is. Or maybe, being the vessel who desires companionship but only knows how to hurt, seeing you so driven to deliver a show of compassion would resonate with her…? 3/5 for physical psychological and emotional damages

The Razor thinks hugs are great! She loves it when you come within not-stabbing distance of her, which is of course necessary for a hug, so really you should just come closer now!! I think she’d happily reciprocate the hug only to sink her blade arms through your torso with a laugh. 4/5 would be nice while it lasted

You could totally hug The Stranger while you’re freeing her and slaying her and leaving her to languish alone in the basement. Everything's possible, right? The Contrarian would probably get a kick out of it too if he wasn’t being consumed by the horrors. As for once she’s converged into a single form, I don’t think they'd resist a hug from you, but they also wouldn’t reciprocate it. They'd have too many conflicting feelings… Strange Beginnings would hug you though! all/5

[forestsagess]

If you don’t mind me asking, what do you think makes chrobin work so well?

That’s a thought provoking question.

I’m not even sure I’m properlyconveying my thoughts here. I thought long and hard on it. I lookedat my own notes. I wrote, deleted, and wrote again. So here, aftermuch editing, is a mini-essay of character development ramblings foryou! Read below!

It should be acknowledged that Robinis, in some ways, a form of self-expression for the players. As theavatar, players are free to impress themselves on the plot and fillin the gaps for Robin’s personality. So for each fan, they candevelop their own private reasons why such a relationship formed asit did! Every Chrobin pairing has it’s own unique moments that makeit work in their respective Outrealm.

Since you are asking my personalopinion, I based most of my reasoning off of key elements I saw inthe narrative to point out why these two work so well together. I saythat not just as romantic partners, but as the famous dynamic duothey are. It’s how I built the dynamic of Chrom and Robin for mystory, anyhow. It’s a basis that allows Robins of all genders,personalities, and orientations to maintain such a strong bond withChrom while all being different characters. Because, hey, let’s faceit, the Robin starring in my story is far different from thetactician in the games! Yet, I still needed to convey that bondsomehow.

The game doesn’t have the luxury of afull blown plot like cinematic ones, but there’s plenty to see insupports and the main chapters. From that, I see two key pillars thatmake up the foundation to their success: loyalty and trust.

Robin embodies loyalty. They awaken onthe ground destitute of anything save for their name. No past and nopeople to turn to. Chrom shows up and asks for nothing in return, yetoffers Robin the world. A home, a sense of purpose, and a shoulder torely on. As the story progresses, that never changes. No matter whatrevelations come to light about their past, Robin is never turnedaway. For that, Robin’s loyalty to Chrom remains steadfast and true.No Emperors or Khans can bribe them away. No temptations of powercould sway their interests. Robin was given a gift to pursue a lifehowever they pleased and free of prejudices that may have driven themdown the worst of paths. Chrom saved Robin in more ways than what isobvious, a fact someone as perceptive and intelligent as Robin wouldunderstand, especially in late game. That loyalty is freely given andthe greatest of gifts Robin could offer in return. Because in doingso, it allows Chrom to rely on Robin in a special way.

That way is trust, Chrom’s greatestvirtue in the relationship. He enjoys a bit more freedom for a royalin that he can travel with his war band away from Court. However,he’s always under the critique of his title. There’s a wall thatprevents him from socializing and acting as he’d like. With Robin,there isn’t anything hidden between them. Robin’s loyalty towardChrom means they remain steadfast at his side. Robin will conversewith Chrom with no fear or inhibition. Chrom is not a prince, nor ishe on a pedestal, untouchable thanks to his lineage with Naga. Chromknows that Robin will always speak the truth with him and converse ona level that isn’t with tainted intrigues or appeals. Robin is alwaysgenuine and working to make Chrom’s goals come true. Robin isn’t aretainer, they are comrade-in-arms. They aren’t just his tactician,they’re his confidant. Chrom can let go of his mantle as prince andsimply be himself with Robin. I’m sure there’s no greater relief thanbeing free to act as he desires without the judgment of the Court andpopulace on him.

Players can fill in the events betweenchapters that form the little steps that build such rapport, but thegame provides the right time frame to do so. As a decision maker inthe alliance, Chrom is going to spend a fair amount of his wakinghours with Robin. Some days Robin is probably the first and last facehe sees. The two are going to talk, philosophize, and dream together.More than anyone, aside from his sisters and maybe Frederick, Chromis going to have very private moments with Robin. Ones where each canfreely share the darkest fears or tenderest wishes. There’s anintimacy that builds in those sheltered moments where the horrors oftheir reality fade away to a small world built only around the tentthey inhabit and the individual opposite them. In this time, they areat their most vulnerable. A bond is built that runs deeper than most.Combined with such trust and loyalty towards each other, I think itallows a type of love to form. It’s a selfless, unconditional onethat is universal and separate from others. In this, the foundationfor any type of additional attachments could form.

Romantic attachments would be ano-brainer for Chrom once he realized his own feelings. He has hisperfect partner already. There’s no doubt in his mind that acourtship with Robin would end in anything but marriage. With thepressure of Emmeryn’s loss and the fatigue of war, passion would burnquick and hot. However, because the strongest aspects of trust andloyalty have already been built, the relationship could only prosper,not flounder when the embers cool down.

Annnnyway, that about sums up my mostbasic thoughts on why the pairing is so strong. It’s not just aboutbeing romantically attracted to each other. There’s a whole separatelevel of strength the two draw from.  

(Also, “best friends to lovers” is afavorite trope of mine. I’d say it works just because of that ;)  )

[svartalfhild]

Blue

Rating: T Genre: Fantasy, Friendship, Romance (if you squint) Words: 3,584 Summary: In the city of Silverymoon, the day of Midsummer is celebrated with a grand festival in honor of love and music called the Feast of Love.  Mornath Sparrowswood has attended it every year since joining the Hunters’ Lane Gang. A/N: For reference, in the Forgotten Realms setting, this holiday is sort of like Beltaine meets Valentine’s Day. - - - It was tradition now.  Mornath Sparrowswood would sneak out on the night of Midsummer and go to the Feast of Love with her friends, who were street urchins eager to get their malnourished hands on copious quantities of food and the purses of the many festival-goers.  It was less about that for her, however, and more about the spending time with the only people in the world she felt accepted her.

She looked forward to this festival all year and though her father ruled her days with strict discipline and harsh lessons, nothing could dampen her excitement when Midsummer arrived.  She waited all morning and afternoon for the moment her father would retire to his rooms in the evening, leaving her free to sneak out of her window and find her friends.

This year, however, she was running a bit behind schedule.  Her father had refused to allow her supper until she had successfully magically mended the mortar she had accidentally shattered.  Consequently, her meal was very late and very cold and she hurried as fast as she could up the spiral tower staircase the moment she was finished.

In her room, Mornath frantically rummaged through her wardrobe, trying to piece together a more flattering outfit.  She had only just done up the fastenings on her embroidered jerkin when she heard a small rock hit her window.  With a small gasp, she abruptly turned and went over to open it.

Perched on the roof of the bakery next door were the other teenagers who made up the Hunters’ Lane Gang.  The spritely elf girl among them held a handful of pebbles in one hand and grinned up at her.

“There’s our mage!  Get down here already, ye lil’ blue faerie!” she called.

“Just a moment, Sparks!” Mornath answered, making a halting gesturing out the window.  She turned back to her room and quickly retrieved an enchanted necklace from its hiding place in her desk.  Upon putting it on, she climbed out the window and jumped.  The blue gem around her neck glowed and she glided gently down to her friends, who stared in fascination.  They’d seen her slow fall a few times before, but they seemed to be relishing the opportunity to get a proper look at it for once.

“Bloody mages,” Sparks commented with an amused shake of the head as Mornath landed.  “Come on then.  There’s still some candied strawberries left at the market that we could filch.”

“Shame ye missed the floats down the river this afternoon.  Some bloke egged the Silverwatch display,” Hilde, their dwarf friend, told Mornath as they made their way towards the main market.  “Pure mad they were and it was brilliant watchin’ ‘em scramble t’catch the man.”

“Ye also missed ma near victory at the feats of strength,” the other elf among them chimed in and Mornath raised her eyebrows at him.

“Ye did no such thing, Dani!” Sparks scoffed, smacking Dani on the arm.  “I recall ye only makin’ it past the first round before ye were nearly crushed intae dust, ye great fool.  Stop spinnin’ tales t’impress every girl what looks at ye.”  Hilde snickered at this and Dani smacked her arm in return, the tips of his long ears going red.

The only member of the gang who had yet to say anything, a half-elf named Lander, remained silent, the only indication that he was listening being the way he scowled at Hilde’s mention of the Silverwatch.  Mornath recalled Sparks telling her that Lander’s late parents had been guards or soldiers or something, so she imagined he was rather offended, but knew better than to stir the pot with this lot.  He was a reserved boy in general and rarely spoke except to say something devastatingly witty or otherwise important.  Mornath liked him for this reason.  He never minced his words or played games.  She always knew where she stood with him and he was perhaps the only person in the world she didn’t feel the need to impress.

Sparks, on the other hand, was not satisfied with Lander’s silence, not that Mornath had ever seen evidence that Sparks was capable of satisfaction.

“Lander, help us forget that pathetic display with a tale of what you did,” she insisted, nudging him in the side.  He sighed heavily before replying in a tone that carried the weight of how entirely over it he was.

“I won a few ball toss games.  Sold the prizes tae a pair of wee kids fer a few copper.”

“Whadja buy with ‘em?” Dani prodded.

“Nothin’ fer you.”

“Ever the spoil sport, aren’t ye, Lander,” Sparks concluded before turning her attention back to Mornath.  “Now here’s a player, ready t’go.” She clapped the mage on the shoulder fondly.  “Get out there and show us what yer made of.  Game the games.  Fill our pockets with coin.”

“Ye want me t’cheat with magic, is what I’m hearin’.”  Mornath had to admit she felt off about cheating at festival games, especially with magic, especially since there were plenty of young kids who played honestly and never got anything.

“Ye have t’be a cheater t’be a winner in this life, ma friend.”  With this, Sparks pushed her towards a stand near the pawn shop which was hosting a cup game.  The man behind the table was a gangly old human fellow with a greasy mustache.  He appeared to be thriving on the disappointment of children.  “Go on then.  Or is yer magic gone wonky today,” Sparks goaded, putting on a mocking voice as she said “wonky”.

“Let’s have a go,” Mornath told the game master with a sigh as she gave in and approached, tossing a copper to him.  He caught it and grinned at her like the cat the got the canary.

“Alright, lass.  Let’s see how sharp yer eye is,” he replied, showing her a small leather ball and placing it under one of three cups.  He began moving the cups around in a rapid and complex pattern for a few moments until he seemed to think he’d thoroughly lost her.  “Well then, where’s it at?”

Without hesitating, she pointed at the one on the left.  He lifted the cup and sure enough there was the ball beneath it.  He looked thoroughly confused and reached for his back pocket.

“Lookin’ fer this?” Mornath asked, producing the real ball in her hand and letting the illusory one fade.  “Always keep yer eyes on the prize, mate.”

“Ye cheated!” the man exclaimed, grabbing for the ball, but not quickly enough as she stepped out of his reach.

“Nae, it was you who cheated.  If ye disagree, maybe we should take it up with the Silverwatch.  I’m sure they’d be pure delighted t’arbitrate this little squabble after a day of chasin’ eggers,” Mornath countered.  She could see Hilde in her periphery making alarmed “don’t bring the authorities into this” gestures, but she plowed on ahead.  “Or ye could just cough up the money ye owe and we’ll speak no more of it.”

“Alright, alright.  Take yer money and go, ye lil’ witch,” the man relented, handing over a small pouch of coins.  Satisfied, Mornath returned the ball and walked away, the rest of the gang hurrying along behind her.

“Not bad.  Not bad at all,” Sparks praised, eyeing the coin pouch gleefully.  “Fer a mage anyhow.  But let’s see what other games we can get into with these winnings.”

As was the gang’s policy, Mornath split her winnings among the others and they practically skipped over to the axe throwing competition, Dani being quite eager to try and regain his pride.

“Mornath, can I have a moment?” Lander asked, hanging back and taking her arm to get her attention.  She stopped and looked up at him expectantly.

“What is it?”  She had already glimpsed him staring at her with a peculiar expression when she’d sassed the cup game host, so she imagined he had some comment or criticism of her conduct.  She was not prepared at all for what he actually wanted.

“I’ve...I’ve got somethin’ fer ye.”  With an uncharacteristic nervousness, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful blue velvet hair ribbon.  “Sparks keeps harpin’ on ye about accidentally turnin’ yer hair blue, even though she knows ye’re self-conscious about it.  I just thought...I want ye t’know that the blue looks nice...and unique and ye don’t have to be embarrassed about it, so I got you this tae, I dunno, tae help ye with that by bringin’ out the blue,” he explained.

Mornath stood for a moment in total shock, unsure what to make of this completely unexpected gesture.

“Did...is this what ye spent yer coppers on?” she asked.

“Aye.”

“Oh, Lander, that’s...I don’t know what t’say.  Will ye...will ye tie it in ma hair fer me?”  At this, the boy eagerly came closer and set to work.  

For a minute that felt like ten, she stood still and pretended not to notice the slight shaking of his fingers as he fumbled to neatly weave the ribbon between her blueish silver locks.  There was a strange intimacy to the moment that made her realize that, for all his rough and brooding demeanor, she trusted Lander.

When he finished and stepped back, he smiled, actually smiled, for the first time that night.

“There ye are.  Now the others can’t make fun of ye if ye own it.”

“Thank ye.”  Mornath found she was feeling a little nervous herself now, unsure what to do with such gentle attention, especially from someone she had never known to be gentle.  Lander, however, seemed eager to diffuse the moment, quickly changing the subject.

“It was nothin’.  C’mon then, let’s not miss Dani’s great failure t’impress anybody fer the second time today.”  He gestured toward the axe throwers and they continued on their way over, joining Sparks and Hilde in watching their scrawny elf friend get his ass handed to him by a human woman with arm muscles the size of his head.

“Are ye just gonna take that, Dani?” Sparks prodded from the edge of the watching crowd.  Dani responded by making a rude gesture at her before throwing his final axe, which nearly hit bullseye.  He grinned triumphantly and Mornath leaned over to Lander to comment to him.

“We all know Dani’s true callin’ is cuttin’ purses, but I’d wager he’d make a fair berserker.”

“Berserker?” Lander asked, a curious glint in his eye.

“Aye, in Rashemen, where ma mum’s from, they’ve got these warriors called berserkers what harness their rage t’become unstoppable.”

“Tell me more.”  Surprised to find someone interested in Rashemi culture, Mornath prepared to launch into a deep explanation, but she was interrupted by the development of Dani being put in a headlock by his opponent after he accused her of cheating.  The crowd began shouting everything from “Crush the lil’ weasel!” to “Oi, he’s just a kid!” and Sparks was quick to jump the barrier holding back the onlookers and ran to Dani’s aid.  She scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground and tossed it in the face of the burly woman holding her friend.  The woman let go with an angry yelp and Dani slipped away, allowing Sparks to grab him by the collar of his tattered shirt and yank him back over the barrier.

The lot of them fled the scene, knowing better than to stick around and risk a run in with the Silverwatch.  They darted off through the bustling evening festival crowd, not stopping until they had run into the throng of people dancing to jaunty music at the other end of the square.  They came to rest under a nearby tree, Sparks and Mornath leaning against it as they caught their breath.

“Ye fuckin’ jargh!” Hilde hissed at Dani, smacking his chest.  “Ye coulda won if ye’d kept yer gob shut.”

“Ow!  I wasn’t gonna-” Dani began to retaliate, but then Sparks stepped in, grabbing them both by the arm.

“Oi, this isn’t keepin’ a low profile.  Keep yer shite tae yerself and air it later,” she told them sharply.  “Now just ice it and we’ll find somethin’ else t’do around here.”  Dani and Hilde backed off at this, though they still scowled at each other.

“I dunno about you, but I’m done with this lot fer the night,” Lander muttered to Mornath.  She could see that this was his way of saying that he wanted to split, but she could come with him if she liked.  He seemed to have a much greater tolerance for her than he did for the other’s shenanigans.

Mornath’s chewed her lip as she thought for a moment on how to casually except this subtle invitation.  She began to tap her foot the beat of the jig the band was playing and she smirked with the idea it gave her.

“Aye, c’mon then,” she finally answered, sauntering a few steps toward the music and holding her hand out to Lander.  

“Alright.”  A playful grin spread across his face as he took her hand and let her pull him into the whirlwind of dancers, where it was easy to forget the rest of the gang and even the rest of the world existed, where they were just two gangly teenagers having fun.  

Here, dancing with Lander under the festival lights, Mornath felt like maybe she finally understood what Midsummer was about, at least a little.  She had little concept of what love and friendship were, except from what she had seen in books.  Her family had never shown her the affection she had read about and the gang...well, they called it friendship, but she knew in her heart they just found her useful.  In this moment, however, Lander was her friend, well and truly, and it was wonderful.  She liked the way it felt when he looked at her.  She didn’t dare presume it was affection she saw in his striking blue eyes, but she could admit to seeing a genuine fondness there and it was more than she could ever ask for.

Neither of them knew how long it had been by the time they swaggered, arm-in-arm, away from the crowd of dancers, slightly dizzy and laughing, but it didn’t matter.  They hadn’t been this happy in a long time and they weren’t about to let a little thing like the distinction between minutes and hours ruin it for them.

They walked together back along the edge of the square, passing stalls and stands selling all manner of fresh summer fruits, treats, and interesting items.  The smells of the food were intoxicating and Mornath found herself tempted to get some of everything, but the coin in her pocket was quite limited and she felt stealing would spoil the mood somehow, so she passed everything up until they got to the candied strawberries.  She stopped and gazed at them for a long moment.  She felt guilty at the thought of buying food for herself when her friend was a starving street urchin who had spent his last coins on a hair ribbon just to help her feel better about herself.  As such, she bought as many candied strawberries as she could and handed them all over to Lander.

“What, none fer you?” he questioned with a frown when she put the bag in his palm.

“I dunnae need them.  You do.”

“I’ll not take them if ye dunnae have a few,” he insisted, offering the bag back to her.

“Wha- I dunnae-”

“I’m not stupid.  I can tell yer parents never let ye have sweets.  Don’t deny yerself on my account.”  This insightful comment took Mornath entirely off guard, but she recovered quickly enough and she hesitantly took three strawberries for herself before they continued in their way.

As they walked, Mornath blew on her strawberries, causing them the frost over with misty magic.  Lander gave her a quizzical look as she nibbled on one of the now cold berries.

“What?  These’re amazin’ frozen.”

“Are they now?”  Lander offered up one of his own berries and Mornath blew on it with a playful smirk, making it turn frosty.  He licked it experimentally and his expression went from a frown to a look of “not bad”.  “Right ye are then.”

They continued on, quite pleased with themselves as they consumed their festival sweets.  They lingered occasionally at a few stands if something intriguing caught their eye, but nothing grabbed their attention quite like the small books vendor offering little novels from around the world.  

Oddly enough, it was not Mornath who chose to stop here, but Lander, who was ensnared by a leather-bound book with a stylized dragon tooled across the dark cover, a bit of silver leaf embossed in its eye.  His fingers traced the design for a moment before he opened the book and began to flip through the pages.  As far as Mornath could tell, it was a story about a young man who falls in love with a silver dragon.  She was sure she’d seen a copy somewhere at home before.  What seemed important to Lander, however, was that there were illustrations, one of which depicted the protagonist, who was clearly a half-elf.  He appeared to be quite transfixed by this drawing, though Mornath wasn’t sure why.

“Will ye teach me t’read?” he asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the page to look back at her.  The question certainly took Mornath by surprise.  In fact, she was so stunned that she didn’t respond right away and he seemed to feel the need to elaborate to spur her answer.  “I wanna read this book.  I wanna read about somebody like me, doing great things.  I wanna know about the world beyond these streets.”

“I’d be happy tae, Lander,” Mornath agreed.  “Tell ye what, I’ll find the copy of this I’ve got at home, so ye dunnae have t’nick this one, and we’ll work through it together until ye don’t need me anymore.”

“Deal.”  He set aside the book and looped his arm back around hers, looking possibly even more pleased than the moment she’d offered to dance with him.  She’d never felt so close to anyone before and it was thrilling.

With this, their stroll resumed and took them out of the square as they grew tired of the dense crowds.  They headed towards the riverfront, encountering few other people beyond the occasional couple engaging in the grand old Midsummer tradition of necking in the moonlight.  This did have the effect of calling Mornath’s attention to the moon itself, which was quite full and filled her with a sense of awe.  Panic set it, however, when she realized the position of the moon in the sky.  She had stayed out far too late.

“Oh gods, I have t’get back tae the tower,” she announced to Lander.

“That’s alright.  I’ll see ye home,” he replied calmly, apparently content with the extra time he had gotten with her.

They made their way back to Hunters’ Lane, to the tree between the bakery and Sparrow Tower, up which Mornath prepare to clamber, but Lander held her back by the elbow for a moment.

“I was real nice ditchin’ the others.  Thanks fer comin’ along,” he told her.

“Thanks fer havin’ me,” she returned with an amused smile and she made to pull away, but Lander held her back again and leaned in quite close, their faces only inches apart.  He didn’t say anything, only held her gaze for a strangely intense long moment before he released her.  “Night, Lander,” she managed, despite feeling a bit disoriented.

“Night, Mornath.”

With this, she turned and climbed up the tree until she could jump into her still open bedroom window from a long branch.  She clambered inside and when she looked back out, Lander was gone.  Sighing, she quickly pulled off her boots, tossed her glasses onto her desk, and leapt into her bed, where she quickly fell asleep to thoughts of dancing in the moonlight.

When she awoke the next morning, her joints were stiff and her muscles ached, but she didn’t care.  She’d had the time of her life last night, so she stumbled out of bed with a smile on her face and changed her clothes before she wandered down the spiral staircase to the kitchen for a much needed breakfast.  There, she found her father already preparing his own.  He looked up at her as she came in and his face immediately turned angry.

“What in the name of the Seldarine is in yer hair?” he barked and Mornath’s heart skipped a beat as she realized she had forgotten that ribbon was there.

“A ribbon. I-I-I found it in the shop.  Someone m-must’ve dropped it,” she told him, unable to stop her voice from shaking.  This only seemed to anger her father further and he got up to grab her roughly by the arm.  He dragged her closer so that he could pull the ribbon out, which he did not do with any measure of gentleness.

“It’s trash and ye put it in yer hair, idiot girl.  Ye look like a child at a festival whose parents have no sense of taste,” he scolded.  She gave no response except whimpers of pain at having her hair pulled on.  Tears streamed down her face, but she endured as best she could by taking solace in the fact that her father couldn’t rip away her memories of last night.

[pride-vns-blog]

LGBTQ VN Week: Day Four! (6/21)

Wow, we’re already at the fourth day of LGBTQ visual novel recommendations! You’ve probably seen this preface on previous parts of this list, but if you haven’t read my first post, that writeup’s “One note before we get started” section, explains more clearly what this list is and why I’m writing it!

Plenty of visual novels talk about sex and intimacy, so for today, I’ve set aside four with my personal favorite approaches to the topic — CODE:Phantasm’s 404 Error: Connection Not Found, parade’s No Thank You!!!, SugarScript’s Cute Demon Crashers, and Mitch Alexander’s Tusks: An Orc Dating Sim, plus a conversation with Mitch about his creative process on Tusks.

Head on in to hear about your little brother dyeing his hair pink, a truly inscrutable protagonist, freeloading demons playing Mario Kart, and inspirational Skyrim mods!

404 ERROR: CONNECTION NOT FOUND (CODE:PHANTASM)

Itchio Tagline: “Sometimes connecting to others is harder than loneliness.” Genre(s): Slice of life; drama. Release Date: July 30th, 2017 (demo); TBA (full version). Content Warnings: Text-only depiction of sex and sex work; adult content.

404 Error: Connection Not Found is the story of Ren Matsuura, a camboy who ran away from home after turning eighteen and supports himself financially through camming — but thanks to his agoraphobia and general anxiety, he rarely goes outside, to the point that he’s pared all his social connections down to casual conversations with his clients and lying to his younger brother Haru about what he does for a living. When his brother decides to come visit for the first time since Ren moved out, Ren is forced to confront the fact that his guilt and shame have driven him into a corner with no support system. In the span of the demo, he starts to try and reach out to the clients he has a more regular relationship with to prepare him for Haru’s eventual visit, ending on a cliffhanger that seems to be leading directly into the plotline of the main story.

This visual novel’s demo is the shortest of all the stories on my entire list, to my knowledge, but it’s also the most memorable demo I’ve played in a long, long while. As someone who’s had to contend with similar mental illnesses in the past — paranoia and agoraphobia unsurprisingly have a pretty high degree of comorbidity! — I felt like Ren’s slow struggle to make progress for the sake of his younger brother was written sincerely, thoughtfully, and believably in the timespan of a single demo playthrough. Ren can be funny, when he’s not spiraling internally, and his rocky progress at trying to talk to others more honestly is loaded with plenty of funny jokes and quips about his takes on things. He’s a sympathetic, well-rounded protagonist who comes across strongly in the demo alone, and I ended up really rooting for him to make it to a place where he was happier with his life.

There’s another aspect to the story that I ended up really liking, too: the fact that sex work, especially jobs like camming, can be extremely common among LGBTQ people who can’t support themselves financially in other ways. Ren can’t go outside and can’t interact with many people without severe, earth-shattering anxiety attacks (a few of which we see in the demo!), so this job is what he’s got. It’s a job that’s sustained him for years, and although it’s certainly fed into his own relative isolation, 404 Error seemed to walk that careful balance of making it explicit that it’s Ren’s own lack of steady support for his mental illness instead of the simple fact that he does sex work that causes his interpersonal problems. I’m optimistic about the remainder of the story’s handling of those kinds of things, too, because what was present in the demo was sympathetic and sincere! There’s not very many sex workers or camgirls/camboys in visual novels outside of an extremely tiny handful, let ones alone in conjunction to stories that acknowledge of the way LGBTQ people as a whole can struggle with more convential jobs, so Ren’s genuinely empathetic personality and the hope I have for his future makes me excited to see where CODE:Phantasm takes 404 Error from here.

404 Error: Connection Not Found’s free Yaoi Game Jam demo is available now, and you can follow the CODE:Phantasm team on Itch.io, Twitter, or Tumblr to stay updated on their progress with Ren’s story.

NO THANK YOU!!! (PARADE)

MangaGamer Tagline: “This summer vacation begins with a car accident...” Genre(s): Comedy; drama; mystery. Release Date: June 28, 2013 (Japanese); February 27, 2015 (English).  Content Warnings: Adult content; multiple sex scenes; frequent sexual harassment; blood; drugs; violence; death.

Right off the bat, I think parade’s debut visual novel (as a studio, at least) does a lot of interesting things and definitely seems to be aiming high with creating distinct, memorable stories. The art in No Thank You!!! is gorgeous, its voice acting is top-tier, a lot of the side characters are compelling even beyond the space or role the narrative gives them, and the love interests alone are all fully-realized characters with interesting stories. Romance option Ryu’s route, in particular, fleshes out the larger sense of mystery and the other characters to an astounding degree! That’s to say nothing of the most unique mechanic — which I mostly call the NTY!!! button — that offers you the chance to say “no thank you” in a variety of scenes without always telling you what it is you’re saying that to. It’s occasionally a little too easy to guess, but at certain points I ended up lulled into a false sense of security with that easiness that the game was all too ready to take advantage of with a much less obvious choice.

One of the sticking points with No Thank You!!! that I’ve seen other players express, on the other hand, is the way protagonist Haru is written. That’s not to say his writing specifically is bad — parade clearly had a vision in mind for Haru’s personality, and from his sketchy beginnings to his clearer end, he’s a coherent character with a consistent narrative. While the crux of the story is more insight into Haru, where he came from, and what the truth behind all those mysteries might be, though, Haru’s behavior still underpins a lot of what drives the romance routes forward. And his behavior... The official quote on his personality, “[s]exual harassment is an everyday activity for him,” can at times seem like it’s underselling exactly how often he tries to grab an ass. It’s no surprise that a fair few other players I’ve seen have walked away with pretty strong opinions on Haru as a character. (I’m personally not a huge fan.)

But to me, a divisive protagonist who you don’t actually fully understand as a character — Haru’s thoughts on a lot of key things are far less accessible than the likes of Aoba Seragaki or most Western M/M protagonists, which leaves you knowing most of his thoughts or feelings via his interactions from others — seems to go perfectly hand-in-hand with the way the visual novel as a whole operates. No Thank You!!! puts you at a distance by Haru’s viewpoint being occasionally “indecipherable” (to use the official phrasing), and then it throws you further with its sometimes-unpredictable NTY!!! button mechanic, but the strength of its other individual pieces taken together still sold me on it as both a solid set of mystery stories and an 18+ dating sim.

Also I really like Maki.

No Thank You!!! is available for a sale price of $19.95 on MangaGamer’s store (18+), and you can read more about parade’s story and characters on MangaGamer’s designated No Thank You!!! page (also 18+).

CUTE DEMON CRASHERS (SUGARSCRIPT)

Itchio Tagline: “A short and silly consent-friendly and sex-positive VN!” Genre(s): Modern fantasy. Release Date: April 7th, 2015 (Mirari and Akki’s routes); August 15th, 2015 (full version). Content Warnings: Multiple sex scenes; detailed uncensored nudity.

I don’t think I could sum up Cute Demon Crashers better than the Itch.io tagline does — it’s short, it’s hilarious, and it’s got an emphasis on consent that meshes perfectly with its goofy “a bunch of incubi and one succubus come to the mortal realm to have sex” plot. The characters are all charming and fit perfectly into its universe, with distinct personalities that come across clearly without ever feeling hamfisted in the limited time that the script lets you spend with them. Although this isn’t necessarily a romance game, especially given that incubi and succubi are “closer to what people know of as aromantic” according to the SugarScript FAQ, its cute, thoughtful writing and adorable design in everything from the characters to the user interface mean that there’s plenty of love infused in every aspect of Cute Demon Crashers.

Like yesterday’s We Know The Devil, Cute Demon Crashers is one of those visual novels with a distinct, memorable mechanic that almost placed it squarely in Tuesday’s creative design list. Cute Demon Crashers is one of the first visual novels — or, by my experience, the first altogether — to implement a mechanic specifically themed around stopping in the middle of sex. If you’re ever uncomfortable or you just plain want the scene to end, you can hit a button and protagonist Claire will talk with her partner to bring things to a close. (There’s also an option to just plain old not have sex with any of them, and spending time with the characters!) A lot of the dialogue in these scenes in particular is thoughtful, nuanced, and reads to me as being a pretty realistic depiction of how someone like Claire might ask those questions or express those kinds of concerns. 

The way Cute Demon Crashers handles intimacy and sexuality, by another measure, is one of those things that I think has also had a not-insignificant impact on the visual novel community as a whole; I’ve seen a fair number of people who’ve apparently never enjoyed an 18+ dating sim before talk about how its portrayal of sex resonated with them or brought them some measure of comfort. Because of the SugarScript team’s relative investment in the English-language visual novel scene as a whole, too — this project was born out of NaNoRenO and I’ve seen them promote development forum hub LemmaSoft or other small visual novels more than once — the compassion for the player that’s written into every aspect of Cute Demon Crashers seems to extend naturally to everyone else around the team in real life, which is something extremely special.

The entirety of Cute Demon Crashers is available now for free, and you can find out more information on its upcoming sequel (Cute Demon Crashers: Side B) on the SugarScript Twitter, Tumblr, and Itch.io!

Itchio Tagline: “GAY ORCS available in YOUR AREA.” Genre(s): Romance; fantasy; community building. Release Date: July 18th, 2015 (First Day demo); January 1st, 2018 (FUARLANG/full main story); TBA (individual route endings). Content Warnings: Adult content; sex; mentions of violence.

Mitch Alexander’s Tusks: The Orc Dating Sim, from head to toe, is one of my favorite depictions of sex and intimacy in video games — and with every gradual update, especially the most recent FUARLANG build that finished out the mai storyline, I’ve only become more sure of that. There’s an endearingly genuine quality to its art, character dialogue, and even in things like the NPC autonomy feature, where your companions have just as many chances to sway things like group votes or decide who’s on watch as you would without NPC autonomy being enabled. 

Interested to hear Mitch talk a little bit about his design process and the inspiration behind Tusks, I got in touch and asked him a few questions!

Thanks for taking the time for an interview, Mitch! While the title might be fairly self-explanatory, haha, how would you outline Tusks: An Orc Dating Sim in more detail to somebody new?

Tusks is a visual novel where the player joins a group at an annual orcish gathering, in a forest at the edge of a semi-mythical version of Scotland, and you then travel with this new found family and get to know them better. Most of the game is your group getting into adventures, talking to them one-on-one at camp at nighttime, and making decisions about how to go about your travels. The game's cast are all queer, and the game itself is an exploration of queer identity, community, history, and our relationship with the idea of monstrosity/Otherness.

I think it's fair to say that Tusks, as well as your larger body of work, deals a lot with intimacy and sexuality, especially the intersection between those two things; this is probably a question you've thought over yourself a fair bit, but what in particular interests you about those topics that drives you to explore them in Tusks and your other work?

Part of it is the fact that intimacy and sexuality are areas that can be massively important to queer people (especially since many of us are marginalised as a result of our sexuality being seen as deviant) but there aren't a lot of mainstream sources that play with intimacy and sexuality in relevant ways. And part of it is just because exploring sexuality for its own sake can be fun as well!

Definitely! There's always room for more fun with depictions of sexuality, haha. The premise for an all-orc dating sim is definitely a memorable one, and one you've fleshed out incredibly well with the thoughtfulness of your worldbuilding and character dynamics. What was the original inspiration that you built Tusks on, and what helped carry you across the finishing line of completing (for the most part) its story?

It was a lot of different threads coming together: I'd been playing a modded Skyrim save with an orc character who, in my head, was gay and had left his stronghold so to find other orcs like him and establish his own wee found family. That happened at the same time as me finding out about the NaNoReNo visual novel game jam, plus wanting to work on a game that actually put queer characters and discussions first and foremost rather than us just being a token presentation.

As for what carried me through, there was lots of things: the excitement of getting to tell stories that you just don't see in mainstream games, getting amazing feedback from players, and then at the end when I released the full main story on New Years', it was sheer bloody-mindedness.

There's a fair few interesting mechanics in Tusks, especially with regards to NPC autonomy; can you share a little bit of insight on why you decided to include those and how they function in the code?

NPC autonomy's a small but effective way of just slightly upsetting this idea that in visual novels, the player character gets to make all the decisions -- it automatically puts you in a decision-making leader role, and it's up to the writer then to narratively justify that -- which can be difficult if you're wanting to tell a story about a group of equal partners. So instead, NPC autonomy lets characters vote on things or lets characters potentially turn you down for romantic encounters.

It's an optional feature, so it's possible to play the game without it being on -- it just slightly changes the flow of the story and makes it seem a tad-bit more like you're part of a collective, if that makes sense.

Yeah, that makes sense! I think my playthroughs where NPC autonomy was on were definitely more interesting, by and large, because it really does add a lot to that sense of cooperation and community.

If you had to pick just one, what non-human (and non-orc) creature do you think more people should appreciate?

I'm really interested in exploring things with strong mythological connotations like minotaurs, since they're surrounded by particular ideas like labyrinths, being half-human and half-animal. I'd also really like to see someone explore the monstrousness of hags from [Dungeons and Dragons], because I think there's probably a way to talk about them and explore their relationships to femininity, presentation, glamour magick, witchcraft, and power.

Good choices! Those are both definitely really interesting ones. To wrap things up, are there any LGBTQ visual novels from other developers that you'd like to recommend?

I'd recommend checking out The Bitter Drop, by Isak Grozny; Ladykiller in a Bind by Christine Love, and We Know the Devil by Date Nighto!

Perfect! It's been a pleasure talking to you, Mitch, and I'm looking forward to your future projects.

Tusks: The Orc Dating Sim is available now for a reverse-sale price of $2.02, and you can support Mitch Alexander’s work on Patreon or follow his “nonsense” on Twitter and fully-released work on Itch.io!

[nayleaharvez97]

Avoid Being Served Divorce Papers Marvelous Unique Ideas

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Ways To Stop Divorce

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Can Separate Bedrooms Save A Marriage

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[aaronheatonwords]

Yakuza 0

Sometimes a series exists on the periphery without being able to engage a certain audience. Despite being full of things that a person might like, be it intrigue or strong characters which challenge stereotypes or even just good old-fashioned dumb fun, something about it just won't grab the part of the brain that says, hey, set some time aside and enjoy this! Breaking Bad occupied this space in the part of my brain reserved for TV shows; even though the basis of the show checks every box I would want to see in a series, there's something about it that just pushes me away time and time again. At this point, it could just be the immense amount of hours that would have to be dedicated to it, and the fandom that would need to be fought off to talk candidly about it. Ultimately, though, a large part of the issue is that the zeitgeist surrounding the show has vanished. There are still plenty of people who think highly of it, but the frantic fan fervor surrounding it has come and gone.

Enter Yakuza 0. This series has existed since 2005, and as soon as it began to pick up steam in the West it has surfaced in one way or another with a very dedicated playerbase pushing for its release. Though the releases that have come to the west started out very questionably, the localization eventually found its footing and ditched English voice actors for a subtitled Japanese-only audio track. With that, the quality of the story seemed to soar and the people who loved Yakuza really loved Yakuza. A gritty crime drama full of double-crosses and intrigue, betrayal, violence and a healthy injection of Japanese culture set in a lovingly-rendered and small-scale city block; with a description like that, who could resist?

Unfortunately, me. Even though Yakuza sounds like precisely the sort of game I'd love, so much about it pushed me away. By the time it was feasible for me to acquire a copy of Yakuza in a timely manner, it had already had three prior entries. Start a series on the fourth game? No, ma'am! What about all of that rich characterization I was missing in the previous games? The hundreds of hours of ups and downs, tears, laughter, blood and sweat of our beloved cast of intrepid well-meaning criminals and their companions? Simply unthinkable.

When Yakuza 0 released in the west, it was on a wave of red-hot fans clamouring for a regular release schedule for the series. It came in hot, aided by the cheerleading of several industry figures I followed and respected very much (what's good Austin walker!), and it posed itself as a no-experience-necessary entry point to a series that had become daunting to approach in any other manner. With a few videos of breakdancing mafioso-types and some gratuitous violence, Yakuza 0 had grabbed me with its clammy hands, looked into my eyes, and ignited a fire in my loins that would make the bravest firefighter think twice about their line of work.

Starting with a loan collection spearheaded by a young Kiryu Kazama, Yakuza 0 quickly sees things go south for who would become our main man in the series. Kiryu's mark turns up dead by way of hot lead to the brain, he was the last one known to have seen the man, and on top of that the murder draws attention to a heretofore unknown piece of land that stands to dismantle a carefully-constructed real estate takeover. As a greenhorn in the yakuza, he makes an easy target for three lieutenants vying for position inside of the clan. Refusing to bend to their will begins the tale of the Dragon of Dojima's rise from lowly recruit to legend within the organisation. Parallel but in tandem with Kiryu's situation is Goro Majima, a disgraced ex-yakuza whose existence has been relegated to brown-nosing and shoe-kissing until his untold crime has been atoned for. Together, they rattle the chain of the yakuza and cement their standing.

Before you can dismantle a clan from the inside, though, you have to get used to the lifestyle. Yakuza 0 revels in its setting, filling the city of Kamurocho with bright lights and crowds and attractions galore. Despite being a PS3 game ported to the PS4, its density of crowds and detail is impressive. Trading pure scale for intimacy and detail, walking the city streets inspires a sort of awe for the times. There are restaurants of every corner, people soliciting you from doorsteps and crowds getting in your way. Even walking is a struggle as you bump and bounce off of the people strolling up and down the streets. The economic bubble of the times is played up and the revelry can be felt from the non-stop noise to the random bar hoppers you can find stumbling around and puking in alleyways. While the framerate isn't always very happy with this attention to detail, a few hours of adjustment will make it all worth it.

Yakuza 0 affords a special spotlight for the interactions between Kiryu and his friends and rivals, however. The three lieutenants who stand in Kiryu's way as he attempts to clear his name are imposing figures, despite mostly operating from the shadows. Their faces are rendered in face-punchingly beautiful detail, every crow's foot and furrow present during close-ups and fights. With such expressive and detailed faces, it makes it incredibly easy to get lost in the situations they present to Kiryu as he fights his way through his predicaments.

On that note, fight you do! At such a young age, we get to see Kiryu at his meanest and most impulsive, and Majima as he falls back into his scrappy ways. The game starts with two beatings, one of a group of hooligans and one of a couple of (presumably) innocent drunks. As you fight, your fists glow with intensity, called Heat, and you can use it to unleash brutal power moves. Combat itself is a basic brawler with simple punches, kicks and grabs at your disposal supplemented by the ability to pick up and swing a variety of environmental items. You can brandish bats, swords, trash cans and benches, motorbikes and a number of other ridiculous objects as you throw down in the streets. The Heat moves are what serves to make the combat stand out, however. Frankly, they're just rude. Slamming heads in car doors, shaking salt into eyeballs, throwing people into rivers, breaking arms and legs and smashing faces into brick walls all while yen explodes out of the poor souls caught between your knuckles and the ground makes for an empowering (and sometimes revolting) combat system.

Majima and Kiryu are capable of more than just busting skulls, though, as good as they are at it. Between story missions and fist fights are a staggering amount of side quests. Some are happened upon by accident, some are brought on by intentionally seeking things out, but all of them are worth at least a smile and many more are worth some genuine laughter. A big thumbs up goes out to the localization team, of course, but the bulk of the work must have been done by the original writers. Though this game has such a self-serious and intense story, the side quests offer a reprieve from the emotional tax that the main story levies from the player. In the span of an hour, you can go from helping break up a panty-selling ring to break-dancing with a world-famous pop star to helping a reporter infiltrate a weapons-trading ring to helping a poor soul sell some mushrooms. No, like mushrooms. Like really mushrooms. Actual cooking mushrooms. Majima and Kiryu, who are generally straightforward and ambitious characters, are given a chance to revel in silliness and break character in a way that lets both the players and the story have room to breathe and decompress between intense beats.

As fun as the world is to exist in and as well-detailed as the city is, it can sometimes lead to disappointment. There is so much to see that there's a compulsion to attempt to take part in everything, which often leads to a feeling of having hit a dead end. The mini-map and map denote which buildings have interactions built into them, but visually there are almost no differences between buildings which house a minigame or unique characters and buildings that are simply set dressing. Without a clear visual tell, it can lead to situations where an NPC asking for your business is nothing more than audiovisual noise, rather than the potential sidequest or event that they seemed to be setting themselves up as. Even towards the end of the game, I was hoping for more of the city of open itself up to me, in density rather than pure size. Unfortunately the two playable areas don't change very much, aside from the occasional story beat forcing the player down a predetermined path. The city feels more alive than most open worlds accomplish in their entire maps, but it can often lead to disappointment when trying to enjoy the area.

The biggest issue with the game is how ancillary Majima's story feels in comparison to Kiryu's. Kiryu serves as the driving force and heart of the game, being the central figure that the Yakuza are trying to track down and the de-facto lead of the series. He is driven, determined, and unafraid of the threats on his life in a way that gives his story an almost unstoppable sense of momentum. Majima, on the other hand, feels as if he's constantly being played by other forces in the story. While he is a far cry from Kiryu in the sense that he's more willing to get his hands dirty and engage in foul play, his character feels somewhat caught in the currents of the story instead of a force shaping the events. While Majima's story is well-written, I found myself dying to get back to Kiryu nearly every time Majima came into play. There is plenty of ridiculousness to be had with Majima and Osaka is a fun playground to exist in, but without a connection to him I found myself more curious about the opposing half of the story. This may come own to preference, but Kiryu's story felt the stronger of the two by a significant margin.

After years and years of holding out on the series, Yakuza 0 feels like the perfect point for newcomers to jump in. Even though it's full of nods to the later games (even as a newcomer, they feel fairly obvious), none of it feels obtuse or played up in such a way that new players will feel left out. Kiryu and Majima are introduced and set up with lots of room to grow, and indeed do change and adapt over the course of the game. While anyone with knowledge of later games will have a decent idea of where things will end, the journey of getting to that point is consistently gripping and dripping with dramatic tension that few other games even approach. The city clocks of Kamurocho and Osaka make for very beautiful and intricate locales, even if they do sometimes feel slightly restricted. For lovers of crime dramas and brawlers, for those who can sink into a well-realized space and everyone who loves Japanese culture and history, Yakuza 0 is a treat.