#to the point that i'm taking fucking improv classes now

[tittyinfinity]

for the love of god I need a different hyperfixation because I've milked this one dry

[anaalnathrakhs]

no really there is a special kind of academic grief when your classes are fascinating, they present interesting challenges, your homework is stimulating, fun to do, and you feel good when you get it done, your classmates are kind and fun and have so much interesting shit to say.

but you're wayyy busy spending your time 50% trying to be the best potted plant your parents have ever owned 50% blasting your brain with endless stimulation lest you start crying and hitting yourself because you had an unpleasant thought.

[lostiolite]

hii can you write something about monoma having a crush on a 1-A reader who has a personality like him but a little more nicer? have a great dayy

Everyone is better than me

Monoma x reader oneshot 0.6k words

You’ve always felt like a side character, worthless, expendable. it's something that kind of haunts you. You were surprised when you got into U.A. 

But, oh, your classmates. they were the best people on earth (except Mineta). Midorya went through so much to improve. Bakugo, despite being an asshole was talented, he had every right to brag with a quirk like that. Ururaka’s bubbly persona never failed to lift people’s spirits. Mina and Kirishima were the best people to give you motivation. Momo always tried to get you to understand your worth but you didn’t seem to budge.

You were kind of overwhelmed to be surrounded by such awesome people. They were practically shining stars, so much so that it blinded you. You wish to shine as bright as they do but you know you never will. Despite feeling inferior to them,  you couldn’t be more thankful to them.

Your class was your lifeline and you always praised them. Your classmates have been targeted and come out triumphant every time. Why wouldn’t you be proud? You would praise your classmates, obviously not in an obnoxious way like a certain someone, who always seemed to try and 1-up you when you talked about them.

You were always talking about them– not yourself, which caught the attention of Kendo, who recently worked with Momo. 

You were eating lunch with Mina in the cafeteria. You two were brainstorming on a class project and decided to sit away from the rest of your friends because you would get distracted. 

Unfortunately, Mina had to use the bathroom, leaving you alone. This is when Kendo came up to you, asking you about school. 

You started talking about what the rest of your class was doing in detail, making sure to praise them. Monoma who was in the area noticed, he tried to one-up you like always before Kendo karate chopped him. Kendo then cocked her head, returning her attention to you.

“And, what about you?” 

You were stumped. You just assured her that there was nothing interesting going on with you. She stopped you, asking why you didn't wanna talk about yourself. You were kind of stunned at her bluntness, she went straight to the point. You sighed,

“Because I'm not as amazing as them, and I probably never will be. But, I don't think that matters, because being able to support them is enough for me.” 

She gave you a somber smile. she didn’t really know what to say, which was new. She usually knew how to cheer people up. She’d have to get back to you later, her focus was now on Monoma, whom she half expected to start dogging on you. He didn’t say anything though. 

She waved you bye and retreated back to her table.

That's when everything kind of clicked for Monoma. 

He was usually intellectual and able to grasp others' emotions and feelings, but when it came to class 1-A and by association, you, he went on autopilot. His main objective was to dogshit on 1-A to bring light to 1-B accomplishments and that they were just as great as 1-A. 

Ever since then, he’s seen you in a different light, maybe even developed a fat fucking crush.

Mentioned before, but he goes on auto pilot when around class 1-A, so he doesn’t realize when he says things like–

“Maybe take a note out of [name]’s book and be more humble, because you look like a fool” he’d say taunting Bakugo.

One time bakugo called you an extra when you offered him help in a subject he was struggling in (which is rare for bakugo), and suddenly Monoma appeared behind him.

“Maybe that’s why you bombed the test, you think you're better than everyone huh— your fragile ego can't take a hit so you have to take it out on [Name]! Be grateful someone like them is even offering help to such a lowlife braindead creature such as yourself!”

That's when Deku caught on.

Monoma not-so subtly praising you is something most of 1-A doesn’t really take note of, but Kendo and Deku are absolutely appalled.

[kira-fluff]

I saw the “Sleeping with no pants on” headcanon and was wondering if you could do a pretty setter squad containing Atsumu, Kageyama and Akaashi please- ☁️

sleeping with no pants on | fem!reader x haikyuu!! [pt. 5]

a/n: i was not expecting everyone to be so obsessed with this prompt but I am LIVING for it. I love you guys so much 🩷 p.s. my lovely, atsumu is actually in pt. 1, but I'm going to switch for twinnie osamu, okay? 💕 also I'm so sorry i was gone for so long. busy busy busy working 3 jobs with college. forgive me if I'm a bit rusty. tw: sorta spicy idk

pt 1 pt 2 pt 3 pt 4

osamu miya "hey, 'samu, 'samu." "hm." he replied in a grunt. "'m tired." the two of you had stayed up the entire night trying out new recipes that osamu had thought of when he was supposed to be paying attention in class. so, now here you were at midnight, sprawled out on the couch, exhausted. "'n go 't sleep." "don' wanna drive home." "'n stay." you murmured an acknowledgement, then began slipping off your pants. osamu immediately sobered from his tiredness. "wait, the hell are ya doin'?!" "'m goin' to bed, obviously." "ya can't just take yer pants off with a man in the house!" you let out a little scoff, "oh, get over it." but osamu's mind was already racing. he tried to act cool on the outside, but you were just in your fucking panties and acting like it was no big deal? why were you always so clueless around him??? did you really not see him as romantic material??? osamu couldn't help but stare at the round shape of your ass even as your long shirt covered you. he had scarcely time to begin devouring the sight of your legs when you cleared your throat. "are you.....staring... at me?" he cleared his throat and looked away. "...s-sorry.." you leaned in close, just below his ear. "ya know... if you really wanted it that badly, you could've said something.." you smirked, taking a blanket and covering up your lower half with a conceited smirk, walking away. "h-hey wait! the fuck did ya mean by that?!" he trailed behind eagerly. the rest of the night? well... "just friends" was no longer in either of your vocabulary anymore.

kageyama tobio you friends, after all, nothing more. and you didn't want to make it weird. weirder than it already felt having hidden feelings for your best friend. it getting late after a particularly long study session which involved you trying to drill basic math facts into a brain that only understood volleyball. it was a hopeless endeavor, but you took him getting anything above a "50" as a win. so, you continued to attempt to help him improve his grades. you supposed "attempt" wasn't necessarily the right word, as his scores were generally improving, but sometimes you found yourself wondering if there was really a point to it all after you spent the whole lesson trying to help him relearn everything he misunderstood in the lesson from that day. so here you were, exhausted, with your head down on your table at home, tobio sitting across from you. "hey, kageyama, let's just call it a night." he paused for a moment, then spoke. "....do you want to sleep with me?" if you had any liquid in your mouth, you're certain you would've had a comical spit take. "ah, um, WHAT?" you sputtered, trying to make sense out of what he said. he didn't mean it that way, did he? no, of course not. "it's... late." yep. just offering a place to stay. "it is. but there are still trains. i can take a late one." "just get in my bed." your eyebrows raised. "hey, tobio, a normal person would misunderstand what you just said..." he ignored you. "just sleep with me." your face took on a reddish hue the more times he said it... and he just didn't get it? why was he messing with your heart like this!?!? "um... there are different ways to say that. like... 'want to spend the night?'" "then, spend the night." "why are you being so pushy?" "because i like you." as a friend. yeah. we've been over this. "ok, ok, you've convinced me with the power of friendship. but I'm sleeping on the couch." "no." "yes." "no. my bed has enough room." "not for me!!" you laughed nervously. does this guy even have hormones? like, what the fuck? "....I'm going to go shower. I'll see you in my bedroom." does this guy not understand the meaning of no? still, you found yourself begrudgingly trudging over to his bed, especially after you saw his couch was made with the comfort of a burlap sack. I mean, if he offered, might as well take advantage right? what could go wrong? spoiler: everything goes wrong. you thought he was fast asleep. so, in the stealth of 1000 ninjas, you slid off your sweatpants for the sake of comfort. it wasn't weird, right? oh well. you were tired and damn did he like his room hot. you jumped when you felt him arms wrap around you. then, he stiffened. "...are you not wearing any pants?" "um... maybe..." he sighed. "are you trying to seduce me?" "n-no it's just more comfortable!" he turned you around so you were facing him. "well, whatever you're trying to do, it's working. I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep." "wait, is it because I'm making you uncomfortable?" he went silent for a moment. ".... you could say that." "I'll... just put them back on then. sorry. it's just that your room is really hot and-" "can I kiss you?" you blinked in disbelief. "can you what?" "kiss you" he answered without a beat. you spluttered some more as he slowly leaned it, asking for permission, silently this time. you nodded and closed your eyes. sparks flew as his lips moved against your own and you finally understood what he'd meant when he said "I like you". kageyama tobio was head over heels in love with you, and you hadn't a clue. until now. the two of you broke apart. "...can we... do that again?" he asked brazenly. you leaned forward again in reply.

akaashi keiji akaashi would rather die than confess to you the things he woke up at night fantasizing about. you'd likely be especially mortified if you discovered that one of your most embarrassing mishaps was on a frequent replay in akaashi's brain when he fell asleep. he was supposed to be a gentleman, not some gross pervert that looked at one of his best friends like... that. but since it was all in his dreams, it was impossible to "turn off" no matter how many times he tried to think about something else before he went to sleep. and so, let's recall The Incident shall we? he had come to your house late at night and knocked at the door, fully expecting to see you up and awake as it was the early evening. to his surprise, however, you answered the door groggily, eyes still bleary from exhaustion and sleep. the way you looked would be forever ingrained in his mind. you were blinking back the remnants of sleep, wearing one of his shirts. it hung low on you, but not low enough to cover your supple legs and the white panties that peeked out below the hem line of his shirt. you hadn't noticed yet, either. "... what d' ya need...?" you asked tiredly, rubbing your eye. akaashi swallowed harshly, his brain turned into complete mush. "uhh.. uhh...." goddamnit, MOVE YOUR EYES BACK UP TO HER FACE. were her legs always that long? STOP. when he still hadn't answered, you followed his gaze down to your lower half. he still remembers the succession of events as follows: you blushed, stammered, and then slammed the door in his face. you didn't talk to him for a week. after, you finally awkwardly explained that you sleep without your pants on and that you didn't realize you hadn't put anything on when you answered the door because you were so tired. it sucked that you ignored him. and even that you explained yourself. because all it did was bring those... memories... right back to the forefront of his mind. whenever he saw you in the hall and you'd flush and look away, he was immediately brought back to the sight of your bare legs. when you stumbled through your explanation, his mind reeled back to those white panties. and he hated it. what kind of friend looks at their friend that way? but he knew in his heart that what he was feeling for you was beyond sexual attraction when, in his dreams, you smiled at him. and told him you loved him. and so, what if he dreamt a little longer? hopefully you'd forgive him. and maybe someday he could tell you how you made him feel...

[dystopyx-blog]

I'm in a dark place right now.

Yandere Trey x reader, stuck in twst without meds. Aside from the typical yandere stuff, this one has heavy themes of infantillization.

This is how I'm taking care of myself. Make sure to take care of yourselves as well and skip this if it's too much ❤️

You were struggling with school, obviously, it's literally not your world. But you had Trey, who had been diligently tutoring you every day after class. You felt like you were finally getting somewhere. From D's to C's. You were fucking proud of yourself.

Not many around you were as impressed.

"It's a start." Riddle had said with a simple nod. "Keep up the good work."

That was pretty much the response you got from most. Grimm and Deuce were supportive, Ace was Ace. Then there were those like Leona who outright sneered at it, telling you you had nothing to be proud of.

But Trey told you he was proud of you.

You were early to your next study session, already looking through the textbook. You beamed up at Trey as he put himself down. "Hey!"

"Hey..." He greeted back. "Started already?"

"Mhm!" You chirped. "What Riddle said really motivated me!"

Trey chortled. "Did it now?"

"Yep! I mean, I know I probably won't ever catch up to his level, he has years ahead of me, but I know at least that improvement is possible!"

"Really?" You raised a brow. "I find that hard to believe. The teach

You grinned at Trey, who was still chuckling quietly to himself.

"Trey?"

"Oh, sorry." He stifled another laugh. "That's cute. Of course you want to improve, but don't put too much pressure on yourself, okay?"

"Of course not."

"Good." He ruffled your hair.

You had improved a lot since Trey started helping you.

You hadn't been improving much beyond that, though.

You continued to work on the same things, never really advancing.

"Trey," you said one day, studying the same old stuff as usual. He hummed in acknowledgement, so you continued. "I feel like we haven't really... advanced?"

"How so?"

"I mean... I feel like everything you help me with is all the same level."

"Mhm."

"And..." You made a gesture with your hands, unsure how to go on. "Yeah. I just kinda thought you'd start teaching me more advanced things."

He laughed. "Why did you think that?"

"Because... so I can improve?"

"You have improved. No one expected you to even get this far. We're all very proud of you."

"But–"

"Don't push this. The reason I haven't branched out is because there isn't anything else at your level. There's no point trying to teach you something you'll never get. Sorry."

You frowned. "Well that sounds like bullshit."

"Language."

"Well it does!"

Trey sighed, leaning forward to look you in your eyes (forcing you to now maintain eye contact).

"No one ever actually expected you to, you know... do well in school. It's just unrealistic to expect someone like you, so far out of your league, to be on the same level as any of the other students here." He put his hand over yours, swiping his thumb over your knuckles. "I'm sorry."

You stared at him. "Someone like me?"

"You know I meant no harm–"

"How the fuck else could you mean it?"

"Language,"

"No, dont you 'language' me, you tell me what you mean."

He sighed, turning away from you and pinching the bridge of his nose. When he turned back to you, his expression was serious.

"Someone who can barely function in day to day life, let alone at a school like Night Raven College."

Your heart dropped.

Trey put on his sympathetic closed eye smile. "I know it's hard to hear, but its really not worth it to put so much pressure on yourself. Why don't i bake you something yummy, hmm? You can help me in the kitchen."

He offered you his hand, but you swiped it away.

"Don't fucking talk to me," you hissed gathering his things.

You didn't look at him, even when he sternly addressed you by name.

"You're being childish." He said. You scoffed.

"I thought that was part for the course for someone like me."

"Are you trying to prove me correct?"

"Eat shit and die."

He just watched you leave with arms folded.

Of coutse, being without your antidepressants made you extra sensitive, so it was less than a second before the waterworks started up, tears pouring from your face and your breathing coming out in staggered puffs.

You were barely outside of Heartslabyul Dorms when you collapsed against the wall, hugging your legs to yourself and burying your face behind your knees.

You hear footsteps. You don't look up. You want to be alone. You should've forced yourself to keep going so you could be withing the (relative) privacy of your room.

Even with auditory processing that makes your ability to tell where sound comes from basically nonexistent, you can tell the footsteps are approaching you. Even though you'd rather not deal with anyone at all right now, you hope it's Ace or Deuce. Or Cater. Maybe even Riddle.

But of course, it's Trey.

"You're being dramatic.

"And you're being fucking mean."

"I'm being honest."

You're being ableist, that's what.

"Why does this matter so much to you?" He sighs as he asks you.

"Thought you were my friend."

"Of course I'm your friend–"

"I thought you believed in me."

"Of course I believe in you. But I also have realistic expectations and I don't want to see you push yourself and end up with nothing. Why does it even matter to you so much that you do well? Almost all of these subjects are completely irrelevant to you. You have to attend so Grimm can attend, that whole half student thing, but shouldn't he be putting in the effort, not you? Honestly, i think its unfair how much you have to deal with here. You have a chemical imbalance and no way to treat it, and yet you're still expected to carry on as the only magicless student at a school for mages, help in magical emergencies that even staff are unequipped to deal with, and then whatever else Crowley throws at you. Aren't you tired?"

He's preaching to the choir, and of course you nod.

"You shouldn't have to deal with this." You didn't even realize he was sitting next to you until you feel his arms wrap around you. "But I'll continue to help you. I promise." He stands up, bringing you with him. "Let's go to the kitchen, yeah? I have just the thing for this."

You barely process anything, sitting on a stool in the Heartslabyul kitchen. You wouldn't recognize it, but Trey used his signatures smell to mute everything for you.

He hums as he works. Although he doesn't always "bake with love," that's mostly circumstantial. After all, baking is really more of a strategy. But this is an exception. And if any treat of his deserves the description "made with love," it would be this one.

He watches you eat it with a smile on his face. "How is it?"

You're out cold before you can answer.

Trey has you locked up somewhere. You're not sure where, but there's no way it's Heartslabyul. You're kept in one room, with an adjoining bathroom. There are activities, all of them baby proofed. Some of them even intended for babies and small children.

Because aren't you just a small child? You know nothing of this world, you're a slave to your emotions, you can barely control yourself.

Trey reminds you of this while stroking your hair and cradling you in his arms after a nasty tantrum.

"You can't survive out there on your own."

The infantillization is at its worse when you're "bad" for him. When you're "good," he treats you like a normal adult, like he normally would. But as soon as you step out of line you'll be lucky if all he does is belittle you in that sickly sweet condescending tone, because he's gone so far as bottle feeding you or even monitoring your bathroom use. (That one typically gets you to behave real quick.)

And the worst part?

He really does make you feel helpless.

[ezziedoodles]

Why Season 2 Of Arcane Felt A Little Off

Let me preface this by saying I adore this show, and I loved this season. I laughed, I cried, and I had a good time watching it. The art direction and animation is a masterpiece. This is probably my favorite show, but I think it's good to critique the things you love and this entire season I felt like I was waiting for something.

For a show titled Arcane, season one had remarkably little to do with the arcane. Yes, there was Hextech and magic, but the show was centered on this class divide between Piltover and Zaun and all the conflicts that stem from this. The very first scene of the show is enforcers killing citizens on the bridge, with Powder and Vi finding their dead parents' bodies. Zilco's reasoning for doing anything he did was because he believed he was helping Zaun, including raising Jinx the way he did. Vi was so passionate about her city and the injustice facing it. Caitlyn witnessing this injustice is what causes her to question the systems she is a part of. Viktor and Jayce (but especially Viktor) created technology with the intention of wanting to improve life for the undercity. Ekko is a revolutionary doing so much to give his people a community and a chance to live their lives. My point is literally every single character is connected by this conflict between the cities.

Now let's take a look at the second season. Where is this part of the story that was so essential to the first season? There's a brief revolutionary beat with Jinx and her followers but once they escape from prison, the show moves on from this and never touches it again. We see Caitlyn's descent into corrupt madness, becoming everything she and Vi wanted to stop. Eventually she realizes how wrong she was but do we see her make any reparations to Zaun specifically for the damage she caused? She gassed the city, poisoning the air even further (with gas that has been confirmed to make people sick in the long run), harming hundreds of innocent people. And Vi, a character so vehemently against enforcers in the first season, goes along with this for how long? Days? Weeks? And only stops when she can visually see the impact of Caitlyn's madness as she almost kills a child in front of her. These characters are flawed and I love that, but we see them get their happy ending without ever truly addressing or helping with what they did to Zaun.

Ekko sees an alternate universe of everything his city could be, everything they all wanted so badly in the first season. Equality, safety, education, food security, and more. He says he is thankful for the reminder and I fully believe he will go forth with this vision in mind, but do we ever see it? And that right there is the problem. We don't know what happens to Zaun in the end, we don't know if things get better. All we see is Sevika on the council but we don't know if that will fix anything since people have stood up for the undercity in council before and it did nothing.

I want to see Ekko rally his people and repair the damage caused by the war. I want to see Vi open up the last drop and make it what it was always meant to be, a place of community. I want to see schools open in the undercity in honor of Viktor and Jayce. I want to see the two cities heal from the damage done to each other. Fuck it, I just want literally any closure on this plotline! Just tack on a 2 minute montage of what happened to this city after the war and I'd feel a little better. But instead this part of the story was completely sidelined throughout the season and ignored entirely in the finale. I'm not someone that thinks every story needs to have a moral, but this show was trying to tell us something! The first season was screaming from the rooftops to beware of privilege, beware systemic oppression, to fight inequality, and I find it really sad that there was no conclusion for that.

I do wish there had been three seasons to give it a smoother transition form politics to magic but it is what it is. Nothing is perfect. This season gave me so much including the best depiction of soulmates I've ever seen in my life so you win some you lose some ig.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Dangancember 2024 - Danganronpa Top 24 Class Trials: Number 23 Danganronpa V3 Case 6

//Oh Jesus...

//Now, let me just make one thing clear with this one. I actually don't dislike V3's ending with a burning passion. I definitely don't LIKE like it, but after sitting on it for a while, some of the twists and events of the trial are...pretty good actually, and really show what Danganronpa V3 is all about.

//So I don't tend to agree with the lavish hate that this trial gets.

//HOWEVER, with all that being said, I DO agree that this is by far the worst ending in the entire franchise. And yes, that includes both the Another games, Ultra Despair Girls, AND DR3.

//Which...Actually, to their credit, despite having a very iffy runtime for me, all of those examples had actually pretty killer endings that I really enjoyed.

//But yeah, I mean...V3's final trial and the whole thing that happens in it is just so fucking infamous. And for all very valid reasons. So...without further ado, let's talk about it for the umpteenth time.

//In case I already didn't make it clear, describing Danganronpa V3's final trial and ending as "controversial" among its audience...honestly doesn't do the full scope of the situation justice.

//It's very hard to come by someone who has played V3 and is a fan of Danganronpa who probably doesn't have more mixed feelings about a single segment of a video game.

//And honestly, I'm not sure if I should talk about the good things, or the bad things first; because again, divisive implies that it kind of balances out.

//I think I'll focus on the stuff I don't like, because that's the main crux of the argument that explains this trial's placement.

//Something I've always noticed is that when you look at the ending trials for all three mainline Danganronpa games, you notice that all three of them suffer from very similar issues. Those issues being the ridiculousness of the events, the sheer length, and the fact that they are just incredibly blatant plot dumps that try to scramble every bit of the established lore together in one uncomfortable package. And the reason why DRV3 is the worst of the endings is because it does all three of these at MAXIMAM VELOCIPY.

//(I spelt that wrong on purpose by the way.)

//In the Danganronpa series, it has become widely recognized that the trials progressively increase in length with each installment. I kinda see this as a good thing, as it contributes to the franchise’s appeal, because longer trials mean more intricate mysteries, additional plot points, and unexpected twists.

//The final trial in Danganronpa V3, however, takes this idea to the extreme, likely in recognition of its status as the series' concluding chapter. It goes all out, lasting, at minimum, 4 to 5 hours.

//And unlike the ending trials of 1 and 2, that ridiculous length of time is filled up by basically random bullshit. Some sections are highly innovative, like the segments where players must intentionally fail certain minigames to progress as a means of rejecting hope in confrontations with Tsumugi. However, other parts can be frustrating, and just...packed with pointless dialogue.

//For example, the whole segment where they kind of bring up the fact that Kaede had a twin sister as a red herring? Pointless.

//I mean, I take advantage of that fact later, but generally why was this even a plot point to begin with? It's so weird, and nothing comes of it.

//There's also the strangely unfomfortable spike in difficulty, and the fact that fluctuates VERY often.

//The trial features a mix of straightforward puzzles and extremely challenging minigames, some of which rival the difficulty of Danganronpa 2’s notoriously tough (and ridiculously fucking stupid) "Improved Hangman’s Gambit." These difficulty spikes, combined with long stretches of dialogue between minigames,don't do anything for this trial other than cause a pacing imbalance.

//How about the actual culprits though? Well, they are equally as divisive.

//This is, unfortunately, the only moment in Danganronpa V3 where Monokuma gets to show himself off to be the same bad bitch bear he was in the original game, and the Monokubs don't stick around long enough to be an issue to him. And unlike the first two games, he sticks around for the entire trial.

//But then he's coupled...with Tsumugi...

//And all my homies HATE...TSUMUGI...

//Okay, to be fair, Tsumugi is one of the most fun characters to write for Survivor, but I feel the need to point out that a large part of her character arc is that it involves her desperately trying to take up the mantle of the Ultimate Despair, and be on the same level as a criminal and terrorist Mastermind as Junko.

//And the reason I even have leeway for this type of character building for her is because there isn't just room for character development and improvement with her. There's FAR TOO MUCH of it.

//Tsumugi isn't just the least compelling masterminds in the series, but one of the least compelling characters IN GENERAL. And even after she IS revealed to be the big bad, she somehow remains the incredibly blank and boring character that she was for most of V3's run time.

//Junko, Monaca, and even Nagito as something of a pseudo-Mastermind were all batshit crazy and demonic to the core, but it's important to point out that they all have REASONS driving their evil acts, as psychopathic and evil some of them were. But Tsumugi lacks any sort of personal motive, and relies on her role as an avatar for the audience’s desires. The general passivity compared to other masterminds makes her insanely underwhelming.

//Speaking of which, if I may be allowed to go on a bit of a tangent here; the way that Tsumugi is outed as the Mastermind is kind of controversial in and of itself for me.

//By which I mean it's discovered that what actually happened at the beginning of the game is that Kaede's trap to kill the mastermind failed to kill Rantaro. But because of the first blood perk that meant the students would all die if no one was murdered, it meant that time was running short, and in the heat of the moment, Tsumugi got a second shotput ball, killed Rantaro with it, and used her authority as the Mastermind to frame Kaede for the crime anyway.

//Which all feels like unnecessary bullshit if I'm being honest.

//Case 1 and the twist that Kaede was the actual killer was great; and her subsequent execution is one of the most emotionally impactful moments in V3, because it it sends her off as a tragic, morally gray protagonist who was willing to kill for the greater good. Hence the reason why she's my favourite character in the series.

//However, the revelation here retroactively strips her of agency, making her a victim of Tsumugi's manipulation rather than someone who took a flawed, bold step to save her friends.

//This twist also diminishes Kaede's character arc. Her determination and selflessness, even if her actions were misguided, is largely the reason why she manages to be such a spectacular character despite her short runtime. By revealing that she was framed, the story shifts her role from an active participant to a passive victim, which feels like a betrayal of her established personality and the unique premise of her narrative.

//Additionally, the reveal is poorly foreshadowed, and feels like a contrived attempt to shock the audience, and a desperate attempt to redeem Kaede, rather than a natural development. The explanation relies heavily on Tsumugi’s ability to perfectly execute a plan without leaving meaningful clues for the detectives, which feels inconsistent with the game's emphasis on logical deduction, and inconsistent with her being an absolute dumbass every other time, even AFTER her Mastermind reveal. As a result, the twist feels less like a clever subversion and more like an unfair rewrite of the story's emotional stakes.

//All in all, Tsumugi's character feels less developed than those who came before her, and it feels like the emphasis on her being a "cosplayer of fiction" was little more than a bad excuse to avoid giving her any type of depth or a unique personality.

//She's just plain. And she stays plain even when she's revealed to be the main villain.

//Also, this is a comment that's gonna get me smited by everybody, but fuck it, I refuse to hide how I truly feel: Keebo is equally as dogshit.

//Keebo is such a NOTHING character, and I don't understand why he has such a massive fanbase. This is supposed to be him at his best, and his whole point is that he's the one who has to stick it to Tsumugi, but he fails to do even that.

//There's a tiny segment of this trial where we get to play as Himiko and Maki, and a large segment where we get to play as Keebo, and BOTH are UTTERLY POINTLESS, even though they are kind of cool.

//Keebo's actions during this trial when you play as him are a clear homage and cliche to the series' origins, where he is constantly encouraging everyone that they should never give up since the game isn't over yet. But this is effortlessly shut down when Tsumugi abruptly informs him that she WROTE his character that way, and it's exactly what she wanted him to say, as well as the fact that he unknowingly served as the audiences eyes and ears for the game. Thus Keebo's one single moment to shine in this entire game is ultimately futile.

//What was the fucking point of even that?

//So between the dogshit gameplay, and the dogshit Mastermind behind everything, this case is already bad enough. But sad as it is to say, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. Something that I believe is always a make-or-break for the final trials, and that's the Ultimate plot twist that it entails. Usually a big reveal of some sort.

Game 1: The world outside the academy has been basically destroyed.

Game 2: Jabberwock Island is a virtual simulation, and the students in Class 77 are the brainwashed Ultimate Despair terrorists who aided Junko in the Tragedy. Hajime is also Izuru Kamukura, a talentless boy who was experimented on by Hope's Peak Academy against his knowledge.

Another 1: Similar to Game 2. Yuki is revealed to be the true Mastermind behind the Killing Game, and his real identity is Utsuro, the boy with the power of Divine Luck that reshapes reality in his favor.

Another 2: Sora isn't real, is actually an AI based on Akane Taira, is the one who really has the Divine Luck Mikado seeks, and she is left behind as the virtual world is erased.

//I'm not gonna dance about it any longer than I have to, we all know the twist of V3, and we all know it's kind of bullshit.

//The case reveals that the events of Danganronpa V3 are part of a fictional reality show within the game’s universe. The students' lives and personalities were fabricated, their memories manipulated, and the killing game broadcasted for entertainment.

//V3 is actually the 53rd entry of the Danganronpa franchise, with the V in V3 actually being the roman numeral for 5. And Tsumugi directly references the previous Danganronpa games, framing them as part of the same fictional reality show franchise.

//This retroactively positions Danganronpa V3 as a reboot rather than a continuation, suggesting that the events of earlier games may not matter either.

//And the final trial frequently breaks the fourth wall, addressing the player directly and critiquing their role as consumers of violent, despair-filled entertainment. Tsumugi frames the killing game as something the audience demands, effectively blaming players for perpetuating the cycle.

//So yeah...

//EVERYTHING here just SUCKS!

//In the Meta sense, I will say that the twist is interesting, kind of humerous to an extent, and shouldn't be taken seriously in any sort of degree. Not to mention, to a certain extent, it's innovative and quite thought-provoking, as it rightfully critiques fan obsession with sensationalized entertainment.

//But it's done in a way that, in the attempt to portray their games audience, makes me wonder if Danganronpa understands its audience at all.

//The way it's handled here is a betrayal of the narrative, dismissing the emotional weight of the characters' struggles and reducing them to fictional constructs.

//If you're someone, like me, who is/was deeply invested in the original cast and continuity, this just feels insulting. It's like the series we love has been seemingly reduced to a meaningless cycle of fabricated tragedies. Some even see it as an attempt to erase the legacy of Danganronpa's 1 and 2, and it generally makes V3 feel disconnected from the rest of the series.

//I think what upsets me the most is that Tsumugi's claim that the game is made "for the fans, by the fans," is done as a way to make the player complicit in the killing game, suggesting that their desire for entertainment is what perpetuates the franchise’s cycles of despair.

//In other words, this game is basically telling you that you are a terrible person for playing and enjoying it. And I don't vibe with that AT ALL.

//This meta-narrative comes across as kind of self-indulgent and dismissive, overshadowing the characters and plot in favor of philosophical commentary. And not even the good kind.

//But this is why I specifically use words like "controversial" and "divisive" to describe this twist. The events of V3 single-handedly created a divide in the fanbase, with some appreciating the meta-commentary and others feeling disrespected.

//But besides the twist itself, what makes me personally lean towards the latter side of the argument is that all these twists, turns, and concepts are brought up, and despite the trial almost physically forcing the ideas into your throat, what baffles me is how strangely and concerningly ambiguous everything remains by the end of it.

//When you think about it, there are no grounds upon which Tsumugi makes her claims, so everything she says and states in this trial is questionable at best, and a blatant lie at worst. Shuichi even makes note of this at the very end of the game.

//It’s unclear whether the events of Danganronpa V3 were "real" in the context of the game world or entirely fictional within its universe, which many at this point in time have accepted as its own alternate timeline; hence why I make it so in Danganronpa Survivor. This ambiguity extends to whether the surviving characters have truly escaped the cycle of the killing game or are trapped in another layer of fiction.

//The surviving characters (Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko) are left in an uncertain state. Their escape from the game is metaphorical rather than literal, and their identities, forged through fabricated memories, remain unresolved.

//It's up for debate whether this can be called clever storytelling or unnecessarily confusing bullshit. For some, it feels like a cop-out that avoids resolving the story definitively, while others appreciate the open-ended nature, which allows for personal interpretation.

//The lack of clear rules or boundaries for what is real made the ending feel nonsensical or overly convoluted, and it's hard to get invested in a story that defies traditional narrative logic in this way. Even for something like Danganronpa.

//The ambiguity about the trio's futures and identities felt hollow, and that's why a lot of people want more closure.

//Speaking of which, yet another huge issue with this trial is something that V3 shares with 3. Despite the fact that the purpose of the game is to tie the knot on the franchise, there is SUCH a lack of CLOSURE, for FUCKS SAKE!

//Ultimately, it doesn't matter at all whether we can say that V3 was truly real, or fictional. It doesn't matter, because either way, people still want a satisfying conclusion for the characters they’ve followed, but V3 provides NONE of that. The ending’s open-ended nature, while probably done with good intent, makes it difficult to discern any definitive meaning or takeaway from the story.

//So god tell me, what did I just waste four hours of my life on!?

//Trial 6 of V3 is the worst ending in the series because it is generally a waste of time, spends so long trying to meticulously explain a very stupidly handled twist, and ultimately has NO CONCLUSION.

//Which is why it's so low, and yet, it still manages to avoid not only the honorable mentions, but the bottom spot (although it's really fucking close, trust me.)

//My opinion of this trial is overly negative, and it's not one I enjoy revisiting in any sense, but there are things about it I like.

//For starters, the characterization. I kind of already rambled on about this before when I went on that tangent about Tsumugi being a stupid as fuck villain.

//But while Tsumugi is incredibly poor...SHUICHI is BRILLIANT!

//I like all the Danganronpa protagonists about the same, and though I generally prefer Kaede, I ADORE Shuichi too, and THIS is why. He is EASILY the best-developed protagonist in the main series, and the way that growth that happens throughout all of V3 culminates here is near FLAWLESS.

//He's been through so much pain for this whole game, and it crushes him tenfold when he finds out what little enjoyment and fulfillment he DID have wasn't even reality, and just part of a fictional series. That, and the fact that people will never empathize with him, because in their eyes, he's just a character behind a screen.

//But he goes on to assert himself as a protagonist and chooses to challenge the killing game’s rules. His defiance is a moment of growth festered in him by the emotionally REAL relationships he had with Kaede and Kaito, showing that he can stand up for his beliefs, even in the face of overwhelming odds. His journey from self-doubt to confidence is deeply satisfying, well-handled, and emotional for fans who connected with his struggles. His choice to reject both hope and despair in favor of forging his own path is empowering, just as much, if not more, than even Hajime's from Game 2.

//There were a few characters, namely Kaede, Kaito, and Kokichi, who did massive gambits in an attempt to break the killing game and ruin it, but they all failed. It feels good to know that Shuichi was the one who succeeded.

//Despite its kind of unholy subversion, the trial also acts as a tribute to the Danganronpa series and how far it's come, incorporating callbacks, references, and homages to earlier games; most notably when Tsumugi transforms herself into characters from the series before this.

//It's not quite closure, but it's the closest we get.

//As far as the twist goes, while I generally think it was handled poorly, the idea behind it comes from a very important place. The meta-narrative of this trial turns the game into a commentary on the nature of fiction and the role of creators, characters, and audiences. It’s a fresh and daring approach that sets this game apart from its predecessors, making it memorable and thought-provoking in regards to people's relationship with the series and the medium of storytelling as a whole.

//And while I generally dislike the open-ended conclusion, it does invite the idea of interpretation, allowing players to draw their own meanings and decide what is real within the story.

//I mean, I did that. You're reading that very blog now.

//The worst part about this trial for me is the fact that it feels like the twist is designed to attack the hardcore fans; something that I can't really forgive. But the way the trial critiques fandom culture, exploring the implications of endlessly consuming horrible concepts for entertainment, is kind of a valid statement to make at the current state of the world. It asks the audience to consider their role in perpetuating the killing games and questions the morality of reveling in such dark content.

//I just wish it had done so more kindly.

//But yeah, overall while I do appreciate V3's final trial for its boldness and willingness to subvert expectations, I generally dislike it for its perceived disrespect to the series' characters, themes, and fanbase. Case 6 is somehow both a brilliant deconstruction of the series’ tropes and a reflection on the nature of storytelling, fandom, and media consumption, as well as a betrayal of the series’ core themes. The ending’s ambiguity, meta-commentary, and radical deconstruction of the franchise leave it as one of the most polarizing conclusions in gaming history, and I doubt there are many that come close.

[logmore]

hello logmore! silly question but i was curious about your thoughts on like a dragon: infinite wealth so far. you mentioned being bored by the first few chapters (fair) so i’m curious what your impression is now that you’ve played more of it. i wish sega was a bit more transparent about the development of the yakuza games because im kind of fascinated by some of the decisions they made in this one

I finished the game last night so I can reply now. I will talk about Infinite Wealth spoilers here:

Things I like:

Combat: Just Yakuza 7 combat but fleshed out, which is perfect. Being able to position your character is great, the team chain attacks and weapon attacks and stuff are fun to set up. The one flaw with it is that it does not interact with Kiryu very well, and by the end I was actually doing less damage with Kiryu if I got a tag team or weapon attack instead of a basic Brawler attack.

Classes: There were a lot of classes I ignored in 7 because they just weren't doing anything; it was just better to leave Joongi, Zhao, and Eri as their defaults and go to town. I think 8 has an improved skill inheritance system that made it more worthwhile to try out different classes, so by the end I switched every character away from their base class. Desperado and Aquanaut stood out as being very flexible and fun.

Kiryu: Technically this is an Ichiban game, but its more of a send-off to Kiryu than anything. I like how there was a ton of content dedicated to Kiryu revisiting characters from the past games, delivered in a way that I still liked it even though I only played 0 and 1. I thought the way they introduced leveling up his stances + gaining the ability to go beat-em-up mode was pretty clever. I also liked equipping him with gear that gave him buffs every turn so he could tear enemies apart like King's Hawaiian rolls.

Yamai: They knew what they were cooking here. You have to fight this guy like 4 times and I enjoyed it every time. He's cool, he looks cool, even the main characters say he is cool, and if he isn't playable in Yakuza 9 I'm gonna be astounded.

Things I don't:

Slow start: The first chapter got me pretty invested, but after Ichiban goes to Hawaii the story is a fucking slog for like 15 hours. I got so bored I stopped playing, and when I came back it finally picked up again.

Side content that I wasn't ever going to do: This is the reason the start of the story is so slow. I'm sure Dondoko Island and Crazy UberEats and all that is fun, but it isn't the type of thing I'm playing these games for, and when so much time in the story is spent ramping up all these side games to play, I just feel like I'm wasting my time. Next game might as well have a Virtua Fighter 6 tournament in the middle of it, why not?

Villains: Bryce and Ebina are just lame characters. This is a game with essentially 2 final bosses, but neither of them have the emotional core or the weight of the bosses from 7. Bryce is literally just 'a weird guy shows up', and while I understand what they were going for with Ebina, his goals seem so disconnected from what the protagonists are experiencing that him taking his shirt off and fighting Kiryu doesn't feel like a real climax. Getting Danny Trejo on board was a pretty inspired choice, but you fight Dwight so early that it framed him as a weakling that didn't matter. And he keeps coming back, in spite of that! There were a few showdowns in 7 where it felt high stakes/intense, but in 8 they had to bust out Sawashiro again to capture that.

Managing 2 parties at the same time: On one hand its cool because it means I get to use every party member, but I wish they bumped up the XP of whatever party you weren't playing, so that when you switched between them they were both at the same level. There were a couple of points where I had to grind because the difficulty of the content was scaling based on what my previous party had left off at, so I needed to get my current party to that level first. I also had to spend a lot of time doing the dungeons to get the materials for weapon upgrades on 9 characters. Just kind of time consuming, but it isn't the worst thing in the world.

Tatara Channel: Its dumb, but this is the only thing in the game that actually made me mad. The social media aspect of the story already feels dated in a way, and I don't care about Vtubers to begin with, but the thing that actually got me upset about this shit is that all the Tatara Channel scenes are just story recaps with unskippable dialog where something relevant MIGHT happen at the end. At one point I got tired of it and just skipped the cutscene, and then all of the sudden Kiryu is in front of Tojo HQ ready to fight. I hope they never deliver a plot in this way ever again

Even though I wrote more negative things than positive things, I still liked this game a lot. 7 is a way better story, but I think Ichiban and Kiryu are just too strong of protagonists to truly hate on the story, even if a lot of things surrounding it are dumb. I'm looking forward to playing pirates with Majima, and I will wish on a genie's lamp for Yamai to come back as a playable berserker-type character

[ultraflavour]

7 Fantasy RPGs to fill the D&D-shaped Hole in your Life

So. It finally happened. Either Hasbro, or Wizards of the Coast, or someone else associated with Dungeons & Dragons finally did something so fucked-up that you've decided to swear it off entirely.

The problem is that for decades, there has been one obvious answer to the question of "What game with Dwarves, Longswords and Wizards in it should we play" and that was D&D, every time. Even their strongest rival in the past couple of decades was just an older version of D&D with a spit shine.

Now you find yourself adrift in a sea of possibility, with no signposts. There are names you've heard, but you have no idea which ones you'd actually be interested in, because you had always just assumed you'd be playing D&D until the heat death of the universe.

So let's take a look at a few games that want to fill that D&D-shaped hole in your gaming life, and examine what they're offering.

Disclaimer: I'm not covering the entire breadth and depth of the TTRPG industry here. I'm specifically going to be covering Fantasy RPGs that should appeal to D&D fans here. So if I didn't cover your favourite indie RPG, sorry. But there has to be a "First step" outside of the D&D bubble, and each of these games should fulfill that need.

The Other "Kitchen Sink" Game: Pathfinder

If you can't bring yourself to keep playing the corporate game, but you still want something that offers as close to that gameplay experience as you can possibly get, your best bet at the time of this writing is probably Pathfinder 2nd Edition.

I say this as someone who very much did not vibe with the original Pathfinder, or its "D&D in space" sister product Starfinder. But at this point, I'd absolutely tell a newcomer to jump into Pathfinder 2E before I recommended they buy any WotC product.

To their credit, the 2nd Edition of Pathfinder does much more to, uh, find its own path by diverging from 3.5 edition and implementing new systems that take it into uncharted territory. The "Two Actions Per Turn" paradigm is often cited by its proponents as being a meaningful improvement over the 5E way of doing things.

The "TTJRPG": Fabula Ultima

One of the biggest success stories of the early 20's was Fabula Ultima from NEED Games in Italy. It came seemingly out of nowhere to win the ENnie Gold Award for Best Game of 2023. Since then it's become notoriously difficult to find in print, though it's still freely available as a PDF.

Fabula Ultima is a "TTJRPG," modelled after Japanese fantasy video games like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Phantasy Star, Breath of Fire, etc. While it's firmly planted in the Fantasy genre, its gameplay will also very recognizable to fans of those types of games.

The major benefit of this conceit is that you can probably already picture how combat in FabUlt works in your mind: Two rows of characters take turns jumping and slashing at each other, or casting magical spells to harm, heal, or apply status conditions. There's no concept of "Spacing," but the game still manages to be mechanically intricate with lots of varied class abilities and status effects to apply.

D&D refugees looking for a game where you simply pick a class and fight some monsters, but aren't too particular about how they do that, will find a lot to love here. FabUlt leans much more heavily on storytelling mechanics than D&D does, so players who've been looking for something a bit more "Theater of the Mind" should be well taken care of here.

Final Fantasy Lancer: ICON

Like Fabula Ultima, ICON is a TTRPG that takes heavy inspiration from JRPGs, specifically tactical games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. It's from Massif Press, who also authored the surprise indie Mech combat hit Lancer.

And like Lancer, ICON is a game with two very distinct rulesets: Outside of combat, a "Fiction-first" narrative system inspired heavily by Blades in the Dark; In combat, a grid-based tactical skirmish game reminiscent of D&D 4th Edition. All backed by the gorgeous art of its author Tom Parkinson-Morgan, who also writes and illustrates the comic Kill Six Billion Demons.

ICON separates its "narrative" class system from its combat class system, giving each character two distinct character sheets that come into play at different times. Because those two systems don't have to cross over very much, each can be as intricate or as rules-light as it needs to be to promote the type of gameplay most appropriate for the situation.

The Old-School Gateway Drug: Shadowdark

If you ever took a few steps outside of the walled garden that is D&D in the past few years, you will likely have read or heard of the OSR, or "Old-School Revival/Renaissance." Proponents of the OSR are players who yearn for an older style of Dungeon Crawling Survival Horror game that hearkens back to the early days of D&D, before the players became akin to superheroes.

Shadowdark aims to be a game that bridges the gap to that style of gameplay, without being totally unfamiliar to players who only ever learned 5th Edition mechanics. It's "Old-School gaming, modernized."

Aside from simply being a modern take on a D20 fantasy game, it freshens up gameplay using a mechanic called the "Torch Timer." It turns light into a resource that dwindles in real time. This serves to elevate the tension of the game as every minute that passes is one less minute of light on your torch. And when the torches run out, well... You can probably guess what happens next.

5th Edition with the Serial Numbers Filed Off: Tales of the Valiant

Tell me if you've heard this one before: Wizards of the Coast introduces sweeping changes to its "Open" license model, leading existing 3rd-party content creators to create their own version of an older ruleset to protect the viability of their backlog. It happened in the past, but what are the chances that happens a second time? Ha!

Well... It did happen again. This time, playing the role of the "Paizo" in this scenario is Kobold Press, who loudly declared that they were "Raising the Black Flag" in response. In order to ensure that there would always be a "Core Fantasy" ruleset that would remain compatible with their content, they announced Tales of the Valiant, which would essentially duplicate the 5th Edition ruleset with a bit of a spit shine, in much the same way that Pathfinder did for 3.5 Edition.

Tales of the Valiant will be the game for the D&D player who just wanted a rules refresh of 5th Edition, but also doesn't want to keep throwing money at the corporate hegemony. It should end up being "The 5E you can feel good about supporting," and that matters right now.

Matt Colville's Big Bet: The MCDM RPG

Kobold Press was not the only publisher of third-party D&D content to have a strong reaction to the OGL fiasco. Unlike Tales of the Valiant however, Matt Colville's response was to announce a fully new Fantasy RPG system, with no expectation of backwards compatibility with any edition of D&D.

MCDM's sights are firmly set on the "Post-Kitchen-Sink" future, and to that end their game is explicitly not trying to be the one game for every possible playstyle. It's Tactical, meaning you'll need a grid to play it on, and it's Heroic, meaning characters should feel powerful, and not like they're constantly one critical hit or failed trap-sensing check away from being decapitated.

This approach might seem like a massive risk considering how insanely powerful 5th Edition became at its peak. But a record-breaking crowdfunding campaign backed by over 30,000 people shows that there is at least an appetite for something new, and that there is a like-minded community of players ready and waiting to join you.

The Critical Role Game: Daggerheart

If the Kobold Press announcement was a shot across the bow, and the MCDM crowdfunder was a bomb dropped, then Daggerheart is a full-blown asteroid, streaking straight towards Wizards of the Coast HQ.

Daggerheart is an original Fantasy RPG from Darrington Press, the publishing arm of the Critical Role media company. That by itself should mean something considering how important CR is to the D&D brand, but there's more to talk about here. Though it superficially resembles D&D in a lot of ways, it has some extremely important differences. Namely, its use of "Powered by the Apocalypse" mechanics such as "Fail Forward" dice rolling and "No Initiative" combat.

While "PbtA" has become somewhat of a loaded term in the D&D community, Critical Role has an opportunity to overcome that stigma with the sheer force of their platform. I've made this case already in the past, but if they were to use their power to do for themselves what they did for 5th Edition, it would be the most significant threat to the Hasbro Hegemony to emerge since Pathfinder. Let alone taking just a slice, Daggerheart has the long-term potential to take the whole damn pie.

And more!

The games I've listed here are all theoretically capable of replacing the Corpo game as your "go-to" long-term game. Not all of them are fully playable as of this writing, but they all represent one possible future for the "Sword and Sorcery" RPG genre.

There are of course a whole plethora of other games out there beyond the limited scope of "Medieval Fantasy" that are just as valid and just as viable, if you're feeling a bit more adventurous.

If you're looking for something explicitly tactical like a miniature skirmish game, but still in the RPG genre, and you're willing to expand your choice of genre beyond Euro-centric Medieval Fantasy even further beyond ICON, you might be interested in Gubat Banwa or the aforementioned Lancer.

If you want a game that promotes a slightly more streamlined, less mechanically-intricate approach to combat while still giving you tons of monsters to kick the shit out of, you might want to check out the "Illuminated by LUMEN" family of games inspired by the games LIGHT and NOVA from Gila RPGs. It might even inspire you to write your own RPG!

If you're more interested in the Old-School Renaissance, you might want to check out Forbidden Lands, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Old-School Essentials, or MÖRK BORG.

If you like the idea of "Old-School Roleplaying" but are also willing to step outside of the fantasy genre into Sci-fi territory, you might be interested in Stars Without Number, its Cyberpunk sister product Cities Without Number, or Mothership.

Finally, if you just want a game that focuses on telling the best story rather than mindlessly killing monsters and acquiring loot, you might want to check out Blades in the Dark, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Girl by Moonlight, Coyote and Crow, and many more Fiction-First games in the Powered by the Apocalypse and Forged in the Dark genres.

But most importantly: Just play more games! Don't just buy them, play them! The point of this whole exercise is to replace the monopoly with a plurality, for the sake of the health of the tabletop gaming industry.

Because the next time Hasbro lays off a bunch of WotC employees, there should be a much stronger, more diverse industry for them to land in feet-first. We should all want for the people who build the games we love to feel safe in their career choice. Not just for the sake of the ones who are already there, but for future prospective designers and artists who want to make their mark.

It should be viable to be a tabletop game designer outside of just making more D&D stuff forever, because as we've seen, it's not safe to assume that we can all just keep doing the same thing we've been doing and not get bit on the ass by it.

If we want that future, we have to take it into our own hands and build it ourselves. But if there's one group of people that knows about building something very big from very little, it's TTRPG players.

[doctor-hopper]

As fond as I am of Komaegi, I also think it could be very interesting to see a post-game situation where Nagito is actually somewhat hostile to Makoto due to that scenario you describe. Like in a very bizarre way it would actually kind of be a sign that he's improving, if he decides he's not going to blindly worship the Ultimate Hope. But also I think he would actually be in the right there. Because DR3's epilogue combined with the Remnants taking the blame to preserve the Future Foundation's reputation (an organization that frankly did NOT deserve that), is probably the thing I most hated about it overall. It was ridiculously tone-deaf to have Makoto and Class 78, the Hope's Peak survivors who were least affected by the ugliness of its dark side, reopen the school. With no implication that they ever asked for Hajime or Class 77's blessing to do so.

Nagito: "Naegi-kun...I understand that my presence is uncomfortable to you. That's fair. I endangered your sister, and I'm just not a very pleasant person to be around in general. But...I can promise you that if you go forward with this plan of yours, then I won't be the last. You want to know what produces loathsome fuck-ups like me? That shitty school and the culture it fosters."

Yes, yes, this is exactly the sort of thing I was thinking about! Komaeda would never quite fall into blind worship, because even with all his self-hatred he never doubts that he’s the one who knows how hope works, how talent works, how luck works—his ultimate form of worship is doing what he knows to be best for his idols, even when his idols disagree.

If it was about Naegi reopening Hope’s Peak, I think Komaeda would totally be in the right. And besides, Naegi’s the Ultimate Lucky Student, the Ultimate Hope, an ordinary person, he’s seen everything firsthand, and now he decides to do something like this? Why would he ever think that’s a good idea? It would feel like a betrayal.

I also like the point about how Class 78 were the least affected (from one angle at least), because that would probably add to it for Komaeda too. Naegi should be the same as Komaeda, and yet he manages to be so many things Komaeda is not and can never be! I think Komaeda finds it some mix of amazing and utterly infuriating, and that’s such an interesting part of their dynamic.

[bluespiritshonour]

A little comparison just for fun because I'm sleepy as fuck but can't sleep. Wish me luck guys I need it tomorrow

On phone, with fingers:

On iPad with apple pencil (the standard issue one. I guess?)

On laptop, with One by Wacom:

I guess it's not really a fair comparison because over the years I moved away from phone and towards pen tablet—so my art has improved over time too. And that one time I used iPad I borrowed it from a friend because I didn't have One back then... And I just needed a tablet. Of any kind, really. And I'll never buy anything from Apple if I can help it so there's that too...

One good thing about drawing with fingers is that I drew while waiting for food at diners. Which is a lot of the time... Can't draw at diners if I'm using a laptop and a pen tablet. I'm only comfortable in my bed lol. But at this point, unless I'm literally drawing in class because the lecture's mind-numbing as fuck... I don't really prefer phone anymore. Took a long time to get used to pen tablet but I like it now. I'll surely have better control in traditional and I do believe I draw much better traditional.

But digital is the only medium I can do colours in. I suck at colours in traditional so... I'll take digital.

[monstersinthecosmos]

I'm so glad you're back!! I was so panicked when I saw your blog was gone, because you are truly one of the absolute stars of VC fandom!!

I joined VCblr a few months ago because I have been obsessed with Marius since I was 13, like my Marius obsession literally changed my life in multiple ways and I saw VC was becoming popular again so I wanted to join in! but like one of my first posts got these comments from people I'd never even spoken to before about how I was disrespecting Marius and his fans, and to be a little dramatic the way some of these comments were written, I felt like some of them seemed to actually really hate me personally. It just killed my desire to write fic or meta anymore so I just deleted my tumblr and now I just have an empty one so I can lurk on people. Like I have really limited time and energy for fandom, and I don't want to spend it writing stuff that people just hate seeing and making them feel bad, and then feeling bad myself for liking the stuff I like.

Anyway, I found your blog a little while ago and I am OBSESSED with your creativity and your perspective on like everything, so I'm sorry to be a weird rambling anon but basically I'm just trying to say your blog has made a difference to how I feel about my own freaky way of loving Marius and I just love your openness and acceptance and your ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS A++ MARIUS TAKES and you genuinely have improved my VC experience 100% and I'm glad you haven't been erased from existence.

ugh see this is what I mean dude!! I'm so sorry to hear you had that experience!!!!!! Please talk to me off anon any time, I'd love to see your posts if you wanna come back and share again!

I BRING THIS UP NOW AND THEN so I'm sorry if I'm like a rambling old man telling the same story 400 times, but, now and then I think it bears repeating. But like, when I was 13, a boy at my school bashed my head open on a locker (I had to go to the hospital and get my head stapled shut) and he punched me in the face so hard that I have permanent ligament damage in my jaw. And it was because I was like, a baby bat and I was into numetal and Wicca and I was like the only kid in my small town school who didn't go to church. The day it happened I was wearing a Korn shirt!!! And I had blue hair! And I'd been like very intensely bullied my whole time in middle school, and the adults in my life NEVER protected me. This was RIGHT after Columbine and people were still buying into the propaganda that the killers were bullied goth kids and not fucking neo-nazis, so like, the entire time I was getting violently harassed, every day!, no one protected ME because they thought I would turn out to be the violent one. And yet, I was being put on hit lists. I had a gun pointed at me. A boy one time stole my Wicca book out of my backpack and read it to the class to make fun of me, but *I'm* the one who got in trouble for it because they thought I wanted to cast spells & curses on my classmates. The boy who assaulted me was a KNOWN problem in our school, and I wasn't even the first girl he hurt! MEANWHILE I still got a week of detention for having my head bashed open because they said I started the fight. ((This is up for debate: Yes I actually did throw the first punch LMFAO but he HAD been teasing me incessantly for like ever so like come the fuck on. I deserved that one.))

idk why I was just born like, without any shame or something, I guess it's innate, the rebel streak, I can't explain, but none of this really hurt my feelings? Every time people would make fun of me I was thinking "Yeah but I love Korn and they're so COOL and if you're making fun of me that means you're NOT cool and I don't really value anything you have to say????" And that really sustained me through all of this.

So yatta yatta terfs & conservatives poisoned the fandom well on Tumblr and I always think that it's not so different -- being picked on because you like something weird & offputting or whatever, and being treated like a threat or a danger when you're the one who's vulnerable to harassment and violence. In the digital space on Tumblr it's going to be about like kinky stuff and villainfucking and IRL it was because I was the only goth at my school and I liked horror films. It's the same shit, being harassed because of the fiction you like and the media you consume. And on Tumblr it's people being absolute fucking dickheads and IRL it was me being put in the hospital because a guy put his fucking hands on me, he was that upset that I was into cool shit.

And just. Yknow. It does suck when you want fandom to be a chillout space and you get your feelings hurt. It fucking SUCKS when people show up here specifically to be unkind to others, like I can't think of a less productive use of time. But part of me always thinks "I didn't get my head stapled shut for some grassless little fucking weasel on tunglr dot com to shame me over vampire porn" lmao.

(As an aside if you ever want to look into other examples of people being IRL fucked over over STUFF THEY LIKE, google the West Memphis Three ((innocent metalheads who did 20 years on death row because people thought the weird metal boys MUST be murderers)) or the FBI trying to file Juggalos as a GANG which means anyone who had an ICP phase and got a Hatchetman tattoo as an 18 year old is now in jeopardy of losing their fucking children for affiliating with a gang, okay. And this isn't even to scratch the surface of the way people treat hip hop and way it's mired in racism. Censorship and thought policing are always going to come down to Christofascism and white supremacy, but I digress.)

So blah blah all that to say, I'm not going anywhere and it pisses me the fuck off that people can't keep this bullshit to their private group chats. I have NO idea what anyone gains by acting like this in public.

Like, yeah yeah, fandom is silly, whatever, but hobbies are legit! And we deserve a space to unwind that isn't ruined by capitalism and bigotry and just, some little space to land. ESPECIALLY when, let's be real!, it's very very very common for fandom folks to be neurodivergent. I mean why else would we be so obsessed and blorbo-sick lol. So like, it just feels extra fucking shitty of people to be rude to fans like that, to make you feel shame for the thing that excites you.

Fandoms SELF GENERATE. Someone has to be here posting shit and we have to interact with it and create community. And genuinely if all you can contribute is your horseshit attitude, you can go fuck yourself!!! And I can't begin to tell you how much it breaks my heart when I see this infighting in one fandom, because like, being a Marius fan - BELIEVE ME - when I tell you I've done my time as persona non grata, the antis have fucking come for me LMFAO, I'm on the blocklists, I've been accused of absolutely heinous bullshit for liking a stupid fake vampire character. Like, listen!

I've had my head bashed open on a locker for liking numetal! You're not going to chase me off Tumblr!!!!!!

Anyway this got away from me, idk what I'm trying to say, I'm saying that I'm so sorry you had a bad experience and I hope you come back some time! And I encourage everyone to block & curate your space as needed to make for a happy escape zone. EVEN BLOCKING ME, I KNOW I GET ON PEOPLES NERVES SOMETIMES. And my content isn't for everyone! It's fine! Stay safe please, and I love you, and I have your fucking back dude!!!

AND EVERYONE ELSE JUST, HOLY SHIT BE NICE TO PEOPLE. IT COSTS $0 TO BE FUCKING NICE TO PEOPLE. IF YOU'RE NOT BEING CREATIVE YOU'RE BEING DESTRUCTIVE!

[666writingcafe]

So, tomorrow is my birthday, and I'm trying really hard to calm my anxiety about the US Presidential Election, so I've picked a prompt from my Fall Menu and I'm gonna write it for myself. At least for a little while, it should distract me from the impending sense of doom I'm currently feeling.

Order #11

“I’ll be honest: I get off to the thought of you.” Lucifer x GN!MC

It started with a bottle of Demonus and a writing assignment.

This semester, I'm taking a theater class to improve my acting skills for RAD's Improv Club. I've done okay so far, but I've been told multiple times that I have a stick up my ass and need to relax. Maybe not in those exact words, but I'm pretty good at reading between the lines.

I suppose in this way, my pride is a detriment to my performance. I'm afraid of looking stupid in front of other people, especially when they're much more knowledgeable about a subject than I am. I feel rather nervous whenever I'm standing in front of the class, reading lines out loud. If I mess up, I feel like they'd all start mocking me. Word would spread across campus about how the Avatar of Pride isn't good at something, and everyone would stop taking me seriously.

Insecurity is a bitch sometimes.

Tonight's assignment is to write a monologue that starts with the line, I'll be honest: I get off to the thought of you. The professor will read through all of them and select a couple that he wants read out loud in class. Of course, being the prideful and competitive man I am, I want to be among that group. It would be nice to excel at this and essentially prove everyone wrong.

That's where the Demonus comes in.

I honestly tried my best to attack this sober, but the only thing I've successfully written in the past hour is the prompt itself. Nothing else has looked or sounded right. I figured the wine would help calm my frustration and somehow inspire me.

Two glasses should do it, at least as a start.

A gentle knock on the door interrupts me as soon as I've finished pouring glass number one. There's only one person in this entire House that has the decency to knock quietly.

"Come in," I call out, taking a sip of Demonus. The door slowly creaks open and closed as they enter the room.

"I brought you dinner." A plate soon gets set on a clean spot on my desk, away from any paperwork. "I figured you were in for a busy night when you rushed in here as soon as we returned from class, and I didn't want you to go hungry."

"Thanks." I quickly glance up at MC to acknowledge their presence before returning to the assignment at hand. However, I inadvertently meet their gaze, and I'm suddenly unable to look away.

Perhaps it's the lighting that makes them alluring in a t-shirt and sweatpants, or maybe I accidentally grabbed a stronger bottle than usual when I was at the store. In any case, seeing them causes ideas to begin pour into my head.

"Do you need to do anything else this evening?" I ask, my voice sounding oddly desperate.

"Not necessarily," they answer. "I mean, I was wanting to get a jump start on a project, but it can wait until tomorrow."

"Good. Would you mind taking a seat? I need you for something."

"Of course. What do you need me to do?"

"Just be here with me. I'll explain once I'm done writing." MC dutifully sits in one of the chairs across from me and pulls out their DDD as I begin scribbling furiously in my notebook. I can always rewrite this to look neater later, but if I don't get these ideas out of my head now, I'm afraid they're not going to appear again, and I really need to prove a point.

I can be vulnerable. I just need to be around the right person in order for that to happen, and if I can channel that into this monologue, then surely I'll get chosen to read it out loud, right?

~~~

"There. All done."

"I'm pleasantly surprised, Lucifer. You've managed to finish before I began nodding off." I playfully glare at MC, who reacts by sticking their tongue out at me.

Fuck, they're adorable.

I briefly explain the assignment to them, and they're astute enough to know that I want to read what I've written to them. Mostly so that they can help me edit, but this little exercise ended up morphing into a confession of sorts.

They need to hear these words come out of my mouth exactly as I've written them.

"Whenever you're ready, I'm all ears," they tell me. Clearing my throat, I begin reciting my monologue.

I'll be honest, I get off to the thought of you. Your smile, your scent, your sense of humor...everything about you turns me on. You have me wrapped around your finger in a way that no one else has before. I want to please you, and I'll do anything for your approval. Just the thought of you makes my heart skip a beat, and my pulse quicken. I want you more than words can describe. So, let me show you just how much I adore you. I'll do whatever you say, be whatever you want me to be, and give you all the pleasure in the world. Just the thought of holding you in my arms is enough to drive me wild. I crave you.

I want to feel your lips pressed against mine. To feel your warm breath against my skin. To hear the sound of your voice as you whisper sweet nothings into my ear. To touch every inch of your body and memorize every curve. To be yours, and for you to be mine. I want to hear the sound of your voice as you moan my name. To know that it's me making you experience true ecstasy would make me the happiest man in the world.

I love you, body and soul. Just let me prove it to you. I promise you won't regret it.

Looking up from my notebook reveals a blushing MC fiddling with the hem of their shirt.

"That was well-done," they mumble. "I'm sure you'll get high marks." They momentarily pause, swallowing nervously. "Can I ask you something?"

I nod my head, closing the notebook so they have my undivided attention.

"Did you have any other plans this evening?" They sound fearful. Are they afraid I'll reject their request?

"None that don't involve you." They initially open their mouth to respond, but quickly close it as my words fully register in their head.

"I see." Another swallow. "I haven't exactly been in this position before. Usually I'm the one submitting to other people. Are you sure you want me to do this?" I walk around my desk and stand in front of them, reaching down to touch the side of their face.

"My dear, silly little lamb, I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. Besides, most of the hard work has been done already. All you have to do is give me an order. You don't even have to use the pact to get me to obey. I'll do whatever you say."

"Within reason?" I chuckle.

"I trust your judgement." MC closes their eyes and takes a deep breath.

"I want you in my bed. I know it's much smaller than yours, but--"

"Done. What else?" My interruption catches them off guard.

"Well...um..."

"Breathe." After MC takes another moment to compose themselves, they whisper,

"I wanna ride you."

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr, @tenkobitch, @budbuddnbuddy

[echowithpain]

Alrighty!!!! This episode was really good, I liked it a lot ✨✨✨✨✨

Do I have any problems with it? 🤔

Uhhh... I mean Ex Captain Dickweed was in it, but if anything, his scenes helped propel the plot forward. Also, as of right now, I don't mind him. I still don't like how he was in the past, but if he takes a step back to actually see how he's been behaving and makes active steps to improve AND apologizes for how shitty he was in the past (I mean past seasons as well with Hen and Chim's begins episodes, not just on the tv set job like yelling at Hailey (the PA who got his coffee for those who don't remember)), then I'm all for it. I mean, it kinda looks like that's what the show is leaning towards anyway, especially since they're very clearly and very obviously establishing he has a crush on Brad 😂 But hey, if having a crush on a TV star is what gets him there then so be it. I think I'll do -1/2 point since this looks like it's gonna be an arc, BUT if he doesn't end up doing all that/he does but doesn't apologize for his past behavior, then this'll be -1 point

Athena was right of course with having bad vibes for the probie, but I guess I'm a bit upset we didn't get to see her chew him out after the whole "him jumping on a delivery truck as it was driving away and ignoring her orders to do things his own way" incident. She only looked annoyed at the scene and then ranted to Elaine about it in the office, and then the dude walked in.

Also he apparently was the top of his class but didn't know the parts of the police first aid kits? I'm sure that was meant to be another red flag, but this was after he'd already shot the woman, IN FRONT OF HER KID MIND YOU... Wait I just thought of something:

How did no one recognize his behavior when he was in training?

I'm sure always taking notes and being a "pick me" guy might've helped, but you're saying they didn't do behavioral testing where they run you through a scenario to see how you'd react?

Eh, actually now that I'm thinking about it, he probably wouldn't have acted that way in the training because they were all at equal stages of power besides the teachers, so when he was with a civilian, then he realized he had more power than them in that situation and flew out of control. That makes sense...

Anyway -1/2 point for Athena not chewing the guy out for jumping on the truck and ignoring her orders

Uh...

-1/2 point for Buck wanting to text/call Temu and agonizing over it for almost all our scenes with him. Sorry not sorry but I gotta be petty 🤭💅✨

Other than that, I fucking LOVED this episode 👏👏👏 I mean, how could I not? BRAD'S BACK!!! AND HES STAYING TO SHADOW BOBBY??? 💖✨🤩✨💖✨💖✨🤩✨💖✨✨🤩✨💖

Also we got Jee-Yun baking cookies with Uncle Buck 😭💖, Eddie being silly with yoinking Buck's phone and playing keep away 😂, ACTUAL HEN AND ATHENA SCENE WHERE THEYRE BEING FRIENDS??? 💖💖💖💖 (the show has those??? 😱😂), Buck quickly figuring out Maddie's pregnant ✨ and Chim threatening him if he told anyone 😂, Bobby calling Ex Captain Dickweed a dick 🤣, Ex Captain Dickweed acting like someone with a crush on a person who has a crush on their friend 😂 (I have no idea what they're doing with his character but it's fucking hilarious 🤣), Bobby actually taking Brad out on a "date" and Brad being all about it 🤣 (I fucking love this show, but I will say, Brad should've apologized to that waitress he made upset 😠 (it's okay pookie, I could never be mad at you for too long 🥰 Unless he does something truly horrible but I doubt that's gonna happen))

SPEAKING OF THE WAITRESS SCENE!!!!!!!

When Bobby got close to Brad and Brad was egging him on, all I could think was

BRAD????

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Why do you want Bobby to be so close to you???? Why did you like him yelling at you and getting in your face??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

And then of course the argument got online and 3M people saw it 😂😂😂 and Buck, Hen, and Eddie were teasing Bobby about it 😂 Reminded me of when they found out he was a figure skater when he was a kid and made the lifesize cardboard cutout of his younger self 😂😂😂

I almost wanted to take off a half point for the "He's right behind me isn't he?" cliché, but because of the situation and also knowing Brad, it was actually perfect, especially since Bobby had been working on a TV set for a while before getting back to the 118, so sayings like that were probably etched into his brain 🤣🤣🤣

And speaking of working, Athena's officially gonna be mentoring new recruits??? Ayo??? Ngl, I actually wanna see that ✨ Also I like how they showed the very real situation of people acting like the woman in the car (I laughed when she called 911 on the cops around her, lady they ARE 911?😂) and then a cop who people think have things under control loses that control because someone pissed them off and they end up getting shot. Thank fuck the lady survived, but showing the scenario of how something like that could play out was good for people to recognize and see what the cop did wrong. People can be paranoid, they can be uncooperative, they can even be assholes, but cops have to be able to deal with them in a way that doesn't end up with people getting shot.

What the guy should've done was as soon as the woman started pissing him off, he should've backed up, taken a breath, and maybe regrouped and have a talk with his partner about what to do. Or as soon as he heard Athena's voice when he was about to break the window, he should have again stopped and taken a step back. Even if he did get as far as breaking the window, why try to take her out of the car? The whole point was to see her license, registration, and proof of insurance. She didn't need to step out of the car for that and the window was already broken so he could've stopped there.

As crazy as this was, I will say, I do wish Athena would be wrong about something, just once. Nothing big, just like... A person, either someone random or a new recruit, gives her a somewhat bad vibe, but instead of them being "a ticking time bomb", they're genuine in what they want to do but they might need a bit more guidance on a thing or two.

Using the guy as an example, he said his dad was a bad con artist who would get drunk and take it out on him and his mom. Then the neighbors called the cops and while they didn't take his dad away, he saw that they scared him and he'd never seen his dad look so afraid before. He could've wanted to be a cop because he felt a rush seeing his dad be scared, but also he could've wished they'd arrested his dad that night so he thought to do better. Athena could catch that craving for power from him, get the somewhat bad vibes, and think he's someone with bad intentions, but when it comes down to him possibly doing something extreme, she could see him actually stop himself and do the right thing, maybe saving someone's life in the process. Athena could see and admit she misjudged him, but recommend he keeps his craving for power in check and maybe recommend Frank if it's something he'd need extra help with.

Something like that, again, nothing extreme or big, just something I'd like to see ✨ And I'm not saying I wish I'd seen this in the episode instead (obviously, it's a drama show), I'm saying I'd possibly like to see this somewhere down the line. Like someone gives off vibes but instead of being a serial killer just starting out, or an abusive spouse, or a power hungry cop, they're just someone who needs to talk a couple things out. Not a necessity, just a want ✨

Anyway yeah, amazing episode!!!!! 💖✨💖✨💖✨💖

Final Score: 🔥8½/10🔥

-1/2 point for Captain Dickweed (possible to change), -1/2 point for Athena not being able to chew out the probie after the truck incident, -1/2 point for most of Buck's scenes mentioning Temu

Great episode guys 👏✨👏✨👏✨👏 Can't wait to see what's next!

See y'all next week! 😘💖✨

[thana-topsy]

Your anatomy and art overall is flawless, how long did it take you to learn? Oh won’t you tell us, Mister Moon?

Thank you! I'd hardly call it flawless, but I appreciate the compliment regardless.

I did have two years of studio art training in college before switching majors. I was fortunate to have an incredibly skilled, though slightly terrifying figure drawing teacher. He was a Russian expat and ran his class a bit like a bootcamp. No music, no distractions. Just 3+ hours of meticulous live model drawing with him pacing back and forth behind us. And if you were fucking up, he'd come up behind you and say "give me your pencil" with a thick accent. Then he'd sit down and show you what you were doing wrong.

It was amazing, but I was also one of his favorite students. So I had a much better time than the people he didn't like. I pity those he didn't like.

All that to say, I'm still learning and improving. He taught me the foundations, and now I'm still building upon them. I think it took me about 6 years of consistent work to "get good" to the point that I felt really confident with my figure drawing. Most of high school and college. Now it's just about keeping up the practice.

(Mister Moon??)

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

The Remarried Empress

I've finished reading Season 1, and I have Some Thoughts.

First of all, kudos to the series for making me have Some Thoughts! A lot of series don't clear that bar.

The Duke is an excellent Elim Garak kind of character, smiling at everyone and constantly scheming something, to the point where he repeatedly says to the titular Empress when she does something kind that she's making him feel guilty. To me, the translation is, "I'm in the process of fucking you over right now, and you're showing yourself to be a good person, how dare."

He also makes me feel sorry for the series' petty villain, the Mistress Rashta. She's a real piece of work, but he's her "only real friend," when in fact he's not her friend at all and keeps on convincing her to make bad life decisions. It's not subtle to us, as the audience, even if some of the schemes seem like they'd be less obvious to people without our level of top-down knowledge. He's a world-class shit-stirrer.

The husband is so well-written. We frequently see things from his perspective in the story but never once feel like he's "misunderstood" or "actually a pretty good guy." He projects all his own insecurities and dishonesty onto his wife, mistrusting her when she has no history of lying to him and instead trusting Rashta, who obviously has every reason to lie. We get some complex backstory for him, which makes us a little sad about how circumstances pushed him a little bit in the direction of his position, but we always see that when the time comes to make a choice he picks vindictiveness, petty barbs, "winning the conversation" with his wife (Pro Tip! If you are trying to "win" the conversation with your spouse, you are playing stupid games and will win stupid prizes), and that while she has some nostalgia for their time together as children he a) remembers that time together differently and b) thinks that going back toward that is healthy and viable.

The bird thing reminded me of P-chan but is way, WAY less creepy, because of how the bird acts. Queen does not nuzzle into the empress' bosom. Queen is uncomfortable when touched and attempts to avoid situations where the empress takes him to bed.

They did enough to humanize Rashta that I'm kind of dreading the fall they no doubt have planned for her. I did have some schadenfreude when she finally got her wish and her station improved and that meant she suddenly had to study and know things. That was funny. But a tale of her losing everything isn't going to make me feel good, no matter how inconvenient she was for the lead.

If I could insert a missing scene into the story it would be the Empress attempting to help teach Rashta. We know from in-story thought bubbles that she has worries about how Rashta will do in her absence and the impact that will have on the nation, but that doesn't translate into action because she is (rightfully) constantly angry at Rashta. It would be a genuinely saintly level of forward-thinking kindness from the lead. Maybe some people would find her unrealistic if she did that, but she's had so many other points where she did the hard right thing that I'd buy it. Also, it wouldn't have to last. Maybe Rashta or the husband could suspect the whole thing's intended to embarrass her - It would be understandable for them to find it strange or out-of-character, since they wouldn't have her state of mind the way we do - and they'd call it off and carry on being jerky jerkfaces. But even making the offer would have been a cool "being the bigger person" and in turn given the villains another chance to be...smaller people.